Politics Election category, Page 203
Once conflicted, Biden embraces role as abortion defender
WASHINGTON — Soon after being elected to the U.S. Senate, Joe Biden was pulled aside by a Democratic colleague who wanted to know how he was going to vote on abortion. Biden explained that while he was personally opposed to abortion and would resist federal funding for the procedure, he...
Donations pouring in for abortion rights organizations
Abortion advocacy groups said they saw their donations grow exponentially after a draft opinion leaked revealing that the U.S. Supreme Court soon intended to reverse its landmark Roe v. Wade decision. The reproductive-rights group NARAL Pro Choice America on Tuesday said it received a 1,403% spike in donations in the...
Attacks dominate Pennsylvania’s Senate GOP primary debate
HARRISBURG — What could be the final primary debate between Republicans running for Pennsylvania’s open U.S. Senate seat devolved into a string of attacks over China, abortion and more as the candidates stretched Wednesday night for any perceived advantage in a wide-open and expensive race. In many cases, the five...
Arizona officials blast Attorney General Mark Brnovich for election report
PHOENIX — Republican officials who oversee elections in Maricopa County issued a blistering retort Wednesday to GOP Attorney General Mark Brnovich accusing the state’s top lawman of abusing his position and misleading the public about the 2020 election to advance his U.S. Senate campaign. The county officials issued a nine-page...
Gov. Wolf calls draft opinion to overturn Roe v. Wade ‘un-American and unacceptable’
Gov. Tom Wolf said he is angry that a leaked draft ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court outlines an effort to overturn the Roe v. Wade abortion rights ruling Wolf, along with a group of lawmakers and reproductive rights advocates, met in Philadelphia on Wednesday to criticize the draft opinion...
Biden blasts ‘radical’ Roe draft, warns other rights at risk
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Tuesday blasted a “radical” draft Supreme Court opinion that would throw out the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion rights ruling that has stood for a half century and warned that other rights including same-sex marriage and birth control are at risk if the court...
Florida lawmakers suspect Gov. Ron DeSantis wants to take control of Disney World’s government
ORLANDO, Fla. — Central Florida lawmakers suspect Gov. Ron DeSantis is planning to replace Disney World’s special government district with a new one that he would control. DeSantis hasn’t released a plan for the future of the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which is set to be dissolved on June 1,...
Herschel Walker, other candidates test skipping debates
Herschel Walker is expected to skip a second debate against his Republican rivals for a crucial U.S. Senate seat on Tuesday after missing the first one. Ted Budd has skipped four Republican primary debates in his bid for a U.S. Senate seat in North Carolina. GOP candidates for governor in...
Trump endorsement divides Republicans in deep-red Nebraska
OMAHA, Neb. — In one of the nation’s most overwhelmingly Republican states, the party is entering the final stretch of a bruising primary campaign deeply divided over who should become the nominee for governor. Nearly all of Nebraska’s GOP establishment leaders are lining up behind businessman Jim Pillen, believing he...
2 Democrats, 3 Republicans vying for outgoing U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb’s seat in Congress
Two Democrats and three Republicans are vying for their parties’ nominations in the race to replace U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb in the 17th Congressional District, which includes Beaver County and parts of Butler and Allegheny counties. Lamb, a Democrat from Mt. Lebanon, is vying for a seat in the U.S....
Democrats hone populist appeal with proposed stock trading ban
WASHINGTON — When Rep. Abigail Spanberger first introduced a bill banning stock trading by members of Congress and their families, the Virginia Democrat managed to get only eight co-sponsors. So far this session, 62 — or about one out of every seven House members — have signed on. It’s a...
Why independents can’t vote for candidates this May, and the push to change that
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 Diana Dakey registered to vote in Pennsylvania, she chose to tick the box that would leave her without...
GOP election-deniers elevate races for secretary of state
ATLANTA — Add one more group of contests to the white-hot races for Congress and governor that will dominate this year’s midterm elections: secretaries of state. Former President Donald Trump’s attempts to reverse the results of the 2020 election and his subsequent endorsements of candidates for state election offices who...
Corman vows to undo Wolf administration plans to toll bridges to fund repairs
Republican gubernatorial candidate Jake Corman pushed back on the Wolf administration’s plans to toll nine bridges across the state and called on the governor to halt the process, while also promising to undo the process if he is elected. “We have a transportation issue we need to resolve in Pennsylvania,...
A complete guide to the May 17 primary
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. More than a few things have changed since Pennsylvanians last went to the polls. Your congressional and legislative districts might be...
Mitch McConnell miscalculated Republican impeachment count against Trump, book says
WASHINGTON — Mitch McConnell thought the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol would finally vanquish former President Donald Trump, initially predicting that at least 17 Republican senators would vote to convict him in his impeachment trial, barring the former president from running again. He was wrong. McConnell’s miscalculation is...
Oklahoma House sends Texas-style abortion ban to governor
OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma House gave final approval on Thursday to a Texas-style abortion ban that prohibits the procedure after about six weeks of pregnancy, before many women know they are pregnant. The bill approved by the GOP-led House on a 68-12 vote without discussion or debate now heads...
Butler County township backtracks on political sign ordinance after 1st Amendment complaint
Residents of Butler County’s Connoquenessing Township can display political signs on their property without restrictions or without having to obtain a permit, thanks to a resident lodging a complaint with the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania. Connoquenessing, like several municipalities in Butler County, has a political sign ordinance that...
4 leading GOP governor candidates look for ways to differentiate themselves in latest debate
The four leading Republican primary candidates for governor agreed on the questions they faced in an hourlong debate Wednesday night inside the WHTM/abc27 studio in Harrisburg, so much of the time was spent trying to separate themselves from their opponents. State Sen. Doug Mastriano took frequent jabs at Tom Wolf...
Democratic lawmaker: Biden suggests he’ll ease student loan burden
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has signaled he might forgive some student loan debt and further extend the federal moratorium on repayments, a lawmaker who discussed the issue with him said Wednesday. The White House was notably more measured about Biden’s stance, but such moves would be a boon to...
Trump administration’s $700 million loan to trucking company under fire in Congress
WASHINGTON — Federal officials Wednesday were asked to investigate whether an Overland Park, Kan., trucking company broke federal law when securing a $700 million loan through a federal pandemic aid program — a sum that accounted for 95% of the money allocated to the program. South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn...
Top GOP candidate for Pa. governor campaigned at an event promoting QAnon and conspiracy theories about 9/11
When candidates for public office indulge in conspiracy theories like QAnon, it’s often with a wink and a nod. But just weeks before Pennsylvania’s primary election, such ideas are being promoted in plain sight. And high-profile Republican candidates for statewide office are treating talk of a “global satanic blood cult”...
Josh Shapiro’s vast donor base has positioned him to enter general election campaign flush with cash
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 — Democratic gubernatorial candidate Josh Shapiro has raised nearly $18 million in campaign contributions over the past 15 months —...
McCarthy defends Jan. 6 audio, House GOP backs ‘next speaker’
WASHINGTON — House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy assured colleagues Wednesday he never asked then-President Donald Trump to resign over the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol, defending private conversations that have spilled into the open and jeopardized his leadership. It was McCarthy’s first face-to-face meeting with House Republicans amid...
House Jan. 6 committee wants to hear from Kevin McCarthy after new audioVideo
WASHINGTON — The House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol is redoubling its efforts to have GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy appear for an interview amid new revelations concerning his private conversations about the deadly attack, the chairman said Tuesday. Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said the panel...
