Category: alaska

It’s money vs. the establishment in unpredictable Senate primary in Maryland

Posted on by Jeff Singer

Voters in Maryland, Nebraska, and West Virginia pick their nominees Tuesday in a set of high-profile primaries for state and federal offices where it takes just a simple plurality to win.

That's not all that's in store, though. North Carolina will host runoffs in contests where no one earned at least 30% of the vote in the first round of the primary on March 5—though only in races where the runner-up officially requested a second round. Finally, voters in Anchorage are taking part in a competitive general election to determine the next leader of Alaska's largest city.

Below, you'll find our guide to all of the top races to watch arranged chronologically by each state’s poll closing times. When it’s available, we'll tell you about any reliable polling that exists for each race, but if we don't mention any numbers, it means no recent surveys have been made public.

To help you follow along, you can find interactive maps from Dave's Redistricting App for Maryland, Nebraska, and West Virginia. You can find Daily Kos Elections' 2020 presidential results for each congressional district here, as well as our geographic descriptions for each seat. You’ll also want to bookmark our primary calendar, which includes the dates for primaries in all 50 states.

We'll be liveblogging all of these races at Daily Kos Elections on Tuesday night, starting when the first polls close at 7:30 PM ET. Join us for our complete coverage!

North Carolina

Polls close at 7:30 PM ET.

• NC-LG (R) (50-49 Trump): The main contest on a mostly quiet night in North Carolina is the race to succeed far-right Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, who is the Republican nominee for governor. (Candidates for governor and lieutenant governor are elected separately.)

Hal Weatherman, who has worked as a top staffer for several extremist politicians, led Forsyth County District Attorney Jim O'Neill 20-16 in the first round on March 5. Robinson went on to endorse Weatherman for the second round. The winner will go up against state Sen. Rachel Hunt, who won the Democratic nomination two months ago.

The GOP primary for the 13th Congressional District will also be on the ballot, but the race ended in early May when wealthy attorney Kelly Daughtry ended her campaign and endorsed former federal prosecutor Brad Knott. Another congressional district that had been slated to host a runoff, the 6th, won't have one because former Rep. Mark Walker dropped out in March when there was still time to call off a second round.

West Virginia

Polls close at 7:30 PM ET.

• WV-Sen (R) (69-30 Trump): Republicans were well-positioned to flip West Virginia's Senate seat even before Democrat Joe Manchin announced his retirement in November, and there was never much suspense about who the GOP's nominee will be: Gov. Jim Justice, who is termed out of his current post, has the support of Donald Trump and the GOP establishment in a seven-way primary. 

Rep. Alex Mooney hoped to position himself as a hardline alternative to Justice, who was elected governor as a Democrat in 2016 and switched parties the next year, but the one-time Maryland legislator has failed to reverse his massive deficit in the polls. The typically free-spending Club for Growth all but gave up on Mooney well before Election Day, telling Politico that Trump's endorsement of Justice left the congressman without "a viable path forward."

• WV-Gov (R) (69-30 Trump): Republicans have an ugly and expensive six-person race to replace Jim Justice as governor that's been defined by escalating transphobic campaign ads from the three main candidates. That trio consists of Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, former Del. Moore Capito, and wealthy car dealership owner Chris Miller.

Morrisey, despite his failure to unseat Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin in 2018, has been the frontrunner from the start. The Club for Growth and an affiliated organization have spent $10 million on ads praising the attorney general or attacking his rivals, which is far more than any other campaign or group has deployed.

The other main candidates, though, have prominent connections. Capito is the son of Sen. Shelley Moore Capito and the grandson of the late Gov. Arch Moore, and he earned Justice's endorsement a month ahead of the primary. Miller, whose mother is Rep. Carol Miller, has used his wealth to finance ads touting himself as an outsider. 

Secretary of State Mac Warner is also in the hunt, but he's struggled to bring in money and has aired few ads. Morrisey's backers started running ads targeting Warner in the final days, though, a sign that they believe he could cost their candidate votes. Two little-known Republicans also are on the ballot.

Almost every poll has shown Morrisey in the lead, though surveys disagree about both the size of his advantage and whether either Capito or Miller is his main opponent. A late April survey for a pro-Capito group showed the former legislator beating Morrisey 31-23, but no one has released corroborating data.

• WV-01 (R): Rep. Carol Miller faces an intra-party challenge from former Del. Derrick Evans, who served 90 days in prison for his participation in the Jan. 6 riot, in a constituency based in the southern half of the state.

Miller, who voted against recognizing Joe Biden's victory hours after the attack on the Capitol, doesn't appear to have done anything obvious that might alienate hardliners, but she's still taking Evans seriously. The congresswoman began airing ads late in the contest reminding viewers that Evans ran for the legislature as a Democrat in 2016.

• WV-02 (R): Five Republicans are campaigning to replace Senate candidate Alex Mooney in the district located in the northern half of West Virginia, but there's been one obvious frontrunner from the beginning. 

Treasurer Riley Moore, who is the nephew of Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, started running in November of 2022 and enjoys the support of both Mooney and Speaker Mike Johnson. Moore has also benefited from over $1.1 million in outside spending, with most of that coming from a crypto-aligned group called Defend American Jobs.

Moore's main opponent appears to be retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Chris Walker, who would be the state's first Black member of Congress. Walker has raised a credible sum of money despite entering the race just four months before the primary, but he's gotten no notable outside support in this uphill battle.

Maryland

Polls close at 8 PM ET.

• MD-Sen (D) (65-32 Biden): Prince George's County Executive Angela Alsobrooks and Rep. David Trone are the main candidates in a closely watched 10-person primary to succeed retiring Sen. Ben Cardin, a fellow Democrat who has not taken sides in the contest. The winner will likely take on former Gov. Larry Hogan, who should have no trouble winning the Republican primary.

Alsobrooks would be both Maryland's first Black senator and the first woman to represent the state in either chamber of Congress in eight years. She's benefited from high-profile support from Gov. Wes Moore, Sen. Chris Van Hollen, and most of Trone's colleagues in the state's House delegation, as well as an endorsement from the Washington Post.

But Trone, who is a co-founder of the liquor retailer Total Wine, is using his personal resources in a bid to overcome Alsobrooks's extensive establishment support. The congressman has poured over $60 million of his own money into his campaign, which is more than any candidate for Senate has ever self-funded for a primary.

