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NY Gov. Kathy Hochul leads Rep. Lee Zeldin by 14 points ahead of Nov. 8 election: Poll

A new Siena College poll shows Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul with a 14-point lead over Republican nominee Rep. Lee Zeldin ahead of the Nov. 8 election.

When asked who they’d “vote for today” if Hochul and Zeldin were the candidates for their respective parties, 53% of respondents said they’d vote for the governor while 39% said they would vote for Zeldin.

Another 7% said they “don’t know” or had no opinion and 2% said they would not vote for governor at all.

“Hochul dominates in New York City, leading by nearly 50 points, while Zeldin has slim 3-point leads both upstate and in the downstate suburbs,” pollster Steven Greenberg said.

Political experts say a pathway to victory for Zeldin requires winning at least 30% of the vote in Democrat-dominated New York City while winning big in the surrounding suburbs and upstate.

The incumbent governor is up in every demographic category based on race, age and income in the survey of 806 likely voters conducted July 24 to July 28.

Women are favoring Hochul by a whopping 26 points while Hochul and Zeldin have 46% support each among men.

While 36% of New Yorkers believe the Empire State is heading in the right direction, just 19% say they same about the country – an all-time high that could help Republicans like Zeldin campaign on such issues as historically high inflation.

Kathy Hochul
Gov. Kathy Hochul dominates in New York City, leading by nearly 50 points.
Matthew McDermott
Joe Biden
President Joe Biden is receiving mixed reviews from the Democratic Party.
Getty Images/Anna Moneymaker

New Yorkers are split on Democratic President Joe Biden, who is rated as favorable and unfavorable by 46% of respondents to the Siena poll.

The results of the poll are similar to a separate survey released Tuesday morning by Emerson College Polling, which showed Hochul with a 16-point edge over Zeldin, with similar margins separating the candidates in New York City and other regions of the state.

While Zeldin appears to be falling short of his electoral targets, he appears better positioned at this point in the race compared to other recent GOP nominees.

A 2018 Siena poll showed Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro, a Republican, was 22 points behind Democratic incumbent Gov. Andrew Cuomo weeks after they won their respective party primaries, held in September that year.

lee zeldin
NY State Congressman and 2022 candidate for governor Lee Zeldin has slim 3-point leads both upstate and in the downstate suburbs.
J. Messerschmidt/NY Post

“While Democrats have taken the last four gubernatorial elections, Zeldin’s current 14-point deficit matches the closest Republicans have come in those races, when Andrew Cuomo defeated Rob Astorino 54-40% in 2014. In August 2014, Cuomo led Astorino by 32 points , 58-26%,” Greenberg said in the press release.

But Zeldin has ground to make up if he wants to replicate the success of George Pataki, the last Republican to serve as governor.

Republican challenger George Pataki led Democratic Gov. Mario Cuomo by 3 points statewide – with an 11-point edge in New York City – in an October 1994 poll conducted by The New York Times/WCBS-TV News ahead of Pataki’s upset victory over the three-term incumbent that November.

Other GOP candidates on the statewide ticket in November 2022 appear to face even longer odds than Zeldin of becoming the first Republican to win a statewide election since Pataki won his third term in office in 2002.

United States Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer
US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is leading in his race.
Rod Lamkey / CNP / MediaPunch

US Sen. Chuck Schumer and state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli have 21-point leads in their respective races against Republican nominee Joe Pinion, a former Newsmax host, and banker Paul Rodriguez, according to the Siena poll.

State Attorney General Letitia James is 14 points ahead of commercial litigator Michael Henry in her own reelection bid.

Hochul has raised more than $34 million in her bid to become the first woman to get elected governor after taking over last August for ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who resigned amid multiple scandals.

Campaign finance disclosures filed in mid-July show her with $11.7 million on hand to spend for the campaign ahead compared to $1.6 million for Zeldin.

handguns
Hochul has advocated for stricter gun control after a major Supreme Court decision last month.
AP/Philip Kamrass

In recent months, she has campaigned heavily on abortion rights and gun control following controversial decisions by the US Supreme Court that might be weighing down Republicans’ chances in the Empire State this November.

