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MARY CALLAHAN

THE PRESS DEMOCRAT | April 15, 2017, 10:29AM

| Updated 2 hours ago.

A 17-year-old Santa Rosa girl who ran away from home in February reached out to her parents for help Friday, saying her 28-year-old boyfriend had been beating her and holding her against her will in a southwest Santa Rosa apartment, police said.

The boyfriend, Norman Alejandro Tapia, already had a warrant out for his arrest for suspicion of forcible rape involving the same girl, stemming from an incident in Scotts Valley, police said.

On Friday evening, the girl texted her parents with photos of her injuries, authorities said. She said her boyfriend had been preventing her from leaving and threatened to kill her if police showed up.

When officers responded to the Billie Jean Street address that she provided her parents, they knocked on the apartment door and heard a female voice inside, but no one answered the door or responded, authorities said.

The victim eventually fled through the front door and said two men were inside, including Tapia.

The girl had numerous visible injuries that she said were inflicted by Tapia and said she had tried repeatedly to leave, police said.

Both men were detained, but one, a roommate, was found not to have been involved, police said.

Tapia was arrested on suspicion of false imprisonment, domestic battery and unlawful sex with a minor, police said.

He was being held at the Sonoma County Jail with bail set at $375,000, which includes the amount on the earlier warrant and a $250,000 bail enhancement, authorities said.

Tapia is to make his first appearance in Sonoma County court on Tuesday.

You can reach Staff Writer Mary Callahan at 707-521-5249 or mary.callahan@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @MaryCallahanB.

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Santa Rosa teen rescued from boyfriend - Santa Rosa Press Democrat

Democrat Jon Ossoff introduced himself to voters by asking them to help him Make Trump furious, a pitch thats drawn grassroots support from all over the country for his upstart bid to replace former Congressman Tom Price. But if Ossoff succeeds in winning a majority of votes in the first round of the special election on April 18, it wont be because of the liberal anti-Trump vote. It will because he was able to appeal to the right-of-center, educated white voters in this suburban Atlanta House district. Thats also a voting bloc Democrats, as a whole, are hoping to win over as they seek to claw back seats after a disastrous string of state and congressional losses. To that end, they may want to listen to Ossoffs message.

RELATED:How the #Resistance Is Tapping the Tea Party's Playbook

He actually sounds a little bitlike Donald Trump, thoughwithout the divisiveness or bluster. Ossoffs two top priorities, he tells Newsweek, are local economic development, i.e. jobs, and accountability in Washington. He may not use the words drain the swamp, as Trump did on the 2016 campaign trail, but Ossoff talks plenty about corruption, pointing back to his work over the last three years as CEO of the London-based investigative film production company, Insight TWI. Much of the companys recent work has focused on documentaries and series on corruption and conflict in Africa. Ossoff says he can apply those same skills in Washington. There is plenty of corruption, waste and fraud in the federal government and in federal contracting, he says, adding that hed set up a dedicated investigative unit in his office.

Democratic candidate Jon Ossoff greets supporters after the League of Women Voters' candidate forum for Georgia's 6th Congressional District special election to replace Tom Price, who is now the secretary of Health and Human Services, in Marietta, Georgia, U.S. April 3, 2017. Bita Honarvar/REUTERS

At the same time, Ossoff talks a lot about shared values and uniting people, a rebuff to the current president, even if he doesnt regularly call out Trump by name. He turned up at the Atlanta airport with his former boss, Democratic Rep. Hank Johnson and Congressman John Lewis, the civil rights legend, to protest Trumps travel ban in early February. Folks here recognize that extremism is bad for business, Ossoff says. Extremism anywhere in politics and gridlock in our nations capital.

Its hardly the impeach Trump talk that many on the progressive left are craving from Democrats right now. But Ossoffs anti-Washington rhetoric, as well as his focus on bread-and-butter economic issues, offers a way to walk thetightrope between the angry corps of #Resistance activists and moderate Republicans who may have voted for Trump in November, but now feel uneasy about his extreme stances and flailing administration. Its something plenty of other Democrats in swing districts and purple states will be trying to pull off a year-and-a-half from now.

