Author: PolitCens

Five U.S. states are holding primary elections Tuesday, with a Republican battle for a Senate seat representing Kansas among the key races. A total of 11 candidates are competing for the chance to be on the November general election ballot as voters make their pick to fill the seat of retiring Republican Senator Pat Roberts. Roberts has endorsed Congressman Roger Marshall, who also has the backing of other Republican leaders. Former Kansas secretary of state Kris Kobach and plumbing company founder Bob Hamilton are the other top contenders. Kobach lost a 2018 bid to be the governor of Kansas. The last time a Republican candidate lost an election for a Senate seat representing Kansas was 1932. The Republican who wins Tuesday will likely be favored in November, but Democratic candidate Barbara Bollier has raised more money thus far than any of the Republicans and her party is pushing to regain a majority in the Senate. Heading into the November election day, Republicans hold a 53-47 Senate advantage, while Democrats have the majority in the House of Representatives. In the House, there is a Republican primary Tuesday for the 2nd congressional district in Kansas with incumbent Congressman Steve Watkins battling a challenge from State Treasurer Jake LaTurner. LaTurner has said felony illegal voting charges against Watkins, which Watkins denies, make him vulnerable to losing the seat to a Democrat in November. Watkins has campaigned as a staunch conservative who backs President Donald Trump. President Donald Trump talks with Republican candidate for Kansas’ 2nd Congressional District Steve Watkins during a campaign rally at Kansas Expocentre, Oct. 6, 2018 in Topeka, Kan.In the state of Michigan, focus Tuesday will be on the 13th congressional district where Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib is facing a Democratic primary challenge from Detroit City Council president Brenda Jones. Tlaib finished 900 votes ahead of Jones in a six-person race in the party’s 2018 primary.  This time it will just be those two candidates on the ballot. Republicans are also battling for the chance to fill the seats of two retiring congressmen representing Michigan districts. In the 3rd congressional district, five Republicans are competing for the seat currently held by Congressman Justin Amash, who left the Republican party a year ago. Three Republicans are on the ballot in the race for the party’s nomination in the 10th district, which is currently represented by retiring Republican Congressman Paul Mitchell. Voters in the state of Arizona are casting primary ballots to pick candidates for a special election to fill the remaining two years of the late Senator John McCain’s term. Republican Martha McSally was appointed to the seat in 2018 and is facing a challenge from businessman Daniel McCarthy.  In the Democratic race, former astronaut Mark Kelly is heavily favored over a write-in candidate. Voters are also casting primary ballots for House seats in Arizona, as well as Missouri and Washington. The general election is November 3, and winners will take office in January. 
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Five U.S. states are holding primary elections Tuesday, with a Republican battle for a Senate seat representing Kansas among the key races. A total of 11 candidates are competing for the chance to be on the November general election ballot as voters make their pick to fill the seat of retiring Republican Senator Pat Roberts. Roberts has endorsed Congressman Roger Marshall, who also has the backing of other Republican leaders. Former Kansas secretary of state Kris Kobach and plumbing company founder Bob Hamilton are the other top contenders. Kobach lost a 2018 bid to be the governor of Kansas. The last time a Republican candidate lost an election for a Senate seat representing Kansas was 1932. The Republican who wins Tuesday will likely be favored in November, but Democratic candidate Barbara Bollier has raised more money thus far than any of the Republicans and her party is pushing to regain a majority in the Senate. Heading into the November election day, Republicans hold a 53-47 Senate advantage, while Democrats have the majority in the House of Representatives. In the House, there is a Republican primary Tuesday for the 2nd congressional district in Kansas with incumbent Congressman Steve Watkins battling a challenge from State Treasurer Jake LaTurner. LaTurner has said felony illegal voting charges against Watkins, which Watkins denies, make him vulnerable to losing the seat to a Democrat in November. Watkins has campaigned as a staunch conservative who backs President Donald Trump. President Donald Trump talks with Republican candidate for Kansas’ 2nd Congressional District Steve Watkins during a campaign rally at Kansas Expocentre, Oct. 6, 2018 in Topeka, Kan.In the state of Michigan, focus Tuesday will be on the 13th congressional district where Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib is facing a Democratic primary challenge from Detroit City Council president Brenda Jones. Tlaib finished 900 votes ahead of Jones in a six-person race in the party’s 2018 primary.  