US elections 2020

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      Barack Obama leads tributes to civil rights leader John Lewis – live

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      Democratic congressman Lewis dies aged 80
      John Lewis: from civil rights titan to Black Lives Matter
      US faces terrifying autumn as Covid-19 surges
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      John Lewis remembers ‘Bloody Sunday’ in Selma – video report

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      10.06am EDT10:06
      French president calls Lewis ‘a true hero’

      9.08am EDT09:08
      John Lewis: tributes

      8.14am EDT08:14
      Good morning …

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      11.20am EDT11:20

      New York hospitalizations from Covid-19 are at their lowest rate since 18 March. The state, which was at one point the worst affected region in the world by the virus, reported 743 hospitalizations from the virus on Saturday. It also reported 11 new deaths, two of which were in New York City.
      New York governor said the state could act as an example to the rest of the US in how to lower infections.
      “We remain alarmed by spikes in much of the country and the risk of a lack of compliance at home as the state pursues a phased, data-driven reopening,” Cuomo said in a press briefing on Saturday.
      “New Yorkers’ vigilance, courage and adoption of basic behaviors – mask wearing, hand washing and social distancing – has driven our ability to control the virus, and we have to continue on that path to success.”

      11.05am EDT11:05

      Two prominent Republicans have tweeted their tributes to John Lewis. Tim Scott, the only black Republican senator, said his “good friend” had helped welcome him when he first made his entry into Washington politics as a congressman.
      “He was a giant among men; his life and legacy will continue to serve as an example for the generations to come,” the South Carolina senator wrote on Twitter. “I am encouraged by his courage, determination, and perseverance, characteristics that we can all try to emulate – especially in the wake of current events.”

      Mitt Romney
      (@MittRomney)
      With the passing of John Lewis, America has lost not only a man of history, but a man for our season; O how we need such men of unwavering principle, unassailable character, penetrating purpose, and heartfelt compassion.

      July 18, 2020

      Meanwhile, former presidential candidate and Republican senator for Utah, Mitt Romney, praised Lewis’s “unwavering principle”.
      “With the passing of John Lewis, America has lost not only a man of history, but a man for our season; O how we need such men of unwavering principle, unassailable character, penetrating purpose, and heartfelt compassion,” wrote Romney on Twitter.

      10.50am EDT10:50

      Bernie Sanders says “John Lewis inspired millions to fight for justice” in his tribute to the congressman on Twitter.
      “His courage helped transform this country. He won’t ever be forgotten by those who believe America can change when the people stand together and demand it. Our thoughts are with his loved ones,” wrote the senator for Vermont.

      Bernie Sanders
      (@BernieSanders)
      John Lewis inspired millions to fight for justice. His courage helped transform this country. He won’t ever be forgotten by those who believe America can change when the people stand together and demand it. Our thoughts are with his loved ones.

      July 18, 2020

      Sanders and Lewis were involved in a minor controversy during Sanders’ run for president in 2016. The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) political action committee endorsed Sanders’ rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, Hillary Clinton. Lewis also appeared to play down Sanders’ involvement in the 1960s civil rights movement saying: “I never saw him. I never met him.”
      Lewis later clarified that he was not disparaging Sanders’ record in the civil rights movement.
      “I was responding to a reporter’s question who asked me to assess Senator Sanders’ civil rights record. I said that when I was leading and was at the center of pivotal actions within the civil rights movement, I did not meet Senator Bernie Sanders at any time,” he said in February 2016.
      “The fact that I did not meet him in the movement does not mean I doubted that Senator Sanders participated in the civil rights movement, neither was I attempting to disparage his activism. Thousands sacrificed in the 1960s whose names we will never know, and I have always given honor to their contribution.”

      10.33am EDT10:33

      Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate, has issued a lengthy statement on John Lewis’s death. Here’s an extract:
      “John’s life reminds us that the most powerful symbol of what it means to be an American is what we do with the time we have to make real the promise of our nation – that we are all created equal and deserve to be treated equally. Through the beatings, the marches, the arrests, the debates on war, peace and freedom, and the legislative fights for good jobs and healthcare and the fundamental right to vote, he taught us that while the journey toward equality is not easy, we must be unafraid and never cower and never, ever give up. More

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      in Elections

      Jamaal Bowman wins New York congressional seat in major victory for progressives

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      Jamaal Bowman, a former teacher endorsed by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Elizabeth Warren, has ousted the 16-term Democratic congressman Eliot Engel in the race for New York’s 16th district, marking a major win for the party’s progressive wing.Bowman had been leading Engel and candidate Christopher Fink since the 6 July primary but the race had not been called by the Associated Press until Friday. In the end Bowman defeated Engel with 55% of the vote, a margin of roughly 12,000 votes, when the race was called. Bowman had declared victory earlier in the month when in-person voting had concluded.Bowman’s victory over Engel, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs committee, is a stunning victory for progressives who rallied around Bowman in the primary. Bowman was something of a progressive darling, earning the support of standard bearers such as congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Warren, as well as outside liberal groups like MoveOn and Our Revolution.Engel, meanwhile, had been endorsed by some party establishment figures including Hillary Clinton, House speaker Nancy Pelosi, Democratic senate leader Chuck Schumer, and congressman Jim Clyburn, the highest ranking black Democrat in Congress.In a campaign memo, Bowman’s campaign manager, Luke Hayes, wrote: “Jamaal’s win has been compared to AOC’s in 2018, but the big difference is that this time, they saw us coming. They took nothing for granted, and spent over $5m against us. They aired millions of dollars in attack ads, called in every political favor, and pulled all the stops. And we still won.”The race was somewhat reminiscent of Ocasio-Cortez’s surprise victory over congressman and House Democratic caucus chair Joe Crowley in 2018. Ocasio-Cortez was the longshot progressive favorite in that primary.Hayes described Bowman as a “brilliant, authentic, caring, fun, empathetic, passionate, and hardworking” candidate in the memo celebrating the victory. Bowman’s primary essentially assures his future in Congress. Voters in the district have for decades voted decisively for the Democratic nominee for Congress and the president.Engel’s ouster is also a much needed victory for progressives after both Bernie Sanders and Warren lost the Democratic primary for president to the more centrist Joe Biden.“From the very beginning, we anchored our campaign in the fight for racial and economic justice. We spoke the truth – about the police, about systemic racism, about inequality – and it resonated in every part of the district,” Bowman said in a statement to reporters. “We brought people together across race, across class, across religion, across gender, to fight for justice, to fight for equality, and to fight to create a country that works for all of us. We didn’t let them divide us. And we did it all without accepting a dime from corporate Pacs or lobbyists” More