Latest news with #6thDistrict
Yahoo
12-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Oshkosh letter-writers share criticisms of US Rep. Glenn Grothman
Here are this week's letters to the editor of the Oshkosh Northwestern. See our letters policy below for details about how to share your views. I attended a town hall where Congressman Glenn Grothman promised he wouldn't support cuts to Medicaid. Now, he backs a budget that does exactly that, using the same old line about 'waste, fraud and abuse' to hide real harm. We know what that means — fewer people get the care they need while politicians pretend they're protecting us. If this budget passes the House, Social Security and Medicare will also be affected. We need representatives who protect people, especially children, not just their political power. Making these cuts that will harm children to give tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans does not match my values, and I hope it doesn't match the values of the people of Wisconsin's 6th congressional district. I'm paying attention — and I hope my neighbors are, too. We shouldn't accept excuses for cuts that hurt families and seniors. We deserve better, and we should demand it. Teresa Thiel Menasha U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman voted to table House Resolution 537 — U.S. Rep. Al Green's impeachment resolution — postponing the impeachment process. This vote is as cowardly as it is shortsighted: in refusing to move the impeachment process forward, Rep. Grothman has shown us he does not intend to uphold his oath of office. This is a dangerous failure of leadership. Refusing to even entertain a public discussion of the president's impeachable conduct risks lasting damage to our democracy. As a voter from Neenah, I need my representative to recognize that Trump is a tyrant, dismantling democratic norms and leading the country into authoritarianism. His unauthorized military attack on Iran is only the most recent example. From his use of unidentified masked agents to enforce deportations, to the unprecedented step of using military forces for domestic policing, to his unilateral firings of federal workers and arbitrary swings in tariffs, and let us not even start about all the grifting he and his family appear to be doing! This president shows no respect for the laws or the reputation of this country. It is high time for Congress to exercise the constitutional process of impeachment, conviction and removal. In the meantime, I urge others in the Wisconsin 6th congressional district to support real leaders who are standing up to this threat and taking action to defend our country. Marilyn Fahrenkrug Neenah Letters to the editor are published in the order in which they are received and letter-writers are limited to having one letter published per month. Letters can be emailed to oshkoshnews@ and Editor Brandon Reid at breid@ Letters must meet specific guidelines, including being no more than 250 words and be from local authors or on topics of local interest. All submissions must include the name of the person who wrote the letter, their city of residence and a contact phone number. Letters are edited as needed for style, grammar, length, fairness, accuracy and libel. This article originally appeared on Oshkosh Northwestern: Oshkosh letter-writers share criticisms of US Rep. Glenn Grothman
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Kentucky Politics Insider: An ‘emotional' shakeup in KY-06, Beshear's media blitz
It's been a big week for the future of Kentucky's 6th Congressional District. It started with Sen. Amanda Mays Bledsoe, R-Lexington, passing on the GOP nomination contest after many had deemed her the favorite. Minutes later, it got even more interesting when former state senator and current Tennessee Department of Health Commissioner Ralph Alvarado all but threw his hat in the ring. The landscape has completely changed. For one candidate already in the race, it hit close to home — literally. State Rep. Ryan Dotson, R-Winchester, told the Herald-Leader he lives 'less than a third of a mile' from Alvarado and considers him a friend and political ally. 'I never even got a phone call. I never would have done this to him. It's kind of been a slap in the face to us who have supported him in the previous years,' Dotson said. He said that he helped Alvarado defeat a Democrat in his first election, which made history as Alvarado became the first Hispanic member of the Kentucky General Assembly. He also claimed that Alvarado helped recruit him to run for his current seat, which covers all of Clark County and a section of southern Fayette County. 'I've stood with him and he's stood with me,' Dotson added. '... He has to drive by my house everyday to get to his house — when he's in Kentucky.' The 6th Congressional District is currently held by Rep. Andy Barr, who is leaving his seat to seek election to the U.S. Senate in 2026. Though it was an 'emotional' moment for Dotson to learn of his friend running for the same office he declared for months ago, he said he woke up Tuesday with an even stronger 'fire in his belly' to win. Dotson, a businessman and preacher by trade, said he believes he's the most relatable to the 'common, everyday people' of anyone in the race. In his bid for the office, Dotson met with several members of Congress on the party's far-right flank, including Marjorie Taylor-Greene of Georgia, Andy Harris of Maryland and Jim Jordan of Ohio. He thinks his rightward positioning will help him in a primary setting. 