| Media Search: |
Link:
RFK Jr. challenges Trump to debate after 'Democrat plant' accusation - Fox News
Utah Democrats on Saturday nominated an anti-Joe Biden candidate for Utahs 2nd Congressional District who has already promised he will step aside and let the party pick a replacement to take his spot on Novembers ballot.
Brian Adams came under fire from a variety of Democratic organizations, including the Young Democrats of Utah and the Disability Caucus, for claiming Jan. 6 rioters were being politically persecuted and criticizing President Biden for facilitating an invasion at the southern border.
Opponents were pushing the party to not nominate a candidate and leave the spot on the ballot vacant, since Adams was the only Democrat to file to run for the office, currently held by U.S. Rep. Celeste Maloy.
[READ: Trump endorses Trent Staggs for Senate ahead of Utah GOP nominating convention]
But Utah Democratic Vice Chair Oscar Mata said at Saturdays State Nominating Convention that Adams had committed to withdrawing from the race if he is nominated. In the past, the party could only pick a replacement if a candidate died or withdrew because of health issues, but because of a recent change to the law, the party can now pick a replacement if a nominee drops out for any reason.
Adams confirmed to The Salt Lake Tribune on Saturday that he would withdraw after he is nominated.
Everyone seems to agree with the course of action, Adams said in a text message. I agreed to it and told them I was happy to help.
Some delegates wanted Adams to confirm in writing that he would resign before he was nominated. But Brad Townley, the past Democratic Party parliamentarian said Adams committed to notify the lieutenant governors office that he was withdrawing on Monday. If he does not, Townley said, the partys constitution would let the central committee vote to remove Adams.
Adams owns a renewable energy company in Clearfield and, according to his campaign website, was a helicopter pilot in the U.S. Army.
On his campaign Facebook page, Adams leans into election security memes, trashes Biden and rails against the influx of immigration. And, he said, many of the Trump supporters who were present for the Jan. 6 riots were being politically persecuted and should not be charged.
On Friday, after there were demands in Democratic circles that the party not nominate him, Adams didnt back away from his positions and said he would see how the situation would unfold at the nominating convention.
My response would be: Do I have to think like them in order to represent people well? I thought diversity was our strength, Adams said in an interview Friday. And Id also say, thats not very inclusive of them.
Until last year, a nominee could only be replaced on the ballot if they die or are incapacitated. But the Legislature changed the law last year after Democrats sued to prevent the Republican Party from replacing Rep. Joel Ferry on the ballot after Ferry dropped out of the race to take a job as Gov. Spencer Coxs director of the Department of Natural Resources.
While Republicans at the Salt Palace fought early issues with election software and arguments if paper or electronic ballots should be used, the Democrats at Cottonwood High School opened their convention with a few minutes of meditating. Later, a candidate for U.S. Senate sang his pitch to delegates.
Still, as the convention dragged into its sixth hour, plus several hours of mingling with candidates at their booths beforehand, fatigue began to set in.
(Robert Gehrke | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Democratic delegates chose Caroline Gleich to be the party's nominee for U.S. Senate this year. Gleich is a ski mountaineer and climate activist.
In the end, Caroline Gleich becomes the third woman to win a nomination from one of the two major parties in Utah history. During her speech, she credited Ted Wilson who died earlier this month for setting her on a path to politics when she worked for him in Gov. Gary Herberts administration.
He taught me how to take my seat at the table at the head of the table and how to bring together people with differing viewpoints to create strong policy, she said.
Gleich said, as a senator, she would fight to address housing affordability and homelessness, move to clean energy to stem the climate crisis, promote good jobs across the state and fiercely defend reproductive freedom.
This issue is deeply personal to me, she said. A year and a half ago, I froze my eggs and embryos and they are in a freezer in Provo, and the latest Republican attacks on IVF are sickening. As Utahns, we are tired of being political pawns in these increasingly extremist games. Its time that we get the government to stop policing our bodies, our bathrooms and books.
Rudy Bautista received 65% of the vote to be the attorney general candidate. Bautista, who ran as the Libertarian Partys nominee in 2022, will go against the eventual Republican nominee. Frank Mylar, Rachel Terry and Derek Brown are vying for that spot.
