Free Republic

RENO, Nev. — A Nevada powerbroker who headed a billion-dollar real estate company and pulled the strings of state politics as a prominent lobbyist for more than a decade was convicted Wednesday of making illegal campaign contributions to U.S. Sen. Harry Reid. Harvey Whittemore, 59, could face up to 15 years in prison and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines after a federal jury returned guilty verdicts on three counts tied to nearly $150,000 illegally funneled to Reid's re-election campaign in 2007. Later in the day, U.S. District Judge Larry Hicks declared a mistrial on a count of lying...

The beleaguered California Republican Party received a rare piece of good news on Friday when the California Poll announced that a Republican leads in the election for secretary of state. Pete Peterson, a Pepperdine University instructor, is in the lead for chief elections officer with 30 percent support, followed by Democratic State Sen. Alex Padilla with 17 percent. The election was upended recently when Democratic hopeful Leland Yee was indicted on federal gun trafficking charges. Another prominent candidate, Dan Schnur, has failed to gain transaction so far, receiving only four percent of voter support. Schnur is a well-connected former Republican...

Former Navy pilot Shane Osborn is getting help from two of the most prominent moderates in the Senate in his campaign for the GOP nomination for an open senate seat in Nebraska. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said he had donated to Osborn and that Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) is planning to travel to Nebraska to help Osborn raise campaign funds. “I've given him money,” Graham told Breitbart News, adding, “I think John McCain's going out to help him, he's a great candidate.” The endorsements could help Osborn on the money trail, but they are unlikely to motivate Nebraska voters the...

Eight days after we told you about businessman David Perdue’s remarks on the credentials of “the high school graduate in this race” he called former Secretary of State Karen Handel to apologize. But Handel is in no mood to let it go. Earlier today she released a radio ad using the Perdue audio to make the case that Perdue has “lost touch with our values.” Shortly after the call was over, Handel sent out a press release saying she accepted the apology. And then: “But the apology is not owed to me—it is owed to the many other Georgians he...

Conservative lawmakers are plotting to dump House Speaker John Boehner as soon as November, the National Journal reported Thursday. The National Journal said 40 to 50 House conservatives are behind a scheme to infiltrate the GOP leadership in 2015, and pushing the Ohio Republican aside would be the first step. The conservative disapproval with Boehner has been widely reported. The rebels' strategies include backing a single conservative leadership candidate, cutting a deal with Majority Leader Eric Cantor that would swap support him for speaker in return for his bringing aboard "a conservative lieutenant," or showing Boehner at the post-November elections'...

Not that these are new complaints, but the rumblings against Eric Cantor from within the GOP caucus — or at least from Dana Rohrabacher — are getting some notice: Mr. Cantor, who just a few years ago was seen as a champion for conservatives in the House and a possible candidate to replace House Speaker John A. Boehner, now is viewed with suspicion, said Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, California Republican. “I think that Boehner can survive the discontent that the tea party and the more conservative element of the Republican Party has, but I don’t think that is true of Cantor,”...

PPP released their monthly look at the North Carolina Senate race two days ago. The poll isn’t so good for Speaker Thom Tillis. Not only does Tillis lead Brannon by a narrower margin than in other polls, he also performs the worst against Senator Hagan, quashing his “electability” argument. We must reiterate that this is PPP’s interpretation of the race, and at the end of this post we’ll average all of the polls we have to get a better indicator as to where the “real” numbers are. For now, though, let’s take a look at how PPP sees things: General...

Former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour joined Democratic Party rising star San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro in Texas, this week to call for amnesty. "It’s not dead,” Barbour said of amnesty efforts in the U.S. Congress, according to the Texas Tribune. "Work is being done on this. I can’t look you in the eye and say I know it’s going to succeed, but there is clearly a path to success.” Barbour argued that amnesty would be good for the country and the only reason why Republicans are not supporting it is because it is politically dangerous for them to do so....

Virginia Republican Party executive director Shaun Kenney was a “no show” to conservative host Laura Ingraham’s radio program Thursday. Ingraham was prepared to question Kenney about his statements that conservatives who oppose amnesty are afraid of “The Other” and that “nativists” should be driven out of the Republican party. Kenney made the statements in an office meeting that included former SEIU secretary-treasurer Eliseo Medina, according to video footage published Tuesday by The Daily Caller, and on his personal blog. “And I think that we understand too that there’s a lot of people that are afraid, of you. Not for any...

Canadian battle going on that Americans can learn from. Same issues on voting procedures. This is how you argue the case. Worth your time for just the quality of the presentation.

Put another way, Kathleen Sebelius has resigned and “Senior Administration Officials” are telling the media it is because of healthcare.gov. You do not have a celebration event last week to celebrate 7 million sign ups and have Sebelius there to get credit then this week throw her under the bus because of a screw up that happened last October. They have been standing with her since last October. They stood with her when the President’s polling was nosediving and throwing her under the bus could have stopped the bleeding. They are doing so now. Sebelius actually resigned last week and...

