Category Archives: Democrat

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Americans have long taken for granted the constitutional right to an abortion, established by the U.S. Supreme Courts landmark 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade.

Throughout most of the fall in 2021, Democrats, and especially Republicans, still thought that Roe would more likely than not remain the law of the land for the foreseeable future even as the high court refused to block a Texas law from taking effect on Sept. 1 that lawmakers designed to flout Roe by banning abortions once they said cardiac activity was detected, usually about six weeks into a pregnancy.

Those views started to change in December, though, following oral arguments before the Supreme Court over the constitutionality of Mississippis 15-week abortion ban. More Americans began doubting Roe would survive after the courts conservative justices raised the prospect of overturning nearly five decades of legal precedent on abortion rights during the hearing.

As the chart below shows, Democrats have consistently been pessimistic about Roe being overturned since those oral arguments in December, but following the leak of an initial draft Supreme Court opinion in May showing that a majority of conservative justices were ready to overturn Roe, there was a sharp spike in the share saying it will definitely or very likely be overturned. Even Republicans, who have been less likely than Democrats to think Roe would ever be struck down, now generally think its going to happen.

The reality that Roe might be overturned has also shifted how Americans prioritize abortion as an issue. For decades, those who opposed abortion rights (generally speaking, Republicans) rated the issue as more important than those who supported abortion rights (generally speaking, Democrats), but as the chart below shows, the two parties priorities swapped after Texass abortion ban went into effect, which I first wrote about in October.

In fact, the divide between Democrats and Republicans on the importance of abortion as an issue has only gotten wider, especially after the draft Supreme Court opinion was leaked in May. In the two surveys conducted by YouGov/The Economist since then, a record share of voters who backed President Biden in 2020 have rated abortion as a very important issue, by 61 percent and 63 percent, up from an average of about 42 percent in August surveys. Compare that with 37 percent and 40 percent of 2020 Trump voters who rated abortion as a very important issue in May, down from an average of about 45 percent in August polls.

Not only are Democrats more concerned now, but they're also rating abortion as much more important to their midterm vote for Congress now than they did four years ago, according to polling from Monmouth University. In the 2018 midterms, Republicans were more likely than Democrats to prioritize abortion as their most important issue in choosing whom to vote for in Congress, but in May, 32 percent of Democrats said abortion was the most important issue in determining their vote, compared with 17 percent of Republicans. The share of Democrats who said abortion was an extremely important issue in voting for Congress in 2022 (48 percent) is also up from 2018 (31 percent), while the share of Republicans who said the issue was extremely important in 2022 (29 percent) is down from 2018 (36 percent).

The polling data from both YouGov/The Economist and Monmouth is consistent with a long line of political science research showing how threats and anger often motivate people to take political action. When most Democrats considered abortion rights a given, other issues typically overshadowed it. Yet now that the status quo is on the verge of being upended, Democrats are increasingly prioritizing abortion rights and will likely channel their anger over Roe being struck down into various forms of political participation. Meanwhile, now that Republicans look likely to win their long battle to overturn Roe, the issue is unlikely to have the same potency in GOP politics.

It remains to be seen, though, how these changes in voters priorities will affect future elections. Thus far, the leaked draft Supreme Court opinion has had no discernible impact on which party voters would support in a congressional election in FiveThirtyEights generic ballot polling average. But as FiveThirtyEight editor-and-chief Nate Silver tweeted on Thursday, the electoral effects will likely manifest themselves in more nuanced ways especially after the policy implications of the final ruling become even more apparent during the summer and fall campaign. Nate Cohn, the chief political analyst for The New York Times, concurred, adding that the effect [of overturning Roe] on individual races may prove to be more important than its effect on the national political environment, if abortion becomes especially salient in places due to extreme candidates or state policy stakes.

Regardless, the reality that abortion rights can no longer be taken for granted has already sharply shifted many voters priorities. Those shifts will likely grow larger, too, if Roe is ultimately overturned this summer in fact, they may become even more politically powerful moving forward.

Here is the original post:

For The First Time In Years, Democrats Are More Concerned About Abortion Than Republicans Are - FiveThirtyEight

Discontent with the Federal Reserve is brewing among Democrats, even those who voted earlier this month to confirm Fed chairman Jerome Powell for another four-year term.

With inflation at 40-year highs and the prospect of a recession looming large over midterm elections later this year, Democrats are worried the economy could cost them their majorities.

And the feeling in the party is that if the Fed had acted quicker, Democrats might not be facing such tough headwinds.

Specifically, Democrats say the Fed started raising interests too late following the onset of the pandemic, missing an opportunity to curb the inflation thats weighing on Democratic hopes for reelection.

I recall urging the Fed late last fall that they would start needing to ratchet these rates up. I wish they would have done earlier, said Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.).

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) voiced similar consternation.

The Federal Reserve is not clairvoyant, nor is its judgment foolproof. It might have acted earlier, he said. Hopefully now its actions will have a very effective impact in stopping inflation.

If Warners and Blumenthals criticisms of the Fed seems measured, there is a logical explanation.

Both voted to confirm Powell to another term in an 80-19 vote on May 12 after President Biden nominated the Republican to a second term.

Only five Democrats and Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders (Vt.), who caucuses with Democrats, voted against Powell. The other no votes were Republicans.

That makes it tougher for Democrats to criticize Powell and the Fed.

The idea that the Fed acted too late to raise interest rates to lower inflation has support among a chorus of economists, who say it was overly stimulative and too focused on propping up demand deep into the pandemic even as deeper issues affecting supply chains went unaddressed.

Starting in March 2020, as the economy locked down with the coronavirus, the Fed dropped interest rates to 0.05 percent while purchasing securities that would end up more than doubling its balance sheet. These stimulative measures continued as the federal government undertook its own fiscal stimulus programs, with $1,200 checks going out under the Trump administration and $1,400 checks going out under the Biden administration.

Republicans have blamed those checks for making inflation worse. The GOP expects it will ride high inflation to ballot box victories in November that could deliver Republican-majority chambers of Congress.

The GOP argument is getting some backing from economists who see the stimulus from Congress, the administration and the Fed as having had a snowball effect upon inflation.

In 2021, there had already been a huge stimulus package, and Biden added another $2 trillion, or to be precise, $1.9 trillion or 8 percent of GDP. Powell should have been beginning to put on the brakes, if not in March of 2021 when Biden introduced that package, then at least a few months later, Desmond Lachman, an economist with the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute, a Washington think tank, said in an interview.

Instead, he kept interest rates at zero and kept flooding the market with liquidity, so he set us up and played a big role in getting the high inflation, he said.

To bring inflation down, the Fed increased interest rates earlier this month by half a percent, or 50 basis points, to 0.83 percent, saying it anticipates that ongoing increases in the target range will be appropriate.

The interest rate hikes have hit stock markets hard, with some either in or near bear territory that represents a 20 percent fall from peaks.

The deeper worry is that the rising interest rates could lead to a recession, though a number of economists think that is unlikely until at least 2023. The Fed is hoping it can tame inflation without triggering a recession.

Not all Democrats have been behind Powell. Sens. Jon Ossoff (Ga.), Ed Markey (Mass.), Jeff Merkley (Ore.), Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) and Bob Menendez (N.J.) joined Sanders in opposing his confirmation, despite the nomination by their partys president.

I like and respect Chairman Powell. But 8.3 percent inflation is hurting my constituents a year after the Fed predicted inflation was transitory, Ossoff said earlier this month.

