The 2024 US House & Senate (& Presidential Election) and the Michigan Legislature - Who do you Think Wins?

Trapper Gus wrote:Michigan U.S. Senate race

Republican field includes

1 - U.S. Reps. Mike Rogers
2 - U.S. Reps. Peter Meijer
4 - U.S. Rep. Justin Amash
6 - Sandy Pensler
7 - Michael Hoover
8 - Sherry O'Donnell
9 - Alexandria Taylor
10 - J.D. Wilson
12 - Sharon Savage
13 - Bensson Samual
14 - Glen Wilson
15 - Rebekah Curran

3 - Detroit police chief James Craig
5 - State Board of Education member Nikki Snyder


Democratic field features

1 - U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin
2 - Hill Harper
3 - Nasser Beydoun

4 - Zack Burns
5 - Leslie Love
6 - Pamela Pugh

AP wrote:Marilyn Lands, a Democrat who made reproductive rights a centerpiece of her campaign in deeply conservative Alabama, has won a special election to the Alabama Legislature.

Lands’ victory in the suburban district in the Deep South state was celebrated by Democrats who have attempted to portray the state GOP as too extreme on abortion and reproductive rights. Alabama has a near-total ban on abortion, and in vitro fertilization services were paused last month because of a court ruling equating frozen embryos to children.

Lands defeated Republican Teddy Powell to win the open legislative seat, according to unofficial returns Tuesday. Powell, a member of the Madison City Council, issued a statement conceding the race and congratulating Lands on her victory.

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON wrote:Voters’ frustration with the extremists who have captured the Republican Party appeared to be behind the results in today’s special election for a seat in the Alabama legislature. There, voters in a swing district elected a Democrat, who ran on protecting abortion access, to replace a Republican. In 2022 that Democrat, Marilyn Lands, won about 45% of the vote. Today she won almost 65% of it.

Four candidates currently vying for Michigan Supreme Court seats

With one long-time justice preparing to leave the bench and another defending her recent appointment, Michigan Supreme Court elections could get interesting this year.

On March 15, Justice David Viviano announced he wouldn’t seek reelection for his seat on Michigan’s highest court, leaving the Republican Party without an incumbent nominee in the 2024 cycle.

Voters will also decide this fall whether Justice Kyra Harris Bolden, an appointee of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, remains on the bench to finish out the remainder of former Chief Justice Bridget McCormack’s term.

Kyra Harris Bolden
Bolden, of Southfield, was nominated to the court by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in November 2022 to replace former Justice McCormack. She must run for reelection to serve out the remainder of McCormack’s term, which expires Jan. 1, 2029, and will seek a Democratic nomination.

Mark Boonstra
Boonstra is a sitting Court of Appeals judge and entered the race for Supreme Court after Viviano announced his retirement.
Boonstra, who is expected to seek a GOP nomination...

Andrew Fink
Fink, of Adams Township, currently serves as a Republican lawmaker in the state House of Representatives, where he serves as vice chair of the House Judiciary Committee.

Kimberly Ann Thomas
Thomas is a law professor at the University of Michigan Law School, where she teaches civil and criminal litigation and runs the Juvenile Justice Clinic.  Thomas, who is expected to seek a Democratic party nomination...

House Democrats are adding four more candidates to their "Red to Blue" program as they attempt to flip enough Republican-held seats to take the House majority, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: All four candidates are in districts President Biden won in 2020 – a sign that Democrats are doubling down on a strategy of trying to ride Biden's coattails in November.

Driving the news: The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's list includes three candidates challenging Republican incumbents and one running for an open seat vacated by Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.).

Derek Tran: A veteran and personal injury attorney challenging Rep. Michelle Steel (R-Calif.) in the Orange County-based 45th district.

Dave Min: A state senator running in Porter's Orange County-based 47th district. He is likely to face Republican Scott Baugh, a former state representative who challenged Porter in 2022.

Sue Altman: A progressive organizer and former teacher challenging Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-N.J.) in New Jersey's affluent northern suburbs.

Laura Gillen: A former town supervisor who is running to challenge Rep. Anthony D'Esposito (R-N.Y.) the the Long Island-based 4th district after losing to him in 2022.

Driving the news: Among the 20 candidates the JDCA announced endorsements for on Thursday were Wesley Bell and George Latimer, according to a press release shared with Axios.

