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AZ-SEN: Kari Lake Chats With COVID Denialists About Her Senate Bid

Failed Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake is teasing a Senate run. But a possible return to the campaign trail hasn’t stopped her from appearing on far-right web shows, where she voices support for wild claims.

Lake, a Republican, has refused to concede her 2022 loss, even after a court rejected her election fraud claims. She’s also spent recent weeks hinting at a Senate campaign—and while Republican leaders have voiced skepticism about her potential campaign, Lake has found a friendlier audience on right-wing web shows, where she has recently nodded along to justifications for potential right-wing violence.

On Tuesday, Lake gave an interview to Stew Peters, a conspiracy theorist who made a documentary claiming that COVID-19 vaccines secretly use snake venom that will give people Satanic DNA.

During the interview, Peters pandered to Lake’s claims of voter fraud and lamented that “We’ve exhausted all political options. We’ve tried voting harder, voting better.”

“Getting involved,” Lake offered.

“Getting involved, yeah, we’ve tried writing, we’ve tried emailing, we’ve tried calling, we’ve tried peaceful protesting,” Peters said. “We’ve tried all of these things and I’m just saying, look, we have been the party of people, we have been the group of conservative Christians who have avoided violence or bloodshed at all costs. We have really come to the table with everything that we can. It just seems to be falling on deaf ears. I just don’t know how long a dog can be poked before it comes out of the corner and starts biting.”



https://www.thedailybeast.com/kari-lake-chats-with-satanic-dna-covid-denialists-about-her-senate-bid?ref=wrap

PA: Here are the candidates running to run Allegheny County

The Democrats

Sara Innamorato
State Representative

Sara Innamorato, a two-term, progressive state representative, is looking to make the jump from state lawmaker to county executive after four years representing the 21st House District. At her campaign launch, Innamorato pledged to bring down costs, expand access to housing, create jobs in renewable energy and address the root causes of crime. Innamorato promised to bring a “responsive, efficient, transparent and user-friendly government” to the county if elected.

Michael Lamb
Pittsburgh City Controller

No stranger to politics in Allegheny County, Michael Lamb has served as Pittsburgh city controller since 2008, making him the city’s top financial watchdog. He also served as Allegheny County prothonotary – a position he successfully lobbied to eliminate – and ran unsuccessfully for Pennsylvania auditor general in 2019. In a recent interview with WESA, Lamb touted his ability to “unite different interests” and reflected on his work to reform government in the region. As for what sets him apart from other candidates, Lamb said he has “the perseverance and the persistence to get something done.”

Liv Bennett
Member of Allegheny County Council

A local organizer and member of Allegheny County Council, Liv Bennett is hoping her roots in the county will help propel her to the county executive’s office. Bennett launched her campaign on Dec. 12, reflecting on her work on County Council to ban conversion therapy, prohibit fracking in county parks and establish a police review board, according to Pittsburgh City Paper. As county executive, Bennett wants to reform the Allegheny County Jail, improve access to public transit and strengthen public safety, per her campaign website.

Dave Fawcett
Trial lawyer and former member of Allegheny County Council

Oakmont resident Dave Fawcett announced his campaign for Allegheny County executive on Dec. 15, hoping to put his skills as a trial lawyer and former Allegheny County Council member to use in a new role. In a statement announcing his candidacy, Fawcett said he would bring “battle-tested leadership” to the county executive’s office, and listed job creation, further developing the region’s transportation systems and reducing gun violence as some of his top priorities.

Erin McClelland
Project manager at the Allegheny County Department of Human Services

Erin McClelland spent 15 years as a substance abuse and mental health counselor and now works at the county’s Department of Human Services as a project manager. McClelland sees the county executive’s office as her next career move, promising to bring “high-energy passion, vigilant prudence and extensive process and policy knowledge” to the position – a position that McClelland hopes to use to reform and modernize county government in a manner that addresses the needs of Allegheny County residents.

John Weinstein
Allegheny County Treasurer

Allegheny County Treasurer John Weinstein is hoping that his record handling the money in Allegheny County will pay off in the race to replace Fitzgerald. Weinstein has been elected to six straight terms as treasurer – serving in the office since 1999. In his campaign speech, Weinstein said his experience in county government sets him apart from the rest of the field. “I understand how to govern. I understand county government better than anyone,” said Weinstein. Combating crime and improving infrastructure will be two of his biggest priorities, he said.




