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      New York primaries: Nadler beats Maloney in bitter Democratic fight

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      New York primaries: Nadler beats Maloney in bitter Democratic fightHouse judiciary chair declared the winner over House oversight chair in heavyweight bout as gerrymandered map causes upheaval In an unpleasant end to a bitter New York Democratic primary on Tuesday, allies of two powerful House committee chairs traded nasty barbs – before one saw a long career in Congress brought to an untimely end.Carolyn Maloney, chair of the House oversight committee, said her opponent in New York’s 12th district, Jerrold Nadler, was “half-dead”, possibly senile and unlikely to finish his next term in Washington, CNN reported. Allies of Nadler, the judiciary chair, called Maloney “kooky” and “not entirely sober”.Florida: Charlie Crist wins Democratic primary to challenge Ron DeSantisRead moreIn the end, Nadler’s political career remained wholly alive. With nearly 90% of results in when the race was called, he had taken 56% of the vote to 24% for Maloney. A third candidate, Suraj Patel, brought up the rear.Speaking before the vote, Nadler told CNN: “It’s obviously not true that I’m half-dead, it’s obviously not true that I’m senile … Let them flail away.”In his victory speech, Nadler said he and Maloney “have spent much of our adult lives working together to better both New York and our nation. I speak for everyone in this room tonight when I thank her for her decades of service to our city.”Nadler and Maloney, both septuagenarians with 30-year Washington careers, were forced into their undignified fight to stay in Congress by redistricting, after the New York supreme court said Democrats gerrymandered the map.Nadler, 75, was first elected in 1992. As chair of the House judiciary committee, he led both impeachments of Donald Trump. He was buoyed in the last weeks of the primary campaign by endorsements from the New York Times and Chuck Schumer, the Senate majority leader.He said he would go back to Congress “with a mandate to fight for the causes so many of us know to be right”, including abortion access and climate change.Maloney, 76, also first elected in 1992, is the first woman to chair the House oversight committee. Known for her advocacy for 9/11 first responders seeking compensation for diseases they attribute to contamination from the destruction of the World Trade Center, she once wore a firefighter’s jacket on Capitol Hill and at the 2019 Met Gala.On Tuesday, Maloney said women in politics still face misogyny, something she said she experienced herself in her primary campaign.“I’m really saddened that we no longer have a woman representing Manhattan in Congress,” Maloney said. “It has been a great, great honor and a joy and a privilege to work for you.”Among other New York Democratic contests teed up by district changes, Sean Patrick Maloney, a senior party figure, saw off Alessandra Biaggi, a progressive backed by the congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, by a comfortable margin, 67% to 33% at the point the race was called.Elsewhere, Daniel Goldman, lead counsel in Donald Trump’s first impeachment trial, beat Mondaire Jones, one of the first two gay Black men in Congress, and Yuh-Line Niou, another progressive candidate, in a tightly fought race.In the Republican primaries, Carl Paladino – a far-right former candidate for governor who has praised Hitler, made racist remarks about Barack and Michelle Obama and said the US attorney general, Merrick Garland, should be executed – established an early lead over his opponent in a Buffalo-area seat before being reeled in and defeated by Nick Langworthy, chair of the state party.There was also a key special election for Congress, in which Pat Ryan, the Democrat, established an early lead over Marc Molinaro, his Republican challenger in the 19th district. Molinaro made up ground as the night went on – before the race was called for Ryan, 51% to 49%.Ryan will only sit in Congress until the end of the year, as both men will fight other seats in November. But observers were watching closely for clues as to voter intentions less than three months before the midterms.Republicans are favoured to retake the House, as opposition parties often do in the first midterms of a presidential term. But the win for Ryan will be seized upon by national Democratic leaders hoping that recent domestic legislative successes and the excesses of the conservative-dominated supreme court, particularly on abortion, could tilt the midterms contests their way.The New York seat fell vacant when Antonio Delgado, a Democrat, resigned from Congress to become lieutenant governor to Kathy Hochul. Republicans targeted the district as a possible flip, with heavy campaign spending.TopicsUS midterm elections 2022New YorkDemocratsHouse of RepresentativesUS CongressRepublicansUS politicsnewsReuse this content More

