Republicans

Austin’s NBC affiliate reports: On Thursday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced he had filed a lawsuit against the social media company TikTok. The lawsuit claimed the platform was operating “in a manner that puts the online safety and privacy of Texas children at risk and violates the Securing Children Online through Parental Empowerment (SCOPE) Act.” Paxton’s lawsuit seeks civil …

Florida Politics reports: Florida’s Governor is launching a potential end-run around a work stoppage by the International Longshoremen’s Association, saying cargo ships bringing imports that aren’t being offloaded can bring their goods to Florida. “There are ships that have nothing to do with these negotiations. They may need a place to be able to come and we just want to …

NBC News reports: Republican Sen. Rick Scott is set to place roughly $10 million in new TV ads in the homestretch of a Florida Senate race that he is widely seen as leading but that Democrats have continued to make noise in. The Scott TV buy, first shared with NBC News, will focus mostly on the Tampa, Orlando and Miami …

The New York Times reports: Over the past 15 years, North Carolina lawmakers have rejected limits on construction on steep slopes, which might have reduced the number of homes lost to landslides; blocked a rule requiring homes to be elevated above the height of an expected flood; weakened protections for wetlands, increasing the risk of dangerous storm water runoff; and …

The Associated Press reports: A Montana man was convicted Wednesday of threatening to assault former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy after becoming upset that the government had not shot down a Chinese spy balloon that floated over his home city. Richard Rogers, 45, of Billings, delivered the threat to a McCarthy staffer during a series of more than 100 calls to …

The Louisiana Illuminator reports: Dozens of anti-vaccine bills have died in the Louisiana Legislature since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, but ultra-conservative lawmakers are gearing up for another fight. In the process, truth has become a major casualty. In two days of hearings last week on the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the House heard hours of testimony …

The Washington Post reports: Jordan is steering clear of the intraparty fights he once seemed to relish, selling himself as a potential bridge between House Republicans and the MAGA front line, and raising — and sharing — a lot more money with his colleagues. A review of his fundraising and interviews with dozens of GOP lawmakers and aides suggest he …

NBC News reports: Hung Cao, the Republican Senate nominee in Virginia, disparaged drag queens and people who are tolerant of them by implying Wednesday that they are not tough enough to serve in the military. Cao made the remarks in a televised debate against Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine when one of the moderators asked him about his previous comments tying …

“It is imperative to guarantee that women have autonomy in deciding their preference of having children, based on their own convictions, free from any intervention or pressure from the government. “Why should anyone other than the woman herself have the power to determine what she does with her own body? A woman’s fundamental right of individual liberty, to her own …

CNN reports: Just weeks before early voting begins in Georgia, Republican Party officials and Donald Trump allies are trying to preemptively sow doubt about the viability of Dominion systems used across the key swing state, arguing in court that the machines should not be used because they are not safe or secure. In a replay of 2020 tactics, Republicans have continued to …

Michigan reporter Will Jones: “I spoke with some elected officials, or election officials last week about their concern about people who are trying to undermine our elections. Why didn’t you answer the question last night during the debate about who won the 2020 presidential election?” JD Vance: “Well, look, here’s the simple reason — the media is obsessed with talking …

Reuters reports: Elon Musk secretly funded a conservative political group in recent years, according to four people familiar with his donations, illustrating quiet financial support for right-wing causes even before the billionaire entrepreneur in July endorsed former President Donald Trump’s bid for re-election. Two of the people familiar with the donations told Reuters that Musk’s contributions to the organization, Building …

“One of the problems that JD Vance has to shoulder when it comes to debate situations like this is because the person who is his running mate has said over and over and over that he did not lose in 2020. “JD, who I think knows that Donald Trump lost in 2020, is forced to not just say the obvious …

“Look, there’s no doubt Texas is a battleground today. Chuck Schumer has been explicit, I’m his number one target in the country, and the Democrats are spending over $100 million. Chuck Schumer and George Soros are flooding cash into the state of Texas. “They are coming after me with everything they got. My opponent, who is an extreme left wing …

Atlanta’s Fox affiliate reports: Georgia’s Republican attorney general has appealed a judge’s ruling that struck down the state’s abortion ban. Attorney General Chris Carr’s office is asking the Georgia Supreme Court to reinstate the law banning most abortions after the first six weeks or so of pregnancy while the court considers the state’s appeal. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert …

“I am still stewing over the debate last night. Why do I wanna vote for a party that supports a massive expansion of government, mandates on businesses, and an industrial policy set by government experts who regularly get everything wrong? JD Vance advocated the Democratic Party platform of Walter Mondale. “The conservative movement in Washington, DC, has decided to reject …

Mediaite reports: “Corey, why is this so difficult for the Trump campaign to answer? I mean, it’s 2024. Did Donald Trump lose the 2020 election? Can you answer that?” CNN’s Jim Acosta asked Lewandowski, who replied, “So, look, we can go back and relitigate the 2020 election or we can look at what we can do to make America better …

The Daily Beast reports: Ann Coulter spent much of Tuesday’s debate positively fawning over JD Vance—even to the extent of seemingly posting about Donald Trump’s death. “WOW, VANCE IS GOOD. Cool as a cucumber,” the veteran conservative pundit wrote on X just ten minutes into the vice presidential showdown on CBS, adding in an apparent reference to Trump’s age: “What’s …

Florida Politics reports: Florida’s junior Senator wants to lead the Republican Caucus if he’s re-elected next month. And he also vows to try to defund the United Nations (U.N.) if that comes to pass. U.S. Sen. Rick Scott promised to “force a vote to halt ALL funding to the UN — which gives a global stage to the world’s worst …

NBC News reports: Trump “saved the very program from a Democratic administration that was collapsing and would have collapsed absent his leadership,” Vance said. This is false. Enrollment in the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, declined by more than 2 million people during Trump’s presidency, and the number of uninsured people rose by 2.3 million, according to an …