Free Republic

Rep. Gary Peters (D-MI) has exaggerated and misrepresented his military service record on the campaign trail for U.S. Senate in Michigan, military community leaders including one of his former commanding officers told Breitbart News for an exclusive investigative report. Peters’ military service record jacket, obtained via the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) from the Department of the Navy and provided exclusively to Breitbart News, shows a man who had a broken service record that was substandard, one of his indirect commanding officers, retired Navy Commander Jim Semerad, said in an interview with Breitbart News. “Gary was pretty much a warm...

Republicans are canceling TV ad spending planned for the final two weeks of Michigan’s U.S. Senate race, signaling that the GOP is investing in other races in its drive for the Senate majority. The National Republican Senatorial Committee pulled nearly $1 million in ads for the weeks of Oct. 21 and Oct. 28, according to a political operative who tracks ad spending. Democrat Gary Peters leads Republican Terri Lynn Land in Michigan. …

JACKSON, MI – It is not fully accurate to say the statewide campaign being waged by Jonathan Williams of Jackson is flying under the radar. More accurately, it is not clear that any radar exists for his race. "It's the weirdest campaign you can imagine," said Williams, a Republican nominee for the State Board of Education. He will be on the November ballot everywhere in Michigan, and almost no voter will recognize him or his opponents. An abiding love of politics may be necessary to seek an office like the State Board of Education, and Williams definitely has that working...

As Republicans contemplate the possible size of their November victory, outlier races may get interesting. Scott Brown, a few weeks ago considered certain to lose, may well win in New Hampshire. Most folks would not have thought that Republican Terri Land had a chance in a blue state like Michigan, but she continues to run close to Peters in the race. Al Franken also cannot pull away in his re-election fight, and all the polls show that race tightening. Surely the trophy in any general election is for one party to knock off a legislative leader of the other party....

A perfect storm is brewing in Michigan that may propel a Republican into the U.S. Senate seat Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI), a Democrat, has held since 1979. Terri Lynn Land, Michigan’s ex-Secretary of State and a Republican National Committeewoman, is running her U.S. Senate campaign on an aggressive conservative populist message that seems more fit for red state Republicans than a Republican running in a bluish-purple state like Michigan. A national mood against President Barack Obama is hurting Democrats, especially those who don’t have the luxury of incumbency like Land’s opponent Rep. Gary Peters (D-MI). Package all that together with...

Tea Party leaders and activists urged Chris McDaniel to run as a write-in candidate against Senator Thad Cochran in November. Cochran won the primary on Tuesday thanks to Democrats who turned out to support the incumbent Mississippi senator. TIME Mag reported: Chris McDaniel was defiant in defeat, but hasn’t signaled he’ll mount a long-shot write-in bid Tea Party activists in Mississippi and beyond urged state Sen. Chris McDaniel to mount a write-in campaign against Republican Sen. Thad Cochran on Wednesday, following McDaniel’s stunning defeat in a primary runoff vote Tuesday. “When the Republican Establishment acts like Democrats, what is the...

Louisiana's 5th District congressional race has a new candidate with a "Duck Dynasty" connection. Zach Dasher, a Republican whose uncle is the TV family patriarch Phil Robertson, announced Monday that he's running for the seat in the Nov. 4 election. SNIP He says he received the support of his family - including his famous uncles and cousins - before announcing his candidacy.

Virginia voters on Tuesday chose congressional candidate David Brat, an underfunded, tea party-supported economics professor, over House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in a stunning Republican primary election. And U.S. Rep. Kerry Bentivolio (R-Milford) sees that as a good sign in his race against Republican fundraising juggernaut David Trott.

Former presidential nominee Mitt Romney (R) is endorsing businessman Dave Trott (R) in his primary against Rep. Kerry Bentivolio (R-Mich.), the latest big-name Republican to weigh in on Trott's behalf. "As someone who grew up in Michigan and has family currently living in the 11th District, I am confident that Dave Trott has the honesty, integrity and experience we need in Washington," Romney said in a statement released by Trott's campaign. "As a job-creator, Dave Trott knows how to balance budgets, cut spending, and fix the mess in Washington. I am proud to endorse Dave Trott for Congress."

Longtime Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) didn’t submit enough valid signatures to qualify for the ballot this year, Wayne County, Michigan, officials said in a report released on Friday. Conyers, who has represented Detroit in the House for 49 years, came up more than 400 signatures shy of qualifying for the ballot because his signature-gatherers were not registered voters, according to the Detroit News. A final report is due next Tuesday. Conyers’ legal team is expected to appeal the ruling later this week.

