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☆ Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, who left the Democratic Party, says she doesn't want to be 'tethered' by partisanship: 'I want to remove some of that poison from our politics'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Sen. Sinema on Sunday defended her decision to leave the Democratic Party and become an Independent. On CNN's "State of the Union," Sinema expressed a desire to not be "tethered" by partisanship. "The national political parties have pulled our politics farther to the edges than I have ever seen. I want to remove some of that kind of that poison from our politics," she said. "I want to get back to actually just working on the issues, working together to try and solve these challenges."

On Tuesday, for example, Fox News host Sean Hannity said Republicans “have been unwilling for whatever reason” to vote early and by mail. Ahead of the general election, registered Democrats held an 8-point edge over registered Republicans in Georgia in early voting. Now about to enter his seventh term, Schweikert said that Republicans in his state used to enjoy a robust early voting edge. Kirk, who had raised concerns about mail-in voting, changed his tune after the November midterms, tweeting that Republicans must recognize the “power of early voting.” But Johnson has called for a ban on mail-in voting. At the forefront of GOP concerns over early voting is Pennsylvania, where Democrats enjoyed an edge so substantial that Republicans did not come close to overcoming it.

WASHINGTON — Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s decision to leave the Democratic Party reshapes the dynamics of the 2024 Senate race in Arizona, creating fresh obstacles for Democrats to hold the seat in two years. But I’m still shockingly disappointed at how awful she continues to be,” said Michael Slugocki, an outgoing vice chair of the Arizona Democratic Party. A bipartisan poll by Fabrizio Ward and Impact Research in September found that Sinema's favorable rating among Arizona Democrats was 37%. The state party censured Sinema last year after she opposed a Senate rules change to pass a major voting-rights bill. “There is every intention that the Arizona Democratic Party will run a true Democrat in 2024,” he said, adding that he favors Gallego.

Come next year, Democrats will have unilateral subpoena power in many committees to compel investigative targets to provide documents and testimony — without needing GOP support. “Our committees will have greater oversight ability, subpoena power. Subpoena power can deal with corporate corruption and inequities, and other problems throughout the country,” he said. “And if using subpoena power becomes necessary, then that’s something we can do.”Other Democrats floated industries that could be the targets of the party's subpoena powers. “But having subpoena power for CEOs and billionaires who think they don’t have to come to Congress to explain themselves will be very valuable.”

☆ Ronna McDaniel locked down votes for RNC chair despite the midterm debacle. Here's how she did it.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Jonathan-Allen-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Jonathan Allen | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +9 min

An ally, Richard Porter, an RNC member from Illinois, met with her in Washington to make sure she wanted to run for another two-year term. And the most ardent Trump critics among RNC members say McDaniel, Trump's pick for the post six years ago, is too close to him. Bill Palatucci, an RNC member from New Jersey, said he opposes McDaniel's re-election for that reason. For McDaniel to lose, an opponent would have to win the remaining undecided RNC members and swipe nearly two dozen avowed McDaniel backers. Lori Klein Corbin, an RNC member from Arizona who hasn’t committed to any candidate, said McDaniel hasn’t asked for her vote yet.

Biden had been hopeful that Russian President Vladimir Putin would be more apt to free Griner once America’s midterm elections were done, a calculation that proved correct. Still detained in Russia is Paul Whelan, a businessman whom the White House has also been working to free without success. In a 2012 interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” when he was vice president, Biden came out in favor of same-sex marriage, and he is expected to sign the measure into law. White House officials acknowledged the headwinds and worried that the midterm elections would be a repudiation of Biden’s record. “When I look at what the Biden White House has done, I think experience and patience really paid off,” said Jennifer Palmieri, who served as White House communications director during the Obama administration.

☆ Inside the turbulent, doomed campaign of Herschel Walker
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Marc Caputo | Marc Caputo Is A Senior National Political Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +14 min

Republican candidate Herschel Walker's campaign was starved for cash as it faced Sen. Raphael Warnock and his deep-pocketed Democratic allies. Beyond highlighting an intense clash in a nationally watched political campaign’s crucible, the blowup underscored the core problem of Walker’s campaign: Walker. The so-called “oppo” book, however, didn’t have information about the abortion story, which rocked Walker’s campaign. And despite the damaging information that could come out in a campaign, Walker decided to run anyway. By Election Day, Walker campaign staffers knew they were likely to lose.

WASHINGTON — The House passed legislation Thursday that enshrines federal protections for marriages of same-sex and interracial couples. Thirty-nine House Republicans supported the legislation Thursday and one voted present. The revisions to the bill meant the House had to vote again after passing an earlier version in July. It reflects the rapidly growing U.S. public support for legal same-sex marriage, which hit a new high of 71% in June, according to Gallup tracking polls — up from 27% in 1996. In the Senate, 12 Republicans voted with unanimous Democrats to pass the bill, which sent it back to the House.

