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A Republican state House candidate filed a motion to make sure the GOP primary isnt invalidated if the only Democrat in the race should be disqualified.

The motion, filed Thursday in Tallahassee by John Newstreet, president of the Kissimmee/Osceola Chamber of Commerce, and his attorney Wade Vose, seeks to make sure no substantive action is taken before Tuesdays Republican primary on a lawsuit claiming Democrat Paul Chandler cant legally run for office.

Newstreet is one of four Republican candidates, including Usha Jain, Bobby Olszewski and Bruno Portigliatti, facing off in a closed Republican primary for state House District 44. More than 3,000 people have already voted through early voting and vote by mail.

Only Republican voters can vote in the primary due to the presence of Chandler as a Democratic candidate. If there was no Democratic candidate, the Republican primary would have been open to all voters, Democratic, Republican and and independent.

But a lawsuit filed Tuesday by Charles Hart claims Chandler voted in Missouri in 2016 and does not fulfill the two-year residency requirement to run for office in Florida.

Wes Hodge, the Orange County Democratic chair, said he believed Chandler has been a resident since 2015 and would win the lawsuit. He also cited a state statute that would allow Democrats to replace Chandler on the ballot if there was a vacancy.

Newstreet, however, cited another section of the statute that states there is no vacancy and no way of naming a new candidate if a court finds a nominee did not properly qualify or did not meet the necessary qualifications to hold the office for which he or she sought to qualify.

He wrote he had concerns a sore loser in the GOP primary may try to argue that if Chandler is disqualified, and Democrats are not able to name a replacement, the closed primary results should be thrown out and an open primary held in its place.

Newstreet stated he welcomes confirmation by Hart, a longtime and well-recognized Republican activist, that he does not support, and affirmatively opposes any future attempts to retroactively invalidate the validly conducted Republican primary election scheduled to be concluded in only 5 days.

He also asked the court not to disenfranchise thousands of Central Florida Republican voters.

slemongello@orlandosentinel.com, 407-418-5920 or @stevelemongello

Lawsuit seeks to disqualify Democrat candidate in House race

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State House candidate: Don't invalidate GOP primary if Democrat is disqualified - Orlando Sentinel

Republican strategist Karl Rove says Democrats only have themselves to blame for their ongoing struggle to organize themselves, even in the face of a Republican Party that has failed to deliver on its big promises.

Rove said even as President Trump struggles with a low job approval rating, Democrats are dividing themselves, in some cases by insisting on unpopular positions.

In an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, Rove noted that West Virginia Gov. Jim Jordan switched to the Republican Party last week after saying Democrats "walked away from me."

He noted that Sen. Heidi Heitkamp was forced to vote in favor of a methane regulation that her state's industry opposed because of pressure from "left-wing advocates."

"Progressive intolerance was also evident last month after the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Rep. Ben Ray Lujn, announced the committee would fund pro-life Democratic House candidates," Rove wrote.

But after Lujn announced that, left-wing groups criticized him, and led to dissent from Howard Dean, the party's former chairman.

Rove said Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., has pressured Democrats to back a single payer healthcare system or lose support from his supporters during the 2016 campaign.

"This trend points to a broader problem for Democrats: their lack of a credible, unifying, positive message," Rove wrote.

"That leaves Democrats with a platform that entirely consists of furious resistance to President Trump," Rove wrote. "Yet their message of obstructionism has been wholly ineffective so far."

Rove said Democrats should be focusing on ways to appeal to middle America, but said he doubts that will happen because "out-of-touch ideologues and radicals have such an iron grip on the party."

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Karl Rove: 'Progressive intolerance' preventing a Democrat comeback - Washington Examiner

In a special election on Tuesday, the Democratic Party maintained control of an Iowa House district that President Donald Trump won by a large margin in November.

Democrat Phil Miller, a 65-year-old veterinarian and president of the Fairfield school board, defeated Republican Travis Harris by about 9 percentage points in House District 82, which covers a southeastern stretch of the state.

Millers win to replace five-term Democrat Curt Hanson, whose death in June sparked the special election, would not ordinarily be notable.

But the district picked Trump over Hillary Clinton by some 21 percentage points in November, prompting Democrats to hail Tuesdays win as a major victory.Miller also bested then-PresidentBarack Obamas winning 2012re-election marginin the district by about 7 percentage points.

DLCC is putting Republicans on notice tonights victory in a district Trump won by 21 points just last fall is a testament to Democrats strength in deep red districts, Jessica Post, executive director of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, said in a statement Tuesday night.

Millers win shows that rural Iowans are rejecting an agenda that prioritizes the wealthiest at the expense of hardworking families, Tom Perez, Democratic National Committee chairman, said in a statement Wednesday morning.