“Although a small majority of Republicans support the Dobbs decision, it is opposed by 89% of Democrats, 60% of independents, and at least of 62% of voters from every region, age group, gender, and race,” Greenberg said in reference to the recent SCOTUS decision on abortion.

“Support for the new law expanding eligibility requirements to obtain a permit to carry a concealed weapon – background checks with character references and firearms safety training courses – is through the roof with all demographic groups,” he added about new state laws passed following another ruling striking down long time New York rules on carrying concealed weapons.

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NY Gov. Kathy Hochul leads Rep. Lee Zeldin by 14 points ahead of Nov. 8 election: Poll

A new Siena College poll shows Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul with a 14-point lead over Republican nominee Rep. Lee Zeldin ahead of the Nov. 8 election.

“Hochul dominates in New York City, leading by nearly 50 points, while Zeldin has slim 3-point leads both upstate and in the downstate suburbs,” pollster Steven Greenberg said.

Political experts say a pathway to victory for Zeldin requires winning at least 30% of the vote in Democrat-dominated New York City while winning big in the surrounding suburbs and upstate.

The incumbent governor is up in every demographic category based on race, age and income in the survey of 806 likely voters conducted July 24 to July 28.

Women are favoring Hochul by a whopping 26 points while Hochul and Zeldin have 46% support each among men.

While 36% of New Yorkers believe the Empire State is heading in the right direction, just 19% say they same about the country – an all-time high that could help Republicans like Zeldin campaign on such issues as historically high inflation.

Kathy Hochul
Gov. Kathy Hochul dominates in New York City, leading by nearly 50 points.
Matthew McDermott
Joe Biden
President Joe Biden is receiving mixed reviews from the Democratic Party.
Getty Images/Anna Moneymaker

New Yorkers are split on Democratic President Joe Biden, who is rated as favorable and unfavorable by 46% of respondents to the Siena poll.

The results of the poll are similar to a separate survey released Tuesday morning by Emerson College Polling, which showed Hochul with a 16-point edge over Zeldin, with similar margins separating the candidates in New York City and other regions of the state.

While Zeldin appears to be falling short of his electoral targets, he appears better positioned at this point in the race compared to other recent GOP nominees.

A 2018 Siena poll showed Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro, a Republican, was 22 points behind Democratic incumbent Gov. Andrew Cuomo weeks after they won their respective party primaries, held in September that year.

lee zeldin
NY State Congressman and 2022 candidate for governor Lee Zeldin has slim 3-point leads both upstate and in the downstate suburbs.
J. Messerschmidt/NY Post

“While Democrats have taken the last four gubernatorial elections, Zeldin’s current 14-point deficit matches the closest Republicans have come in those races, when Andrew Cuomo defeated Rob Astorino 54-40% in 2014. In August 2014, Cuomo led Astorino by 32 points , 58-26%,” Greenberg said in the press release.

But Zeldin has ground to make up if he wants to replicate the success of George Pataki, the last Republican to serve as governor.

Republican challenger George Pataki led Democratic Gov. Mario Cuomo by 3 points statewide – with an 11-point edge in New York City – in an October 1994 poll conducted by The New York Times/WCBS-TV News ahead of Pataki’s upset victory over the three-term incumbent that November.

Other GOP candidates on the statewide ticket in November 2022 appear to face even longer odds than Zeldin of becoming the first Republican to win a statewide election since Pataki won his third term in office in 2002.

United States Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer
US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is leading in his race.
Rod Lamkey / CNP / MediaPunch

US Sen. Chuck Schumer and state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli have 21-point leads in their respective races against Republican nominee Joe Pinion, a former Newsmax host, and banker Paul Rodriguez, according to the Siena poll.

State Attorney General Letitia James is 14 points ahead of commercial litigator Michael Henry in her own reelection bid.

Hochul has raised more than $34 million in her bid to become the first woman to get elected governor after taking over last August for ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who resigned amid multiple scandals.