We constantly see the attorney general take the puppet position of doing whatever the legislature, the governor wants. Well, they pass laws all the time that are unconstitutional. They pass laws all the time that take our individual freedoms, Bautista said. As attorney general, I will not stand for that. I will not just go into court and defend the legislatures positions.
(Robert Gehrke | The Salt Lake Tribune) Kika, one of state Democratic Sen. Jen Plumb's elderly pugs, showing signs of wear after spending hours Saturday at the Utah Democratic Convention.
In a contested race for state House District 23 a Salt Lake City seat currently held by Rep. Brian King Hoang Nguyen, a restaurateur and co-owner of a medical cannabis dispensary, beat out Jeff Howell, a tech consultant and former congressional staffer. Both candidates had already gathered enough signatures to qualify for the June primary.
Claudia Bigler, the artistic director for Cache Childrens Choir, beat out Chris Reid to run against Republican Thomas Peterson for state House District 1.
King, Catherine Voutaz and Neil Hansen are the partys uncontested nominees for governor, state auditor and treasurer, respectively.
Voutaz said in her nearly 30 years of being an accountant, one thing she learned is that there must be trusted oversight, and added Utah has a legislature without real oversight.
Bill Campbell was the uncontested nominee in the 1st Congressional District and Glenn Wright was the uncontested nominee in the 3rd District.
The crowd cheered when Wright mentioned Republicans at the Salt Palace were celebrating former President Donald Trump.
Trump can kiss my a-, he said.
It doesnt matter if youre a Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative a growing number of elected officials and political groups all suddenly want you to know: they love their dogs.
The outpouring of animal love from political social media is all in response to South Dakota Gov. Kristi L. Noem (R) who is believed to be in the running to be Donald Trumps running mate admitting in her forthcoming book that she killed a family dog and goat in a gravel pit with a gun on the same day.
According to an excerpt of the book obtained by the Guardian in advance of its publication next month, Noem, a farmer and rancher, said she shot and killed her 14-month-old wirehair pointer, Cricket, because she was untrainable and aggressive.
Noem described how Cricket was overexcited on a hunt and wrote that she attacked another familys chickens like a trained assassin. The governor also said Cricket had tried to bite her during the incident, later writing that she hated that dog.
After killing Cricket, Noem wrote that she then decided to kill a family goat that was nasty and mean and which loved to chase Noems children.
Democrats, including President Bidens reelection campaign, had some fun with it along with some spirited politicking.
The Democratic National Committee, responding to Noems book excerpt, issued a statement on behalf of the dogs of the DNC, aka the Dogmocratic Party.
As DNCs canine companions, weve heard a lot from our owners about just how extreme and dangerous Donald Trump and his far-right MAGA allies are but nothing could prepare us for the truly disturbing and horrifying passages Kristi L. Noem willingly chose to put in her new book, the statement said.
Our message is plain and simple: If you want elected officials who dont brag about brutally killing their pets as part of their self-promotional book tour, then listen to our owners and vote Democrat, the statement added.
After Noems excerpt went public, the Biden campaigns rapid response team shared pictures on X of Vice President Harris holding a puppy and President Biden walking his German shepherd, Commander, at the White House (although Commander was removed from the White House last year after he bit several staffers and Secret Service officers).
Democratic Gov. Tim Walz (Minn.) shared a photo on X of him feeding his dog a treat, writing the caption, Post a picture with your dog that doesnt involve shooting them and throwing them in a gravel pit. Ill start. The post garnered responses from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-Mich.) and Gov. Phil Murphy (D-N.J.) with their furry companions.
The Lincoln Project, a political organization founded by moderate conservatives who oppose Trump, published a tongue-in-cheek video that seemed to nod at Sarah McLachlans earworm ads for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
You have options, a narrator says in the video. Shooting your dog in the face should not be one of them. And if you do happen to shoot your dog in the face, please dont write about it in your autobiography.
The organization also subsequently said that Trump and Noems disregard for animals reflects their disregard for everything else. Cruelty is the point.
Other Republicans who do not support Trump, including former Trump aides Alyssa Farah Griffin and Sarah Matthews, as well as Meghan McCain, similarly expressed shock over Noems story.
