Freddie Stubbs
Freddie Stubbs's JournalState Rep. Mike Fleck, Republican and first openly gay lawmaker in state could lose seat
Two years ago, Republican lawmaker Mike Fleck was elected to a fourth term without a hitch.
He ran unopposed for the 81st house district – based in Huntingdon – a seat he first won in a four-way primary in 2006.
This year, Fleck could be out of office. Based on early returns, the republican lawmaker could be ousted by a write-in challenger.
So what changed in the last two years? Fleck, who was born and raised in the district, became the first openly gay Pennsylvania lawmaker in 2012.
more: http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2014/05/state_rep_mike_fleck_republica.html
Brendan Boyle defeats 3 rivals for Democratic nomination in Pa.'s 13th District
young state representative from Philadelphia has beaten three rivals, including a former congresswoman who is now Chelsea Clinton's mother-in-law, to win the Democratic nomination for an open seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Early returns showed Brendan Boyle winning Tuesday's Democratic primary in Pennsylvania's 13th District, virtually assuring him of becoming the successor to Allyson Schwartz.
The district straddling Philadelphia and Montgomery County is heavily tilted toward Democrats.
more: http://www.wfmz.com/news/news-regional-southeasternpa/brendan-boyle-defeats-3-rivals-for-democratic-nomination-in-pas-13th-district/26086690
Indicted PA state senator defeated
Democratic challenger Art Haywood beat indicted Senator Leanna Washington.
Haywood took 40% of the vote, followed by Washington at 34% and other Democratic challenger Brian Gralnick 27%. They took 15,874, 13,440 and 10,590 votes respectively.
Senator Leanna Washington was indicted on one count of theft of services and one count of violation of the conflict of interest statute. She allegedly bullied her state-paid staff into planning an annual birthday bash for the Senator that took up $30,000 – $100,000 worth of taxpayer time.
She maintains her innocence.
more: http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/morning_roundup/2014/05/indicted-pa-state-senator-defeated.html
Mark Aurand takes Democratic primary for Pennsylvania's 40th District Senate seat
Mark Aurand has taken the spot for the Democratic nomination for the 40th District Senate seat, unofficial results from today's primary election show.
The lawyer and Lower Nazareth Township resident faced off against Northampton County Councilman Scott Parsons and Bangor Mayor Joe Capozzolo. According to unofficial results from the state, Aurand grabbed more than 40 percent of the vote.
Aurand will go up against Republican Mario Scavello from Mount Pocono, Pa., in the Nov. 4 general election.
The 40th District is a newly created seat, based on U.S. Census data, and includes the northern tier of Northampton County and all of Monroe County, except Coolbaugh, Barrett and Price townships.
more: http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/northampton-county/index.ssf/2014/05/mark_aurand_takes_democratic_n.html
Rep. Davidson wins in close 164th Legislative District race
State Rep. Margo Davidson will once again be representing Democrats in the General Assembly’s 164th district come November elections after unofficial numbers from the county election bureau show her winning the primary.
With the results of four machines in Upper Darby still pending as of 1 a.m., May 22, Davidson garnered 2,675 votes in a district that also covers East Lansdowne, Lansdowne, Millbourne and parts of Yeadon borough. Challenger Billy Smith, of Lansdowne, earned 2,143 votes.
In a distant third was East Lansdowne resident Dafan Zhang, who had a district-wide vote count of 241.
Davidson will go up against Upper Darby Republican Saud Siddiqui in November’s general election.
more: http://www.delconewsnetwork.com/articles/2014/05/21/news_of_delaware_county/news/doc537c316ac63b0375133540.txt
Voters to politicians: Pot, cheating OK, but not atheism
Americans would sooner support a presidential candidate who smoked pot or cheated on a spouse than elect an atheist, according to a Pew Research Center poll released Monday.
Sixty percent of those surveyed said it would not matter to them if a presidential candidate had an extramarital affair, with Democrats finding it less troubling than Republicans by an 18-point margin (70 percent to 52 percent).
Past marijuana use is considered a non-factor by 70 percent of Americans, with Democrats especially blase on the topic. Seventy-six percent of Democrats said past marijuana use didn’t matter, compared with 62 percent of Republicans.
But religion is another story. Fifty-three percent of respondents said they would be less likely to support a candidate who does not believe in God. Faith is especially important to Republicans, with 70 percent saying they would be less likely to support an atheist candidate, compared with 42 percent of Democrats.
more: http://blog.sfgate.com/nov05election/2014/05/20/voters-to-politicians-pot-cheating-ok-not-atheism/
Jury finds radical Islamic cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri guilty in terror trial
Source: CNN
(CNN) -- A federal jury in New York on Monday found radical Islamic cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri guilty of conspiring to kidnap Americans in Yemen, planning to establish a jihad training camp in rural Oregon and other terrorism-related charges.
The jury deliberated for more than two days after a monthlong trial in which the prosecution painted the fiery, one-eyed cleric as a terrorist trainer who hid behind religion.
The defense portrayed al-Masri as a man who expressed strong opinions but did not participate in criminal acts.
He stood trial in an American courtroom years after losing a lengthy legal battle to avoid extradition to the United States from Britain.
Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/19/justice/new-york-terror-trial/
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