Politics Election category, Page 175
Kevin McCarthy defends giving Tucker Carlson Jan. 6 trove accessVideo
WASHINGTON — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is defending his decision to give Fox News’ Tucker Carlson “exclusive” access to Jan. 6 security footage of the Capitol attack, despite the conservative commentator’s own work raising false claims and conspiracy theories about the 2021 riot over Joe Biden’s election. McCarthy vowed Tuesday...
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee vows to sign anti-drag bill as photo surfacesVideo
NASHVILLE — Republican Gov. Bill Lee says it would be “ridiculous” to conflate a recently surfaced yearbook photo of him wearing women’s clothing in high school to drag show performances currently under attack in Tennessee and other GOP-led states. Lee told reporters this week that he plans to sign legislation...
Tennessee GOP Rep. Andy Ogles admits he was ‘mistaken’ on college degreeVideo
NASHVILLE — Tennessee U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles says he was “mistaken” when he said he graduated with an international relations degree after a local news outlet raised questions over whether the Republican had embellished his education. Ogles said this week he wasn’t made aware of the mistake until he requested...
McClinton voted Pa. speaker; first Black woman to win post
Philadelphia state Rep. Joanna McClinton on Tuesday became the first woman to serve as speaker of the Pennsylvania House, ascending to the chamber’s top position on the strength of a fresh one-vote Democratic majority. The leadership reshuffling came nearly two months after Rep. Mark Rozzi, a Berks County Democrat, became...
Joanna McClinton elected first female speaker of the Pa. House as Mark Rozzi steps down
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — Democrat Joanna McClinton was elected the first female speaker of the Pennsylvania House on Tuesday after Mark Rozzi stepped...
Biden sketching dire picture of GOP desire to cut spending
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is aiming to use the leadup to the release of his proposed budget next week to sketch a dire picture of what could happen to U.S. health care if congressional Republicans had their way with federal spending. The Democratic president is traveling to Virginia Beach,...
White House promises crackdown on migrant child laborVideo
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration said Monday that it is creating a new task force to crack down on an explosion of the illegal exploitation of migrant children for labor in the U.S. Hundreds of companies that employed nearly 4,000 children last year were found in violation of federal labor...
John Fetterman ‘on path to recovery,’ will be out for more weeks
WASHINGTON — A spokesman for Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman says the Democrat is “on a path to recovery” after checking himself into a hospital for clinical depression earlier this month, and he is still expected to be away from the Senate for several weeks. “We understand the intense interest in...
Rupert Murdoch knew Fox News hosts endorsed false election fraud claims, depositions showVideo
NEW YORK — New court documents show that Rupert Murdoch and his top lieutenants at Fox News were aware that former President Trump’s claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election were false, but agreed to give them continued coverage in an effort to keep its unhappy viewers from fleeing....
West Virginia GOP majority House OKs religious freedom bill
CHARLESTON — West Virginia’s GOP supermajority House of Delegates passed a bill Monday that would create a test for courts to apply when people challenge government regulations they believe interfere with their constitutional right to religious freedom. The bill passed after several Democrats expressed concern that the proposal could be...
Florida Gov. DeSantis takes over Disney district, punishing company
TALLAHASSEE — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday signed a bill that gives him control of Walt Disney World’s self-governing district, punishing the company over its opposition to the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law. The bill requires DeSantis, a Republican, to appoint a five-member board to oversee the government services...
Pa. House preparing to consider critical chamber rules
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania House Speaker Mark Rozzi, D-Berks County, says he will introduce chamber rules this week that would give Republicans...
Williamson becomes Democratic primary’s 1st Biden challenger
WASHINGTON — Bestselling self-help author Marianne Williamson, who brought quirky spiritualism to the 2020 presidential race, has announced she’s running for president again, becoming the first major Democrat to challenge President Joe Biden for his party’s nomination in 2024. Williamson is formally kicking off her campaign with an event in...
GOP leaders, stung by losses, plan to wade into Senate races
WASHINGTON — A football legend who held a gun to his ex-wife’s head. Rivals who nearly brawled during a televised debate. A venture capitalist who voiced sympathy for the Unabomber. And that’s just to name a few. Republican Senate primaries in several pivotal states last year exuded a carnival-like aura,...
Trans people face ‘horrifying’ rhetoric at statehouses
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — It was pharmacist Gwendolyn Herzig’s first time testifying before a legislative committee when she spoke to several Arkansas lawmakers in a packed hearing room this month about a bill restricting gender-affirming care for minors. Herzig, who is transgender, spoke out against the legislation and told the...
DeSantis moves toward GOP presidential bid on his own terms
NEW YORK — Republican presidential contenders typically fight for prime speaking slots at the Conservative Political Action Conference. But as conservative activists gather in suburban Washington this week, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will be courting donors more than a thousand miles away in Texas and California. The apparent CPAC snub...
Failing at polls, election deniers focus on state GOP posts
PARKER, Colo — In a basement event space in the Denver suburb of Parker, Tina Peters surveyed a crowd of Colorado Republicans last week and made an unusual pitch for why she should become chair of their beleaguered party: “There’s no way a jury of 12 people is going to...
Experts: Senate job not to blame for Fetterman health concerns
The eyes of the country were watching Democratic U.S. Sen. John Fetterman as the former Braddock mayor and Pennsylvania lieutenant governor took office in January, just months after his recovery from a life-threatening stroke. Just weeks into the job, Fetterman checked himself into the hospital in early February for tests...
Some Democratic-led states seek to bolster voter protections
WASHINGTON — Lawmakers in several Democratic-controlled states are advocating sweeping voter protections this year, reacting to what they view as a broad undermining of voting rights by the Supreme Court and Republican-led states as well as a failed effort in Congress to bolster access to the polls. Legislators in Connecticut,...
Nikki Haley keeping early 2024 fundraising numbers quiet
CHARLESTON, S.C. — Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley had a busy first week as an official 2024 presidential candidate, announcing in her native state, then hustling to early voting New Hampshire and Iowa and going on a media blitz. But as fundraising starts to build for the potential GOP...
Biden ready to run, U.S. first lady says
NAIROBI, Kenya— U.S. first lady Jill Biden gave one of the clearest indications yet that President Joe Biden will run for a second term, telling The Associated Press in an exclusive interview on Friday that there’s “pretty much” nothing left to do but figure out the time and place for...
DeSantis leads Trump by wide margin in California as primary race starts, poll finds
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has surged to a lead among California Republicans over former President Donald Trump for the party’s 2024 presidential nomination, a poll released Friday found. About 37% of GOP voters backed DeSantis, while 29% preferred Trump, according to the new UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll...
Gisele Fetterman shares window into family since husband’s hospitalization
After U.S. Sen. John Fetterman last week checked himself into a hospital for clinical depression treatment, his wife, Gisele, found her home circled by media trucks. In a series of tweets Friday morning, Gisele Fetterman explained how her children were home from school and her home surrounded by press when...
Allegheny County voter turnout rises with a boost from mail-in voting
Allegheny County cast more votes in the November election than any other Pennsylvania county — surpassing even Philadelphia, which has about 350,000 more residents and 100,000 more registered voters. Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald said the county’s robust efforts to help people vote by mail were a key factor. Fitzgerald...
Florida bill would end diversity programs, ban majors, shift power at universities
A bill filed this week in the Florida House would turn many of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ wide-ranging ideas on higher education into law by limiting diversity efforts, vastly expanding the powers of university boards and altering course offerings. House Bill 999, filed by Rep. Alex Andrade, R-Pensacola, proposes leaving all...