The Republican

Joe Rockey
Former PNC executive

Joe Rockey, a retired PNC executive who formerly worked as a chief risk officer for the company, announced he will seek the GOP nomination for county executive – and he’s positioning himself as the moderate in the room. In his campaign launch remarks, Rockey touched on his father’s history as a union Democrat and vowed to address poverty, crime and homelessness as county executive. “Bringing the middle together is how we get things done and grow our economy for every family,” he said.

Emily's List jumps into Wisconsin Supreme Court election with endorsement of liberal judge

Emily’s List is endorsing a candidate in a state judicial race for the first time in its 38-year history, backing liberal Judge Janet Protasiewicz in a critical upcoming race for the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

Emily’s List President Laphonza Butler said in a statement released Thursday that the organization, which backs Democratic women candidates who support abortion rights, was “thrilled” to endorse Protasiewicz in a pivotal Supreme Court race that will decide the ideological balance of the court — and likely determine the fate of abortion access in the state.

“The rights and freedoms of millions of Wisconsinites hinge on a Wisconsin Supreme Court committed to reproductive freedom, democracy, and voting rights for all,” Butler said in the statement. “Protasiewicz has been a champion for Wisconsinites for over 35 years, and we have full confidence in her dedication to fairly interpreting the law and standing up to extremism. We are proud to support her in this race.”

Protasiewicz, a liberal Milwaukee County circuit court judge and former prosecutor, is one of four candidates — two liberals and two conservatives — running in a technically nonpartisan race to replace retiring conservative Justice Patience Roggensack. The top two vote-getters in the top-four primary on February 21 will advance to an April 4 general election.




https://19thnews.org/2023/02/wisconsin-supreme-court-emilys-list-endorses-janet-protasiewicz/

Campaign donors love a winner, dump Michigan GOP for Democrats after election

LANSING — Campaign donations to legislative Republicans started to dry up almost immediately after Democrats won control of the state Legislature on Nov. 8, campaign finance records show.

Between Nov. 9 and Dec. 31, Michigan’s top legislative Democrats and Democratic caucus funds received more than $258,000 from almost 290 donors, including $244,000 from corporate PACs and other political committees, according to a Bridge Michigan analysis of state campaign finance reports released Jan. 31.

Their GOP counterparts received just shy of $93,000 from 13 donors, including $70,000 from four current and former legislators’ campaign accounts.

The fundraising gap follows a historic win by Democrats, who now control the governor’s office and the state Legislature for the first time since 1984. Michigan’s secretary of state and attorney general are both Democrats, and the party has a one-seat advantage on the state Supreme Court.



https://www.bridgemi.com/michigan-government/campaign-donors-love-winner-dump-michigan-gop-democrats-after-election

KY-SD19: Meet the Democrat looking to replace Morgan McGarvey in the Kentucky Senate

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Some Jefferson County voters will select a new state senator this February. A special election has been called for Senate District 19, which covers Louisville neighborhoods like the Highlands and Cherokee Park.

The reasoning? Former State Senator Morgan McGarvey vacated the seat to replace retiring Democratic Rep. John Yarmuth in Washington. McGarvey is the only Democrat representing Kentucky in D.C.

Democrat Cassie Chambers Armstrong and Republican Misty Glin have been selected by their respective parties to run for District 19.

Armstrong is currently on the Louisville Metro Council, representing District 8. She’s held the position since 2020.

Armstrong says that experience would help her in Frankfort. “I am someone that has shown during my time on Metro Council that I can be an effective legislator, that I can reach across the aisle, that I can build bipartisan coalitions, and that I can use those coalitions that can pass policies that will benefit people in the 19th Senate District,” Armstrong said.

Armstrong adds that Morgan McGarvey has been a mentor to her, and says his ability to reach across the aisle on issues is something she plans to do as well.

The Democrat would enter the Kentucky Senate facing a Republican supermajority.

“Even when we disagree on other things,” Armstrong said, “it’s also important that we bring different perspectives and I am someone who has lived and experienced rural poverty on the other side of the state and now represents one of the most urban areas in my current Metro Council District. And so I think I have a good diversity of perspective on what the challenges are in Kentucky and good ideas about how we can solve those together.”