Campaign finance disclosures filed in mid-July show her with $11.7 million on hand to spend for the campaign ahead compared to $1.6 million for Zeldin.

handguns
Hochul has advocated for stricter gun control after a major Supreme Court decision last month.
AP/Philip Kamrass

In recent months, she has campaigned heavily on abortion rights and gun control following controversial decisions by the US Supreme Court that might be weighing down Republicans’ chances in the Empire State this November.

“Although a small majority of Republicans support the Dobbs decision, it is opposed by 89% of Democrats, 60% of independents, and at least of 62% of voters from every region, age group, gender, and race,” Greenberg said in reference to the recent SCOTUS decision on abortion.

“Support for the new law expanding eligibility requirements to obtain a permit to carry a concealed weapon – background checks with character references and firearms safety training courses – is through the roof with all demographic groups,” he added about new state laws passed following another ruling striking down long time New York rules on carrying concealed weapons.

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Arizona official refutes review that counted 282 dead voters

PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich said Monday his investigators found just one dead voter after thoroughly reviewing findings from a partisan review of the 2020 election that alleged 282 ballots were cast in the name of someone who had died.

The finding by the Republican attorney general, who is running for the US Senate in Tuesday’s primary, further discredits the review conducted last year. The review was led by an inexperienced firm, Cyber ​​Ninjas, and conducted largely by supporters of Donald Trump who falsely believe the election was stolen from him.

“Our agents investigated all individuals that Cyber ​​Ninjas reported as dead, and many were very surprised to learn that they were allegedly deceased,” Brnovich wrote in a letter to state Senate President Karen Fann, who used her subpoena power to obtain ballots, tabulators and election data and hired Cyber ​​Ninjas for what she called a “forensic audit.”

For the one substantiated incident, “the facts of the case did not support prosecution,” said Ryan Anderson, a spokesman for Brnovich. He said the dead person’s ballot was not counted. None of the three criminal cases the attorney general has filed over dead voters was connected to the Cyber ​​Ninjas investigation, he said.

Brnovich did not say whether any charges had been filed in connection with the one substantiated incident, and his spokesman, Ryan Anderson, did not respond to a phone call and text message. All other people listed by Cyber ​​Ninjas as deceased “were found to be current voters,” Brnovich wrote.

Combined with other reports of dead voters, Brnovich’s Election Integrity Unit investigated a combined 409 names and produced “only a handful of potential cases.”

Brnovich vouched for the legitimacy of the election immediately after President Joe Biden’s victory but later publicized his investigation of the Cyber ​​Ninjas allegations as he sought Trump’s endorsement for his Senate campaign. Trump ultimately released a scathing statement saying Brnovich wasn’t doing enough to advance his claims of fraud and endorsed businessman Blake Masters.

Federal and state election officials and Trump’s own attorney general have said there is no credible evidence the election was tainted. The former president’s allegations of fraud were also roundly rejected by courts, including by judges Trump appointed.

The Cyber ​​Ninjas review looked at data, machines and ballots from Maricopa County, the state’s largest. It produced a report that experts described as riddled with errors, bias and flawed methodology. Still, even that partisan review came up with a vote tally that would not have altered the outcome, finding that Biden won by 360 more votes than the official results.

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What to watch in primaries in Arizona, Michigan, elsewhere

In Missouri, scandal-ridden former Gov. Eric Greitens is attempting a political comeback. In Michigan, a crowded field of Republican gubernatorial candidates includes a man charged in the Jan. 6 US Capitol attack. In Arizona, a prominent figure in the QAnon conspiracy movement is running for the US House.

Those are among some of the most notable contests in Tuesday’s primary elections being held in six states.

Arizona, which Democrat Joe Biden narrowly won in 2020, is a top target for former President Donald Trump, who tried in vain to get his defeat overturned. He has endorsed a slate of candidates up and down the ballot who have promoted his false claims of a stolen election.

Trump has also been zeroed in on the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach him over the Jan. 6 insurrection. Three of them are on the ballot Tuesday in Washington state and Michigan, as are two members of “the Squad,” Democratic Reps. Cori Bush of Missouri and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan.