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      Markwayne Mullin, election-denying former cage fighter, closes on Oklahoma Senate seat

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      Markwayne Mullin, election-denying former cage fighter, closes on Oklahoma Senate seatCongressman who embraced Donald Trump’s big lie seeks to replace retiring Senator Jim Inhofe An election-denying former mixed martial arts fighter who was widely criticised for an attempted freelance mission last year to rescue Americans trapped in Afghanistan has won a shot at a US Senate seat from Oklahoma.Markwayne Mullin, a sitting congressman, beat another Donald Trump loyalist and election denier for their party’s nomination in a special election on Tuesday and will seek to replace the long-serving senator Jim Inhofe in November.‘I’m not Rambo’: Republican unrepentant about attempt to enter AfghanistanRead moreMullin, a plumbing company owner from Westville, and TW Shannon, a former speaker of the Oklahoma House and a bank executive from Oklahoma City, both embraced Trump’s lie that the 2020 presidential election was subject to widespread fraud.The two were the top finishers in a 13-candidate Republican primary in June, but neither topped the 50% threshold needed to win the nomination outright.Mullin, who topped that field with nearly 44% of the vote, earned Trump’s endorsement shortly after the primary. He has something else in common with the former president: an exaggeration of his own sporting prowess.The politician who declared “I’m not Rambo” after his much-ridiculed attempt to enter Afghanistan in the company of a private US security team, boasts on his website a 5-0 record as a professional mixed martial arts fighter.The official record of his short-lived career suggests a different story: a total of three wins, two against the same opponent, and cumulative fight time of less than 10 minutes in under three rounds.In the political ring, Mullin will now seek to replace the retiring 87-year-old Inhofe, a fixture in Republican politics in Oklahoma since the 1960s who has held his Senate seat since 1994. Inhofe is leaving before his six-year term is finished, so his replacement will serve four years.In November, Mullin will be heavily favored to beat the former Democratic congresswoman Kendra Horn, along with an independent candidate and a Libertarian. Oklahoma has not elected a Democrat to the US Senate in more than 30 years.In a state where nearly 10% of the population identifies as American Indian, both Mullin and Shannon are members of Native American tribes. Mullin is a Cherokee citizen and Shannon, who is also African American, is a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation.Campaign finance reports showed Mullin raised about $3.6m, nearly three times the $1.3m Shannon reported.In campaign ads and on the stump, both touted their positions on hot-button issues and vowed to fight Joe Biden’s agenda.Shannon launched an anti-abortion ad in which he labeled Planned Parenthood the “true face of white supremacy”. Mullin, in an ad featuring two of his own children and a montage of the transgender collegiate swimmer Lia Thomas, said: “Democrats can’t even tell us what a woman is.”Also on Tuesday, in the Democratic primary runoff for Oklahoma’s other US Senate seat, the cybersecurity expert Madison Horn defeated Jason Bollinger, an Oklahoma City attorney.Horn, who is not related to Kendra Horn, will face the incumbent Republican senator, James Lankford, who will be the heavy favorite in November, along with a Republican and an independent.TopicsOklahomaRepublicansUS SenateUS politicsnewsReuse this content More

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      Florida: Charlie Crist wins Democratic primary to challenge Ron DeSantis

