Graham Platner cruises to Maine Democratic Senate nomination despite mounting controversies, setting up a key midterm battle against Sen. Susan Collins.
Republicans on Capitol Hill and beyond have shifted their focus toward cutting fraud in government programs, an effort they hope will resonate with voters in November. Lawmakers have rolled out several bills related to stopping fraud in government programs. The raft of legislation adds to efforts by the Trump administration to crack down on fraud […]
The US and Iran exchanged strikes overnight after President Donald Trump retaliated against Tehran for shooting down an American Apache helicopter which was patrolling the Strait of Hormuz. Bloomberg's Abeer Abu Omar reports. (Source: Bloomberg)
The US and Iran exchanged strikes overnight after President Donald Trump retaliated against Tehran for shooting down an American Apache helicopter.
Maine Democrats handed progressive firebrand Graham Platner an easy win in Tuesday's Senate primary, looking past his personal scandals in hopes he can oust five-term GOP Sen. Susan Collins in November.Why it matters: Tuesday's results set up what's sure to be a nasty, expensive battle for a seat that will go a long way toward determining control of the Senate. They also illustrated the huge contrasts now animating the political parties:GOP voters are almost always in lockstep with the leader of their party, President Trump, whose pick for South Carolina governor advanced to a runoff.As for Democrats, the combination of being desperate for victory and having no one with enough clout to stop an embattled outsider helped set the stage for Platner's big win over Gov. Janet Mills, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's pick in the race.Zoom in: Platner's victory was also the latest one for Democratic progressives in their ongoing civil war with the party's moderates.Standing behind a sign that defiantly read, "They Don't Know Maine," Platner delivered an acceptance speech that mixed talk of his past regrets and slammed elites who'd opposed him."The national pundits, the political establishment, they keep looking for that one story, that one headline, that one moment in my life that they can define the campaign by," Platner said. "But in trying so hard to understand me, they failed to understand that this is not about me at all. This is a movement about us."Late Tuesday, Schumer and Senate Democrats' top super PAC put out statements making clear they support Platner.Key takeaways from Tuesday:Platner's latest round of scandals haven't hurt him — yet. His campaign has been a roller coaster ride of revelations, from the Nazi-linked tattoo he covered up to the recent reports that he'd sent sexually suggestive texts to women who weren't his wife. The reports gripped D.C. and made lots of ad fodder for Republicans, but didn't appear to damage Platner in Tuesday's primary. Early returns showed him with about 72% of the vote— close to his poll numbers before the latest headlines.Here come the attacks: In a preview of the smash-mouth assaults headed for Platner, Republican National Committee chair Joe Gruters called the Democratic nominee a "racist, sexist, Nazi-loving domestic abuser." Platner, a Marine combat veteran, kick-started his campaign against Collins by casting her as a corrupt warmonger who "handed out billions of dollars to defense companies" while "I got blown up."The parties' role-reversal: On one side, there's a scandal-plagued man running as a populist that the political establishment tried and failed to stop. On the other, a moderate woman who's been in D.C. for decades. It's not the 2016 election between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton — it's the match-up between Platner and Collins that looks like the Senate version, with the parties switched. Dems warm to controversy: Blame it on Trump lowering the bar for candidates' personal conduct, Democrats losing trust in their leaders to know what it takes to win, or something darker. Platner's primary victory signals that Democratic voters have become more willing to accept skeletons in a candidate's closet. Trump picks a winner, while Rep. Nancy Mace hits a dead end: In the latest affirmation of Trump's power over the GOP, his pick in South Carolina's gubernatorial primary, Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, advanced to a runoff with state Attorney General Alan Wilson. Mace, a former Trump loyalist who fell out of favor with him after pushing for the release of the Epstein files, was running fifth in the primary.
Outcome of polls in four states offer mixed signals about direction of two major parties before November’s midtermsProgressives rallied round the controversial Graham Platner after his primary victory in Maine on Tuesday, while Donald Trump again exerted his grip on the Republican party, helping to defeat a politician who had pushed for the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files.Primary elections were held in four states – Maine, Nevada, North Dakota and South Carolina – ahead of November’s midterms to decide control of both houses of Congress. The results offered mixed signals about the direction of the two major parties. Continue reading...
Progressive oyster farmer Graham Platner easily won the Democratic contest on Tuesday to take on Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) — officially teeing up one of this year’s marquee Senate races. Planter was expected to win the Democratic primary, but recent revelations over a sexting scandal and his alleged toxic conduct from several ex-girlfriends have rocked his campaign and rattled…
Aaron Ford, Nevada’s attorney general, has prevailed over a crowded field of Democrats to face off against first-term Governor Joe Lombardo, a Republican, in a race that will test voters’ willingness to back President Donald Trump’s economic agenda in the midst of headwinds caused in part by his policies.
Voters in the Silver State are weighing in on a slate of House primary elections Tuesday. Republican Rep. Mark Amodei is retiring from his seat in the 2nd Congressional District, setting off a crowded GOP primary in Nevada. Financial advisor David Flippo secured President Trump’s endorsement, while James Settlemeyer is backed by the incumbent and…