Republicans

Via press release from Texas AG Ken Paxton: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton today filed a lawsuit against Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin in the United States Supreme Court. The four states exploited the COVID-19 pandemic to justify ignoring federal and state election laws and unlawfully enacting last-minute changes, thus skewing the results of the 2020 General Election. The battleground …

The Tallahassee Democrat reports: State police brandishing firearms raided the home of Rebekah Jones, the former Department of Health employee who built the state’s much-praised COVID-19 dashboard before being fired over what she said was refusing to “manipulate data.” Florida Department of Law Enforcement spokeswoman Gretl Plessinger sent a statement confirming the seizure of computer equipment at Jones’s Tallahassee home …

The Associated Press reports: President Donald Trump’s staunchest defenders on Capitol Hill are urging him not to concede even after President-elect Joe Biden wins the Electoral College vote next week, calling on their party’s leader to fight for his unsubstantiated claims of widespread election fraud all the way to the House floor in January. Asked if Trump should concede next …

“This election is going to come down to turnout. The objective fact is I believe Trump probably did actually carry Georgia. I believe that the election process is a mess. I really wish the governor would call a special session to clean it up. And Republicans simply have to turn out more votes than Stacey Abrams can steal. It’s a …

Reuters reports: Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler danced around questions about whether President Donald Trump lost the Nov. 3 election in a debate with her Democratic challenger on Sunday before two Georgia runoffs that will decide control of the U.S. Senate. As the debate began, Loeffler sidestepped a question about whether she agreed with Trump’s baseless claims that last month’s election …

The New York Times reports: A doctor who is skeptical of coronavirus vaccines and promotes the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine as a Covid-19 treatment will be the lead witness at a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on Tuesday, prompting criticism from Democrats who say Republicans should not give a platform to someone who spreads conspiracy theories. Dr. Jane …

The Associated Press reports: Candidates for one of two U.S. Senate seats still hanging in the balance will face off in a debate that is drawing strong interest beyond Georgia. That is because the seat — now held by incumbent Republican Kelly Loeffler and being challenged by Democrat Raphael Warnock — is one of two that will tip control of …

Politico reports: Rep. Adam Kinzinger is sticking around next Congress — and the Illinois Republican isn’t done sticking it to Donald Trump. Kinzinger, fresh off a re-election victory in his conservative district nestled between Chicago and Peoria, has been dialing up his criticism of the president since Nov. 3. Kinzinger also insists he has no motive other than feeling a …

ABC News reports: The legal process concerning election results must be allowed to play out, Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week,” but nearly 50 court cases brought by the Trump campaign have been thrown out due to lack of evidence. Braun has been an ardent defender of President Donald Trump and has followed his lead in …

Reuters reports: The largest U.S. bank lobby group is spending $1 million on television ads to boost Republican Senator David Perdue in a bid to ensure the Senate remains in Republican hands after Georgia election runoffs in January, according to federal filings. Perdue, who sits on the Senate Banking Committee and has long been an industry ally, backing lighter banking …

The Arizona Republic reports: Republican Speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives Rusty Bowers said today that pleas from some GOP lawmakers to overturn the results of the state’s presidential election are illegal and “cannot and will not” happen. Republican state Reps. Mark Finchem and Kelly Townsend spent much of the day imploring their fellow legislators on social media to …

The Washington Post reports: Just 25 congressional Republicans acknowledge Joe Biden’s win over President Trump a month after the former vice president’s clear victory of more than 7 million votes nationally and a convincing electoral-vote margin that exactly matched Trump’s 2016 tally. Two Republicans consider Trump the winner despite all evidence showing otherwise. And another 222 GOP members of the …

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports: Just hours after GOP leadership in the state House indicated they would not move to upend Pennsylvania’s election results in Harrisburg, Speaker Bryan Cutler [photo] and Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff joined more than 60 Republican colleagues Friday in calling on members of Congress to do it instead. In a letter Democrats dismissed as a stunt, the …

The Daily Beast reports: The RNC’s payment – for $303,892.47 on October 28 – went not to Trump Jr. directly but to a company called Pursuit Venture LLC. Corporate records in Delaware, where the company was formed in late 2018 and lists the president’s eldest son as its principal. The RNC’s payment to Trump Jr.’s company in October was the …

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports: One of Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler’s campaign staffers died Friday, forcing her to cancel her plans to join Vice President Mike Pence in Savannah for a rally. Loeffler’s communications director issued a statement about Harrison Deal, who was also a close family friend of Gov. Brian Kemp and his family. Kemp and his wife also canceled …

New Jersey’s WXKY radio reports: New York Young Republicans who hoped to keep the location of their annual fundraiser a secret have been outed by Jersey City’s chief prosecutor, who said he will bring charges for violating Gov. Phil Murphy’s coronavirus executive orders. Mid-day Friday, city officials said the restaurant holding the event has been shut down as well. Jersey …

The Washington Post reports: Joe Biden said Thursday that “more than several” Republican lawmakers have secretly called him to congratulate him on his election victory, even though most have declined to publicly acknowledge the reality and instead have indulged Trump’s fantastical claims about electoral fraud. “There have been more than several sitting Republican senators who have privately called me and …

The Washington Post reports: Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.) appeared to tacitly acknowledge President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in a video recording obtained by The Washington Post on Thursday, speaking just days before President Trump plans to travel to Georgia to campaign for Perdue and fellow senator Kelly Loeffler. “We know what this change of command at the top will mean with …

Atlanta’s NBC News affiliate reports: A Florida attorney is at the center of a new state investigation after elections officials say he recently attempted to register to vote in Georgia and instructed other Florida Republicans on how to do it. Bill Price is seen in a now-deleted Facebook Live video, speaking to the Bay County GOP members in Florida on …

Politico reports: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday told a private gathering of political donors and corporate executives that he has urged President Donald Trump to “fight on” to overturn November’s election results. In wide-ranging remarks made in person behind closed doors at a meeting of the Associated Industries of Florida, DeSantis dismissed the risks of the coronavirus, contradicted science …