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      Florida: Charlie Crist wins Democratic primary to challenge Ron DeSantisFormer Republican governor who became a Democratic congressman edges out Nikki Fried to face the Donald Trump protégé in November Charlie Crist will challenge Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, in November after trouncing Nikki Fried, the state agriculture commissioner, in Tuesday’s Democratic primary.Crist, a former Republican governor of Florida who switched parties and became a Democratic congressman, fought a campaign touting his experience in office and opposition to the 15-week abortion ban signed by DeSantis.Florida governor Ron DeSantis attacks media in ‘Top Gun’ campaign adRead moreIn his victory speech in St Petersburg, Crist promised that if elected he will on his first day in office sign an executive order overturing the abortion law.And he pledged to end the White House hopes of “wannabe dictator” DeSantis, who is tipped as a likely contender for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024. DeSantis has signed a raft of culture war legislation in Florida, attacking LBGTQ+ rights and “woke” corporations.“Our fundamental freedoms are literally on the ballot,” Crist said. “A woman’s right to choose on the ballot. Democracy on the ballot. Your rights as minorities are on this ballot.“That’s what’s at stake in this election, make no mistake about it, because this guy wants to be president of the United States of America and everybody knows it.“However, when we defeat him on 8 November, that show is over.”With fewer than 15% of votes left to count, Crist held a commanding lead over Fried, a progressive and the only statewide elected Democrat currently in office, by roughly 60% to 35%. But turnout, particularly in central Florida, was far below that of four years ago, a lack of enthusiasm among Democrats one of the main fears of party officials.In his final pre-election press conference, Crist said he planned to appear at a “unity rally” with his beaten opponent in south Florida later in the week.Their focus will switch to ousting DeSantis, whom Crist has branded Florida’s “absentee” governor for constantly attacking Joe Biden’s policies and appearing to concentrate on out-of-state fundraising for a national campaign rather than problems at home.“He’s campaigning this last weekend in New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and I think another state, but he’s been doing that for a year, maybe more,” Crist said.“We have issues here the governor ought to be dealing with, the housing crisis, we pay our teachers 48 or 49 of 50 states, that’s embarrassing.“And the fact he already has taken away a woman’s right to choose with the law that he signed, the 15-week law that has no exceptions for rape or incest, is barbaric.”During her campaign, Fried attacked Crist’s Republican roots and perceived flip-flops over abortion, and painted herself as the only candidate capable of beating DeSantis. Crist, who ran unsuccessfully for the Senate in 2010, has the unenviable distinction of losing statewide races as a Republican, Democrat and independent.But he appears to have been more popular with women voters in this primary, and pointed out that, when he was governor 12 years ago, he vetoed an anti-abortion bill.On Tuesday night, Fried told NBC News she would accept if Crist asked her to be his running mate.“I’ve said to Charlie, both tonight and throughout this entire election, that my No 1 priority is making sure that we make Ron DeSantis a one-term governor and not eligible to run for president of the United States in 2024.“Ron DeSantis is our greatest threat to democracy, so I will do everything in my power, including being on Charlie’s ticket, to make sure that happens in November.“What we did here in this election, is we created a movement for women across the state of Florida. We gave inspiration, we gave motivation, and so whatever it takes to make sure that Ron DeSantis is defeated in November – I’m all in.”DeSantis won the 2018 election against the Democratic challenger, Andrew Gillum, by barely 30,000 votes, or 0.4% of 8.2m cast. But toppling him in November will be a formidable task as Florida has trended increasingly Republican in recent years.The incumbent also has a war chest in excess of $100m, far above what Crist has been able to raise. Even so, Crist remains confident he can win on the issues.“Today the people of Florida clearly sent a message,” he said. “They want a governor who cares about them to solve real problems, who preserves our freedom, not a bully who divides us and takes our freedom away.”In another much-watched Democratic primary, Val Demings, a congresswoman and former Orlando police chief, easily secured the nomination to challenge the Republican US senator Marco Rubio in November.Rubio’s seat is one of several targeted by Democrats as they attempt to build a majority in the 50-50 chamber and negate their reliance on Vice-president Kamala Harris’s tiebreaking vote.A competitive and crowded Democratic primary for the House seat Demings vacated went to Maxwell Frost, a 25-year-old progressive endorsed by the Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren and Pramila Jayapal, a leading House progressive from Washington state.In a tight Republican primary for another central Florida House seat, the far-right extremist Laura Loomer, a self-declared Islamophobe, election denier and conspiracy theorist, narrowly lost to the incumbent, Dan Webster.TopicsUS midterm elections 2022FloridaDemocratsRon DeSantisRepublicansUS politicsnewsReuse this content More

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      Trump stash retrieved from Mar-a-Lago runs to hundreds of classified files