House Armed Services Committee chairman Rep. Buck McKeon (R-CA) said that a promise Majority Leader Eric Cantor made last year is a major force behind the push to grant amnesty to illegal alien DREAMers who enlist in the military. Cantor “made a pledge that he would help” Rep. Jeff Denham (R-CA) enact the proposal, McKeon said at a roundtable on Thursday morning in Washington, D.C. As reported last week by Breitbart News, House Republicans had been quietly working working to insert the text of the proposal into an related Defense authorization bill, but after the issue became public McKeon announced...

Montana’s Democratic senator trails his top Republican challenger by 13 points, according to a poll released on Thursday. Thirty-six percent of respondents said they would vote for incumbent Democrat John Walsh if the election were held today. Forty-nine percent said they would back his likely Republican challenger, Rep. Steve Daines. Daines also fares well among key demographics. He leads among women, independents, and every age group surveyed (including 18 to 29 year-olds by a margin of 58 to 20). The poll, which surveyed likely voters, was conducted by the Republican firm Magellan Strategies.

DENVER (AP) -- Republican U.S. Rep. Cory Gardner's campaign is reporting it raised $1.4 million during the first three months of the year, almost all of it in March, following his surprise announcement he would challenge Democratic Sen Mark Udall. Gardner raised $1.24 million in March and has $2.1 million in cash available. Udall raised more than $2 million during the first quarter of the year and has $5.9 million available. But the senator was raising funds for the full three months. Udall campaign spokesman Chris Harris said Wednesday that the campaign raised the majority of its total, $1.4 million,...

He hasn't yet won the Virginia Republican Senate nomination yet, but front-running candidate Ed Gillespie is leading incumbent Sen. Mark Warner among independents and Hispanics, the first sign of a chink in the Democrat's armor. According to Democratic pollster PPP, Warner overall leads Gillespie 49 percent to 35 percent. But among independents, key to President Obama's victories in the Old Dominion, Gillespie leads 41 percent to 39 percent, and he has the edge among Hispanics, 39 percent to 34 percent. What's more, Virginia voters appear mixed on expanding Medicaid under Obamacare. Although they back the idea 49 percent to 43...

In a new radio ad, Republican Senate candidate Karen Handel of Georgia hits back at her primary opponent David Perdue for his recently released comments about her lack of a college education. Perdue also touted his international business experience. The minute-long Handel ad replays Perdue's comments. "When I heard David's comments, I thought, bless his heart," Handel says in a voiceover. "He's been overseas too long and lost touch with our values. Hard work and making the most of life: that's what makes Georgians great." Listen to the ad below: Handel, who left a "troubled home" at age 17, cites...

Tea party groups are organizing this weekend to protest the “betrayal” by GOP House leadership and twenty-five other members at a tropical summit organized by a group working to undermine the Tea Party. “Come to Amelia Island for our rally, and if you have time and resources, stay for a weekend of RINO hunting!” a local Florida tea party announcement touted. The summit, sponsored by a sub group PAC of the Republican Main Street Partnership, is taking place at the Ritz Carlton in Amelia Island, Florida. Tea party protesters are expected to begin rallying Thursday evening and throughout the weekend...

We’ve been told by Pat McCrory, Karl Rove, National Right to Life, and countless members of the drive-by media that Thom Tillis is the most-electable candidate to take on Kay Hagan in November. The problem? THE POLLS. The RealClearPolitics poll averages show Hagan with an average lead of 0.2 percent over Tillis in a general election matchup. According to RCP, Tillis and fellow Republican Heather Grant perform the worst against Hagan. The latest poll from the Democrat firm Public Policy Polling adds to the mounting pile of evidence discrediting the premise of Thom Tillis’ inevitability. The poll, released on April...

State House Speaker Thom Tillis (R-Mecklenberg) may hold a slim lead over Republicans vying for the party’s U.S. Senate nomination, but he’s the only potential challenger who trails Sen. Kay Hagan (D-NC) in a head-to-head matchup. The latest Public Policy Polling (PPP) survey out of North Carolina found that Hagan trails most of the Republican field. Mark Harris (44/40) and Heather Grant (43/39) both hold a 4-point lead over Hagan. Greg Brannon, who has received a lot of grassroots support, holds a 2-point edge, at 42/40. But Hagan leads Tillis, the frontrunner for the Republican nomination, by a 2-point margin,...

U.S. Senate candidate Greg Brannon appeared on Glenn Beck’s radio program Thursday to paint his campaign against House Speaker Thom Tillis as David versus Goliath. Tillis is holding the advantage against Brannon in recent polls as both lead a field of eight candidates. But in the interview, Brannon said he expects it to change. “We are pulling back the veil and showing who the wizard is and they are getting exposed,” Brannon said of Tillis, whose conservatism he questioned at multiple points. “We are going to win this without a runoff. There’s no doubt in my mind. The wave is...