The Fed persisted in massive quantitative easing even after it was clear inflation was worse than forecast, he said. These are policy errors that have worsened inflation and hurt low-income people the most. I recognize that Chairman Powell has a difficult job in challenging times, and I sincerely hope for his success in his second term.

There are also Democrats who appear willing to give Powell the benefit of the doubt.

Some view the global economic picture as a product of the pandemic and beyond the remit of any one central bank or lawmaking body.

Lets be honest, it was a unique situation, the American economy and many others around the world basically shut down because of the pandemic, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said.

And you saw retrenching of consumer demand, and now the opposite is the case, he added. People are more optimistic, consuming more, and their consumption is outpacing production, and that leads to inflation. So its great to have so many people at work and low unemployment, but it just feeds the fires of inflation. Its a tough situation, fairly unique in our history.

Read the original here:

Democratic discontent brews with Federal Reserve - The Hill

It was an unprecedented move that left some of the most devoted members of the Utah Democratic Party conflicted and some even some totally dejected.

So its not surprising that Utahns in general are split on the issue or just dont know what to think about it.

The Utah Democratic Party last month made the extraordinary decision not to nominate its own U.S. Senate candidate, Kael Weston, to run for the seat held by GOP Sen. Mike Lee in November and instead joined the coalition backing Republican-turned-independent Evan McMullin.

The Utah Democratic Partys 57% to 43% vote left many delegates feeling what they described as more energized and relevant than they have in a long time in a race that otherwise would be unwinnable. Delegates from the other side, however, left the convention deflated, feeling like their own party had disenfranchised them while acknowledging Utah Democrats are so irrelevant in the statewide political landscape theyve abandoned their own candidate.

So what do Utahns think?

A new Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics poll asked Utahns whether they agree or disagree regardless of their own political affiliation with the Utah Democratic Partys decision.

Overall, 36% said they agree, 44% disagree and 21% said they didnt know.

More specifically, 15% said they strongly agree, 21% said they somewhat agree, 24% said they somewhat disagree and 20% said they strongly disagree.

Now lets break it down by political party.

Among Utahns that affiliate as Democrats, the poll found the most support for the decision. Of them, 50% said they agree with the decision, 36% said they disagree and 14% said they didnt know. More specifically, 27% said they strongly agree, 23% said they somewhat agree, 16% said they somewhat disagree and 20% said they strongly disagree.

For Republicans, 33% said they agree, while 46% said they disagree and 21% said they didnt know what to think. More specifically, 13% said they strongly agree, 20% said they somewhat agree, 23% said they somewhat disagree and 23% said they strongly disagree.

As for those that identified as neither Republicans or Democrats, selecting other for their party affiliation, the results are also conflicted, with a large chunk not knowing what to think: Thirty-four percent said they agreed with the decision while 42% said they disagreed and 24% said they didnt know. More specifically, 12% strongly agreed, 22% somewhat agreed, 30% somewhat agreed and 12% strongly disagreed.

Dan Jones & Associates conducted the survey of 808 Utah registered voters May 7-13. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.46 percentage points.

Though the results are mixed, some Utahns have much stronger feelings about the decision than others.

Take Caralee Woods, a Democratic state delegate and former chairwoman of the Kane County Democratic Party, who participated in the poll. Woods said the decision to back McMullin and not nominate Weston left her feeling like her vote was suppressed and she no longer intends to vote in the Senate race this year.

What happened there is just insanity, Woods told the Deseret News in an interview.

The reason that a state Democratic Party exists is to nominate and elect Democrats. You cant say it any plainer than that, Woods said. Its shameful what happened, absolutely shameful. ... Either youre a Democrat or youre not.

Woods scoffed at the argument that Democrats should throw their support behind McMullin to up the chances of beating Lee, should he win a primary election against Ally Isom and Becky Edwards.

Its so ironic. I cant win without Democrat votes. You just screwed yourself then. You just crapped in your own nest. Thats what they did, they crapped in their own nest. The really sad part about it, Kael is such a great candidate, she said.

Woods said she doesnt think McMullin has a chance of winning, and I know many, many of my colleagues have no intention of voting in that race.

Woods pointed specifically at former Rep. Ben McAdams, an influential moderate Democrat who was an instrumental voice behind the partys decision to back McMullin, accusing him of concocting a major scheme.

Im not sure if he was, at the time, using McMullin as a tool, but the bottom line is that theyre both tools, Woods said. Personally, I think that Ben McAdams is trying to be successful here so in a couple of years he can run as an independent because he was never much of a Democrat anyway.

McAdams continues to say the Utah Democratic Partys vote was, above all, about putting whats right for the country ahead of whats right for the party.

And thats something thats always been important to me in my public service, is doing whats right regardless of whether that aligns or doesnt with my political party, McAdams said, noting that during his time in Congress he was the No. 1 representative most likely to vote against his own party.

I think Utah Democrats did the right thing, McAdams said. They made a hard choice. And it was a hard choice. They had a good candidate in the race, but they made a hard choice to say theres too much at stake in this election, and we have to do what we think is right for the country, not whats right for the party.

McAdams said the poll results indicate how difficult and complex the issue is for Utahns.

You know, it is a harsh reality that we have to reckon with, McAdams said, that a Democrat is not going to win the U.S. Senate race this year. ... For a lot of people, thats a hard thing to come to terms with but it is the reality.

McAdams added it is important to be a voice as a Democrat in Utah, even if theres an unlikelihood that Democrats can win an election.

But this year, I believe theres too much at stake to simply concede that were willing to lose an election when we have a path to win by uniting with Republicans and independents behind a candidate who is going to be moderate and mainstream and be a voice for a majority of Utahns who feel unrepresented.

According to the poll, the largest portion of those polls who supported the decision were Democrats. Even if it was 50%, McAdams said thats consistent with what we saw at convention.

The majority of Democrats see that this race is about more than just the Democratic Party, he said. You know, Im proud of Utah Democrats who, alongside me, said enough is enough and now is the time to join coalitions and to become something bigger by joining alongside independents and moderate Republicans to do something that is important for the country.

Thom DeSirant, executive director of the Utah Democratic Party, said since the convention vote there indeed have been a lot of discussions both from Democrats and Republicans about whether it was the right move and if delegates are representative of the population.

In this case, based off your poll, it appears that it does represent that delegates are representing the population, he said. No matter what, the delegates have made their choice and the partys going to follow their express will.

Even though the largest chunk of Democrats who participated in the poll said they agreed with the decision, that segment was still only 50%. That indicates Utah Democrats continue to grapple with the decision. However, while the poll might not have the same spread as the vote, the vote still represents that larger chunk of Democrats.

It was definitely a really difficult choice, DeSirant said. Ive heard from people on both sides who feel strongly about it. Some people I know really liked the idea of supporting Evan McMullin but just didnt feel right about it because they felt like were the Democratic Party and we need to support the Democrat.

Others, he said, were just horrified by what happened on Jan. 6 and Lees leaked text messages to Mark Meadows, then-President Donald Trumps chief of staff, exploring ideas to overturn the 2020 election. They concluded, this is something we have to do and we have to put our country before our party.

As for the GOP, its difficult to fully deduce why some Utah Republicans would say they agree with the move whether some are moderates and were glad to see the Utah Democratic Party back a candidate they would like to vote for or whether they saw the move as bad for the Democratic Party and nothing but good news for the Utah GOP.