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      Trump stash retrieved from Mar-a-Lago runs to hundreds of classified filesRecords show US government has retrieved highly sensitive materials from former president on three separate occasions Donald Trump has turned over to the government hundreds of documents marked as classified and improperly retained at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, according to a review conducted by the National Archives, the custodian of presidential records, and sources familiar with the matter.Donald Trump reportedly kept hundreds of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago – liveRead moreThe government has retrieved highly sensitive materials on three separate occasions: one set of documents facilitated by the National Archives in January, one set went to the justice department in June, and another set was seized by the FBI in a search two weeks ago.An inventory of materials in that initial transfer showed the National Archives recovered from Trump more than 100 documents marked as classified – more than 700 pages in total – and some with “Special Access Program” markings that designate the highest level of classification.The disclosures, which came in a letter published by one of Trump’s liaisons with the National Archives on Tuesday, provides for the first time an official accounting of the volume and sensitivity of the documents hoarded by the former president since the end of his administration.And it helps to explain why the justice department opened a national security investigation into the unauthorized retention of government secrets by Trump that resulted in FBI agents executing a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago to recover any remaining official records.The volume and sensitivity of the documents recovered by the National Archives in January also sheds light on the justice department’s urgency to make repeated visits to the pay-for-membership resort and the push to have the FBI gather the materials after months of delay.Trump has pushed back at the FBI and, on Monday, his lawyers filed a motion seeking the appointment of a so-called special master to determine what seized materials can be used in a potential prosecution on the basis of executive and other privilege, instead of justice department “filter” teams.The motion also asks for a more detailed receipt of what was seized and, as the Guardian earlier reported on Saturday, that a court restricts the justice department from reviewing any more of the seized documents until a special master – usually a retired lawyer or judge – is appointed.If the documents are determined to be covered by executive privilege, then while Trump might not be entitled to keep them – they should reside at the National Archives – Trump could have a valid argument that the government cannot use it against him in a prosecution.The argument, according to several former US attorneys, is that the justice department should not be able to use in a prosecution any documents that are privileged but are not subject to the crime-fraud exception, which concerns materials have to do with, or is in furtherance of a crime.In essence, the argument goes, there could be materials or communications seized by the FBI that are privileged but not themselves be used in furtherance of a crime – that even if the justice department would like to use in a prosecution, should be excluded from the evidence.According to reporting by the Guardian and others, shortly after opening the investigation, the justice department grew concerned that there might be additional classified materials being retained at Mar-a-Lago that they needed to collect, according to sources briefed on the matter.The justice department interviewed a number of witnesses, and in May issued a subpoena for remaining classified documents. The following month, Jay Bratt, the chief of the counterintelligence section at the agency, and three other officials went to Florida to retrieve the materials.At the June visit, one of Trump’s attorneys, Evan Corcoran sifted through boxes of documents brought from the White House and stacked in a storage area at Mar-a-Lago to identify responsive documents, and drafted a statement attesting to what they were giving over to Bratt.The statement was signed by the custodian of records. The custodian is understood to be another Trump lawyer, Christina Bobb, though a person close to Trump declined to confirm or deny whether she was the custodian.But the justice department then came across evidence that Trump might be holding on to additional classified documents, including in his office at Mar-a-Lago, the former president’s principal residence during the winter until mid-July, when he decamps to his New Jersey golf course.The justice department were also alarmed that after it subpoenaed the Trump Organization, which runs the Mar-a-Lago property, on 22 June for security camera footage including of the hallway directly outside the storage area, it showed people taking boxes in and out.It was not clear whether the boxes seen on the security camera tape were related to presidential or government records. The New York Times reported that the justice department is now also seeking footage from the weeks leading up to the FBI search conducted on 8 August.TopicsDonald TrumpFBIUS politicsFloridanewsReuse this content More

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      Florida governor Ron DeSantis attacks media in ‘Top Gun’ campaign ad

