Category Archives: Republican

HOLLYWOOD, FL Tampa Bays Republican congressional candidates tried Saturday to prove their conservative credentials to Floridas powerful, high-profile governor and an assemblage of Florida conservative politicians, donors and others.

Candidates hoping to represent Florida in the U.S. House promised their allegiance to term limits, to states rights, to choice in education. They voiced their displeasure with Anthony Fauci, praised U.S. Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Amy Coney Barrett and vowed support for Israel. They stressed the need for a secure border and fiscal conservatism for some candidates, as Gov. Ron DeSantis looked on and asked them questions.

Saturdays Republican Party of Floridas Sunshine Summit conference at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino included debates for candidates in four congressional races, including two contested seats in Tampa Bay that both lean red: Pinellas Countys 13th Congressional District seat and the 15th District seat that represents northeast Hillsborough, southeast Pasco and parts of Polk County.

The debates were not streamed live and most media outlets were barred from attending. (The Tampa Bay Times requested, and was granted, credentials to attend.)

Before the debates began, DeSantis said he didnt want legacy media involved asking gotcha questions that only helped Democrats. He said that this year, Florida Republicans had the chance to pick up four congressional seats, from 16 to 20 aided by the maps his office drafted.

The theme of the debates was clear figuring out how much the candidates followed DeSantis and former President Donald Trumps visions for the Republican Party.

DeSantis and Marc Levin, a conservative commentator from Fox News, hosted the debate for the 15th District.

All five of Floridas 15th Congressional District Republican candidates participated, which required either $100,000 raised or 5% support in a poll to qualify.

Former Secretary of State Laurel Lee, state Sen. Kelli Stargel, state Rep. Jackie Toledo, former U.S. Navy Captain Kevin John McGovern and former U.S. Navy Cmdr. Demetries Grimes spent about an hour largely agreeing on the questions they were asked while trying to emphasize their personal and professional backgrounds.

Levin pressed candidates on their party credentials, asking one of them how they could know she wouldnt be the next Liz Cheney. He asked candidates if they would oust Alejandro Mayorkas, the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, for his handling of the border. And he asked candidates how fiscally conservative they were, referencing DeSantis recent veto of $3 billion from Floridas budget.

DeSantis doubled down on the question, asking what the candidates would do if given a stuffed budget or bill to sign that they had seen only 24 hours prior. He chimed in less frequently than Levin, but did ask the candidates who they thought the best justice on the Supreme Court was, if they supported term limits and what they would do if Fauci were still in office.

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Levin had a back-and-forth with Grimes, who previously ran as a Democrat in Miami-Dade County, with Levin asking Grimes who he voted for in 2018 (Grimes said DeSantis) and about some of his previous positions on the National Rifle Association and other issues. Grimes said hes always been conservative and pointed out the number of new Republicans in the state.

Are we saying theyre not welcome? Grimes said.

Perhaps the only policy position where the 15th District candidates were not in agreement was over whether nonmilitary personnel should be deployed to Ukraine. Lee was the sole candidate to oppose such intervention.

In the debate for Floridas 13th District, only three of the five running Republicans qualified: Republican strategist Amanda Makki, conservative commentator Anna Paulina Luna and private criminal defense attorney Kevin Hayslett. Business owner Christine Quinn and law student Moneer Kheireddine did not meet the Republican Partys parameters.

DeSantis was not present at this debate it was moderated by conservative commentators from the Washington Free Beacon and Breitbart but Makki mentioned the governor a few times, including applauding his push for term limits when he was in Congress and for his work on education in Tallahassee.

The candidates were also asked the question of whether theyd support Trump or DeSantis in 2024. Makki went first, saying DeSantis is the future of our party. Luna, who has been endorsed by Trump, said shed support a Trump-DeSantis ticket. Hayslett joked he would like a minotaur-esque half-DeSantis-half-Trump combination, but he would support a Trump-DeSantis ticket or vice versa.

Asked about their priorities, Luna talked about energy independence, big technology and veteran suicide. Makki focused on kitchen-table issues, the southern border and the indoctrination of our children, while Hayslett talked about the border, inflation and election integrity.

Vote-by-mail ballots are already being sent to voters across the state ahead of the Aug. 23 primary election, and early voting begins in a few weeks.

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At Republican conference, Tampa Bay candidates vie to show theyre red enough - Tampa Bay Times

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TO THE EDITOR:

Calling all Independents, Democrats, and responsible Republicans. We are offered a highly unusual opportunity in this upcoming Aug. 2 primary to elect a unique candidate. Ann Manary is a pro-choice Republican, who also has the courage and integrity to deny that the 2020 election was stolen.