Michigan's Senate race remains statistically tied, according to a new poll from GOP pollster Marketing Resource Group. ADVERTISEMENT Former Michigan Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land (R) leads Rep. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) by 40 percent to 38 percent, according to the poll. The two have been in a dead heat in nearly every public poll of the race so far. Peters is up with his first ads of the election cycle, while GOP outside groups have hammered him hard on the airwaves. Democrats have begun airing attacks against Land as well. The live-caller poll of 600 likely Michigan voters was...

DETROIT (WWJ/AP) - U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers of Michigan, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee who has been a prominent voice as President Barack Obama attempts to overhaul U.S. surveillance, said Friday that he won’t seek re-election after his term ends this year.

In Mississippi, five same-sex couples applied for marriage licenses on Tuesday, despite the fact that Mississippi has a constitutional ban. The Campaign for Southern Equality led the protest: However, waving signs saying “We do,” the crowd on Tuesday joined hands for a prayer led by Jasmine Beach-Ferrara, executive director of LGBT rights group Southern Equality. Then, the couples filed through metal detectors and into the courthouse. Once inside, the five couples lined up to apply for their licenses two-by-two at the office of the county clerk. The clerk noted that the forms did not have blanks for two males and...

Democrats are facing their toughest Michigan Senate fight in two decades. A sour national political climate, a little-known candidate and big spending by conservative outside groups have given Republicans a real shot at winning an open seat and boosted their chances at seizing Senate control. Republicans had all but written off the Democratic-leaning state last summer after they failed to recruit either Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) or Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich.) to run, leaving them with former Michigan Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land (R) as their nominee. But President Obama’s dismal poll numbers, millions spent by conservative groups and...

Michigan’s nearly decade-old ban on gay marriage is going to trial Tuesday, with two weeks set aside for testimony from experts about whether there’s a legitimate state interest in restricting marriage to a man and a woman. Same-sex couples poised for a favorable ruling last fall had lined up for marriage licenses across Michigan, only to be stunned when U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman said he wanted to hold a trial. Since then, judges in Utah, Oklahoma and Virginia have struck down bans on gay marriage. At least 17 states and the District of Columbia now allow it. …

Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.), the longest-serving House member in history, will retire at the end of his term, he told the Detriot News in an interview. "I'm not going to be carried out feet first," Dingell told the paper. "I don't want people to say I stayed too long." Dingell, 88, has been in Congress since 1955 and is the longest-serving member in congressional history. The former chairman of the powerful House Energy & Commerce committee cited both health concerns and a frustration with Congress in his decision to retire. "My doctor says I'm OK. And I'm still as smart...

WASHINGTON — Representative John D. Dingell Jr., Democrat of Michigan, the longest serving member of Congress in history, on Monday was expected to announce that he will not seek re-election in 2014, and will leave Congress in 2015. Mr. Dingell, 87, has served in the House for more than 58 years, under 11 presidents.

Yes, I suppose it’s true that most of the rest of the world works a lot less than Americans do. Their GDPs-per-capita and/or their debt-to-GDP ratios generally tend to correlate accordingly, but whatever. Via RCP:CLICK ABOVE LINK FOR THE VIDEO What the Congressional Budget Office is saying is that we’re going to discourage kids having to have latchkeys. We’re going to have parents being able to come home, working reasonable hours. People are going to be able to retire. People might be able to actually cook dinner rather than have to order out and get some takeout. I mean, the...

The Michigan Senate race was supposed to be an easy win for Democratic Rep. Gary Peters, but former Republican Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land has taken a commanding lead in the latest poll released Monday over her Democratic counterpart. Land has an 8 point lead in the Conservative Intel/Harper Poll of Michigan conducted Jan. 7-8 of 1,004 likely voters, with 44 percent of Michigan voters saying they would vote for Land over 36 percent who said they would vote for Peters. Land also lead by 2 percentage points in the survey from liberal-leaning Public Policy Polling in December by...

The Republican National Committee began running ads in 40 media markets Tuesday mostly targeting incumbent senators who supported President Barack Obama’s health care program. Billionaire former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, meanwhile, gave $2.5 million to help Democrats defend their majority in the Senate. The early action suggests Republicans see the president’s signature domestic achievement as their way to keep control of the House and perhaps win the Senate. With more than 300 days remaining before Election Day, both sides are looking to set the agenda before voters start paying attention. “Obamacare is going to be the issue in 2014,”...