Republicans

Politico reports: Bloomberg’s Jen Jacobs scooped Friday night that White House chief of staff Mark Meadows had the novel coronavirus. We were poking around on this story much of Friday, and we bring that up only to make this point: Several people who had been in direct contact with Meadows were not told he had the virus. Another high-profile member …

Mediaite reports: In a roughly four-minute-long, incredibly bizarre video, Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) claimed he had “insider data” that proved the 2020 presidential election had been rigged. “Our nation, right now, and I have inside data, this election is compromised. Our president is not compromised. I stand with him, if anybody likes it or not. I’m telling you right now,” …

Mediaite reports: On the Friday morning when Biden took a likely insurmountable lead in Pennsylvania and all but secured his victory over Trump, Santorum told a CNN panel not to rush Trump and his fans into conceding.  Santorum declared “Give people time!” “You know he’s just found out that he’s probably not going to be the president of the United …

The Associated Press reports: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton had an extramarital affair with a woman whom he later recommended for a job with the wealthy donor now at the center of criminal allegations against him, according to two people who said Paxton told them about the relationship. The two people, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of …

NPR reports: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., says “every legal vote should be counted” and “any illegal ballots must not,” as President Trump continues to make baseless claims alleging fraud in the election. “Here’s how this must work in our great country: Every legal vote should be counted. Any illegally-submitted ballots must not. All sides must get to observe …

Click On Detroit reports: In a statement Thursday, James said, “While Senator Peters is currently ahead, I have deep concerns that millions of Michiganders may have been disenfranchised by a dishonest few who cheat.” James also said he will accept the results and the will of the people, “but at this time there is enough credible evidence to warrant an …

Axios reports: A source close to McConnell tells Axios a Republican Senate would work with Biden on centrist nominees but no “radical progressives” or ones who are controversial with conservatives. The Biden agenda would be severely restricted by GOP control, the source added: “It’s going to be armed camps.” The state of play: The process is in its early stages …

The Daily Beast reports: Republicans hunting for votes in Arizona have become fixated on ballots that were marked with felt-tipped pens, alleging that poll workers tricked Trump supporters into invalidating their ballots by giving them Sharpies. But election officials in the state say that ballots marked with felt-tipped pens—a favorite writing implement of the president—will still count. The pen controversy …

The Portland Press Herald reports: Republican Sen. Susan Collins won Maine’s high-profile U.S. Senate race on Wednesday, defeating Democrat Sara Gideon in a contest that saw unprecedented spending as part of the national battle for control in Washington. In a speech to supporters outside of a Bangor hotel, Collins said Gideon had called her to concede the hard-fought race. Unofficial …

Bismarck’s Fox News affiliate reports: A Republican candidate for the state legislature in North Dakota who died from COVID-19 in October won his election Tuesday night. Election results in North Dakota showed the Bismarck-area district going to David Andahl and Dave Nehring. The district chooses two representatives. According to the Associated Press, Andahl died due to complications from COVID-19 at …

The Iowa Gazette reports: Republican Joni Ernst, the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate in Iowa, on Tuesday became the first woman reelected to that federal post after surviving a scare by edging out Democrat Theresa Greenfield in a hard-fought and expensive 2020 political slugfest. With 86 percent of 1,661 precincts reporting, Ernst, 50, a retired soldier who previously …

The New York Times reports: Senator Doug Jones is the most vulnerable Democratic incumbent in the chamber. He won a special election in 2017 against Roy S. Moore, a Republican accused of sexual abuse and child molestation. Mr. Jones, who has cast himself as a moderate, is running against the former football coach Tommy Tuberville, a Republican who has pledged …

Bloomberg News reports: Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina was elected to a fourth term, the Associated Press projected, overcoming Democrat Jaime Harrison’s record-setting fund-raising campaign. Graham, a close ally of President Donald Trump, played a key role in the confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett, Trump’s pick for the Supreme Court, in October. Democrats need a net gain of …

The New York Times reports: Senator Mitch McConnell, the Kentucky Republican and majority leader known for his take-no-prisoners tactics, was elected to a seventh term Tuesday, defeating Amy McGrath, a Democrat who struggled to gain ground despite an outpouring of financial support from her party’s supporters around the nation. Mr. McConnell campaigned back home on how he had used his …

The Hill reports: GOP Sen. Susan Collins, who is locked in a close reelection race with Democrat Sara Gideon, warned on Tuesday that it could take a week to determine who won the Maine Senate race if no candidate gets an outright majority on election night. “If neither of us gets 50 percent of the vote, then we get into …

CBS News reports: South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg was “distracted” before he drove onto a highway shoulder where he struck and killed a pedestrian in September, state Secretary of Safety Craig Price said Monday. Price said 55-year-old Joseph Boever was walking on the side of the road and displaying some type of light on the night of Sept. 12 …

The Hill reports: Four former communications directors at the Republican National Committee (RNC) voted against President Trump this year, they said Monday. In a tweet posted Monday, Ryan Mahoney, who ran communications for the party apparatus during President Trump’s first two years in office, showed his ballot filled out for former Vice President Joe Biden. Doug Heye, who directed communications …

Mediaite reports: Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel claimed Donald Trump wouldn’t endorse violence just one day after the president seemed to do just that. CBS’ Margaret Brennan interviewed McDaniel on Sunday for Face The Nation, during which, she brought up the incident in Texas where a convoy of Trump supporters in pickup trucks swarmed a Joe Biden campaign bus …

The Texas Tribune reports: A legal cloud hanging over nearly 127,000 votes already cast in Harris County was at least temporarily lifted Sunday when the Texas Supreme Court rejected a request by several conservative Republican activists and candidates to preemptively throw out early balloting from drive-thru polling sites in the state’s most populous, and largely Democratic, county. The all-Republican court …

The Tallahassee Democrat reports: With days to go, Florida has failed to spend more than $10 million designated for election security, COVID-19 protection at the polls and a surge in mailed ballots. A large piece of that pie is $3.5 million that Secretary of State Laurel Lee requested from the Legislature earlier this year for the state’s 67 county supervisors …