Manary may be the most reasonable Republican running for state representative in the entire state.

Her opponent, young Bill Schuette, is just another cookie cutter Republican robot. If you put in a quarter, he spews toxic, divisive culture-war talking points straight out of Fox News.

Lets take this opportunity to reject this type of politician.

I encourage you all to take this unique and unusual opportunity to elect Ann Manary, who will much better represent all citizens of Midland County.

CINDY WEIR

Midland

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Support Manary - the reasonable Republican - Midland Daily News

KENT COUNTY, MI Two Republican challengers are facing off in the Aug. 2 primary to represent the party in November for the 13th District on the Kent County Board of Commissioners.

Nick Prill, an IT analyst, faces Tom McKelvey, a former Kentwood city commissioner, in the Aug. 2 election. The winner will face incumbent Kent County Commissioner Michelle McCloud in the Nov. 8 general election for a county board seat.

Kent Countys 13th District covers parts of the city of Kentwood. Commissioners are elected to two-year terms from districts that are roughly equal in population.

MLive/The Grand Rapids Press partnered with the nonpartisan League of Women Voters of Michigan to provide candidate information for readers. Each candidate was asked to outline their stances on a variety of public policy issues listed below.

McKelvey did not respond to requests to complete the voters guide questionnaire for readers that Prill completed below.

All responses in the voter guide were submitted directly by the candidate and have not been edited by the League of Women Voters, except for necessary cuts if a reply exceeded character limitations. Spelling and grammar were not corrected. Publication of candidate statements and opinions is solely in the interest of public service and should NOT be considered as an endorsement. The League never supports or opposes any candidates or political parties.

Information on other state, county and local primary races can be found at Vote411.org.

Why are you running for office?

Nick Prill:

After continually sharing my concerns at school board and county commissioner meetings, I realized my voice was not just being ignored, but dismissed all together. Alarmed at the unconstitutional directives impacting my family and others in the community, I decided the time for new county leadership is now. Married with two young children, I have joined the county commissioner race with plans to end the corrupt pattern of special interest influence and safeguard citizens freedoms so they will never again be imposed upon.

What strategies would you use to remain responsive and accountable to the public between elections?

Nick Prill:

I plan to hold regular town hall meetings with constituents and with Precinct Delegates. A chance for me to share what is going on at the county level, and to hear from them the concerns impacting them in their local communities.

Vote 411 logo

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Two Republicans running in the primary for Kent County boards 13th District seat - MLive.com

When Joe Manchin announced an abrupt end to Senate negotiations over major climate legislation last week, activists and even fellow Democrats expressed outrage against the West Virginia lawmaker. Manchin was attacked as a modern-day villain who had delivered nothing short of a death sentence to a rapidly heating planet.

Some Democratic leaders, however, including Joe Biden, have since attempted to redirect that anger toward congressional Republicans instead.

Not a single Republican in Congress stepped up to support my climate plan. Not one, Biden said, speaking at a coal turned wind power plant in Massachusetts on Wednesday. So let me be clear: climate change is an emergency.

Although congressional Republicans have refused to embrace Bidens policy ideas, the party has largely abandoned its past climate denialism. But climate experts and activists say the ideas Republicans have proposed are insufficient or misguided and fail to address the magnitude and urgency of this crisis.

Republicans have not generally been viewed as champions when it comes to combating the climate crisis at the federal level. Donald Trump famously withdrew the US from the Paris climate agreement, and his administration rolled back nearly 100 environmental rules during his presidency, eliminating important regulations for the fossil fuel industry.

More recently, the conservative-dominated supreme court handed down a decision, in West Virginia v the Environmental Protection Agency, that will severely hamper that government agencys ability to curtail greenhouse gas emissions.

There have, however, been some modest signs of change among Republicans when it comes to climate policy. While it was once quite common to hear Republican lawmakers reject the very idea of climate change, many members of the party are now at least willing to discuss the issue.

I think theres been a really significant narrative shift over the last five years, said Quill Robinson, vice-president of government affairs for the American Conservation Coalition, a right-leaning environmental advocacy group. A lot of elected Republicans and also the broader conservative movement is a lot more comfortable, willing and honestly interested in engaging on this issue of climate change.

Signs of that change are visible in Congress. Last year, Republican congressman John Curtis announced the formation of the Conservative Climate Caucus, which counts more than 70 Republicans as members.

The House Republican leader, Kevin McCarthy, has released his own climate platform. The proposal, unveiled last month, outlines how Republicans would work to address environmental and energy issues if they regain control of the House, as they are expected to do after the midterm elections this November.

