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Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., pushes back against Democrats trying to redistrict her Congressional seat, arguing the move silences her districts constituents.

Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., ripped Democratic colleagues for their push to redraw her district on "Mornings with Maria" Wednesday, arguing they're attempting to "tilt the scale" and silence the people she represents.

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REP. NICOLE MALLIOTAKIS: Well, we know one thing from the Democrats this year, it is that if they can't win by the rules, they'll change the rules. In Washington, they've tried it with trying to get rid of the filibuster in the Senate, their proposals to pack the Supreme Court, their attempts to radically change our election laws three times. We were able to defeat them, and we will make sure that we hold on to this seat.

But I do need everyone's help. The reality is they are trying to change the boundaries of my district to tilt the scale, to eliminate New York City's only Republican voice in Washington. And more importantly, silence the voices of the people that I represent who overwhelmingly said they did not want Max Rose, my predecessor, did a lousy job. They do not want Bill de Blasio, who's now saying he may run in the district, so I'm going to continue to fight back. And I need everyone's support.

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Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., says President Biden needs to address all categories of crime in his visit to New York City Thursday.

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NY GOP lawmaker rips Democrats redistricting her seat: If they cant win by the rules, theyll change them - Fox Business

The Democratic primary isincreasingly looking like a major battleground for two rival factions withinthe Democratic Party. Lamb has long associated himself with the more moderateor establishment wing of the party, as someone who represents a swing district. Fetterman is a longtime ally of the Bernie Sandersprogressive wing. Theresalmost no way these two dont become champions for their opposing factions asthe nomination nears.

Its important to note that Republicanshave their own increasingly heated primary. David McCormack, a former hedgefund executive who served in the George W. Bush administrations TreasuryDepartment, has been leveraging his finances and financial connections to riseto contention in the Republican primary. Hes running against former televisionhost Dr. Mehmet Oz, former Republican nominee for lieutenant governor Jeff Bartos, and formerTrump administration Ambassador Carla Sands (who saw amajor staff exodus among lackluster fundraising numbers). As with Democrats,theres no sign that the primary will dwindle down to just one candidate,officially or otherwise. The candidates in the Republican primary are alsojostling to associate themselvesmost closelywith former President Donald Trump.Its unclear who has the inside track at the moment, but McCormack and Oz bothhave attributes that could easily propel them to victory: name identificationand money. Support for Trump is a valuable commodity in the primary, as well, butthat could end up being a liability in the general election.

For Republicans, this Senate raceis somewhat important. Pennsylvania tilts blue, and it even elected aDemocratic governor during Trumps rise to the presidency and time in office.For Republicans, winning the Senate race would allow them to retain a seat thatcould very easily fall into Democratic hands. But Pennsylvania isnt thebiggest priority for the GOP this cycle. There are too many races where theyhope to have the advantage and flip a Senate seat: Georgia, New Hampshire, andArizona all look flappable. So they dont really need Pennsylvania.

For Democrats, the situation is farmore serious. Pennsylvania is the best pickup opportunity for them this cycle.In the most realistic scenarios where Democrats retain control of the Senate,they will do so by the thinnest of margins. In other words, a flip of this seatwould help Democrats keep and maybe expand their Senate majority, therebymaking Joe Manchins machinations less pivotal.

Read more:
Democrats Can Win the Pennsylvania Senate Seatif They Dont Slaughter One Another First - The New Republic

The midterm elections are just over nine months away. What will Democrats run on? What will Republicans run on?

One hint came at a Houston-area Trump rally Saturday night. If I run and if I win, the former guy said, referring to 2024, we will treat those people from January 6th fairly. He then added, and if it requires pardons, we will give them pardons, because they are being treated so unfairly.

Trump went on to demand the biggest protest we have ever had if federal prosecutors in Washington or in New York and Atlanta, where cases against him are moving forward, do anything wrong or illegal. He then called the federal prosecutors vicious, horrible people who are not after me, theyre after you.

