Free Republic

NBC News’s recent hiring of Ronna McDaniel, the former chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, has baffled Democrats, journalists, and pretty much all of MSNBC’s star anchors. But to those who remain deep in the thrall of MAGA—and those, like me, who escaped it—it was utterly unsurprising that a mainstream (i.e., “fake”) news organization would shell out $300,000 a year for McDaniel’s point of view. I became a MAGA activist in 2015, shortly after Donald Trump famously descended that golden escalator. For the next half-decade, I not only vociferously supported Trump and those who pledged fealty to him, like Ron...

Washington — CBS News projects the U.S. House special election in California's 20th congressional district will go to a runoff to fill the vacancy left by former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Republican State Assembly member Vince Fong advanced to the runoff, which will take place in May. Fong, who is vying to fill the vacancy left by McCarthy, has the former speaker's endorsement and the backing of former President Donald Trump. Among those challenging him is Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux. It was still unclear who would emerge to face him in May's special election. The solidly conservative district is...

Sen. Todd Young (R-IN) is holding firm on his commitment to not support former President Donald Trump in the November election as he locks up the Republican nomination. Young split from the former president after he refused to accept the results of the 2020 election, though he voted against impeachment. He pledged not to vote for Trump again in 2023 over his conciliatory tone toward Russian President Vladimir Putin and the war in Ukraine and has remained undeterred by the wave of endorsements from his GOP colleagues. “I won’t be voting for Biden. I also won’t be voting for Trump,”...

Sarah Longwell, founder of Republican Voters Against Trump, believes anti-Donald Trump Republicans helped to swing the 2020 election—and can help keep him out of the White House in this year's vote. On Tuesday, the group launched a $50 million ad campaign featuring testimonials from former Trump supporters, the Hill reports. The testimonials, which can be seen on the group's website, will air on multiple platforms in battleground states including Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

House Democrats' discharge petition on legislation providing aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan opened for lawmakers' signatures on Tuesday morning. Why it matters: It's an effort to bypass House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) as he refuses to put the Senate's bipartisan foreign aid bill on the House floor for a vote.

WASHINGTON, DC – Donald Trump is making history all over again. With primaries underway on Tuesday in Georgia, Mississippi, Washington and Hawaii, he is poised to become the first Republican to win the party’s presidential nomination three times.

MADISON, Wis. — Backers of an effort to oust Wisconsin Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos from office over his opposition to former President Donald Trump announced Sunday that they’ve collected enough signatures to force a recall vote. Supporters of the recall campaign plan to present signatures Monday to the Wisconsin Elections Commission, saying they have more than the required 6,850 signatures from voters in Vos’ southeast Wisconsin district. “With more than 10,000 signatures on our recall petition, they’ve said it loud and clear: they’re tired of the status quo and demand new representation,” Matt Snorek, who started the campaign in...

One year ago, I set out to learn how local Republican powerbrokers would shape the 2024 presidential race. What I found surprised me, though perhaps it shouldn’t have. As I surveyed GOP county chairs across the country, I thought they would provide an early signal as to where the Republican nomination would end up. County chairs are influential in local GOP circles, party leaders who can offer the kind of endorsements that candidates are eager to collect. They’re also still close to the rank-and-file grassroots, and their shifts, I imagined, would signal where the rest of the party was going....

Ms Haley's victory on Sunday has at least temporarily halted Mr Trump's sweep of the Republican primary contest - although the former president is likely to pick up several hundred more delegates in this week's Super Tuesday races. Her success in Washington DC also marks the first time in history a woman has won a Republican primary.

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Republicans in North Dakota will gather around the state on Monday evening for their presidential caucuses, with results the caucus chair says might influence Republicans who vote in other states on Super Tuesday. Four candidates are on the ballot, including former President Donald Trump and former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley. The other candidates, who have received little attention, are Florida businessman David Stuckenberg and Texas businessman and pastor Ryan Binkley, who recently ended his campaign. North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who ended his unsuccessful presidential campaign in December, will speak on Trump's behalf. He endorsed...