Critics say McCarthys platform is a perfect example of Republicans failure to grasp the enormity of the climate crisis. The plan calls for increasing domestic fossil fuel production and boosting exports of US natural gas. In the past several months, Republicans demands to boost US oil production have grown louder, as the war in Ukraine drives gas prices to record highs.

Environmental experts have said that global reliance on fossil fuels needs to be drastically reduced in order to substantially cut greenhouse gas emissions and avoid disastrous climate breakdown. Republicans proposals threaten to accelerate this looming calamity, Democrats argue.

This House Republican proposal simply recycles old, bad ideas that amount to little more than handouts to oil companies, Democrat Frank Pallone, chair of the House energy and commerce committee, said last month. It is a stunning display of insincerity to admit climate change is a problem but to propose policies that make it worse.

Republicans have also called for taking additional steps to protect American wildlife, but climate activists have again criticized those proposals as too incremental to meet the moment. In contrast, the Biden administration has set a goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030 and achieving net zero emissions by 2050.

Kidus Girma, a spokesperson for the youth-led climate group Sunrise Movement, said even Bidens policy objectives fall far short of the changes necessary to help protect the planet.

We fundamentally dont have that timeline, Girma said of Republicans incremental approach. Emissions cut by 2030 is incrementalism in itself. So I dont know how much more incremental we could get.

Robinson argued that Democrats failure to pass Build Back Better and the supreme courts decision to limit the EPAs regulatory power demonstrate the urgent need for bipartisan compromise on this issue even if the end product falls short of what climate activists have demanded.

You cant rely on nine justices of the supreme court, one man in the White House, and one single party in Congress to pass durable, lasting climate policy, Robinson said. This has to be done on a bipartisan basis in Congress.

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No Republican senator supported a climate plan where is the party on the issue? - The Guardian US

WASHINGTON Republicans, hoping to flip control of Congress in the November elections, appear to have decided against campaigning on a unified abortion platform that would specify exactly what conservatives plan to do if given control of the U.S. House and Senate.

Yet Republicans in Congress have written dozens of proposals that, if passed, would restrict abortion nationwide. GOP lawmakers this session have introduced more than 153 abortion-related bills that party leaders could point to as evidence of what Republicans would try to pass on the national level if they trounce Democrats at the polls.

They include legislation that would define life as beginning at the moment of fertilization, prohibit insurance coverage for abortions, and make it a crime punishable to up to five years in prison for doctors who perform abortions after a heartbeat is detected, generally at about six weeks.

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But so far, Republicans have opted against a cohesive national campaign strategy on abortion, following the decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in June to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade case. Many Senate Republicans are brushing aside questions about whether they would take up a nationwide abortion bill, citing as a hurdle the Senate filibuster that means bills need 60 votes to advance.

Republican leaders are leaving it up to each House or Senate candidate to tout their own bills and views while the party wrestles with whether the matter should be left solely to state lawmakers or if Congress has a role to play.

Its one thing that we are debating within the conference, Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst said of a nationwide abortion bill. But at the same time, most of us do believe that the Dobbs decision was the right decision, and its returning that authority to our state and local governments. Thats our system of federalism.

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, a Washington Republican who has become one of her partys leading voices on abortion, said during a brief interview the GOP wont put forward a nationwide abortion policy ahead of the midterms.

Were not in a position to move anything and the U.S. Supreme Court really sent it back to the states, she said.

But McMorris Rodgers didnt rule out Republicans pushing nationwide legislation after the election if they regained control of Congress.

Not before the election, she said, later adding Well, yeah, when asked if Republicans would put forward legislation afterward if they won.

Some Republicans have repeatedly said their opinion of the ruling on abortion in Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization is that it sent the issue back to the states. Others have said its a topic for Congress to debate as well.

The Supreme Courts decision overturning the constitutional right to an abortion that stood for nearly 50 years said the authority to regulate abortion is returned to the people and their elected representatives.

House GOP Whip Steve Scalise, a Louisiana Republican, said during a press conference in June shortly after the ruling was released that the decision finally allows states and Congress to pass new abortion legislation.

But House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy, of California, when asked what exactly Republicans would do on abortion, was vague, saying we will continue to look wherever we can go to save as many lives as possible.

McCarthy did mention a bill from Missouri Republican Rep. Ann Wagner, though he didnt say exactly which of her bills hed bring up.

Wagner is the primary sponsor of legislation that would require doctors to provide health care to any infant born alive after an abortion or attempted abortion. But shes also sponsored several other bills related to abortion.

Congress passed a similar bill, from Ohio GOP Rep. Steve Chabot, two decades ago. The legislation, titled the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act of 2002, passed the House on a voice vote and the Senate by unanimous consent.

Senate Republicans insist theres little chance of abortion legislation moving ahead.

