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☆ Mike Pence gambled his career to become Trump's successor. Now he can't even find a lane to compete against his former boss.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Mike Pence gambled his future to become President Donald Trump's running mate and vice president. Two years after leaving office, it appears all for naught, as he can't seem to find a lane to compete against his former boss. This, in part, led to some Trump supporters storming the Capitol whilst chanting "hang Mike Pence." But despite this, Monmouth University polling from March 2023 shows him lagging behind other prospective candidates, like DeSantis and Trump, in favorability polls among evangelical Republicans. According to Morning Consult's surveying, Pence once again received the second-most "unfavorable" polling behind only former Rep. Liz Cheney.

☆ Biden pushes for Republican proposal in U.S. debt-ceiling standoff
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( David Morgan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Biden urged the top congressional Republican to spell out his proposals before lawmakers leave Washington for a two-week recess set to start on Thursday. McCarthy told CNBC earlier that he was prepared to lay out $4 trillion in spending cuts for Biden, if he would agree to meet. Republicans have not yet produced a budget plan of their own and could be weeks or months away from doing so. McCarthy's proposals, though lacking detail, paralleled the demands of hard-right House Republicans far more closely than ideas put forward by moderate Republicans. Republicans have sought to blame Biden, but only Congress has the authority to raise the debt ceiling.

☆ House Democrats are skeptical about Biden's call for working with GOP: 'Marjorie Taylor Greene seems to be the lead spokesperson these days'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( Nicole Gaudiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Biden says Republicans can help build a "significant majority" for Dem priorities in a GOP House. "It looks like it's Marjorie Taylor Greene and extreme MAGA Republicans," Rep. Pramila Jayapal said. They question whether they can work with House Republicans on anything beyond "must-pass" legislation when they say "extreme" GOP members seem to be leading the caucus. And you know, Marjorie Taylor Greene seems to be the lead spokesperson these days." "You're gonna have a lot of Republicans running our way," he told House Democrats on Wednesday night.

☆ Far-right Republican groups surge in swing state Michigan
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Nathan Layne | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

[1/6] Candidate for district party chair for Michigan Republican Party Jon Smith speaks with guests during a fundraiser in Hillsdale, Michigan, U.S., February 8, 2023. "What's going on in Michigan is a microcosm of what is going on with the Republican Party nationally," said Michael Traugott, a professor at the Center for Political Studies at the University of Michigan. The judge declined to intervene, leaving it up to Michigan Republican Party officials to set the rules on delegate selection. The top two candidates for state party chair have both promoted conspiracy theories in support of Trump's false claims about voter fraud. "There's some people that are thinking this is the end of the Republican Party," he said.

Republicans are on a collision course with the White House, which is demanding that Congress raise the debt limit without conditions. Republicans have waged heated battles over the debt ceiling, most notably in 2011, but they have always been resolved in time. Why does a GOP House complicate debt ceiling negotiations? Republicans have floated everything from budget cuts to socially conservative legislation as part of a debt ceiling increase. The White House had laid down a marker: no negotiations, no policy strings attached to raise the debt ceiling.

☆ One more thing for Democrats to fix: the Republican Party
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Neal Urwitz | Neal Urwitz Is A Public Relations Executive In Washington | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

And that, ironically, means Democrats must focus on fixing the Republican Party. And the current iteration of the Republican Party would strip away American democracy. Is it someone who is likely to make the Republican Party more or less responsible? Will that Republican Party abide by American laws and American democracy? Democracy will only survive if Democrats have done our part to create a responsible Republican Party.

"I think that this is going to be the most contentious debt ceiling debate in memory," Winograd said. "It would suggest that there's some type of premium being allocated to bills in that space where the risk of the debt ceiling starts to grow," Norris said. Some investors also believe lawmakers will be able to reach a deal on raising the debt ceiling without severely unsettling markets. Edward Al Hussainy, senior interest rate and currency analyst at Columbia Threadneedle, thinks any debt ceiling tensions would eventually be resolved, calling the issue "a well rehearsed storyline." However, the heightened concerns about the debt ceiling are "an extra little justification on top" for the firm's positioning, Pride said.

Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., speaks to Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., in the House Chamber on Jan. 6, 2023. She said it’s a bad idea for the House to bring up those bills. Still, some of the more moderate Republicans acknowledge that they’ll have to make compromises with Democrats to get immigration bills signed into law. The GOP rules package adopted Monday identifies the seven bills that will get speedy votes in the House. “Many of their radical things will be stopped in the Senate because we have a Democratic majority,” Schumer said, vowing not to let ultraconservative lawmakers defund the FBI.