This time it will just be those two candidates on the ballot. Republicans are also battling for the chance to fill the seats of two retiring congressmen representing Michigan districts. In the 3rd congressional district, five Republicans are competing for the seat currently held by Congressman Justin Amash, who left the Republican party a year ago. Three Republicans are on the ballot in the race for the party’s nomination in the 10th district, which is currently represented by retiring Republican Congressman Paul Mitchell. Voters in the state of Arizona are casting primary ballots to pick candidates for a special election to fill the remaining two years of the late Senator John McCain’s term. Republican Martha McSally was appointed to the seat in 2018 and is facing a challenge from businessman Daniel McCarthy.  In the Democratic race, former astronaut Mark Kelly is heavily favored over a write-in candidate. Voters are also casting primary ballots for House seats in Arizona, as well as Missouri and Washington. The general election is November 3, and winners will take office in January. 
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White House officials and top congressional Democrats plan to meet again Tuesday after both sides cited some progress in their effort to find agreement on a new coronavirus aid package. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Monday staff members would meet overnight, and that she and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer would hold another round of talks Tuesday with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. “We are moving down the track,” Pelosi told reporters after two hours of negotiations Monday. “We still have our differences. We are trying to have clearer understanding of what the needs are.”White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, center, waits in the office of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., on Capitol Hill in Washington, Aug. 3, 2020.The two sides have been divided by the size of their proposed aid packages, with Democrats calling for $3 trillion in new spending and Republicans wanting to limit it to $1 trillion. Among the items under discussion are sending out another round of stimulus payments, helping renters avoid eviction, aiding the Postal Service, and action to address $600-per-week federal unemployment payments that expired last week. Republican leaders have put forth the idea of passing a smaller aid package that addresses some items while leaving negotiations on others for later, but Mnuchin signaled some flexibility Monday. “We’re open to a bigger package if we can reach an agreement,” he told reporters. Democrats have dismissed that approach, arguing instead that the federal government needs to take big action to confront the economic challenges facing the country. “If we don’t have that response, it’ll take longer, more people will stay unemployed for a longer amount of time, more businesses will close, et cetera,” Schumer told reporters Monday. 
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Five U.S. states are holding primary elections Tuesday, with a Republican battle for a Senate seat representing Kansas among the key races. A total of 11 candidates are competing for the chance to be on the November general election ballot as voters make their pick to fill the seat of retiring Republican Senator Pat Roberts. Roberts has endorsed Congressman Roger Marshall, who also has the backing of other Republican leaders. Former Kansas secretary of state Kris Kobach and plumbing company founder Bob Hamilton are the other top contenders. Kobach lost a 2018 bid to be the governor of Kansas. The last time a Republican candidate lost an election for a Senate seat representing Kansas was 1932. The Republican who wins Tuesday will likely be favored in November, but Democratic candidate Barbara Bollier has raised more money thus far than any of the Republicans and her party is pushing to regain a majority in the Senate. Heading into the November election day, Republicans hold a 53-47 Senate advantage, while Democrats have the majority in the House of Representatives. In the House, there is a Republican primary Tuesday for the 2nd congressional district in Kansas with incumbent Congressman Steve Watkins battling a challenge from State Treasurer Jake LaTurner. LaTurner has said felony illegal voting charges against Watkins, which Watkins denies, make him vulnerable to losing the seat to a Democrat in November. Watkins has campaigned as a staunch conservative who backs President Donald Trump. President Donald Trump talks with Republican candidate for Kansas’ 2nd Congressional District Steve Watkins during a campaign rally at Kansas Expocentre, Oct. 6, 2018 in Topeka, Kan.In the state of Michigan, focus Tuesday will be on the 13th congressional district where Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib is facing a Democratic primary challenge from Detroit City Council president Brenda Jones. Tlaib finished 900 votes ahead of Jones in a six-person race in the party’s 2018 primary.  