Meanwhile, Kansas voters could clear the way for the Republican-controlled Legislature to further restrict or ban abortion if they approve a proposed state constitutional change. It’s the first referendum vote on abortion policy by a state since the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June.

Ohio is also holding a primary for state legislative races on Tuesday, three months after its statewide and congressional contests — a split system that resulted from legal wrangling over redistricting.

What to watch:

ARIZONA

Trump’s endorsed in Arizona all have one thing in common: They have loudly candidates disseminated misinformation about the legitimacy of the 2020 election, despite election officials and Trump’s own attorney general saying there is no credible evidence the race was tainted.

In the governor’s race, Trump has backed former television news anchor Kari Lakewho has said that she would not have certified Arizona’s election results in 2020. Lake faces businesswoman Karrin Taylor Robson, who is endorsed by former Vice President Mike Pence and outgoing Gov. Doug Duey.

Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, a staunch defender of the 2020 election, is strongly favored to win the Democratic nomination for governor.

In the Republican primary for US Senate, Trump has backed tech investor Blake Masters as the candidate to go up against Democratic incumbent Mark Kelly in the fall. Masters, whose campaign has been bankrolled by billionaire Peter Thiel, has called for reducing legal immigration and espoused the baseless “great replacement” conspiracy theory, claiming Democrats are trying to “replace Americans who were born here.”

Attorney General Mark Brnovich, another Senate candidate, has been weighed down by lackluster fundraising and fierce criticism from Trump, who says Brnovich did little to advance his election fraud claims. Another top candidate, Jim Lamonthe founder of a solar energy firm, has touted his experience as a military veteran and entrepreneur.

The Republican primary for secretary of state includes Trump-backed legislator Mark Finchem, a state representative who worked to overturn Trump’s 2020 loss; state Rep. Shawnna Bolick, who introduced a bill to let legislators ignore election results and choose their own presidential electors; and state Sen. Michelle Ugenti-Rita, who has long pushed to overhaul election laws. The GOP establishment has rallied around advertising executive Beau Lane in the race.

Ron Watkins, who has ties to the QAnon conspiracy theory, is considered a long shot in his House run. Watkins, a Republican, served as the longtime administrator of the online message boards that became the home of the anonymous “Q.” The conspiracy theory is centered around the baseless belief that Trump waged a secret campaign against enemies in the “deep state” and that a group of satanic, cannibalistic child molesters secretly runs the globe.

In the state Legislature, Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowerswho testified at a Jan. 6 hearing about Trump’s pressure to overturn the 2020 election, faces a Trump-backed candidate in his bid to run for the state Senate.

MICHIGAN

The Republican primary for governor was wild from the start, with five candidates getting kicked off the ballot for failing to file enough valid nominating signatures.

Several of the remaining candidates have baggage that could hurt in a general election against Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

Real estate broker Ryan Kelley has pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor charges after authorities said he rallied Trump’s supporters to storm the US Capitol. Businessman Kevin Rinke was sued in the 1990s for sex harassment and racial discrimination — allegations he says were lies. Chiropractor Garrett Soldano hawked supplements he falsely claimed treated COVID-19. Businesswoman Tudor Dixonwho has been endorsed by Trump, has previously acted in low-budget horror pictures, one of which included a zombie biting off a man’s genitals.

All of the candidates falsely say there was fraud in the 2020 election, with Dixon, Kelley and Soldano saying the election was stolen from Trump.

Republican Rep. Peter Meijer is hoping to hold on to his seat after voting to impeach Trump. The former president has endorsed businessman and missionary John Gibbswho worked in the Trump administration under Housing Secretary Ben Carson.

MISSOURI

Greitens’ political career appeared over when he resigned as governor in 2018, following his admission to an extramarital affair and accusations of blackmail and campaign finance violations. On Tuesday, the former Navy SEAL officer has a chance at redemption in his Republican primary for the seat held by retiring GOP US Sen. Roy Blunt.