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      Florida governor Ron DeSantis attacks media in ‘Top Gun’ campaign adRightwing Republican viewed as serious 2024 presidential contender accuses reporters of ‘peddling false narratives’ Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida on Monday released a campaign advertisement drawing on the movie franchise Top Gun to attack the news media.The ad is the latest stunt by DeSantis to promote far-right talking points before Tuesday’s statewide primary and a possible future run for the Oval Office in 2024.In the parody, posted to Twitter, DeSantis wears a bomber jacket similar to outfits worn by the Top Gun star Tom Cruise in the franchise’s two films and discusses “taking on the corporate media” in an airbase.“The rules of engagement are as follows: number one – don’t fire unless fired upon, but when they fire, you fire back with overwhelming force,” DeSantis says in the video. “Number two – never ever back down from a fight. Number three – don’t accept their narrative.”DeSantis also dons a helmet with the logo “Top Gov”.The ad is intercut with a reel of DeSantis at previous news conferences and other events where he accuses journalists of “peddling false narratives”.In addition to attacking members of the press, DeSantis has embraced almost all conservative social issues in his quest to gain prominence among Republicans ahead of a potential 2024 presidential run.DeSantis has largely aimed his efforts at Florida’s education system, promoting Republicans on local school boards and signing bills that censor classroom material.Ahead of Tuesday’s primary race, DeSantis launched a statewide tour promoting 29 hand-picked candidates for non-partisan school board positions that support his education platform.He signed a law in March criminalizing discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity in Florida classrooms. The “don’t say gay” bill is a policy that critics overwhelmingly say further marginalizes LGBTQ+ communities.Last year, the governor took further aim at trans girls and women, banning their participation from sports in public schools and universities, with critics calling the law “cruel” and “horrific”.After the signing of that bill, Florida became the eighth state in the US to ban trans people from athletic events in schools, reported CNN.DeSantis has also severely restricted race education in Florida, signing a measure in April that bans teachers from instructing on certain topics around race and ethnicity.“We believe in education, not indoctrination,” DeSantis said during an April press conference.DeSantis also supported the banning of books, including mathematic textbooks, arguing that textbook manufacturers were “indoctrinating” children.He has also sought to curb abortion rights in the Sunshine state.After the US supreme court overturning Roe v wade in June, DeSantis supported a 15-week abortion ban in Florida that was contested and later reinstated.On 4 August, the governor suspended an elected state prosecutor who promised not to enforce the near-total ban, arguing that the elected official was violating his oath of office.DeSantis like other Republican candidates has also moved to investigate election fraud, a priority stemming from former president Donald Trump’s false claim that the 2020 election was stolen from him.Studies have shown that voter fraud is rare, usually happening in isolated instances and generally detected.But in April, the governor established a police force to prosecute voter fraud, with officials arresting and charging 20 people with previous felony convictions for voting illegally despite complexities around voting eligibility after a conviction.TopicsFloridaRon DeSantisUS politicsRepublicansnewsReuse this content More

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      Colorado Republican turns Democrat over ‘existential threat’ from GOP

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      Colorado Republican turns Democrat over ‘existential threat’ from GOPIn letter announcing defection, state senator Kevin Priola cites political and environmental threat from his erstwhile party Announcing his switch to the Democrats, a Colorado state senator said Republican attacks on democracy were not the only “existential threat” posed by his former party.Jared Polis becomes first sitting governor to marry in same-sex weddingRead more“I have become increasingly worried about our planet and the climate crisis we are facing,” Kevin Priola said, in a letter posted to social media on Monday.“The Republican party I joined decades ago created national parks, preserved federal lands and protected wildlife. President Nixon signed the legislation that created the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Today, my Republican colleagues would rather deny the existence of human-caused climate change than take action.”Priola said such inaction would affect Coloradans already subject to “a near year-round wildfire season” and “a seemingly never-ending drought”.Republican attempts to block “reasonable climate measures”, meant he could not stay silent, he said.Priola was last elected in 2020, when he won a narrow race in the 25th senate district, in the Denver suburbs. He is due to serve until 2025.Once a Republican bastion, Colorado has been trending left. Democrats already control the state senate, by 20-15 before Priola’s switch.In his letter, Priola discussed dissatisfaction with the direction of the Republican party under Donald Trump, the former president who refuses to accept his defeat in 2020 while indicating he will run again in two years’ time.“Like many Coloradans,” Priola wrote, “I watched the events on January 6 [2021] with horror. I felt that clearly this would be the last straw and that my party would now finally distance itself from Donald Trump and the political environment he created.“Week after week and month after month, I waited for that response. It never came.”Priola commended “brave and honorable” Republicans who stood against Trump after the Capitol attack, including the Utah senator Mitt Romney and Liz Cheney, the Wyoming congresswoman who last week lost her primary after taking a leading role on the House January 6 committee.“Fear-mongering to raise money or motivate voters is nothing new,” Priola wrote, “but it has been taken to a dangerous and destabilising level.“I cannot continue to be part of a political party that is OK with a violent attempt to overturn a free and fair election and continues to peddle claims that the 2020 election was stolen.”Priola said he became a Republican thanks to the examples of Richard Nixon – the only president to resign in disgrace – and Ronald Reagan, but would now caucus with Democrats despite not sharing many of their positions.“Our affiliations have become too tribal,” he wrote. “I’ve always been an independent thinker and … I don’t plan to change that. I do not believe either party has a monopoly on the truth.“For instance, my pro-life position, school choice [support] and pro-second amendment stance often run counter to the Democratic party platform.”But, he said, looking towards November elections in which Republicans on the national stage will seek to take back Congress, “we are in the midst of an election that will determine which party controls the [Colorado] senate chamber.“Even if there continue to be issues that I disagree with the Democratic party on, there is too much at stake right now for Republicans to be in charge.”Saying he had decided to “align with truth over conspiracy”, Priola concluded: “We need Democrats in charge because our planet and our democracy depend on it.”TopicsColoradoRepublicansDemocratsUS politicsUS midterm elections 2022US domestic policynewsReuse this content More

