RandySF
RandySF's JournalGeorgia Republicans choose Amy Kremer, organizer of pro-Trump Jan. 6 rally, for seat on the RNC
COLUMBUS, Ga. (AP) — Georgia Republicans on Saturday elected to the Republican National Committee a conservative activist who helped organize the Jan. 6, 2021, pro-Trump rally that led to a mob storming the U.S. Capitol.
Delegates at the convention in Columbus rendered a split decision, choosing Amy Kremer for one of the two RNC seats, but retaining incumbent Committeeman Jason Thompson.
Kremer and other challengers argued that Thompson and Ginger Howard, the other incumbent, hadn’t done enough to support Donald Trump. They pointed out the continued desire of party activists for confrontation with internal and external enemies, even as many in leadership tried to preach unity and ease divisions that have left Republican Gov. Brian Kemp estranged from the party organization.
“We need somebody willing to stand up and fight,” Kremer told delegates. “If you want the grassroots to have a voice, then you need to vote for change.”
https://apnews.com/article/georgia-republicans-marjorie-taylor-greene-amy-kremer-ad535787d999e7d9a5a2ce17e3d79fb7?utm_campaign=TrueAnthem&utm_medium=AP&utm_source=Twitter
Indianapolis Star bars columnist Gregg Doyel from covering Caitlin Clark, Fever after inappropriate exchange
The Indianapolis Star has barred sports columnist Gregg Doyel from covering Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever this summer following his exchange with the WNBA rookie in her introductory news conference.
The Star confirmed the decision in an email to the Washington Post on Tuesday following a report by journalist and former Star columnist Bob Kravitz.
“Indianapolis Star sports columnist Gregg Doyel will not be covering the Indiana Fever,” Star spokesperson Lark-Marie Anton wrote in an email to The Post.
Kravitz also reported that Doyel was in the midst of a two-week suspension. The Star didn't confirm his suspension, but the Post cited a source familiar with the situation that Doyel is, indeed, suspended without pay.
“You like that?” Clark asked.
“I like that you’re here. I like that you’re here,” Doyel replied.
“I do that at my family after every game, so,” Clark said.
“OK, well start doing that to me and we’ll get along just fine,” Doyel responded.
https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/indianapolis-star-bars-columnist-gregg-doyel-from-covering-caitlin-clark-fever-after-inappropriate-exchange-224249952.html
Kuwait holds municipal by-elections
KUWAIT: Voters headed to the polls on Saturday to cast ballots for municipal by-elections. The voting began as scheduled at 8 am for electing two members of the Municipal Council for the 13th legislative term. Ten nominees contested the vacant seat in the sixth constituency and eight for the seat in the 9th district.
Polling was held with 194 electoral committees hosted by 26 schools, against the backdrop of a declaration by the Municipal Council on April 22 declaring vacancy of the two seats that had been occupied by the former members Nasser Al-Kafif and Fehaid Al-Muwaizri. The interior ministry had announced that voters should present the original identity certificate and declared a hotline (1889888) for any inquiry or help throughout the process.
It added information about voting stations and registration are available on the government electronic app Sahel. According to the statement, a candidate must be a Kuwaiti citizen according to Amiri Decree 15 (1959) regarding the nationality law, along with amended legislations. The nominee’s name must be included in the electoral lists, must have mastery of the Arabic language, and not be younger than 30, with no criminal records.
The two municipal seats had been declared vacant after the ministry of justice and the ministry of interior addressed reports to the minister of state for municipal affairs with respect to affirming that a verdict had been issued against Kafif and Muwaizri had registered as a candidate for the 2024 parliamentary elections. — KUNA
https://kuwaittimes.com/article/14439/kuwait/kuwait-holds-municipal-by-elections/
Nebraska GOP pushes unity after primary fight with incumbents; delegates disagree
“Since our delegation won their primaries pretty substantially, we should let the public know that we appreciate the process and support the people,” he said.
The resolution faced immediate pushback from the majority of delegates, led in part by Bacon’s primary opponent, Dan Frei. Frei said he adamantly opposed endorsing members of the delegation because they hadn’t come to the meeting to ask for the endorsements.
Instead, delegates passed the endorsement of Trump and punted the delegation decision to a later date after it became clear the measure lacked enough votes. That step was proposed by a state party official.
“Endorsements are earned, not given,” said Frei. He conceded the race Friday but has yet to endorse Bacon, who won by 24 percentage points.
It remains unclear what kind of unity either side in the intra-GOP fight would accept.
https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/05/18/nebraska-gop-pushes-unity-after-primary-fight-with-incumbents-delegates-disagree/
CNN political commentator Alice Stewart dies
CNN — Alice Stewart, a veteran political adviser and CNN political commentator who worked on several GOP presidential campaigns, has died. She was 58.
Law enforcement officials told CNN that Stewart’s body was found outdoors in the Belle View neighborhood in northern Virginia early Saturday morning. No foul play is suspected, and officers believe a medical emergency occurred.
“Alice was a very dear friend and colleague to all of us at CNN,” Mark Thompson, the network’s CEO, said in an email to staff Saturday. “A political veteran and an Emmy Award-winning journalist who brought an incomparable spark to CNN’s coverage, known across our bureaus not only for her political savvy, but for her unwavering kindness. Our hearts are heavy as we mourn such an extraordinary loss.”
