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One Judiciary Committee Democrat said the report raised “concerns.”
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )
Tag: nomination
Michael Delaney’s judicial nomination is on shakier ground after POLITICO reported that the Biden pick served on a board opposing the administration on several positions.
The Real Reason Trump Might Win the Nomination
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For almost seven years, Donald Trump has dwelled on a plane so far beyond the political norms that it’s almost impossible to analyze him through the traditional frames of reference. But if we can put aside the sheer otherworldliness of his conduct — John Kelly, his former chief of staff, called him “the most flawed individual I have ever met” — there’s an aspect of Trump’s candidacy that would be eye-opening all by itself. Trump is the first ex-president in more than 130 years who is seeking a rematch against his victorious rival.
There are plenty of nations where combatants go up against each other again and again. In France, Emmanuel Macron and Marine LePen were electoral foes last year, five years after their first encounter, with similar results; such rematches are commonplace in parliamentary systems. But here?
The great populist William Jennings Bryan faced off against President William McKinley in 1896 and 1900 and lost both times; the next rematch was Dwight Eisenhower vs. Adlai Stevenson; Ike was victorious in 1952 and 1956. Not since Grover Cleveland took the White House back from Benjamin Harrison in 1892 has a defeated president sought to oust the president who ousted him. (When Theodore Roosevelt ran against William Howard Taft in 1912, that was an intraparty battle between former allies. In 1940, Herbert Hoover tried to mount a comeback against FDR that was met with less than enthusiastic support among Republicans and he didn’t win the nomination). The prospect of an ex-president actively campaigning for the White House is something no one alive today has ever seen.
What makes this even more unprecedented is the way Republicans regard the 45th president. In modern times before the 2020 election, every defeated incumbent but one (Gerald Ford) lost the White House decisively. Taft in 1912 finished third behind Woodrow Wilson and Teddy Roosevelt, winning a grand total of eight electoral votes. Hoover in 1932 won only six states, losing by 18 points in the popular vote. Jimmy Carter lost the electoral vote 489-89, winning only six states. With these results, defeated presidents would have faced a steep climb in trying to convince their party to give them another chance. They were, as Trump might put it, losers.
Trump’s standing with Republicans is very different. Sure, Trump lost the 2020 popular vote by seven million votes, but Republicans can look at the razor-thin margins in the (also decisive) Electoral College count; a shift of 44,000 votes in three states — Georgia, Wisconsin and Arizona — would have meant a 269-269 tie, throwing the election into the House of Representatives, where a majority of delegations would likely have given Trump the presidency.
That’s only part of the picture; by a nearly two-to-one margin, Republicans believe that the election was stolen — that Trump is in fact the rightful president. Even as his approval ratings sink below 30 percent among all voters, his favorability rating among Republicans remains at or near 80 percent.
In a sense, then, the Republican base sees Trump less as a candidate for president than as the real president, deprived of office by fraud. That’s despite the clear lack of evidence of fraud in the election, a fact that even many Fox commentators acknowledged privately despite what they told their viewers, as the Dominion lawsuit made clear.
Moreover, history shows that political parties simply do not jettison their presidents, even when their prospects for victory are slim. The last time the country’s chief executive was denied renomination was Chester Arthur in 1884 (Ronald Reagan came close to unseating Ford in 1976; Ford, like Arthur, was an unelected president). Given the Bizarro World quality of the Trump era, it almost seems normal for Republicans to be standing behind their “president,” who they regard as the candidate who really won last time out.
All that said, is it really necessary to note this does not qualify as a prediction for who will win the GOP nomination? It’s entirely possible that one or two or three indictments — about matters more serious than hush money to a porn star — might change Republican minds. Perhaps so would a widespread campaign among GOP officials that a Trump nomination would doom the party to November defeat (though this would require Trump’s foes actually having the fortitude to mention his name when they are making that case).
For now, however, many Republicans appear to see Donald Trump as not simply their voice or their champion, but their president as well.
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )Karnataka polls: Siddaramaiah files nomination from Varuna
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Mysuru: Senior Congress leader and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday filed nomination from Varuna constituency in this district, for the May 10 Karnataka Assembly polls.
The Leader of Opposition in the Assembly was accompanied by former Minister H C Mahadevappa and Congress leaders.
Siddaramaiah’s son Dr Yathindra Siddaramaiah is the sitting Congress MLA from Varuna.
