Election category, Page 71
Trump target Al Schmidt gets crucial approval as he moves closer to becoming Pa.’s top election official
This article is made possible through Spotlight PA’s collaboration with Votebeat, a nonpartisan news organization covering local election administration and voting. Al Schmidt, the former Philadelphia city commissioner who made national headlines in 2020 for rebuking then-President Donald Trump’s election fraud claims, is one step closer to officially becoming Pennsylvania’s...
Georgia elections official to speak to federal prosecutors probing Trump’s efforts to undo 2020 loss
ATLANTA — Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is scheduled to speak to federal prosecutors from the office of special counsel Jack Smith, who is investigating efforts by former President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn his 2020 election loss. In a rambling phone call on Jan. 2, 2021,...
Supreme Court unfreezes Louisiana redistricting case that could boost power of Black voters
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday lifted its hold on a Louisiana political remap case, increasing the likelihood that the Republican-dominated state will have to redraw boundary lines to create a second mostly Black congressional district. The development revived Black Louisianans’ optimism of creating a second majority-Black district in...
If this Delaware senator wins a U.S. House seat, she’ll be the 1st trans member of Congress
DOVER, Del. — Delaware state Sen. Sarah McBride announced Monday she’s running for the U.S. House of Representatives. Already the first openly transgender state senator elected in the country, she’d be the first transgender member of Congress if she wins in November. In a video posted to social media, McBride,...
DeSantis unveils an aggressive immigration and border security policy that largely mirrors Trump’s
EAGLE PASS, Texas — Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis promised to end birthright citizenship, finish building the southern border wall and send U.S. forces into Mexico to combat drug cartels as part of an aggressive — and familiar — immigration policy proposal he laid out Monday in a Texas border...
Trump feted as Man of the Decade in Michigan county he lost twice
LANSING, Mich. — Former President Donald Trump was honored as the Man of the Decade in a Michigan county he lost twice as he returned to the state looking to reclaim territory that helped propel him to the White House but that slipped from his grasp four years later. Campaigning...
House Republicans push off Biden impeachment bid for now as hard-right clamors for action
WASHINGTON — Eager to impeach President Joe Biden, hard-right House Republicans forced a vote Thursday that sent the matter to congressional committees in a clear demonstration of the challenge that Speaker Kevin McCarthy faces in controlling the majority party. The ability of a single lawmaker in the 435-member House to...
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez announces GOP presidential bid days after Trump’s indictment
MIAMI — Miami Mayor Francis Suarez announced his bid for the Republican presidential nomination on Thursday, jumping into the crowded race just days after GOP front-runner Donald Trump appeared in court on federal charges in Suarez’s city. The 45-year-old mayor, the only Hispanic candidate in the race, declared his candidacy...
Scott rolls out dozens of South Carolina lawmakers and local leaders endorsing his presidential bid
SPARTANBURG, S.C. — Sen. Tim Scott is rolling out endorsements from more than 140 current and former elected officials from his home state of South Carolina, aiming to make a show of force in the first-in-the-South presidential primary state. The backing comes as Scott and other presidential contenders aim to...
Trump blasts federal indictment as ‘baseless’ at first events since charges were unsealed
GREENSBORO, N.C. — Former President Donald Trump blasted his historic federal indictment as “ridiculous” and “baseless” Saturday during his first public appearances since the charges were unsealed, painting the 37 felony counts as an attack on his supporters as he tried to turn dire legal peril to political advantage and...
DeSantis faces balancing act in backing Trump, experts say
ORLANDO, Fla. — Given the chance to pounce, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is instead backing his rival Donald Trump, accusing the U.S. Department of Justice of partisan bias in charging the former president. For political analysts, DeSantis’ unwillingness to attack Trump over his legal problems showcases the influence Trump retains...
Trump faces unprecedented legal peril, but will it hurt his standing with Republican voters?
DES MOINES, Iowa — In March, when Donald Trump became the first former president in U.S. history indicted on criminal charges, his reelection campaign saw a huge surge in donations. Even political rivals rushed to support him. There was no dent in his front-runner status after the state charges in...
