Politics Election category, Page 184
Democrat wins Arizona attorney general race after recount
PHOENIX — A recount of votes has confirmed Democrat Kris Mayes narrowly defeated Republican Abraham Hamadeh in the Arizona attorney general’s race, one of the closest elections in state history. The highly anticipated results announced Thursday in Maricopa County Superior Court are among the last in the country to come...
Jan. 6 panel drops Trump subpoena as it wraps up work
WASHINGTON — The House Jan. 6 committee has dropped its subpoena against former President Donald Trump as it wraps up work and prepares to dissolve next week. Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson, the committee’s Democratic chairman, wrote in a letter to Trump lawyer David Warrington on Wednesday that he is formally...
Gov. Wolf ends term with strong ratings after tumultuous times
HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Wolf will wrap up eight years in office next month, having steered Pennsylvania through unpredictable times when the Democrat made life-and-death decisions in the ravaging covid-19 pandemic and managed the battleground state’s presidential election amid unprecedented Republican efforts to overturn it. Wolf, 74, leaves office with...
N.Y. Rep.-elect George Santos investigated for lying about his past
NEW YORK — U.S. Rep.-elect George Santos of New York was under investigation by Long Island prosecutors on Wednesday, after revelations surfaced that the now-embattled Republican lied about his heritage, education and professional pedigree as he campaigned for office. Despite intensifying doubt about his fitness to hold federal office, Santos...
Khari Mosley announces candidacy for Pittsburgh City Council
A staple of Pittsburgh campaign circles is throwing his own hat into the ring for a Pittsburgh City Council race in the city’s East End. Khari Mosley is running for Pittsburgh City Council in District 9, which includes East Hills, East Liberty, Garfield, Homewood, Lincoln-Lemington, Stanton Heights and part of...
Pat Toomey looks back at his years in the Senate, gives his thoughts on taxes, Trump, the filibuster and Fetterman
In his 12 years in the U.S. Senate, it shouldn’t be a surprise that Pat Toomey considers his part in getting the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 passed his biggest accomplishment. The act was the first sweeping federal tax legislation since Ronald Reagan was president during the 1980s....
Private emails, encryption app used in discussing Florida’s migrant relocations
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Newly released records from Gov. Ron DeSantis confirmed that his public safety czar, Larry Keefe, communicated with a Destin-based contractor hired to fly migrants from Texas to Massachusetts using a private email account with the call name “Clarice Starling.” They also confirmed that he used an encryption...
First Congress revealed Biden’s generational ambition
WASHINGTON — When he ran for the White House, Joe Biden told voters his presidency would be a bridge to the next generation. His first two years on the job have revealed it to be a much more ambitious venture. As he nears the halfway mark on his first term,...
New York Rep.-elect George Santos admits lying about career, college
WASHINGTON — Rep.-elect George Santos, R-N.Y., admitted Monday that he lied about his job experience and college education during his successful campaign for a seat in the U.S. House. In an interview with the New York Post, Santos said: “My sins here are embellishing my resume. I’m sorry.” He also...
Judge rejects Kari Lake’s bid to overturn Arizona election
A judge in Arizona rejected a bid by Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake to throw out the results of the November election she lost, calling her claims of misconduct by election workers “speculation” that she had failed to prove. During a two-day hearing that ended Thursday, Lake’s attorneys claimed that...
On a new map, Pennsylvania elects most diverse assembly ever
HARRISBURG — When mapmakers reimagined the boundaries of Pennsylvania’s 253 legislative districts, they did it with an eye on the state’s growing racial and ethnic minorities, and officials say that has helped yield the most diverse incoming class of lawmakers yet. The number of state lawmakers who are Black, Latino...
GOP stumbles with independents contributed to midterm woes
EAGAN, Minn. — As Republican Tyler Kistner’s closing ad aired last month in one of the most competitive congressional districts in the U.S., Vickie Klang felt that something was missing. The 58-year-old veterinary technician and self-described independent voter watched as the 30-second spot showed grainy black-and-white images of President Joe...