Trumps hint of pardons for those who attacked the Capitol could affect the criminal prosecution of hundreds now facing conspiracy, obstruction and assault charges, which carry sentences that could put them away for years. If they think Trump will pardon them, they might be less willing to negotiate with prosecutors and accept plea deals.

His comments could also be interpreted as a call for violence if various legal cases against him lead to indictments.

But if Trump keeps at it and of course he will hell help the Democrats in the upcoming midterm elections by reminding the public of the attempted coup he and his Republican co-conspirators tried to pull off between the 2020 election and January 6. That would make the midterm election less of a referendum on Biden than on the Republican party. (Dont get me wrong. I think Biden is doing a good job, given the hand he was dealt. But Republicans are doing an even better job battering him as his sinking poll numbers show.)

Last week, Newt Gingrich, who served as House speaker from 1995 to 1999, suggested that members of the House select committee investigating the January 6 attack on the Capitol should face jail time if the Republican party returns to power. The wolves are gonna find out that theyre now sheep, and theyre the ones who in fact, I think face a real risk of jail for the kind of laws theyre breaking, Gingrich said on Fox News.

Gingrichs remark prompted Representative Liz Cheney, Wyoming Republican and vice-chair of the select committee, to respond: A former speaker of the House is threatening jail time for members of Congress who are investigating the violent January 6 attack on our Capitol and our constitution. This is what it looks like when the rule of law unravels.

Trump and Gingrich are complicating the midterm elections prospects for all Republicans running or seeking reelection nine months from now.

Many Republican leaders believe they dont need to offer the public any agenda for the midterms because of widespread frustration with Biden and the Democrats. Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, recently asked what the Republican partys agenda would be if it recaptured Congress, quipped Ill let you know when we take it back.

But if Republicans fail to offer an agenda, the Republican partys midterm message is even more likely to be defined by Trump and Trumpers like Gingrich: the big lie that the 2020 election was stolen along with promises to pardon the January 6 defendants, jail members of the select committee investigating the attack on the Capitol, and other bonkers claims and promises.

This would spell trouble for the GOP, because most Americans dont believe the big lie and remain appalled by the attack on the Capitol.

House minority leader Kevin McCarthy (who phoned Trump during the attack on the Capitol but refuses to cooperate with the Houses January 6 committee investigation) will have a central role in defining the Republican message for the midterms. And whom has McCarthy been consulting with? None other than Newt Gingrich. The two have been friends for years and McCarthys chief of staff in his leadership office, Dan Meyer, served in the same role for Gingrich when he was the speaker.

McCarthy knows Gingrich is a master huckster. After all, in 1994 Gingrich delivered a House majority for the Republicans for the first time in 40 years by promising a contract with America that amounted to little more than trickle-down economics and states rights.

But like most hucksters, Gingrich suffered a spectacular fall. In 1997 House members overwhelmingly voted to reprimand him for flouting federal tax laws and misleading congressional investigators about it making him the first speaker panned for unethical behavior. The disgraced leader, who admitted to the ethical lapse as part of a deal to quash inquiries into other suspect activities, also had to pay a historic $300,000 penalty. Then, following a surprise loss of Republican House seats in the 1998 midterm election, Gingrich stepped down as speaker. He resigned from Congress in January 1999 and hasnt held elected office since.

Ive talked with Gingrich several times since then. I always come away with the impression of a military general in an age where bombast and explosive ideas are more potent than bombs. Since he lost the House, Gingrich has spent most of his time and energy trying to persuade other Republicans that he alone possesses the strategy and the ideas entitling him to be the new general of the Republican right.

Gingrich has no scruples, which is why he has allied himself with Trump and Trumps big lie appearing regularly on Fox News to say the 2020 election was rigged and mouth off other Trumpish absurdities (such as last weeks claim that members of the House select committee should be jailed).

Gingrich likes to think of himself as a revolutionary force, but he behaves more like a naughty boy. When he was Speaker, his House office was adorned with figurines of dinosaurs, as you might find in the bedrooms of little boys who dream of becoming huge and powerful. Gingrich can be mean, but his meanness is that of a nasty kid rather than a tyrant. And like all nasty kids, inside is an insecure little fellow who desperately wants attention.