Trone began running TV ads a full year before the primary, and according to AdImpact, he's outspent Alsobrook on commercials by a lopsided $46 million to $4 million spread as of Friday. Alsobrook's allies at EMILYs List have deployed over $2 million to help her overcome this gap, though there's been no other major outside spending on her behalf. Trone, who is white, has used many of his ads to tout his support from Black figures like state Attorney General Anthony Brown.

During the final weeks, the congressman has argued that he'd be a stronger opponent for Hogan and that Alsobrooks has done a poor job in elected office, though some of his messages attracted the wrong type of attention. His team edited a commercial to remove a line arguing that the Senate "is not a place for training wheels," a phrase Alsobrooks' allies charged was racist and sexist. EMILYs, meanwhile, has highlighted Trone's past donations to Republicans in its ads.

Almost every survey has shown Trone ahead, with an independent poll from early April placing his advantage at 48-29. However, there has been little data from the final weeks of the race.

• MD-02 (D) (59-39 Biden): Retiring Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger and much of the state's Democratic establishment are supporting Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski in the six-person primary for this suburban Baltimore seat. The only other notable contender is Del. Harry Bhandari, but he faces a wide financial and institutional disadvantage against Olszewski.

• MD-03 (D) (62-36 Biden): There are 22 names on the Democratic primary ballot to succeed retiring Democratic Rep. John Sarbanes, but most of the attention has centered on two of them: retired Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn, who helped defend Congress during the Jan. 6 riot, and state Sen. Sarah Elfreth.

Dunn's national fame helped him raise over $4.5 million from his campaign launch in January through April 24, a truly massive sum for a House candidate in such a short amount of time. But while that's about three times as much as Elfreth brought in, she's benefited from another $4.2 million in outside spending from the hawkish pro-Israel group AIPAC.

Dunn has responded by airing ads blasting Elfreth for the help she's received from the organization, which he characterized as a "right-wing SuperPAC funded by Trump donors." Elfreth, who has Sen. Ben Cardin's support, has emphasized her roots in the district, which includes the state capital of Annapolis and several of Baltimore's suburbs—a not-too-subtle contrast to Dunn, who does not live in the 3rd District. (Members of Congress do not need to live in the district they represent.)

Dunn and Elfreth have overshadowed the rest of the field, but it's possible someone else could pull off an upset in this packed race. The roster includes state Sen. Clarence Lam, labor attorney John Morse, and three members of the state House of Delegates: Mark Chang, Terri Hill, and Mike Rogers.

• MD-06 (D & R) (54-44 Biden): Democratic Rep. David Trone's decision to run for the Senate has set off a pair of busy primaries to replace him in a constituency that contains the western part of the state and a slice of the Washington, D.C. suburbs.

There are 16 names on the Democratic ballot (though some of those candidates have dropped out), though former U.S. Commerce Department official April McClain Delaney is the frontrunner. Delaney is the wife of former Rep. John Delaney, who represented the previous version of the 6th District for three terms before leaving office in 2019 for an ill-fated bid for president, and she's brought in considerably more money than her opponents thanks in part to self-funding.

Delaney's main intra-party opponent looks to be Del. Joe Vogel, a 27-year-old who identifies as Jewish, Latino, and gay. Thanks in part to the unique profile he'd have in Congress, he's attracted national attention. He's also benefited from about $400,000 in support from Equality PAC, which is affiliated with the Congressional LGBTQ Equality Caucus, while there's been no comparable outside spending for anyone else.

Vogel has aired ads attacking Delaney for her past donations to and friendships with hard-right Republicans, but both sides disagree on the state of the race. A late April survey for Equality PAC found the two deadlocked 24-24, but a Delaney internal conducted a week from Election Day placed her ahead 37-24. 

What both polls do agree on is that the rest of the field is mired in the single digits. This roster includes Del. Lesley Lopez, Hagerstown Mayor Tekesha Martinez, and Montgomery County Councilmember Laurie-Anne Sayles.

The two most familiar names on the GOP side are former Dels. Dan Cox and Neil Parrott, who both lost high-profile elections in 2022. Cox, an election conspiracy theorist, was the party's disastrous nominee for governor, while Parrott lost to Trone by a 55-45 margin. Both men, though, brought in considerably less money than Navy veteran Tom Royals, who would give his party a comparatively fresh face.

• Baltimore Mayor (D) (87-11 Biden): First-term Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott faces a competitive primary battle against one of the most prominent and controversial figures in local politics, former Mayor Sheila Dixon.

Dixon resigned as mayor in 2010 after she was convicted of stealing gift cards that were supposed to help needy families, but she's retained a loyal base of support among voters who remember her as a leader who helped bring down the city's murder rate. Dixon came close to winning back her old post in the 2016 primary and again in 2020, when Scott narrowly beat her 30-27.

Scott himself has touted a drop in the homicide rate, but critics still argue he's done a poor job addressing crime. Those naysayers include Baltimore Sun co-owner David Smith, a prominent conservative who has financed a super PAC that's labeled Scott a "nice guy, bad mayor."

The incumbent has enjoyed a sizable fundraising advantage over Dixon, though his lead in two April polls that showed him ahead by single-digit margins was less decisive. There haven't been any more recent surveys, though, in a contest that's been overshadowed by the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

Eleven others are on the ballot, including former federal prosecutor Thiru Vignarajah, who dropped out and endorsed Dixon in early May. Scott and Dixon, however, are the only serious contenders. Winning the Democratic primary has long been tantamount to election in this loyally blue city, and that remains the case in 2024.

Nebraska

Polls close at 9 PM ET. While Nebraska is split between the Central and Mountain time zones, polls close in the entire state at the same time.

• NE-02 (R) (52-46 Biden): Both parties are preparing for a competitive rematch between Republican Rep. Don Bacon and Democratic state Sen. Tony Vargas two years after Bacon's 51-49 victory, but the congressman first must dispatch a far-right candidate from yesteryear.

Businessman Dan Frei campaigned against then-Rep. Lee Terry in 2014 for the previous version of this Omaha-based seat and held that incumbent to a shockingly close 53-47 victory. Many Republicans still blame Frei for Terry's defeat that fall, so his decision to take on Bacon left his detractors with some uncomfortable déjà vu.

Bacon, though, has tried to dispel worries of a repeat by releasing a pair of surveys showing him easily defeating Frei, who has acknowledged he doesn't have the money to pay for his own polls. Trump, despite his past feuds with Bacon, has not backed Frei.

Alaska

Polls close at 12:00 AM ET Wednesday / 8 PM Tuesday local time.