Greitens, Attorney General Eric Schmitt and US Rep. Vicky Hartzler are the front-runners in a crowded 21-person GOP field that includes US Rep. Billy Long and Mark McCloskey, the St. Louis lawyer who along with his wife pointed guns at racial injustice protesters who ventured onto their private street.

Trump has not made an endorsement in the race, though he’s ruled out Hartzler.

The GOP winner in Missouri, a solidly Republican state, will be favored in November. But Republican leaders have long worried that Greitens — his ex-wife has also accused him of abuseallegations Greitens has called “baseless” — could win the primary but lose the general election.

On the Democratic side, the nomination appears to be up for grabs between Lucas Kuncea Marine veteran and self-proclaimed populist, and Trudy Busch Valentinean heiress of the Busch beer fortune who has largely self-funded her campaign.

WASHINGTON

Two Republican House members from Washington state who voted to impeach Trump face primary challengers endorsed by him.

Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, who has been in Congress since 2011, has said she voted for impeachment because she had “an obligation to the Constitution.” Trump has endorsed Joe Kenta former Green Beret and a conservative cable show regular who echoes the former president’s grievances about the 2020 election outcome.

Rep. Dan Newhouse, a congressman since 2015, said he cast the vote to impeach Trump for inciting and refusing to immediately stop the Jan. 6 insurrection. Among his challengers he is Loren Culpa Trump-backed former small-town police chief who refused to concede the 2020 governor’s race to Democrat Jay Inslee.

In Washington, the top two vote-getters in each race, regardless of party, move forward to November.

KANSAS

Voters will decide whether to approve a change to the state constitution that could allow the Legislature to restrict or ban abortion despite a 2019 state Supreme Court ruling that abortion access is a fundamental right. It’s the first referendum on abortion by a state since Roe v. Wade’s reverse.

In statewide races, Republican Kris Kobach is running for attorney general as he attempts a political comeback following losses in races for governor and US Senate in previous years. Kobach, the state’s former secretary of state, served as vice chair of a short-lived Trump commission on election fraud after the 2016 election.

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Associated Press writers Jonathan J. Cooper in Phoenix; Sara Burnett in Chicago; Jim Salter in O’Fallon, Missouri; Chris Grygiel in Seattle; and John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas; contributed to this report.

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Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP.

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Follow AP for full coverage of the midterms at https://apnews.com/hub/2022-midterm-elections and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/ap_politics.

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Cunningham picks former fighter pilot as SC gov running mate

COLUMBIA, SC (AP) — Joe Cunningham has chosen Tally Parham Casey, a civil litigator who flew fighter jets during three combat tours over Iraq, to ​​be his running mate in his quest to become South Carolina’s first Democratic governor in 20 years.

“She’s one of the most impressive people that I’ve ever met,” said Cunningham, who previewed his lieutenant governor pick for The Associated Press ahead of a formal announcement Monday. “Ella She’s fought for our freedoms abroad, and she wants to continue fighting for those freedoms, so that’s why I put her on the ticket, and ella she’s agreed to do it.”

Cunningham, 40, planned to introduce Casey, 52, at an event in Greenville, her hometown.

“I have long admired Joe’s bipartisan approach to governing and believe he is exactly what South Carolina needs as governor,” Casey said in a statement provided by the campaign, calling her selection “an incredible honor and privilege.”

“Joe is a regular guy who has the guts to say what we’re all thinking,” she also said in the statement.

This is the second gubernatorial election cycle in which contenders for South Carolina’s top two executive offices run on the same ticket. In years past, governors and their lieutenant governors were elected separately, meaning that sometimes the politicians clashed ideologically or were from different parties.

Last week, Gov. Henry McMaster and Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, 54, became South Carolina’s first gubernatorial ticket to file for reelection, with McMaster calling the payroll company founder “fully conversant with the trials, tribulations and challenges of business.” That skillset, the governor has saidcomplements his decades in law and politics.

Since her election in 2018, Evette has spent many months traveling the state, meeting with businesses and promoting their relationships with South Carolina’s technical training schools. Both she and the governor say keeping them strong is key to the state’s manufacturing economy.

