Free Republic

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — When West Virginia Republicans vote in Tuesday's primary, they will have a hard time finding a major candidate on the ballot in any statewide race who openly acknowledges that President Joe Biden won the 2020 election. Embracing or skirting the line on election denialism has become an unspoken checkoff among Republicans running for governor and Congress in one of the states most loyal to former President Donald Trump. What is spoken — almost constantly — is praise for the party's presumptive White House nominee from a slate of candidates that includes a convicted Jan. 6 insurrectionist...

Former President Donald Trump announced he is endorsing Christine Serrano Glassner in her bid to represent New Jersey in the U.S. Senate amid a heavily-watched race for the seat of incumbent Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez. "She’s a fantastic woman," Trump said about Serrano Glassner, mayor of Mendham Borough, during a New Jersey rally on Saturday. "I’m giving her my complete and total endorsement." His endorsement comes less than a month before the state is scheduled to hold its Republican Senate primary. Trump also said Serrano Glassner's GOP opponent Curtis Bashaw is a supporter of New Jersey Republican Gov. Chris Christie,...

COLUMBIA — The South Carolina Republican Party has disqualified five of its members — including two delegates to the national convention in Milwaukee this summer — from voting after revelations they contributed hundreds of dollars to independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential campaign. According to SCGOP leadership, the five members — Keith and Olga Blandford, John and Mamie Rand, and former attorney general candidate Lauren Martel — were told they were no longer eligible to vote at the party’s May 4 convention following revelations each had paid $500 to attend a dinner at a private residence last July where Kennedy...

Six years after Mike Braun came out on top in Indiana's first Trumpian Idol contest and won election to the U.S. Senate, he has coasted to the Republican nomination for governor. It shouldn't have been quite so easy. On paper, Braun faced one of the most competitive statewide fields in Indiana history. At least three Republican contenders — Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch, Brad Chambers and Eric Doden — had plausible cases to make for being stronger candidates than Braun. Braun is an uninspiring U.S. senator who ran an uninspiring gubernatorial campaign. That turned out to be good enough because Braun...

Former President Trump’s allies fear the former president has given a boost to the moderate wing of the GOP in Utah by backing a long-shot conservative candidate in the race to replace retiring Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah). Trump endorsed Trent Staggs shortly before the Utah GOP convention last month. Voters will formally choose their nominee in the June 25 primary. Staggs has shown few signs of viability as he struggles to raise money and gain traction in the polls, sparking fears among some Trump-aligned Republicans that the endorsement could splinter conservative voters and put Rep. John Curtis (R-Utah), the more...

GO VOTE!

A former Georgia Republican official who had to defend his state’s election administration after Donald Trump tried to overturn the results in 2020 has endorsed President Joe Biden and urged other Republicans to join him in an op-ed published Monday. Former Georgia Lieutenant Gov. Geoff Duncan, who refused to give credence to Trump’s conspiracy theories about Georgia’s election results and opted not to run for reelection in 2022 due to his rift with the former president, is not an entirely surprising critic. He was drafted by No Labels to run as a third-party presidential candidate this year but ultimately decided...

Jim Banks for Senator! Mike Braun for Governor! Go vote!

GO VOTE!

As a veteran legislator, Sen. Curt Kreun, R-Grand Forks, said he could look past some of the partisan rhetoric that has crept into the North Dakota Legislature. He said he was chastised by Republican leaders in the 2023 session for co-sponsoring a bill with a Democrat, Sen. Tim Mathern of Fargo. “So I get called on the carpet, big deal. I’ve been there longer than they have,” he said. Kreun is among 13 lawmakers who served in the 2023 session who did not file paperwork to seek reelection to the Legislature in 2024. That’s in addition to three lawmakers who...

If you live in Pennsylvania, GO VOTE tomorrow!

In a recent episode of The Purple Principle, a podcast that examines democracy and polarization from a nonpartisan lens, former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson said that while he was skeptical of ranked choice voting at first, he now sees it as a meaningful solution to elect candidates with the broadest appeal. "I resisted ranked choice and different initiatives that would weaken the two political parties," he said. "Now I don't see it as weakening the parties as much as forcing the candidates to say, 'We've got to appeal to a broad swath of the American electorate." Many voters may not...

Two-term Republican U.S. Rep. Jake LaTurner is not running for reelection this year in his GOP-leaning eastern Kansas district so that he can spend more time with his four young children, he announced Thursday. LaTurner is among nearly two dozen Republicans in the U.S. House who are not running again or seeking another office. "The unrepeatable season of life we are in, where our kids are still young and at home, is something I want to be more present for,” LaTurner said. LaTurner's announcement leaves Republicans with no declared candidates in a district he likely would have had little trouble...

A longtime Lancaster County Republican is experiencing something he’s not used to, a primary challenger. House Minority Leader Bryan Cutler (R-Lancaster) has been a major force in Pennsylvania Republican politics. His resume includes Majority Leader and Speaker of the House; by every measure a success for a man not yet 50. But not everyone is amazed by Cutler’s success in the 100th District. “It’s very evident that people want a change here and that they want to support a candidate that really is one of them,” said Dave Nissley, a small business owner and Cutler’s primary challenger. Nissley says he...

On a rainy Wednesday in Dallas, powerful Republican donors gathered at the home of billionaire Kelcy Warren to help save the political career of House Speaker Dade Phelan. The speaker of the House is considered a titan of Texas politics, wielding the power to shape legislation, appoint committee leaders and amass a robust campaign fund to spend on protecting incumbents and other allies. That power wasn’t enough to protect Phelan from a surprisingly strong challenge by David Covey, who rode support from former President Donald Trump to a top finish in the March primary and forced Phelan into a precarious...

Donald Trump on Friday endorsed a primary challenger to Rep. Dan Newhouse of Washington, one of two remaining House Republicans who voted to impeach the former president over his role in the Jan. 6 riot. In a Truth Social post, Trump threw his support behind Jerrod Sessler, a former petty-officer in the Navy who has gone after Newhouse for his impeachment vote. "Jerrod Sessler is a fantastic candidate and will be a GREAT Congressman for Washington State’s 4th Congressional District," Trump wrote, while also citing Newhouse's impeachment vote. Newhouse's campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday...

Some Republicans who said they would never support former President Donald Trump again appear poised to do just that come November, as they feel President Biden's policies and leadership cannot be allowed a second term. "It is not an enthusiastic vote," Eric Levine, a former Nikki Haley supporter, told Fox News Digital in an interview. "I am left with no alternative." Levine, a prominent Republican fundraiser, penned an essay to his vast network of fellow GOP donors and activists last week, informing them that despite his initial resolve after the Jan. 6 Capitol riots to "never" support Trump again, he...

If you live in these states, GO VOTE!

If you live in these states, GO VOTE tomorrow!

A higher number of Democrats than Republicans are leaving the House of Representatives after November's elections. All members of Congress are up for reelection in November, when President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump will face off in a historic presidential race. But several members of Congress have opted to not run for reelection this year after a tumultuous Congress defined by leadership battles and few bills becoming law. In total, 25 Democratic members of Congress have announced they are not seeking reelection in the House, the latest being Representative Annie Kuster of New Hampshire. Many plan to run...