Florida GOP Sen. Rick Scott, chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said he expects every candidate will decide how they want to talk about abortion.

Fellow Floridian Sen. Marco Rubio, who is in a tight race against Democratic House Rep. Val Demings, said Republicans will have different views about what restrictions and what the law should be.

There are issues that are relevant to it that we can have a debate on here, but we have a filibuster that would make it impossible to pass a bill into law, Rubio said.

Louisiana Republican Sen. John Kennedy, who faces a relatively easy reelection campaign in the deeply red state, agreed with Rubio that any GOP abortion legislation is unlikely to move past the filibuster.

There arent 60 votes to do anything on the floor of the United States Senate with respect to abortion, pro abortion, anti-abortion, just anything to do with abortion, Kennedy said.

What folks who feel strongly on both sides of the issues need to do now is go back to their states and, not put on a show, but put on the case, he continued. Theyve got to convince their state legislatures.

Retiring Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt said the issue belongs at the state, not the federal level.

Ive always thought the best place to deal with this was at the state legislative level and thats what I still think, Blunt said.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, has said its possible that a GOP-controlled Congress could pass a nationwide abortion ban, though hes sought to downplay the likelihood.

McConnell said he would absolutely keep the chambers legislative filibuster in place, meaning the only way a nationwide abortion bill could get through is with a Republican super majority or some Democratic support.

We dont want to break the Senate and thats breaking the Senate, he said of removing the filibuster.

The vastly different views on abortion as well as party leaders approach to campaigning on the issue has led Democrats to turn the midterm elections into something of a referendum on abortion.

This fall, Roe is on the ballot, President Joe Biden said the day the Supreme Court released its decision overturning the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that established abortion as a constitutional right. Personal freedoms are on the ballot. The right to privacy, liberty, equality, theyre all on the ballot.

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Biden added that this November, voters must elect more senators and representatives who will codify a womans right to choose into federal law once again, elect more state leaders to protect this right at the local level.

Tying the results of the midterm elections to abortion could be risky for Democrats, especially considering the presidents party almost always loses seats during the midterm elections.

But the vast majority of Democrats have echoed Biden, telling voters that this November has become about more than who controls the U.S. House and Senate.

This is the future that MAGA Republicans clamor for; where women and same-sex couples are branded as second-class citizens, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on the floor. If they succeed, theyll take our country down a dark path from which there may be no return.

Democrats in Congress have voted on bills showing exactly how the party hopes to ensure patients throughout the country can terminate a pregnancy, or travel freely to states where the procedure remains legal.

Theyve also brought up bills to ensure the right to same-sex and interracial marriages as well as the right to decide if and how to use contraception.

Republican leaders, for the moment, dont plan to say exactly which bills theyd vote on if they regain control of Congress.

Theyre very nervous, Virginia Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine told States Newsroom. And their polling should tell them that, because were seeing this as dramatically affecting the polls in a number of our races.

Kaine played down the idea that making the midterms something of a referendum on abortion access could be problematic if Republicans regain control of Congress and then say the results show American voters want a nationwide abortion law.

Oh, theyre gonna do that anyway. Rock solid guarantee, no matter how the election goes, Kaine said. Were very certain thats coming and were trying to do all we can electorally and otherwise to head that off.

While Kaine expects voters will pick representatives based on more than abortion, he does expect the Supreme Courts decision will drive voter turnout for Democrats.

And thats why my Republican colleagues do not want to be talking about this or create any kind of a party plan that everybodys supposed to go for, he said.

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, criticized Republicans for not being clear with voters about how they plan to address abortion if given control of Congress.

The Republicans, if youll notice, have been surprisingly quiet, in my estimation, in reaction to Dobbs, Durbin said. I think they understand that these opinions may serve their base, but they dont serve the party or the electorate at large.

Maryland Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen said the abortion ruling is one of a number of critical issues that voters will focus on this year, though he added, its not the only issue on the ballot.

I think the Dobbs decision is one of them, reproductive freedom is certainly a part of that. But it will also be a referendum on the kind of government you want, whether you want extremists like the MAGA crowd in the Congress, Van Hollen said. And its also going to be a debate on what were doing thats within our power to reduce prices, like cutting the costs of prescription drugs.

Sen. Bob Casey, a Pennsylvania Democrat, said most Americans know theres a fork in the road and theres basically two choices.

So far this Congress, Republicans have introduced 153 bills addressing abortion, with 94 in the House and 59 in the Senate.

Wagners bill has the most co-sponsors with 203 GOP backers.

Other legislation with broad Republican backing includes a bill from New Jersey Rep. Christopher Smith that would permanently prevent the federal government from spending money on abortions with an exception for rape, incest or the patients life. The legislation would also prohibit qualified health plans from including coverage for abortion, according to a summary.