Some in Georgia GOP seek purity test as Trump appears at convention
ATLANTA — Georgia’s state Republican convention gets underway Friday with Donald Trump still expected on Saturday, even as a right-wing party faction seeks to punish GOP officials it considers ideological traitors by banning them from future primary election ballots. Trump could feed an air of vengeance after announcing Thursday that...
Republican Joe Rockey picks up key labor endorsements in Allegheny County executive race
The Republican candidate for Allegheny County executive picked up a rare, but not unprecedented, endorsement from a large labor union on Thursday. The Pennsylvania District Council of the Laborers International Union of North America endorsed Republican Joe Rockey, a retired chief risk officer at PNC. He is facing state Rep....
N.D. Gov. Doug Burgum launches bid for 2024 GOP presidential nomination
FARGO, N.D. — North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum has announced his candidacy for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, adding his name to the long list of contenders hoping to dent former President Donald Trump’s early lead in the race. Burgum, 66, made the announcement in the The Wall Street Journal...
Pence says ‘Different times call for different leadership’ in video launching 2024 presidential bidVideo
DES MOINES, Iowa — Former Vice President Mike Pence promised “the best days of the greatest nation on earth are yet to come” in a video released Wednesday formally launching his campaign for the Republican nomination for president. “Different times call for different leadership,” Pence, who served four years alongside...
Mike Pence to launch campaign for president in Iowa June 7
NEW YORK — Former Vice President Mike Pence will officially launch his widely expected campaign for the Republican nomination for president in Iowa next week, adding another candidate to the growing GOP field and putting him in direct competition with his former boss. Pence will hold a kickoff event in...
Nikki Haley’s husband to deploy with National Guard to Africa as she seeks 2024 GOP nomination
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Nikki Haley’s husband will soon begin a yearlong deployment with the South Carolina Army National Guard to Africa, a mission that will encompass most of the remainder of his wife’s campaign for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. A formal deployment ceremony will likely happen in the next...
DeSantis looks to connect with voters during 1st full day of campaigning in Iowa
SALIX, Iowa — Ron DeSantis was making a four-stop blitz through Iowa during his first full day of presidential campaigning on Wednesday, aiming for a personal connection with voters while intensifying his criticism of former President Donald Trump. The Florida governor’s first stop was the floor of Port Neal Welding...
Westmoreland County Elections Bureau approves write-in results
Westmoreland voters submitted 18,000 write-in votes in the May 16 primary, a county official said Tuesday. The 2023 count for candidates in county, township and borough offices — along with school boards — topped the 12,000 write-in votes that were offered in the November 2022 election, said Greg McCloskey, director...
Haley commits to federal abortion ban but says it’s unlikely without more Republicans in Congress
MANCHESTER, N.H. — Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley on Wednesday pledged to sign a federal ban on abortion but noted that passing one would be highly unlikely without more Republicans in Congress. Although Haley didn’t say how many weeks a federal ban should encompass, her commitment to signing one is...
Zappala gets enough Republican write-in votes to become eligible for GOP nomination
Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. lost his Democratic primary race last week, but the county’s Election Return Board said he received nearly 9,700 write-in votes from Republicans — making him eligible for the GOP nomination if he wants it. Zappala, a longtime Democrat, was defeated in the...
Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s return to Capitol has been closely watched. Can she still do her job?
WASHINGTON — For seven months in 1988, Joe Biden was absent from the Senate, recovering from operations to repair brain aneurysms. The first lasted eight hours. Three months later, a second aneurysm sent him back to surgery. The Delaware senator’s convalescence was so guarded that he wouldn’t take phone calls...
Sen. Tim Scott makes it official: He’s a GOP candidate for president
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina made it official Friday: He’s running for president. Scott, the Senate’s only Black Republican, filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission declaring his intention to seek his party’s nomination in 2024. His candidacy will test whether a more optimistic vision of...
Mail-in ballots drive Westmoreland primary voter turnout
Nearly 29% of all votes cast in Tuesday’s primary election in Westmoreland County were submitted through the mail, according to election officials. Just shy of 18,000 ballots were cast by mail in addition to the more than 44,700 Democrats and Republicans who cast votes in person at the county’s 307...
