Free Republic

There are now 23 Democrats who won't seek reelection in the 2022 midterms as Representative Albio Sires from New Jersey plans to retire and party leadership desperately grips their slim majority in the House.... ...With a series of upcoming retirements, Democrats' majority in the House looks increasingly vulnerable, and Pelosi can only afford to lose three seats in order to keep her party in power.... [list of the 23 at link]

Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick is taking time away from Congress after she said she had a "serious" fall, related to alcohol dependence. "I sincerely thank the many people who have reached out in support after my accident last week. The fall was serious, but with physical therapy I will fully recover," the Arizona Democrat said in a Wednesday statement. "I do, however, have another challenge I must face, which was the underlying cause of the fall. Beginning next week, I will receive treatment that I have struggled to ask for, to treat my alcohol dependence."

Phoenix, Arizona, April 15, 2016. Incumbent U.S. Senator John McCain is locked in a dead heat with Democrat Ann Kirkpatrick as both receive 42 percent of a test vote taken statewide in April. This leaves only 16 percent undecided as of the time of this survey, compared to 25 percent in January. It also appears that at least one traditional voting pattern is changing in Arizona. For many years, rural voters have tended to lean Republican in most races, but in 2016 Kirkpatrick is outpolling McCain by 43 to 39 percent in the state’s rural counties in a modest but...

en. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is facing what may be the toughest reelection of his Senate career in an unpredictable presidential year, when many voters are angry with Washington. Early polls show McCain tied with his Democratic challenger, Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (D-Ariz.), at around 40 percent despite having nearly 100-percent name recognition in the state he has represented in either the Senate or House since 1983. “The basic problem for John McCain is the same kind of thing that faces a lot of incumbents right now. He’s been there a long time. People are leery of Washington. They don’t like Washington,”...

http://www.paysonroundup.com/news/2016/feb/27/doctor-challenges-sen-mccain-republican-primary/ Former state senator Dr. Kelli Ward, who hopes to unseat fellow Republican U.S. Senator John McCain, spoke to members of the Payson Tea Party this week. By Pete Aleshire As of Friday, February 26, 2016 Former state senator Dr. Kelli Ward brought her insurgent crusade to unseat fellow Republican U.S. Senator John McCain to Payson this week, with a wide-ranging attack on McCain. She spent hours of patiently answering questions posed by members of the Payson Tea Party.Ward blasted Sen. McCain as a career politician with no new ideas, dedicated to his own power and privilege, unwilling to protect...

To many Democrats, ObamaCare is a four-letter word. Most Democrats in competitive elections are seeking to avoid the topic, opting not to tout the controversial law on their campaign websites. In a review of battleground races, The Hill found that out of 50 Democratic candidates with active campaign websites, only 11 mention the healthcare law by name, either as "ObamaCare," "Affordable Care Act," or "ACA." Fourteen more mention the law, but not its name, and half the candidates omit it entirely from their websites. President Obama has trumpeted that more than 8 million people have enrolled in ACA-related plans. Meanwhile,...

Earlier today we covered the story of Congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick canceling her town hall. We have since found video of the event and the truth of what happened does not quite match the story that Rep. Kirkpatrick gave to Politico. Kirkpatrick was certainly facing questions but the group is well behaved. When she gets up to leave the people stand aside and let her go. Clearly Kirkatrick chose a very crowded venue and only has herself to blame for the confined space. At the end of the video we see another Democrat hopping in an SUV, which for some reason...