Politics Election category, Page 190
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...
Voter challenges, records requests swamp election offices
Spurred by conspiracy theories about the 2020 presidential election, activists across the country are using laws that allow people to challenge a voter’s right to cast a ballot to contest the registrations of thousands of voters at a time. In Iowa, Linn County Auditor Joel Miller had handled three voter...
Pennsylvania’s high-stakes U.S. Senate race between Oz, Fetterman tightens
After a bruising primary that saw Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz emerge as the GOP nominee by less than 1,000 votes, the celebrity surgeon and TV personality’s general-election campaign got off to a slow start. That left an opening for Democratic nominee John Fetterman to define Oz early...
Trump openly embraces, amplifies QAnon conspiracy theoriesVideo
After winking at QAnon for years, Donald Trump is overtly embracing the baseless conspiracy theory, even as the number of frightening real-world events linked to it grows. On Tuesday, using his Truth Social platform, the Republican former president reposted an image of himself wearing a Q lapel pin overlaid with...
Bill would let people ban themselves from buying booze in Pennsylvania
A state lawmaker who has publicly shared his struggles with alcoholism wants to enlist the help of state liquor stores and restaurants and bars that serve liquor as tools to help individuals like him in their recovery. Rep. Matt Dowling, R-Fayette/Somerset counties, introduced legislation that would allow individuals to voluntarily...
U.S. Senate candidates Fetterman, Oz to debate in late October
After repeated calls from his challenger for multiple debates in Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate election, Democratic candidate and Lt. Gov. John Fetterman has agreed to participate in one debate in late October. Fetterman’s campaign said Wednesday that the Democratic nominee has committed to an Oct. 25 debate hosted by Nexstar, a...
Oz backs U.S. Senate bill to protect same-sex marriage rights
Pennsylvania U.S. Senate candidate Mehmet Oz has joined more than 400 Republican leaders who are calling on the Senate to pass legislation to protect marriage rights for same-sex couples. Same-sex marriage was legalized in 2015 after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Obergefell v. Hodges decision, but Justice Clarence Thomas hinted this...
West Virginia lawmakers OK abortion ban with few exceptionsVideo
CHARLESTON — West Virginia’s Legislature passed a sweeping abortion ban with few exceptions Tuesday, approving a bill that several members of the Republican supermajority said they hope will make it impossible for the state’s only abortion clinic to continue to offer the procedure. “It is going to shut down that...
GOP’s Lindsey Graham unveils nationwide abortion ban after 15 weeksVideo
WASHINGTON — Upending the political debate, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham introduced a nationwide abortion ban Tuesday, sending shockwaves through both parties and igniting fresh debate on a fraught issue weeks before the midterm elections that will determine control of Congress. Graham’s own Republican party leaders did not immediately embrace his...
What’s left as Jan. 6 panel sprints to year-end finish
WASHINGTON — With only three months left in the year, the House Jan. 6 committee is eyeing a close to its work and a final report laying out its findings about the U.S. Capitol insurrection. But the investigation is not over. The committee has already revealed much of its work...
They tried to modernize Congress. Now time is running out
WASHINGTON — They are the oddballs and the true believers on Capitol Hill, the ones who think civility is possible in these uncivil times. For four years, they have worked to “fix Congress” — and tried to live by their own advice. It came close to falling apart. Cool reflection...
Twitter whistleblower brings his critiques to Congress
WASHINGTON — A former security chief at Twitter told Congress that the social media platform is plagued by weak cyber defenses, privacy threats and the inability to control millions of fake accounts. Peiter “Mudge” Zatko, a respected cybersecurity expert, appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee to lay out his allegations...
Census meddling is targeted in bill, recommendations
Democratic lawmakers intent on making sure that unprecedented efforts by the Trump administration to politicize the 2020 census never happen again are moving forward with plans for safeguards they say will help the U.S. head count stay free of future interference. Democratic House members are preparing this week to send...
Debate talks in Pennsylvania governor, Senate races devolve into trash talk, predawn tweets
They can’t even agree on when, where or how to disagree. In two of the most important races in the country, Pennsylvania’s candidates for U.S. Senate and governor are hurling insults at each other over what was once a relatively routine process: negotiating a time and place for debates. Mehmet...
Pa. election 2022: Your complete guide to the candidates for governor
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 2022 election for Pennsylvania governor is coming soon, and Spotlight PA wants to make sure you are prepared...
Pa. high court tells Wolf it won’t fast track amendments lawsuit
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s highest court on Monday rejected a request from Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf that it immediately take up his challenge to Republican legislation that has bundled a constitutional amendment regarding abortion with four unrelated proposed changes. In turning down Wolf’s request, the justices said he was free to...
‘Women are the reason we can win,’ John Fetterman says at abortion rights rally
John Fetterman looked out at a gymnasium packed with people wearing bright pink “Fetterwoman” T-shirts and predicted that women would be the difference-maker in his closely watched Senate race. “Women are the reason we can win,” Fetterman said in Blue Bell. “Lemme say that again: Women are the reason we...
Doug Mastriano’s security bubble insulates him from prying eyes and dissenting views
On a weekday afternoon in late August, Doug Mastriano’s campaign bus pulled up outside Gatsby’s Bar & Grill in suburban Philadelphia just after 1 p.m. The words “Restore Freedom” were emblazoned on the side over a red outline of Pennsylvania. It had been billed as a meet-and-greet. Enthusiastic Republicans were...
Fighting bogus claims a growing priority in election offices
Election officials preparing for the rapidly approaching midterm elections have one more headache: trying to combat misinformation that sows distrust about voting and results while fueling vitriol aimed at rank-and-file election workers. Some states and counties are devoting more money or staff to a problem that has only grown more...
Joe Manchin’s big energy deal attracts pushback from many Democrats
WASHINGTON — Democrats desperately needed the vote of Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia to get their signature legislative priority across the finish line. So they did what Washington does best: They cut a deal. To help land his support for a bill hailed by advocacy groups as the biggest...
Chief Justice John Roberts defends legitimacy of court
DENVER — Chief Justice John Roberts defended the authority of the Supreme Court to interpret the Constitution, saying its role should not be called into question just because people disagree with its decisions. When asked to reflect on the last year at the court in his first public appearance since...
Wolf administration expands access to voter registration forms ahead of election
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 will now offer voter registration forms at libraries, state park offices and state-run veterans homes, among other locations,...
Judge tosses Trump’s Russia probe suit against Clinton, FBI
WASHINGTON — A federal judge in Florida has dismissed Donald Trump’s lawsuit against 2016 Democratic rival Hillary Clinton and former top FBI officials, rejecting the former president’s claims that they and others acted in concert to concoct the Russia investigation that shadowed much of his administration. U.S. District Judge Donald...
Amid campaign, Mastriano’s disputed dissertation made public
HARRISBURG — A Canadian university has quietly made public Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano’s 2013 doctoral thesis about a legendary World War I hero, including six pages of recently added corrections that, in some cases, do not appear to fix anything. Researchers who have long criticized Mastriano’s investigation into U.S....