Still, as of now, the best hope for Democrats in the midterms lies with Trump, Gingrich and others who loudly and repeatedly remind the public how utterly contemptible the Republican party has become.

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Trump and his enablers unwittingly offer Democrats their best hope in the midterms - The Guardian

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELOLAND) The last time South Dakota had a Democrat as governor, the Dallas Cowboys won the Super Bowl with Roger Staubach as quarterback.

South Dakota State University, the University of South Dakota and Augustana football were members of the North Central Conference (NCC).

But Gov. Harvey Wollman was not elected, he replaced Democrat Richard Kneip as governor in 1978 and served until Jan. 1, 1979. Wollman was the lieutenant governor when Kneip resigned to be the ambassador to Singapore.

The last elected Democrat governor was Kneip who took office in 1971.

Democrat candidate Jamie Smith who is running for governor in 2022.

Smith announced today he was running a Democrat for governor of South Dakota. Hes a Democratic lawmaker from Sioux Falls in District 15 and is House Minority Leader.

Since 1889, South Dakota has had only five Democrat governors: William J. Bulow, 1927-1931; Thomas M. Berry, 1933 1937; Ralph Herseth, 1959-1961; Richard Kneip, 1971-1978; and Harvey Wollman, 1978-1979.

According to the South Dakota Secretary of State, there are 5,592 registered Democrats and 5,846 registered Republicans in District 15. There are also 6,543 voters registered as Independent or with no party affiliation.

Statewide voter registrations show how hard it could be for a Democrat to get elected governor in South Dakota.

As of Feb. 1, there were 280,125 registered Republicans in South Dakota. There were 152,482 registered Democrats.

As of Feb. 1, there were 152,482 registered Democrats in South Dakota, according to the Secretary of State.

But there were 140,194 who had registered as Independents or with no political party.

Libertarian registrations totaled 2,617 while other affiliations totaled 1,378.

Those total 576,796 total voters.

The state has 63,475 inactive registrations.

Since 2008, the number of registered Democrats has declined while the number of registered Republicans has increased. The state has almost 40,000 more registered Republicans than it did in 2008. There are about 50,000 fewer registered Democrats.

The number of Independents and no party affiliation registered voters is growing. On Sept. 1, 2014, there were less than 100,000 of these registered voters. About eight years later, there are 40,000 more.

The state had 241,528 registered Republicans in the general election of 2008. It had 204,413 registered Democrats. It had a total of 530,462 registered voters.

But registered voters dont always vote that way when it comes to elections. Or not all the members registered in a party vote on election day.

Gov. Kristi Noem won the 2018 election with 51% of the popular vote or 172,912 votes to 47.6% or 161,454 for Democrat Billie Sutton.

Billie Sutton, the 2018 Democrat candidate for South Dakota governor.

As of Nov. 1, 2018, there were 256,496 registered Republicans and 158,968 registered Democrats, according to the SOS office. There were also 126,656 registered as Independents or with no party affiliation.

The Sutton-Noem race did break a trend. The percentage of victor of Noem was the smallest since 1986, when Republican George S. Mickelson beat Democrat Lars Herseth by 3.6 points.

Races from 1986 to 2018 were not that close.

Republican Dennis Daugaard won in 2010 with 61.1% of the vote or 195,024 votes. Democrat Scott Heidepriem received 122,010 votes or 38.5% The state had 235,906 registered Republicans as of Oct. 1, 2010, and 193,304 registered Democrats.

Although a slim majority of South Dakotans who voted elected a female as governor in 2018, female Democratic candidate Susan Wismer was soundly defeated in 2014 by incumbent Daugaard. Daugaard won with 70.5% of the vote to 25.4% for Wismer.

Former South Dakota Governor Dennis Daugaard. The incumbent Republican won with 70% of the vote in 2014.

Daugaard received 195,477 votes, fewer than the 240,545 number of registered Republicans.

Democrat Gov. Thomas Berry once called a special session to once to legalize 3.2 % alcoholic beer, according to the National Governors Association.

