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☆ Kellyanne Conway slams GOP senators who didn't stump for Herschel Walker ahead of the Senate runoff: 'Why weren't you in Georgia?'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Kellyanne Conway last week criticized GOP senators who didn't stump for Republican Herschel Walker. "Where were the other senators to say, 'I want Herschel Walker, not Raphael Warnock in the Senate with me?'" In last month's general election, Warnock edged out Walker 49.4%-48.5% statewide, which triggered a runoff as neither candidate hit the requisite 50% of the vote to declare victory. Warnock on Tuesday won the runoff over Walker 51.4%-48.6%. I don't like it because it's not Election Day, it's election season, election trimester.

☆ Florida Sen. Rick Scott says defeated Georgia Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker will 'continue to be a leader' in the GOP 'for years to come'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Sen. Rick Scott said Herschel Walker would "continue to be a leader" in the GOP "for years to come." Scott made the comments following Walker's runoff defeat to Sen. Raphael Warnock in Georgia. The Florida lawmaker was a visible presence at many Walker rallies throughout the campaign. But throughout the course of the campaign, Walker's campaign suffered from a series of scandals. After the runoff loss, Republicans are continuing to do a lot of soul-searching, as every statewide GOP candidate besides Walker was victorious at the ballot box in Georgia this year.

☆ Meet the megadonors backing the Trump super PAC as some top donors opt out of supporting 2024 candidacy
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( Brian Schwartz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Yet, the latest disclosure, which shows fundraising for the super PAC from Oct. 20 through Nov. 28, also lists nine other individual contributions totaling over $900,000. Wealthy businessman Timothy Mellon contributed $1.5 million to the super PAC on Oct. 5, according to the records. This small group of megadonors arrived in support of the super PAC just prior to other influential financiers deciding they will not back Trump's 2024 candidacy for president. During Trump's first run for the White House in 2016, Pate financed the anti-Trump super PAC We The People Foundation. Anthony Lomangino, a recycling mogul, donated $100,000 to the super PAC on Nov. 4.

☆ What the pro-business tax agenda is chasing in a changing Congress
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( Cheryl Winokur Munk | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Main Street could find itself stuck in gridlock next year in terms of advancing pro-business tax objectives. For House Republicans, legislative priorities are likely to include extending business-friendly provisions of The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, passed by the Trump Administration in 2017. Even so, a divided Congress means that major pro-business legislative changes will be difficult to enact. Rather, tax and policy professionals expect House Republicans to focus on a number of positioning moves next year — ones that will establish their pro-business agenda ahead of the 2024 presidential election. "There are a host of provisions in the tax code that businesses would like to see changed or revised," said Rochelle Hodes, a principal in Crowe's Washington National Tax office.

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.

Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s announcement Friday morning that she was abandoning the Democratic Party to become an independent may require Democrats to modify their catchphrase. Her desperate leap out of the Democratic Party will someday make a compelling story for her book. In response, the Arizona Democratic Party took the serious step of censuring Sinema for her behavior. She’ll almost certainly need to fend off that challenge without the institutional Democratic Party resources she would otherwise have enjoyed. Her desperate leap out of the Democratic Party will someday make a compelling story for her book.

☆ Strong midterm turnout in Georgia sparks new debate about a controversial election law
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Fredreka Schouten | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —The strong turnout in Georgia’s runoff election that cemented Democrats’ control of the US Senate is sparking fresh debate about the impact of the state’s controversial 2021 election law and could trigger a new round of election rule changes next year in the Republican-led state legislature. “There’s no truth to voter suppression,” Raffensperger said in an interview this week with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, a day after Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock secured reelection in the first federal election cycle since Georgia voting law took effect. State election officials had opposed casting ballots on that date, saying Georgia law prohibited voting on a Saturday if there is a state holiday on the Thursday or Friday before. In the CNN interview earlier this week, Raffensperger suggested that the Republican-controlled General Assembly might revisit some of the state’s election rules, including potentially lowering to 45% the threshold needed to win a general election outright. “There will be a push for this in the upcoming legislative session,” said Daniel Baggerman, president of Better Ballot Georgia, a group advocating for the instant runoff.

☆ Kyrsten Sinema was doing the GOP a favor by blocking Democrats' taxes on the wealthy. Now a Republican-controlled House will have to fight that battle.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema repeatedly threw cold water on Democrats' plans to raise taxes on the wealthy. Now that Sinema is officially becoming an independent, Democrats still likely won't be able to pass anything. However, the House — which has to pass any legislation that would include hikes — will soon be controlled by Republicans. Raphael Warnock's reelection in the Georgia runoff also gave Democrats an opening to work around Sinema. Republicans are very tax averse, already mounting opposition to a 15% minimum tax on big multinational corporations like Amazon and Facebook.