Carson Jorgensen, chairman of the Utah Republican Party, agrees with the latter. To him, the poll results show even among Utah Democrats a good segment of their own party membership remain conflicted about the decision.

Within your own party, thats pretty tough, he said. The way it looks to me, Utah Democrats are split right down the middle. And in the state of Utah, if you dont have your full partys weight behind you, youre behind.

Contributing: Dennis Romboy

Read more:

Poll: Was Utah Democrats vote to back Evan McMullin the right move? - Deseret News

With help from Ella Creamer, Rishika Dugyala and Teresa Wiltz

POLITICO Illustration/Getty Images

What up Recast family! Oklahoma approves a measure banning abortions after conception, a GOP House member acknowledges giving constituents a tour of the U.S. Capitol complex on the eve of the Jan. 6 attack and the CDC recommends boosters for children ages 5 to 11. First though, we focus on a historic primary win in the Bluegrass State.

The sting of narrowly missing out on the Senate nomination two years ago still doesnt sit well with Charles Booker.

In 2020, the former Kentucky state representative, riding on the groundswell of emotion that erupted after the killing of Breonna Taylor by Louisville police officers and the subsequent racial justice protests, came within 2.8 percentage points of securing the Democratic nomination.

Nominee Amy McGrath went on to spend some $90 million only to get trounced by the Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell.

On Tuesday, Booker (no relation to this Recast author, though we joked about being distant cousins) left no doubt about his viability this time: winning his latest primary with more than 73 percent of the vote. He is the first Black candidate ever nominated to federal statewide office in Kentuckys history.

But he faces an equally daunting challenge of toppling incumbent Republican Sen. Rand Paul, who is well-financed and is running in a year far more favorable to the GOP than last cycle.

What Booker has got going for him is energy and charisma that is infectious and a willingness to speak about his own pain. He lost a cousin to gun violence and was raised in the economically depressed West End of Louisville.

As he sees it, Kentucky is ready to embrace a liberal Black Democrat trying to build a coalition of abandoned and ignored voters from the hood to the holler those hailing from the inner city to Appalachia. Its also the name of his memoir.

But he also may have to win over his own party. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has yet to release a statement or a tweet about his historic win. We talk about that, plus why he says, it should if it wants to be on the right side of history.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

THE RECAST: Has that gravity of being one election away from becoming the first Black person from the commonwealth to be sent to Congress sunk in for you yet?

BOOKER: You know, it hasn't. It's so overwhelming.

I'm doing my best to appreciate the magnitude of this moment. I feel the humility, I feel my ancestors. I've said a lot over the years in the Legislature and beyond, that my ancestors were enslaved in Kentucky.

I've had ancestors lynched in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. And so to stand in this moment now, helping to break barriers, even in becoming the first Black person to be a major party nominee for the U.S. Senate in Kentucky, to be the top of the ticket, its a big deal and Im proud.

Every week, we sit down with diverse and influential characters who are shaking up politics.

Who should we profile next? Let us know. Email us at [emailprotected].

THE RECAST:You secured the nomination with about 73 percent of the vote.

It comes on the same night that Cheri Beasley won her Senate primary in North Carolina. I mean, there's a long list of Black Senate candidates: Raphael Warnock and Herschel Walker are likely going to duke it out in Georgia. Mandela Barnes in Wisconsin, Val Demings in Florida.

Is there something about 2022 that is the year of the Black Senate candidate? Does this year feel different to you?

BOOKER: What feels different to me is the heightened sense of urgency.

I'm not running for office because I want a title.

I'm doing this, because I genuinely want things to change for my family, I want poverty to end. I don't want to lose another cousin or a loved one in the streets to gun violence. And I don't want anyone to have to ration their insulin, like I've had to do as a Type 1 diabetic.

Surrounded by his family, Booker speaks to a group of supporters following his victory in the Kentucky primary in Louisville, May 17. | Timothy D. Easley/AP Photo

I'm telling the story of my struggles, which I think is something that's really powerful for Black candidates. Particularly those who have lived in the struggles that have often been prescribed to Black communities, because it gives us the lens to speak about structural inequity that weighs everybody down.

And I tell this story in my book, From the Hood to the Holler, because the challenges that we are seeing in my community in the West End of Louisville, in the hood, are very similar to the challenges in Appalachia. And those common bonds are not only how we're going to win this race, but it's how we win democracy.

THE RECAST: In 2020, you ran a campaign by harnessing the energy and fervor of the social justice movement following the police killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd and others. You came very close winning the Democratic nomination two years ago. Can you talk a little bit about what you learned in that defeat?

BOOKER: The thing that I learned was that the people of Kentucky are ready for the change that I'm fighting for. I was just willing to step out on faith and give my family, my loved ones across Kentucky, the chance to choose.

So this time around, I'm not a surprise to anyone. We came through the front door this time. And we went from being impossible to being inevitable.

Booker speaks to protesters gathering before a march to the Breonna Taylor memorial at Jefferson Square Park on Oct. 10, 2020 in Louisville, Kentucky. | Jon Cherry/Getty Images

THE RECAST: Do you feel it's difficult to turn activism into electability? I'm looking across the political landscape, like a former colleague of yours, state Rep. Attica Scott lost in her bid to become the nominee for Kentucky's 3rd District. I'm looking at Nina Turner earlier this month, a Bernie Sanders supporter, but also seen as an activist, came up short to help in her primary bid in Ohio.

BOOKER: It is hard to be in a position where you're marginalized and your voice has been taken away or been ignored, to be able to translate and transfer the pain and the frustration into political leadership.

Poverty is a policy choice. It isn't a product of laziness, or moral deficiency.

We are up against a system that isn't limited by party, that is really perpetuating a lot of the inequities that we're facing at the expense of corporate greed and political power for people so it's difficult to get into these spaces.

So what we're doing in this [Senate] race, my prayer is that it would be a template for more regular folks to know that not only does your voice matter, but you can lead for real change and you can win while doing it.

THE RECAST: To win, youve obviously got to drive up the margins in Louisville and Lexington. But where else can you turn the tide in this race come November?

BOOKER: Well, the power of this rallying cry from the hood to the holler is really that we're telling the story of how you bring communities, coalitions, together that really haven't even been considered as possible.

We know we have much more in common than we do otherwise. And so our path to victory is, as you mentioned, we have to turn out folks that we know are already prepared to vote for my policies and for my candidacy, which is a lot of Kentuckians.

But we also have to go to those communities, like in Appalachia. There are a lot of progressives a lot of people that want true progress. Medicare for All is really popular in a lot of communities across eastern Kentucky, mainly because a lot of folks can't afford health care. And they've seen these big fossil fuel corporations, coal companies making incredible profits and screwing them on the back end.

We're building this from the ground up. This is not with a lot of the party support that a lot of folks would have expected. That should change because my call is for the Democratic Party to be on the right side of history.

This is how Georgia won.

We are proving that you can win in places like Kentucky and if you do it in places like Kentucky, we can win everywhere.

Booker at a book signing event for his memoir in Louisville, Ky. on Apr. 27. | Piper Hudspeth Blackburn/AP Photo

THE RECAST: It's already thought to be a tough year for Democrats. Are you concerned at all that the partys headwinds the current occupant of the White House is facing will impact your race?

BOOKER: Well, it certainly is a factor.

It hasn't shaped how we've moved in this campaign, because this campaign was always bigger than all that.