West Virginia Rep. Alexander Mooney sponsored a bill that would define life as beginning at the moment of fertilization, cloning, or other moment at which an individual comes into being. The bill clarifies that nothing in this Act shall be construed to authorize the prosecution of any woman for the death of her unborn child.

And legislation from Pennsylvania Rep. Mike Kelly would make it a crime for health care providers to perform abortions after a heartbeat is detected, typically around six weeks. Doctors who perform the procedure would face up to five years in prison, a fine, or both if convicted.

The bill creates an exception for a patient whose life is endangered by a physical diagnosis or injury, but not a psychological or emotional one.

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Republicans in Congress shy away from campaigning on national abortion platform - Colorado Newsline

The House January 6 committee on Thursday played Capitol security footage which showed the Republican senator Josh Hawley, who famously raised a fist to protesters outside, running for his safety once those protesters breached the building. It prompted a flurry of online memes ridiculing Hawley fleeing from the very people he had earlier encouraged.

Presenting the committees case, the Virginia Democrat Elaine Luria showed pictures of House members and senators leaving their chambers.

She said: Senator Josh Hawley also had to flee.

Earlier that afternoon before the joint session [of Congress] started, he walked along the east front of the Capitol. As you can see in this photo, he raised his fist in solidarity with protesters already amassing at the security gates.

The committee showed the famous image of the senator raising his fist, which was taken by a photographer for E&E News, subsequently bought by Politico.

Later that day, Senator Hawley fled after those protesters he helped to rile up stormed the Capitol. See for yourself.

The committee then played video of Hawley trotting across a corridor and hurrying down a staircase next to an escalator.

In the room, the clips were greeted with laughter.

Online, some took a similarly lighthearted view, one user scoring the footage of Hawley running to a soundtracks including Stayin Alive by the BeeGees, Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen and the Benny Hill theme.

Hawley had been the first Republican senator to say he would object to results in key states won by Joe Biden, in the certification process Trump ultimately sent a mob to delay or destroy.

Hawley has denied trying to incite violence with his raised fist, telling the Huffington Post: This was not me encouraging rioters At the time that we were out there, folks were gathered peacefully to protest, and they have a right to do that. They do not have a right to assault cops.

Luria said: We spoke with a Capitol police officer who was out there at the time. She told us that Senator Josh Hawleys gesture riled up the crowd and it bothered her greatly because he was doing it in a safe space, protected by the officers and the barriers.

The senator has also used the image for fundraising purposes.

The Lincoln Project, a group of anti-Trump conservatives, said: Hawleys legacy will forever be fleeing from the same mob he helped incite.

After the mob had been cleared from the Capitol a riot now linked to nine deaths and nearly 900 criminal charges Hawley was one of 147 Republicans who went through with their objections to results in key states.

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Republican Josh Hawley fled January 6 rioters and Twitter ran with it - The Guardian US

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Minnesota Republican suggest abortion rights advocates are playing the rape card - MSNBC

Downtown Central City, in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky.

(Photographs by David Kidd/Governing)

Trump won 74 percent of the 2020 vote in Muhlenberg County, where Greenville is the county seat. This represents a huge switch. Muhlenberg County has historically been dominated by Democrats and all of the countywide posts are still held by Democrats. It wasnt long ago that even the most conservative voters registered as Democrats, because there was practically nothing to vote for as a Republican during primary elections. Just for so many years, there were few Republicans and rarely, rarely a Republican candidate, says Harvey J. VanHook, vice chair of the county GOP.

He recalls that the first time he voted in the county, the clerk couldnt find his name, since she wasnt in the habit of looking at the list of registered Republicans. But Trump holds a special appeal to voters in parts of the country that feel left behind by big cities and the coasts, both culturally and economically. Thats certainly the case in Muhlenberg County.

Doug Thompson (left) had hoped to be the Republican candidate for county judge-executive in the fall.

Its not only economic issues that have pushed voters in Muhlenberg County, along with much of rural America, away from Democrats and into the arms of Republicans. Ive seen so many people that were strong Democrats but changed because they felt that Democrats were not Christian, says Greenville Mayor Jan Yonts. (Shes a Democrat but her office is nonpartisan.) They feel that Democrats are baby killers.

Along a commercial corridor in Central City, which is the most populous city in Muhlenberg County, a Baptist church is fronted by a 50-foot tall lighthouse with the name Jesus spelled out in enormous black letters along two sides. Churchgoers in Central City have plenty of other choices for places to worship. Religion makes a big impact here, says Jack Reno, who chairs the Muhlenberg County Democratic Party. Rural Kentucky is very much religion first, guns second.

