Elections, Governors

Subterms

    More stories

    • 150 Shares169 Views

      in Elections

      Gov. Spencer Cox Holds Off Challenger From Right in Utah’s G.O.P. Primary

      by

      Gov. Spencer Cox of Utah fended off a challenge from the right in his primary on Tuesday, according to The Associated Press, defeating State Representative Phil Lyman, who had the endorsement of the state Republican Party.Mr. Cox, a relative moderate, faced opposition from Mr. Lyman and G.O.P. colleagues who considered him not conservative enough. Mr. Cox has been openly critical of former President Donald J. Trump, and has not endorsed him as he runs for president for a third time.At the state G.O.P. convention in Salt Lake City in the spring, Mr. Cox, who is in his first four-year term after having served as lieutenant governor, failed to secure the party’s endorsement for his re-election bid. At the event, the crowd booed Mr. Cox, who was forced to be on the defensive about his Republican credentials.Despite party frictions, Mr. Cox was widely popular among Utahns in his first term, and his nomination makes a second term all the more likely. Republicans have controlled the Utah governorship since 1985.Mr. Cox will face the Democrats’ nominee, State Representative Brian King, a former minority leader of the State House, in the November election.Mr. Lyman, a former county commissioner, is known for an illegal ATV ride that he staged in 2014 to protest a federal decision banning motor vehicle use in a local canyon. Mr. Lyman and his supporters viewed the protest as an act of civil disobedience, and Mr. Trump pardoned him in 2020.Though Mr. Trump did not weigh in on the governor’s race, Mr. Lyman emphasized his support for the former president throughout his campaign. More

    • 125 Shares199 Views

      in Elections

      Rep. Kelly Armstrong Wins GOP Primary for North Dakota Governor

      by

      Representative Kelly Armstrong won the Republican nomination for governor of North Dakota, The Associated Press said on Tuesday, defeating the state’s lieutenant governor, Tammy Miller, and positioning himself as the strong favorite in the general election.The primary featured two Republicans who are well known in the state and whose platforms shared many similarities. Mr. Armstrong, a lawyer and a former state Republican Party chairman, was elected to Congress in 2018 from North Dakota’s lone House district. Ms. Miller, an accountant and businesswoman, was appointed as lieutenant governor last year after working as Gov. Doug Burgum’s chief operating officer.On the campaign trail, both candidates emphasized their support for former President Donald J. Trump and, as one debate moderator put it, tried to “out-conservative the other.” Mr. Armstrong and Ms. Miller each called for cracking down on illegal immigration and for pushing back on President Biden’s agenda.This year’s race for governor did not take shape until relatively late in the cycle, as Republicans waited to see whether Mr. Burgum would seek a third term. Mr. Burgum, a business-oriented Republican, sometimes bucked the right flank of his party on transgender issues. After failing to gain traction in the Republican presidential primary, he announced in January that he would not seek another four years as governor. Mr. Burgum, whom some have mentioned as a potential running mate for Mr. Trump, has emerged in recent months as a more outspoken supporter of the former president.In the campaign for governor, Mr. Armstrong made the case that his years in Congress, and the relationships he had built, would help him look out for North Dakota’s interests. Ms. Miller sought to paint herself as a political outsider whose business background would shape her approach to governing.The Republican nominee will face State Senator Merrill Piepkorn, a Democrat from Fargo who was unopposed in his party’s primary, in November.Though North Dakota voters have occasionally been open to Democrats in the past — Heidi Heitkamp, a moderate Democrat, won a Senate race in 2012 — Republicans have dominated recent statewide elections. Four years ago, Mr. Trump carried the state by 33 percentage points, and Mr. Burgum won re-election by an even greater margin. North Dakota is a largely rural state, and one of the country’s least populous, though its energy industry has brought an influx of new residents to western North Dakota over the last 15 years. As of April, the state’s 2-percent unemployment rate was tied for the lowest in the country. More