During Gov. Thomas Berrys administration, state property tax was abolished and replaced by a gross income tax. The gross income tax was replaced by the state sales tax.

The Big Bend Dam on the Missouri River was started during Gov. Ralph Herseths time in office. Herseth was also active in developing natural resources in the state.

Kneip consolidated 160 state agencies, boards, and departments into 16 in order to make the executive branch more efficient and responsible, according to the National Governors Association.

Two years after Kneip won the governors race in 1970 with about 55% of the vote, South Dakota voters didnt even choose home-state Democrat candidate George McGovern for president. McGovern received 45.5% of the states vote to winner Republican Richard Nixons 54.2%.

Democrat George McGovern was the partys candidate for president in 1972.

But much like voting for governor, the majority of South Dakotans do not vote for a Democrat for president.

They did in 1964 when the majority voted for Democrat Lyndon B. Johnson over Republican Barry Goldwater.

If there is a Republican candidate, theres more than a good chance South Dakota will vote for that candidate.

South Dakota did vote for Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932 and 1936 for his first and second of four terms.

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Democrats as governor are rare in South Dakota - KELOLAND.com

A pack of 50 Kimberly-Clark N95 masks cost $2,319 in October 2021. By mid-January, the same box of masks cost $5,715, according to the Groundwork Collaborative, a left-leaning activist group focused on economic issues.

Manufacturers like Kimberly-Clark say the price hikes are a result of supply-chain bottlenecks, worker shortages, and other pandemic-related disruptions.In December, the cost of consumer goods and services rose 7% over the past year.

Lawmakers say its price-gouging. And its not just happening in pandemic-related supplies. The cost of diapers, food and even drugs has skyrocketed dramatically in recent months as corporations have increased prices and maintained healthy profit margins, according to Democrats in Congress who conducted a hearing on pricing on Wednesday.

Corporate greed is motivating large companies to use the pandemic and supply chain issues as an excuse to raise prices simply because they can. And a lot of executives brazenly boast to investors about raising prices on consumers without consequencesand these executives are saying they're going to continue to do so, House Energy and Commerce committee chairman Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) said during Wednesday's hearing.

American consumers have experienced unconscionable price hikes in everyday consumer goods, added Janice Schakowsky (D-Ill.). We are at war with this pandemic, war with this virus. And during World War II, war profiteers were held accountable. The same should be applied here today.

To fight this kind of price-gouging, Pallone, Schakowsky, and several Democrat co-sponsors introduced legislation earlier in the week to hold companies accountable. The COVID19 Price Gouging Prevention Act would give the Federal Trade Commission the ability to seek civil penalties from companies that raise prices to unconscionably excessive levels during the pandemic. The bill also gives states attorneys general the authority to enforce the legislation without losing any of their existing authority under state law.

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But enforcing this proposed legislation may be impossible, supply-chain expert Glenn Richey said Wednesday. The legislation will have to be quite careful in uncovering what is really a price-gouging situation and what is just a natural need to increase prices, he said.

It is important to remember that prices move with the market and across supply chain transactions, said Richey, a professor and department chair in supply chain management at Auburn Universitys Raymond J. Harbert College of Business.

Among the bills serious flaws is the fact that it fails to define what constitutes an excessive price increase, according to Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.)

On the issue of price-gouging, standing up against those who have profiteered during the pandemic is a bipartisan issue, McMorris Rodgers said Wednesday, chastising Democratic leadership for their go it alone approach and for failing to get Republican input.

Currently, about 39 states have some kind of statute or regulation that defines price-gouging as illegal during a time of disaster or emergency, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. But the specifics of each states rules vary substantially, as do the consequences.

The fact of the matter is there is no federal price gouging work today. While most states do have some kind of authority, those laws are inconsistent, and many failed to address the unique circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, Pallone said. So Congress has to give the FTC and state authority the enforcement tools they need to go after companies that are gouging consumers.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

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Top Democrats rip corporations for price gouging. Executives brazenly boast to investors about raising prices - Yahoo Finance