'The people, especially true conservatives, are tired of politics as usual. They're looking for a candidate who's real, who's not a career politician,' Dotson said. 'Everybody that comes into this race will be to my left and people will know that.' The Democrats running — former state Rep. Cherlynn Stevenson and former Lexington-Fayette Urban County Councilman David Kloiber — remained focused on their primary challenges when asked about the recent shakeup. But Jared Smith, a Lexington-based Democratic consultant and lobbyist, said the move should excite Democrats. 'Due to Bledsoe's history in Lexington and her family's history, she was going to be able to get votes in Fayette that usually would have gone to a Democrat. That was her biggest strength, and I don't think Alvarado or another candidate is as capable of doing that,' Smith said. This latest development may not be the final domino to fall this month, or even this week. Many insiders still expect state Rep. Deanna Gordon, R-Richmond, to get in the race, adding both a regional element – Madison County is a large and growing part of the district – and a potentially new message to the race. Barbecue season is officially in full swing. One way you can tell is the Republican candidates' for U.S. Senate social media pages. Both former Attorney General Daniel Cameron and U.S. Rep. Andy Barr have been putting in their steps at events like the Campbellsville Fourth of July Parade and Nicholas County's Blackberry Festival Parade. Barr's team has emphasized his 'hustle' in social media posts, highlighting the fact that he's flown back and forth from Washington to Kentucky to meet voters and make big decisions. In a span of just over 24 hours, Barr voted for Trump's massive budget bill, flew back to Kentucky for a parade, went to two Fourth of July events in Kentucky in the morning and made it back to Washington in time for the bill signing. And yes, he made sure to make it into the group photo for the signing. Meanwhile, Lexington tech and insurance entrepreneur Nate Morris is still in the key stage of his campaign where he needs to define himself to voters — not least of all because political action committees sympathetic to his opponents are working hard to define him negatively. Enter the ad titled 'Who is Nate Morris.' The video drives home Morris' humble roots, being raised by a single mother and connects those to his support for Trump as an 'outsider' and businessman. The ad strikes a more a positive chord than Morris' first forays into the political sphere, which branded him as a pugnacious anti-McConnell warrior. The ad will be distributed digitally. It comes around the same time that Morris' campaign announced it would put a seven-figure investment behind the ad 'Garbage Day,' which features the politician 'taking out the trash' and throwing representations of McConnell, Barr and Cameron into a garbage truck. That ad will air on all television markets in the state, according to a campaign spokesperson. Gov. Andy Beshear is putting his name, face and message out far and wide. This past Sunday alone, he joined two of the top news programs to discuss how the so-called 'Big, Beautiful Bill' will affect states like Kentucky. On CNN, Beshear framed the bill as 'an attack on rural America,' due to the estimates that it will result in fewer people receiving health insurance from Medicaid and could hurt the bottom line of many rural hospitals. The 'America' phrasing was likely no accident. Beshear has not been coy about the possibility of running for president in 2028. In fact, most connected Democrats in Kentucky and Washington believe he'll go for it. That was highlighted in a recent interview with Vanity Fair, a prominent national magazine, that dubbed him 'an attractive Democratic presidential candidate' and 'a particularly effective messenger' in this moment. 'Beshear, 47, is a particularly effective messenger right now not simply because he is passionate and articulate, but because strenuous partisanship is not his natural style. Quite the opposite, in fact,' author Chris Smith wrote. When asked if he'd run for the White House, Beshear gave what's become his stock answer of late: I'll think about it, eventually. 'Two years ago, I wouldn't have considered [running for president],' he says. 'But if I'm somebody who could maybe heal and bring the country back together, I'll think about it after next year.' The very early polling has Beshear running behind some of the bigger names in the party, many of whom have already run. Emerson Polling has Beshear at 2% among Democratic primary voters, coming in 9th place alongside prominent Democrats like governors JB Pritzker of Illinois, Wes Moore of Maryland and Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan.