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) announced Friday she is endorsing former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley in the GOP presidential primary against former President Trump. “I’m proud to endorse Gov. Nikki Haley,” Murkowski said in a statement. “America needs someone with the right values, vigor, and judgment to serve as our next President—and in this race, there is no one better than her,” she continued. “Nikki will be a strong leader and uphold the ideals of the Republican Party while serving as a President for all Americans.” Murkowski, the first GOP senator to endorse Haley in the race, was among seven Republican...

Facing almost certain defeat in Tuesday’s Republican presidential primary, Nikki Haley said Trump’s ascendance has come at the expense of Republicans in Michigan. “Michigan was a bright light. (Republicans) were winning races up and down the ticket. They had passed a ‘right-to-work’ law. Everything was great,” Haley told reporters at a Grand Rapids event on Monday. “And once Donald Trump came in 2016, they’ve now lost the governor’s race, the governor’s mansion, they lost the state House, they lost the State Senate. The party is completely divided, and that’s not just Michigan.” Haley came to Michigan following a crushing defeat...

Former Republican strategist Tara Setmayer was stunned by new reporting that former President Donald Trump's allies are pushing Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) for an endorsement of the former president, and that Trump expects McConnell will cave soon. This is in spite of the fact that the two of them have had an icy relationship since the Jan. 6 attack, with McConnell publicly condemning Trump's actions, and the former president repeatedly attacking McConnell and suggesting he would be forced out under Trump's second presidency. "I have to go back to the Mitch McConnell thing for a second," Setmayer told...

<p>House Republicans are facing a growing exodus of experienced and talented members that adds up to an alarming political maturity drain. A growing number of their well-respected members are fleeing Congress as the conference pulls further to the right, and the departures are starting to spark worries about a further erosion of GOP lawmakers' appetite for the basic tasks of governing. After a brutal year of their party's shaky stewardship of the House, 21 House GOP lawmakers have already announced their plans to retire at year's end — including five committee chairs. Many of the departing members share a common trait: They’re part of a loose coalition of governing-minded Republicans who are still willing to generally back leadership, support bipartisan deals and even defy former President Donald Trump at times. And while some Republicans have cited personal or health reasons for leaving office, others in the group are blunt as they lament their party’s inflated expectations for what’s achievable when the GOP controls just one half of one branch of the government.</p>

New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) said Thursday he was very optimistic about the future of the Republican Party and the country, saying former President Trump “won’t be here” forever and, at some point, the GOP will no longer be loyal to him. “People confuse the party with Trump,” Sununu said in an interview with Politico’s Eugene Daniels, who responded by noting that “it’s Trump’s party.” “That’s the point,” the governor responded. “It won’t be his party forever, right? It just won’t. At some point, Donald Trump won’t be here or whatever, you know. One way or another, we all...

House Republicans have moved quickly and strongly to the right, embracing the most extreme positions on cultural issues (including abortion, gay and trans rights, and guns) and isolationism on foreign policy and national security. snip The House now has a long list of extreme ideologues, ranging from Eli Crane and Andy Biggs of Arizona to Clay Higgins of Louisiana, Troy Nehls of Texas, Bob Good of Virginia, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, who don’t care if government works at all. In fact, they are content with gridlock, as they pander to the needs of former...

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) is in remission after completing cancer treatment and is expected to return to the House this week as lawmakers prepare for their second attempt to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Scalise is in “complete remission” nearly six months after being diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer, in August. The majority leader has been absent from the House over the last month to continue receiving treatment but announced last week he would be returning to Capitol Hill. “Leader Scalise has successfully completed his autologous stem cell treatment and has been medically...

Nikki Haley is on the primary ballot. Donald Trump isn't. There is a caucus on Thursday where Trump is on the ballot and Nikki isn't. No Nevada delegates will be selected in today's primary. All delegates will be chosen in Thursday's caucus. There is an option to vote "none of the above" in Nevada, so it will be interesting to see how many people choose that instead of voting for Nikki.

Indiana GOP Rep. Victoria Spartz has decided to reverse her decision to retire from Congress. She will run for reelection, she told Politico. “I will file this week. The country is too much in trouble,” Spartz told POLITICO on Monday morning. Spartz continued in a statement later Monday morning, explaining her decision to run for reelection in Indiana’s 5th Congressional District. “Deciding where your duty lies - family, work, or country, is never an easy task. Earlier last year, I decided to take some time off from running for public office to recharge and spend more time in Indiana with...