Democrats

The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports: Progressive policy advocate Davante Lewis defeated three-term Public Service Commissioner Lambert Boissiere III on Saturday, handing the incumbent and utilities that backed him a stunning loss with the help of big money from environmental groups who want to shake up the commission. Lewis, 30, who lives in Baton Rouge and works for the left-leaning Louisiana …

Axios reports: Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) is “thinking of running” for U.S. Senate, according to a fundraising text his campaign sent out on Friday. The text comes just hours after Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema announced she is leaving the Democratic Party to sit as an independent, which roiled Arizona Democrats already infuriated with the centrist senator. “Ruben Gallego here, humbly …

The Hill reports: Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Friday announced he will let Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.) keep her committee assignments after she dropped her affiliation with the Democratic Party and said she would identify as an Independent. Schumer added Sinema’s decision will not affect Democratic control of the Senate’s committees, including the power to issue subpoenas and …

Yahoo News reports: Pennsylvania formalized nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people after a regulatory board approved new definitions of sex, race and religious creed in the commonwealth’s anti-discrimination regulations. The new regulatory changes provide a more comprehensive definition of the terms “sex,” “religious creed” and “race” as protected classes so that victims of discrimination can better understand how they are protected …

The Hill reports: Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) was reelected Thursday morning to serve another term as Senate majority leader, capping a successful two years for the veteran lawmaker, who was just reelected to a fifth Senate term. Senate Democrats also reelected the rest of Schumer’s leadership team, giving Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) another term as Senate Democratic whip, Sen. Debbie …

Speaker Nancy Pelosi writes for the Washington Post: In my first speech on the House floor, I declared that “we must take leadership of course in the crisis of AIDS.” During my first speakership, we erased the egregious “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy from the books — ensuring gay and lesbian Americans can openly serve their country. We advanced justice …

Atlanta’s Fox affiliate reports: Sen. Raphael Warnock claimed victory late Tuesday night in a tight runoff race for U.S. Senate. Warnock beat out Republican challenger Herschel Walker, a Georgia football legend. “After a hard-fought campaign — or should I say campaigns — it is my honor to utter the four most powerful words ever spoken in a democracy: The people …

The Arizona Republic reports: Secretary of State Katie Hobbs officially certified the Nov. 8 election results in a ceremony at the Capitol on Monday morning, a routine step in the election process and one that clears the way for lawsuits and recounts in three races to begin. Seated alongside Gov. Doug Ducey, Attorney General Mark Brnovich and Supreme Court Chief …

The New York Times reports: A federal judge in Manhattan dismissed bribery and corruption charges against former Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin of New York on Monday, saying prosecutors had failed to demonstrate an explicit quid pro quo in what they had asserted was a scheme to funnel $50,000 in state money to a developer in exchange for campaign contributions. He …

The Washington Post reports: Second gentleman Doug Emhoff will host a roundtable with Jewish leaders and White House officials Wednesday to discuss the rise of antisemitism in the United States and efforts to combat hate in the country. Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Harris, is the first Jewish spouse of a vice president. The event has been in the …

The Associated Press reports: In 2022, some 22% of voters claimed no religious affiliation, according to AP VoteCast, an expansive survey of more than 94,000 voters nationwide. They contributed to voting coalitions that gave Democrats victories in battleground states such as Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Arizona. The unaffiliated — often nicknamed the “nones” — voted for Democratic House candidates nationwide over …

The Associated Press reports: Democrats voted Friday to remove Iowa as the leadoff state on the presidential nominating calendar and replace it with South Carolina starting in 2024, a dramatic shakeup championed by President Joe Biden to better reflect the party’s deeply diverse electorate. The Democratic National Committee’s rule-making arm made the move to strip Iowa from the position it …

“Since the last time I was here, Mr. Walker has been talking about issues that are of great importance to the people of Georgia. “Like whether it’s better to be a vampire or a werewolf. This is a debate that I must confess I once had myself. When I was 7. Then I grew up. “In case you’re wondering, by …

The Hill reports: House Democrats on Wednesday elected Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) to serve as vice chair of the caucus next year, solidifying his place as the highest ranking Asian American in Congress. Lieu bested three other lawmakers — Reps. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) and Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.) — in a closed-ballot vote to secure his spot as the …

CBS News reports: House Democrats elected Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York as their next party leader in a unanimous vote on Wednesday, ushering in a generational shift as Democrats prepare to relinquish control of the lower chamber in January. Long considered a rising star in the party, the 52-year-old Jeffries will make history as the first Black party leader …

The Washington Post reports: Rep. A. Donald McEachin (D-Va.) died Monday, just weeks after winning reelection to Congress, his office announced. He was 61. McEachin had represented Virginia’s 4th District, which stretches from Richmond to the North Carolina line, since 2017. Before that, he had served nine years as a state senator and eight as a delegate. McEachin had publicly …

Politico reports: The Senate is expected to vote this evening to end debate on a substitute amendment to the bipartisan marriage equality bill that narrowly advanced before the Thanksgiving recess with 12 Republican votes to clear a procedural hurdle. Final passage is still ahead. The bill would ensure that the federal government recognize a same-sex marriage if it was valid …

The Pennsylvania Capital-Star reports: As the first out, gay member of the state Legislature, Democrat Brian Sims represented Philadelphia’s 182nd District from 2012-2022. During the last election cycle, he ran an unsuccessful primary campaign for lieutenant governor, taking second place in the contest. Sims announced last week that he’s taking on the newly-created position of managing director of public policy …

NBC News reports: Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s departure from leadership could easily have led to a power vacuum in which a host of ambitious lawmakers — old and young — publicly battled it out for the chance to lead House Democrats. Instead, a new generation — Reps. Hakeem Jeffries, 52, of New York; Katherine Clark, 59, of Massachusetts; and Pete Aguilar, …

Politico reports: Gov. Gavin Newsom has won three elections in five years in America’s largest state, is apoplectic about his party’s messaging defects and follows Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the right-wing media ecosystem with a zeal that would put some opposition researchers to shame. But Newsom wants the word to go forth: He’s not going to challenge President Biden …