Day: November 4, 2020

Trump Sues in Pennsylvania, Michigan; Asks for Wisconsin Recount

The Associated Press

The Trump campaign said it filed lawsuits Wednesday in Pennsylvania and Michigan, laying the groundwork for contesting the outcome in undecided battleground states that could determine whether President Donald Trump gets another four years in the White House.

Suits in both states are demanding better access for campaign observers to locations where ballots are being processed and counted, the campaign said. The campaign also is seeking to intervene in a Pennsylvania case at the Supreme Court that deals with whether ballots received up to three days after the election can be counted, deputy campaign manager Justin Clark said.

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UPDATE: Freitas Clings to a 1,000 Vote Lead over Spanberger; 69,000 Potential Mail Ballots Outstanding

Jacob Taylor

Despite State Delegate Nick Freitas (R-Culpeper) holding a steady lead on Election night over incumbent Representative Abigail Spanberger (D-VA-05), a winner has not been declared for Virginia’s 7th Congressional District as over 220,00 early votes still need to be counted in several key counties.

Freitas held a 20-point advantage as of 2 a.m. on Wednesday morning, accumulating 60.6 percent of votes so far (143,899) compared to Spanberger’s 39.4 percent (93,573), according to data from the Associated Press.

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Incumbent Democrat Rep. Elaine Luria Defends Seat Against Republican Scott Taylor

Corinne Murdock

Incumbent Elaine Luria (D-VA-02) retained her seat in a battle against Republican candidate Scott Taylor that was similar to 2018. 

In the first hour after polls closed, Taylor started out with a 23 point lead in the 17 percent of votes reported. From there on out, Taylor’s lead dwindled. Two hours after polls closed, Taylor was up by 18 points with 36 percent of the votes reported. An hour later, Taylor dropped to lead Luria by 10 points with 48 percent of votes. By 1 in the morning, Luria made her first gain ahead of Taylor, leading by 3 points with 85 percent of the vote.

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Virginia Beach Mayor Bobby Dyer Wins Re-Election

Corinne Murdock

By the early morning hours of November 4, Virginia Beach mayor Bobby Dyer had secured his re-election by defeating both Jody Wagner and Richard Kowalewitch. Dyer won by about nine points against the runner-up, Wagner – an even larger margin than his 2018 victory.
The incumbent cruised ahead comfortably within the first hour, holding a 30 point lead at 27 percent of votes. Dyer gained two points from his lead at around 9 p.m. EST, which reflected 74 percent of voters. In two hours, Dyer retained his lead despite a 14 percent increase in voters factored. By two in the morning, the incumbent had winnowed down to an eight point lead representing 97 percent of voters.

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Michigan, Wisconsin Elections Officials Refuse to Explain Sudden Biden Vote Influx

Admin

Elections officials in Michigan and Wisconsin refused to explain Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s sudden and dramatic vote tally increase that occurred in both states Wednesday morning.

Michigan and Wisconsin state officials warned against misinformation being shared online, but wouldn’t comment on specific vote tranches that appeared to show former Vice President Joe Biden suddenly receiving more votes than President Donald Trump. The two battleground states remained tightly contested as of Wednesday afternoon, according to The New York Times.

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Nearly 100 Million Americans Voted Early; Hawaii, Texas Already Exceed 2016 Turnout

The Center Square

Roughly 100 million early votes already were cast before the first polls opened Tuesday morning, Michael McDonald, professor at the University of Florida, says. He runs the Election Project, which tracks polling and election data by state.

“These reports will include early voting activity from the proceeding day,” McDonald said in the latest analysis published Nov. 1. “It is also likely reports by Tuesday morning will fail to capture all of the pre-election voting activity since there are sporadic reports of election officials experiencing delays in processing the unprecedented number of mail ballots.”

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Republicans Take Back Alabama Senate Seat, Tommy Tuberville Defeats Doug Jones

Admin

Former Auburn University football coach Tommy Tuberville defeated Alabama Sen. Doug Jones, The Associated Press reported, flipping a key seat in the battle for control of the Senate.

Tommy Tuberville was declared the winner almost immediately after Alabama’s polls closed Tuesday night, according to The Associated Press. Coming into the night, Tuberville had been the heavy favorite to win the race with FiveThirtyEight giving him an 87% chance of flipping the seat.

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At Least 35 Dead, Dozens Wounded in Kabul University Gunman Attack

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Casualties from a Monday shooting at Kabul University in Afghanistan have risen to 35, according to two government officials, Reuters reported.

