Free Republic

Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell plans to run for president in 2020, according to a person close to the California congressman who is familiar with his plans. “He’s definitely running,” the source said. This weekend, Swalwell will be the first potential presidential candidate to visit Iowa after the midterms with a trip to meet the Asian & Latino Coalition in Des Moines and Iowa Democratic Party chairs in Dubuque. The travel to Iowa was first reported by NBC News and confirmed by POLITICO. The 37-year-old Swalwell has been positioning himself for a run over the past year, with several trips to...

With the 2018 midterms now nearly decided, the traditional kickoff for the next election cycle — that is, the 2020 presidential election — would normally be getting underway. However lacking of a clear leader on the Democratic side, the 2020 election season is off to a slow start, with one exception. Hillary Clinton’s former advisers are duking it out over whether America will get to see Hillary 2.0....

Republicans thinking about opposing President Trump in the 2020 primaries are facing the hardest of political choices. Toppling a sitting president of your own party is a maneuver with the highest degree of difficulty. The most relevant historical model is probably Eugene McCarthy’s race against President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1968, which helped persuade the politically wounded Johnson to withdraw. But McCarthy had a clear policy handhold — opposition to an increasingly unpopular war — and appealed to a discontented element within his party. What are the handholds for a challenger to Trump? Economic conservatives are generally happy with the...

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Standing in an airplane hangar in the mid-autumn chill awaiting the arrival of President Trump, Joan Philpott said she was angry and scared. Only Mr. Trump, she said, can solve the problems she worries most about. “He wants to protect this country, and he wants to keep it safe, and he wants to keep it free of invaders and the caravan and everything else that’s going on,” said Ms. Philpott, 69, a retired respiratory therapist. Ms. Philpott was one of thousands of women who braved a drizzle for hours to have the chance to cheer Mr. Trump...

President Donald Trump's campaign on Wednesday sent an email fundraising off a lawsuit filed by CNN against the president and several members of his administration, saying voters should donate to help keep the media accountable. In an email with the subject line "Breaking: CNN SUES! Help Trump win," the president's campaign asked supporters to take a "media accountability survey" to help "fight back against the fake news attacks and deceptions." CNN is suing Trump and several members of his administration to reinstate reporter Jim Acosta's press access after it was revoked when he argued with the president during a news...

Former first lady Michelle Obama wrote that she was unable to put on a happy face and smile during President Donald Trump's inauguration in her new book, according to ABC News. "Someone from Barack's administration might have said that the optics there were bad, that what the public saw didn't reflect the President's reality or ideals, but in this case, maybe it did," Obama said in audio of the book. "Realizing it, I made my own optic adjustment. I stopped even trying to smile." In its interview with Obama, ABC News further quoted from her book, where the former first...

I read the state GOP Chairman's note on the GOP NYS website and it was pathetic. Ed Cox and the counties lost The NYS Senate for the first time in I don't know how long, decades. This election leaves Andy Cuomo in the Governor seat and control of BOTH Houses. Add to this we lost Assembly seats that should have been won, John Faso in NY-19 is one of them. You, the county Chairmen elect the State GOP Leader. You are continuing to support Ed Cox and his record is PATHETIC. As leaders you are called on to move the...

Controversial documentary filmmaker Michael Moore on Wednesday said Democratic Sens. Kamala Harris and Cory Booker would lose against President Trump in the 2020 election, suggesting the party should nominate a “beloved American” like Michelle Obama instead. Moore made the comments on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” following the results of the 2018 midterm elections, where Democrats regained control of the House of Representatives. “I think [Trump] is a tumor on our democracy,” Moore said. “But the tumor shrank last night. He has ripped apart and has taken us to the precipice of whether or not we are going to have the country...

Corey Lewandowski managed Donald Trump’s presidential campaign for a year, co-wrote a book about it and keeps in close touch with Trump, as we were reminded last month, when The Times reported on a physical altercation between him and John Kelly, the White House chief of staff, just outside the Oval Office. So I figured that his thoughts about the best Democrat to take on Trump in 2020 were as germane as anybody’s. He told me that Mike Bloomberg worried him, because Bloomberg’s personal wealth would spare him the distraction of fund-raising, and that Joe Biden had the right instinct...

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — When a Republican state legislator in Arkansas pushed last year to rename the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport in Little Rock, Clarke Tucker stood up for the former president. “The argument was that the people of Arkansas don’t support the Clintons,” said Mr. Tucker, a Democratic member of the state House of Representatives. “My thought at the time was, well, the people of Arkansas voted for Clinton eight times.” But now, as the Democratic nominee in the tightest congressional race in this state, Mr. Tucker is happy for the former president and his wife to...

