Tag: State Senate

Virginia Legislative Elections in Dead-Heat: Poll

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In the key battleground state of Virginia, legislative elections appear to be in a dead-heat ahead of November, with Democrats leading Republicans by just one point, according to a Monday survey.

For a generic General Assembly ballot, 45 poll of likely voters supported the Democrats and 44 percent supported the Republicans, with 11 percent of respondents undecided, according to a Founders Insight poll. All of Virginia’s 140 state legislative seats are up for reelection on Nov. 7, and Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin hopes to hold the House of Delegates and flip the Senate red.

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New Bill to Crack Down on Fentanyl Peddlers Passes Arizona State Senate

Neil Jones

A new bill from State Sen. Anthony Kern (R-Glendale) aims to bring harsher punishments on those who traffic fentanyl passed through the Senate floor Tuesday with bipartisan support.

“The numbers speak for itself. Trafficking fentanyl is a deadly issue in our state that is only growing and tearing families apart,” said Kern. “These lethal pills are infiltrating our schools and communities. As a result, young and innocent people are losing their lives.”

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Growing List of Virginia Lawmakers Not Seeking Re-Election

The Center Square

More than a dozen Virginia lawmakers have announced the 2023 legislative session will be their last, revealing they do not plan to seek re-election this fall. 

As of Wednesday, 16 lawmakers in the House of Delegates and state Senate had announced they would not be seeking re-election when all 140 General Assembly seats are on the ballot. Lawmaker retirements and the upcoming election mean the General Assembly will likely see some new faces next session. 

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Arizona State Senator Calls Out Katie Hobbs After Forced Resignation of Department of Child Safety Director Nominee

Neil Jones

Arizona State Sen. Jake Hoffman (R-Queen Creek), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Director Nominations (CDN), announced Wednesday that Hobbs’s choice to lead the Arizona Department of Child Safety (DCS), Matthew Stewart, was allegedly forced to resign following questionable behavior.

“It’s disgraceful that Katie Hobbs either did not conduct a thorough review of Mr. Stewart prior to offering him the position as DCS Director, or she thought she could sweep his history under the rug. This agency is tasked with protecting vulnerable children. While Katie Hobbs openly touted skin-color as her seemingly only priority in the search for the next potential DCS Director, it might have also been a good idea to look at experience and qualifications too,” said Hoffman.

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Virginia House and Senate Advance Differing Budget Amendments

The Center Square

Lawmakers in the Virginia General Assembly passed differing amendments to the state’s two-year spending plan out of the House of Delegates and state Senate chambers Thursday, opening the door for budget wrangling and negotiations in the coming weeks. 

The budget amendments proposed in each chamber seek to make updates to the state’s two-year spending plan, which was passed by the General Assembly and signed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin last summer.

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Commentary: The Reason the Pennsylvania GOP Held the State Senate amid a Disappointing Midterm

RealClearWire

This past midterm, Pennsylvania state Senate Republicans managed to meet electoral expectations while the remainder of the commonwealth’s GOP suffered stunning losses – many of them unanticipated. Why?

The story begins 99 weeks before Election Day, when state Senate Republicans elected Kim Ward as the legislative chamber’s majority leader.

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Kevin Nicholson: Lawmakers Should View Service Like National Guard

The Center Square
Kevin Nicholson

One Republican candidate for governor in Wisconsin wants to pay lawmakers less in order to get them to think more about service.

Republican Kevin Nicholson wants to classify the State Assembly and State Senate as part-time jobs, and cut their $55,141 yearly salaries. 

“My feeling is that pay and benefits should be paid out in accordance with work performance,” Nicholson told The Center Square. “Moving to a part-time legislature, a citizen legislature, will allow more people to serve their state and their communities.”

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California May Give Up to $800 to Each Car Owner for Gas

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In California, the state government is considering multiple options to provide relief for car owners who have to face the highest fuel prices in the nation, including handouts of up to $800 per person.

According to ABC News, Governor Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) announced on Wednesday a new proposal to combat rising gas prices. In addition to giving out debit cards with as much as $400 for each vehicle, up to two vehicles per person, the proposal includes a tax break, free rides on public transit, and efforts to promote alternative methods of transportation.

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Wisconsin Gov. Evers Vetoes Republican-Drawn Redistricting Maps

The Center Square
Tony Evers

The fight over Wisconsin’s next political map took its next step toward a courtroom Thursday.

Gov. Tony Evers vetoed the new maps drawn by Republican lawmakers.

“What’s sitting in front of me here are gerrymandered maps modeled after the same gerrymandered maps we’ve had for a decade,” Evers said in a video message. “They were sent to my desk over the objections of a decade’s worth of people in this state demanding better, demanding more, and demanding a fair, nonpartisan process for preparing our maps for the next 10 years.”

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82nd House District Candidate Cries Foul over Location and Time of Firehouse Primary

Matthew Hall
Kathy Owens and Anne Marie Tata

The 82nd House of Delegates District Republicans are holding a firehouse primary, and one candidate’s leveraging of the rules has her opponent crying foul. The seat, which is currently occupied by the Republican nominee for Attorney General, Delegate Jason Miyares (R-Virginia Beach), will allow Republicans to choose between Anne Marie Tata and Kathy Owens for the next Delegate from the 82nd District.

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State Senate Ignores Millions of Dollars Disability Fraud in Tennessee

Laura Baigert

A bill that would make it a requirement for the state to cooperate in investigations of millions of dollars of disability fraud occurring within Tennessee was ignored this week by the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Disability fraud can involve exaggerating or faking an illness or disabilities, filing multiple applications, concealing work or other activities, all of which cost the state and the federal government millions of dollars every year.