Democratic county chair Jack Reno. Rural Kentucky is very much religion first, guns second.

Ive had a lot of discussions with my neighbor and he was actually surprised I was a Democrat, says Brittney Hernandez-Stevenson, the partys candidate for state House seat in the county. Some of the support that I think I would get, I may not, unless they pay attention to me as a person and the things Ive done, versus my party.

At times, this seems almost like a party strategy. Obviously, more people live in urban areas than rural the counties Biden won are home to 67 million more people than Trump counties and Democrats have seemed dismissive of the need to appeal to rural voters. The common refrain that demography is destiny (refers) to the misguided belief that any year now the swelling suburbs and urban centers will hit a tipping point enabling Democrats to overcome the lopsided votes from our declining rural communities, write Chloe Maxmin and Canyon Woodward in their new book Dirt Road Revival, about the need for Democrats to compete in rural areas. (Maxmin is a Democratic state senator from a rural district in Maine and Woodward was her campaign manager.)

Theres hardly an economic or health indicator by which rural America doesnt lag, whether its opioid addiction or life expectancy. During the decade between the Great Recession and the start of the pandemic, nearly all the economic growth took place in a fairly small number of metropolitan areas, making rural residents feel that the recession had never ended. The much smaller number of Biden counties accounted for 70 percent of the nations economy at the time of the election. Being told to check your privilege when youre struggling naturally grates.

Religion is a big influence in rural Kentucky politics.

During his first run in 2016, Trump spoke directly to small-town concerns, promising to bring back coal and steel jobs. That didnt happen, and even before taking office Trumps transition team was talking about eliminating the Tennessee Valley Authority. But Trump certainly delivered on cultural issues a fact punctuated by the recent Supreme Court decision overturning abortion rights under Roe v. Wade.

There are plenty of counties in Kentucky that, like Muhlenberg, supported Democrats for president until recently, but now are overwhelmingly Republican. Elliott County, in the eastern part of the state, had never once voted Republican for president over its 144-year history, the longest streak in the nation but Trump took 75 percent of the vote there in 2020.

Theres a car driving around Muhlenberg County with a bumper sticker that says LGBT, only the L stands for liberty, the G for guns, the B for beer and the T for Trump. Perry OBannon, who works for the Greenville Street Department, sums up Trumps appeal succinctly. I was raised a Democrat, he says, and Trump, he didnt take no crap.

Brent Yonts lobbied officials with the TVA and the EPA to keep local coal operations open, but to no avail. As a Democrat, he took the blame, or enough of it to lose his seat. Yonts got blamed because (a coal-fired power plant) didnt get built, says Reno, the Democratic county chair. There was nothing a state rep could do about it because the EPA wasnt going to grant a permit for it.

Scenes from Central City, Ky., the most populous city in Muhlenberg County.

Its an issue for the party throughout the region. Now, from I-65 westward, there is only one Democrat in the House in Kentucky, Mayor Yonts says, referring to the interstate that divides that commonwealth from Louisville to the north through Bowling Green to the south.

Its happened all across the South. For a century following the Civil War, the South was effectively under one-party, Democratic rule. But southerners started voting for Republicans in response to civil rights legislation, first for president, then U.S. Senate and on down the ballot. Just this month, the number of registered Republicans in Kentucky has exceeded the number of Democrats for the first time. Democrats still enjoy a hefty registration advantage in Muhlenberg County, but clearly many people who havent switched formally are voting for the GOP.

Republicans are convinced this is the year theyll make inroads in county offices, although the party didnt bother fielding a candidate for sheriff. Democrats arent the way they used to be, says a woman in Central City who asked to be identified only as Annie. Democrats, as far as the larger level, theyve gone so far to the left what sex are you, whats taught in schools.

A few days before the primary, Baize moved a portable billboard bearing his own likeness from a gas station along a frontage road to an auto parts store at the center of town. As he hitched the billboard to the back of his white pickup, Baize received plenty of friendly waves and honks. Small-town politics, he says.

Reno says that small-town politics still matter. He comes from a long line of Democratic activists his great-grandfather was Indiana coordinator for Harry Truman, his grandfather held that job for Robert F. Kennedy and his dad was a state party treasurer for decades. Reno is always begging candidates running for federal office to show up in the county, to look people in the eye to take credit for projects or let them know their concerns are being heard.

Breaking with family tradition, Jordan Baize ran as a Republican for county judge-executive.

Theres not as much talk as there used to be about getting parking tickets fixed if you vote the right way, but politics in Muhlenberg County remains informal. Everyone calls local officials by their first names. Reno himself seems to know just about everyone eating in the Mexican restaurant where his daughter works as a waitress, or taking a smoke break outside. Our jailer, his names Terry Nunley, Reno says. Hes related to every Nunley, Shemwell, Penrod and Whitehouse in the county. That right there is about 10,000 people. Im not kidding.

