Politics Election category, Page 219
West Virginia lawmakers seek to ban school mask, testing requirements
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A group of Republican lawmakers in West Virginia is trying to pass a law forbidding mask mandates in K-12 schools and restricting districts from requiring covid-19 testing for people who don’t have symptoms. The “Public School Health Rights Act” would also prevent students or school employees from...
Biden reviews first year of ‘challenges but also enormous progress’Video
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Wednesday sought to reframe his presidency as one of “challenges but also enormous progress,” saying he would restart efforts to pass his signature legislative agenda and use the midterm election campaigns to push harder against Republican obstinance. “For all this progress, I know there’s...
Candidate withdraws from race for Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey’s former Pa. House seat
A woman who planned to run for the state House seat vacated by Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey has rescinded her candidacy, citing proposed legislative maps that will likely put her in a different district. Ashley Comans of Wilkinsburg had previously launched a campaign in the 24th State House District, which...
Florida Democrat sworn in as newest member of HouseVideo
WASHINGTON — Democratic Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida was sworn in as the newest member of the House on Tuesday, filling the seat last held by Alcee Hastings, who died in April of pancreatic cancer. She’ll boost the Democrats’ slender House majority to 222-212, leaving room for no more than...
In unusual move, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis submits redistricting map
TALLAHASSEE — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has submitted a proposal to reshape the state’s congressional map and carve up districts held by Black Democrats, as the Republican takes the unusual step of inserting himself into the redistricting process. The proposed congressional map, submitted Sunday on the eve of Martin Luther...
Confusion, lawsuit follow Virginia Gov. Glenn Younkin’s order on masksVideo
RICHMOND — Virginia’s new Republican governor was facing pushback from Democratic lawmakers, school districts and a group of parents who sued him Tuesday over an executive order that aims to create an opt-out for classroom mask mandates. The order issued Saturday and set to take effect Monday was among Glenn...
Former AG William Barr’s memoir to be published March 8
NEW YORK — Former Attorney General William P. Barr has a memoir coming out March 8 titled “One Damn Thing After Another,” and billed by his publisher as a “vivid and forthright book” of his time serving two “drastically different” presidents, Donald Trump and George H.W. Bush. “Barr takes readers...
Big voting bill faces defeat as 2 Democrats won’t stop filibusterVideo
WASHINGTON — Voting legislation that Democrats and civil rights leaders say is vital for protecting democracy appeared headed for defeat as the Senate churned into debate Tuesday, a devastating setback enabled by President Joe Biden’s own party as two holdout senators refuse to support rule changes to overcome a Republican...
Biden year 1 takeaways: Grand ambitions, humbling defeats
Joe Biden’s long arc in public life has always had one final ambition: to sit behind the Resolute Desk of the Oval Office. He achieved it — albeit, at 78, as the oldest person to assume the presidency. After the turbulence and chaos of his predecessor, Donald Trump, Biden was...
Pa. GOP answered Wolf vetoes with constitution changes in strategy that’s here to stay
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 — Gov. Tom Wolf has vetoed more than 50 bills as he begins his final year in office, a number...
Mehmet Oz is spending millions on TV to boost his Senate campaign in Pennsylvania. He’s not alone in an ultra-wealthy GOP fieldVideo
PHILADELPHIA — If you live in Pennsylvania, there’s a good chance you’ve been seeing Mehmet Oz on your television — and not like you used to. The celebrity surgeon and former talk show host known as “Dr. Oz” is pouring millions of dollars into campaign ads as he runs for...
After Biden’s first year, the virus and disunity rage on
WASHINGTON — From the inaugural platform, President Joe Biden saw American sickness on two fronts — a disease of the national spirit and the one from the rampaging coronavirus — and he saw hope, because leaders always must see that. “End this uncivil war,” he implored Americans on Jan. 20,...
Pa. legislature’s redacted legal bills flout court ruling, leave taxpayers guessing
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 — In May, GOP lawmakers who control the state House and Senate hired the chair of the Republican Party of...
Westmoreland Republicans disappointed with current redistricting proposal
If State Rep. Bob Brooks, R-Murrysville, wants to continue representing the 54th Legislative District, he may have to move to southeastern Pennsylvania to do it. Under the proposal for redistricting House seats in the Pennsylvania General Assembly, Brooks’ hometown of Murrysville would be split in two. It would be absorbed...
Ohio Supreme Court rejects GOP-drawn congressional map
Ohio’s Republican-drawn congressional map was rejected by the state’s high court Friday, giving hope to national Democrats who had argued it unfairly delivered several potentially competitive seats in this year’s critical midterm elections to Republicans. In the 4-3 decision, the Ohio Supreme Court returned the map to the Ohio General...
Voters could be flooded with proposed changes to the Pa. Constitution in 2023
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 could face at least five ballot questions about changing the state constitution next year after House Republicans...
Court puts hold on GOP inspection of county voting machines
An inspection of voting machines in a heavily Republican county in Pennsylvania had been poised to go forward Friday until an 11th-hour appeal to the state Supreme Court by lawyers for Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf put it on hold. The high court decision came hours after a state judge rejected...
Bill would require Senate confirmation for U.S. prison chief
WASHINGTON — Days after the head of the troubled federal Bureau of Prisons said he was resigning amid increased scrutiny over his leadership, lawmakers have introduced a bill to require Senate confirmation for future bureau directors — the same process used to vet leaders of the FBI and other federal...
RNC threatens to boycott commission’s presidential debatesVideo
WASHINGTON — The Republican National Committee said Thursday it is planning a rules change that would force presidential candidates seeking the party’s nomination to sign a pledge saying they will not participate in any debates sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates. If ultimately enacted and enforced, the move would...
Biden all but concedes defeat on voting, election billsVideo
WASHINGTON — All but acknowledging defeat, President Joe Biden said Thursday he’s “not sure” his elections and voting rights legislation can pass Congress this year. He spoke at the Capitol after a key fellow Democrat, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, dramatically announced her refusal to go along with changing Senate...
GOP leader McCarthy says he won’t cooperate with 1/6 panel
WASHINGTON — House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is refusing a request by the House panel investigating the U.S. Capitol insurrection to submit to an interview and turn over records pertaining to the deadly riot. The panel is seeking first-hand details from members of Congress on then-President Donald Trump’s actions on...
Martell Covington launches bid for Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey’s former state House seat
Martell Covington, a legislative aide to state Sen. Jay Costa, D-Forest Hills, announced Wednesday that he will run for a seat in the state House. Covington, of Homewood, is vying to fill the seat vacated by Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey. A special election on April 5 will determine who finishes...
Ohio Justices toss GOP Statehouse maps, order fix in 10 days
COLUMBUS — The Ohio Supreme Court declared newly drawn legislative maps invalid on Wednesday and ordered the GOP-created boundaries to be fixed within 10 days. The court’s rejection of maps that would have retained Republican supermajorities in both chambers is a victory for Democratic and voting rights groups who had...
South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds pushes GOP to get ‘louder’ on false Trump claimsVideo
PIERRE, S.D. — U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota has been telling people for the last year that the 2020 election was fair, but this week he did something few other Republicans have dared — tell a national audience that. Now he wishes more Republicans would join him. Rounds,...
Pa. House approves proposed congressional map as court challenges loom
This article is part of a yearlong reporting project focused on redistricting and gerrymandering in Pennsylvania. It is made possible by the support of Spotlight PA members and Votebeat, a project focused on election integrity and voting access. HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania House has advanced a new congressional map that...
