Republicans

Mediaite reports: ABC’s George Stephanopoulos pressed Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel over President Donald Trump egging on his supporters as they rail against Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D). First of all, the president and his FBI foiled this plot,” she responded. “I think Governor Whitmer is really inappropriate to try to lay blame at the president. These were sick …

The New York Times reports: For nearly four years, congressional Republicans have ducked and dodged an unending cascade of offensive statements and norm-shattering behavior from President Trump, ignoring his caustic and scattershot Twitter feed and penchant for flouting party orthodoxy, and standing quietly by as he abandoned military allies, attacked American institutions and stirred up racist and nativist fears. But …

Roll Call reports: Former Rep. Duncan Hunter, who was convicted of misusing campaign funds, will serve his 11-month federal prison sentence at Federal Correctional Institute La Tuna in Anthony, Texas, according to his attorney Devin Burstein. The California Republican will report to the federal prison’s adjacent minimum-security satellite camp on Jan. 4, 2021. Hunter was initially scheduled to begin his …

USA Today reports: Sen. David Perdue, R-GA., faced criticism Friday night after appearing to mock and purposely mangle Democratic vice presidential nominee Sen. Kamala Harris’ name at a President Donald Trump campaign rally. Warming up the crowd in Macon, Georgia, Perdue flubbed his colleague’s name before going on to mock her, saying to a laughing audience, “The most insidious thing …

The Miami Herald reports: Florida’s Department of Health on Friday confirmed 3,449 additional cases of COVID-19, bringing the state’s known total to 748,437. Also, 94 resident deaths were announced, bringing the resident death toll to 15,830. Friday is the second day this week that Florida reported more than 3,000 cases. It is also the highest single-day count reported since Sept. …

NPR reports: The state of California appears to be backing off legal threats against the California Republican Party over their use of unauthorized ballot drop boxes. On Monday, California’s secretary of state and attorney general sent a cease and desist order to the California GOP and several county party offices, ordering they remove unauthorized boxes to collect ballots, some of …

The Tampa Bays Times reports: Late guidance from the Florida Department of State could upend some counties’ plans for providing mail ballot drop boxes — only days before the start of early voting in the 2020 general election. A Wednesday memo from the department’s general counsel, Brad McVay, to the state’s 67 supervisors of elections explained the state’s interpretation of …

The Raleigh News & Observer reports: A former Republican state legislator was charged with assaulting an election worker at a Wake County early voting site on Friday morning. Gary Pendleton was an official Republican poll observer at the Northern Regional Center, 350 East Holding Ave. in Wake Forest, where he was charged with a misdemeanor assault. Pendleton, 73, served in …

Fox News reports: The Republican National Committee (RNC) on Friday filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) alleging that the censorship of the New York Post article about Hunter Biden’s overseas business dealings and former Vice President Joe Biden’s alleged knowledge of those dealings amounts to an “illegal corporate in-kind political contribution” to the Biden campaign, Fox News …

From a statement issued by Romney today: The President’s unwillingness to denounce an absurd and dangerous conspiracy theory last night continues an alarming pattern: politicians and parties refuse to forcefully and convincingly repudiate groups like Antifa, white supremacists, and conspiracy peddlers. Similarly troubling is their silence regarding anti-vaxxers, militias and anarchists. Rather than expel the rabid fringes and the extremes, …

The Mainer reports: Sen. Susan Collins is financially supporting the state legislative campaigns of two fellow Maine Republicans who fervently believe in QAnon, the perverse conspiracy theory whose adherents are considered a domestic terror threat by the FBI. In recent days, Facebook and YouTube have announced actions to curb the spread of QAnon content due to mounting fears that its …

The Washington Post reports: Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) said he “voted for Ronald Reagan” in this year’s election, writing in the name of the late president and conservative icon after concluding that he could support neither President Trump nor Democratic nominee Joe Biden. Hogan’s latest rejection of his party’s standard-bearer comes as he works to expand his political network …

The Bangor Daily News reports: President Donald Trump tore into U.S. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine in a Friday tweet, saying the vulnerable Republican whose race is crucial to control of the Senate was “not worth the work” over her stance against seating a new Supreme Court justice before the Nov. 3 election. Collins is one of two Republicans who …

Politico reports: Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, newly recovered from the coronavirus, urged President Donald Trump on Friday to encourage the wearing of face masks among Americans. In his first TV interview since contracting Covid-19 earlier this month, Christie — a close ally of the White House who served as the president’s debate coach last month — said it …

The Washington Post reports: A long-feared autumnal rise of infections and serious illnesses has in recent weeks been strikingly pronounced in Republican-leaning counties, according to a new analysis of health data from Harvard University researchers. The research, which has not been peer-reviewed, shows that “red” counties with the most intense leanings toward Republicans have had the largest recent increases in …

The Washington Post reports: Sen. Ben Sasse eviscerated President Trump during a phone call with constituents in which the Nebraska Republican accused the president of cozying up to dictators, mistreating women, flirting with white supremacists and irresponsibly handling the coronavirus pandemic. Sasse’s comments were disclosed by the Washington Examiner, which obtained an audio recording of the call. Sasse’s spokesman verified …

The New York Times reports: Chris Christie, the former New Jersey governor who was recently battling a coronavirus infection, said on Thursday that he was “wrong” not to wear a mask at an event honoring Judge Amy Coney Barrett and in his debate preparation sessions with President Trump, and that people should take the threat of the virus seriously. In …

The New York Times reports: President Trump and Senator Lindsey Graham have established clear but not overwhelming advantages in South Carolina, a heavily Republican state that is showing signs of competitiveness this year, according to a new New York Times/Siena College poll. Mr. Trump leads Joseph R. Biden Jr., 49 percentage points to 41, while Mr. Graham, who is facing …

The Tampa Bay Times reports: The Florida House speaker is calling into question the state’s COVID-19 death toll, warning that it was based on compromised data and used a methodology that inflated death rates. Speaker Jose Oliva, R-Miami Lakes, sent a memo Tuesday to all House members announcing the findings of an-in house analysis he ordered of the state’s COVID-19 …

Axios reports: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Thursday that he would not put a potential $1.8 trillion+ deal struck by Democrats and the Trump administration on the Senate floor. “My members think half a trillion dollars, highly targeted is the best way to go,” he said. Why it matters: The economy and American workers need help. Democrats say …