This time it will just be those two candidates on the ballot. Republicans are also battling for the chance to fill the seats of two retiring congressmen representing Michigan districts. In the 3rd congressional district, five Republicans are competing for the seat currently held by Congressman Justin Amash, who left the Republican party a year ago. Three Republicans are on the ballot in the race for the party’s nomination in the 10th district, which is currently represented by retiring Republican Congressman Paul Mitchell. Voters in the state of Arizona are casting primary ballots to pick candidates for a special election to fill the remaining two years of the late Senator John McCain’s term. Republican Martha McSally was appointed to the seat in 2018 and is facing a challenge from businessman Daniel McCarthy.  In the Democratic race, former astronaut Mark Kelly is heavily favored over a write-in candidate. Voters are also casting primary ballots for House seats in Arizona, as well as Missouri and Washington. The general election is November 3, and winners will take office in January. 
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Several prominent Republicans have formed political action committees whose objective is to defeat Republican President Donald Trump in November’s U.S. general election. VOA’s Steve Redisch examines this rare revolt against a party’s own leader. Producer: Miguel Amaya 
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Lawmakers in Nevada have agreed to send ballots to all voters in the western U.S. state for November’s presidential election, a move that drew an immediate rebuke from President Donald Trump as unfair to Republicans.The legislation, which is expected to be signed by Democratic Governor Steve Sisolak, would make Nevada the eighth state to automatically send mail-in ballots to make it easier to vote and avoid long lines at polling places on Nov. 3 in the midst of the continuing surge of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States.Trump has contended, without evidence, that increased mail-in voting, in Nevada and elsewhere, will lead to widespread election fraud and an election rigged against him.The president threatened to sue to block the change in the voting regimen in Nevada, where he lost by 27,000 votes to Democrat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election. Polling shows the state leaning toward the presumptive Democratic candidate, former Vice President Joe Biden, over Trump in the election three months from now.Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline.Download File360p | 6 MB480p | 8 MB540p | 11 MB720p | 21 MB1080p | 45 MBOriginal | 50 MB Embed” />Copy Download AudioNevada has six electoral votes of the 270 needed to win the presidency in the Electoral College, the country’s indirect system of democratic national elections in which the state-by-state outcomes determine who wins a four-year term in the White House.  In a Twitter comment, Trump said, “In an illegal late night coup, Nevada’s clubhouse Governor made it impossible for Republicans to win the state. Post Office could never handle the Traffic of Mail-In Votes without preparation. Using Covid to steal the state. See you in Court!”In an illegal late night coup, Nevada’s clubhouse Governor made it impossible for Republicans to win the state. Post Office could never handle the Traffic of Mail-In Votes without preparation. Using Covid to steal the state. See you in Court! https://t.co/cNSPINgCY7— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 3, 2020COVID-19 is the disease caused by the coronavirus.In previous years, five of the 50 states, including Republican-dominated Utah, have conducted mail-in votes with few allegations of fraud. Two Democratic states, California and Vermont, moved this year to adopt mail-in voting, but Trump has launched a lengthy string of verbal attacks on states that have revised restrictions to make it easier to vote in the midst of the pandemic.More than voter fraud, the country could be facing an issue regarding counting on Election Day, Nov. 3, with most Americans accustomed to learning who won the presidency the same day they cast ballots.The counting of mail-in ballots in states that have held political party primary elections in recent months has extended for weeks in some contests, possibly presaging difficulties throughout the country in the presidential election. Two elections in New York that were held in late June have yet to be decided because of the slow count of mailed-in ballots.
 
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