At the end of the day, our pursuit of democracy is not about any particular party. It's about humanity. And it's not tied down to how successful any president is.

Now, of course, those narratives can make it harder or easier at times.

I'm a Black man running in Kentucky. There's not a whole lot that anyone can say that I havent already heard. We already know its uphill because of the cynicism. So the type of campaign we're building is already made to confront and disarm that.

THE RECAST: Youre running in a state that hasnt elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1992. How do you go about convincing folks that havent voted for a Democrat in a long time, perhaps havent voted for a Black candidate to support your candidacy over someone who's got broad name recognition like Sen. Rand Paul?

BOOKER: A lot of the work that I'm doing is going to counties in areas that Democrats don't go. And that includes the hood where Im from.

Now we vote, overwhelmingly Democrat when we vote in my community. But most politicians don't come until it's time to vote. And so the organizing that we've been doing through this campaign and into the summer is really about meeting people where they are, and not talking about things from a national narrative but pulling out the common bonds, and doing storytelling.

I come from the hood. I come from the struggle. I know what it's like to be ignored.

A lot of the people that voted for Donald Trump in Kentucky also voted for Bernie Sanders. Then we have a governor who has been polled as the most popular [Democratic] governor in the country.

So the issues we're dealing with aren't actually partisan.

Whether your week inched along or zoomed by quickly, were bringing you some quick pop news items and fun features to end it on a high note.

We mentioned Cheri Beasley won her primary in North Carolina. POLITICOs Burgess Everett is reporting Democrats are unsure whether they want to go all-in for her Senate run. Find out why.

Beasley speaks at an election night event hosted by the North Carolina Democratic Party after winning her primary race in Raleigh, N.C., May 17. | Ben McKeown/AP Photo

WATCH: Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby on Operation Fly Formula the Biden administrations response to the baby formula shortage.

The Jan. 6 select committee is requesting an interview with Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.), who previously didnt disclose bringing a constituent family into the U.S. Capitol the day before it was attacked. He reversed course Thursday, POLITICOs Nicholas Wu and Kyle Cheney report.

For the birds: Christian Cooper, the Black man who got the cops called on him by a white woman while he was bird watching in Central Park in 2020, gets his own TV show on National Geographic, Extraordinary Birder.

Prepare yourself for a devastating look at Covids impact with The New York Times, on the heels of America reaching 1 million deaths. Readers shared deeply moving and intimate final text messages with their loved ones, often sent from hospital beds.

Last week, a team of climbers made history as the first all-Black group to summit Mount Everest. They tell the Today Show they want to inspire a future generation of outdoor enthusiasts.

Rhiannon Giddens has a new opera, Omar, telling the story of Omar ibn Said, an educated Senegalese man who was captured from his homeland and enslaved in South Carolina and went on to author several works in Arabic, including this autobiographical essay.

Listen to Jamil Jan Kochai reading his story, Occupational Hazards. The writer, who was born in an Afghan refugee camp in Pakistan, has a story collection coming out in July.

Kendrick Lamars back at it again, with another video from his new album, N 95:

Camila Cabello and Maria Becerra team up for their bouncy new song, Hasta Los Dientes."

TikToks of the day: Too much energy

Splitting the bill be like

Excerpt from:

The Black Democrat taking on Rand Paul - POLITICO

Long-time Democratic Secretary of State Doug La Follette tells Isthmus its 50-50 he will be able to collect the 2,000 signatures needed to make it on the ballot this year.

Ill be real honest, its going to be close this year. I might not make it, says La Follette. COVID infections are still high, including in Dane County. I want to be safe, I want others to be safe. I cant help but feel a little betrayed that the Democratic Party [of Wisconsin] wont help me get on the ballot.

La Follette, who is 81, says he nearly retired this year. But he decided to run for re-election after the Democratic Party of Wisconsin pressured him to do so, telling La Follette he was the best candidate to win in November.

Because I was encouraged to run by the party, I decided to hold off on retiring, says La Follette, who announced he was running for re-election on March 17.Democratic Party of Wisconsin spokesperson Iris Riis initially did not respond to Isthmus when asked if the party had asked La Follette to run.But after this article was published Riis emailed that the party neither "encouraged nor discouraged" La Follette to runfor re-election.

In his last election, La Follette collected 1,500 signatures himself and volunteers collected the rest. Concerned about the pandemic, he didnt think it was realistic to do that again this year. But he had an idea on how to collect nomination signatures safely this election cycle.

I didn't want to risk my health or the health of others. So I came up with a plan. There are 72 counties in Wisconsin, each with its own [Democratic] county party. I asked [the state party] could each of those county parties collect just 30 signatures for me? That way, no one would have to go to events or farmers markets to collect signatures and we could all stay safe, says La Follette. But just as the campaign period was starting, another candidate decided to run. So I was told the Democratic Party of Wisconsin has a bylaw that when theres more than two candidates, they couldnt get involved.

A week after candidates could start collecting nomination signatures, AlexiaSabor, chair of the Democratic Party of Dane County, declared she was challenging La Follette in the Aug. 9 primary.

I have had many primary opponents and I dont mind. [Sabor] has every right to run. Thats why I asked the state party to help both of us collect nomination signatures, says La Follette. My plan still could have worked. But I was basically told they wouldnt help me contact the county parties or get involved.

La Follette says the state party stopped talking to him after that.

Shortly after this article was posted, Sachin Chheda a senior advisor for Sabor provided a comment via Twitter.

Doug La Follette has spent 44 years earning bipartisan agreement that he should have essentially no responsibilities. Its way past time for a change," tweeted Chheda. "Alexia Saboris the candidate who will champion democracy, ensure our public dollars are spent wisely, and fight to keep Wisconsins election machinery safe, secure, and nonpartisan. Also, she will be on the ballot.

Riis says that "barring extraordinary circumstances, DPW is neutral in primaries, and there is another Democratic candidate for Secretary of State.

That's not true of all races with incumbents. The Democratic Party of Wisconsin is helping Gov. Tony Evers collect nomination signatures. But according to the Wisconsin Campaign Finance Information System website, there are three candidates registered as Democrats running for governor and Evers might face some token opposition in the August primary.It makes sense the state party is backing its one-term incumbent at the top of the ticket. So why not La Follette?

"DPW has endorsed Evers, which is why we are helping collect nomination signatures. His endorsement fell under the extraordinary circumstances I mentioned earlier. Evers does not have any serious primary challengers," explains Riis. "The process for endorsement is a party subunit must recommend the endorsement to the administrative committee, which then votes whether or not to endorse a candidate. No subunit recommended La Follette for endorsement, so the administrative committee never voted whether or not to endorse him."

If theres one thing La Follette has proven time and time again, its that he can win even in years when Republicans are successful in elections up and down the ballot. Since 1974, Wisconsin voters have elected the Democrat to serve as secretary of state 11 times. He won on the same ballot as Republican Gov. Tommy Thompson four times, including when Thompson won in a landslide in 1994. La Follette was the only Democrat to win statewide office during the Republican wave when Gov. Scott Walker was elected in 2010; and La Follette won again in 2014.

Jay Schroeder, one of the Republicans running for secretary of state this year, has lost two elections to La Follette. Even Schroeder thinks La Follette is getting burned by his party.

I think Doug has been successful because of name recognition. But what does it say about him that his own party isnt helping him out? asks Schroeder. To me it says this is the year a Republican wins the office.