Cunningham also points to the diverse experiences of his running mate. Casey’s military service, legal savvy and the fact that she’s a woman make her the right fit for where he’d like to take the state, he said.

“Tally is the best person for the job, period,” Cunningham told AP. “And the fact that she’s a woman brings that perspective to the ticket, especially in light of everything that’s gone on with Gov. McMaster’s attack on our freedoms and his assault on women’s rights. It makes it that much more personal for Tally.”

The Republican-dominated Legislature is on track to make abortions even harder to get in South Carolina following the US Supreme Court’s decision to reverse its nearly 50-year-old Roe v. Wade ruling affirming a constitutional right to the procedure.

While abortion-rights groups challenge the state’s current law, which bans abortions after six weeks of pregnancy but includes some exceptions, a special legislative committee advanced a proposal last week to ban almost all abortions, except when the mother’s life is at risk.

McMaster, who has said he would “immediately” work with those lawmakers, said last week that the six-week ban includes “good exceptions” and is “quite reasonable.”

“If there are other steps, if there are other things that they believe should be done after thorough examination, then I’d like to hear about it,” McMaster said.

Cunningham has called for legislators to hold off on debating the measure this fall until after the November election.

Casey was South Carolina’s first female fighter pilot, enlisting with the state’s Air National Guard’s 157th Fighter Squadron in 1996 and attaining the rank of lieutenant colonel. She has nearly 1,500 hours in the F-16, more than 100 of them in combat, and has received numerous service-related awards.

Casey has also been an attorney for more than two decades, most of that at Wyche PA in Columbia, where she was elected chair in 2017 and focuses on commercial litigation, products liability, insurance and aerospace law. The graduate of Princeton University and the University of Virginia School of Law she has also been a federal law clerk.

Like Cunningham, Casey is significantly younger than McMaster, who at 75 is the state’s oldest governor, and whose age the Democrat has said is too advanced to adequately represent South Carolinians.

“He’s been in politics literally longer than I’ve been alive, and you look at where that’s gotten us,” Cunningham said. “What Tally offers is much-needed change, and it’ll be a refreshing take on politics.”

Cunningham has proposed an age cap of 72 for South Carolina officeholders — a shift that would require voters to approve a constitutional change. He’s signaled openness to a similar federal age limit, which would apply to 82-year-old House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn of South Carolina and 79-year-old President Joe Biden.

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Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP.

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Manchin touts inflation reduction bill, says ‘I’m not getting involved’ in upcoming elections

Sen. Joe Manchin in the US Capitol on Tuesday, June 14, 2022. Sen. Joe Manchin, DW.Va., and his staff told Democratic leadership on Thursday that he’s not willing to support better climate and tax provisions in a sweeping Biden agenda bill, according to a Democrat briefed on the conversations.

Tom-Williams | Cq-roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images

Senator Joe Manchin, DW.V., made the morning talk show rounds on Sunday to talk about the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, a revival of President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better economic bill that collapsed earlier this year.

The inflation bill, which Democrats are attempting to pass through reconciliation, aims to reform the tax code, cut health-care costs and fight climate change. It will invest more than $400 billion over a decade by closing tax loopholes, mostly on the largest and richest American corporations. It would also reduce the deficit by $300 billion in the same decade-long timeframe.

“This is all about fighting inflation,” Manchin told Jonathan Karl on Sunday’s “This Week” on ABC.

Manchin insisted that the bill isn’t a spending bill, but instead is focusing on investing money.

“We’ve taken $3.5 trillion of spending down to $400 billion of investing without raising any taxes whatsoever, we closed some loopholes, didn’t raise any taxes,” he added.

He further explained the closing of tax loopholes, which will raise taxes on certain American companies. Any tax increase could jeopardize full Democratic support of the legislation, which it needs to pass through reconciliation – Senator Kyrsten Sinema, DA.Z., may not support this provision.

“The only thing we have done is basically say that every corporation of a billion dollars of value or greater in America should pay at least 15% of minimum corporate tax,” he said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

“That’s not a tax increase it’s closing a loophole,” he said.