As a mother of two, Armstrong says family-related issues, such as daycare access, high-quality public education, affordable health care, are a few areas she plans to focus on in the Senate.

“And really making sure that working families can thrive in our commonwealth,” Armstrong said. “That is how we move Kentucky forward.”



https://spectrumnews1.com/ky/louisville/news/2023/01/13/meet-the-democrat-looking-to-replace-morgan-mcgarvey-in-the-kentucky-senate

Amid slew of anti-abortion bills, lawmakers fight to enshrine reproductive rights in Virginia consti

RICHMOND — Virginia lawmakers and advocates are fighting to enshrine women’s reproductive rights in the state constitution amid a slew of anti-abortion bills, some which passed the House ahead of the session midpoint.

Virginia Reproductive Equity Alliance, VREA, celebrated “Repro Advocacy Day” last month by lobbying state legislators. VREA is a newly formed coalition of organizations who support reproductive care and access, in addition to advancing racial equity, according to its website.

The groups visited the state Capitol on Jan. 23, the day after the 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Women’s health care has been a mobilizing issue throughout the nation following the U.S. Supreme Court overturning of the 1973 decision that gave women the choice of an abortion. The ruling was overturned in 2022 and gave states authority to allow abortion access.

Diana Tycer recently joined VREA to advocate for abortion rights, she said. Tycer is against any abortion bans and limitations and is “not even happy with what currently exists.” She fears there will be attempts to limit contraception.

“I guess one of the things I fear is that there is an assault on women’s reproductive freedom and that just trying to ban abortion is only the beginning,” Tycer said.



https://www.pilotonline.com/government/virginia/vp-nw-cns-abortion-legislation-virginia-20230208-zjaiwh2l7fbo7ig54o74ulxeqa-story.html

Michigan Democrat Mallory McMorrow responds to Sarah Huckabee Sanders

McCarthy brings in record haul at first fundraiser since becoming Speaker

Kevin McCarthy raised $12.3 million on Wednesday evening at his first major fundraising event since his bitter battle for the House speaker’s gavel last month.

The event, hosted by key McCarthy ally and mega lobbyist Jeff Miller, represented a record-fundraising haul for the California Republican. It came one day after he sat quietly behind President Joe Biden for the State of the Union.

The cost of attendance for the fundraiser was $50,000, raised or contributed. The requested contribution for co-hosts was $100,000, and for hosts, $250,000. The money raised will support McCarthy’s campaign, his leadership PAC and the National Republican Congressional Committee.

The event illustrated the new power structures and fault lines that have popped up in a Washington now marked by divided government. Holding the levers of power in the House, McCarthy — already a prodigious fundraiser — has become an even bigger draw. And those who are stuffing his coffers have additional incentives to do so.

Miller and the event’s co-sponsors — a number of whom once worked for the now-speaker — represent clients with stakes across major policy fights before Congress: PhRMA, Mastercard, Apple, Altria, the American Petroleum Institute and the American Investment Council, among others.




https://www.politico.com/news/2023/02/08/mccarthy-first-fundraiser-speaker-00081960

Nevada bill would protect out-of-staters seeking abortions

RENO — Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro is set to introduce legislation that would codify former Gov. Steve Sisolak’s executive order protecting out-of-state abortion patients and health care providers who provide abortions.

Cannizzaro, D-Las Vegas, said Wednesday that she would introduce the bill during the upcoming legislative session, which begins Feb. 6.
“The reason for a piece of legislation is that an executive order is not something that is written into statute,” Cannizzaro said during an interview with the Review-Journal. “It’s subject to change. It’s subject to potentially not existing any longer. We want to make sure that those protections are reliable.

The executive order, which was signed by Sisolak in June, blocks any Nevada agency from providing information or using resources to assist out-of-state authorities investigating individuals who seek an abortion in the state and the providers who perform the procedure. The order also protects health care professionals from being disciplined by medical boards for performing abortions.

Sisolak signed the executive order just days after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June and gave individual states power to regulate abortion. Abortion is protected in Nevada by a more than three-decade old voter referendum, but more than a dozen states have banned or severely limited access to abortion since the decision.




https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/politics-and-government/nevada/2023-legislature/cannizzaro-bill-would-protect-out-of-staters-seeking-abortions-2714963/