The stakes for Democrats losing the secretary of state race have never been higher. Legislative Republicans and all four top GOP candidates for governor want to abolish the Wisconsin Elections Commission, which is overseen by a board of both Democrats and Republicans. The GOP candidates for secretary of state are proposing that the office assume control of administering elections that was once the case in Wisconsin and many states still operate that way.

When Wisconsin was founded in 1848, the secretary of state was second only to the governor in terms of power. The secretary once served as the state auditor, acted as the state comptroller, and regulated state businesses. But over 170 years, the office has lost nearly all of its duties. When La Follette was first elected in 1974, he says he managed 49 employees. Now its one and the offices main duties include recording the official acts of the Legislature and governor and authenticating them with the states Great Seal, as well serving on the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands.

La Follette says he understands why the Wisconsin secretary of state race isnt a big priority for state Dems most years. And he admits his races are usually a bit sleepy.

But this year is different. The state party said they need to keep a Democrat in the office to protect them from voter finagling, says La Follette. I agree, thats why I agreed to run when I was very seriously considering retirement.

Why does La Follette think hes been so successful at the ballot box over four decades in Wisconsin politics?

Part of it is my reputation for being an independent-minded Democrat. Voters like that and thats how I have won support from independents and some Republicans. Part of it is back 40 years ago, I went around the state and shook as many hands as I could, campaigning like Bill Proxmire used to, says La Follette. Some of my success has also been because Republicans havent tried very hard to beat me. But I think that might change this year and I need all the help I can get.

Without the Democratic Party of Wisconsins help, La Follette is seeing some success urging people to collect signatures via Facebook. With just days to go before the June 1 deadline, he has about 500 more to collect and would like a healthy buffer to ensure he has a minimum of 2,000.

Like I said, its going to be close, says La Follette.

Editor's note: This article was updated to include additional comments from the Democratic Party of Wisconsin and Sachin Chheda, a senior advisor for Secretary of State candidate Alexia Sabor.

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Wisconsin's Democratic secretary of state might not make it on the ballot - Isthmus

This year has brought the final breaking point for me with Republicans, not that I voted for many of them before now.

But, really, anyone who still puts an R after their name, affiliated with the party that is about to succeed in turning back the clock on abortion rights, while putting at serious risk a whole range of other freedoms many Americans have come to take for granted as settled law mixed race marriage, gay marriage, contraception has no chance of getting my vote.

The Republican-created Supreme Court of religious zealots alsois pushing all these important matters down to the level of state legislatures and governors, making local races more important than ever before.

Republicans have created the party of voter suppression, the party of lies about voter fraud, the party that shields insurrectionists, the party that harbors white supremacists and the party that won't stand up to the gun lobby, talking about "hardening" our schools rather than stopping the madness of a shoot-em-up gun culture like none other in the world.

The problem, especially in Connecticut, is that leaves you with a motley crew of Democrats, who have long dominated the government and come to do whatever they please, granting all kinds of lucrative goodies, jobs, lavish contracts, even bloated lifetime pensions, to cronies.

I have been impressed in the past more by Connecticut's Democrats in Washington, as if they've risen to the challenge.

But then Connecticut's Washington delegation turned up in New London last week to paint lipstick on Gov. Ned Lamont's big fat $255 million pig, the remake of State Pier a subsidy to rich utilities, one foreign, who don't need it and would have done what they are doing to create profitable offshore wind farms without it.

In the long history of corporate subsidies by governments, Lamont's gift to the utilities must be close to a record breaker in terms of how few jobs it will create. Best estimates indicate the quarter of a billion dollar remake of State Pier will generate fewer wind assembly jobs than a small Walmart. The annual anticipated rent of about $2 million is, well, laughable, given the cost.

You can see this is a governor who inherited the fortune that is financing a second gubernatorial campaign. He didn't make it himself.

Lamont, who presided over a Bond Commission meeting Thursday in which funding to cover another $20 million cost overrun was approvedfor a project that started at $93 million, commented that he knows his way around a change order. Yes, and he pays it with the taxpayers' credit card.

This is the same governor who in 2020 said he was willing to accept all of the cost overruns for the then $157-million project signing a deal in which the utilities were responsible for no price increases because he had confidence in his deputy budget chief, Konstantinos Diamantis, who was overseeing the massive construction project.

Then Diamantis, the subject of a federal grand jury probe into spending at State Pier and Connecticut schools, resigned in disgrace. Oops. That sure was a lot of misplaced confidence by the governor.

What was so distressing about the pig painting last week by Connecticut's Washington politicians was the way they so blithely exaggerated and misled.

Really, how often do you see such a large gaggle of politicians gather around and enthusiastically talk about a project that is literally, as you read this, under investigation by the FBI, a new layer of criminal scrutiny that has followed countless scandals associated with the project.

The Washington Democrats dragged with them, because they could, the U.S. energy secretary, who helped them gush, saying President Joe Biden is personally watching and impressed with what's happening in New London.

Boy, do they think we are gullible.

"Come to State Pier ... this is the future of energy in America," Sen. Richard Blumenthal swooned.

Rep. Joe Courtney called the project he was looking at "eye-watering." Yikes. Get a grip.

You would almost think these folks, so anxious to put lipstick on Lamont's pig, don't know that offshore wind staging facilities are being built all up and down the East Coast, that maybe they've been fooled too. But no.

They are trying to fool us.

And it's likely that the wind staging facilities being built in other states, without the corruption or the same kind of cost-spiraling, massive public subsidies, have not put a union of longshoremen out of work or diverted traditional shipping to competing ports, some out of state.

New London Mayor Michael Passero, a Democrat, turned up predictably for the lipstick event. Passero sold his credibility about State Pier a long time ago, when he actually signed a deal with the rich utilities promising to always sing the praises of the pier project whenever asked.

What excuse do the others have?

Republicans on the Bond Commission asked some hard questions about the pier and the spiraling costs of Lamont's folly at Thursday's meeting.

Alas, I appreciate that.

But I couldn't pull a lever after their names if they appeared on a ballot in my voting booth, as long as there are still Rs after them.

There is too much else at stake for this country, which urgently needs to fend off a pressing Republican offensive against our freedoms and our democracy.

This is the opinion of David Collins.

d.collins@theday.com

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I have to vote for Democrats, but I don't have to like them - theday.com

Austin, TX, May 25, 2022 For the second time this month, Democrat Jolanda Jones bested Danielle Keys Bess in a contest to replace retiring Rep. Garnet Coleman (D-Houston) for Texas House District (HD) 147.

After winning a May 7 special election over Bess by 202 votes, Jones was sworn in to assume interim duties as the representative for HD 147 under the districts previous geographic boundaries.

With slightly shifted boundaries under redistricting, Jones took first in the March primary election with 41 percent in a seven-way primary but came away with a 493-vote margin of victory in Tuesdays runoff against Bess.

A former Houston ISD trustee, Jones touted endorsements from Rep. Al Green (D-TX-09), Coleman, and state Sen. Boris Miles (D-Houston), but Bess held competing endorsements from her former employer Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX-18), state Rep. Harold Dutton (D-Houston), and Houston ISD trustee Elizabeth Santos.

Jones outraised and outspent Bess, and enjoys the support of the LGBTQ Victory Fund and Planned Parenthood Texas Votes political action committees along with numerous labor and teacher union groups.

With a rating of D-79% from The Texans Texas Partisan Index, as the Democratic Party nominee Jones is heavily favored to win, although controversial figure Damien Thaddeus Jones will appear on the ballot as the Republican nominee.