And Laura Loomer, a right-wing activist and Trump ally, wrote on X, You cant shoot your dog and then be VP.
Noems actions have been blasted by animal advocacy organizations. Colleen OBrien, senior vice president of media relations at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, said in a statement that the excerpt reveals the governor obviously fails to understand the vital political concepts of education, cooperation, compromise, and compassion.
Sara Amundson, president of the Humane Society Legislative Fund the lobbying arm of the Humane Society of the United States said in a statement that there is no redeeming takeaway from a story about the ending of these animals lives, including a juvenile dog who was the family pet.
The organization noted that the 86 million American homes have at least one beloved pet and value our relationship with them. There are so many effective and humane ways to deal with canine behavioral issues that dont resort to such means.
Noem appeared to verify the details of the excerpt published by the Guardian, writing on X Friday morning, We love animals, but tough decisions like this happen all the time on a farm. Sadly, we just had to put down 3 horses a few weeks ago that had been in our family for 25 years.
The governor, in her post, then urged her followers to preorder No Going Back, her forthcoming book, if you want more real, honest, and politically INcorrect stories thatll have the media gasping.
Amy B Wang contributed to this report.
More here:
Kristi Noem draws backlash after book recounts shooting of dog and goat - The Washington Post
A string of prominent California Democrats has been the victim or alleged victim of crime over the past few years raising fresh concerns about law and order in the Golden State.
On Thursday, thieves broke into the car of longtime Rep. Adam Schiffa House Democrat who is currently running for the open Senate seat in Californiaand stole several bags, including one with his business clothes inside, according to The San Francisco Chronicle.
Two days earlier, a fight broke out between San Jose Democratic Mayor Matt Mahan's security guard and a member of the public during a live interview with local network KRON4.
On Sunday morning, a man broke into Democratic Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass' official home, Getty House, while she was there with her daughter and grandchild at around 6:40 a.m. according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
Police arrested 29-year-old Ephraim Matthew Hunter, who was previously convicted of carrying out a violent assault in Massachusetts, and he has been charged in connection with the incident.
This rash of incidents comes amid other crimes or attempted crimes targeting Democrats in the state happened in the past few years.
In October 2023, Oakland's progressive District Attorney Pamela Price had her laptop stolen in a smash-and-grab while she attended an event for victims of domestic violence. According to The Daily Mail, she was told to report the crime online rather than wait for a police officer at the scene.
On October 28, 2022, Paul Pelosi, the husband of then-Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, was attacked by a man with a hammer who had broken into the couple's San Francisco residence. Paul Pelosi was seriously injured in the incident that was viewed by many through police bodycam footage later released.
The attack was deemed to be politically motivated, and the video showed 42-year-old David DePape, the suspected assailant, asking Paul Pelosi, "Where's Nancy?"
Former Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer was robbed of her cellphone near her Oakland apartment in July 2021.
Speaking to ABC7 News about the incident she said, "I noticed, out of the corner of my eye, it looked like someone was following me. I didn't think that much about it.
"A gentleman got out of the driver's seat and then came after me from the car. At that point I knew I was in big trouble. I started to kinda run.
"I was hit from behind very hard. I was target, walking alone on the phone, distracted on the phone. As he was running away, I said ... how could you do this to a grandmother?"
In June 2021, a man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has high visibility nationally, during a visit to Oakland. According to the East Bay Times, Newsom was not injured in the incident and a 54-year-old man was booked into Alameda County jail on suspicion of assaulting a public official.
The incidents targeting Democrats in California come as the state was badly hit by a sharp increase in certain types of crime during the coronavirus pandemic with homicides using firearms going up 40.6 percent and assaults with firearms increasing by 29 percent from 2019-2020 according to a Los Angeles Times analysis of Department of Justice data.
According to the Public Policy Institute of California, in 2022, the state saw a 28.7 percent increase in commercial shoplifting from 2020-2021. This sparked a public debate with Cynthia Adams, president of the Oakland NAACP, telling Newsweek, "We need more police" in July 2023.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
The rest is here:
California Democrats Keep Being the Victims of Crime - Newsweek
In an otherwise quiet election, there was one surprise Tuesday: the outcome of the Democratic primary for state treasurer.