The 75-year-old, eight time MLA, had earlier won twice from Varuna, and went on to become the Leader of Opposition after winning from here in 2008, and then became Chief Minister after 2013 Assembly polls.
The Congress legislature party leader offered prayers to his family deity Siddarameshwara at the temple in his native village of Siddaramanahundi, and also visited Sri Rama temple there, and held a massive roadshow before filing the nomination.
He also visited the famous Chamundeshwari temple, on Chamundi hills in Mysuru, and addressed a public meeting ahead of filing papers.
The ruling BJP has fielded Minister V Somanna from Varuna to take on Siddaramaiah.
By filing nomination in Varuna, Siddaramaiah has returned to his home constituency after contesting from neighbouring Chamundeshwari, and Badami in Bagalkote district, in 2018 polls. He had faced a defeat in Chamundeshwari, but had won in Badami.
A Chief Ministerial aspirant in the event of Congress coming to power, he has already declared that this will be his last election.
Filing of nominations for the election ends on April 20. Voting will take place on May 10 and the counting of votes will be on May 13.
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#Karnataka #polls #Siddaramaiah #files #nomination #Varuna( With inputs from www.siasat.com )
Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai files nomination from Shiggaon
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Haveri: Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Saturday filed his nominations as BJP’s candidate from the Shiggaon segment here for the May 10 Assembly polls and expressed confidence in getting elected again with the highest number of votes.
Bommai was accompanied by Public Works Minister C C Patil, Haveri-Gadag MP Shivakumar Udasi, and son Bharath Bommai among others as he submitted his papers to the Returning Officer.
Bommai, son of former Karnataka chief minister and Janata Parivar veteran late S R Bommai, has represented Shiggaon thrice since 2008.
With a saffron shawl on his shoulder, the 63-year-old Chief Minister visited Shiggaon’s ‘Dyamavva Devi’ temple, before filing his nomination.
“I have filed my nomination today. People of my Shiggaon constituency have supported me tremendously in the past and this time too, I’m confident of breaking all the records and getting elected with the highest number of votes.
People here are aware voters and they vote for development,” Bommai said after filing his nomination.
Pointing out that he had submitted his nomination papers as there was a good muhurta (time) today, Bommai added that he will be filing a nomination once again on April 19 in the presence of BJP national President J P Nadda and other senior leaders.
To a question that Congress was planning to field a strong candidate against him, the Chief Minister said, “Opponent is an opponent whether strong or weak, I will take everyone equally.
If there are opponents, only then there will be a contest. I’m confidence in the people of my constituency, who have supported me.”
Bommai won in Shiggaon in the 2018 Assembly polls by about 9,260 votes.He started his political career with the Janata Dal, and was member of the Karnataka Legislative Council twice (in 1998 and 2004) from Dharwad local authorities constituency, and had also served as Parliament Secretary to Chief Minister and as Deputy Leader of Opposition.
He quit Janata Dal (United) and joined the BJP in 2008 and in the Assembly elections held later that year got elected as MLA from Shiggaon constituency in Haveri district.
He then went on to retain the seat in 2013 and 2018 Assembly polls.
Bommai, who served as Home Minister in the B S Yediyurappa-led BJP government, became the Chief Minister in 2021 following the veteran leader stepping down from the post, citing age and making way for others as reasons.[ad_2]
#Karnataka #Basavaraj #Bommai #files #nomination #Shiggaon( With inputs from www.siasat.com )
BJP ministers file nomination papers for Karnataka Assembly polls
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Bengaluru: Incumbent BJP ministers Murugesh Nirani, Dr K Sudhakar, S T Somashekar and V Sunil Kumar were among those who filed their nomination papers for Karnataka Assembly polls on Thursday.
The poll process for the May 10 Assembly elections formally began today, with the issuance of gazette notification paving the way for candidates to file their nominations.
Nirani is contesting from Bilagi in Bagalkote, Sudhakar from Chikkaballapur, Sunil Kumar from Karkala in Udupi and Somashekar from Yashwanthapur constituency in Bengaluru.
Similarly, S S Mallikarjun, who is trying his luck from Davangere North on a Congress ticket, too filed the papers.
According to the Election Commission, 27 Bharatiya Janata Party candidates, 26 Congress, 12 Janata Dal (S), 10 Aam Aadmi Party and one from the Bahujan Samaj Party filed the papers. There were 100 nominations by unrecognised parties and 45 independents.