The activists class, meanwhile, doesnt seem bothered by Ossoffs lack of fire-breathing rhetoric. Hes become a cause celebre in liberal circles in recent months, less for what he stands for than what kind of a message his victory in this traditionally Republican House seat would send. Price represented the 6th District for more than a decade before Trump tapped him to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. But despite Prices easy, 24-point-margin re-election in Novemberpart of a Republican winning streak in the district that dates back to the 70s Ossoff has a legitimate shot. Trump barely beat Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in the district, part of a gradual narrowing of the gap between Republican and Democrat presidential contenders here since 2000, as the Atlanta Journal-Constitution recently highlighted.

Ossoff also benefits mightily from a fragmented Republican field11 are running in the open primary, including at least four top-tier candidates. Four other Democrats are also running, although Ossoff is far and away the partys top choice. If any candidate, regardless of party, wins more than 50 percent of the vote in the first round, he or she wins the election. If not, the top two finishers advance to a runoff on June 20. The GOPs cannibalization gives Ossoff a chance of winning the seat outright next week (going up one-on-one against a sole Republican in the second round is a taller order). Coming on the heels of a near-miss in a special election in Kansas last week, where an underfunded Democrat lost by single digits in a heavily Republican district, progressives are eager to frame Ossoff's success as another warning shot against Republicans in Washington.

Thats drawn a host of support from the lefts netroots community. Websites like Daily Kos and groups like MoveOn.org have been cheering on the Ossoff campaign and helping channel donations since early in 2017. Thanks largely to those efforts, Ossoff, who started out with virtually no name recognition or any experience in elected office, has raised a staggering $8-plus million for the race, most of it online from small dollar, out-of-state donors.

Republicans are now pouring money into the race, as well, not behind any one particular candidate but to attack Ossoff and keep him from crossing the 50 percent vote tally. Since March, the Republican party and outside groups aligned with it have spent more than $5 million attacking Ossoff. Their top critiques: hes too inexperienced and hes a stooge of liberal donors, not someone who represents the district. A recent email from the Republican National Committee, signed by Team Trump, labeled Ossoff an out-of-state, Nancy Pelosi-backed candidate, a reference to House Democrats liberal leader from San Francisco.

Democratic candidate Jon Ossoff greets supporters after the League of Women Voters' candidate forum for Georgia's 6th Congressional District special election to replace Tom Price, who is now the secretary of Health and Human Services, in Marietta, Georgia, April 3. Bita Honarvar/Reuters

Should Ossoff win on Tuesdayor down the road in Junethe victory would be largely psychological for national Democrats. Flipping the seat from Republican hands would only make a tiny dent in the 40-plus seat deficit with the GOP in the House. And the unique dynamics of a special election, where turnout is typically low and organization is lacking, mean its unlikely to be a good bellwether for other races down the line, something The New Republic underscored this week.

The affluent suburbs north of Atlanta, meanwhile, present a whole different political environment than Rust Belt states where Democrats also need to win back white voters. With its rapidly growing tech sector, cities like Roswell and Alpharetta quickly bounced back after the last decades recession. More than half of residents in the district have a college degree. Thats a far cry from economically depressed regions of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Ohio, where a significant number of voters swung from Democrat Barack Obama to Trump in the 2016 presidential election.

Democrats are, however, gunning for plenty of Republican House seats that do have profiles relatively similar to Georgia 6relatively affluent suburban districts outside of major metropolises in states like New York, New Jersey, California and Virginia. Democrats vying for those seats will need to pull off the same sort of balancing act Ossoff is attempting, firing up the base while not alienating middle-of-the-road suburban voters. This special election offers a test of one such approach.

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In Georgia Special Election, Democrat Jon Ossoff Offers Message to the Middle - Newsweek

Kansas state Treasurer Ron Estes held off a stronger-than-expected challenge from Democratic civil rights attorney James Thompson Tuesday night as the GOP won the first special congressional election since President Trump's inauguration.

The election was held to fill the House seat vacated by CIA Director Mike Pompeo, a former three-term representative of Kansas' 4th district.

Estes won 53 percent of the vote to 46 percent for Thompson. The Republican's margin of victory was just over 8,000 votes. By contrast, Pompeo won re-election in November by 31 percentage points and 85,000 votes.

In a speech to supporters in Wichita, Thompson vowed that he would run for the seat again in 2018 and argued that the result was evidence that no Republican district is safe.

The race had been closely watched nationally for signs of a backlash against Republicans or waning support from Trump voters in a reliably GOP district. Trump won 60 percent of the votes cast in the 17-county congressional district this past November.

The president himself entered the fray Monday with a recorded get-out-the-vote call on Estes' behalf and tweeted his support on Tuesday morning.