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Recreational Marijuana Bill Dies in Minnesota Senate Committee

Andrew Shirley

The Minnesota State Senate Judiciary Committee overwhelmingly voted to kill a bill that would have legalized recreational marijuana throughout the state Monday. Senate Bill, SF 619, would have made it legal for individuals “21 years of age or older to cultivate, consume, use, and possess cannabis, cannabis products, and cannabis accessories,” as well as modify several other laws to accommodate the legislation. The bill was authored and sponsored by State Senators Melisa Franzen (49, DFL), Scott M. Jensen (47, R), Foung Hawj (67, DFL), and Minority Whip Ann H. Rest (45, DFL). After being introduced on January 28th, the bill was immediately referred to Judiciary and Public Safety Finance and Policy Committee. After due consideration, the Committee voted not only to reject the bill but refused to send it to another committee or authorize any form of study on effects of it. Both of these maneuvers are common legislative procedures used to keep bills alive by buying them more time without bringing them to a vote.  This effectively killed the bill and ensured it would not be revisited for some time. The nine-member committee voted 6-3, along party lines, against it. Governor Tim Walz, in an interview with MPRNews, expressed his disappointment with the…

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Colorado State Senate Votes to Strip the People’s Voice in Presidential Elections

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voters polling place

by Jay Whig   Colorado, having cast its electoral votes for a loser in the 2016 presidential election, may not be content merely to be a one-time loser. The Colorado State Senate voted Tuesday – along party lines – to adopt Senate Bill 19-042, a bill to require that Colorado’s electors vote in presidential elections according to the national popular vote. The remarkable lesson Colorado Democrats have taken from their 2016 loss: best to forego a say in presidential elections altogether. It is hard to keep up with this sort of political genius. Had a law like SB 19-042 been in effect in 2016, it would have made not an iota of difference. Colorado’s electors cast their ballots for the candidate who won the national popular vote, because that is how the people of Colorado chose to vote. But if the bill clears the Colorado State House – sources say it is assured to win the governor’s signature – that exercise of political choice will be a thing of the past. Coloradans’ votes in the only national elections in America will be like – well, you know – to a gelding, just a memory. It can’t be lost on Colorado Democrats that there is no…

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Heidi Shafer Talks to the Tennessee Star Report About Her Bid for GOP Nomination in Special State Senate Election

Julie Carr

In a specific discussion on Monday morning’s Tennessee Star Report with Steve Gill and Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – the duo spoke to Heidi Shafer, candidate for the GOP nomination in the State Senate special election in the Memphis area to replace Mark Norris and specifically about how she’s running her campaign and what makes her a stand out candidate from the others. Leahy: We have on the line now, Heidi Shafer who is a candidate for the special election Republican primary in state senate district thirty-two in the Memphis area that former state senator Mark Norris, who’s now a federal judge resigned from. Heidi, welcome to the Tennessee Star Report! Gill: Hey Heidi. Shafer: Good morning. Happy New Year everybody! Gill: Now early voting started Friday so the voting has already started right? Shafer: Yes, and because this is a special election it’s the only thing on the ballot. The voting is going to be slow, turnout is going to be minimal, which means that every single vote is going to matter more than ever. Leahy: So you’re running against a couple other…

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Socialist State Senate Candidate Caught Lying About Supposed ‘Working-Class Background’

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Julia Salazar

by Joe Simonson   A socialist millennial running for a state senate seat in New is facing further scrutiny about her campaign after her brother implied she has been dishonest about her family upbringing in several interviews with leftist outlets. Julia Salazar, an ally Democratic Socialists of America member Alexandria Orcasio-Cortez, has centered her campaign, among many things, on her ability to relate to the issues faced by her constituents. Yet reporting by City & State New York reveals that Salazar might be deliberately misrepresenting her personal story in a bid to appear as an authentic representative of Americans struggling paycheck to paycheck. According to her brother Alex Salazar, the two grew up in a “middle class” house “along the river” in a “beautiful neighborhood” in Jupiter, Florida, thanks to her father’s “six-figure paycheck.” In previous interviews, like one she gave to the leftist Jacobin Magazine, Salazar spoke about her family struggling as her “mom ended up raising my brother and me as a single mom, without a college degree.” “[I grew up in a] working-class background,” Salazar told Jacobin. A picture of Salazar’s childhood home obtained by City & State shows a residence far from an average person’s idea of “working class.” While Salazar…

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The Tennessee Star Announces A Week Long Letters to the Editor ‘Endorse-A-Rama’ for the Last Week of July

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Letter to the Editor

The 2018 election season is in full swing, and with primary election day just a few short weeks away, we thought we would ask who your candidate of choice is for the record number of candidates running for open seats this year! Starting Monday, June 25th, we will begin accepting Letter to the Editor Endorsements for publication consideration. We will continue receiving them until Friday, July 20. The letters will appear throughout the week of July 22. Are you a ‘Matheny Man,’ or is Judge Bob Corlew your candidate of choice? John Rose? Tell us why! Who should replace State Rep. Charles Sargent? And State Rep. Shelia Butt? Should Bill Lee be the next governor, or do you think Diane Black can bring more to the table? We want to hear about it! Now, let’s remember this is a family website, so no profanity or un-sourced, ad-hoc attacks, please. Here is a comprehensive list we put together from The Tennessean and The Green Papers of the all the candidates – Gubernatorial, US House and Senate, and State House and Senate – in challenged races qualified to run as of the last candidate deadline April 5: Tennessee Governor Republican: Diane Lynn Black, Randy Boyd,…

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