Politics Election category, Page 189
Mehmet Oz picks up key endorsement from national business organization for his ‘pro-growth’ views
When it comes to who should be a voice for Pennsylvania in the U.S. Senate for the next six years, the world’s largest business organization has chosen Republican candidate Mehmet Oz. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday announced it was endorsing Oz in the hotly contested race against Democrat...
Doug Mastriano said in 2019 that women who violate an abortion ban should be charged with murder
Doug Mastriano, the Republican nominee for Pennsylvania governor, suggested in 2019 that women who violate an abortion ban he proposed should be charged with murder, a position considered far outside the political mainstream. In a radio interview with WITF, Mastriano — then a state senator — was asked about legislation...
Explainer: Doug Mastriano’s plan for Pennsylvania school choice
HARRISBURG — During his campaign, Republican Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano has alluded to proposals that would be a transformative overhaul of the state’s more than $30 billion K-12 education system, with public dollars eligible to fund students’ private education. Mastriano’s sometimes conflicting statements have overall shown an effort to...
Clergy strive to reconcile politically divided congregations
One member of Rabbi David Wolpe’s diverse congregation left because Wolpe would not preach sermons criticizing Donald Trump. Scores of others left over resentment with the synagogue’s rules for combating covid-19. But Wolpe remains steadfast in his resolve to avoid politics when he preaches at Sinai Temple in Los Angeles....
Mitch McConnell backs post-Jan. 6 revisions to elections lawVideo
WASHINGTON — Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday he will “proudly support” legislation to overhaul rules for certifying presidential elections, bolstering a bipartisan effort to revise a 19th century law and avoid another Jan. 6 insurrection. The legislation would clarify and expand parts of the 1887 Electoral Count Act,...
CBO: Biden’s student debt plan would cost $400 billion over 30 years
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s plan for student debt cancellation will cost the federal government about $400 billion over the next 30 years, according to new estimates from the Congressional Budget Office. The figures were released Monday in response to a request from Republican lawmakers who oppose Biden’s plan in...
Pa. election 2022: No constitutional amendments on Nov. 8 ballot, but big ones are looming
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 voters will not see any proposed constitutional amendments on this year’s November ballot, but that is almost certain...
Pa. election 2022: How to serve as a poll worker on Nov. 8
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 — When Pennsylvania holds its 2022 general election in November, thousands of poll workers will ensure that voting runs smoothly....
Former N.J. governor, U.S. rep James Florio dies at 85
TRENTON, N.J. — Former New Jersey Gov. James Florio, who championed a plan that substantially raised the state’s sales and income taxes leading to his reelection defeat in 1993, died Sunday. He was 85. His law partner Doug Steinhardt and current New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy confirmed Florio died in...
Bills would curtail objections at future Jan. 6 vote counts
WASHINGTON — Members of Congress have officially objected to the results in four of the past six presidential elections, a partisan practice that has been legal for over a century but became much more fraught after a violent mob of then-President Donald Trump’s supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol last year....
Poll: Most Democrats say ditch Biden as 2024 nominee; Trump is preferred candidate among Republicans
A majority of U.S. Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents want the party to replace President Joe Biden as its nominee in the 2024 presidential election, according to a Washington Post-ABC poll reported on Sunday. Just 35% of this group prefer Biden for the nomination, while 56% say the Democratic Party should...
Libertarian candidate for governor brings campaign to Unity
Matt Hackenburg didn’t plan to run for governor. But, he said, when his Libertarian Party nominated him, he decided, “I have a message to spread, and it’s my duty to do so.” Hackenburg, 37, an avionics engineer and National Guard veteran from Bangor, favors decriminalizing all drugs and prostitution. He...
Kevin McCarthy, Marjorie Taylor Greene, others visit Monongahela to unveil House GOP’s midterm agenda
MONONGAHELA — House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy and some other big Republican names stopped by a manufacturing facility in Monongahela on Friday to reveal the House GOP’s “Commitment to America.” The GOP leader — along with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.), Rep. Steve Scalise (La.), Rep. Jim Jordan (Ohio) and...