• Anchorage, AK Mayor (49-48 Biden): Far-right Mayor Dave Bronson faces a difficult reelection battle against former Anchorage Assembly Chair Suzanne LaFrance, an independent who has the support of the local Democratic Party. The winner of this officially nonpartisan election will serve a three-year term, as Anchorage is the rare major American city where terms last an odd number of years.

LaFrance, whose previous role made her the leader of the local equivalent of a city council, led Bronson 36-35 in the first round of voting on April 2. Former Anchorage Economic Development Corp. CEO Bill Popp, an independent who took third with 17%, went on to endorse LaFrance for the second round. However, former Democratic state Rep. Chris Tuck, who took 8%, has remained neutral.

LaFrance, who has outraised Bronson, has argued he's been an "incompetent" and divisive leader who's done a poor job addressing issues like homelessness and snow removal. The mayor has hit back by arguing that, with progressives already in charge of the city's governing body, "our ultra-woke Assembly will have a rubber stamp at City Hall" if he's not reelected.

Feds Catch More Than 460 Known, Suspected Terrorists In Nine Months, Most At Northern Border

Posted on by The Center Square

By Bethany Blankley (The Center Square)

There have been hundreds of known or suspected terrorists apprehended at the northern and southern borders in the current fiscal year, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data.

As foreign nationals illegally enter the U.S. and are apprehended, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Field Operations agents screen them against a federal Terrorist Screening Dataset, which includes sensitive information about terrorist identities. It originated as a consolidated terrorist watch list “to house information on known or suspected terrorists, or KSTs, but has evolved over the last decade to include additional individuals who represent a potential threat to the United States, including known affiliates of watch-listed individuals,” CBP states.

As of June 15, OFO agents apprehended 53 KSTs at southwest border ports of entry and 284 at northern border ports of entry, totaling 337. CBP’s fiscal year begins on Oct. 1.

They also apprehended 125 KSTs between ports of entry at the southern border and two between ports of entry at the northern border, totaling 127 KSTs fiscal year to date. 

Combined, they’ve apprehended 464 known or suspected terrorists.

That’s nearly a 30% increase in one month after previous increases were roughly 87%.

Related: Illegal Border Crossers So Far This Year Outnumber The Population Of 8 States

Roughly one month ago, The Center Square reported OFO agents apprehended 332 KSTs at both borders. They apprehended 125 at the southern border (45 KSTs at ports of entry and 80 between ports of entry) and 207 at the northern border (205 at ports of entry and two between ports of entry).

These numbers were up from 284 KSTs apprehended by March, which was significantly up from 38 apprehended by January, an 87% increase in just two months.

By comparison, in fiscal 2022, 478 KSTs were apprehended in fiscal 2022. Agents apprehended 165 at the southern border (67 at ports of entry and 98 between ports of entry) and 313 at northern border ports of entry. 

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas maintains that the border is closed and secure. He’s refused to resign despite growing calls for him to do so. Multiple attorneys general and members of Congress have called for his impeachment.

While border security experts acknowledge the commendable work of OFO agents in apprehending known or suspected terrorists, they also express concern about how many have illegally entered the U.S. unabated. 

Related: Border Patrol To Release Foreign Nationals En Masse Into Communities As Title 42 Ends

Last month, former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement under the Trump administration Tom Homan warned, “What’s happening is the greatest national security threat since 9/11. Border Patrol has arrested people from 171 countries. Many of these countries are sponsors of terrorism.”

He also pointed to the record number of gotaways, those who’ve illegally entered the U.S. and evaded capture by law enforcement, totaling over 1.7 million reported by Border Patrol agents since the president’s been in office – that number’s since gone up.

“If you don’t think a single one of the 1.7 million is coming from a country that sponsors terrorism, then you’re ignoring the data,” Homan said. “That’s what makes this a huge national security issue.”

While many have focused on the southern border, a congressional Northern Border Security Caucus was formed in March to call for additional security along there. It’s mainly left unmanned when comparing the amount of personnel to square mileage.

The U.S. northern border is the longest international border in the world, spanning 5,525 miles. Fourteen states share the U.S.-Canada border; 13 to Canada’s south and Alaska to its west.

By comparison, four states share 1,954 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border, with Texas sharing the most of 1,254 miles.

Syndicated with permission from The Center Square.

The post Feds Catch More Than 460 Known, Suspected Terrorists In Nine Months, Most At Northern Border appeared first on The Political Insider.

Chief justice temporarily blocks Title 42 end, indicates further action from court could come soon

Posted on by Gabe Ortiz

Chief Justice John Roberts on Monday temporarily halted the Biden administration’s planned lifting of the anti-asylum Title 42 order, granting a so-called emergency appeal from a slate of Republican attorneys general. “So-called emergency appeal,” because the appeals court panel that had last week denied the GOP request noted that the group of 19 attorneys general had waited too long to file their request.

The Biden administration had planned to lift the debunked public health order that’s used the pandemic as an excuse to quickly deport asylum-seekers in violation of their rights Tuesday evening, following a lower court order. Roberts instructed the administration to respond by this evening, indicating more action could be imminent. Legal expert Mark Joseph Stern noted that Roberts’ administrative stay “does not hint at the eventual outcome.”

RELATED STORY: D.C. Court of Appeals panel rejects GOP effort trying to keep anti-asylum policy in place

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Republicans have simultaneously claimed that the Biden administration has an “open borders” policy while insisting that the Title 42 policy—which was implemented against the advice of public health experts by noted white supremacist Stephen Miller and Mike Pence at the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020—must stay in place indefinitely. They have also insisted this public health order remain as they’ve consistently challenged other pandemic-related orders by the administration.

“The Biden administration, for its part, has insisted it is prepared to lift Title 42, saying the restoration of regular immigration procedures, such expedited deportations, will allow the U.S. to gradually reduce migrant arrivals and the high rate of repeat crossings recorded during the pandemic,” CBS News reported.

That last part is crucial: Title 42 in fact led to an increase in apprehensions, because desperate people blocked from their asylum rights and expelled have had no choice but to try again. It’s a failed policy, and its lifting would put our country back on the side of respecting U.S. and international asylum law. In a statement, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said that as required by Roberts’ order, “the Title 42 public health order will remain in effect at this time and individuals who attempt to enter the United States unlawfully will continue to be expelled to Mexico.”

“While this stage of the litigation proceeds, we will continue our preparations to manage the border in a safe, orderly, and humane way when the Title 42 public health order lifts,” Mayorkas continued. “We urge Congress to use this time to provide the funds we have requested for border security and management and advance the comprehensive immigration measures President Biden proposed on his first day in office.”

