Politics Election category, Page 206
Oklahoma state House approves bill to make abortion illegal
OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma House gave final legislative approval on Tuesday to a bill that would make performing an abortion a felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison. With little discussion and no debate, the Republican-controlled House voted 70-14 to send the bill to Republican Gov. Kevin...
Martell Covington, Aerion Abney poised to replace Ed Gainey, Jake Wheatley in state legislature
Voters in two special election races Tuesday chose who would replace new Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey and his chief of staff, Jake Wheatley, in the state legislature. Preliminary election results showed Aerion Abney and Martell Covington, both Democrats, with strong leads in the 19th and 24th legislative districts, respectively. Abney...
Barack Obama, returning to White House with Biden, touts his signature health care law’s anniversaryVideo
WASHINGTON — Former President Barack Obama returned to the White House on Tuesday for the first time since leaving office to celebrate the 12th anniversary of his landmark health care law, which President Joe Biden bolstered with two new actions. Biden, who as Obama’s vice president famously celebrated the Affordable...
Stacey Abrams reaches millionaire status before 2nd campaign
ATLANTA — When Democrat Stacey Abrams first ran for Georgia governor in 2018, her lackluster personal finances and a hefty bill from the IRS gave Republicans fodder to question how she could manage a state budget when she struggled with her own debts. As she launches a second bid this...
Democratic, GOP Senate bargainers reach $10B covid agreement
WASHINGTON — Senate bargainers reached agreement Monday on a slimmed-down $10 billion package for countering covid-19 with treatments, vaccines and other steps, the top Democratic and Republican negotiators said, but ended up dropping all funding to help nations abroad combat the pandemic. The compromise drew quick support from President Joe...
Lisa Murkowski, Mitt Romney back Ketanji Brown Jackson, all but assure confirmationVideo
WASHINGTON — Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Mitt Romney announced Monday night they will vote to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s historic elevation to the Supreme Court, giving President Joe Biden’s nominee a burst of bipartisan support and all but assuring she’ll become the first Black female justice. The senators...
Stock tied to Trump social firm drops on report of turmoil
NEW YORK — Shares in a company planning to buy Donald Trump’s new social media business plunged Monday on a news report that two key staff members left, deepening losses from last week when it said it would miss a deadline to file its annual financial statements. Digital World Acquisition...
Senate panel moves toward vote on Jackson court nomination
WASHINGTON — The Senate Judiciary Committee took up debate on Ketanji Brown Jackson’s nomination for Supreme Court justice on Monday as Democrats aimed to confirm her by the end of the week as the first Black woman on the court. The committee could deadlock on Monday’s vote, 11-11, meaning Democrats...
Special elections to determine Harrisburg replacements for Mayor Ed Gainey, Jake Wheatley
Two special election races Tuesday will determine who replaces new Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey and his chief of staff, Jake Wheatley, in the state legislature. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the 19th and 24th legislative districts. Absentee and mail-in ballots must be returned by...
Lamb, Kenyatta face off — minus Fetterman — in debate of Democratic Senate hopefuls
Democratic Senate candidates from both ends of Pennsylvania accused the front-runner, Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman, of flip-flopping on energy issues in the first televised debate in one of the nation’s most-watched campaigns of the year. Fetterman, who is far ahead in the polls, didn’t participate in the debate. Representative Conor...
Sen. Pat Toomey to vote against Judge Jackson’s Supreme Court nomination
U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Lehigh Valley, released a statement on Sunday evening announcing his decision to oppose President Biden’s Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. “While Judge Jackson undoubtedly has an impressive educational and professional background, her inability to define her own judicial philosophy makes it difficult to understand...
Benham, Kinkead criticize Allegheny Democratic committee after failing to win endorsements
The Allegheny County Democratic Committee traditionally endorsed incumbents seeking reelection when it gathered for its annual spring endorsement meeting. But the committee has veered from that norm in recent years, starting in 2020 when the committee did not endorse state Rep. Summer Lee, D-Swissvale, an outspoken progressive lawmaker who had...