☆ Factbox: If not McCarthy then who? Other possible candidates for U.S. House speaker
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/6] U.S. House Republican Whip Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) makes his way through the U.S. Capitol on the first day of the new Congress in Washington, U.S., January 3, 2023. REUTERS/Evelyn HocksteinWASHINGTON, Jan 4 (Reuters) - Here are six potential candidates to become speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives if Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy fails to win the post due to a rebellion by hardliners in his party. 2 House Republican is a supporter of McCarthy who could get support from moderates in the caucus, while also appealing to hardline conservatives. REPRESENTATIVE JIM JORDANThe Ohio congressman is leader of the House Freedom Caucus, a group of the most hardline House conservatives. Jordan has repeatedly supported McCarthy in speaker votes, but all 20 holdouts voted for him on Tuesday.

☆ Republican U.S. House to open in turmoil as McCarthy fights for gavel
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( David Morgan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

After four years as the Republican minority leader, McCarthy now needs at least 218 votes to succeed Democrat Nancy Pelosi as speaker. House Republicans are expected to meet face-to-face behind closed doors on Tuesday morning, ahead of the speaker election. While Republicans have won back the House, Democrats still hold the White House and Senate. 'TAKES TWO TO TANGO'The record number of voting rounds to elect a House speaker is 133 over a two-month period in the 1850s. The hardline Republican House Freedom Caucus is demanding rule changes that would enhance the group's influence.

He promises not to let that happen again, insisting he will “actively look for quality candidates” to promote in the 2024 primaries. “In the other states, Trump’s support was so significant — we could have spent a lot of money, maybe trying to come up with a different candidate and maybe not succeeding,” he said. And yet, it's Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. — not McConnell — who's radiating confidence about winning the majority in 2024. He also spent large parts of 2022 feuding over strategy with Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, the GOP Senate campaign chief. Then Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and then President Donald Trump at the U.S. Capitol, on Oct. 24, 2017.

Fractured teams lose,” GOP Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, co-chair of the centrist-leaning Main Street Caucus, told CNN, pointing to McCarthy’s broad support among the conference. During the meeting, they told McCarthy they would have his back and were committed to voting for him on multiple ballots if it comes to that. But one member told CNN they also conveyed concern to McCarthy about restoring the motion to vacate the speaker’s chair. “He’s open to a lot of things,” Norman told CNN, including adopting the motion to vacate the chair rule. “I’ve said this over and over again: there is not this, like, enormous amount of drama,” Moore told CNN.

Majority Leader Chuck Schumer took an emotional victory lap on Wednesday after Democrats won the Georgia runoff and secured an outright majority with a 51st Senate seat. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer speaks at a press conference at the Capitol in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday. Last month, after a poor general election showing and before the Georgia runoff, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Republicans failed with moderate voters. The majority leader, who is slated to keep his post for at least two more years, admitted he initially wanted someone else to run in Georgia. “Four years ago, I began recruiting candidates in Georgia,” Schumer said.

Three weeks ago, conservative Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., was defeated by GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy in their party’s private, internal vote for speaker of the House. “I’m running for Speaker to break the establishment,” Biggs tweeted, linking to an op-ed in the conservative Daily Caller outlining his opposition to McCarthy. Democrats are expected to back their own leader for speaker, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and five conservative lawmakers are already on record saying they will not vote for McCarthy under any circumstance. The last time a speaker vote went multiple ballots was exactly a century ago. Some moderate GOP McCarthy allies say it would never reach that point.

☆ How Trump’s legacy became ‘pure poison’ for independents
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Ronald Brownstein | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +16 min

Among female independents, Trump’s ratings were even worse: just 23% favorable and 72% unfavorable, according to previously unpublished exit poll results provided by the CNN polling unit. Trump’s unfavorable rating hit a comparable 69% among independents with at least a four-year college degree. That was a significantly smaller advantage than the double-digit lead among independents Democrats enjoyed in both the 2020 presidential race and the 2018 contest for the House. While Democrats held the presidency, Republicans won independents by double-digits in House elections in the midterms of 2014, 2010 and 1994. Gretchen Whitmer won 59% of the independents with degrees and 56% of women independents.

☆ Fewer states than ever could pick the next president
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Ronald Brownstein | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +17 min

Five states decided the last presidential race by flipping from Trump in 2016 to Joe Biden in 2020 – Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The Democratic and Republican presidential nominees have each carried 20 states in every election since at least 2008. Democrats did not demonstrate the capacity to threaten any of the GOP’s core 20 states, as Republicans did in Nevada. A race with just Wisconsin, Nevada, Georgia and Arizona as true battlegrounds would begin with Democrats favored in states holding 260 Electoral College votes (including Washington, DC) and Republicans in states with 235. After 2022, the list of genuinely competitive presidential states may be shrinking, but, if anything, that could increase the tension as the nation remains poised on the knife’s edge between two deeply entrenched, but increasingly antithetical, political coalitions.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., meets with reporters Wednesday after he fended off a challenge by Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., and was re-elected as Republican leader. And we turned off a lot of these centrist voters," McConnell said Wednesday. “Much criticism is being placed on the fact that the Republican Party should have done better. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., speaks after he was nominated to be House speaker on Tuesday. “What I hope we learned from this is you can’t win the general election merely because of your base vote.