Other nationally known Republicans pitched in over the final days of the race. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas campaigned for Estes Monday in Wichita, while Vice President Mike Pence also recorded a get-out-the-vote call. The National Republican Congressional Committee spent roughly $90,000 in last-minute TV and digital ads.

Thompson reckoned that the high-profile support for Estes helped push him over the top, and claimed he could have won had national Democrats rallied to him sooner.Readers of the liberal blog Daily Kos donated more than $200,000 to Thompson in the final days of the race. Thompson was also backed by Our Revolution, the group that grew out of Sen. Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign.

"You fight," Thompson said when asked what the results should show Democrats. "You play every game."

All those GOP calls prompted Charlene Health, a 52-year-old homemaker and Republican in Belle Plaine, to cast a ballot for Estes.

"I wasn't even going to vote," she said as she left her polling site Tuesday morning. "I finally did. I realized this was important."

Alan Branum, 64, a retired construction worker is a Wichita Democrat who voted for Estes and plans to change his party affiliation to Republican since he leans more conservative. He thinks Trump has been been doing fine so far.

"I don't think it is fair people condemn him," he said of the president. "He hasn't been in long enough to make a judgment. People need to give him some time."

Estes supported Trump last year and backs the president's policies. He supports the repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act, backs funding for a wall on the border with Mexico, opposes funding for Planned Parenthood, and does not believe an independent investigation into Russian hacking of the election is needed.

Lucy Jones-Phillips, a 31-year-old insurance representative and Democrat, acknowledged she doesn't vote in every election, but said she voted for Thompson because she wanted to ensure supporters of Gov. Sam Brownback are not in office. She was especially upset when the Republican governor recently vetoed Medicaid expansion.

"I can't stand Brownback," she said as she left her polling site in Belle Plaine.

Thompson tried to tap into voter frustration with Brownback throughout the campaign, tying the state treasurer to the unpopular Republican governor. Thompson has called the Kansas congressional election more of a referendum on Brownback than on Trump.

But Thomas Hauser, 67, of Belle Plaine, a Republican who works in the information technology industry, said he crossed party lines in Tuesday's election to vote for Thompson. He also didn't vote for Trump in the last year's general election. Thompson appealed to Hauser in part because both men are ex-military but also because "I don't believe in the (GOP) line."

Republicans have represented the south-central Kansas district since 1994. The district has been hard hit by the downturn in the agricultural economy and the loss of hundreds of well-paying, blue-collar jobs in aircraft manufacturing plants.

With Estes' victory, Republicans are now defending three GOP-leaning seats in upcoming special elections in Georgia, Montana and South Carolina. Democrats are protecting a seat in a liberal California district.

Fox News' Lee Ross and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Republican holds on in closely-watched Kansas special House ...

BILLINGS, Mont. Rob Quist, the Democratic candidate for Montanas sole U.S. House seat, had a problem. Big Sky Rising, the local progressive group one of many that grew out of the National Womens March had filled a room for his speech.

But the room didnt have a sound system for Quist, a 69-year-old folk musician, to strum and sing his campaign theme song.

Let me just recite a poem for you about how I feel about our public lands, said Quist. Her gown is luscious green when she attends the annual springtime ball. And she fancies orange and gold and harvest moon in the fall. Her wild and natural beauty it will take away your breath. Oh, but take her for granted? It could easily mean your death.

It had been just 48 hours since a surprisingly close special election in Kansas kicked off Republican hand-wringing about forfeiting Montanas May 25 special election to replace ex-Rep. Ryan Zinke (R), now President Trumps interior secretary.

The Democratic candidate in Montana is a mustachioed 6-foot-3 poet who appears everywhere churches, fundraisers, and television interviews in a white cowboy hat and black Ariat boots.

That cowboy-poet has raised $1.3 million so far and was competitive with a self-funding Republican contender Greg Gianforte, who jumped into the race after a near-miss 2016 gubernatorial run. President Trump easily won Montana, but Democrats still compete strongly for statewide offices.

Republicans, flush with cash but facing unbridled Democratic enthusiasm, are taking Quist a bit more seriously. On Thursday, the National Republican Congressional Committee began a $273,000 digital and TV ad buy, accusing Quist of singing in harmony with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). The GOP-allied Congressional Leadership Fund is committing at least $1 million to the race, though Executive Director Corey Bliss said last week that Quist had no chance to win.

