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Republican voters in Georgias special election have caught up to the hefty advantage that Democrats built in early voting, according to two elections analyses, and are poised to take the lead on Friday.

Democrat Jon Ossoffs campaign for the suburban Atlanta district was buoyed by early numbers that gave left-leaning voters a sizable lead in the early voting. But thats all but vanished as the Tuesday election nears and more early voting sites open.

One reason the Democratic voter numbers may have stalled: While Democrats appeared to quickly consolidate around Ossoff, the leading contender of five Democrats on the ballot, Republicans may have taken longer to choose between the 11 GOP contenders on the ballot.

Nate Cohn, the New York Times polling expert, tweeted that roughly 42 percent of the 46,000 or so early ballots cast are from Democratic-leaning voters, while Republican-leaning voters have cast 41 percent of the ballots. He predicted Republicans will take the lead on Friday, the final day of early voting.

Thats in line with the analysis of Michael McDonald, a University of Florida political scientists who also crunched the numbers.

The early voting numbers are far from fool-proof, but they are considered an indicator of voter enthusiasm. And they could complicate Ossoffs goal of winning the race outright on Tuesday by getting a majority of the vote. In the mid-40s in most of the polls, the Democrat hopes a late push can close the gap.

Ossoff told students at Georgia Tech on Thursday that his internal polling and early voting numbers show the race still give him an opening to win the 18-candidate race outright on Tuesday and avoid a head-to-head matchup against a Republican on June 20.

The early voting numbers and our internal polling continue to demonstrate that this is winnable on Tuesday, he said, but its only winnable if we sprint through the finish line with more intensity, more passion and less sleep than any other campaign out there.

More AJC coverage of the Sixth District race:

Nearly $14M in ads have flooded Georgias Sixth for special election

Ossoff pulls in record donations for Georgia special election

Georgia Democrats, Republicans seek lessons in tight Kansas race

With Ossoff at the gates, Republicans try to fortify Georgias Sixth

Ossoff fights top-secret attacks in Georgia special election

Staff raids and social media hijinks: GOP infighting ramps up in Georgia Sixth In the final week, Karen Handel becomes a target for GOP rivals

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Republicans catch up to Democrats in Georgia special election early voting - Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog)

Around the U.S. and especially in South Florida immigration is a hot-button issue under the Trump administration. But a new book by Ali Noorani, executive director of the nonprofit National Immigration Forum in Washington D.C., casts the subject in a more hopeful light.

During the past decade, Noorani, the U.S.-born son of Pakistani immigrants, has learned something that Donald Trumps presidential victory last year confirmed:

Immigration reform will take more than changing politics. It requires changing culture meaning, the prevailing fear and anger regarding immigration and Americas dramatically changing demographics.

What we as folks who care about immigrants and immigration reform did is that we ignored the broad swath of Americans who are struggling with these cultural changes," says Noorani. "And, quite frankly, while we were having a political debate, the rest of the country was having a cultural debate.

As a result, Noorani traveled the country to better understand those anxieties and how Americans are resolving them. The result is There Goes the Neighborhood: How Communities Overcome Prejudice and Meet the Challenge of American Immigration (Prometheus Books, $25).

What I took away is a sense of hope," says Noorani, "that those of who identify as politically liberal and conservatives may have a different language about immigrants and immigration, but they want to get to the same goal.

Noorani will present "There Goes the Neighborhood" tonight at 7:30 at Books and Books in Coral Gables.

Excerpt from:
Want Immigration Reform? Then Face The Immigration Culture - WLRN

I would caution patience and see how policy evolves from this point forward with the current administration, Former President George W. Bush says.

Former President George W. Bush made the case for continuing to fund foreign aid programs and offering a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants in a recent interview with NPR.

Although Bush refrained from directly criticizing President Donald Trump in his comments, they contrast with the current Oval Office occupants call for dramatic cuts to the foreign aid budget and his hard-line rhetoric on immigration.

Story Continued Below

When you have an entire generation of people being wiped out and the free world turns its back, it provides a convenient opportunity for people to spread extremism, Bush said, arguing for U.S. aid to programs like those that fight AIDS in Africa. I believe in this case that it's in our national security interests as well as in our moral interest to continue funding this program.

On immigration, Bush argued that the pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants that he proposed as president will eventually become policy. "There needs to be a way for somebody to be able to get in line to become a citizen so long as they met certain criteria," he said.

Bush also signaled some skepticism that Trump would follow through on some of his more controversial proposals, like building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and enacting policies that are often described as isolationist and protectionist.

