Kansas Republican senate president announces 2026 gubernatorial bid
Republicans are keen to recapture the governor's office in GOP-leaning Kansas after Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly narrowly won a second four-year term in 2022. Kelly is term-limited and cannot run again.
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Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
GA Insurance Commissioner John King suspends Senate campaign
The Brief Georgia Insurance and Fire Safety Commissioner John King has suspended his Republican campaign to unseat U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, citing limited chances of winning the nomination. King will instead run for re-election to his current post, vowing to keep Georgia's statewide offices Republican and support a pro-Trump Senate candidate. His decision follows Gov. Brian Kemp's push to back former football coach Derek Dooley and avoid a divisive GOP primary battle. ATLANTA - Georgia Insurance and Fire Safety Commissioner John F. King has ended his bid to challenge U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, citing limited prospects for winning the Republican nomination. PREVIOUS: Georgia Insurance Commissioner John King talks about 2026 Senate campaign What we know King shared the news Thursday on social media, saying he entered the race with the goal of defeating Ossoff but now sees no clear path forward. Instead, King will seek re-election to his current post as commissioner. King was appointed by Gov. Kemp in 2019 and secured a full term in 2022. "I'm going to do everything I can to keep Georgia's state offices red and back a Senate nominee who supports President Trump's agenda," King said. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, King's decision was a result of being told that Gov. Kemp was working to consolidate GOP support behind Derek Dooley, the former football coach and family friend expected to join the primary race. Kemp's backing of Dooley follows conversations with other Republicans, including U.S. Reps. Buddy Carter and Mike Collins, signaling the governor's desire to unify the party. Kemp has reportedly spoken with former President Trump in recent weeks to rally support for a consensus GOP candidate. Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.) announced in May that he is planning to run against Sen. Ossoff and Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.) may also run.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Gov. Kathy Hochul open to redistricting New York amid Trump push for Republican seats
NEW YORK — Gov. Kathy Hochul on Thursday said she's open to congressional redistricting in New York to boost Democrats ahead of the 2026 midterm elections amid President Trump's push to redraw red states like Texas to help Republicans keep control of the House. With Trump aiming to squeeze at least five more GOP seats in the Lone Star State, Hochul said Democrats should be open to hitting back by redrawing New York's 26 districts to benefit Team Blue. 'All's fair in love and war' Hochul said during an unrelated event in her home town of Buffalo. 'If there's other states violating the rules and are trying to give themselves an advantage, all I'll say is, I'm going to look at it closely.' Hochul said she's determined to respond in kind if Republicans game the system in red states in an effort to cling to power in what is looming as a tough political climate in 2026. 'I'm not surprised that they're trying to break the rules to get an advantage,' Hochul added. 'But that's undemocratic, and not only are we calling them out, we're also going to see what our options are.' Hochul said she would confer with Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic House minority leader, about a path forward on redistricting in New York, where Democrats now hold 19 seats and Republicans have seven. Republicans hold the House by a slim seven-vote margin, and history says parties of the sitting president usually lose more seats than that in a midterm after winning election. Jeffries said this week that Democrats in New York and other blue states should consider all options if Trump and Republicans choose the political nuclear option by ripping up the Texas map in the middle of the decade. 'Every single state is going to have to do the same thing because Republicans are desperate,' Jeffries told reporters on Capitol Hill Tuesday. Redistricting in New York, California and several other Democratic states would be a significantly tougher lift legally and maybe politically than in Texas or other red states. New York's constitution only allows for redistricting to take place once a decade and it's unclear how or if Democrats could get around that provision. The liberal-led state's highest court would have to weigh in on any effort to redraw the districts. If Democrats could get over legal hurdles, they could potentially use their supermajorities in the state Assembly and Senate to bulldoze the suggestions of a bipartisan, independent redistricting committee. Election analysts believe New York maps could be tweaked to give Democrats the upper hand in at least 22 or 23 districts, a gain of three or four seats compared to the current map. The most obvious tweaks would involve eliminating Rep. Nicole Malliotakis' edge in her Staten Island-based district by including deep-blue parts of Brooklyn; redrawing Long Island to give Democrats an advantage in Rep. Nick LaLota's East End district; and rejiggering the Westchester County-based swing district represented by Rep. Mike Lawler to make it impossible for him to win reelection. A creative redrawing of far upstate districts could solidify Rep. Josh Riley's hold on his battleground NY-19 district in the Catskills and perhaps give Democrats a chance to oust Rep. Claudia Tenney by packing Republicans into neighboring red districts. Texas Republicans, who control the entire state government as well as a conservative-dominated court system, are holding a special legislative session to consider re-divvying up the state's 38 districts, which are now split 25-12 in favor of Republicans, with one deep-blue Houston seat vacant. The GOP is also hoping to redraw Ohio to pick up three seats and have discussed moves to redraw maps in Indiana and Missouri too. California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is vowing to hit back by seeking to divide up the heavily Democratic Golden State to win a handful more seats. _____
San Francisco Chronicle
2 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