House Republicans set to take power in the next Congress have indicated they’re serious about leading on immigration policy … by pushing a harebrained idea to impeach Mayorkas. Over what crimes? They haven’t figured that part out yet.

Vice President Kamala Harris similarly noted the need for lawmakers to lead on comprehensive immigration measures, and she called out for Republicans for failing to come to the table. They obsess on the issue of immigration only when it’s election season (my words, not hers). For example, a proposed framework that would have passed permanent relief for young immigrants in exchange for harsh border measures recently failed, derailed by Republicans’ “border first” excuses even though there was border stuff in there.

"I think that there is so much that needs to happen to address the issue," the vice president told NPR. "And sadly, what we have seen in particular, I am sad to say, from Republicans in Congress is an unwillingness to engage in any meaningful reform that could actually fix a lot of what we are witnessing.”

RELATED STORIES:

Biden admin set to lift anti-asylum Title 42 order next week, but GOP appeal may now delay that

'Arbitrary and capricious': In victory for asylum-seekers, judge orders end to Miller pandemic order

Testimony confirms Title 42 was never about public health, it was about deporting asylum-seekers

Trump To Head To Alaska To Stump For Palin And Tshibaka, Could Add To Endorsed Candidate Wins

Posted on by Becky Noble

Former President Donald Trump will head to Alaska on July 9 to headline a campaign rally that Saturday afternoon for former Alaska Gov. and congressional candidate Sarah Palin, current Gov. Mike Dunleavy, and Senate candidate Kelly Tshibaka.

Tshibaka is running against incumbent Republican Lisa Murkowski, who made Trump’s target list when she joined Democrats in voting to convict him in his impeachment trial over the Capitol riot. 

RELATED: Dr. Ben Carson Defends Clarence Thomas From Attacks By Hillary: For Liberals ‘Only Thing worse Than Satan Is A Black Conservative’

Special Election

Palin and a whopping 48 other candidates were in the original running for Alaska’s lone House seat, which was left vacant by the death in March of Rep. Don Young (R-AK), who held the seat for 49 years.

Palin, as a former Governor, has of course already won a statewide election in Alaska, and has the star power and name recognition of having been the Republican Party’s candidate for Vice President in 2008.

The top four finishers from the special primary election will now go on to the special election on August 16. The winner will serve out the rest of Young’s term. 

Murkowski has accused the Trump-endorsed Tshibaka of being a “rubber-stamp Republican,” and seemingly does not regret her impeachment vote. She said of Tshibaka:

“I may be the last man standing. I may not be reelected. It may be that Alaskans say, ‘Nope, we want to go with an absolute, down-the-line, always, always, 100-percent, never-question, rubber-stamp Republican.”

RELATED: Willful Blindness: Feds Ignore Massive Illegal Alien ID Theft Plaguing Americans As U.S. Coffers Fill

Racking Up Wins

Establishment and never-Trump Republicans wish the former President would just go away, but that is not what candidates who are vying for his endorsement seem to be saying. Trump-endorsed candidates have been racking up primary wins all over the country, and this past Tuesday’s slate of primaries was no exception.

In Colorado, Lauren Boebert won with 65% of the vote. In Illinois, State Senator Darren Bailey won and will go up against incumbent Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the Democrat machine there.

Also in Illinois, Reps. Mary Miller (R-IL) and Rodney Davis (R-IL) went up against each other for a redrawn district. Trump-endorsed Miller emerged the winner in that race.

In Oklahoma, Gov. Kevin Stitt won with 69% of the vote. and in Utah, Sen. Mike Lee and Rep. Burgess Owens both won primaries each garnering 61% of the vote in their respective races.

So far, 30 Trump endorsed candidates have won their primaries. Others do not take place until August.

RELATED: Biden On How Long Americans Can Expect To Pay High Gas Prices – ‘As Long As It Takes’

Many Who Voted To Impeach Won’t Be Back

Three of the ten House members who voted to impeach Donald Trump are not running for reelection in 2022. Rep. Tom Rice (R-NC) recently lost his primary race to Trump-backed challenger Russell Fry. House Select Committee member Adam Kinzinger’s district will disappear due to redistricting. 

Perhaps the most-watched of those upcoming primaries will be in Wyoming, where Liz Cheney is being challenged by attorney Harriet Hageman, who was endorsed by Trump.

Currently, Hageman is ahead in the polls over Cheney by 30 points. CNN recently gave Cheney a 10% chance of winning reelection.

Doors open at 11 a.m. (AKDT) on rally day. Trump is scheduled to speak at 4 p.m. (AKDT).

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The post Trump To Head To Alaska To Stump For Palin And Tshibaka, Could Add To Endorsed Candidate Wins appeared first on The Political Insider.

Highlights from The Downballot: Ben Wikler on how Democrats can win big in Wisconsin

Posted on by Dorothy He

This week on The Downballot, hosts David Nir and David Beard recapped recent elections, including a special election for a congressional seat in Texas and primaries in South Carolina that saw one pro-impeachment Republican go down in defeat. The pair also discussed an unusual Saturday special election in Alaska for the seat that had been held for decades by the late Republican Rep. Don Young.

Nir and Beard welcomed the chair of the Wisconsin Democratic Party, Ben Wikler, as this week’s guest. Wikler shared more about what a state party like his does and the key races they're focusing on this November.

You can listen below or subscribe to The Downballot wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also find a transcript for this week right here. New episodes come out every Thursday!

Embedded Content

Beard kicked off the program with the top headlines from Tuesday night.

Texas held a special election to fill the remaining term for Democratic Rep. Filemon Vela, who resigned earlier this year to take a job with a lobbying firm. Conservative activist Mayra Flores flipped this Rio Grande Valley-based district to the GOP, winning about 51% of the vote. There were four candidates on the ballot, but just one major Republican and one major Democrat. Flores won 51% of the vote, and the major Democratic candidate, former Cameron County commissioner Dan Sanchez won about 43% of the vote.

Beard noted that there wasn't a ton of investment in trying to hold this seat on the Democratic side and that Republicans noticed an opportunity and spent heavily on the race:

Republicans spent over a million dollars on this race. They really invested. Democrats only began airing TV ads in the final week. They didn't spend very much money. This district is changing a significant amount. Biden won the current district, which is still from the 2010 redistricting cycle, by a 52-48 margin, but Biden wins the new district that will go into effect this November by a 57-42 margin, so it's getting noticeably more Democratic.