In all, 221 nominations were filed on the day the notification for the Assembly elections was issued, the Election Commission statement said.
According to the EC schedule of events, the last date for filing nominations is April 20. The papers will be scrutinised on April 21 and the last date for withdrawal of candidature is April 24.
Meanwhile, as of Thursday, the cumulative seizure since March 29 when the model code of conduct came into force touched Rs 144 crore.
The total seizure comprises cash of Rs 57.37 crore, freebies worth Rs 17.93 crore, liquor worth Rs 32 crore, drugs worth Rs 13.2 crore, gold worth Rs 21.27 crore, and silver worth Rs 2.56 crore.
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#BJP #ministers #file #nomination #papers #Karnataka #Assembly #polls( With inputs from www.siasat.com )
Poll: Trump holds most support for 2024 GOP presidential nomination in South Carolina
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Former President Donald Trump has gained more support for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination from South Carolina Republican voters than former Gov. Nikki Haley and Sen. Tim Scott in their home state, a Winthrop University poll released Wednesday shows.
Trump was the top pick among 41 percent of respondents. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — who has yet to declare his candidacy, though he is widely expected to — came in second with 20 percent and Haley came in third with 18 percent.
Seven percent of respondents support a presidential nomination for Scott. The South Carolina senator has not announced that he’s running for the GOP ticket in 2024, but he officially launched his presidential exploratory committee Wednesday.
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )White House pulls its punches over GOP judicial nomination blockade
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Jean-Pierre’s reluctance to enter the fray of the debate around blue slips is just the latest illustration of Biden’s own deference to Senate procedure. But it comes amid growing agitation among Democrats over the White House’s hands-off approach.
There are currently nearly 40 judicial vacancies that Biden could seek to fill in courts in red states. But the blue slip custom generally dictates that if a home-state senator doesn’t return the blue slip, the majority party halts the nomination.
Republicans moved 17 Trump administration circuit court judges without Democrats’ blue slips, according to Demand Justice, a liberal advocacy group. That was a change from prior practice and now progressives want Democrats to do the same with trial court-level judges.
But Biden has not joined that chorus. Nor has Senate Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), who remains noncommittal about moving the Colom nomination in light of Hyde-Smith’s refusal to return a blue slip.
Durbin “is extremely disappointed in Sen. Hyde-Smith’s lack of communication and ultimate obstruction of a highly-qualified nominee,” said his spokesperson, Emily Hampsten. “In the coming days, he’ll be assessing and will respond more fully.”
Durbin previously said he would abide by the blue slip custom unless they were used to block candidates because of their race, gender or sexual orientation. Colom is Black. Mississippi’s other Republican senator, Roger Wicker, returned his blue slip on Colom.
So far, Senate Democrats are generally deferring to Durbin on whether to ignore the blue slip. They are balancing reluctance to further erode Senate norms — including one that Biden as a former Judiciary chair is intimately familiar with — alongside growing frustration with Republican stonewalling. But in certain Democratic quarters on the Hill, there is a growing appetite to see Durbin do away with the custom and a belief that if Biden publicly embraced reform the Illinois Democrat would follow.
While Colom’s nomination is one of the first to be blocked by a blue slip in the Biden administration, it is not the only one. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) refused to return a blue slip on district court nominee William Pocan, brother of Rep. Mark Pocan. With Republicans in control of the House, much of Biden’s focus will likely move toward getting nominees through the Democratic-run Senate. And with a growing portion of the judicial vacancies coming in red states, the blue slip issue is likely to grow more prominent.
There are 66 district court vacancies and nearly 40 of them are in states with a GOP senator who could try to block it, according to a tally kept by Demand Justice.
Demand Justice has been calling on Democrats to play hard ball on the nominations, arguing that the “Biden rule” allows them to ignore blue slips. That “rule” is a reference to the policy Biden used when he was Judiciary Committee chair himself following the election of George H.W. Bush. Back then, blue slips were a “significant factor” for the committee but didn’t serve as a de facto veto measure.
“Blue slips have not always been a unilateral veto on judicial nominees, and Chair Durbin should not allow Republicans to wield them in bad faith today,” said Demand Justice Chief Counsel Christopher Kang. “Instead, he should follow Biden’s policy when he was Judiciary chair.”