The DLCC contributed $50,000 to Miller and sent their regional political director to help get out the vote and advise on strategy.

The DNC hosted get-out-the-vote phone-banking for Miller from its Washington, D.C., headquarters. In July, the central party body also increased its monthly contribution to state Democratic parties to $10,000 a one-third increase over its 2016 investment level.

Phil Miller/Facebook

Miller ran on a platform of making health care more affordable, increasing education funding and boosting worker pay. He emphasized his deep roots in the community as a veterinarian who helps many local farmers keep their livestock healthy.

Andrea Phillips, first vice chair of the Iowa Democratic Party, suggested to HuffPost that the Republican-controlled legislatures passage of horrible bills had produced a backlash. Iowa, which remains under unified Republican control, gutted public sector collective bargaining rights and defunded Planned Parenthood earlier this year, Phillips noted.

Its looking more and more like what happened in 2016 was people who were feeling left behind and disaffected by the system wanted to shake things up a little bit, Phillips said of Trumps strong performance in the district. But now theyre able to see what the policy effects of that are and both at the national level and the state level theyre not happy with that.

Miller may have also benefited from an unforced error by Harris. The GOP candidate ran an ad attacking Miller for a school board vote allowing transgender students to use the bathroom of their choice. But Fairfield is still reeling from the June suicide of a transgender teenager, so it is possible the ad hurt Harris more than it helped.

In a series of special elections since November, Democrats have had more success at the state level than in congressional races. In addition to maintaining control of the seat in Iowa on Tuesday, Democrats have flipped four Republican-held state legislative seats that went heavily for Trump. The upset outcomes include victories in the New York and New Hampshire legislatures in May, and a pair of wins in the Oklahoma legislature in July.

Not all of the results were favorable for Democrats on Tuesday. The party failed to flip two GOP-held Missouri legislative districts in special elections, one in the House and one in the Senate. Democrat Michela Skelton was nonetheless able to win 48 percent of the vote in her failed bid for Missouris 50th House District. Democrats did not contest the seat in 2016, but Trump defeated Clinton there by 21 percentage points.

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Democrats Hold Iowa State House District That Went Heavily For Donald Trump - HuffPost

Representative Niki Tsongas spoke during a news conference in May on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.

US Representative Niki Tsongas said Wednesday that she would not seek another term after representing her Lowell-based district for a decade, an unexpected move that will leave a rare open seat in the states congressional delegation.

Tsongas, 71, who had shown all signs of running in 2018, said it was a time for her to retire from public life and enjoy her children and grandchildren.

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Her decision stunned political insiders, potential successors who have been waiting for years for an open congressional seat, and even her close political colleagues in the district. It also ripped up the political premise that the states 2018 congressional races would hardly be noticed, setting off a rush of speculation about who would succeed her.

For Tsongas, it was clearly a very personal decision that she shared with very few.

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I have learned in life that there is a time for endings and for new beginnings, she said in a statement.

Niki Tsongas announced on Wednesday that she wont seek another term in Congress.

After much thought, I have decided that this is one of those times.The time feels right most especially because of my desire to spend more time enjoying and celebrating my wonderful and growing family, she said.

The Lowell Democrat was elected to the seat that was being vacated in 2007 by then-US Representative Marty Meehan, who served 14 years in Congress.

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Tsongas serves on the US House Armed Services Committee, where she has made a reputation working on sexual abuse and veterans issues.

I am particularly very proud of the work we did challenging the sexual assault issues in the military, she said in a phone interview.

Meehan, now the president of the University of Massachusettts, said Tsongas work on the committeee had produced profound changes in the culture that women face in the armed services.

It was not just assault but the whole culture that she changed, he said.

US Senator Elizabeth Warren,in a tweet, praised Tsongas as a fighter who served as a model for her.

Congresswoman Niki Tsongas is more than my colleague shes a mentor and a friend, Warren wrote. She has shown me how tough women fight for families in Massachusetts and across this country.

Her decision in 2007 to enter elective politics had roots in her marriage to one of the states leading political figures. Her late husband, Paul Tsongas, a former Lowell city councilor and Middlesex County commissioner, held the seat for two terms after his election in 1974 and is credited with leading the efforts to revitalize his native city. He later went on to serve one term in the US Senate and ran a strong but unsuccessful campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1992.

His election ended the GOPs decades-long grip on the district and marked the beginning of the election of a series of liberal Democrats, including Niki Tsongas herself.

But what was for decades the Fifth District and is now labeled the Third District since redistricting in 2012 has changed around its edges, creating less of a liberal tilt to the seat.

