2023-2024 Presidential, senate, house, state and city election thread

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Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey will Run for Reelection, Boosting Democrats’ Senate Outlook for 2024
by David Wright
April 10, 2023

Introduction:

Washington CNN —
Sen. Bob Casey will run for reelection in 2024, the Pennsylvania Democrat announced Monday morning, providing good news for Democrats in a pivotal swing state.

“Folks, I’m running for reelection,” Casey, 62, said in an announcement posted on Twitter. “There’s still more work to do to cut through the gridlock, stand up to powerful special interests and make the lives of hardworking Pennsylvanians easier. The map is back, and I’m not done yet.”

Pennsylvania is one of several Senate battlegrounds where the party will be pressed to defend its slim majority. In 2022, the open seat Senate race in the Keystone State between Democrat John Fetterman, the eventual winner, and Republican Mehmet Oz was among the most expensive and competitive of the cycle.

Casey is seeking his fourth term representing Pennsylvania in the Senate. The veteran Democrat had been noncommittal on his reelection plans up to this point, and in February he announced that he had undergone surgery for prostate cancer which “should not require further treatment,” according to his office.

According to his latest FEC filings – which are set to be updated later this week – Casey had a little over $3 million in cash on hand stockpiled as of the end of 2022. Those funds and more will be critical in the upcoming contest, as Casey’s colleague, Fetterman, raised more than $76 million during his competitive 2022 race.

Read more here: https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/10/politic ... ndex.html


Here are some recent Pennsylvania poll results as reported via Real Clear Politics:

Pennsylvania Senate - McCormick vs. Casey
Polling firm: Franklin & Marshall
Casey 42, McCormick 35
Casey +7

Pennsylvania Senate - Mastriano vs. Casey
Polling firm: Franklin & Marshall
Casey 47, Mastriano 31
Casey +16

Pennsylvania: Trump vs. Biden
Polling firm: Franklin & Marshall
Biden 36, Trump 35
Biden +1

Source: https://lancasteronline.com/news/politi ... bfafd.html

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GOP Senate Hopefuls in Swing States Not Backing Trump


https://politicalwire.com/2023/04/14/go ... ing-trump/

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Possible candidates for Senate races in key swing states like Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Montana have sidestepped questions about endorsing Donald Trump for president in 2024, Insider reports.

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Biden for re-election.

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The California Senate Election Could Get Messier If Dianne Feinstein Resigns
by Christian Paz
April 14, 2023

Introduction:

(Vox) Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) made it clear on Wednesday — once again — that she has no plans to resign, despite growing calls for her to do so. Her decision is likely frustrating to those in her party who want to see her gone, concerned about her age and that her extended absence from the Capitol is slowing down Democrats’ consideration and confirmation of federal judges.

But her choice is also keeping an already messy California Senate primary from descending into even more chaos. One of the current challengers might get a boost if they’re appointed in her place, leaving the others with a much tougher chance of winning. Or all three could face a caretaker candidate who might even run for the seat as an incumbent.

The California senator, who is the longest-serving woman in the US Senate, has been back in the Bay Area recovering from complications due to a case of shingles since early March. She has long faced concerns about her age, health, and ability to do her job, with many Democratic insiders speculating about a perceived decline in her cognitive state last year, especially after the death of her husband. She frequently rebuffed that reporting and retirement talk, saying she had not made up her mind on running again, but ultimately decided not to.

Focus on Feinstein and her age meant some of those currently vying for her seat didn’t wait for an official retirement announcement to start their campaigns. Progressive Rep. Katie Porter, for example, launched her Senate primary campaign in early January, way before Feinstein had publicly made a decision about whether she would run for another term. Rep. Adam Schiff, who is backed by most of the California Democratic party establishment, announced his own bid a few weeks later — again, before Feinstein had made a decision.

Feinstein only announced that she would be retiring at the end of her current, fifth full term in mid-February, about a week before a third challenger, Rep. Barbara Lee formally entered the race (though her intention had been an open secret for months).

Read more here: https://www.vox.com/politics/23682373/ ... -democrat

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2024 National General Election Poll:

Biden 46% (+4)
Trump 42%
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Biden 45% (+4)
DeSantis 41%

@YouGovAmerica
/@YahooNews
~ 1,027 RV ~ 4/14-4/17
https://news.yahoo.com/poll-trumps-bi

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Anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. launches 2024 presidential bid
Source: CNN

(CNN)Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the anti-vaccine activist and environmental lawyer, described himself as a truth-teller who will "end the division" as he launched his bid for the 2024 Democratic presidential nomination on Wednesday in Boston.