☆ Herschel Walker's wife had an 'obsessive focus' on her husband winning over more Black voters and felt he should have been receiving up to 50% of the Black vote: report
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Herschel Walker and his wife wanted to court Black voters in the Georgia Senate race, per Politico. Julie Blanchard Walker said Walker should've been getting robust Black support, per the report. An individual close to the campaign told Politico that her idea morphed into an "obsessive focus." The biggest complication in the efforts by the Walkers to engage with Black voters? And he campaigned extensively in those areas throughout the entire campaign, while Walker's overall campaign strategy targeted conservatives and the state's rural evangelical community.

☆ Defeated Georgia GOP Senate candidate Herschel Walker was 'absolutely shocked' he didn't win 100% of the vote in Johnson County, where he grew up: report
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Walker was "shocked" he didn't 100% of the vote in his home county last month, per The Daily Beast. The Republican carried Johnson County 74%-26% over Warnock, but was still taken aback by the result. While Walker received 2,484 votes to Warnock's 869 votes in Johnson County in November, Kemp earned 2,504 votes compared to Abrams' 867 votes. On Tuesday, Warnock defeated Walker in the runoff 51.4%-48.6%, earning a full six-year term in the Senate and denying Republicans a much-desired win. And Warnock gained ground in Johnson County in the runoff compared to the November election, winning 967 votes (29%) to Walker's 2,419 votes (71%).

Sinema herself, however, said she would not caucus with the Republican Party, according to an interview Politico published on Friday. It will be up to Senate Democrats to foil Republican initiatives. Sinema and Democratic Senator Joe Manchin have kept Washington in suspense over the last two years as they repeatedly withheld needed votes for legislation sought by Biden. Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) walks from her hideaway office to the Senate floor at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S. August 2, 2022. Just this week, Sinema and Republican Senator Thom Tillis unveiled an immigration reform plan that is getting bipartisan attention in the Senate.

☆ Sen. Kyrsten Sinema leaves Democratic Party and registers as an independent
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Chantal Da Silva | Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Mike-Memoli-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema has announced she is leaving the Democratic Party and officially registering as an independent. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema leaves the Capitol building on Oct. 27, 2021. After joining the Democratic Party, she served in the Arizona state Legislature and went on to win a seat in the U.S. House in 2012 representing the Phoenix area. The Biden administration was informed of Sinema’s decision to leave the Democratic Party “mid-afternoon” on Thursday, a senior administration official said. Biden did acknowledge Sinema in his remarks, however, saying: “I want to thank Senator Sinema, who can’t be with us today.

☆ 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.

☆ After failure in Georgia Senate runoff, Republicans could bring in more voting changes next year
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Republicans lost the state's Senate runoff election, which was held under the new rules. Some Republicans are now pointing fingers at those laws as they reflect on the runoff loss, The New York Times reported. But there is disagreement in the party over the approach it should take with voting laws, according to the Times. The current laws typically expand in-person early voting in many areas in normal elections, but NBC News reported that they reduce the number of early voting days in runoff elections because they cut the amount of time between general elections and runoff elections. A composite image showing Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock, who won the state’s runoff election, and his Republican challenger Herschel Walker.

☆ U.S. Senator Sinema leaves Democratic Party, registers as independent
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) walks from her hideaway office to the Senate floor at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S. August 2, 2022. Senator Kyrsten Sinema said on Friday she had switched her political party affiliation to independent, leaving the Democratic Party just days after it won a U.S. Senate race in Georgia to secure 51 seats in the chamber. I registered as an Arizona independent," she said in a op-ed for local media outlet Arizona Central. Sinema, in a separate Politico interview published on Friday, said she would not caucus with the Republican Party. Sinema on Friday said her shift came as a growing number of people in her Western U.S. state were also declaring themselves politically independent, rejecting both the Republican and Democratic political labels.

☆ Sinema's exit from the Democratic Party could hand Manchin back some power over Biden's agenda
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema is leaving the Democratic Party to become an independent. It changes the balance of power in the Senate, though Sinema sought to downplay the extent. But Sen. Kyrsten Sinema's announcement early Friday that she is leaving the Democratic Party to become an independent soured that victory, and again altered the balance of power. Though that group already included two independents — Sen. Bernie Sanders and Sen. Angus King — it was signed-up Democrats, Sinema and Manchin, who caused the most trouble. "Becoming an independent won't change my work in the Senate; my service to Arizona remains the same," she said in an op-ed announcing her departure from the Democratic Party.