The majority of the dead were students, and approximately 50 were wounded in the attack, the sources said, Reuters reported. The Taliban has denied responsibility for the attack, but approximately 100 students protested outside the school that Doha Taliban peace negotiations haven’t resulted in lowered violence.

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Joe Biden Plans to Assume Role of President-Elect If Media Declares Him Winner – Even Amid Trump’s Legal Challenges

Admin

Joe Biden is planning to strike a pose as the president-elect on election night if the corporate media decides that he has an insurmountable lead, even as President Trump challenges late mail-in ballots in court.

Democrats say they have “learned the lesson” of the contested 2000 election, when they say George W. Bush declared victory and “acted like the winner” while votes were still being counted and his Democrat opponent Al Gore “hung back.”

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Justice Department Distributes Over $458 Million to Combat Violent Crime

Admin

The Justice Department’s Office of Justice Programs announced Monday the distribution of over $458 million in grants to combat violent crime, according to a press release.

The funds are being distributed “to support state, local, and tribal law enforcement efforts to fight and prevent violent crime in jurisdictions across the United States,” according to the press release.

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Trump Has Appointed Second-Most Federal Judges Through November 1 of a President’s Fourth Year

Admin

President Donald Trump has appointed and the Senate has confirmed 220 Article III federal judges through Nov. 1, 2020, his fourth year in office. This is the second-most Article III judicial appointments through this point in all presidencies since Jimmy Carter (D). The Senate had confirmed 260 of Carter’s appointees at this point in his term.

The average number of federal judges appointed by a president through Nov. 1 of their fourth year in office is 200.

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Gunman Who Killed Four in Vienna Attack Had Sought to Join IS

The Associated Press

A man who had previously tried to join the Islamic State group rampaged in Vienna armed with an automatic rifle and a fake explosive vest, fatally shooting four people before he was killed by police, Austrian authorities said Tuesday.

Witnesses described dozens of screaming people fleeing the sounds of gunshots Monday night in a nightlife district crowded with revelers enjoying the last hours before a coronavirus lockdown.

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Trump Wins Ohio, Florida and Texas, Closes Electoral Vote Gap with Biden in Race to 270

The Center Square

President Donald Trump won the key battleground states of Ohio, Florida and Texas and he holds leads in all the others but Arizona as former Vice President Joe Biden’s path to victory narrowed.

Trump so far has been declared the winner in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and West Virginia.

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Minnesota Voters Sour on State of Nation

The Associated Press

Voters in Minnesota made their pick for president while holding negative views about the country’s direction, according to an expansive AP survey of the American electorate.

The race between President Donald Trump and Democratic rival Joe Biden concluded Tuesday in a deeply divided nation struggling with a once-in-a-century pandemic and a severe economic downturn. AP VoteCast found that more than 3 in 10 Minnesota voters said the U.S. is on the right track and more than 6 in 10 voters said it is headed in the wrong direction.

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Daniel Gade Doesn’t Concede Senate Race to Mark Warner as Vote Counting in Virginia Paused

Jordan Bondurant

It’s been a long, hard-fought battle for Virginia’s U.S. Senate seat between Republican nominee Daniel Gade and incumbent Democrat Mark Warner. And that battle will carry on just a bit longer.

As ballot counting and reporting by the Virginia Department of Elections paused just past 11 p.m. on Election Night, Gade told supporters that he’s not going to concede the race.

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2020 Presidential Election Sets Records in Ohio

Jack Windsor

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R) held a press briefing at the Ohio State House on Tuesday to discuss the 2020 US Election.

“Way back in March and April we started to roll up our sleeves and figure out how are we going to run a Presidential Election in the midst of a pandemic. Obviously, this is an historic election. One unlike anything we’ve ever seen,” said LaRose.

Ohio boasts 4,000 poll locations and 56,000 poll volunteers and to handle the estimated 6 million voters – which would break a record according to LaRose.

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UPDATE: Unofficially, Stoney Pulls Ahead in Six of the Nine Richmond Districts

Eric Burk

UPDATE: The State Department of Elections is reporting results from over 100,000 votes cast in the City of Richmond, including 66,755 absentee votes cast. However, a breakdown of absentee votes by district has not been published by either the state or the city, leaving some uncertainty about whether or not incumbent Mayor Levar Stoney has actually clinched a win in five out of the seven districts.

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