They won a narrow House majority, having won the 218 seats needed, with eight still uncalled. McConnell and Scott both addressed the gathering, which included newly elected Trump-backed Senate Republicans, including J.D. [1/5] U.S. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell walks to his office at the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, U.S., November 15, 2022. In the House, conservative Republicans continued to bash party leader Kevin McCarthy, a day after he overcame a challenger for the chamber's top job of House speaker. While Senate Republicans met in the morning to vote for party leaders, House Republicans met later in the day to consider chamber rules for the next Congress.

Despite Republican hopes for a "red wave" of support in the Nov. 8 elections, they failed to reverse Democrats' razor-thin Senate majority. They appear to be on course to win a narrow House majority, having won 217 of the 218 seats they would need, with 10 still uncalled. McConnell and Scott both addressed the gathering, which included newly elected Trump-backed Senate Republicans, including J.D. [1/5] U.S. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell walks to his office at the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, U.S., November 15, 2022. While Senate Republicans met in the morning to vote for party leaders, House Republicans were due later in the day to consider chamber rules for the next Congress, assuming they succeed in capturing the House.

☆ Marjorie Taylor Greene supports Kevin McCarthy's bid for House speaker, says it's a 'bad strategy' for fellow Republicans to challenge him
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Oma Seddiq | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene expressed support for Rep. Kevin McCarthy's bid for House speaker. Greene criticized the possibility of fellow conservative Republicans challenging McCarthy. Cheney, a staunch critic of former President Donald Trump, lost her reelection, but could technically become House speaker if she receives enough votes, though such a move is uncommon. The current opposition to McCarthy could be a sign of more internal division to come under a House Republican majority. Greene, also a member of the House Freedom Caucus, had previously voiced concerns about McCarthy's leadership after House Democrats removed her from her committee assignments last year in light of her past inflammatory statements.

Share this -Link copiedWisconsin Senate race too close to call Wisconsin's Senate race between GOP Sen. Ron Johnson and Democrat Mandela Barnes is too close to call, NBC News says. Vance wins Ohio Senate race, defeating Democrat Tim Ryan, NBC News projects COLUMBUS, Ohio — J.D. Ohio Republican Senate candidate J.D. Vance is leading The Senate race in Ohio is too early to call, NBC News says, but Republican candidate J.D. Share this -Link copiedGeorgia Senate race too close to call Georgia's Senate race is too close to call about three hours after polls closed at 7 p.m.

Vance, the “Hillbilly Elegy” author who was a searing Donald Trump critic before converting into one of his most loyal allies, has defeated Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan in Ohio’s Senate race, NBC News projects. Portman’s prior success and Trump’s two comfortable Ohio victories made Ryan, 49, a heavy underdog. Polls from the summer and into early fall showed Ryan tied with Vance, though surveys in the closing weeks suggested Vance was pulling ahead. Democratic Senate candidate Rep. Tim Ryan speaks in Columbus, Ohio on Saturday. Vance, by contrast, had little money to counter Ryan’s ads and drew complaints from Ohio GOP leaders that he was coasting toward the general election.

☆ Democrats' risky midterm strategy to elevate election deniers appears to pay off
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Andy Sullivan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The gamble appears to have worked: All eight Democratic candidates who benefited from the strategy were projected to win their races as of Wednesday morning. Democrats also defended two competitive House of Representatives seats in New Hampshire and picked up one in Michigan, as their candidates held wide leads over Republican election deniers. And Democratic gubernatorial candidates in four states -- Pennsylvania, Michigan, Maryland and Illinois -- easily dispatched Republican candidates after running ads in the Republican primaries earlier this year. Democratic groups spent at least $51.5 million in Republican primaries this year, according to a Reuters tally. The DGA also ran ads amplifying the conservative credentials of Republican election deniers in Maryland and Michigan who won their primaries but lost the general election.

“We’ve got to unite,” Oz said at a rally Friday in Wexford, a suburb north of Pittsburgh. Democrats see his message as blatant hypocrisy considering he is backed by former President Donald Trump and has campaigned with him. “Uhhhh will he refuse to campaign with Mastriano + Trump this weekend then?? He has mostly kept Mastriano at arm’s length while rarely mentioning Trump, instead focusing on crime, inflation and undocumented immigration. “As much as I loved Trump as president, he’s pushed the other party so far away.”

Nov 7 (Reuters) - Thirty-six of the 50 states will elect governors in Tuesday's U.S. midterm elections. Polls show him ahead of opponent Charlie Crist, a former Republican governor who switched parties and was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as a Democrat. GEORGIARepublican Governor Brian Kemp faces Democratic nominee Stacey Abrams in a rematch of the state's close 2018 gubernatorial election. If elected, Abrams would be the first Black woman to serve as governor in the United States. MAINERecent opinion polls show Maine Governor Janet Mills, a Democrat, leading her Republican opponent, Paul LePage, who served as governor of the state from 2011 to 2019.

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