Damien Jones, who previously worked for both then-state Sen. Rodney Ellis (D-Houston) and Beto ORourkes 2018 Senate campaign, defeated Rashard Baylor in the Republican Primary but has ceased to campaign for the HD 147 seat.

Tied to the investigations and indictments of conservative activist Steven Hotze and former Houston police captain Mark Aguirre, Damien Jones is himself under indictment on misdemeanor charges after he allegedly threatened to expose then-state Rep. Gina Calanni (D-Katy) accusing her of personal matters if she did not resign from her seat in December 2019.

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Jolanda Jones Wins Again in Bid to Replace Retiring Houston Democrat Garnet Coleman - The Texan

Shortly after the draft supreme court opinion overturning Roe v Wade was leaked to the public, Californias governor, Gavin Newsom, condemned conservative attacks on abortion rights and pledged that his state would be a sanctuary for those seeking to end a pregnancy.

But Newsom also directed some of his most pointed remarks toward fellow Democrats.

Where the hell is my party? Wheres the Democratic party? Newsom said. This is a concerted, coordinated effort, and yes, theyre winning. They are. They have been. Lets acknowledge that. We need to stand up. Wheres the counter-offensive?

Even as Democrats have denounced the courts provisional decision to overturn Roe and vowed to defend abortion rights, their efforts at the federal level have largely failed to live up to their rhetoric. A vote last Wednesday in the Senate to codify Roe and protect abortion rights nationwide was once again blocked, as Democrat Joe Manchin joined all 50 Republican senators in opposing the bill.

The failure of Democrats in Washington to shore up abortion rights, even as they control the White House and both chambers of Congress, has complicated the partys messaging to voters about the likely end of Roe. Some frustrated Democrats are instead turning their attention to state and local policies that could protect reproductive rights even if Roe falls.

Abortion rights supporters frustration with Democratic inaction at the federal level has been on display since the draft opinion leaked earlier this month. At a protest outside the supreme court last week, abortion rights demonstrators chanted: Do something, Democrats.

Progressive members of Congress have also argued for the urgent need to pass federal abortion rights legislation, calling on senators to amend the filibuster to get a bill approved.

People elected Democrats precisely so we could lead in perilous moments like these - to codify Roe, hold corruption accountable, [and] have a President who uses his legal authority to break through Congressional gridlock on items from student debt to climate, progressive congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said on Twitter.

The stakes of Democratic inaction are high, as abortion is certain or likely to be outlawed in 26 states if the court follows through with overturning Roe. Last weekend, the Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell, warned that Republicans may go even further if they regain control of the White House and Congress, floating the idea of a national abortion ban.

Republicans would probably face widespread public outcry if they advanced a nationwide ban. A poll %09https:/www.monmouth.edu/polling-institute/reports/monmouthpoll_US_051122/">released by Monmouth University last week found that just 9% of Americans support the idea of a national ban, while 64% support keeping abortion legal. However, abortion rights advocates warn that the threat of a nationwide ban will be real if Republicans take back Congress and the White House.

Republicans are definitely passing a national abortion ban once they have the power to do it, said Shaunna Thomas, co-founder and executive director of the reproductive rights group UltraViolet. Theyve been signaling they were going to pack the supreme court in order to overturn Roe. I dont think people took them seriously enough. And so people really need to learn the lesson here and take them very, very seriously on this point.

Progressive groups like UltraViolet have called on Democrats to amend the Senate filibuster, which would allow a bill codifying Roe to get through the upper chamber with a simple majority of support. But Manchin and fellow Democrat Kyrsten Sinema have made it clear they will not support a filibuster carve-out, and the vote last Wednesday failed to even attract the 50 votes that would be necessary if the Senate rules were changed.

Our constitutional right to abortion has to be more important than their loyalty to arcane Senate procedures that are not even laws, Thomas said. People watched them carve the filibuster out to raise the debt ceiling. If they can do it for that, they should be able to do it for this.

Democratic congressional leaders have encouraged members of their party to direct their criticism toward Republicans rather than each other. In a Dear colleague letter to House Democrats last week, the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, warned of Republicans wish for a national abortion ban and said their policies could even criminalize contraceptive care, in vitro fertilization and post-miscarriage care.

Make no mistake: once Republicans have dispensed with precedent and privacy in overturning Roe, they will take aim at additional basic human rights, Pelosi said.

Christina Reynolds, vice-president of communications at Emilys List, which promotes pro-choice female candidates for office, insisted that voters who support abortion rights will know to hold Republicans accountable in the midterm elections this November. Republicans have gotten us here in a large number of ways, Reynolds said.

But Democratic candidates running for office this fall will have to paint a longer-term picture of how the party plans to protect abortion rights, even if they cannot prevent the court from overturning Roe.

The Democratic party has to move away from this message about how we can fix everything right away, said Kelly Dietrich, CEO of the National Democratic Training Committee. This is a lifetime struggle. Government is hard. We will need you to vote this November, next November and every November after that because the people who want to take away your rights arent going to stop.

In the meantime, Democrats have an opportunity to turn their attention to the state and local offices that may be able to help protect abortion rights if Roe falls, Dietrich argued.

The fight for the next 10-plus years is going to be at the state and local levels, he said. Its going to be in the state legislatures. Its going to be in the city councils and at all the different local government forums we have around the country that arent big and sexy.

Some of those efforts are already under way across the country.

In Michigan, where a 1931 abortion ban is still on the books and could go back into effect if Roe is overturned, the Democratic governor, Gretchen Whitmer, has filed a lawsuit to block implementation of the law. Several county prosecutors also signed on to a statement saying they would not pursue criminal charges in connection to the 1931 law.

One of those prosecutors was Democrat Karen McDonald in Oakland county, the second-largest county in Michigan. She said that, despite her despair over the likely end of Roe, she was committed to finding ways to ensure her neighbors rights and healthcare access.

It is a sad, tragic moment, McDonald said. But I am not going to spend one minute of my energy letting that tear me away from what I think is absolutely critical right now, which is we all need to pay attention and support and fund and help elect [those candidates] who want to protect our right to choose.

Oakland county was once a Republican stronghold, but it has become increasingly Democratic in recent years. McDonald said she has heard from members of her community who previously supported Republicans and are now rethinking their politics in light of the supreme courts expected decision.

I know a lot of women who voted for Trump and are now saying I will never, ever ever, vote for a pro-life candidate. They just didnt think it would happen, McDonald said. So I think this is really turning politics on its head.

Thomas agreed that many Americans who support abortion rights seem to have been taken aback by the provisional decision to overturn Roe, even after Republicans obtained a 6-3 majority on the court. Conservatives have also been calling for the end of Roe for decades, and Trump promised to nominate anti-abortion justices to the supreme court.

I dont think its surprising that people had to see it to believe it, despite having heard this, particularly from Black and brown women who have been bearing the brunt of these attacks at the state level for a long time, Thomas said. As an organizer, I will tell you, its never too late to join the fight. And the time is really now.

Continued here:

'We need to stand up': Democrats criticized for inaction on abortion - The Guardian US

The Democratic candidates for Alabama governor have enthusiasm, broad agreement on major issues, and very little cash.

As Republican gubernatorial candidates cudgel each other with millions of dollars, the Democratic primary has been very quiet. Unlike 2018, when Democratic nominee Walt Maddox was able to raise a substantial amount of money for his campaign, none of the six Democratic candidates had more than $7,000 on hand at their last report.