18-06-2025
- Politics
Josh Weil announces 2026 Senate run to challenge Ashley Moody in Florida
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Democrat Josh Weil, who raised millions of dollars for an unsuccessful U.S. House campaign in Florida, said Wednesday that he will run for the U.S. Senate in 2026. If he were to become the Democratic nominee, Weil would challenge Republican U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody. She is a former state attorney general who was appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis to fill the seat vacated when Marco Rubio was named secretary of state. Weil said in a news release that he's running to make the state more affordable, especially for working people and the elderly. He also pledged to safeguard Social Security, health care and education. 'I'm running because Floridians are suffering,' Weil said. 'People can't afford to live here anymore. Rent, health care, gas, home insurance — everything is more expensive than ever and politicians are making it worse." The Moody campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday. She has been collecting endorsements from prominent Republicans, dozens of sheriffs and others. Weil, a public school teacher and administrator in the Orlando area, gained national attention when he raised about $15 million from small donors — according to his news release — for a U.S. House special election against Republican Randy Fine, who raised far less but nevertheless won the 6th District seat in April. Whoever wins the 2026 Senate race will finish the final two years of Rubio's term, then could run for reelection in 2028. It's unclear yet who else might enter the race. "I'm running for U.S. Senate because Floridians deserve more than survival. They deserve a fighter who won't sell out, won't back down and will fight for the future their hard work has earned,' Weil said.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Local congressman's first bill passes House
HIGH POINT — Freshman Rep. Addison McDowell, R-6th District, has marked a milestone in his role as a congressman. The House of Representatives earlier this week passed McDowell's House Resolution 2351 to strengthen the U.S. Coast Guard's authority to combat drug trafficking and respond to fentanyl overdoses. The bill is McDowell's first sponsored legislation to pass on the House floor. 'Our Coast Guard is taking the fight straight to fentanyl traffickers off our coast, stopping dangerous drugs before they poison our communities,' said McDowell, who took office after winning in last November's general election. 'This bill gives them the muscle and authority they need to secure our maritime borders, prosecute traffickers hiding behind unmanned vessels, and save lives with immediate access to naloxone.' The legislation expands the Coast Guard's authority to prosecute cases involving unmanned vessels or drugs smuggled aboard without the crew's knowledge. The bill also requires naloxone and other lifesaving overdose treatments to be available wherever Coast Guard personnel serve to allow for quick response saving lives during overdoses. 'This bill gives our Coast Guard the tools they need to save lives and stop traffickers,' McDowell said.
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
SC congressman again proposes closing ‘loophole' that allowed Charleston shooter to buy gun
Rep. Jim Clyburn speaks at his annual fish fry on Friday May 30, 2025. (Photo by Shaun Chornobroff/SC daily Gazette) A decade after nine people were gunned down in a Charleston church, South Carolina's lone Democrat in Congress is launching another effort to close the loophole that allowed the hate-filled shooter to purchase his gun. U.S. Rep. James Clyburn, accompanied by a quartet of House Democrats, announced Tuesday the latest proposal to give the FBI longer to complete a background check. Instead of letting a gun sale go through after three business days, the bill would give the FBI up to 20 business days to verify whether a customer checks out. A longer background check may have prevented the tragedy that shocked the nation June 17, 2015. A drug arrest should've prevented then-21-year-old Dylann Roof from buying the gun he used to kill people gathered for a Wednesday night Bible study at Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in downtown Charleston. But an FBI investigator didn't determine that in time to stop the sale. 'These were all constituents of mine, some of whom I knew very personally,' Clyburn, whose 6th District includes the historic Black church, said at a news conference in Washington, D.C. 'With the kind of background check we are talking about today, we would have prevented that because he would have never gotten a gun.' The gunman, an avowed white supremacist who wanted to start a race war, 'had cased the church. He had researched the church,' Clyburn said one week ahead of the 10-year anniversary. 'And he picked this church because of its history.' A federal jury convicted Roof in December 2016 on 33 counts of federal hate crimes and firearms charges. Weeks later, jurors sentenced him to death. He is among just three inmates left on federal death row after President Joe Biden pardoned 37 other prisoners in December. SC activists call for expanded gun background checks a decade after Mother Emanuel slaying In the aftermath of the shooting, the federal law allowing a licensed firearm dealer to continue with a sale after three days — regardless of whether the check has been completed — became known as the Charleston loophole. State and federal proposals to give the FBI more time have failed repeatedly. A month after the massacre, FBI Director James Comey outlined the clerical errors and jurisdictional confusion that let the gun sale go through, saying 'The bottom line is clear: Dylann Roof should not have been able to legally buy that gun that day.' Then-Gov. Nikki Haley said that knowledge made her 'literally sick to my stomach.' Her response was to criticize the FBI for still relying on paperwork, saying technology, not more time, is the solution. Pro-gun lobbying groups, including the National Rifle Association, remain staunchly opposed to extending background checks, arguing extended checks could put people in danger as they wait. The NRA has also noted that two months lapsed between Roof buying the gun and the shooting. The group contends extending the three-day required wait would not have stopped him. Nationwide, 22 states have either extended the wait for a background check beyond three days or eliminated the ability for a sale to proceed before a check is complete, no matter how long it takes, according to the gun safety nonprofit Everytown. In the Southeast, those states include Florida, Tennessee and Virginia. The bill Clyburn announced Tuesday is very similar to legislation that passed the U.S. House in 2019 and 2021, when Democrats controlled the chamber. Neither got a vote on the Senate floor. Legislation he introduced in 2023, after Republicans regained control of the House, never made it out of committee. At the news conference, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries pleaded for Republicans to support the bill. 'The gun violence epidemic that has ravaged America for far too long in such horrific ways, in such deeply personal ways, in such searing ways, requires an aggressive, commonsense response,' said the New York Democrat, adding, 'We just need a handful of Republicans to join us.'