Rob Quist is such a pathetic candidate that we almost feel bad running ads against him, said Bliss. At the end of the day hell lose by double-digits.

Montana is one of five special elections this year in open House seats four of them vacated when Trump plucked Republican lawmakers to become part of his administration. So far, Democrats are doing better than anticipated in conservatives seats including Kansas, where the Democrat came within seven points last Tuesday of a winning a seat Trump nabbed by 27 points.

But while the Georgia race is seen as a test for the rising electorate of minority voters and highly educated white voters, the Montana race is a test for populism. Quist, who backed Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) for president, portrays Gianforte as a plutocrat who will work only for his class. Its the argument Democrats failed to stick to Trump, and one they want to see working in the places where working-class white voters bolted their party.

Gianforte, whos been criticized for holding few public events, plans to welcome Donald Trump Jr. an avid hunter who argued for Zinke at Interior to the state next week. The first son will swing into Montana for rallies and fundraisers, $25 a pop.

Quist, who won the Democratic nomination at a January convention, professes to be thrilled with the GOP attention. On Thursday, at two public events in Billings, he told Big Sky Rising and a separate room of union members that he could smell the fear coming from the right.

One of my top priorities in Congress will be to stop these corporate interests from dictating policy, Quist told pipefitters at their Billings union hall. When I was younger, there was a graph that showed the distribution of wealth across the classes. Now, if you look at the same graph, its flat across the bottom, and when you get to the super-rich, they have so much of the wealth that it flies off the page.

Soft-spoken left-wing populism like that helped Quist become the nominee. Our Revolution, the group founded by Sanders, has endorsed Quist and in an interview last week, Sanders said he was looking for an opportunity to stump for him.

If you look up Montana in the dictionary, you see a picture of Rob Quist, said Rep. Denny Heck (D-Wash.), who chairs the Democratic Congressional Committees recruitment program.

Rob Quists as Montana as Montana can get, said Gov. Steve Bullock (D-Mont.), who defeated Gianforte, Quists opponent, just five months ago. Hes been in all these small communities. Hes working hard. He reflects our values.

The implication is that none of those kinds of words apply to Gianforte. Crisp and confident, the Republican moved to Montana 24 years ago and grew a software company, RightNow Technologies, out of Bozeman. (He was 33, having sold his first company for $10 million.) In Quists TV ads, he argues there are enough millionaires in Congress and brands Gianforte as an East Coast arriviste.

At the same time, Montanans elected a New York real-estate businessman to the presidency a leap of faith that informs how Gianforte now campaigns. In his TV ads, he promises to drain the swamp and stick it to political elites.

On Thursday, as Quist stumped in Billings, Gianforte met with local business and political leaders seven hours away in Kalispell in conservative Flathead County.

Gianforte, wearing a flag-pinned blazer over a checked shirt, shared the gospel of free markets. We got here with a series of steps over a period of time, and I think thats how we dig ourselves out, he said. I am encouraged that we have President Trump in the White House because for the first time we have an opportunity to effect change. And I want to be a part of it because I dont want to see our country squander it.

In an interview, Gianforte paused when asked why outside groups were investing in the race. I do believe and we saw this recently with the health-care conversation that went on for the administration to advance their agenda, they need the votes in the House, he said. National groups have gotten involved because they want to help. Ill always be on Montanas side, but Im going to help Donald Trump advance his agenda.

At a Quist fundraiser last week, attendees grabbed lawn signs using the same stylized signature as his album cover as they left. They said there was energy they didnt feel when Hillary Clinton was running for president.

Its an opportunity to kick the Republicans in the butt, said Steve Griswold, 67, a retiree from Wisconsin.

Becky Weed, a 57-year old sheep rancher, pointed out that the event was less than a mile from Gianfortes home. Democrats cut into the Republicans support by publicizing his 2009 legal battle to stop public access to the part of a stream that ran through his property.

Im immersed in the ranch culture, and people I know generally vote Republican, Weed said. But theyre willing to go for something different, especially when youve got public lands at stake.

The Republican plan is to brand Quist as a liberal in cowboy clothing, more Willie Nelson than Hank Williams Jr. Its doomsday weapon is an interview Quist gave to the Bozeman Daily Chronicle. After talking about his guns and his luck as a hunter, he mused that assault weapons, no good for hunting, might need to be registered.

Theyre only meant to kill people, he said, so maybe there should be some legislation to register those types of things. You register your car to drive, why not register guns?