Theres more to it than the money, said Yolanda Flowers, an educator and one of the gubernatorial candidates. I believe its more spiritual. Who God wants in office, hes going to put in office.

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The low profile race reflects what analysts expect to be a down year for Democrats nationally, as well as the institutional struggles of the Alabama Democratic Party, which last elected a governor in 1998. It also reflects most of the field's lack of political experience. Only one (Sen. Malika Sanders-Fortier, D-Selma) has ever held public office. Only two of the candidates have run in any political race before.

The eventual Democratic gubernatorial nominee will face less of an uphill climb in November than a 90-degree ascent up an ice wall. Even if the eventual banner carrier pulls off a miracle in the general election, they will face a Republican Legislature: the Democrats do not have enough legislative candidates to win a majority in either chamber.

But the candidates push on. All agree that education and economic development should be priorities. Many of the candidates also say they would support the creation of a state lottery and want to address criminal justice reform.

Flowers, who has worked as an educator, a speech pathologist and a counselor, said she is running for governor because she sees a lot of injustices for people who are different.

Coming up, things were so unequal and so unfair, said Flowers, who was born in Birmingham. I still see the same. A number of African Americans hold office, but I dont see the change.

Flowers said as governor she would support the implementation of a lottery and work to improve education. She also said she wants to make improvements to the states prisons; violence within the prisons has brought a lawsuit from the U.S. Department of Justice. Flowers also argues her lack of political experience will be an asset.

Its going to take us all, she said. I just desire to have a mindset of love and unity.

A nurse by profession, Jamieson says she wants to make all of Alabama whole and believes she can be an effective advocate for the citizens of Alabama.

I have been an advocate all my adult life, she said. I have served the people I have served at bedsides as a nurse for 26 years taking care of patients. I have been their advocate. As governor, you should be an advocate for the people. You are the keeper of the state.

Jamieson said her advocacy would focus on improved health care; improved education and reformed prisons. Jamieson supports Medicaid expansion and wants to increase the number of health care providers in rural areas, saying she sees opportunities to add nurse practitioners. Jamieson also supports increasing the salaries of teachers and support staff to retain skilled teachers in struggling schools, as well as a lottery to support their pay. She also wants to improve conditions within prisons.

Jamieson said that she wanted to focus on Alabama working together, walking together and uniting.

I have the love for the people and a heart for the people, she said. And thats why I believe I would have a 50/50 chance of winning the election because my heart is for the people of Alabama.

Never let it be said that Arthur Kennedy thinks small. The substitute teacher and custodian said in a recent interview that he had his eyes on the presidential (election) should he come through the November election.

I want to give some service to Alabama, said Kennedy. I feel I have some ideas that would suit Alabama fine.

Those ideas include year-round schooling for students, which Kennedy said would support single parents and possibly improve Alabamas education outcomes. Kennedy also said he wants to improve education and training opportunities in prisons to reduce recidivism. He also said he would also support efforts to get rid of the states sales tax on groceries and end automatic increases in the state gas tax.

Kennedy said he thought he had a 90% chance of winning and that he could address fundraising shortfalls through canvassing.

Well just push it, going door to door and having public events, he said.

Chad "Chig" Martin, whose businesses include industrial supplies and a CBD store, started as an independent candidate but shifted to the Democratic Party. He describes himself as a conservative Democrat who believes in traditional marriage and gun rights but also the freedom of ones own body.

I see all kinds of problems when I drive around this state, from people living in poverty to talking to people in my stores that dont have health insurance, that dont have ways to acquire health insurance, he said.

Martin said he wants to put together a team of industrial recruiters to attract high-tech, high-paying jobs to the state. Martin also said he wants to push through the lottery once and for all in Alabama. He also said he would get the politics out of the classroom and said he opposes the teaching of critical race theory. Martin also said he opposes school vouchers and wants to get schools running correctly and financially stable.

I think I can put a campaign together that proves my conservative stances to the state, and my proven small business background, he said.

The only public office holder in the Democratic race said she entered the Senate in 2018 with hopes that she could help get Medicaid expansion over the line, and education. She said her run for governor would be a way to continue those efforts.

My platform is the beloved community, she said. I dont see myself as running against people. I see myself as running for this position.

Sanders-Fortier, an attorney by profession, said she wanted to work to continue expanding educational opportunities and access to health care We should be much clearer that our health is connected to one another, she said. She said she would also work to create a state economy structured in such a way that all Alabamians can get ahead.

Sanders-Fortier is also leaning into her experience in the campaign.

Ive had four years in government, which is just enough time for me to be in it, but not of it, she said. I understand how the Legislature works … I understand the rhythm of it, and I understand where that rhythm is good and harmonious and fruitful, and I understand where it needs to be tweaked or changed.

By his count, Smith who appears on the ballot as Doug New Blue Smith is on his fourth political race, having earlier mounted campaigns for State Senate, Agriculture and Industries Commissioner and governor. His message in what he calls his last rodeo is the same: the state needs to return to industrial recruitment that Smith credits with boosting overall incomes.

Smith argues that state government agencies he helped develop fueled economic growth from the last 1960s through the early 2000s that helped raise household income around the state.

It snatched Alabama out of the cotton patch and into the industrial age, he said. We were doing well gaining on the national average. If you take a measurement from 1967 from when we began to 2002, we were at 62% of the nations median household incomes By 2002 we had climbed to 89%.

Smith blames Republican administrations for cutting back on state government programs he credits with that growth. He said as governor he would try to restore them, and add a bank for small business as well.

Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Brian Lyman at 334-240-0185 or blyman@gannett.com.

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Here are the six Alabama Democrats seeking their party's gubernatorial nomination - Montgomery Advertiser

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Its not just Henry Cuellar and Jessica Cisneros.

Democratic primary runoffs for congressional and state legislative seats in South Texas are putting on display clearly different directions for the party as it approaches a general election where Republicans are set on capturing new territory in the region.

While Cuellars battle royale against Cisneros in the 28th Congressional District continues to captivate national attention especially with the recent news that the U.S. Supreme Court is poised to overturn Roe v. Wade these additional runoffs are also deeply meaningful for Democrats. They also showcase a new guard of more progressive Democrats taking on more moderate Democrats, often backed by more established local political players.

In the 15th Congressional District, Ruben Ramirez and Michelle Vallejo are vying to be the Democratic nominee for an open seat that Republicans consider one of their top pickup opportunities nationwide. In Texas Senate District 27, Morgan LaMantia and Sara Stapleton-Barrera are competing for the Democratic nod to replace a retiring incumbent, Eddie Lucio Jr., who leaves behind a long legacy of bucking his fellow Democrats on social issues. And in House District 37, Ruben Cortez Jr. and Luis Villarreal are jockeying for the Democratic slot in a new battleground district that Republicans created for themselves in the redistricting process last year.

All the contests have grown contentious in recent weeks as candidates fight to show they are the best standard-bearer for Democrats going forward in a newly competitive region. Here is a look at the three runoffs:

The 15th District arguably carries the highest stakes of all the Democratic primary runoffs in South Texas, given that Republicans see it as the most flippable. Already a district that Biden barely carried in 2020, redistricting tilted it a little more in the GOPs favor, prompting the incumbent, Democratic U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez of McAllen, to seek reelection in a more safe neighboring district.

