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Republicans are expected to win a slim majority in the 218-seat US House of Representatives, giving the GOP control of the lower house of Congress. The current House Minority Leader, Kevin McCarthy, has already cleared the first hurdle to be elected Speaker of the House, winning the nomination from members of his own party by a vote of 188 to 31. He now faces a weeks-long battle to quell right-wing objections that are likely to offer concessions to the far-right Freedom Group. Meanwhile, Democrats are set to retain control of the Senate, already securing 50 seats with hopes of retaining another in a runoff in Georgia next month. Many Senate Republicans have criticized their leader, Mitch McConnell, since the election, but others have blamed Donald Trump for their failure to retake the upper chamber. The Kentucky Republican was re-elected to the minority leadership role on Wednesday.
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Katie Hobbs, who defeated Kari Lake, tells supporters: ‘Arizonians chose to solve our problems over conspiracy theories’
Addressing a victory rally the morning after her projected victory, Arizona Gov.-elect Katie Hobbs said Arizona voters “chose to solve our problems over conspiracy theories” after defeating famous election denier and loyalist of Trump, Kari Lake. “We chose sanity over chaos and we chose unity over division,” he said Tuesday. “We chose a better Arizona and we chose democracy.” Ms. Lake’s defeat is the latest in a series of defeats in an anti-democratic movement fueled by conspiracy theories to subvert the electoral process to ensure GOP victories across the US. “The attacks on democracy will not end today with this victory. It’s up to all of us to continue to stand up for it,” Ms Hobbs said. “Most of all we must reject the false choice between democracy and the defense of an economy that works for everyone.” Alex Woodward17 November 2022 07:00 1668661200
Far-right figures appear on Trump as 2024 campaign kicks off: ‘Turn a blind eye’
Some of Donald Trump’s staunchest – and most notorious – supporters are making it clear they definitely disagree with his decision to launch a third presidential campaign after the disgraced former president announced his 2024 bid last night. Right-wing commentator Ann Coulter told him “you’ve had your chance, with a Republican House and Senate.” “You handed domestic politics over to your son-in-law and Gary Cohn. You handed over foreign policy to your son-in-law and to a country that gave your son-in-law $2 billion,” he wrote. “Shut the f*** up, forever.” Alex Woodward17 November 2022 05:00 1668654049
Trump has to overcome the long arc of history to win re-election
If Donald Trump is to once again win the presidency after losing to Joe Biden in 2020, he will be in very unique company indeed – that of Grover Cleveland. Cleveland, who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States, is the only person to successfully win two non-consecutive terms. Can Trump become the second? Andrew Buncombe of the Independent writes: Alex Woodward17 November 2022 03:00 1668650449
Kevin McCarthy faces “a nearly impossible task” if Republicans win the House
The Independent’s Washington editor Eric Garcia talks to Brendan Buck, who worked for Republican House Speakers John Boehner and Paul Ryan, to better understand what a slim majority means for Kevin McCarthy’s caucus . In short: The GOP has a “brand problem.” “And even though there was a lot of frustration with the direction of the country, they didn’t think the Republicans were a safe place to go to steady the ship,” he said of midterm voters. “And that should make us take stock of how we talk about ourselves and how we present ourselves and what we are – what our principles are. I actually don’t expect much of this reflection to take place.” Alex Woodward17 November 2022 02:00 1668645254
Karen Bass is expected to become the next mayor of Los Angeles
Rep. Karen Bass beat billionaire developer Rick Caruso in the race to become mayor of America’s second-largest city, according to an Associated Press forecast. Ms. Bass becomes the first woman and only the second African-American to hold the position. Mr. Caruso, who spent more than $100 million of his own money on his campaign, appeared to be chipping away at the veteran lawmaker’s lead in polls ahead of Election Day. But figures suggest he was on course to win with 53.1 percent of the vote to his 46.9 percent. The pair clashed in discussions about topics such as the city’s homelessness crisis, crime and the cost of living. Graeme Massie has the full story: Phil Thomas17 November 2022 00:34 1668643950
Joe Biden issues statement as Republicans win House majority
President Joe Biden congratulated Kevin McCarthy and House Republicans after the GOP won 218 seats in the House of Representatives. “Last week’s election demonstrated the strength and resilience of American democracy,” he said in a statement. “There was intense rejection of the election naysayers, political violence and intimidation. There was an emphatic statement that, in America, the will of the people prevails.” The president is “ready to work with House Republicans to deliver results for working families.” “In this election, voters spoke clearly about their concerns: the need to reduce costs, protect the right to choose and preserve our democracy,” he added. “As I said last week, the future is too bright to get caught up in political warfare. The American people want us to do things for them. They want us to focus on the issues they care about and making their lives better. And I will work with anyone — Republican or Democrat — who is willing to work with me to get results for them.” Alex Woodward17 November 2022 00:12 1668643249
Mitch McConnell blames ‘chaos and negativity’ for GOP losses
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said would-be Republican voters saw “a lot of chaos” and “a lot of negativity” in the GOP candidates in the midterm elections, where Republicans won a slim majority in the House while Democrats won a crucial seat in the Senate and maintained a majority in the upper chamber. “We underperformed among voters who didn’t like President Biden’s performance, among independents and among moderate Republicans who looked at us and concluded too much chaos, too much negativity,” he said during a news conference Wednesday. “We shut out a lot of these centrist voters, so I never predicted a red wave to begin with,” he added. The Kentucky senator spoke moments after members voted to re-elect him to lead the caucus in a 37-10 vote. One member voted present. “I’m very proud of the 37 to 10,” he said. “I don’t own this job.” Alex Woodward17 November 2022 00:00 1668642573
BREAKING NEWS: Republicans win House majority on strength of gerrymandered districts rebuking Biden
When the 118th Congress convenes on Jan. 3, Republicans will control the House of Representatives for the first time in four years after meeting the required 218 seats needed to form a majority in last week’s midterm elections. Alex Woodward16 November 2022 23:49 1668639649
37 Republican Senators Just Tried and Failed to Block Same-Sex Marriage Protection
The US Senate voted 62-37 in favor of a bill that would enshrine federal recognition of same-sex and interracial marriages. The critical November 16 procedural vote follows the US Supreme Court’s overturning of constitutional protections for abortion rights, raising fears among civil rights groups and LGBT+ advocates that the conservative justices would challenge marriage equality and other rights previously defended by the court. A final vote on the bill could come as early as Thursday. Alex Woodward16 November 2022 23:00 1668637849
New Hampshire state legislature primary race ends in tie
After three hours of carefully counting every vote, election officials revealed that a key race in the New Hampshire House of Representatives ended in a tie. The legislature is by far the largest in the country with 400 seats. The extremely close election in the state hinges on about 30 recounts currently underway. Republicans hold 201 seats while Democratic representatives hold 199 seats. Just one vote put the Republican and Democratic candidates in the race for the 8th District seat of Strafford County. After the recount, the results showed that each received 970 votes. Alex Woodward November 16, 2022 10:30 p.m