    • 138 Shares119 Views

      in Elections

      In Red Montana, Two Democrats Take a New Political Approach: Attack

      by

      Democrats in Republican states have tended toward soft-spoken moderation, but Ryan Busse and Raph Graybill have charted a different course in trying to take down Gov. Greg Gianforte.At a recent campaign event at a brewpub in Whitefish, Mont., Ryan Busse was laying into his political opponent, Montana’s Republican governor, Greg Gianforte, with surprising vehemence for a red-state Democrat.He criticized Mr. Gianforte, who is running for a second term, as an elite, out-of-state rich interloper who simply does not understand Montanans.“I love putting the punch on this guy, because there’s so many places to put it on him,” Mr. Busse told the crowd.A former gun industry executive whose 2021 book “Gunfight” denounced the industry would seem like an unlikely candidate for governor in a state that loves its guns, especially since his book vaulted him to stardom in gun-control circles.But Mr. Busse, 54, and his running mate, Raph Graybill, 35, a crusading constitutional lawyer in Montana, are testing a new approach to campaigning as Democrats in Republican states. Instead of adopting the soft-spoken moderation of, say, the governor of North Carolina, Roy Cooper, or the recently retired Democratic governor of Louisiana, John Bel Edwards, or even the last Democratic governor of Montana, Steve Bullock, Mr. Busse and Mr. Graybill are campaigning as fighters, eager to activate not only the state’s few progressives but also its many voters disaffected with both parties. (Mr. Busse and Mr. Graybill will officially become the party’s nominees with Tuesday’s primary.)If nothing else, their campaign might bolster turnout for another endangered Democrat seeking election in a state almost sure to vote for former President Donald J. Trump in November, Senator Jon Tester.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 138 Shares199 Views

      in Elections

      Planned Parenthood Plans $10 Million Boost for Democrats in North Carolina

      by

      Aiming to bring the national fight over abortion access to a key battleground state, a political arm of Planned Parenthood will spend $10 million on organizing efforts in North Carolina this year, its largest-ever investment in a single state.The money will pay for digital advertisements, new field offices and a canvassing operation concentrated in a handful of swing counties. The leaders of the group, Planned Parenthood Votes South Atlantic, say it plans to knock on more than one million doors through the end of 2024 to talk to voters about preserving abortion access.Even though abortion is not explicitly on the ballot in North Carolina, Democrats are banking on the issue to animate the state’s competitive race for governor and, they hope, to galvanize voters to boost President Biden in the process. A Democratic candidate hasn’t won the state since 2008, and Mr. Biden lost it to former President Donald J. Trump in 2020 by just over a percentage point.North Carolina is also the last state in the Deep South where abortion is still legal after six weeks of pregnancy, a fact Democrats have sought to highlight in underscoring the stakes for voters. The Republican nominee for governor, Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, has endorsed a ban on all abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected — one he said he would push to pass if elected.“As we head into November, all eyes are on North Carolina because abortion access across the entire region will be determined by the results of this election,” said Emily Thompson, the deputy director of Planned Parenthood Votes South Atlantic and spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood Votes, the group’s national super PAC. “Our success is absolutely critical this year to protect abortion access and defend the bodily autonomy of every North Carolinian.”Democrats and their allies are banking on Mr. Robinson’s incendiary past comments about abortion, combined with growing grass-roots momentum, to propel both Mr. Biden and Josh Stein, North Carolina’s attorney general and the Democratic nominee for governor. Planned Parenthood’s political investment will also focus on 16 state House and Senate races, where Democrats need to win just one additional seat to break the G.O.P.’s supermajority.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 125 Shares199 Views