The runoff candidates are Ruben Ramirez, a lawyer and Army veteran who previously ran for the seat, and Michelle Vallejo, an activist and small business owner. Its a timeworn matchup between a moderate Democrat who believes the party will risk the seat in November if it goes too far to the left and a progressive Democrat who sees it differently.

More than just telling people things, Ive been showing up, Vallejo said in an interview, noting she has been able to earn more endorsements than Ruben, both locally and nationally, and posted better numbers on the latest campaign finance report.

We havent just been talking the talk, weve been walking the walk, she said.

Ramirez has continued to campaign hard on electability and distancing himself from the national Democratic brand, impressing upon audiences that he knows South Texas Democrats are different. With an eye on the general election, he regularly namedrops the GOP nominee, Monica De La Cruz, who has emerged as one of the Republicans most prized congressional candidates nationwide.

Theres only one candidate that can win and beat Monica De La Cruz, and thats me, Ramirez said during a campaign stop earlier this month, noting he was the top vote-getter in the primary, earning 28% to 20% for Vallejo. In a statement for this story, he added, "We won the primary in March, we will win the runoff this month, and we will win in November to make sure that we have a common sense fighter for South Texas in Congress."

Vallejos endorsements include U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachussets; the Congressional Progressive Caucus; two former primary rivals; and EMILYs List, the influential national Democratic group that supports women who favor abortion rights. Ramirez has the backing of Gonzalez, plus the moderate Blue Dog Coalition in Congress and national groups that reflect his public-service background like VoteVets and 314 Action.

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus has been deeply divided on the runoff, with nearly a dozen members splitting their endorsements between Ramirez and Vallejo.

One of Ramirezs most helpful endorsers lately has been Democratic Majority for Israel, a pro-Israel group that is spending mid-six-figures on positive TV ads and mailers for him. The biggest outside spender for Vallejo has been LUPE Votes, a local progressive organizing organization.

The two avoided open conflict for months, but Ramirez recently sent out a mailer criticizing Vallejo over one of their biggest policy differences: health care. Ramirez is focused on protecting the Affordable Care Act and expanding coverage, while Vallejo supports the far more sweeping single-payer system known as Medicare for All. The mailer says such a plan would end the Affordable Care Act and eliminate private insurance, among other things, which Vallejos campaign called GOP talking points and lies in a recent fundraising email.

I will absolutely keep talking about Medicare for All, including in the general election, Vallejo said, calling the proposal more important than ever with Roe v. Wade on the line.

There has also been tension lately around ethics in campaigning. A Ramirez supporter filed a campaign finance complaint last month against LUPE Votes accusing it of violating multiple laws for how it has supported Vallejo; LUPE Votes has not responded to the charges. On Friday, a national progressive group, the Working Families Party, said voters were getting texts claiming to be from the group and urging support for Ramirez, even though it backs Vallejo; Ramirez's campaign denied any involvement.

And an Edinburg campaign worker whose clients included Ramirez was recently indicted on a federal bribery charge unrelated to the race; Ramirez's campaign cut ties and said "corruption has no place in government."

Morgan LaMantia and Sara Stapleton-Barrera are running for the Democratic nod to replace a giant in South Texas politics: state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., the Brownsville Democrat who has represented the 27th District since 1991. And he looms prominently over the race given that he has endorsed LaMantia, and his socially conservative politics are not widely embraced inside the party these days.

But LaMantia has made clear she disagrees with him on some key issues like his opposition to abortion rights while looking to fend off a persistent progressive campaigner in Stapleton-Barrera, who ran against Lucio in the 2020 primary and forced him to a runoff. Despite LaMantias massive spending in the March primary over $1.5 million she and Stapleton-Barrera finished close together, getting 34% and 33%, respectively.

Now LaMantia has shaken up the runoff with a full-throated message criticizing both Gov. Greg Abbott and President Joe Biden on the border, vowing to stand up to both parties to fix immigration.

To President Biden: The surge is here, theres still no plan, and we on the border are paying the price, LaMantia says in a TV ad, which is complemented by a mailer that tells Biden to walk back your decision on [ending] Title 42, the pandemic-era policy that border officials are using to quickly expel migrants at the border. One mailer shows a grainy, dark shot inside a migrant detention facility.

Stapleton-Barrera said Bidens move to rescind Title 42 is the right thing to do and an important step toward rebuilding the asylum system. She accused LaMantia of using national Republican rhetoric and trying to scare people here on the border.

LaMantia defended the advertising in an interview, saying border communities are fed up with inaction by both parties on immigration reform. She said the frustrations are resonating even among the hardcore Democrats that can be expected to turn out for a primary runoff.

There is no shortage of contrasts, especially with Stapleton-Barreras old opponent Lucio in the mix. She said the district does not need another one of [Lucios] mouthpieces, and even if LaMantia is sounding different notes on abortion rights, I dont think that necessarily means shes gonna be a champion or go up to bat on it. LaMantia said Lucio remained an asset for her candidacy given all his experience and the void in seniority the next senator will have to fill.

More broadly, LaMantia pointed to her business experience her family owns L&F Distributors, a beer wholesaler throughout South Texas as her main difference with Stapleton-Barrera.

Where she enjoys the soapbox, I enjoy the work, LaMantia said.

Whether the GOP is serious about flipping this seat is the most open question among the Democratic primary runoffs in South Texas. But just like elsewhere, Republicans got a head start in SD-27, finalizing their nominee, Adam Hinojosa, back in the March primary.

Much to the chagrin of Rio Grande Valley Democrats, Republicans divided up state House districts in the region during redistricting last year and came out with a newly competitive district based in Cameron County, including South Padre Island. President Joe Biden would have carried it by only 2 percentage points.

Republicans swiftly consolidated behind Janie Lopez, a San Benito school district trustee, and she easily won her primary in March. But the Democratic primary went to a runoff between two candidates who hail from distinctly different local factions: Luis Villarreal, a young former aide to state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., D-Brownsville; and Ruben Cortez Jr., a member of the State Board of Education who challenged Lucio in the 2020 primary.

Cortez is arguing Villarreal would be more of the same, a moderate like his former boss who is too cozy with Republicans. He has also highlighted that Villarreal recently worked as an executive for a staffing company that partnered with a troubled nonprofit to open a shelter for unaccompanied migrant children in the Valley.

This young man is poised to become the next Ryan Guillen, Cortez said, referring to the longtime South Texas state representative who switched parties and joined the GOP last year. He is not gonna fight for this battleground district every two years. He will fold to the Republican Party.

Cortez has seized on two donations that Villarreal made to Republicans toward the end of the 2020 election $5,000 to the state Republican Party and $2,800 to U.S. Sen. John Cornyn asking if Villarreal is running in the right primary. Villarreal has not shied away from the contributions as he has characterized them as indicative of the kind of bipartisan cooperation needed in the state Senate.

Asked at a recent forum if it is OK for Democratic candidates to have previously donated to Republicans, Villarreal answered in the affirmative, saying it shows character in a way that youre willing to work with both sides.

Were here locally, and we need to ensure that youre able to get what you need done, Villarreal said, and sometimes that means working with the other side, as I will when I become a legislator.

Cortez has faced his own attacks from charter-school advocates, who he has battled on the State Board of Education. One pro-charter school PAC, Charter Schools Now, is running an ad against Cortez that hits him as an unethical politician out for himself. Villarreal has piled on, writing on Facebook on Friday that Cortez has spent the last 18 years milking the governments cow.

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South Texas Democrats fight to shape their party's future in primary runoffs - The Texas Tribune