☆ 'We cannot normalize this': Doug Emhoff leads White House roundtable to combat antisemitism
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Peter Nicholas | Peter Nicholas Is A Senior National Political Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

“Antisemitism is dangerous,” said Emhoff, the nation’s first Jewish spouse of a president or vice president. Second gentleman Douglas Emhoff during a roundtable about the rise of antisemitism in Washington on Wednesday. President Joe Biden has proposed raising that sum to $360 million in the coming year for the 2023 fiscal year. Conference speakers drew a link between antisemitism and another scourge that the Biden administration wants to confront: threats to democracy. “Antisemitism is the death knell of democracy,” said Deborah Lipstadt, a Holocaust scholar and the Biden administration’s special envoy to combat and monitor antisemitism.

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.

☆ Takeaways from the 2022 Georgia runoff: Warnock's win expands Democratic power in the Senate as his own star rises
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Sahil-Kapur-Headshot.Jpg | Sahil Kapur | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

ATLANTA — Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock wrapped up his “one more time” tour with a victory Tuesday in the runoff, defeating Republican rival Herschel Walker to secure a six-year term. But this electoral success is sure to elevate his star, possibly into the echelons of presidential or vice-presidential contenders. Walker improved his margins in some rural counties, particularly in northern Georgia, but it wasn't enough. Warnock's top advisers said they focused heavily on swing voters, and their strategy paid off. Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, won their races on Election Day, topping 50% and avoiding a runoff.

“What we do need is our voters need to vote early,” McDaniel, a longtime Trump ally, said during a televised interview on Fox News. McDaniel said the RNC has "perfected" the practice in states where it's legal before making her broader point about taking advantage of early and mail-in voting. He continues to raise false and unsubstantiated claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him, in part through vote-by-mail programs in battleground states. Early voting there has shattered records, suggesting an edge for Warnock. Trump, who handpicked McDaniel as RNC chair after the 2016 election, has not weighed in on the upcoming race.

Special counsel Jack Smith has subpoenaed local officials in key presidential swing states for any and all communications involving former President Donald Trump, his campaign and a series of aides and allies who assisted in his effort to overturn the 2020 election. A spokesperson for Milwaukee County Clerk George Christenson confirmed that Smith’s office had sent a subpoena. Scott McDonnell, the Dane County clerk, confirmed to NBC News that his county had received a virtually identical subpoena as Milwaukee. An Arizona elections official confirmed that Maricopa County had received such a subpoena this month with similar demands for those communications. "Maricopa County has received a subpoena and will comply," Fields Moseley, a county spokesperson, said.

☆ More than 70% of voters in poll want Biden to release secret JFK assassination records
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Marc Caputo | Marc Caputo Is A Senior National Political Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump, first postponed the disclosure in 2017, when the records were supposed to be fully released under the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992. Half of voters believe the assassination involved multiple conspirators while 38 percent said Oswald was the lone gunman, the poll showed. The CIA has played a central role in covering up information about the JFK assassination over the years. Immediately after JFK’s assassination, Oswald was identified as a pro-Castro sympathizer, thanks to news articles and documentation that arose when he came into contact with Joannides' group. And they relate to covert programs in which George Joannides was involved,” Morley said in an interview.

☆ Warnock gains early voting edge as both candidates barnstorm Georgia in final day before Senate runoff
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Sahil-Kapur-Headshot.Jpg | Sahil Kapur | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

An early vote that topped 1.85 million showed other positive signs for Warnock, with Democrats enjoying a 13-point edge — larger than the party’s 8-point lead in November’s early vote, according to TargetSmart’s model. But Walker is widely expected to win more of the votes cast on Election Day. Residents wait in line to vote early outside a polling station on Nov. 29 in Atlanta. Walker “needs to win Election Day by double digits,” said Cody Hall, an adviser to Kemp, who said the Republican candidate will have to outperform his advantage from November's Election Day. “But I would just caution everyone that base Republican voters in the last couple of cycles have liked turning out on Election Day.

☆ Biden's 2024 primary calendar gives Kamala Harris an edge in a future White House bid
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Jonathan-Allen-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Jonathan Allen | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden's push to make South Carolina the first major battleground in Democratic presidential primaries has a second big beneficiary: Vice President Kamala Harris. "It's a good demographic mix of having to appeal to Black voters, White working-class voters and Latino and Asian American voters." “How many Black voters are persuaded that the Democratic Party cares about them because South Carolina goes first? South Carolina, one of the most Republican states in the country, isn't competitive at the presidential level in general elections. “South Carolina is also known to be kind to those who’ve been kind to her,” he said.

ATLANTA — Georgia has set new records for early voting again as the two Senate candidates blitz the state ahead of Tuesday’s runoff election. White voters made up 55% of early voters, 32% were Black, and Latinos and Asian Americans each accounted for less than 2% of the total. Among Georgians under 30 years old, 15.5% of early runoff voters didn’t turn out for the general election. A resident fills out paperwork before early voting at a polling station in Atlanta on Tuesday. Another 32% of early voters are age 50 to 64, and 30% are younger than 50.

