Author: Joel Williams
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Seth Moulton suspends his presidential campaign
Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) suspended his presidential campaign on Friday, August 23, making him the sixth notable Democrat to do so. “I think it’s evident that this is now a three-way race between Biden, Warren and Sanders, and really it’s a debate about how far left the party should go,” he said in an interview…
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Trump campaigns for Bevin in Kentucky gubernatorial race
Last night, President Donald Trump (R) headlined a fundraiser in Louisville for Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin's (R) re-election campaign. He also spoke at the American Veterans convention earlier in the day, where he told an audience, "We'll get [Bevin and Sen. Mitch McConnell] both back in." Bevin, Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear (D), and…
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Early analysis: 88 House and Senate battleground races in 2020
In 2020, all 435 seats in the U.S. House and 34 of the 100 seats in the U.S. Senate are up for election. Our initial list of battleground races includes 88 of them—15 in the Senate and 73 in the House. Battlegrounds are elections that we expect to have a meaningful effect on the balance…
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Rep. Kenny Marchant (R) announces retirement; fourth Congressional Republican from Texas in two weeks
U.S. Rep. Kenny Marchant (R-Texas) announced he would not seek re-election in 2020. He has represented Texas' 24th Congressional District since 2009 and won re-election in 2018 by 3.1 percentage points. His Dallas-area seat was already rated as competitive by three major race rating outlets. Marchant is the fourth Congressional Republican from Texas to…
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Trump has appointed second-most federal judges through August 1 of a president's third year
Donald Trump has appointed and the Senate confirmed 146 Article III federal judges through August 1, 2019, his third year in office. This is the second-most Article III judicial appointments through this point in a presidency of all presidents dating back to Theodore Roosevelt. Only Bill Clinton, with 156 judicial appointments, had more. Article…
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U.S. Rep. Mike Conaway (R-Texas) announces retirement
Rep. Mike Conaway (R-Texas) announced that he would not run for re-election in 2020. Twelve members of the U.S. House—nine Republicans and three Democrats—have said they are not running for re-election in 2020. Democrats currently hold a 235-198 majority in the U.S. House with two seats vacant. Conaway was first elected to represent Texas'…
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Democratic and Republican Governors Association affiliates launch ads in Kentucky gubernatorial election
On July 25, the group Bluegrass Values debuted two television ads in support of Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear (D). These are the first ads released by the group, which is affiliated with the Democratic Governors Association, in the Kentucky gubernatorial election. Beshear faces Gov. Matt Bevin (R) and John Hicks (L) in the general…
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Two Republican U.S. representatives announce retirements
U.S. Reps. Paul Mitchell (R-Mich.) and Pete Olson (R-Texas) announced this week that they would not seek re-election in 2020. So far, 10 members of the U.S. House—three Democrats and seven Republicans—have announced they are not seeking re-election in 2020. Seven are retiring from public office, two are seeking a U.S. Senate seat, and one…
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RNC raises twice as much as DNC for the third straight month
The Republican National Committee outraised the Democratic National Committee by more than 2-to-1 for the third straight month, according to July filings with the Federal Election Commission. Republicans led in national and Senatorial committee fundraising while Democrats led in House committee fundraising. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) raised $5.5 million and spent $3.8…
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Kentucky gubernatorial candidates square off at forum
Governor Matt Bevin (R) and Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear (D) attended a gubernatorial candidate forum hosted by the Kentucky Farm Bureau on July 17. The two discussed agricultural issues, the state budget, public pensions, and taxes during the hour-long forum. Bevin told the audience that the 2019 election has national implications, saying he…