Kennedy used his campaign launch speech to lambast school and business closures during the coronavirus pandemic and to insist that government and media "lie to us."

"My mission over the next 18 months of this campaign and throughout my presidency," he said, "will be to end the corrupt merger of state and corporate power that is threatening now -- threatening now -- to impose a new kind of corporate feudalism in our country; to commoditize our children, our purple mountain's majesty; to poison our children and our people with chemicals and pharmaceutical drugs; to strip-mine our assets; to hollow out the middle class and keep us in a constant state of war."

The 69-year-old Kennedy is the nephew of former President John F. Kennedy and son of former US attorney general and assassinated 1968 presidential candidate Robert Kennedy.

Read more: https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.co ... index.html

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Rightwing extremists defeated by Democrats in US school board elections
Republican-backed culture warrior candidates fare poorly in Illinois and Wisconsin, offering hope to the left

Adam Gabbatt
@adamgabbatt
Fri 21 Apr 2023 10.00 BST

Scores of rightwing US extremists were defeated in school-board elections in April, in a victory for the left and what Democrats hope could be effective for running against Republicans in the year ahead.

In Illinois, Democrats said more than 70% of school-board candidates it had endorsed won their races, often defeating the kinds of anti-LGBTQ+ culture-warrior candidates who have taken control of school boards across the country.


Republican-backed candidates in Wisconsin also fared poorly. Moms for Liberty, a rightwing group linked to wealthy Republican donors which has been behind book-banning campaigns in the US, said only eight of its endorsed candidates won election to school boards, and other conservative groups also reported disappointing performances.

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2 ... icans-lose

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Jim Justice plans Senate launch for next week
Source: Politico

Gov. Jim Justice is planning to launch a long-awaited campaign against Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) next week, handing Republicans a well-funded and popular recruit in their best opportunity to flip a Senate seat.

He will make his announcement on Thursday evening at The Greenbrier, his luxury resort in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., according to an invitation to the event obtained by POLITICO. A GOP strategist close to Justice confirmed the details. Thursday is also the governor’s 72nd birthday.

Justice, a coal mining magnate who is friendly with former President Trump, has hinted at a Senate run for months. POLITICO reported earlier this week that Justice could launch a bid before the end of the month. He was heavily recruited by the National Republican Senatorial Committee and has been in contact with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Still, Justice is known to change plans suddenly. While the event is set for Thursday, he could still punt a decision to later.

Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2023/04/2 ... e-00093345

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Trump continues to pressure DeSantis on home turf, jabbing him in Fort Myers speech

Former President Donald Trump touted his lead over Gov. Ron DeSantis in polls, took credit for the governor’s 2018 victory, jabbed at DeSantis on Social Security and Medicare and said without him DeSantis would just be a lawyer hustling for business, needling the governor on his home turf during a speech Friday in Southwest Florida.

Trump also highlighted the recent stampede by Florida’s GOP congressional delegation to endorse him over DeSantis, calling out by name most of the lawmakers who endorsed him in front of 840 people gathered for a sold-out Lee County Republican Party fundraising dinner.

The endorsements are an effort to put DeSantis on the defensive in his home state, and Trump kept the pressure on during the event at the Caloosa Sound Convention Center in Fort Myers.

In addition to poking at DeSantis, Trump touted his record as president, complained about the legal investigations into his conduct and slammed President Joe Biden, drawing big applause from the crowd.

https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/new ... 127867007/

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New wave of GOP candidates poised to join 2024 campaign

NEW YORK (AP) — The opening phase of the Republican presidential primary has largely centered on the escalating collision between former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

But a new wave of GOP White House hopefuls will begin entering the 2024 race as soon as this coming week after a monthslong lull. They include former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who will formally launch his campaign Wednesday.

Former Vice President Mike Pence has said he will finalize his plans in “weeks, not months.” He has kept a busy schedule of early state visits and policy speeches as aides have discussed details of an announcement including dates as early as May, but more likely in June. South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, who has formed a presidential exploratory committee, is expected to join the race in a similar time frame.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has been meeting with former aides and he returned to New Hampshire this past week, where he said at a town hall in the first-in-the-nation primary state, “Tonight is the beginning of the case against Donald Trump." Christie has said he will make a decision “in the next couple of weeks."

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics ... r-AA1ab3Ev