In the future, said Dan Payne, a Democratic media consultant who has advised candidates in that district, that district is very unlikely to elect someone as liberal as Tsongas.

But the Third District favors Democrats overall, choosing that partys presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton, in last years presidential race with 57 percent of the vote over Donald Trumps 35 percent.

It currently runs along the New Hampshire border, from Haverhill, through Lowell and Lawrence to Fitchburg, Gardner, and Winchendon, stretching south to Marlborough and Hudson while also taking in the southern Middlesex County towns of Wayland, Acton, and Concord.

Tsongas unexpected move is much like what her husband did in 1984 when, in one of the most dramatic political events the state has seen in decades, he announced he would not run for a second six-year Senate term. He had been diagnosed with lymphoma. He died in 1997 from complications from cancer treatments.

Meehan said Paul Tsongas would have been extremely proud of his wifes tenure in the job he had held for four years work that included helping the urban communities in the district on economic development issues and looking after the interests of the Massachusetts companies that dominate the defense industry.

Serving in this district demands a very high standard that was set by Paul Tsongas, Meehan said. Niki exceeded that high standard and I know Paul would be very proud of her service.

In her statement, Tsongas described her time in office as a heartfelt honor ... guided all along by an extraordinary role model in my late husband Paul.

She also said she felt proud that her 2007 election marked the first time Massachusetts had sent a woman to Congress in 25 years.

Since that door cracked open, the Commonwealth has elected another female member of Congress, our first female US Senator, and in my district, 50% of our state legislators are now women, paving the way for even more women from our state to serve in political office bringing their voices to all we value as a country, Tsongas said.

The Third District was the venue for one of the states most famous congressional races when a decorated Vietnam veteran, John F. Kerry, won the Democratic nomination in a crowded field, only to lose the general election to a former Republican legislator from Andover who had lost his seat two years earlier.

His antiwar position had made Kerry a national figure, but his move into the district to seek a congressional seat created deep resentment among local Democrats.

The loss sent Kerry, who was shattered by the experience, into the political wilderness until he won an election to be lieutenant governor in 1982 and then ran successfully for the US Senate seat that Paul Tsongas vacated.

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Lowell Democrat Niki Tsongas won't seek another term in Congress - The Boston Globe

Sen. Daniel Squadron, D-New York, speaks during a news conference at the state Capitol on Monday, May 9, 2016, in Albany, N.Y. The New York Senate Elections Committee has briefly considered legislation to close a campaign finance loophole for limited liability companies, its Republican members voting to send it to another committee. Squadron, the lead sponsor, urged the Elections Committee to send it to a floor vote in the Republican-controlled chamber instead, where all senators would have to publicly show their positions. (AP Photo/Mike Groll) less Sen. Daniel Squadron, D-New York, speaks during a news conference at the state Capitol on Monday, May 9, 2016, in Albany, N.Y. The New York Senate Elections Committee has briefly considered legislation to close ... more Photo: Mike Groll Senate Democratic Policy Group Chair Daniel Squadron speaks as the Senate Democratic Conference unveils a set of policy initiatives to help New York families during the critical early childhood period on Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2016, during a news conference at the Capitol in Albany, N.Y. (John Carl D'Annibale / Times Union) less Senate Democratic Policy Group Chair Daniel Squadron speaks as the Senate Democratic Conference unveils a set of policy initiatives to help New York families during the critical early childhood period on ... more Photo: John Carl D'Annibale State Senator Daniel Squadron, Common Cause/NY and good government advocacy groups urged Senate Majority Leader Flanagan to hold a full senate vote on S.60 to close the "LLC loophole" during a press conference held Thursday morning May 28, 2015 at the State Capitol in Albany, N.Y. (Skip Dickstein/Times Union) less State Senator Daniel Squadron, Common Cause/NY and good government advocacy groups urged Senate Majority Leader Flanagan to hold a full senate vote on S.60 to close the "LLC loophole" during a press conference ... more Photo: SKIP DICKSTEIN, ALBANY TIMES UNION State Senator Daniel Squadron, Common Cause/NY and good government advocacy groups urged Senate Majority Leader Flanagan to hold a full senate vote on S.60 to close the "LLC loophole" during a press conference held Thursday morning May 28, 2015 at the State Capitol in Albany, N.Y. (Skip Dickstein/Times Union) less State Senator Daniel Squadron, Common Cause/NY and good government advocacy groups urged Senate Majority Leader Flanagan to hold a full senate vote on S.60 to close the "LLC loophole" during a press conference ... more Photo: SKIP DICKSTEIN, ALBANY TIMES UNION

Sen. Daniel Squadron, left, voices demands for the removal of Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos during session on Wednesday, May 6, 2015, at the Capitol in Albany, N.Y. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union)

Sen. Daniel Squadron, left, voices demands for the removal of Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos during session on Wednesday, May 6, 2015, at the Capitol in Albany, N.Y. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union)

Democrat Daniel Squadron quitting state Senate seat

ALBANY State Sen. Daniel Squadron, D-Brooklyn, will resign from the Senate on Friday, he announced Wednesday morning.