Echoing comments his own successor, Barack Obama, has made about Trump, Bush noted that presidents often think one thing going in, and then the pressures of the job or the realities of the world are different than you thought.

I have been relatively quiet during my post presidency, but I have given several speeches on the dangers of isolationism and protectionism, Bush said. And our country goes through these kind of, I guess, mood swings, is the right way to say it. And it seems to me that in both parties there was an isolationist and protectionist sentiment.

On the other hand, he continued, the realities of the job sometimes undermine those sentiments. I guess I would caution patience and see how policy evolves from this point forward with the current administration.

On Trumps border wall proposal, Bush similarly said: The border, the idea of building a wall, I mean, I built a wall. But its not going to be a brick wall all the way across Texas. A lot of times in politics, the rhetoric is different from reality.

That reality, he said, includes the importance of not alienating Mexico, with whose leaders Trump has publicly conflicted over the wall proposal.

I think it's very important for us to recognize the importance of Mexico and the relationship we have with Mexico, Bush said. We want Mexico to succeed. It's in our national interest they succeed.

Bush also addressed a report that he referred to Trumps inauguration as some weird s--- (he is not confirming or denying).

If I said it, I don't remember it, but Im glad I went to the inauguration, Bush said. Its a really beautiful experience to watch the peaceful transfer of power.

The former president also referenced the viral photos that circulated after the inauguration of him struggling to put on a poncho as it started to rain.

I wish I had gotten the rain poncho on a little more cleanly, Bush said. My daughters were aghast. You know, Dad, you're a national tweet sensation, or whatever they say. Youre trending, or whatever the words are. And I said, I dont know what the heck that means. But then I saw the pictures, and I can see why I was trending.

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George W. Bush makes case for foreign aid and immigration reform - Politico

The top Catholic bishop in the U.S. says when it comes to refugees and immigration, he and President Donald Trump will "have to agree to disagree." (April 13)

The Associated Press is the essential global news network, delivering fast, unbiased news from every corner of the world to all media platforms and formats.

APs commitment to independent, comprehensive journalism has deep roots. Founded in 1846, AP has covered all the major news events of the past 165 years, providing high-quality, informed reporting of everything from wars and elections to championship games and royal weddings. AP is the largest and most trusted source of independent news and information.

Today, AP employs the latest technology to collect and distribute content - we have daily uploads covering the latest and breaking news in the world of politics, sport and entertainment. Join us in a conversation about world events, the newsgathering process or whatever aspect of the news universe you find interesting or important. Subscribe: http://smarturl.it/AssociatedPress

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Texas Cardinal Pushes Immigration Reform - Olean Times Herald

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DAIRY Act would amend guest worker program to ensure dairy producers have the workers necessary to run dairy operations

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Wisconsin State Farmer 6:09 p.m. CT April 13, 2017

Rep. Sean Duffy(Photo: Submitted)

WASHINGTON - Dairy farmers represented by the American Dairy Coalition (ADC) are applauding Rep. Sean Duffy for ensuring a workforce for dairy farmers.

U.S. Rep. Duffy (R-WI) isco-chair of the Congressional Dairy Farm Caucus, and introduced a new immigration reform policy for dairy operations titledDefending the Agricultural Industrys Requirements Year-round Act of 2017 (DAIRY Act).

The legislation would expand the H-2A worker program.

"Currently, agricultural guest worker programs do not work well for dairy because the industry is not seasonal," Duffy said in a news release. "This bill modifies the existing visa program to allow dairy workers to hold a visa for 18 months, giving Wisconsin farmers certainty about the stability of their workforce."

ADC officials said the DAIRY Act willhelp to provide a reliable labor force, ensuring dairy producers have the workers necessary to care for their animals as well as provide healthy and affordable dairy products to our nation and across the globe.

"Previously, the dairy industry was excluded due to its 365-day-a-year need for labor. Dairy farmers have been waiting for a provision to utilize the H2-A visa category to legally employ immigrant workers to fill important roles that domestic workers continually pass up. The H2-A visa is a vital tool to provide year-round labor for dairy operations,".the coalition said in a news release.

The ADC says it has worked diligently on several immigration reform bills, which each representing various tools dairy farmers can utilize to access the labor so desperately needed to ensure they can successfully maintain their businesses. The group vows to work hard with Rep Duffy to move this bill over the finish line.

Read or Share this story: http://www.wisfarmer.com/story/news/2017/04/13/rep-duffy-introduces-new-immigration-reform-policy/100440428/

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Rep. Duffy introduces new immigration reform policy - Wisconsin State Farmer