☆ Kyrsten Sinema ditches Democrats to become an independent, undermining party's narrow Senate majority
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema has announced that she is leaving the Democratic Party. Her move comes days after the Democrats won a narrow majority in the Senate. "Becoming an Independent won't change my work in the Senate; my service to Arizona remains the same," she wrote. Her switch comes just days after the Democratic Party won a narrow majority in the Senate, after Georgia incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock's won a run-off election in the state, beating out retired football player Herschel Walker. Warnock's victory gave Democrats a razor-thin majority of 51-49 in the Senate, which has now been thrown into doubt.

☆ White House says it has 'every reason to expect' Kyrsten Sinema will keep working with Biden as she leaves the Democratic party
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Kayla Gallagher | Nicole Gaudiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Arizona Sen. Krysten Sinema announced Friday that she's leaving the Democratic Party to be an independent. The White House said that even with Sinema's party change, it expects to keep working closely with her. A White House spokesperson did not respond when asked whether the White House received advance warning about her decision and whether Biden has spoken with her. As Vice President, Biden was credited with playing an outsized role in persuading then-Sen. Arlen Specter to switch parties from Republican to Democrat in 2009. Sinema told Politico that her departure from the Democratic Party stems from her feeling like she "never really fit into a box of any political party.

☆ Kyrsten Sinema once ripped then-Democratic Sen. Joe Lieberman for trying to win over Republican voters: 'What kind of strategy is that?'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Rebecca Cohen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Kyrsten Sinema once slammed a Democratic senator for trying to court Republican voters. Sinema — then a social worker — said in 2003 of presidential-hopeful Joe Lieberman. In 2003, the now-Arizona senator was outside of a meeting for presidential-hopeful Sen. Joe Lieberman from Connecticut, the Hartford Courant reported at the time. Then a social worker, Sinema disagreed with Lieberman's stances on the war — and even more so, his campaign strategy. Sen. Sinema announced Friday morning she is leaving the Democratic party to become an independent herself.

☆ Kyrsten Sinema leaving the Democratic Party and registering as an independent
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Jeremy Herb | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema is leaving the Democratic Party and registering as a political independent, she told CNN’s Jake Tapper in an exclusive TV interview. While Sanders and King formally caucus with Democrats, Sinema declined to explicitly say that she would do the same. She also brushed aside criticism she may face for the decision to leave the Democratic Party. “Nothing about the last two years indicates a major effort would’ve made helped – the exact opposite actually,” a White House official said. After a vote against filibuster changes in January, the Arizona Democratic Party’s executive board censured Sinema.

☆ Asian Americans heavily favored Warnock in Georgia runoff, exit poll shows
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Kimmy Yam | Kimmy Yam Is A Reporter For Nbc Asian America. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

Asian American voters in Georgia showed strong Democratic lean in the recent Senate runoff election, according to one exit poll. “I think there is a risk of losing folks if they take voters for granted.”For the exit poll, the organization surveyed 337 Asian American voters across DeKalb, Fulton and Gwinnett counties at five key, high-Asian American precincts. Nguyen emphasized that political opinions across the electorate are far from monolithic, pointing to the poll’s breakdown of Asian American voters by age. Polling occurred in areas with a higher-density Asian American voters, which tend to skew Democrat. Nguyen similarly noted that in the Atlanta area, voters heavily favored Warnock.

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.

☆ Georgia runoff loss for Herschel Walker shows Trump is nothing by an eyeroll
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( John Hart | John Hart Is The Co-Founder Of Solutions | The Former Communications Director For U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn. He Tweets At | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

If Republicans decide they are tired of losing elections they should be winning, Herschel Walker’s loss to Raphael Warnock in Georgia’s Senate runoff election should mark the definitive and unequivocal end of the Trump era. Republicans have grown complacent and comfortable on a bed of final straws with Trump, but Walker’s loss should wake them up from their slumber. Walker’s loss showed once again that Trump is the GOP’s Bridge to Nowhere, continuing the poor performance of Trump-anointed candidates in the midterms. If Trump wants to start a new party with his dinner companion, white supremacist Nick Fuentes, he’d be doing the Republican Party (and the republic) a favor. Republicans have grown complacent and comfortable on a bed of final straws with Trump, but Walker’s loss should wake them up from their slumber.

☆ 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.

☆ Georgia Runoff Warnings for Both Parties
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Karl Rove | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

The 2022 midterms ended Tuesday when Sen. Raphael Warnock defeated Herschel Walker in Georgia. They gained governorships and a Senate seat and kept their House losses to single digits, despite expectations of a red wave. But there’s a danger that Mr. Warnock’s runoff victory will strengthen President Biden’s misinterpretation of Democrats’ better-than-expected showing. The president seems to believe that the GOP’s awful midterm performance was the result of improved Democratic messaging about his administration’s record. “The more they know about what we’re doing, the more support there is.”

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