Biden cites economic gains, but voters see much more to do
WASHINGTON — Seven months before he faces a critical test from voters in the midterm elections, President Joe Biden is turning his focus to kitchen-table issues as he struggles to get credit for a recovering economy. Since Biden took office last year, job growth has been vigorous and steady —...
Sarah Palin joins 50 others in running for Alaska U.S. House seat
JUNEAU, Alaska — Sarah Palin on Friday shook up an already unpredictable race for Alaska’s lone U.S. House seat, joining a field of 50 other candidates seeking to fill the seat held for decades by the late-U.S. Rep. Don Young, who died last month. Palin filed paperwork Friday with a...
Greene sues to stop challenge to her reelection eligibility
ATLANTA — U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene filed a lawsuit Friday challenging a state law that a group of voters is using to challenge her eligibility to run for reelection. The challenge filed last month with the Georgia secretary of state’s office alleges that Greene, a Republican, helped facilitate the...
Pa. election 2022: A guide to the primary race few voters are paying attention to
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 — By now, most voters have likely heard about the congested, double-digit field of contenders jockeying in this year’s primary...
Conor Lamb votes for federal marijuana decriminalization, after opposing it in 2020
U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb, D-Mt. Lebanon, voted Friday to support a bill that would decriminalize marijuana on the federal level and allow for some marijuana-related convictions to be expunged. It’s a change of course for Lamb, who in 2020 was one of only four House Democrats to vote against the...
Redrawn Pittsburgh City Council district map would maintain 2 majority-minority districts
Proposed changes to Pittsburgh City Council’s district map would consolidate Oakland into two districts, move the Strip District and Polish Hill into new districts and maintain two districts where people of color make up a majority of the population. The nine-member Reapportionment Advisory Committee, formed in late September, drew up...
Arizona will require voters to prove citizenship, residency
PHOENIX — Arizona’s Republican governor signed a bill requiring voters to prove their citizenship to vote in a presidential election, drawing fierce opposition from voting rights advocates who say it risks affecting some 200,000 people. The bill also requires anyone newly registering to vote to provide proof of their address....
House passes $35-a-month insulin cap as Democrats seek wider billVideo
WASHINGTON — The House on Thursday passed a bill capping the monthly cost of insulin at $35 for insured patients, part of an election-year push by Democrats for price curbs on prescription drugs at a time of rising inflation. Experts say the legislation, which passed 232-193, would provide significant relief...
Federal judge strikes down parts of Florida election law; cites race
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A federal judge struck down portions of a Florida election law passed last year, saying in a ruling Thursday that the Republican-led government was using subtle tactics to suppress Black voters. The law tightened rules on mailed ballots, drop boxes and other popular election methods — changes...
NAACP, WPXI-TV program to focus on upcoming special election, primary
The NAACP Pittsburgh Branch and WPXI-TV are teaming up for a program Thursday night for a televised voter education event that will encourage people to cast their ballots in the upcoming special election and primary. Special elections on Tuesday will determine who finishes out terms for state House seats vacated...
Biden planning to tap oil reserve to control gas prices
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is preparing to order the release of up to 1 million barrels of oil per day from the nation’s strategic petroleum reserve, according to two people familiar with the decision, in a bid to control energy prices that have spiked as the U.S. and allies...
Senate candidate Oz talks fracking support and election fraud at Canonsburg campaign event
Republican Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz spoke at a campaign event in Canonsburg on Wednesday evening, highlighting his energy policies and taking questions about the legitimacy of the 2020 election. Oz, the surgeon and former host of the Dr. Oz television show, held a panel discussion with prominent campaign supporters...
Wisconsin judge orders Robin Vos held in contempt over election records
MADISON, Wis. — A judge on Wednesday has ordered that Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos be held in contempt for failing to produce emails and text messages related to the investigation he ordered into the 2020 presidential election. Dane County Judge Valerie Bailey-Rihn, who last week told the Rochester Republican...