Manchin also noted that a deal between Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY, and he was struck in private to avoid drama.

“We’ve been negotiating off and on very quietly because I didn’t know if it would ever come to fruition,” he said. “I didn’t want to go through the drama that eight months ago we went through for so long.”

Manchin added that he’s struck an agreement with Democratic leaders to support the bill in exchange for taking on permitting reform later.

“If I don’t fulfill my commitment promise that I will vote and support this bill with all my heart, there are consequences, and there are consequences on both sides,” he said on “Meet the Press.”

Manchin also noted that the bill will especially target energy prices in the US by upping production and using clean energy effectively.

“Inflation is the greatest challenge we have in our country right now,” he said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “If you want to get gasoline prices down, produce more and produce it in America.”

manchin dodges election talk

During his Sunday interviews, Manchin repeatedly evaded answering questions about who he supports in upcoming elections – the 2022 midterms and the 2024 presidential election.

“I’m not getting involved in any election right now,” he said on “State of the Union.”

He reiterated that he would work with anyone that voters elect and specifically wouldn’t answer if he wants Democrats to keep control of Congress come November.

“Whatever the voters choose,” he said on “Meet the Press.” “Whoever you send me that’s your representative and I respect them.”

When specifically asked if he’d support Biden in reelection, he focused on Biden’s current presidency.

“Whoever is my president, that’s my president, and Joe Biden is my president right now,” he said on “This Week.”

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Manchin declines to say if he wants Dems to retain control

WASHINGTON (AP) — West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, one of the Democrats’ most conservative and contrarian members, declined on Sunday to say whether he wants Democrats to retain control of Congress after the November elections.

The senator told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that will be determined by the choices of voters in individual states, rather than his own preferences. He added that people “are sick and tired of politics” and want their representatives in Washington to put country over party.

“I’ve always taken the approach, whoever you send me, that’s your representative and I respect them and I respect the state for the people they send and I give it my best to work with them and do the best for my country,” Manchin said.

Manchin faces reelection in 2024 in a state where Donald Trump prevailed in every county in the past two presidential races, winning more than two-thirds of West Virginia’s voters. But in distancing himself from fellow Democrats, Manchin also tried to decry the rise of partisanship.

“We’re not working for any party. We’re not working for any political idealism,” he said, bemoaning “bickering over political outcomes and who’s going to be in charge of what” at a time of global tensions, war and economic uncertainty fueled by rising inflation.

Manchin was booked to appear on five news shows, the culmination of a high-profile week in which his commitment to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., revived a package of White House priorities on climate, health care, taxes and deficit reduction. The West Virginia senator torpedoed a larger plan last December and previously lowered expectations about a substantial agreement being reached.

The surprise deal, while more modest than earlier versions, seems to have helped transform Manchin from pariah to partner.

On “Fox News Sunday,” he defended the 15% minimum tax on corporations with $1 billion or more of earnings as closing “loopholes,” rather than an outright tax increase.

Manchin said the plan, the “Inflation Reduction Act,” would help with manufacturing jobs, reduce deficits by $300 billion, lower prescription drug prices and accelerate the permitting process for energy production. These are the kinds of priorities that Republicans have supported in the past, Manchin said.

“We’re doing everything you’ve asked,” Manchin said. “I would hope, and in normal times, this would be a bipartisan bill, but I understand the toxic atmosphere we’re in.”

The Senate is divided 50-50, with Vice President Kamala Harris the tiebreaking vote, giving the Democrats control of the chamber. In the House, Democrats have a 220-211 edge, with four vacancies. But in midterm elections, voters often reject the party that holds the White House, and this year, President Joe Biden’s unpopularity and rising inflation are creating strong headwinds for Democrats.

Manchin demurred when asked on NBC whether he hoped Democrats would keep their majorities in Congress.

“I think people are sick and tired of politics, I really do. I think they’re sick and tired of Democrats and Republicans fighting and feuding and holding pieces of hostage legislation because they didn’t get what they wanted,” he said, adding, “I’m not going to predict what’s going to happen. ”

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