Erin McClelland, an Allegheny County native, beat the state partys endorsed candidate who outraised her 5-1. McClelland won by 8 percentage points and will take on Republican incumbent Stacy Garrity in November.
The treasurer holds a low-profile state row office position, but has a lot of power over the states investments and makes sure the states bills are paid.
And in this years treasurers race, several Democratic insiders and experts said McClellands native county, name, and gender likely played a decisive role for voters who knew little about the office or the candidates.
A female with Allegheny County next to her name on the ballot in these lower-profile statewide races, geography matters a lot. That right there put her in the ball game, said Mike Mikus, a Democratic consultant in Pittsburgh who is working this year for State Rep. Malcolm Kenyattas campaign for auditor general. And Ive watched her, shes tireless. Shes willing to do the hard work.
McClelland beat State Rep. Ryan Bizzarro (D., Erie), who received the partys nod and dozens of other endorsements. He is a member of House Democratic leadership, where as the policy chair hes in charge of determining which issues House Democrats should advance.
In addition to few endorsements, McClelland raised and spent very little money spending only $14,000 of the $100,000 she raised, according to her latest campaign finance filing. Bizzarro, on the other hand, raised more than $500,000, and spent about half of it.
McClelland said she won by putting miles on the tires, driving around the state to talk about her vision for the office. And her gender played an advantage for her, which McClelland herself pointed out on election night.
This is a really important statement from the voters about the voice of women, McClelland said Tuesday. We talk about how we want their votes, but its really important to have their voice.
By winning on Tuesday, McClelland became the only woman on the Democratic statewide ballot in November.
The partys endorsement isnt always a determining factor on whether a candidate will win, experts and insiders said.
Voters in primaries tend to be more independent and less reliant on endorsements to vote, Mikus said. Thirty, 40 years ago, it was a much more powerful endorsement. Voters dont look to a party or an elected official or an organization who theyre going to vote for.
J.J. Balaban, a Philadelphia-based Democratic consultant who worked on former Treasurer Joe Torsellas two statewide campaigns as well as treasurers races in other states, said Bizzarro likely thought the partys endorsement would help him win, leading him not to spend more of his campaign contributions.
I imagine, in hindsight, the strategy of relying on [the Democratic partys endorsement] to carry him to victory does not seem to be the right one, Balaban said. Some candidates make it their peril in confusing elites with voters.
Balaban said the candidates names themselves may have played a part in voters choices: McClelland has an obviously Irish female name that might be attractive to many voters.
Its unfair to an accomplished state representative, but the value of being an accomplished state representative is only if people know you are an accomplished state representative, Balaban added.
When you put it as A woman of Irish descent from Allegheny County versus a man with an odd-sounding last name from Erie County, it doesnt sound so strange, he said.
There is little research on how voters treat female candidates for state treasurer, but, overall, women need to prove their competence much more than men, said Dana Brown, the executive director of the Pennsylvania Center for Women and Politics at Chatham University. While Bizzarro campaigned on attacking Garrity, the Republican incumbent, McClelland put out an eight-page prospectus with her ideas for how shed run the treasurers office.
McClelland will likely have a hard time against Garrity in November, Brown said, because voters often think female candidates are more liberal than they actually are. For example, a far-right female candidate would be seen by a voter as more moderate, while a moderate Democratic candidate would be seen further left. Garrity is a staunch conservative, and McClelland is a moderate Democrat.
McClelland has run twice unsuccessfully for Congress, and has also launched campaigns in two other races but dropped out before the election. This was her first time running statewide.
In a statement on election night, Garritys campaign called McClelland a perennial candidate in search of a spot on the public payroll and said her ideas for the treasurers office are weird, at best.
While McClellands gender, name, and county may have helped her pick up low-information voters, Chuck Pascal, McClellands campaign manager, said her commitment to traveling the state to campaign helped her win.
We didnt have the money or the endorsements that Ryan did, but Erin went out and talked to real people and went everywhere in the state, said Pascal, who also chairs the Armstrong County Democrats. She just works hard. And she will continue to work hard, and well work hard for the entire ticket now.
See the original post here:
How Erin McClelland's treasurer campaign bucked the Democratic party establishment - The Philadelphia Inquirer