But there is also some public history — including from not too long ago — of top Democrats insisting that blue slips be respected. Then-Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) urged the Trump administration to abide by them when the former president was pushing nominees to the Ninth Circuit.
But progressives argue that Republicans themselves have abandoned deference to these customs and it would be foolish for Democrats to not do the same.
“If Durbin does not grant Colom a hearing, he would be abetting Republican obstruction instead of choosing the Biden rule,” Kang said.
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )A Club for Growth vice president and former Ron DeSantis staffer is vying for the GOP nomination to take on Tim Kaine next fall.
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Scott Parkinson, also an alum of Ron Johnson and Marco Rubio, is the first notable GOP challenger in the Virginia race.
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )Larry Hogan will not run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024
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“It was like, I didn’t need that job. I didn’t need to run for another office. It was really I was considering it because I thought it was public service and maybe I can make a difference,” Hogan said.
Though he acknowledged challenging former President Donald Trump would be an uphill battle in a GOP primary, “that didn’t really scare me,” Hogan said.
“It would be a tough race. And he’s very tough. But, you know, I beat life-threatening cancer. So having Trump call me names on Twitter didn’t really scare me off.”
The moderate Republican, who has criticized Trump and members of his own party for claiming the 2020 election was stolen, noted that a “pile up” of candidates would make it more difficult for any one person to gain significant support.
“Right now, you have — you know, Trump and [Ron] DeSantis at the top of the field, they’re soaking up all the oxygen, getting all the attention, and then a whole lot of the rest of us in single digits and the more of them you have, the less chance you have for somebody rising up,” Hogan said.
DeSantis has not yet said whether he intends to run in 2024, though he is widely expected to. When asked, Hogan declined to say whether he would would support the Florida governor.
“The people of Florida just overwhelmingly elected Ron DeSantis. I said earlier that I think governors are a good training ground to become president. We have a lot of great governors to consider. Maybe Ron DeSantis and I have different styles, but, you know, certainly he’s got every right to get out and make the case,” Hogan said.
Hogan did, however, offer his full-throated support for former Vice President Mike Pence.
“Absolutely,“ Hogan said, when asked if he could support Pence. “I have a tremendous amount of respect for Mike Pence, and I thought he certainly, you know, is the kind of guy, he’s full of integrity and experience.“
Besides the possibility of running as a Republican, there had also been talk of Hogan spearheading a third-party ticket, backed by No Labels, the centrist group he co-chairs. He was not asked about that possibility in the CBS interview.
Limited to two terms as governor, Hogan left office in January. During his tenure, he consistently had among the highest approval ratings in the nation of any governor, despite being a Republican governing one of the nation’s bluest states.
David Cohen and Sam Stein contributed to this report.
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )The Republican presidential nomination could run through California. Yes, California
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The tenor of Newsom’s statement is likely a preview of what could end up as an ugly fight if, as expected, DeSantis tries to wrest the mantle of the GOP away from Trump — with California and its 5.2 million Republican voters representing a major battleground.
A March 2024 vote and an open GOP field offer California’s beleaguered conservatives a chance to step off the statewide sidelines and into the fray of a national fight.
“I don’t remember the last time we mattered,” said Carl DeMaio, a Republican activist and former San Diego council member. “It’s an immense opportunity.”
The contours are already taking shape. DeSantis will be in California over the weekend to speak at the Reagan Presidential library and then collect cash, both opportunities to make inroads with the state’s GOP base. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former Vice President Mike Pence have both stopped by the Reagan library — an indispensable proving ground for Republican hopefuls — in recent months. None of them have officially entered the 2024 presidential race but all are expected to.
Lanhee Chen, who ran for state controller in 2022 and has worked for multiple GOP presidential candidates, recounted a Republican campaign official recently seeking his input on how to navigate California’s sprawling geography and media markets.
“California is a different beast,” Chen said. “A lot of the campaigns are trying to wrap their heads around how they should think about it.”
It could feel like a sea change for California Republicans, who have been locked out of statewide office for a generation and are outnumbered two-to-one by registered Democrats. National Republicans swing through California’s red precincts to vacuum up dollars but rarely do any actual campaigning. This cycle could be different.
“There are lots of opportunities for each of these candidates to rack up delegates in California,” said California Republican Party Chair Jessica Millan Patterson, “and I think you’re going to see them coming through the state, not just to raise money but to meet people, get the vote out and make their case.”