Hernandez-Stevenson runs the Muhlenberg campus of Madisonville Community College and sits on a slew of community boards. She hopes that reinforcing personal connections will help her win back the state House seat Yonts lost six years ago. She does share her fear that some people might not accept me or want to vote for me because she is a Black woman. Muhlenberg County is 93 percent white, but seven of the 20 people on the county Democratic committee are African American.

Democrat Brittney Hernandez-Stevenson is focused on local issues in her run for state representative.

Im here to serve this community, Hernandez-Stevenson says. I want people to realize that Im here to listen to them and figure out what they want done in this district, vs. focusing on some of the national issues that we really have no control over.

Her challenge is that all politics is not local. Politics are highly nationalized, making it difficult for Democrats not just in Muhlenberg County but throughout rural America to persuade voters they wont rubber stamp ideas being pushed by national party leaders from New York and San Francisco.

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How Rural America Learned to Love the Republican Party - Governing

Themis Klarides is plainspoken, socially moderate, fiscally conservative and has the requisite experience and broad appeal to defeat Democratic incumbent Richard Blumenthal in November. But first, she must secure her partys nomination. Her main opponent in the race is Leora Levy.

Ms Levy, a longtime Republican contributor, is the embodiment of a one dimensional candidate. She relies exclusively on repeating national talking points, while offering few if any original policy proposals and her depth of understanding on important issues appears shallow at best. Locally, Ms Levy all but ignored her local municipal candidates last November and has a history of showing little or no interest in support for local candidates.

On the campaign trail, Ms Levy often refers to herself as a crusader for freedom and liberty. Her campaign rhetoric resembles a throwback to the McCarthy era of the 1950s. In her skewed worldview, Democrats are Communists and Republicans who disagree with her are RINOs, or at best, Leftist Democrats. She has publicly referred to Ms Klarides as the next Liz Cheney and as un-American. One thing she is correct about, is that like Liz Cheney, Themis Klarides has experience, integrity, stands up for what is right and is a lifelong Republican.

Ms Levy has also, inexplicably embraced the local, far-right group Greenwich Patriots. This is the same group that compared the pandemic era in Connecticut to living in Nazi Germany, and has made references to the infamous Nazi Brown Shirts of that era. It is mind boggling that Ms Levy, who is Jewish, would actually allow herself to be associated with a fringe group like this.

Ms Klarides has been consistent with regard to her positions on key issues. She has always advocated for fiscally responsible positions, and has been a longtime supporter of womens reproductive rights. Ms Klarides is an advocate for effective gun control measures in CT, while also being a longtime registered gun owner, herself. In sharp contrast, Ms Levys positions have changed radically from pro-choice to aggressively pro-life and virulently anti-Trump to all-in pro-Trump.

In 2016, she famously wrote in a Greenwich Time Op-Ed that then candidate Donald Trump has turned the Republican primary process into a circus for his own purposes and his own aggrandizement. He is vulgar, ill-mannered and disparages those whom he cannot intimidate. His modus operandi is to try to intimidate people then call them names and calumniate about them and then if those tactics do not work, to sue them. That is how he has run his businesses and that is how he is running his campaign.Shockingly, once President Trump nominated her to be Ambassador to Chile (a position the Senate never confirmed her for), Ms Levy changed into a MAGA hat wearing election denier, and defended him at every turn.

But this past Monday, Ms Levy pulled perhaps the most despicable move of the early campaign season. Approximately half an hour after Ms Klarides publicly announced the passing of her ninety year old mother, the Levy campaign released blistering attack ads on Ms Klarides, referring to her as a Democrat in disguise and proclaiming Ms Levy as the only principled conservative in the race. This is beyond the pale and represents reprehensible behavior by a vacuous candidate.

Is this the kind of candidate Connecticut Republicans want representing them in a general election for a seat in the United States Senate?

I am a lifelong Republican, and one who enjoyed a successful term as Chairman of the Greenwich Republican Party. I have great respect for the common sense of Connecticut Republicans, and I urge them to support Themis Klarides in the upcoming August 9th Republican Primary. The alternative is a candidate who now worships at the altar of Donald Trump and supports his universally discredited election theories. Themis is a straight shooter who will stand for what is decent, honest and right. And she is the only candidate who can be trusted to provide pragmatic, moderate and principled Republican leadership that can deliver a Republican victory in November.