“That being said, that's definitely a shift in the margin from 52-48 Biden to—if you combine the Democrats and the Republicans—about 53% voted Republican and 47% voted Democrat, so that's a noticeable shift. It's certainly in line with a more Republican-leaning year, which is what we've been seeing with the polling and with other information that's been coming in,” Beard added. “The other factor here that's certainly worth noting is that it was very, very low turnout, so that can also be a factor in why there was somewhat of a shift. So you don't want to take this and just say, ‘Oh, we saw this shift. It'll translate all the way to November in every way,’ but it's certainly a signal worth acknowledging that it is certainly a sign of a Republican-leaning environment right now.”

The hosts then recapped primaries in South Carolina, which some have framed as “Trump's revenge.” Trump did, in fact, exact revenge against a Republican congressman in the 7th district, Tom Rice, who was one of the ten GOP House members who voted for impeachment. Rice was soundly defeated by state Rep. Russell Fry, who beat him 51-25. “What was even more remarkable about this is there were five Republicans total challenging race so for Fry to get a majority of the vote was pretty unexpected. Even Fry claimed that his own polling showed the race going to a runoff,” Nir said.

The other South Carolina race that was really closely watched this week was in the 1st District, where Rep. Nancy Mace beat former state Rep. Katie Arrington 53-45, thus avoiding a runoff. Trump endorsed Arrington, as he was furious at a few of Mace’s critical comments of him after Jan. 6, even though she very quickly backed off.

On Saturday, Alaska held a special election for Alaska's at-large congressional seat, which has been vacant since GOP Rep. Don Young passed away earlier this year. Alaska has a fairly distinct electoral system: all of the candidates were on the ballot in this first round, and the top four candidates will advance to a second round on Aug. 16. That ballot will use ranked-choice voting to determine the winner. Ballots are still being counted, but the AP has declared three of the four candidates who will advance to the second round, the first being former Gov. Sarah Palin, who has a clear lead so far with about 30% of the vote.

Beard summarized the outcome so far:

Of course, Palin is a Republican, as is the so far second-place candidate, businessman Nick Begich, who has about 19% of the vote. And then independent Al Gross, who is also the former 2020 Democratic nominee for Senate but is running now as an Independent; he's also been called to advance. He has about 13% of the vote so far. And then, the fourth slot hasn't been called yet, but former Democratic state Rep. Mary Peltola is currently in that spot and will likely advance as well, unless late-breaking ballots are radically different than what's been counted so far.

Palin's strong first-round showing, getting over 30% of the vote, makes it likely that she will be one of the last two candidates standing when this ranked-choice voting takes place. The big question, Beard points out, is: Who is going to make it into that other slot where the fourth-place candidate and then the third-place candidate are eliminated?

While Palin has always been a polarizing figure, she has Donald Trump's endorsement, which makes it much more likely that Begich would pick up Independents and Democrats, if it is those two facing off against each other at the very end of the instant runoff tabulations.

At this point, Wikler joined the hosts to discuss the crucial work of the Wisconsin Democratic Party.

“Let's talk a little bit about what that rollercoaster ride has been like. I'm sure that some of our listeners are probably pretty plugged into their own state Democratic parties. But I'll bet that many folks aren't necessarily all that familiar with what their state parties do. And of course, the goal of any party organization is to get its candidates elected. But what exactly does the Wisconsin Democratic Party do to make that happen?” Nir asked.

The biggest part of the organization’s budget and its crown jewel, Wikler asserts, is its organization model, which allows it to reach voters in every corner of the state:

Our state party unusually uses the Obama campaign model, where our organizers actually build teams of volunteers that run door-to-door canvassing and phone banking operations in their own communities. And when you do that on a continuous basis, as we've done now since my predecessor, who launched these neighborhood teams in the spring of 2017, and we've built and built and built them; we now have hundreds across the state. When you do that continuously, you actually build momentum over time. So, every dollar you spend on organizing goes further, because you can have one organizer who's working with multiple teams to coach and support them and make sure they have the data they need.

A robust voter protection operation that is run on a year-round basis is now a mainstay of the organization’s work, as well. Wikler highlighted how the party has increasingly focused on voting rights over these last few years to make sure that local clerks aren't rolling back voting rights. The state Democratic Party also recruits and supports poll workers, poll observers, and lawyers who are able to help voters resolve issues. A voter protection hotline is also available for anyone in Wisconsin to call at 608-DEM-3232.

Last, but not least, the party’s data team helps make sure they’re figuring out where the voters they need to mobilize are and who they need to persuade.

Next, the trio delved into Wikler and his team’s plan to defeat Republican Sen. Ron Johnson this fall. As Wikler put it, “Ron Johnson is so, so appallingly extraordinarily bad”:

It’s not just that he says that COVID can be cured with mouthwash or says that the Jan. 6 insurrectionists were patriots who love their country and love law enforcement—which is something he actually said. He said he would've been scared if it had been Black Lives Matter protestors, but he wasn't scared with the protestors that were actually there. It's not just all that stuff. It's that he's profoundly self-serving. His claim to fame as a senator is that he insisted on an extra tax break on top of Trump's giant tax scam that personally benefited him and his biggest donor massively. It's one of the most regressive tax cuts ever passed through the United States Congress that he insisted on putting in, and that he's been billing taxpayers to fly him back to Congress from his vacation home in Florida.

So we've been making this case against him, and so many independent and grassroots organizations have done the same thing. His approval rating is now 36%, which is stunning in a year that's supposed to be tough for Democrats and good for Republicans. The Political Report called him the most vulnerable incumbent from either party in the Senate in 2022. And meanwhile, on the Democratic side, there's a contested primary. There's a bunch of candidates who've made the ballot, but we won't know our nominee until Aug. 9. And so this is a perfect kind of case in point for why having a strong party matters, because we have to build the whole general election apparatus before Aug. 9. It's like building a spaceship right on the launchpad. And then once we have the nominee, they jump into the cockpit and they hit ignition.

“Can you tell us a little bit more about this spaceship that you're building on the launchpad for the eventual Democratic nominee for the Senate race?” Nir asked.

Wikler discussed the intersection of the digital, the data, the organizing, the voter protection, the communications—all the different elements. He also mentioned that, due to state party rules, the Wisconsin Democratic Party is bound and committed to remaining neutral in the primary. “So we're not putting our thumb on the scale, but all the candidates have told us that once we have a nominee, they will work with the infrastructure that we've put in place,” he added. “As opposed to doing what has often happened in different states around the country, which is: you get a Senate nominee, and they decide they want to reshuffle all the staff and reshape how the program works and all this kind of stuff.”