      in Elections

      Supermartes: quién ganó, quién perdió y qué está por definirse

      by

      Donald Trump y Joe Biden avanzan hacia una revancha y se espera que Nikki Haley retire su candidatura. Pero los aspirantes presidenciales no eran los únicos en la contienda.Donald Trump y el presidente Joe Biden salieron victoriosos del Supermartes, el día más importante de la temporada de primarias, y solo la estrecha victoria de Nikki Haley en Vermont la ayudó a evitar quedar fuera en las 15 contiendas republicanas. Se esperaba que pusiera fin a su campaña el miércoles.Pero los candidatos presidenciales que han ido avanzando hacia una revancha no fueron los únicos en la votación. He aquí algunas de las otras contiendas importantes que se decidieron el martes.CaliforniaEl representante Adam Schiff, congresista demócrata desde hace mucho tiempo, y Steve Garvey, un novato republicano, pasaron a las elecciones generales en la contienda por el Senado, asegurándose dos pases de salida de la “jungla” de las primarias para competir por el escaño que quedó libre tras la muerte el año pasado de la senadora Dianne Feinstein. Con un electorado dominado por los liberales, Schiff tendrá una ventaja significativa en noviembre.Tres escaños de la Cámara de Representantes de tendencia demócrata quedaron vacantes porque sus titulares se habían presentado para el escaño vacante del Senado: el Distrito 12, representado por Barbara Lee; el Distrito 30, representado por Schiff; y el Distrito 47, representado por Katie Porter. Esas contiendas están aún por decidirse.El que fuera el escaño del expresidente de la Cámara de Representantes Kevin McCarthy en el Distrito 20 también quedó vacante porque renunció a la Cámara. El representante David Valadao, uno de los 10 republicanos de la Cámara que votaron a favor de la destitución de Trump en 2021, también se enfrenta a serios retos en las primarias del Distrito 22. Ambas primarias están aún por definirse.Carolina del NorteWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 113 Shares189 Views

      in Elections

      Josh Stein Wins Democratic Primary for North Carolina Governor

      by

      Josh Stein, the North Carolina attorney general, handily won the state’s Democratic primary for governor on Tuesday, according to The Associated Press, setting the stage for a matchup with a fiery Republican rival in a race that will be tightly contested and closely watched.The race will probably be the most expensive in the country this year outside of the presidential election, as Democrats try to retain a governor’s office that they have held for all but four of the last 31 years, a rare Southern stronghold for the party.Mr. Stein, 57, who was endorsed by Gov. Roy Cooper, a term-limited Democrat, easily defeated his four primary opponents, including Michael Morgan, a former North Carolina Supreme Court justice.Now Mr. Stein, who has presented himself as a stable and experienced leader, will turn his attention to his opponent, Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson. The attorney general has cast Mr. Robinson as an extreme figure distracted by culture war issues.Mr. Stein has highlighted a number of statements that Mr. Robinson has come under heavy criticism for making in recent years, including that Christians are “called to be led by men,” not women, and that “there’s no reason anybody anywhere in America should be telling any child about transgenderism, homosexuality, any of that filth.”“Some politicians spark division, ignite hate and fan the flames of bigotry,” Mr. Stein said in a campaign ad that showed clips of Mr. Robinson.Mr. Robinson has dismissed the criticism while doubling down on anti-L.G.B.T.Q. remarks and painting Mr. Stein as an extreme liberal.Political science professors in North Carolina say that Mr. Stein will have an easy time portraying Mr. Robinson as a Trump-aligned Republican who would further roll back abortion rights. A big question is which candidate will benefit more from the huge influx of voters the state has seen over the last few years; many have settled in the suburbs and exurbs of Charlotte and Raleigh. President Biden won the counties that contain those cities in 2020 but lost many of the surrounding areas to Donald J. Trump.A native of Chapel Hill who has degrees from Dartmouth and Harvard, Mr. Stein became the first Jewish person elected to statewide office in North Carolina in 2016 when he defeated Buck Newton, a Republican, to become attorney general. He previously served as a state senator.His re-election victory in 2020, however, showed how slim his margins could be: He won by fewer than 14,000 votes that year, with 50.1 percent of the vote. Mr. Trump won the state in 2020 by 1.3 percentage points, and Mr. Cooper by more than 4 percentage points. More

