Politics

The Hill reports: Senate Republican Whip John Thune (S.D.) is urging President-elect Trump not to put his thumb on the scale in the race to elect a successor to outgoing Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), putting a new wrinkle in the high-stakes contest. Thune in recent days has declared his preference that Trump give Republican senators space to make …

Politico Europe reports: Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Donald Trump on his U.S. election victory, praising the Republican’s “manly” response to an attempted assassination — and saying he’s “ready” to speak with him. “I take this opportunity to congratulate him on his election as president of the United States of America,” Putin said on Thursday at the annual meeting of …

From the South Florida Sun-Sentinel editorial board: DeSantis became the first Florida governor to swipe millions from lawsuit settlement money intended to help victims of opioid addiction just so he could push an anti-pot agenda. Credit him for erasing reality from the financial impact statement accompanying Amendment 4 and using Heritage Foundation supplicants to instead produce a horror movie screenplay …

Politico reports: California Gov. Gavin Newsom is calling a special session of the Legislature to shore up the state’s legal defenses against President-elect Donald Trump, he announced Thursday. Newsom said Trump’s campaign statements and first-term policies on abortion, electric vehicles, immigration and disaster aid warranted immediate legislative powers ahead of lawmakers’ planned return to Sacramento. “The freedoms we hold dear …

The Hill reports: Laura Gillen has defeated Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-N.Y.) to score a key pickup for Democrats still hoping to retake the House, Decision Desk HQ projects. New York has been seen as key to Democrats’ hopes of taking back the House majority, which remains up for grabs days after the election, though Republicans are considered in better position …

CNN reports: Democratic Rep. Gerry Connolly has esophagus cancer, the longtime Virginia congressman announced in a statement Thursday. “It was a surprise because, except for some intermittent abdominal aches and pains, I had no symptoms,” Connolly, 74, said. “I’m going to undergo chemotherapy and immunotherapy right away. Cancer can be tough. But so am I. I will attack this the …

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports: The razor-thin margin in Republican David McCormick‘s lead over longtime Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Casey may trigger an automatic recount, leaving a pivotal U.S. Senate race in doubt a while longer even as the week shapes up to be a historic win for the GOP. By 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Mr. McCormick led by about 31,000 votes …

The New York Times reports: Representative Elissa Slotkin, a Democrat with a strong national security background, has defeated former Representative Mike Rogers in the race for Michigan’s open Senate seat, according to The Associated Press. Her victory keeps the seat in Democratic hands, preventing Republicans from further expanding their new majority. Senator Debbie Stabenow’s retirement at the end of the …

The Guardian reports: The Democrat Tammy Baldwin has won Wisconsin’s Senate race, earning a third term and concluding a race against the Republican banker and real estate mogul Eric Hovde that at times turned bitter and personal. Baldwin’s victory comes after a race that turned increasingly acrimonious as it wore on, with Hovde and his Republican allies elevating anti-LGBTQ+ messaging …

“Our nation’s democratic system functioned last night and we have a new President-elect. All Americans are bound, whether we like the outcome or not, to accept the results of our elections. “We now have a special responsibility, as citizens of the greatest nation on earth, to do everything we can to support and defend our Constitution, preserve the rule of …

The Nevada Current reports: With the passage of Question 6, Nevadans signaled their support for enshrining the right to an abortion into the state constitution. Unofficial results listed the measure as receiving 63% in support and 37% opposed, as of late Tuesday. The Associated Press called the race for ‘yes.’ Voters will have to pass Question 6 again in the …

The Hill reports: Montana voters have passed a ballot measure to amend the state’s constitution to include the right to an abortion, cementing access to abortion services in the state. Constitutional Initiative No. 128 in Montana amends the state constitution to “expressly provide a right to make and carry out decisions about one’s own pregnancy, including the right to abortion.” …

Arizona Central reports: Arizona voters have overwhelmingly approved a measure creating abortion rights in the state, guaranteeing access to abortion two years after federal protections were erased. Proposition 139, the Arizona Abortion Access Act, won the support of roughly two voters for each one opposed, according to election results as of early Wednesday. Arizona joins a string of states — …

The New York Daily News reports: Josh Riley defeated incumbent Republican Rep. Marc Molinaro in an upset victory flipping the seat to the Democrats as the party looked to gain a House majority. The race, a bitter rematch from 2022, saw Riley win by a scant 7,000 votes, a margin of 51-49, uncertified ballot returns showed after the polls closed, …

The New York Times reports: Shomari Figures, a Democrat and former Justice Department official, won election in Alabama’s newly drawn Second Congressional District, according to The Associated Press, handing his party a rare pickup in the South. Mr. Figures’s victory over Caroleene Dobson, a Republican lawyer and political newcomer, means that Alabama will have two Black representatives at the same …

The Washington Post reports: Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Virginia) won a third term on Tuesday by fending off a challenge from Hung Cao, a MAGA Republican backed by former president Donald Trump, the Associated Press projected. Cao’s vivid language drew fleeting national attention to the race at their lone debate, when he declared that the military does not need diversity in …

Politico reports: Democrat John Mannion flipped a central New York House seat Tuesday, clinching a must-win district for his party to recapture control of the chamber. A state senator who represents the Syracuse area, Mannion unseated Republican Rep. Brandon Williams, a freshman lawmaker who Democrats had pegged early in the election cycle as a vulnerable incumbent. Williams replaced moderate Republican …

NPR reports: Missourians voted to legalize abortion up until fetal viability and override the state’s current ban on nearly all abortions, according to a call by the Associated Press. Legal challenges are expected from anti-abortion groups but if the Tuesday vote stands it will enshrine abortion rights into the constitution over the objections of the heavily Republican state leadership. Missouri …

The Los Angeles Times reports: Democratic Rep. Adam B. Schiff of Burbank, who rose to national prominence as a key antagonist of former President Trump, easily beat Republican and former Dodgers All-Star Steve Garvey on Tuesday night to win California’s open seat in the U.S. Senate. The Associated Press declared Schiff, 64, the winner shortly after polls closed, an indication …

Politico reports: Democrat Angela Alsobrooks has won the Maryland Senate race, according to The Associated Press, fending off former two-term GOP Gov. Larry Hogan. The win comes as a relief for Democrats, who had not budgeted to defend Maryland this cycle. It’s generally considered a safe blue seat, particularly in a presidential year. But Hogan is highly popular among Maryland …