As far as goals from the point of view of the state party for the state legislative elections that are coming in November, and candidates to highlight for those races, Wikler had the following to say:

Republicans have managed to re-gerrymander the maps, at least for now, with some help, I should mention, from the U.S. Supreme Court, which unlike in other states, decided to reach down and strike down our state legislative maps for reasons that will puzzle constitutional scholars for decades. So we have really, really tough maps this cycle.

Republicans are explicitly trying to get supermajorities in both chambers yet again, and we are explicitly determinedly working to stop them. We have great Democratic leaders in both chambers that we're working closely with: Greta Neubauer in the Assembly, Janet Bewley in the state Senate. We have strong candidates across the state. ...

Then next year, just to squeeze this in, in April of 2023, we have a state Supreme Court race. There will not be a lot happening across the country in elections that spring, but that race will be for the majority in Wisconsin state Supreme Court. If we can sustain the governor's veto and if we have a non-hyper right wing majority in our state Supreme court, that sets us up to have a secure and fair and legitimate election in 2024, when Wisconsin will probably be the tipping point state yet again.

Lastly, Beard asked Wikler how listeners could help: “So how can our Wisconsinite listeners get in touch with the Democratic Party in their state and get more involved?”

Wikler replied:

Wherever you might be, you can support Democrats and the Democratic Party of Wisconsin in fighting for victory for Gov. Evers and defeating Ron Johnson. I think Dems up and down the ballot, including defeating Derek van Orden, who's an insurrectionist currently on probation for trying to bring a gun on a plane. He's running for Congress in the third congressional district, which is an open seat. We need help across the board, and you can get involved. You can become a monthly donor. That is the single, my favorite thing you can do.

If you go to wisdems.org/monthly, you can sign up to give a few bucks a month; that helps us to hire and know that we'll be able to keep our staff on month over month, year over year, and that in turn allows us to do the kind of deep, long term organizing, building neighborhood teams … that help us win, especially in these tough elections like the spring state Supreme Court race next year. And finally, I'll give the link wisdems.org/volunteer. You can join our virtual phone banks. You can join our volunteer operation to turn out every possible Democratic voter. Races here are so close, so often.

The Downballot comes out every Thursday everywhere you listen to podcasts. As a reminder, you can reach our hosts by email at thedownballot@dailykos.com. Please send in any questions you may have for next week's mailbag. You can also reach out via Twitter: @DKElections.

Voting Rights Roundup: Alaska court upholds new top-four primary and ranked-choice general election

Posted on by Stephen Wolf

Leading Off

● Alaska: A state trial court has upheld the constitutionality of Alaska's new law that created a "top-four" primary followed by a general election using ranked-choice voting (aka instant-runoff voting). The ruling rejected arguments by the plaintiffs, who consisted of the right-wing Alaskan Independence Party and members of the Libertarian and Republican parties, that the law approved by voters in a 2020 ballot initiative violated political parties' rights under the state constitution to freely associate.

One of the plaintiffs, former Libertarian legislative candidate Scott Kohlhaas, said he and the other plaintiffs would likely appeal. However, Alaskan Independence Party chairman Bob Bird expressed skepticism that they have much of a chance at success before the state Supreme Court, which has a 4-1 majority of justices appointed by Republican governors.

Consequently, Alaska remains on track to become the first state in the country to implement a "top-four" primary with ranked-choice voting in the general election after Maine in 2016 became the first state to adopt ranked-choice voting overall; Maine's law differs in that it maintained traditional party primaries. By contrast, Alaska's variant of this system will require all the candidates for congressional, legislative, and statewide races to face off on one primary ballot, where contenders will have the option to identify themselves with a party label or be listed as "undeclared" or "nonpartisan."​

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​The top four vote-getters regardless of party will advance to the general election, where voters will be able to rank their choices using instant-runoff voting. The law will also institute ranked-choice voting in presidential elections, though traditional party primaries will remain in effect for those races. The law further sets up new financial disclosure requirements for state-level candidates.

The implementation of the new top-four ranked-choice voting system may play a key role in next year's Senate election, where Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski is facing a tough challenge from the right by former state cabinet official Kelly Tshibaka after she voted to convict Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial earlier this year. Tshibaka has been endorsed by the state GOP and Trump himself, but rather than face the constraint of needing to win a Republican primary dominated by Trump diehards to advance to the general election, Murkowski is all but assured of making it to the general election ballot under the top-four system.

However, the new voting system is hardly a guarantee that Murkowski will win another term in this conservative state. If Democratic voters consolidate around a Democratic candidate whom they rank ahead of Murkowski, the incumbent could end up getting squeezed out of the ranked-choice process in the general election; if she is many voters' second choice but few voters' first choice, she could be eliminated before a Democrat and Tshibaka. Thus, Murkowski will likely need some measure of initial support from Democratic and independent voters in addition to more moderate Republicans if she's to make it to the final round of the ranked-choice voting process.

Redistricting

● 2020 Census: Mark your calendars: The U.S. Census Bureau will release the population data essential for redistricting at a press conference on the afternoon of Aug. 12. The deadline was originally set for April 1, but it was delayed because of the disruptions from the pandemic.

● Colorado: Colorado's state Supreme Court has agreed to extend the deadline for the new independent congressional redistricting commission to complete its work because of the delay in the release of the Census Bureau data needed to conduct redistricting until Aug. 16; the commission now plans to pass a final map by Oct. 1 instead of Sept. 1. Commissioners previously unveiled a preliminary map in June drawn using data estimates.

Voting Access Expansions

● Guam: Democratic Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero has signed a law that permanently adopts in-person absentee voting after the Democratic-run legislature temporarily adopted it last year due to the pandemic, effectively allowing voters to vote early in-person.

● Maine: Democratic Gov. Janet Mills has signed a law that will allow voters to register online beginning in 2023. With Maine's adoption of online registration, every state where Democrats control the state government has passed such laws. Only seven states that require voters to register have not allowed full online registration, all of which are run by Republicans, and Texas is home to roughly three-fourths of the people living in those states, who constitute roughly one in eight Americans.

● Massachusetts: Republican Gov. Charlie Baker has signed a bill passed by the Democratic-run legislature with bipartisan support to extend pandemic-era voting access measures through Dec. 15 so that they will remain in place for upcoming local elections (such as Boston's mayoral contest) while lawmakers decide whether to make them permanent. The provisions in question include expanded early voting and no-excuse mail voting.