It was the gaffe of a novice candidate, and Republicans pounced. The NRCCs first ad tells voters that Quist wants a national gun registry. The National Rifle Association is expected to swing into the race with the same message. On the stump, Gianforte never misses a swing at the gun issue. Im a strong supporter of the Second Amendment he believes in gun registration, he said in Kalispell. The next day, he warned a Republican crowd in Missoula that registration is the first step toward confiscation.

Quist said in an interview that hed been ripped out of context.

I was talking about fully automatic assault rifles, he said. I was taught that if it takes you more than one shot to bring big game down, you shouldnt be in the woods.

Quist advised anyone campaigning for him to point out the gun attack was coming from special interests. There were guns in the Quist home, he said, that had been there longer than Gianforte had been in Montana.

All these sports groups know this is a smoke screen, said Quist. The number-one reason that people no longer hunt or fish is loss of access to public lands.

Quist was more relaxed when it came to attacks on his finances. It was true, he said, that hed faced $15,000 tax liens and settled in 2016. But he has a multi-millionaire to defeat.

I probably should have declared bankruptcy, he said. But thats not the Montana way.

Margaret Grayson contributed reporting from Missoula.

Read more at PowerPost

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This cowboy-poet is trying to steal a Republican House seat in Montana - Washington Post

Residents gather at Rep. Barbara Comstocks (R-VA) district officer in Sterling, Va., on April 11, 2017, to urge lawmaker to push back against President Donald Trumps anti-environment agenda. CREDIT: Indivisible VA District10

STERLING,VIRGINIAWhen Congress recessed in February, many Republican lawmakers across the country refused to meet with their constituents. Those who dared to show up at town hall-style events faced outrage over GOP plans to repeal Obamacare.

As lawmakers traveled home this week for spring break, constituents were less concerned about health care issues, after Republicans failed in their initial attempt since Donald Trump assumed the presidency to repeal President Barack Obamas signature Affordable Care Act. With many Americans breathing easier about their health care, other issues, such as environmental protection and climate action, rose in prominence.

Rep. Barbara Comstock, a Republican who represents a portion of Northern Virginia, refused to hold a public forum in February and once again doesnt plan to meet with constituents during the current two-week recess.

In February, about 150 residents showed up for a citizens town hall where a chair sat empty at a table with Comstocks name on a card. This week, angry constituents held daily protests outside Comstocks district office in Sterling, Virginia.

Tuesdays protest, in a grassy area along a busy highway outside her office, was designated Toxic Tuesday, with a focus on the environment.

Comstock has told her constituents that she is an all-of-the-above energy strategy supporter, Chris Tandy, co-chairman of the environmental group 350 Loudoun, told ThinkProgress on Friday outside Comstocks office. We dont think thats appropriate, he said. What were looking for is a reduction to fossil fuel consumption to protect the environment.

With cars honking their support for the residents, Tandy expressed dismay at Trumps unwillingness to recognize the importance of the Paris climate agreement in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The Paris climate deal is about the most historic climate agreement that weve ever reached. We should stay in it. We should meet our obligations under it, he said.

Tandy, who plans to attend the climate march in Washington, D.C., on April 29, also blasted Trumps choice of former Oklahoma attorney general Scott Pruitt to head the Environmental Protection Agency. It would have been nice if the current administration had appointed someone to the EPA who believes in the mission of the EPA and wasnt seemingly trying to dismantle it, discredit its scientists, he said.

Comstock may understand her party-line votes arent in step with the views of the majority of her constituents, Tandy suggested. It seems like even conservative voters are coming out for the environment in some places, he said. I think theres a lot of middle ground on environmental issues.

Climate change is popping up as a major concern in other congressional districts during the spring recess. Unlike some of his Republican colleagues, Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI) has not been shy about holding town hall meetings. The libertarian-leaning Republican held a town hall meeting in Byron Township, Michigan, on Tuesday. Unlike previous public forums, the primary discussion item was climate change.

However, when asked about climate change, Amash responded that he believes the climate changes. His solution to global warming was a strong economy, which was met with boos by the audience, as reported by MLive.com.

Amash echoed the Trump administrations position on the EPA, saying it frequently oversteps its bounds. There are places where the EPA should have a role, but I do think the EPA overreaches. I do support eliminating the EPAs authority over those things, he said.

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Republican remains a town hall no-show as climate change claims spotlight in Virginia - ThinkProgress