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      Florida voters head to primary polls as Democrats look to break losing streak

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      Florida voters head to primary polls as Democrats look to break losing streakLong considered a swing state, Republicans have a considerable edge heading into this election season Florida voters will head to the polls on Tuesday to determine which candidates will have the chance to face off in this November’s general election. Voters will cast ballots in races for the governorship and Congress, all the way down to circuit courts and local school boards.Democrats are competing to run against the state’s governor, Ron DeSantis, and US senator Marco Rubio, both of whom are considered potential Republican presidential candidates for 2024. On the House side, a new congressional map drawn by DeSantis is expected to give Republicans a hefty advantage in the November midterms.Although Florida has long been considered a swing state, Republicans have a considerable edge heading into this election season. Republicans last year overtook Democrats in Florida’s voter registration rolls. And Donald Trump carried the state by three points in the 2020 presidential race, although Joe Biden defeated him in the electoral college while also winning the national popular vote by four points.Since then, DeSantis has approved new voting restrictions to limit access to voting by mail and ballot drop boxes in Florida, sparking allegations from the justice department of racial discrimination. Those methods were more likely to be used by Biden supporters in 2020 than voting at a polling place on election day, according to the Pew Research Center.With the new House map in place, Republicans are expected to win 20 of Florida’s 28 congressional seats, up from the party’s current control of 16 of the state’s 27 seats. The state’s additional House seat resulted from the latest round of redistricting.Republicans’ severe gerrymandering, which will severely curtail Black political power in Florida, has made many of the state’s congressional races a foregone conclusion this fall. Not a single one of Florida’s House races is considered a toss-up for the general election, according to the Cook Political Report. That means that the winners of the Tuesday primaries are very likely to be elected to Congress this fall.The anticlimactic forecast for Florida’s House races has many election watchers turning their attention to statewide races. All eyes will be on Florida’s Democratic gubernatorial primary, with Charlie Crist, a Democratic congressman and former governor, running against Nikki Fried, the state’s agriculture commissioner.Crist and Fried have attacked DeSantis over his aggressive approach to culture war issues in Florida, which may preview the governor’s 2024 presidential campaign. Just this month, DeSantis drew a lawsuit from a state prosecutor whom the governor suspended after the attorney said he would not enforce a 15-week abortion ban.DeSantis last week also announced charges against 20 people for illegally voting, a move meant to highlight the work of a new office aimed at uncovering voter fraud. The governor provided few details about the charges, and voting rights advocates have denounced the arrests as voter intimidation.“Quite frankly, he is anti-democracy,” Crist told MSNBC on Sunday. “I am a Democrat running to protect democracy, to protect a woman’s right to choose, and I’m running against an autocrat who wants to be dictator of America.”But DeSantis is not backing away from his far-right agenda, instead choosing to double down on the political strategy. DeSantis has issued endorsements in dozens of non-partisan school board races, and he has campaigned alongside candidates who have backed his calls for more “parents’ rights” in the classroom.DeSantis has made education a central part of his platform after signing multiple laws aimed at limiting what can be taught to Florida children. Earlier this year, DeSantis signed a bill restricting the discussion of race and racism in the classroom and the workplace. DeSantis in March approved a bill forbidding instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity for students in kindergarten through third grade, a measure that has been attacked by critics as a “don’t say gay” law. More recently, DeSantis put his signature on a bill requiring students be taught about the “victims of communism” each November.Despite those controversial policies, DeSantis heads into the general election with a clear advantage over his Democratic challengers. DeSantis has amassed a campaign war chest of more than $100m, and he has consistently led his potential opponents in recent polls.Florida’s Senate race has provided Democrats with more optimism, as Rubio – a former and potentially future Republican presidential candidate – seeks a third term in office. Congresswoman Val Demings has led the pack of Democratic candidates seeking to defeat Rubio, and polls indicate she may have an opportunity to do so.A University of North Florida poll taken this month found that Demings had the support of 48% of likely general election voters, compared with 44% for Rubio.But Democrats know to take nothing for granted because they have previously been on the losing end of heartbreakingly close races in Florida. The state proved to be an exception to Democrats’ “wave” of victories in 2018, when the incumbent senator Bill Nelson and gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum were both narrowly defeated by their Republican opponents.Tuesday could provide some key clues as to whether Democrats will finally be able to break their Florida losing streak.TopicsFloridaUS midterm elections 2022US politicsnewsReuse this content More