Voter Suppression

● Georgia: Republican legislators have taken the first step toward a potential state takeover of election administration in Fulton County after key GOP lawmakers signaled their support for a "performance review" of the county, which could eventually lead to the GOP-run State Board of Elections temporarily replacing the officials in charge of elections in the county. Fulton County is a Democratic stronghold with a large Black population that is home to Atlanta and one in ten state residents, making it Georgia's largest county.

An eventual state takeover is possible under a law Republicans passed earlier this year that contained several new voting restrictions, which prompted a national backlash of condemnation and numerous lawsuits that argued it was a way to make voting harder for key Democratic-leaning groups and enable GOP officials to overturn election results after Trump's attempt to do so with the 2020 elections failed. Georgia is just one of several states where Republican lawmakers have passed legislation to give partisan GOP officials more control over election administration ahead of the 2022 midterms and 2024 presidential election.

● Texas: Democratic Party organizations and civil rights advocates have reached a settlement with Republican officials in Texas that will see the latter permanently implement a limited online voter registration system after a federal court last year ruled that Texas was violating federal law and ordered the state to establish partial online registration. The court found that Texas had violated the 1993 National Voter Registration Act, commonly known as the "motor voter" law, by failing to offer online registration updates for eligible voters renewing their driver's license or updating their address with the DMV online, and roughly one million voters have registered online since the court's ruling.

Sarah Palin For Senate? She Says ‘If God Wants Me To’ She’ll Challenge Murkowski For Alaska Senate Seat

Posted on by Rusty Weiss

One-time Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin told a conservative Christian group that she’d consider running for a Senate seat in Alaska “if God wants me to.”

Palin, the former Governor of Alaska, made the comments in an appearance at the Leading with Conviction Conference in Pasadena, California, last month.

The conservative politician expressed interest in taking on Senator Lisa Murkowski, a Republican who voted to convict former President Donald Trump during his second impeachment trial.

“If God wants me to do it I will,” Palin said after New Apostolic Reformation leader Ché Ahn asked her if she was planning on running for the Senate seat.

RELATED: Sheila Jackson Lee Becomes Third Democrat Arrested By Capitol Police After ‘Voting Rights’ Protest

Sarah Palin For Senate?

Sarah Palin warned the audience that conservatives and Republicans would need to have her back if she ran for Murkowski’s Senate seat.

“What I would do if I were to announce is say you know what, you guys better be there for me this time because a lot of people weren’t there for me last time and that’s why characterization-wise, I got clobbered,” she continued.

Palin went on to accuse former President Barack Obama and his administration of sending in “flying monkeys” to destroy her career.

The former governor said she was inundated with ethics probes, FOIA requests, and media criticism that she simply couldn’t continue battling while effectively running the state.

“The Obama administration sent their flying monkeys,” she claimed, suggesting “it stalled our administration.”

The harassment, she suggested, ultimately led her to resign. Still, she refused to concede that she had quit.

“Every e-mail, every conversation was scrutinized,” said Palin. “So, there’s a difference between quitting and saying enough is enough.”

RELATED: Sarah Palin Calls McCain Out For Lying About Choosing Her As Vice President in 2008

Murkowski Already Facing Primary Opponent

Sarah Palin isn’t the only conservative who would replace Murkowski.

Kelly Tshibaka released an ad a little over a month ago portraying herself as an outsider looking to upset the establishment. The ad featured some very Trump-like themes.

“I’m a conservative, pro-life, pro-second amendment,” she states. “And America first, always.”

Tshibaka, as Alaska’s News Source reports, is “closely aligned politically with former President Donald Trump.”

She has also reportedly hired several advisers with ties to the former President to help her campaign to defeat Murkowski.

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Palin spoke of Tshibaka and had some reservations about the name recognition factor when it comes to defeating the incumbent.

“Kind of the scary thing about it is I’ve been in politics seems like all my life in Alaska and I never heard of her so that kind of made me hesitant,” Palin worried.

The former running mate of John McCain, for better or worse, certainly has the name recognition to generate interest in a Senate campaign.

Trump and Palin have shared conservative values but also a shared disdain for both Murkowski and the late Senator McCain.

Trump has already endorsed Tshibaka, though it has more to do with Murkowski’s failure to advance the Republican agenda and do what is right for Alaska than anything else.

“Lisa Murkowski is bad for Alaska,” he said in a statement. “Murkowski has got to go!”

Would he possibly shift his endorsement should Palin jump into the race?

Murkoski famously joined McCain and Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) in abandoning their party and helping to keep the Affordable Care Act alive.

She more recently had a role in voting to confirm appointees for President Biden who have aided the revocation of ANWR drilling permits, a potentially devastating move for Alaska’s economy.

 

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Murkowski Challenger Kelly Tshibaka Is Endorsed By Alaska Republican Party

Posted on by John Hanson

On Saturday, the Republican Party of Alaska officially endorsed Kelly Tshibaka in her primary challenge against long-time incumbent Sen. Lisa Murkowski. 

Murkowski has been a frequent critic of former President Donald Trump and voted to convict him on his second impeachment of inciting the January 6 attack on the Capitol.

Trump endorsed Tshibaka in June.

Local party branches typically support the incumbent, or at the most, stay out of primaries. It’s big news when a state party actually endorses an intra-party primary challenger.

RELATED: Lincoln Project Co-Founder Says January 6 Riot ‘Likely To Kill A Lot More Americans’ Than 9/11

Murkowski’s Favorable Ratings Plummet 

Tshibaka said in a statement, “I am grateful and thrilled to have the strong support of the Alaska Republican Party, which voted overwhelmingly to endorse my candidacy for the U.S. Senate.” 

“We all share a unified goal: to promote the principles upon which our country and state were founded. I have pledged that I will be true to our shared, conservative Alaska ideals and be a senator upon whom they can depend to make every decision based on what is best for our great state,” she said.  

“We need a senator who will stand with Alaskans and not cozy up to the Washington, D.C. insiders, a senator who has earned the trust of the people and strives to keep it every day,” Tshibaka continued, obviously referring to Murkowski.

“It is time for conservative leaders, with courage and common sense, to rise together across the nation,” the GOP primary challenger added. “I am honored to be endorsed as that candidate for Alaska.”

In the past Tshibaka has called Murkowski a “traitor” and has described her as someone who “sucks up to CNN” and the “radical Biden administration.”