Stewart was born on March 11, 1966, in Atlanta.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/18/politics/alice-stewart-cnn-commentator-dies?cid=ios_app
Montana AG Knudsen (R) said he recruited token primary opponent to increase fundraising
HELENA, Mont. — Montana's attorney general told supporters he skirted the state’s campaign finance laws by inviting another Republican to run against him as a token candidate in next month's primary so he could raise more money for the November general election, according to a recording from a fundraising event.
“I do technically have a primary," Attorney General Austin Knudsen said last week when asked at the event who was running against him. “However, he is a young man who I asked to run against me because our campaign laws are ridiculous."
Knudsen separately faces dozens of professional misconduct allegations from the state's office of attorney discipline as he seeks a second term. He made the comments about his primary opponent during the fundraiser on May 11 in Dillon, Montana, according to the recording obtained by the Daily Montanan, which is part of the nonprofit States Newsroom organization.
In the recording, Knudsen is heard saying that Logan Olson “filed to run against me simply because under our current campaign finance laws in Montana, it allows me to raise more money. So, he supports me and he’s going to vote for me.”
Under state law, a person cannot pay or “promise valuable consideration” to another person to induce them to be a candidate, or to withdraw as a candidate.
https://nbcmontana.com/news/local/montana-ag-knudsen-said-he-recruited-token-primary-opponent-to-increase-fundraising
WA: Opponents of three fall ballot initiatives come out swinging
(The Center Square) — Efforts to convince Washington state voters to reject three initiatives on the ballot this fall are in full swing.
Initiative 2117 would repeal the state’s Climate Commitment Act, Initiative 2109 would repeal the state’s capital gains tax and Initiative 2124 would allow Washingtonians to opt out of the state’s mandatory long-term care benefit program.
There are individual campaigns against each measure — No on 2117, No on 2109 and No on 2124 — and a fourth campaign called Defend Washington that attacks all three.
Defend Washington spokesperson Sandeep Kaushik says the organization’s recent polling shows voters are likely to reject all three initiatives.
https://columbiabasinherald.com/news/2024/may/18/opponents-of-three-fall-ballot-initiatives-come-out-swinging/
WI: GOP activists approve resolution calling for impeaching state's top elections official
Wisconsin GOP activists today approved resolutions calling for the impeachment of the state’s top elections official, declaring abortion “murder of an unborn child” and calling for the elimination of the state’s income tax.
Another proposed resolution seeks to commit the party’s support for declaring no one should be allowed to use a public locker room or restroom designated for persons of the opposite sex “unless one has been so surgically mutilated as to appear to be of the opposite biological sex even when naked.”
The resolutions covered everything from calling for a ban on public funds being used to promote “diversity, equity and inclusion” to opposing ranked choice voting. The convention approved them en masse with no debate.
Republicans in the state Legislature have pushed bills to bar transgender athletes from playing sports designated for females and blocking gender-affirming care for minors.
https://www.wispolitics.com/2024/gop-activists-to-vote-on-resolution-calling-for-impeaching-states-top-elections-official/
Wisconsin Republican leader says party may need to embrace absentee ballot drop boxes
MADISON – The leader of the Wisconsin Republican Party is not ruling out urging voters to utilize absentee ballot drop boxes during the fall presidential election even as Republicans are in court seeking to stop their use.
Republican Party of Wisconsin chairman Brian Schimming said twice this week he will urge Republicans to take advantage of all forms of voting, including returning ballots to drop boxes, if the state Supreme Court overturns a ban on the use of drop boxes in a case the liberal-controlled court will likely decide in the coming weeks.
“I have spoken nationally, in the state, and at local levels about the need for Republicans to be realistic and if the state law that affects this election says we’ll have drop boxes or we end up with ballot harvesting, we’re going to do what it takes to win,” Schimming told reporters Saturday at the state GOP convention in Appleton. "All I can tell you as chairman is I'm not going to leave any potential advantage that we might have on the table. Period."
Earlier this week, Schimming also said in an interview with WisconsinEye he is "not going to sit around and leave tools on the table."
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/05/18/wisconsin-gop-ballot-boxes/73749916007/
'Michigan, we need you': First lady Jill Biden tells Detroit crowd women's rights at stake in election
Detroit — First lady Jill Biden linked support for re-electing President Joe Biden to the future of protecting women's rights at a talk Saturday in downtown Detroit.
"Michigan, we need you," Jill Biden told those attending the Legacy Luncheon for the Michigan Women’s Democratic Caucus at Huntington Place. "We have to meet this moment as if our rights are at stake, because they are. As if democracy is on the line, because it is."
Jill Biden's visit is part of a women's focused-trip to Michigan, which has had stops in Marquette in the Upper Peninsula and Midland, where the Midland Daily News reported the first lady emphasized that President Joe Biden has put women at the center of his agenda and talked about abortion rights.
The first lady's speech comes one day ahead of a scheduled keynote address by her husband at Sunday night's NAACP Detroit Branch's Fight for Freedom Fund Dinner. It also caps a two-week period in which Detroit has also drawn a visit from Vice President Kamala Harris.
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2024/05/18/first-lady-jill-biden-tells-detroit-crowd-womens-rights-at-stake-in-fall-election/73708944007/
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