Republicans

The Texan reports: Former Collin County GOP Chair Abraham George was elected the next chairman of the Republican Party of Texas (RPT), succeeding outgoing Chair Matt Rinaldi, who endorsed George for the spot. ”I am humbled and honored to have received the support of thousands of my fellow Republicans and be elected as chairman of the Republican Party of Texas,” …

The Texas Tribune reports: Republican Party of Texas delegates voted Saturday on a platform that called for new laws to require the Bible to be taught in public schools and a constitutional amendment that would require statewide elected leaders to win the popular vote in a majority of Texas counties. Other proposed planks of the 50-page platform included proclamations that …

The Associated Press reports: A new South Dakota policy to stop the use of gender pronouns by public university faculty and staff in official correspondence is also keeping Native American employees from listing their tribal affiliations in a state with a long and violent history of conflict with tribes. It came only months after Republican Gov. Kristi Noem sent a …

“Okay, so I just finished speaking at the Libertarian Convention and then President Trump spoke right after me. This was amazing. No other president in history, to my knowledge, has ever showed up at another political party’s convention, openly asked for their endorsement, and just really hit the ground running. Well done, President Trump. I think you won the hearts …

The Daily Beast reports: Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), who is reportedly a top contender for Donald Trump’s vice presidential pick, has jumped on the bandwagon of flying the Christian nationalist “Appeal To Heaven” flag. While Cotton correctly identified the flag’s Revolutionary War origins, it was more recently co-opted by religious pro-Trump insurrectionists who stormed the U.S. Capitol. The flag Cotton …

The Hill reports: A ban on intoxicating hemp products has made it into the House version of the farm bill. If the amendment makes it through a polarized House and divided Congress, it would end America’s brief experiment with nationally legal cannabis. The language added to the House version of the farm bill by Rep. Mary Miller (R-Ill.) in effect …

Baton Rouge’s ABC affiliate reports: First-of-its-kind legislation that classifies two abortion-inducing drugs as controlled and dangerous substances was signed into law Friday by Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry. The Republican governor announced his signing of the bill in Baton Rouge a day after it gained final legislative passage in the state Senate. The measure makes Louisiana the only state to categorize …

Bloomberg News reports: Blackstone Inc. Chief Executive Officer Steve Schwarzman says he will raise money for Donald Trump’s campaign, handing the presumptive Republican nominee a major win as he builds his donor base. The billionaire private equity chief and heavyweight political donor has long been a major source of funding for Republicans, but he has kept mum for months over …

“The controversy over Justice Alito flying the ‘Appeal to Heaven’ flag is absurd and anti-historical. The flag was commissioned by George Washington in 1775 for use on six cruiser ships intercepting British vessels at sea and became the maritime flag of Massachusetts. The flag draws its meaning from John Locke: “And where the Body of the People, or any single …

NBC News reports: Florida wants local elections officials to use data collected by far-right activists, some of whom falsely believe the 2020 election was stolen, to potentially remove people from the state’s voter rolls, according to emails obtained by NBC News. The network of activists has been collecting voter data in 24 states, and on May 3, one of them …

“He can. Oh, absolutely. When I left my hotel this morning, there’s a lady from the Bronx. She says every one of her neighbors is for Trump. Everyone. She said this, all these cases, lawsuits, it’s lawfare against Trump. She says it is unfair and un-American.” – Sen. Rick Scott, when asked by Fox News host Cheryl Casone if he …

The New Orleans Times Picayune reports: The Louisiana Senate passed legislation Thursday afternoon to forbid school staffers from talking to students in grades K-12 about sexual orientation or gender identity. House Bill 122 passed 28-7, with all Senate Republicans and two Democrats in support. It now heads to Gov. Jeff Landry, a Republican who has claimed without citing evidence that …

The Guardian reports: At least 66 members of an anti-government group founded by far-right militia figure Ammon Bundy have attempted to win local positions of influence in the Republican party in Oregon, the Guardian can reveal. The candidates stood for Republican precinct committee person (PCP) slots in three central Oregon counties in this week’s elections, with some facing no opponent …

The New York Times reports: Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas has unexpectedly emerged as a top contender to become Donald J. Trump’s running mate, a signal that the former president is heavily weighing experience and the ability to run a disciplined campaign over other factors. Mr. Cotton’s ascendance comes as Mr. Trump’s leading vice-presidential options have increasingly come into focus, …

Axios reports: Former President Trump said Thursday he “appreciated” ex-Republican presidential rival Nikki Haley’s vow this week to vote for him in November and he thinks she will be on his team “in some form.” News 12’s Tara Rosenblum asked the former president whether there would be room on his team for Haley, who was U.S. ambassador to the UN …

The Daily Beast reports: At five in the morning one week after Republican Royce White lost his 2022 Minnesota congressional primary, his campaign shelled out more than $1,200 in donor funds to a vendor 1,800 miles away not typically associated with political expenses—an all-nude strip club in Miami, Florida, called “Gold Rush Cabaret.” That is just one among dozens of …

Florida Politics reports: Gov. Ron DeSantis is sounding off about sociology yet again. And this time the architects of the American experience have his back. The Governor went back for a second slam of the academic discipline in as many months on Thursday, in remarks to the Florida Homeschool Convention in Orlando. “Florida used to require all students to take …

NBC News reports: A Republican member of the Arizona House used ChatGPT to help craft legislation on artificial intelligence-driven impersonations, which was signed into law by Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs earlier this week. State Rep. Alex Kolodin used the AI software to help define “digital impersonation” in Arizona’s new law, which aims to regulate deepfake technology. A representative for the …

The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports: Gov. Mike DeWine has taken the rare step of calling a special legislative session, in effect summoning the General Assembly to make sure that President Joe Biden qualifies for the ballot this November. DeWine announced he would be calling the special session for May 28 in a Thursday evening press conference. It marked the first …

The Guardian reports: South Dakota’s far-right governor Kristi Noem is now officially barred by Indigenous groups from visiting all tribal lands in her own home state. The sweeping ban is the latest development in the contentious relationship between Noem and Indigenous tribes after controversial comments the governor made connecting tribal leaders to international drug cartels. South Dakota’s Flandreau Santee Sioux …