    • 113 Shares139 Views

      in Elections

      Mark Robinson Wins Republican Primary for North Carolina Governor

      by

      Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson of North Carolina defeated his two challengers in the Republican primary for the governor’s race on Tuesday, according to The Associated Press. His win proved that his blustering, Trump-aligned style is favored by conservatives who are gearing up for what will probably be the most expensive and closely contested statewide race in the country.Mr. Robinson had consistently maintained a sizable lead against his opponents, Dale Folwell, the state treasurer, and Bill Graham, a personal injury and wrongful death lawyer. Now he will face Josh Stein, the Democratic state attorney general, whose policies mirror those of Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat who is popular but term limited.Mr. Robinson’s nomination notched another success in what has been a remarkable rise for the lieutenant governor: In 2018, he was working in furniture manufacturing. A year later, after he drew national attention in conservative circles with a video showing him criticizing gun control at a public meeting in Greensboro, he entered the race for lieutenant governor.Now, four years after being elected to statewide office as a political firebrand and newcomer, Mr. Robinson is charging toward the executive mansion in Raleigh with a brand of conservatism that focuses on culture war issues, testing how far right North Carolinians are willing to go in their purple state.Mr. Robinson has characterized the civil rights movement as a communist and socialist plot to “subvert capitalism,” promised to arrest transgender women who use women’s restrooms and said that Christians are “called to be led by men.” He has disparaged the L.G.B.T.Q. community, made comments widely perceived as antisemitic and called for limiting discussions about racism in public schools.Mr. Robinson’s rhetoric will ratchet up the attention on North Carolina, which many see as crucial to winning the presidency. Democratic leaders in the state hope that Mr. Robinson’s controversial comments will drive Democrats to the polls and help them win swing voters. But some Republican strategists believe Mr. Robinson’s personality will animate the base and drive up their own turnout.Mr. Robinson supports a so-called heartbeat law, banning abortion at about five or six weeks of pregnancy; such a ban would go further than current state law, which restricts abortion after 12 weeks. His campaign spokesman said that Mr. Robinson supports exceptions for rape, incest or when the life of the mother is in danger, but he did not provide details. More

    • 150 Shares199 Views

      in Elections

      ‘Fix the Damn Roads’: How Democrats in Purple and Red States Win

      by

      When Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania got an emergency call about I-95 last June, his first thought turned to semantics. “When you say ‘collapse,’ do you really mean collapse?” he recalled wondering. Highways don’t typically do that, but then tractor-trailers don’t typically flip over and catch fire, which had happened on an elevated section of the road in Philadelphia.Shapiro’s second, third and fourth thoughts were that he and other government officials needed to do the fastest repair imaginable.“My job was: Every time someone said, ‘Give me a few days, and I’ll get back to you,’ to say, ‘OK, you’ve got 30 minutes,’” he told me recently. He knew how disruptive and costly the road’s closure would be and how frustrated Pennsylvanians would get.But he knew something else, too: that if you’re trying to impress a broad range of voters, including those who aren’t predisposed to like you, you’re best served not by joining the culture wars or indulging in political gamesmanship but by addressing tangible, measurable problems.In less than two weeks, the road reopened.Today, Shapiro enjoys approval ratings markedly higher than other Pennsylvania Democrats’ and President Biden’s. He belongs to an intriguing breed of enterprising Democratic governors who’ve had success where it’s by no means guaranteed, assembled a diverse coalition of supporters and are models of a winning approach for Democrats everywhere. Just look at the fact that when Shapiro was elected in 2022, it was with a much higher percentage of votes than Biden received from Pennsylvanians two years earlier. Shapiro won with support among rural voters that significantly exceeded other Democrats’ and with the backing of 14 percent of Donald Trump’s voters, according to a CNN exit poll that November.Biden’s fate this November, Democratic control of Congress and the party’s future beyond 2024 could turn, in part, on heeding Shapiro’s and like-minded Democratic leaders’ lessons about reclaiming the sorts of voters the party has lost.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More