Bell, a prosecutor in St. Louis County, is running against Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) in Missouri's 1st district.

Latimer, the executive of Westchester County, is challenging Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) in New York's 16th district – which includes many of the heavily Jewish communities in New York City's northern suburbs.

Trapper Gus wrote:

AP wrote:Marilyn Lands, a Democrat who made reproductive rights a centerpiece of her campaign in deeply conservative Alabama, has won a special election to the Alabama Legislature.

Lands’ victory in the suburban district in the Deep South state was celebrated by Democrats who have attempted to portray the state GOP as too extreme on abortion and reproductive rights. Alabama has a near-total ban on abortion, and in vitro fertilization services were paused last month because of a court ruling equating frozen embryos to children.

Lands defeated Republican Teddy Powell to win the open legislative seat, according to unofficial returns Tuesday. Powell, a member of the Madison City Council, issued a statement conceding the race and congratulating Lands on her victory.

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON wrote:Voters’ frustration with the extremists who have captured the Republican Party appeared to be behind the results in today’s special election for a seat in the Alabama legislature. There, voters in a swing district elected a Democrat, who ran on protecting abortion access, to replace a Republican. In 2022 that Democrat, Marilyn Lands, won about 45% of the vote. Today she won almost 65% of it.

DWags wrote:This is the kind of tweet we’re getting from a state of Michigan House of Representatives rep.

I don’t get the MAGA people. Why do they seek to upset destroy incite, aggravate their constituents? Why do we want to live in a world like that? Chaos and hate. Is it a worm in their brain?

These are planes that landed in Detroit for the sweet 16 This motherfucker is insane and he doesn’t care.

[tw]1773143040724451761?s=46&t=o_-92Ldle66XHQBlJVUMFQ[[/tw]

DWags wrote:This is the kind of tweet we’re getting from a state of Michigan House of Representatives rep.  

I don’t get the MAGA people.  Why do they seek to upset destroy incite, aggravate their constituents?  Why do we want to live in a world like that?  Chaos and hate.    Is it a worm in their brain?

These are planes that landed in Detroit for the sweet 16   This motherfucker is insane and he doesn’t care.

[tw]1773143040724451761?s=46&t=o_-92Ldle66XHQBlJVUMFQ[[/tw]

DWags wrote:This is the kind of tweet we’re getting from a state of Michigan House of Representatives rep.

I don’t get the MAGA people. Why do they seek to upset destroy incite, aggravate their constituents? Why do we want to live in a world like that? Chaos and hate. Is it a worm in their brain?

These are planes that landed in Detroit for the sweet 16 This motherfucker is insane and he doesn’t care.

[tw]1773143040724451761?s=46&t=o_-92Ldle66XHQBlJVUMFQ[[/tw]

Trapper Gus wrote:Just to be clear, these are people who have already gone though the screening process that allows them to enter the country as polictal refugees?

Trapper Gus wrote:Just to be clear, these are people who have already gone though the screening process that allows them to enter the country as polictal refugees?

Jake from State Farm wrote:A bus load of people

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s running mate has been a harsh critic of in vitro fertilization, while funding alternative research on extending women’s reproductive years.

Nicole Shanahan has for years denounced IVF — calling it “one of the biggest lies that’s being told about women’s health today.”

The Heritage Foundation quietly released draconian new IVF policy recommendations for the next GOP president

Heritage has been a staunchly anti-IVF voice, supporting Alabama’s controversial Supreme Court ruling that frozen embryos cultivated through IVF treatment have the same rights as living children, and that a person can be held liable for destroying embryos.

The list of policy suggestions in the recent blog post echoes the MAGA-backed Project 2025, a comprehensive plan Heritage has spearheaded for the next GOP presidential administration that includes calls to eliminate the term “reproductive health” from federal rules and regulations and to tighten restrictions on abortion rights and access to certain emergency contraceptives. In its pieces on IVF, Heritage expands on the extreme conservative agenda outlined by Project 2025.

Heritage research associate Emma Waters has been a leading voice from the organization on reproductive issues, specifically denouncing IVF procedures and other “reproductive technologies.” In a March 19 piece, titled “Why the IVF Industry Must Be Regulated,” Waters makes various misleading and fearmongering claims

Trapper Gus wrote:

The Heritage Foundation quietly released draconian new IVF policy recommendations for the next GOP president

Heritage has been a staunchly anti-IVF voice, supporting Alabama’s controversial Supreme Court ruling that frozen embryos cultivated through IVF treatment have the same rights as living children, and that a person can be held liable for destroying embryos.

