The debate is set for August, in the same city that will host the party’s 2024 convention.The Republican National Committee will hold its first presidential primary debate in Milwaukee in August, its debates committee decided in a vote on Thursday.The committee is seeking to have all candidates sign a loyalty pledge vowing to support the eventual nominee in order to be part of the debates.Milwaukee will also be the site of the Republican National Convention in 2024. Another location that had been under consideration for the first debate was the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California, according to people briefed on the matter.“At this time, no other debates have been sanctioned, nor has the final criteria for the first debate been decided,” Ronna McDaniel, the R.N.C. chairwoman, said in an email to members on Thursday. “The committee will continue its work and will release updates as they become available.”Only two major candidates — former President Donald J. Trump and the former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley — have entered the race for the Republican nomination. (Lesser-known candidates include Vivek Ramaswamy, an entrepreneur and author, and Steve Laffey, a former mayor of Cranston, R.I.)But several more are expected to announce campaigns in the coming months. The field could eventually include Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, former Vice President Mike Pence, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina.Among the other issues the debate committee has been discussing is having candidates sign a pledge vowing to support the eventual nominee.Such a pledge came about during the 2016 campaign, after then-candidate Donald J. Trump, who had previously considered a third-party candidacy in 2000, declined during an early debate to join the other contenders in saying that they would back the nominee. Mr. Trump, already the front-runner in polls in the crowded field, claimed to be concerned about being treated “fairly” by the party.It is unclear whether he would sign such a pledge this time — or whether he would abide by it even if he lost the nomination.The R.N.C. is also interested in a donations requirement, meaning each candidate would need a specific number of individual donors in order to qualify for the debate stage. More

They set fire to the carpet in the lower house of Brazil’s Congress. They attacked the presidential offices, rifled through papers and tried to barricade themselves inside. They destroyed windows inside the Supreme Court.Thousands of supporters of Brazil’s right-wing former president, Jair Bolsonaro, stormed buildings representing the three branches of government to protest what they falsely believe was a stolen election.Where Rioters Have Stormed Government Buildings More

US Capitol attackSix US Capitol police officers could face discipline for 6 January actionsInternal investigation recommends disciplinary measures against officers but none will face criminal charges Richard Luscombe@ More

AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyGeorgia Certifies Senate Victories of Warnock and OssoffThe certification by the secretary of state paves the way for Jon Ossoff and the Rev. Raphael Warnock to be sworn in as senators.The Rev. Raphael Warnock, left, and Jon Ossoff thanked the crowd at a rally last month in Columbus, Ga.Credit…Audra Melton for The New York TimesJan. 19, 2021Updated 6:07 p.m. ETATLANTA — Georgia’s secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, on Tuesday certified the runoff election victories of Senators-elect Jon Ossoff and the Rev. Raphael Warnock, setting in motion the formal legal process that will seat the two Democrats and give their party control of the U.S. Senate for the first time since 2015.The swearing-in of Mr. Ossoff, Mr. Warnock and Alex Padilla, who will fill the California Senate seat left vacant by Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, will create a 50-50 tie in the Senate, giving Democrats de facto control of the chamber because the tiebreaking vote will be held by Ms. Harris. She will be sworn in as vice president on Wednesday, and the three new Democratic senators are expected to be sworn in on Wednesday afternoon.Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia, who like Mr. Raffensperger is a Republican, also signed off on the certification of the races. Gabriel Sterling, a top official in Mr. Raffensperger’s office, noted on Twitter last week that a representative of Georgia state government must then go to Washington to hand the certification documents over to the secretary of the Senate.Despite a flurry of recent drama and unfounded allegations of voter fraud in Georgia, there was little doubt that Mr. Raffensperger would eventually certify the results of the Jan. 5 contests in which Mr. Ossoff defeated David Perdue, a one-term Republican senator, and Mr. Warnock beat Kelly Loeffler, a Republican who was appointed to the Senate seat by Mr. Kemp in December 2019.The margins in both races were outside the half-percentage point threshold that allows the trailing candidate to demand a statewide recount under Georgia law. With about 4.4 million ballots cast, Mr. Ossoff won his race by about 55,000 votes, giving him a 1.22 percent lead, and Mr. Warnock won by about 93,000 votes, giving him a 2.08 percent lead, according to the secretary of state’s website.Those results stood in contrast to those of the Nov. 3 presidential election, in which Mr. Biden defeated Mr. Trump by a narrower margin that was well within the threshold, allowing Mr. Trump to demand a recount.The recount in the presidential race showed that Mr. Trump had indeed lost by about 12,000 votes. But that did not stop the president and his allies from continuing to vigorously press the unfounded allegation that he was the victim of a rigged election.That false narrative, which Mr. Trump pursued in failed court cases and in campaign appearances, quite likely ended up helping the two Democratic Senate candidates by depressing turnout in Georgia among those supporters of the president who saw no reason to vote in an electoral system that he was constantly maligning as untrustworthy.The two Senate races presented a rare and remarkable drama in American politics, given Mr. Trump’s recalcitrance, Mr. Biden’s triumph and the effect that control of the Senate would most likely have on Mr. Biden’s initial policy agenda. Outside money poured into Georgia, making for the most expensive Senate races in U.S. history. Mr. Trump flew to the state and held big, well-attended rallies for Mr. Perdue and Ms. Loeffler. But his message of support was often overtaken by his compulsion to air grievances about his own election.The two Democrats vowed to strengthen the Affordable Care Act, support police reform and overhaul the national response to the coronavirus pandemic. The two Republicans darkly warned that Democratic victories would hasten a dangerous national slide into radical socialism.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

Democrats are fighting for the crucial black vote in the South Carolina primary tomorrow. Churches have long played the primary role in mobilizing black support, but some activists are pushing for change. More