Proposal to help publishers negotiate with Big Tech advances in Senate
A prominent Republican and Democrat came together Thursday to strike a deal over a proposal aimed at helping local and smaller news outlets level the playing field with tech giants such as Google and Facebook, according to a report by The Hill. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and U.S. Sen....
Looming election jolts Harrisburg into action as Pa. lawmakers pass a flurry of bills, cash in on fundraisers
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 — Horse-trading, nose-holding, and a whole lot of cash. The Pennsylvania Capitol this week jolted into action with just six...
Trump allies create a new super PAC called MAGA Inc.
NEW YORK — Top allies of former President Donald Trump are creating a new super PAC that’s expected to serve as the main vehicle for his midterm spending and could become a key part of his campaign infrastructure should he move forward with a 2024 White House run. The political...
Oz releases health records to spotlight Fetterman’s stroke
Dr. Mehmet Oz, the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, released his health records as he maneuvers to keep questions about Democratic rival John Fetterman’s recovery from a stroke front and center in the hotly contested campaign. Dr. Rebecca Kurth in New York City wrote in a four-page letter...
House passes election law overhaul in response to Jan. 6Video
WASHINGTON — The House has passed legislation to overhaul the rules for certifying the results of a presidential election as lawmakers accelerate their response to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and Donald Trump’s failed attempt to remain in power. The bill, which is similar to bipartisan legislation moving through the...
Sen. Joe Manchin rails against ‘revenge politics’ on permit planVideo
WASHINGTON — Sen. Joe Manchin on Tuesday railed against what he called “revenge politics,” as liberals in the House and Senate team up with Republicans to oppose his plan to speed permits for natural gas pipelines and other energy projects. Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat who chairs the Senate Energy...
Ad spending shows Dems hinging midterm hopes on abortion
WASHINGTON — Democrats are pumping an unprecedented amount of money into advertising related to abortion rights, underscoring how central the message is to the party in the final weeks before the November midterm elections. With the most intense period of campaigning only just beginning, Democrats have already invested more than...
Josh Shapiro rallies in Pittsburgh, vows to create more labor protections for Pa. workers if elected governor
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Josh Shapiro said Monday during a campaign rally in Pittsburgh that he would work to create more labor protections for Pennsylvania workers if elected governor in November. Shapiro, the state’s attorney general, faces Republican state Sen. Doug Mastriano in the general election. On Monday, Shapiro visited the...
In letter released by Shapiro campaign, 60 veterans blast Doug Mastriano’s Confederate uniform photo as ‘shameful’
A group of nearly 60 veterans from Pennsylvania signed a letter deriding Republican candidate for governor Doug Mastriano for being photographed wearing a Confederate Army uniform, calling it “shameful” and saying it’s “an insult to those of us who served and those who continue to serve.” The letter, released by...
Texas Sen. John Cornyn leads Senate GOP push for special counsel in Hunter Biden probeVideo
WASHINGTON — Sen. John Cornyn of Texas and 32 other Senate Republicans are demanding special counsel powers for the prosecutor investigating Hunter Biden, warning Attorney General Merrick Garland to take steps needed to avert political meddling on behalf of the president’s son. “There is no way of knowing the entire...
GOP congressional candidate Jeremy Shaffer picks up U.S. Chamber of Commerce endorsement in key race
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has endorsed Republican Jeremy Shaffer in a key race to represent part of suburban Pittsburgh in the U.S. House. Shaffer, an engineer and former Ross commissioner who founded a software company focused on infrastructure, said he was honored to be endorsed by one of the...
Biden: Classified documents at Mar-a-Lago raise concernsVideo
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden says the discovery of top-secret documents at former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate raised concerns that sensitive data was compromised and called it “irresponsible.” Biden, who rarely does interviews, spoke to CBS’ “60 Minutes” in a segment that aired Sunday. He said that when he...