In an emailed statement, Squadron said he has decided to try to make a difference in states across the country by pushing policies and candidates "that will create a fairer and more democratic future."

"It's not possible to take on this challenge and continue to be a full-time legislator, which is what I always promised I would be," he said.

"When I was first elected in 2008 in a season of hope and change, I hoped to bring enthusiasm for government to the district, and a government to be more proud of to Albany," his statement continues. "Though progress has sometimes been slow and there is much more to do in this much less hopeful time the many constituents, colleagues, and staff with whom I've partnered have kept that enthusiasm, and pride in public service, alive."

In an op-ed in the Daily News, Squadron he knocked the fact that Democrats do not have a majority despite having the numbers to control the chamber.

He wrote that upon election in 2008, he believed in state government's potential.

"I still do," Squadron wrote. "But over the years I have seen it thwarted by a sliver of heavily invested special interests. In the state Senate, for example, Democrats have repeatedly been denied control of the chamber by cynical political deals, despite winning an electoral majority including in 2016."

The eight-member Independent Democratic Conference has a majority coalition with the Senate Republicans, who number 32 members (the bare minimum needed to control the chamber) because Brooklyn Democrat Simcha Felder sits with the conference.

As Squadron notes in his op-ed, the 26th Senate District, which covers parts of Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan, is a safely Democratic seatbased on voter enrollment.

The seat would be filled this November during off-cycle elections, though if the Legislature were to return before then for some reason, the number of registered Democrats in the chamber would be 31 (22 mainline Democratic senators Squadron is currently the 23rd eight members of the IDC and Felder).

In a statement, Democratic Conference Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins wished Squadron luck.

"Daniel Squadron has been a fantastic Senator, a dedicated public servant, and a dear friend," she said. "Senator Squadron was a strong advocate for his community and for all New Yorkers. He worked tirelessly to make our state a better, fairer, and more ethical place. I look forward to working with him on the national level to spread progressive values and responsible government. I thank Daniel for his service and wish him the best of luck on this new challenge."

Squadron's exit may not be the only in the Senate before the end of the year. Democratic Senators George Latimer of Westchester County and Ruben Diaz Sr. of the Bronx are seeking local elected positions. Republican Sen. Phil Boyle of Long Island is running for Suffolk County Sheriff.

Should all of those senators leave, the Senate math obviously would further fluctuate. Any of their exits would key up special elections (or, if they resign, elections in November) for their seats.

Squadron's decision to leave comes at a time when Democratic voters in some areas have become impassioned about installing a Democratic majority in the Senate, a task that is easier said than done because of internal politics.

Their pleas led the state Democratic Committee to adopt a resolution last month calling for Senate re-unification, much to the chagrin of the IDC, led by Sen. Jeff Klein of the Bronx. Party brass said that though the party doesn't get involved in primaries, the resolution encourages people to primary the independent Democratic senators.

Only one senator was in attendance at that meeting in Colonie, Sen. Leroy Comrie of Queens, who stood to applaud the resolution.

Still, the IDC hasn't backed down.

"The reason why the Democratic Party is losing across the nation and at home is that they are coopted by a small band of misfits who continue to talk to each other in echo chambers and refuse to acknowledge that the party of Roosevelt, Kennedy and Clinton no longer has the ability to communicate with working-class voters," IDC spokeswoman Candice Giove said at the time. "The Independent Democratic Conference will continue to fight for the working class and espouse the hopes and aspirations of all New Yorkers. Big tent Democratic politics is good government and good politics. We will see you at the polls."

News of Squadron's resignation coincidentally came as new account emerged of a meeting last month between Gov. Andrew Cuomo criticized by some for not doing more to reunify the Democratic factions and the mainline Democratic senators. The New York Times reported Wednesday that Cuomo suggested that the IDC had a better understanding of the suburbs than the mainline Democrats.

Stewart-Cousins, who represents Westchester County, replied, according to the Times: "You look at me, Mr. Governor, but you don't see me. You see my black skin and a woman, but you don't realize I am a suburban legislator. Jeff Klein doesn't represent the suburbs. I do."

A Cuomo spokeswoman told the Times that the comment "was not of particular note" and the meeting was friendly and positive.

mhamilton@timesunion.com 518-454-5449 @matt_hamilton10

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Democrat Daniel Squadron quitting state Senate seat - Albany Times Union