Josh Shapiro’s win is high note amid antisemitism surge
PITTSBURGH — Josh Shapiro will be taking office as Pennsylvania’s next governor in January after running a campaign in which he spoke early and often about his Jewish religious heritage. At a time of rising concern about overt expressions of antisemitism, some observers are seeing a bright spot in his...
Rep. Conor Lamb reflects on Capitol riot and aftermath as he departs office
As U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb’s tenure comes to a close, he has not been able to shake the memory of the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot. “On that day, it just felt like an attack on our country,” he said. The Democrat from Mt. Lebanon will be leaving office come...
What Josh Shapiro’s transition team says about how he’ll govern, and why some picks are raising eyebrows
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 — The transition team helping Gov.-elect Josh Shapiro prepare for office is wide-ranging and, in some cases, controversial, offering a...
Jan. 6 panel releases report, describes Trump ‘conspiracy’
WASHINGTON — The House Jan. 6 committee’s final report asserts that Donald Trump criminally engaged in a “multi-part conspiracy” to overturn the lawful results of the 2020 presidential election and failed to act to stop his supporters from attacking the Capitol, concluding an extraordinary 18-month investigation into the former president...
Pittsburgh controller candidate calls out Elon Musk after moving drag campaign event following online harassment
A Democratic candidate for Pittsburgh city controller said she moved a recent campaign event to a private location after being harassed following a post by a controversial, right-wing Twitter account. In response, Rachael Heisler is criticizing Twitter CEO Elon Musk and questioning why a new safety policy on the social...
Rep.-elect George Santos says he’ll address questions
NEW YORK — A newly elected New York Republican whose life story has come under question since his election to the U.S. House of Representatives said Thursday that he plans to respond to the concerns. In a statement on Twitter, Rep.-elect George Santos said, “I have my story to tell...
Senate passes $1.7 trillion bill to fund goverment, aid UkraineVideo
WASHINGTON — The Senate passed a massive $1.7 trillion spending bill Thursday that finances federal agencies through September and provides another significant round of military and economic aid to Ukraine one day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s dramatic address to a joint meeting of Congress. The bill, which runs for...
Key Jan. 6 witness Cassidy Hutchinson says lawyer sought to influence testimony
WASHINGTON — Former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson described to the House Jan. 6 committee a wide-ranging pressure campaign from Donald Trump’s allies aimed at influencing her cooperation with Congress and stifling potentially damaging testimony about him. In extraordinary closed-door testimony made public Thursday, Hutchinson recounted how those in the...
House OKs bill on IRS audits of presidents
WASHINGON — The House took action Thursday after disclosures that the IRS never fully reviewed Donald Trump’s tax returns during his presidency, passing a bill that would require audits of any president’s income tax filings. The legislation would turn what had been a long-standing post-Watergate norm into established federal policy....
Newspaper: Georgia congressman may have illegally voted
ATLANTA — A Georgia congressman voted three times this year in a county where he no longer lives, possibly violating state law, state records show. Republican U.S. Rep. Drew Ferguson’s congressional website shows he lives with his wife in The Rock, 63 miles away from his former home in West...
Jan. 6 panel prepares to release final report on insurrectionVideo
WASHINGTON — An 800-page report set to be released by House investigators will conclude that then-President Donald Trump criminally plotted to overturn his 2020 election defeat and “provoked his supporters to violence” at the Capitol with false claims of widespread voter fraud. The resulting Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection of Trump’s...
Losing candidate calls for ethics probe of New York Rep.-elect George Santos over fake résumé reports
NEW YORK — The Democratic candidate who lost a Long Island congressional seat to Rep.-elect George Santos says the incoming GOP lawmaker should face major investigations over shocking reports he faked big chunks of his résumé. Robert Zimmerman, who lost the blue-leaning 3rd District seat to Santos in an upset,...
Special election candidates selected for 3 state House races in Allegheny County
The fields have been set in three pivotal special elections in Allegheny County, with the local branches of the Democratic and Republican parties selecting their candidates in the races. The Allegheny County GOP on Saturday selected its three candidates for the upcoming special elections in the 32nd, 34th, and 35th...