In June, Murkowski saw her favorable rating among Republicans sink to a jaw dropping 6 percent.

Tshibaka Claims Murkowski Has Not Pursued A Conservative Agenda

Tshibaka said of Murkowski to Breitbart News on Saturday, “She’s been voting with them, hurting our way of life, and she’s not standing up to the radical Biden administration while they kill our oil and gas jobs.”

Tshibaka then gave a few examples of where she thought Murkowski had voted with Democrats more than her own party.

“She’s voted to allow illegal immigrants to come into our country,” Tshibaka accused Mrkowski. “Even if they commit crime, they can stay here.”

RELATED: Far-Left Democrats Pressuring Pelosi And Biden For Trillions More In Spending

Tshibaka: ‘We Are Absolutely Fed Up With Lisa Murkowski’

“She was the deciding vote to keep Obamacare and that means higher health care costs and fewer healthcare choices for us in Alaska,” she continued, adding that they have “some of the highest health care costs in the country.”

Tshibaka added, “She votes against common-sense judges that keep and protect our Second Amendment rights.”

“So, for all of those reasons, we are absolutely fed up with Lisa Murkowski,” Tshibaka thundered.  

With the endorsement of the state GOP and President Trump working against her, Murkowski has a steeply uphill battle for re-election.

 

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Pro-Trump Republican Challenging Lisa Murkowski Releases First Ad: ‘America First, Always’

Posted on by Rusty Weiss

Kelly Tshibaka, a pro-Trump conservative challenging Senator Lisa Murkowski in Alaska, has released her first ad.

Murkowski, a Republican, voted to convict Trump during his second impeachment trial.

While the ad avoids making any negative commentary about her opponent, Tshibaka does sprinkle in some clearly Trumpian elements to her message.

“I’m a conservative, pro-life, pro-second amendment,” she confidently states. “And America first, always.”

Tshibaka also positions herself as an outsider running against an establishment Republican.

“The insiders don’t like me because I spent my career exposing taxpayer fraud and abuse,” she tells potential voters. “That’s okay, I’m not running for them, I am running for you.”

Tshibaka most recently served as Alaska commissioner of administration, a position from which she stepped down to announce her campaign to unseat Lisa Murkowski.

RELATED: Report: 9 Of The 10 Republicans Who Voted To Impeach Trump Facing Primary Challengers

Pro-Trump Kelly Tshibaka Ready To Take On Murkowski

While the new ad by Kelly Tshibaka doesn’t delve into any specific messages contrasting herself with Senator Lisa Murkowski, she is, as Alaska’s News Source reports, “closely aligned politically with former President Donald Trump.”

Tshibaka has defined herself as a “new generation” of Alaska conservatives and chastised Murkowski for siding with Democrats in the impeachment trial, voting to convict Trump for the charge of incitement of insurrection related to the Capitol protest.

“President Trump has been great for Alaska, and we need to remember that in both elections Alaska selected President Trump as our president,” Tshibaka told the outlet.

“I don’t think it helps Alaska when our senator goes against and picks a fight with a president who’s benefiting our state.”

Tshibaka has also reportedly hired several advisers with ties to the former President to help her with a campaign to defeat Murkowski.

“Former Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien, deputy campaign manager Justin Clark and battleground states director Nick Trainer … will serve as Tshibaka’s senior advisers,” Politico reveals.

She also brought on Tim Murtaugh, who was communications director on Trump’s reelection effort.

RELATED: Here Are the 6 Republicans Who Voted That Trump’s Impeachment Trial Is Constitutional

Trump: I’ll be There To Campaign Against Murkowski

Donald Trump has yet to endorse anybody against Lisa Murkowski though Politico notes he is “on the hunt for a credible Murkowski opponent on the senator’s right flank.”

Trump has repeatedly bashed Murkowski not only for her impeachment vote but for consistently standing alongside Senator Susan Collins and the late John McCain in obstructing a conservative agenda.

He recently knocked Murkowski for her role in voting to confirm appointees for President Biden who have, he states, led to the revocation of ANWR drilling permits.

“Not only did Murkowski kill the biggest economic stimulant for the State, but also one of the biggest energy-producing sites in the world,” he criticized.

“She’s the best friend Washington Democrats ever had—and Alaska’s reward for that betrayal is an empowered Left coming after their wealth and jobs,” he added.

“I think she will be met very harshly by the Alaska voters in 15 months, and I will be there to campaign against her!”

“We can’t let the Radical Left destroy Alaska’s Energy Industry with their Socialist job-killing agenda,” Tshibaka recently tweeted.

“If Liberal Lisa Murkowski won’t protect us, I will!” she added.

 

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Report: Trump Plans To Resume MAGA Rallies

Posted on by John Hanson

According to a report from CNN, former President Trump has been discussing the possibility of bringing back the Make America Great Again rallies that were so popular during his campaigns and president.

The report noted that Trump wants to remain a part of the political conversation despite no longer being president or having the ability to use Twitter, where he has been permanently banned. 

RELATED: Poll: 51% Have Unfavorable Impression Of Kamala Harris, Large Number Say ‘Not Qualified’ To Be President

Massive MAGA Rallies Were A Staple Of The Trump Years

Future rallies would reportedly be in support of Trump-endorsed candidates who are challenging sitting Republicans who voted to impeach Trump over the January 6 Capitol protests.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska is one of seven Republican senators who has criticized Trump and voted convict him in his second impeachment trial.

Even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Trump held massive MAGA rallies throughout 2020. The rallies ended when Trump lost the general presidential election to Joe Biden. 

Trump Aide: ‘It Will Definitely Be Different In Terms Of The Setup’

A Trump aide told CNN of the planned rallies, “It will definitely be different in terms of the setup, but we got really good at planning these events in 2020, so we will probably use a lot of those same vendors again.”

Since Trump was banned from Twitter, he has been communicating through statements from his office, particularly speaking out against Republicans who have criticized him.

On Tuesday, Trump’s office released a statement calling Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney a “warmongering fool” after she said she had not running for president herself in 2024.

RELATED: Hawley Mocks Liz Cheney For Possible Presidential Run: She Has ‘No Support In Her Own Caucus’

New Trump Rallies Could Begin As Early As May

“Liz Cheney is polling sooo low in Wyoming, and has sooo little support, even from the Wyoming Republican Party, that she is looking for a way out of her Congressional race,” Trump said in a statement.

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Cheney is another sitting Republican who has received a GOP primary challenger due to her approach to Trump.

According to Trump aides via CNN, these rallies could begin in May.

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