The list of policy suggestions in the recent blog post echoes the MAGA-backed Project 2025, a comprehensive plan Heritage has spearheaded for the next GOP presidential administration that includes calls to eliminate the term “reproductive health” from federal rules and regulations and to tighten restrictions on abortion rights and access to certain emergency contraceptives. In its pieces on IVF, Heritage expands on the extreme conservative agenda outlined by Project 2025.

Heritage research associate Emma Waters has been a leading voice from the organization on reproductive issues, specifically denouncing IVF procedures and other “reproductive technologies.” In a March 19 piece, titled “Why the IVF Industry Must Be Regulated,” Waters makes various misleading and fearmongering claims

Republicans declare a "War on Women"

According to the filing, Trump Media reported sales of just over $4 million as net losses reached nearly $60 million for the full-year ending Dec. 31. The company warned it expects losses to continue amid greater profitability challenges.

Floyd Robertson wrote:Trump Media stock tanks as new filing reveals heavy losses, 'greater risks' on Trump's involvement

According to the filing, Trump Media reported sales of just over $4 million as net losses reached nearly $60 million for the full-year ending Dec. 31. The company warned it expects losses to continue amid greater profitability challenges.

I'm not sure but that doesn't sound like winning to me.

Floyd Robertson wrote:Trump Media stock tanks as new filing reveals heavy losses, 'greater risks' on Trump's involvement

According to the filing, Trump Media reported sales of just over $4 million as net losses reached nearly $60 million for the full-year ending Dec. 31. The company warned it expects losses to continue amid greater profitability challenges.

I'm not sure but that doesn't sound like winning to me.

Another Republican candidate has joined the race to try and replace U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Flint), who announced last year he would not seek reelection to his mid-Michigan district.

Mary Draves, 55, a former executive with Midland-based Dow Chemical Co., announced Wednesday she was seeking the GOP nomination for the 8th Congressional District, which includes Genesee, Saginaw and Bay counties, as well as a portion of Midland County and includes the cities of Bay City, Flint, Midland and Saginaw.

Trapper Gus wrote:Good to hear Trump is concerned about one case of gun violence, but too dumb to blame the availability of guns.

What about the other 315 deaths by gun on the same day?

Every day, on average, 316 people in America are shot in murders, assaults, suicides and suicide attempts, unintentional shootings, and police intervention.

Jake from State Farm wrote:

Trapper Gus wrote:Good to hear Trump is concerned about one case of gun violence, but too dumb to blame the availability of guns.

What about the other 315 deaths by gun on the same day?

Every day, on average, 316 people in America are shot in murders, assaults, suicides and suicide attempts, unintentional shootings, and police intervention.

It's like healthcare, as long as the politicians can get their pockets lined by lobbyists nothing is ever going to be done to fix either one.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Don Beyer’s car dealerships were among the first in the U.S. to set up a website. As a representative, the Virginia Democrat leads a bipartisan group focused on promoting fusion energy. He reads books about geometry for fun.

So when questions about regulating artificial intelligence emerged, the 73-year-old Beyer took what for him seemed like an obvious step, enrolling at George Mason University to get a master’s degree in machine learning. In an era when lawmakers and Supreme Court justices sometimes concede they don’t understand emerging technology, Beyer’s journey is an outlier, but it highlights a broader effort by members of Congress to educate themselves about artificial intelligence as they consider laws that would shape its development.

“I’m finding that learning to code — which is thinking in this sort of mathematical, algorithmic step-by-step, is helping me think differently about a lot of other things — how you put together an office, how you work a piece of legislation,” Beyer said.

George A. Polisner
Leadership Matters
7 hrs ago
Thank you Professor Richardson.

It's an important reminder that even now the battle lines are drawn, and intentionally obscured. While people are told by Fox 'News', or ignorant wealthy narcissists that the battle lines are around the woke versus 'true patriots', the battle is really organized wealth versus (the) people.

Floyd Robertson wrote:Trump demands 5% cut from GOP candidates who use his 'name, image and likeness' in ads