Free Republic

Missouri’s Republican party is trying to boot one of its members from running for governor after finding out he was an honorary member of the Ku Klux Klan — and even pictured throwing Nazi salutes in front of a burning cross. “The Missouri Republican Party has been made aware that Darrell Leon McClanahan III filed for governor as a Republican despite his affiliation with the Ku Klux Klan, which fundamentally contradicts our party’s values and platform,” the state party posted on X Thursday. “We have begun the process of having McClanahan removed from the ballot as a Republican candidate. “We...

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Some of Pennsylvania's largest counties were among those working Monday to help voters fix mail-in ballots that have fatal flaws such as incorrect dates or missing signatures on the envelopes used to send them in. Elections officials in Philadelphia and Allegheny, which includes Pittsburgh, announced measures they were taking in response to state Supreme Court orders in recent days that said mail-in ballots may not be counted if they lack accurate handwritten dates on the exterior envelopes. Ahead of Tuesday's midterms, more than a million mail-in and absentee ballots have already been returned in Pennsylvania, with...

Gov. Chris Gregoire has called a 10 a.m. Monday news conference in Olympia to announce her future plans. The Democrat is expected to say whether she'll seek a third term. Congressman Jay Inslee says he'll run for governor if Gregoire does not.

Punk the prez? Moby's anti-Bush tricks One of Sen. John Kerry's celebrity supporters is ready to pull out all the stops to get him elected. Republicans are shrieking over a suggestion by rocker Moby that Democrats spread gossip about President Bush on the Internet. "No one's talking about how to keep the other side home on Election Day," Moby tells us. "It's a lot easier than you think and it doesn't cost that much. This election can be won by 200,000 votes." Moby suggests that it's possible to seed doubt among Bush's far-right supporters on the Web. "You target his...

AUSTIN -- Republican state officials are asking federal authorities for an expedited ruling that the Voting Rights Act does not apply to the Senate rules that prompted 11 Democratic senators to flee to New Mexico. "Our goal is to get this resolved as quickly as possible," said Texas Solicitor General R. Ted Cruz. Sen. Leticia Van de Putte of San Antonio, Senate Democratic Caucus chair, said Lt. Gov. DavidDewhurst's change in Senate procedure "discriminates against voters protected under the Voting Rights Act." She said the state's lawyers are "belatedly and secretly" seeking U.S. Justice Department approval. In a related matter...