Republicans

The Washington Post reports: A panel of federal judges heard arguments Tuesday in a case that could upend the rules for counting a sliver of mail ballots in Mississippi just weeks before Election Day, with possible ramifications for all states. At issue is a Mississippi law that allows mail ballots to be counted if they arrive up to five days …

The Associated Press reports: North Carolina Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson said Tuesday his campaign has hired a law firm to help investigate a CNN report stating he made explicit racial and sexual posts on a pornography website’s message board. The lawyers will look at how what Robinson calls “false smears” originated. The announcement comes as more North Carolina Republicans …

Bloomberg News reports: North Carolina gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson will need to prove his innocence against allegations he made crude and racist remarks on an adult website if he wants to stay in the race, Republican National Committee co-chair Michael Whatley said Tuesday. “Those comments are absolutely antithetical to Republican values, and if Mark Robinson is going to continue in …

Axios reports: Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen put the effort to reform the Cornhusker state’s allocation of electoral votes to rest Tuesday, confirming he has no plans to call a special session before the November election. ointing to state Sen. Mike McDonnell’s (R) announcement that he would not join the Republican push, Pillen said the effort could not reach the 33-member …

The Hill reports: The head of the House Democratic Caucus warned Tuesday that voters should have no faith in Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to certify this year’s presidential election results because of his role in promoting former President Trump’s false claims about a “rigged” contest in 2020. “He doesn’t have a track record that would indicate to the American people …

Jacksonville’s NBC affiliate reports: A day after declaring a state of emergency in 41 Florida counties, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced at a news conference Tuesday at the Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee that he had increased the number to 61, including all counties in Northeast Florida. The only four counties not currently under a state of emergency are in southeast …

Politico reports: House Republicans moved Tuesday to hold Secretary of State Antony Blinken in contempt of Congress over claims he obstructed their investigation into the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. House Foreign Affairs Chair Michael McCaul [photo] had subpoenaed Blinken, requiring him to testify on Tuesday. But the secretary of state responded he’d be in New York for …

NOTUS reports: Just hours after court filings were released claiming that witnesses saw Rep. Matt Gaetz attend a drug-fueled sex party in 2017 with a 17-year-old girl, the Florida Bar received a formal complaint that could threaten the congressman’s legal credentials. Friday morning, Florida activist Chaz Stevens pointed the Florida Bar to reporting from NOTUS about the sudden turn in …

CNN reports: Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp will no longer back Robinson. After the Atlanta Journal-Constitution obtained photos of a Robinson fundraiser that Kemp attended last month, spokesman Cody Hall told CNN in a statement: “The governor attended the fundraiser as Vice Chair of the Republican Governors Association and will not be offering further support to the Robinson campaign.” Some North …

Politico reports: User data reviewed by POLITICO shows that the person using the “Nude Africa” account that reportedly belonged to Robinson had accessed the porn website from a location not far from Robinson’s home. Robinson’s email address is also registered with other previously unreported dating websites, POLITICO found. The same IP address was also listed in breached user data for …

The New York Times reports: As a proud son of Nassau County’s vaunted Republican machine, Representative Anthony D’Esposito of New York knows well the power of political patronage. Shortly after taking the oath of office, the first-term congressman hired his longtime fiancée’s daughter to work as a special assistant in his district office, eventually bumping her salary to about $3,800 …

The Texas Tribune reports: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Monday that his office is suing the U.S. Department of the Interior, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Biden administration officials for declaring a rare lizard endangered earlier this year. The dunes sagebrush lizard burrows in the sand dunes in the Mescalero-Monahans ecosystem 30 miles west of Odessa — …

Law & Crime reports: A federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked Tennessee’s so-called “abortion trafficking law,” which bans adults from helping minors get an abortion without parental permission. Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-15-220 was passed by the Tennessee General Assembly on April 24 and signed by Gov. Bill Lee [photo above] on May 28. It went into effect on July …

Raleigh’s NBC affiliate reports: North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson rejected multiple offers from supporters to connect him with information technology specialists to help the Republican gubernatorial nominee investigate racist and lewd comments on a pornographic website made by someone with a username that CNN tied to Robinson, people directly familiar with the matter told WRAL on Monday. Robinson’s alleged …

The National Review reports: The hits just keep on coming for North Carolina Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson’s 2024 gubernatorial campaign. Days after National Review reported on Friday that a Robinson fundraiser with special guest Tennessee governor Bill Lee, the chairman of the Republican Governors Association (RGA), was called off, a spokeswoman for the group tells NR that there are no …

NBC News reports: A Nebraska Republican state lawmaker said Monday that he remains opposed to switching how the state allocates its electoral votes — a blow to former President Donald Trump and his allies, who are seeking the change in a bid for an extra electoral vote this fall. “After deep consideration, it is clear to me that right now, …

Tampa’s CBS affiliate reports: Governor Ron DeSantis issued a state of emergency on Monday for most of Florida’s 67 counties ahead of potential impacts from what’s forecasted to become Hurricane Helene. Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas and Sarasota counties are all listed under the governor’s state of emergency. The National Hurricane Center is currently monitoring Potential Tropical Cyclone Nine, …

The Orlando Sentinel reports: Florida has told school districts around the state that they may not teach teenagers about contraception, show them pictures depicting human reproductive anatomy or discuss topics such as sexual consent and domestic violence, according to district officials and an advocate for comprehensive sexual health education. As a result, Orange County Public Schools plans to scrap its …

The Texas Tribune reports: The South Texas man at the center of a new ad attacking U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez is a self proclaimed “conspiracy theorist” who has spread theories on social media about 9/11 and the COVID pandemic and mocked both Michelle Obama and a GOP congressman. The ad was released this week by the National Republican Congressional Committee …

“To my friends in Nebraska, that one electoral vote could be the difference between Harris being president and not, and she’s a disaster for Nebraska and the world. “It is a very close election. Sixty-three days ago, Chuck Schumer led a coup to overthrow Joe Biden, and he’s telling me or any other Republican what we should be doing? “If …