Dan QuigleyGreenwich, CT

Quigley is the former RTC Chairman of Greenwich

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Why I Am Supporting Themis Klarides As The Republican Nominee For US Senate - CT Examiner

Republicans have every reason to be optimistic that their party will win control of the House and likely the Senate in the November midterm elections.

The Democratic Party is defending razor-thin majorities in Congress at a time when Americansbroadly disapproveof President Biden and aredeeply pessimisticabout the way things are going in the country, especially with the economy.

Indeed, nearly three-quarters of Americans (72 percent) say that the country is on the wrong track, and a majority (51 percent) describe the economy as being in poor shape. There is also a widespread belief that inflation is a very serious problem (64 percent) and that Biden bears at least some responsibility for it (73 percent).

Given how unfavorable the current national political environment is for Democrats on top of the fact that the presidents party almost alwayslosesHouse seats in midterm elections criticizing the Biden administration for inflation and the rising cost of living could very well be a sufficient strategy for the G.O.P. to win control of Congress this year.

That being said, in order for a true red-wave election to take place in 2022 and to sustain itself through 2024 Republicans need to do more at the national, state and local levels than just attack Democrats and oppose their agenda.

Rather, the GOP must develop a positive and constructive agenda that offers centrist solutions to the key issues facing the country in order to show the American people that the partys priorities are in line with their own.

When Republicans took control of the House in 1994, they had theirContract with America, which comprised tax cuts and tax relief for middle-class families, measures to reduce crime, term limits and a balanced budget.

In 2022, the GOP needs an American Revitalization Plan that prioritizes fiscal prudence, lowering taxes, improving public safety, strengthening immigration laws, promoting individual liberties and allowing parents to have more choice over their childs education.

It is also critical that the new Republican agenda is forward-looking, and not focused on relitigating Donald Trumps past grievances about the 2020 election.

Continuing to dwell on the 2020 election is counterproductive to the G.O.P.s short- and long-term political goals, as it alienates swing voters and Independents who largely accept Joe Bidens victory as legitimate, believe Jan. 6 was an attempted insurrection and are concerned about addressing the challenges of today, not fighting about alleged voter fraud in the last election.

In order to reach these voters in the middle, Republicans should promote an economic plan that provides tax incentives for job creation, prioritizes deficit reduction, eases inflation and limits government spending to fiscally prudent programs that have broad public support, such as Medicare and Medicaid.

Loosening overly burdensome regulations on Americas energy sector would also be immensely beneficial in terms of helping the U.S. achieve energy independence which the public increasingly recognizes as an important goal, given the current crisis with gas prices.

Furthermore, instead of criticizing Democrats for surging crime and the migrant crisis at the Southern border, Republicans should propose actual solutions such as increasing funding to bolster and better train law enforcement officers both police officers in localities, and patrol agents at the southern border.

To that end, the GOP can lead the way by proposing a long-overdue immigration compromise that strengthens our physical border security and also provides a pathway to citizenship for the millions of undocumented immigrants brought here illegally as children.

National Republicans should also take a page from Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkins 2021 playbook by promoting individual liberties generally, and specifically empowering parents through enhanced school choice opportunities and promoting greater parental involvement in curricula. This strategy helped Youngkin connect with moderate suburban voters, which is the precise coalition that the G.O.P. should be targeting in 2022.

Perhaps most importantly, on hot-button social issues namely, abortion and guns the G.O.P. needs to establish a more moderate party line in order to distance itself from the partys extreme fringes.

Put another way, the Republican Partys positions on these issues must reflect the reality that Americans broadly support abortion as a legal right with limitations, and widely favor common-sense restrictions on gun ownership that still allow law-abiding citizens to own guns.

Towing the centrist line on abortion and guns can be enormously beneficial to the Republican Party. By assuming a more open stance on abortion legality, Republicans can better sell their party as one that protects individual liberties; similarly, by moving to the middle on guns, the GOP can position and promote themselves as the law and order party.

However, if Republicans fail to moderate their positions, the party leaves itself vulnerable to attacks from Democrats for being extreme and out of touch.

Ultimately, Republicans merely opposing Democrats at every turn is not enough to produce a red-wave election in 2022 and will certainly not be enough to carry a pro-Republican trend through to 2024.

In order for the G.O.P. to secure a red wave in 2022 and improve their chances of retaking the White House in 2024, the party needs to coalesce around a moderate agenda that offers real solutions, avoids relitigating past grievances, and rejects the partys extreme fringes.

Douglas E. Schoen is a political consultant who served as an adviser to former President Clinton and to the 2020 presidential campaign of Michael Bloomberg. He is the author of The End of Democracy? Russia and China on the Rise and America in Retreat.

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Republicans missing 2022 ingredient: A positive and constructive agenda - The Hill