The White House wants more states to redraw House maps to help GOP. Democrats are readying a fight
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is eyeing redistricting efforts beyond Texas to help Republicans hold the U.S. House in 2026 — and Democrats are preparing to escalate in response, with one senator vowing to go 'nuclear' if needed. What's shaping up to be a multi-state redistricting battle could mark the opening round for House control ahead of next year's midterms, when Democrats see retaking the House as the party's best chance to break Republicans' hold on Congress and President Donald Trump is determined to keep the GOP's majority. Democrats, under pressure from their base to match GOP tactics, have grown more forceful in their messaging and are taking concrete steps to push back, even as the party enters at a disadvantage. 'If they're going to go nuclear, then so am I,' said Sen. Elissa Slotkin. 'They're forcing us into this position because they're trying to pick their voters.' At Trump's urging, Texas Republicans are looking to redraw congressional maps to favor GOP candidates during a 30-day special legislative session that started this week. Trump has said he wants to carve out five new winnable GOP seats. But Trump officials are now going beyond just Texas, looking to redraw lines in other states such as Missouri, according to a person familiar with conversations but unauthorized to speak publicly about them. Democrats have fewer options. More of the states the party controls do not allow elected partisans to draw maps, instead entrusting groups such as independent commissions to draw fair lines. Still, party leaders are exploring their legal options and shifting their posture. A party long known for believing it's on the moral high ground is signaling it's ready to fight dirty. 'We can't fight with one hand behind our backs,' Rep. Pete Aguilar, chair of the House Democratic Caucus, told reporters Tuesday. Democrats explore their own redistricting map plans House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries may have fewer options to match Republicans, but it hasn't stopped him from exploring them. Earlier this month, Jeffries' team spoke with New York Gov. Kathy Hochul's office about redistricting after the news in Texas, according to a person familiar with the conversations. Drawing new congressional lines now could run afoul of the state constitution and undoubtedly draw legal challenges — but it doesn't appear to be off the table. 'What I'm going to say is, all is fair in love and war,' Hochul said Thursday, adding that she's 'going to see what our options are.' 'If there's other states that are violating the rules that are going to try and give themselves an advantage, all I'll say is I'm going to look at it closely with Hakeem Jeffries.' Jeffries and his advisers have also examined legal strategies in other states with Democratic trifectas, including California, where he recently met with the state's congressional delegation. 'Two can play this game,' California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a potential Democratic contender for president in 2028, said on social media in response to Trump's redistricting push. An independent commission handles redistricting in his state. Newsom has floated the notion of California's Democratic-controlled legislature doing a mid-decade redistricting, arguing it wouldn't be expressly forbidden by the 2008 ballot initiative that created the commission. He's also mentioned the possibility of squeezing in a special election to repeal the popular commission system before the 2026 elections get underway, either of which would be a long shot. Democrats see redistricting fight as an avenue to pushback Beyond the behind-the-scenes maneuvering, Democrats see the redistricting fight as an opportunity to meet the moment politically — delivering the kind of aggressive pushback their voters have demanded. Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego, in a series of social media posts, pushed Democrats to fight back, saying the party should 'gerrymander to help Democrats' and arguing they should dilute heavily Democratic districts to secure more seats 'everywhere.' 'It's time for Democrats to understand the existential threat. Republicans aren't playing around and they will do this as long as it takes to keep power,' he warned. Gallego later told the Associated Press it's simply about ensuring 'that we're also fighting back.' That sentiment has gained traction beyond Congress. Former Texas congressman Beto O'Rourke said Sunday on CNN that Democrats need to be 'to be absolutely ruthless about getting back in power.' Next month, former President Barack Obama is heading to Martha's Vineyard for a fundraiser benefitting the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, a group that has filed and supported litigation in several states over GOP-drawn districts. Eric Holder, Obama's former attorney general who chairs the outfit, is expected to attend, along with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, according to a copy of the invitation first reported by Politico. The group has been critical of Texas' efforts, in a release earlier this week accusing Texas Republicans of 'following Donald Trump's orders to try to cheat their way to a House majority because they are terrified of facing voters after taking health care away from millions of Americans and giving a massive tax cut to the wealthy.' Redrawing maps could be risky for GOP Redrawing of congressional maps holds risks. During the 2010s, Texas' GOP-controlled Legislature redrew the congressional map to bolster the party's majority. But the advantage proved short-lived: in 2018, a backlash to Trump's presidency helped Democrats flip two seats that Republicans had assumed were safely red. 'There had to be folks that drew these lines and everything that had a very strong opinion of exactly where they ought to be,' said West Virginia Sen. Jim Justice, a Republican. 'Now just to say, 'Okay, we're going to redraw this, we're going to redraw that. And by god, if you're going to redraw, we're going to redraw.' I don't like that.' Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley said Thursday that he has not yet spoken to any Republicans in his state about redistricting but that it's up to the Missouri legislature and governor to make the call. 'I'd love to have more Republicans,' Hawley said. ___ ___ Kinnard reported from Chapin, S.C., and can be reached at