Now Biden faces a backlash from a core of rail workers and allied groups, as some of them see a betrayal in the bill he pushed to avert a rail strike. The standoff between rail workers and the profitable companies that employ them posed an awkward dilemma for Biden, forcing him to find an elusive middle ground between dueling campaign pledges. A rail strike threatened to unravel the job gains that no doubt will be central to any Biden re-election campaign. He said he is not giving up on paid sick leave for rail workers and other Americans who don’t receive such benefits. …”Still, the president could have used more leverage to reach a deal that included paid sick leave, union officials and allies contend.

☆ South Carolina Democrats stunned by Biden’s plan to put them first in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Alex-Seitz-Wald-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Alex Seitz-Wald | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Not even Rep. Jim Clyburn, the longtime dean of South Carolina Democrats and a key Biden ally, received an early heads-up. He found out Thursday night in a phone call from the president, according to a South Carolina Democratic official. Gerald Herbert / AP fileFor a red state, South Carolina plays an outsize role in Democratic politics. The South Carolina plan has plenty of detractors, especially from states that were passed over for the prime spot. Instead, South Carolina would go first, followed by New Hampshire and Nevada on the same day, trailed by Georgia and then Michigan.

Outgunned financially as Democrats dominate early voting, Herschel Walker’s Georgia Senate campaign Thursday begged donors to pony up more money because of Sen. Raphael Warnock’s growing sense of momentum. We need help,” Walker campaign manager Scott Paradise wrote in the memo sent to donors Thursday, which was obtained by NBC News ahead of Tuesday’s runoff election. “Core Republican voters just can’t get fired up about Walker, and they came out in the general because they liked Kemp or their congressional candidates. The Walker campaign is no longer beaming with the confidence it had heading into Election Day in November. “Some people still can’t get over the Trump connection,” said Ed Muldrow, the former chairman of the Gwinnett County GOP.

☆ The U.S. wants the EU to be strict with China. But Europe can't afford it
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Silvia Amaro | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The United States has stepped up its heavy rhetoric against China, and wants Europe to follow suit. Reports suggested that American officials had told European counterparts to consider using export control restrictions on China. "While the U.S. is trying to pull the EU into its direction to distance itself from China, the EU is keen to maintain economic ties to China. This comes at a time when the relationship between the EU and U.S. is turning a little sour. The EU said this challenges international trade rules and is a threat to European companies.

☆ Democrats poised to ditch Iowa and promote Michigan in 2024 presidential primaries
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Alex-Seitz-Wald-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Alex Seitz-Wald | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

WASHINGTON — Democrats are poised to ditch Iowa and move up Michigan in their presidential primary calendar starting in 2024, according to several Democratic officials involved in the process. New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina are likely to retain their early spots, while Iowa would lose its first-in-the-nation status. The Michigan state Senate voted Tuesday to move their presidential primary to the second Tuesday in February, a month earlier than its current date. “Nevada is a microcosm of the rest of the country.”South Carolina, which boosted then-candidate Joe Biden to a lead Democratic presidential primary contender in 2020, also retained its place as first in the South. That means the two parties will have different presidential primary maps for the first time in years.

WASHINGTON — The Senate reached an agreement Thursday to hold votes aimed at avoiding an economically catastrophic rail strike, one day after the House approved such a measure. The Senate typically takes days of procedural votes to pass a bill, but lawmakers reached unanimous agreement in this case to vote within minutes. In the Senate, the first two votes are expected to fail, and the House deal is expected to pass. The president said he’ll continue to fight for paid leave after the agreement is approved by Congress and a rail strike is averted. “We’re going to avoid the rail strike, keep the rails running, keep things moving, and we’re gonna go back and we’re gonna get paid leave not just for rail workers, but for all workers.”

☆ Biden to host French President Macron at his first state dinner
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Peter Nicholas | Peter Nicholas Is A Senior National Political Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

White House executive chef Cris Comerford gave a media preview Wednesday of the state dinner for French President Emmanuel Macron. “You need France.”Then-President Trump hosted French President Macron at a state dinner in 2018. The state dinner may be the Biden administration’s way of apologizing for an unforced error of such magnitude, Fried said. “We owed the French one after that.”A dish is previewed for the Macron state dinner. The last state dinner at the White House was in 2019.

The 26% of Georgians who ranked abortion as their top issue backed Warnock by a margin of 77% to 21%, NBC News exit polls showed. Herschel Walker wants a total ban on abortion nationwide,” says a TV ad by the Democratic group Georgia Honor, playing footage of Walker calling for a “no-exception” ban. NBC News exit polls showed 60% of voters believe abortion should be legal, while 37% said it should be illegal. And no-exceptions rhetoric could be out of step with voters in a divided state like Georgia. Sen. Gary Peters, the Michigan Democrat who chairs the party’s Senate campaign arm, said abortion will remain a “permanent” feature of American elections until Republicans back down.

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