From Daylight Savings Time to Housing and Healthcare: there are several key State and Local (Los Angeles County) measures on the ballot for November 6th. This thread is for Freepers to list and share the Propositions they are voting Yes/No on and why. (Vanity: I could use some advice as there are several issues I am on the fence about or don't understand the economics behind.) Feel free also to suggest or endorse candidates in heated races where the political dividing lines are not so clear. (IE: two Democrats running.)

Link only due to copyright issues: https://www.gainesvilletimes.com/news/trump-visit-georgia-support-kemp/

Attorney Michael Avenatti on Sunday night assailed President Donald Trump’s “racism and bigotry,” painting himself as the working-class fighter who can stand up to the president’s “unusual cruelty” and “make America decent again.” An aggressive trial attorney and 2020 hopeful, Avenatti has sold himself as the Democrat tough enough to take on Trump. He’s best known for representing porn actress Stormy Daniels in her lawsuit against the president over what was characterized as a 2016 hush money payment. But his presidential ambitions took a major hit last week when he was quoted in Time magazine as saying the Democratic presidential...

A large group of young African-American leaders gathered Friday in the East Room of the White House to hear from President Donald Trump, and they were treated to a campaign rally in miniature. If White House observers closed their eyes around midday, the president could have been speaking to supporters inside an airport hangar in Wisconsin or a basketball arena in Texas or a 63-year-old minor league hockey arena in North Carolina. Trump touted his polls numbers. He boasted about the state of the U.S. economy under his watch. He also thanked rapper Kanye West for his support. And the...

Democratic strategist Bishop Garrison said on Friday that Caitlyn Jenner's op-ed calling out President Trump over reports that his administration was considering narrowing the legal definition of gender took attention away from transgender rights. "First and foremost it’s a bit too little too late," Garrison, interim president at the Truman Project, told Hill. TV's Buck Sexton and Krystal Ball on "Rising," when asked about the op-ed. "This type of politicization takes away from the importance of the issue of transgender rights, and the things we’re seeing our citizens actually having to deal with and go through every day," he continued....

The White House is planning a political rescue mission in Florida, fearing a wipeout in a key swing state next month that could damage President Donald Trump’s reelection hopes. Trump is expected to visit the state at least twice, according to two people familiar with the plans. Visits from several Cabinet members are likely, as well. Presidential text messages are being sent to Floridians who still haven’t cast their absentee ballots. And discussions are underway about blanketing the state with robocalls from Trump. On Thursday, Vice President Mike Pence and White House counselor Kellyanne Conway were in the state in...

With thousands expected to attend President Donald Trump's visit to Southern Illinois, roads in and out of the airport may get congested and some near the airport will be closed during the visit. Here's a list of known routes that will be open. SHORTEST ROUTE FROM DOWNTOWN CARBONDALE 1. Take U.S. 51 north towards De Soto for 2.72 miles to Airport Rd. Turn left and head west for 1.81 miles to the Southern IL Airport. OPTIONAL ROUTES: 2. Take IL 13 west towards Murphysboro for 3.97 miles to Airport Rd. Turn right and head north for 2.23 miles to the...

Former George W. Bush and John McCain advisor Mark McKinnon joined CNN Tonight With Don Lemon where he questioned Donald Trump’s calls for unity following the attempted bombings of CNN, the Clintons, the Obamas, and others. The bombs were obviously politically motivated as they were sent to people with ties to the Democratic Party, or people who have been critical of Trump. Shortly after the bombs were discovered, Trump gave a speech calling for unity, then quickly blamed the media for the attacks. To point out the blatant hypocrisy, McKinnon quoted former Bush speechwriter Mike Gerson. “You can’t call women...

There are eleven days left until the general election. On September 12, 2018, incumbent Govenor Gina Raimondo and Cranston mayor and 2014 gubernatorial nominee Allan Fung won the Democratic and Republican primaries for governor of Rhode Island respectively. It is clear Governor Raimondo is happy to have Joe Trillo, a third-party candidate, in the Rhode Island Governor General Election who admitted his goal is to take votes away from Fung. Asian Republicans' support is important to Fung for Governor campaign. A vote for anyone else is a vote for four more years of Rhode Island's current incompetence. Governor Raimondo launched...

First lady Melania Trump will not appear at any campaign events in the final days leading up to the Nov. 6 midterm elections, her office confirmed Thursday. This comes as President Donald Trump plans to hold at least 10 campaign rallies leading up to Election Day as he and the Republican Party seek to keep Democrats from taking control of Congress. "Due to her schedule as a mother and First Lady, especially with the holidays coming up, there are no plans for her to campaign at this time," her communications director, Stephanie Grisham, said in a statement. The first lady...