By the time the 2016 GOP nominating contest rolled into California, former President Donald Trump had already vanquished his rivals. In early 2023, polling gives DeSantis a substantial lead over the former president. Republican candidates seeking an edge could be compelled to campaign and advertise in a solidly blue state, and not just in the typical conservative strongholds: Delegates will be available deep in the belly of the beast.
“I don’t think Republican voters are even cognizant that this is coming, because it’s just never happened before,” said Matt Shupe, a Republican political consultant. “I’ve been pretty fired up talking about this because this is going to affect the party, from the lowest levels to the highest levels, until March.”
Part of the calculus will involve California’s decentralized nominating process. Most of the state’s delegates are allocated by House district, with the top vote-getter in each district receiving three. California Republican Party officials intentionally made the change many cycles ago to open up a statewide formula that had helped catapult favorite son Ronald Reagan into the White House.
“When we were changing the party rules back in the year 2000, hoping that we might someday play a role like this — it’s certainly surreal that day has arrived,” said Jon Fleischman, who was the party’s executive director at the time. “It only took 23 years.”
That means candidates have 52 separate chances — one for each congressional seat — to pick up votes. Winning a solidly red San Diego seat will be just as valuable as carrying a plurality of San Francisco’s 29,000 Republicans.
“It creates a dynamic where a candidate could say ‘you know what, I’m going to campaign in the Central Valley and hire grassroots people in the Central Valley and just do that,’” Fleischman said.
Republican voters in California run the gamut from Orange County denizens with beachfront views to residents of northern rural counties who hope to create their own state. But Chen said the Republicans he interacted with on the trail had similar views to Republicans in other states. He said he observed bigger contrasts within California.
California Republicans have resoundingly supported Trump, voting for him in record numbers. Supporting him was a prerequisite for leadership in the state party.
But that support is wavering. A recent statewide poll found DeSantis bested Trump by double digits in a head-to-head matchup and scored markedly higher favorability ratings. Republicans around the state described a fluid situation in which some voters unflinchingly back Trump, others are ready to move on, and many are still weighing their options as the field develops.
“It varies so widely. Some people still love Trump and he’s the only one, and a lot of other people are like: ‘absolutely not, DeSantis is our person,’” said Fresno County Republican Party Chair Elizabeth Kolstad.
State Sen. Melissa Melendez was a steadfast Trump supporter who traveled to the White House to discuss immigration in 2018 and represents the Republican stronghold of Riverside County. In a recent interview, Melendez declined to commit to Trump. “Some people have their favorites already decided, but a lot of it is going to come down to what their policies are,” Melendez said, citing stances on China and immigration.
The donor class is also unlikely to unite behind the former president. Gerald Marcil, a fixture of the California Republican donor circuit, said he admired Trump’s record and voted for his re-election. But he is not backing Trump this time around. He likes DeSantis, an impression that was solidified after dining together.
“I think we have to go with Ron DeSantis on this one,” Marcil said, adding he feared a crowded field would hand the nomination to Trump because he begins with an unwavering base. “We’ve got to coalesce and get down to one or two other possibilities.”
Similarly, Orrin Heatlie — a core organizer of the failed 2021 effort to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom — said the grassroots Republicans he speaks with are “swinging heavily towards Ron DeSantis.”
“He has a clear message and basically aligns with their beliefs and their politics,” Heatlie said. “I think Donald Trump is a distraction.”
Some Republicans are balancing genuine admiration for Trump with other political considerations. Republican Assemblymember Devon Mathis, who is vociferously advocating for former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, said he believed Trump had done a good job but wanted someone who could serve out two terms. Mathis also warned of the down-ballot ripples.
“A lot of people want to stay loyal to the former president, and there’s a lot of people who feel like he got robbed,” Mathis said, but “as much as some people don’t like to admit it, Trump was pretty toxic for our delegation. Every single ad was tying Republicans to Trump, in every target seat in California.”
Despite those reservations, the former president is still a formidable candidate who can count on a solid foundation. Republicans are quick to point out how swiftly the contest could change.
“DeSantis starts with an advantage because he’s more well known,” Fleischman said. “But if our governor starts picking his fights with Trump instead of picking his fights with DeSantis, maybe that changes.”
Lara Korte contributed to this report.
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )