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      Fauci to step down in December to ‘pursue next chapter’ of career

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      Fauci to step down in December to ‘pursue next chapter’ of careerExpert, 81, who has led National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984, clashed with Trump over Covid response Top US infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci plans to step down from his post in December to “pursue the next chapter” of his career, he announced in a statement on Monday.Fauci, 81, has led the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (Niaid) since 1984. He has advised seven presidents, as far back as Ronald Reagan, on emerging infectious disease outbreaks that have plagued the nation, testifying before Congress and the World Health Organization on the HIV/Aids epidemic to Ebola to, most recently, the coronavirus pandemic.In his statement, Fauci stopped short of saying precisely what his plans are. He pledged to pursue a new professional phase while he still had “energy and passion” for his field.“I want to use what I have learned as Niaid director to continue to advance science and public health and to inspire and mentor the next generation of scientific leaders as they help prepare the world to face future infectious disease threats,” he said.In a White House statement, Joe Biden thanked for Fauci for his decades of service. The president also praised Fauci as a “dedicated public servant, and a steady hand with wisdom and insight honed over decades at the forefront of some of our most dangerous and challenging public health crises”.“Because of Dr Fauci’s many contributions to public health, lives here in the United States and around the world have been saved,” Biden said.Under George W Bush, Fauci worked as one of the principal architects of the President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief, a global public health initiative launched in 2003 aimed at expanding access to therapies to curtail the HIV/Aids epidemic, long credited as a historic effort that saved millions of lives.He won the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2008 for his “determined and aggressive efforts to help others live longer and healthier lives” in the fight against the HIV/Aids epidemic, even as he clashed with activists early on.As the deadly coronavirus spread throughout the world in March 2020, Fauci – whose calm, measured presence drew admiration – emerged as the face of the US’s response to the pandemic. He notably clashed with former president Donald Trump at the start of the crisis, along with congressional Republicans, over what the US response should be. Fauci advocated for more restrictions to suppress the virus, a stark contrast from the Trump administration’s approach to publicly downplay it in hopes of shielding economic markets from being affected.Memorably, earlier this year, Fauci bluntly said he would quit if Trump managed to take the Oval Office back from Biden in the 2024 election. He previously indicated he would stay through Biden’s first term and leave by January 2025.TopicsAnthony FauciUS politicsCoronavirusnewsReuse this content More