Democrats

NBC News reports: Beto O’Rourke raised $6.1 million in his first 24 hours as a presidential candidate, according to his campaign, surpassing Bernie Sanders and every other 2020 Democrat who has disclosed their figures. O’Rourke’s campaign announced Monday that he had taken in $6,136,763 in online contributions in the day after declaring his candidacy Thursday morning. Sanders beat expectations and …

The Indianapolis Star reports: South Bend mayor and presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg said on Twitter Saturday morning that 65,000 people have donated to his exploratory committee, a mark that qualifies him to be invited to the first Democratic National Committee debate in June. The 37-year-old Rhodes Scholar and military veteran promised a “fresh start” for the White House, and he …

The Charleston Register-Herald reports: U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia is the only Democratic senator who didn’t sign on to a bill introduced this week in Congress to extend protections in housing, employment and public accommodations to LGBT people. Senate Bill 788, sponsored by Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., has 43 Democratic sponsors, two Independent sponsors, and one Republican sponsor, …

The New York Times reports: Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York officially joined the 2020 presidential race on Sunday, declaring in an announcement video that America needs “a leader who makes big, bold, brave choices,” and that she is that leader. There was little drama about whether Ms. Gillibrand would officially enter the presidential race ever since she had announced …

Olympia’s Fox affiliate reports: Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee, who is among a growing group of Democratic presidential contenders, signed a measure Thursday moving the state’s presidential primary from May to March. Next year’s primary will now be held on the second Tuesday in March, something Inslee said will strengthen the state’s role in the national democratic process. The measure …

An interesting profile from Reuters: While a teenager, Beto O’Rourke acknowledged in an exclusive interview, he belonged to the oldest group of computer hackers in U.S. history. The hugely influential Cult of the Dead Cow, jokingly named after an abandoned Texas slaughterhouse, is notorious for releasing tools that allowed ordinary people to hack computers running Microsoft’s Windows. It’s also known …

TMZ reports: Rosario Dawson’s all in on Cory Booker for President in 2020, but she might be a little biased because she just confirmed with us, they’re in a serious, loving relationship!!! The actress was at the Reagan National Airport in D.C. Thursday when our guy quizzed her on what’s been widely rumored — she’s the woman Booker referred to …

NPR reports: Former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke is running for president, hoping to build on the momentum the Democrat generated in a Senate contest last year. In a video released in the early hours of Thursday morning, with his wife Amy by his side, O’Rourke announced, “This is a defining moment of truth for this country,” adding what appears will …

From a profile published today by Vanity Fair: Beto O’Rourke seems, in this moment, like a cliff diver trying to psych himself into the jump. And after playing coy all afternoon about whether he’ll run, he finally can’t deny the pull of his own gifts. “You can probably tell that I want to run,” he finally confides, smiling. “I do. …

Rep. Seth Moulton writes for the Washington Post: The electoral college. We all know the obvious reason this needs to be replaced with a popular-vote system: In 2016, approximately 3 million more Americans voted for Hillary Clinton than Donald Trump, and yet, Trump is the president. This is not wrong because Trump is a bad president; it’s wrong because it’s …

Politico reports: Democratic Rep. Al Green vowed Tuesday to continue his push to impeach President Donald Trump, saying he would force a floor vote on the issue despite House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s opposition. In a news conference held in his office, Green (D-Texas) rebuked those who would put “political expediency ahead of moral imperative,” but did not disparage Pelosi, who …

The Hill reports: Former Vice President Joe Biden hinted at a 2020 presidential bid on Tuesday, telling a crowd in Washington to save their energy because he “may need it in a few weeks.” Biden’s comments came at a conference of the International Association of Fire Fighters, the union representing firefighters and emergency services workers, where he delivered the keynote …

Politico reports: Facebook has removed several ads placed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s presidential campaign that called for the breakup of Facebook and other tech giants. The ads, which had identical images and text, touted Warren’s recently announced plan to unwind “anti-competitive” tech mergers, including Facebook’s acquisition of WhatsApp and Instagram. A message on the three ads reads: “This ad was …

CNN reports: Stacey Abrams, a rising star in the Democratic Party, said Monday it was possible she could seek her party’s presidential nomination next year. Abrams’ comment came after an interview at the South by Southwest conference in Texas, where Abrams reportedly said she previously thought 2028 would be the earliest she could run for president, but over Twitter, she …

The Hill reports: Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is selling t-shirts and tote bags that say “Patron Saint of Shade” on them, referring to the image that went viral of her applauding President Trump at his latest State of the Union address. Pelosi’s pointed clap in response to Trump calling for an end to “revenge politics” quickly became …

From the campaign site of former Rep. John Delaney: They may look like typical pink erasers, but these are no ordinary school supplies. Simply place one eraser beneath your pillow before falling asleep and by morning you’ll have forgotten all of the pain, invective, division, and incoherent ramblings of our 45th president. You’ll wake refreshed and ready to set about …

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports: Milwaukee’s political moment has arrived. The city will host the 2020 Democratic National Convention, edging out two large and deep-pocketed rivals over a months-long campaign waged behind the scenes through phone calls, contract negotiations and quiet lobbying by some of the most powerful political figures in the country. The announcement comes after weeks of decision …

CNN reports: Presidential hopeful Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard sought to explain her shift away from advocating anti-gay policies in the early 2000s on Sunday, saying her time in the military caused her to “go through some soul-searching.” “I was raised in a very socially conservative home. My father is Catholic, he was a leading voice against gay marriage in Hawaii …

Openly gay South Bend, Indiana mayor and 2020 presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg tore into Mike Pence during his town hall on CNN last night. NBC News reports: Buttigieg said that while he’s always disagreed “ferociously” with Pence on the key issues, he also thought the vice president always believed in “our institutions” and wasn’t “personally corrupt.” Buttigieg wondered when it …

The Washington Post reports: Debate on gun legislation reached a crescendo at the Arkansas State Capitol on Wednesday when a senator fervently denounced a bill that would make it easier to use lethal force in the name of self-defense. The bill, sponsored by three Republican state senators, would remove a clause from the current law that required a “duty to …