MI-SEN: John James' companies hit with tax liens, got tax breaks for jobs they didn't create

Companies owned by Michigan Republican Senate candidate John James have a history with tax liens in multiple states, while another got tax breaks for jobs it did not create, the Detroit Metro Times reports.

James has worked at James Group International, which was founded by his father, since 2012 as its director of operations, and became its president in 2014. The company owns subsidiaries like Renaissance Global Logistics and Magnolia Automotive Services.

In 2014, James Group International owed $10,439 in state taxes to Mississippi, according to a lien recorded in Madison County that was reviewed by Salon. The lien was released about three months later, according to records.

The Indiana Department of Revenue also filed two tax liens against Magnolia Automotive Services, which is part of James Group International and is run by James' brother Lorron James, last year. One lien was for $6,451 and another was for $396, according to Indiana court records reviewed by Salon. Both liens have since been resolved.

The James campaign told Salon that the $6,451 lien was produced due to a clerical error and was resolved, but provided no documentation to corroborate the claim. The campaign said the company did not receive a record of the second lien but would resolve it as necessary.


https://www.salon.com/2020/08/28/gop-candidate-john-james-companies-hit-with-tax-liens-got-tax-breaks-for-jobs-they-didnt-create/

OK-05: The Case Against Stephanie Bice

ew OK-05 polling conducted by GQR Research shows Representative Kendra Horn leading Stephanie Bice by 5 points (51/46), with Vice President Biden within 1 point of President Trump (47/48) in a district Trump won by over 13 points in 2016. Rep. Horn is winning independent voters by more than 30 points (65/31). The poll showed voters view Congresswoman Horn with a 13-point net positive favorability rating, while Stephanie Bice’s favorability is net negative by 3 points. Rep. Horn also enjoys a 15-point net positive job approval rating.

The poll was conducted on behalf of the DCCC from 8/5-8/9 through live interviewer calls to landlines and cell phones, with a sample size of 500 likely general election voters and a margin of error of +/-4.4%.

“Over the past year, Stephanie Bice has shown the people of the 5th Congressional District that her priorities are all wrong. In the middle of a global pandemic, Bice voted to take money away from police and teachers and supports efforts to strip Oklahomans of their health insurance. Meanwhile, Representative Kendra Horn has proven to be an effective leader for her community, working tirelessly to lower the cost of prescription drugs and get Oklahomans back to work safely. The contrast in this race is clear, and I have no doubt that Kendra’s record will earn her re-election in November.” – DCCC Chairwoman Cheri Bustos



https://dccc.org/the-case-against-stephanie-bice/

OK-05: State Chamber president protests potential endorsement of Horn by national group

The head of the State Chamber of Oklahoma pushed back this week against the potential endorsement of Rep. Kendra Horn by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, saying it wouldn’t be justified based on her “current record of consequential votes impacting Oklahoma businesses.”

“Congresswoman Horn voted four times to limit energy exploration,” Chad Warmington, president and CEO of the State Chamber, said in a letter to a top U.S. Chamber official.

“I question how the U.S. Chamber could endorse a candidate who consistently voted against the largest industry in Oklahoma, employing over 90,000 workers throughout the state. That is hardly a pro-business record.

“I am also concerned the U.S. Chamber would endorse a congresswoman that voted in lockstep with Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats who are not pro-business nearly 90% of the time.”

Warmington’s letter was first reported by Politico in a story about internal struggles at the U.S. Chamber about endorsing freshman Democrats.

Warmington’s letter was dated Aug. 25, the same day Republican voters in the 5th Congressional District chose state Sen. Stephanie Bice to challenge Horn, an Oklahoma City Democrat who won an upset victory in 2018 over Republican incumbent Steve Russell.



https://oklahoman.com/article/5670196/state-chamber-president-protests-potential-endorsement-of-horn-by-national-group

'Black Panther' actor Chadwick Boseman dies at 43 after 4-year fight with colon cancer

LOS ANGELES — ‘Black Panther’ actor Chadwick Boseman dies at 43 after 4-year fight with colon cancer, representative tells AP.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/black-panther-actor-chadwick-boseman-dies-at-43-after-4-year-fight-with-colon-cancer-representative-tells-ap/2020/08/28/7f07aa84-e99c-11ea-bf44-0d31c85838a5_story.html

NBA: ALL league arenas will converted to voting centers for 2020 election

FL-18: A Black, female veteran could topple the Republican incumbent in her red Florida district

Pam Keith was sitting in her 2013 Lexus RX hybrid on Aug. 18 when her phone wouldn’t stop buzzing. She knew it was about the results of her primary run for Florida’s 18th Congressional District — a race she ran and lost in 2018.

The retired naval judge advocate-turned-aspiring Florida politician was on her way to a small campaign event where she would meet with her supporters no matter the outcome.

When she got the courage to pick up the phone, it was her senior adviser Roosevelt Holmes on the other end.

“Congratulations, boss lady,” he said, according to Keith in an interview with The Washington Post.

“That’s when I knew I won,” Keith said.

Keith had grasped 80 percent of the vote — a surprise to her — against her opponent and former Florida deputy solicitor general Oz Vazquez. Vazquez had raised more than $450,000 to Keith’s $282,000-plus, and nabbed the endorsement of former U.S. representative Patrick Murphy (D) and other influential unions and political action committees.



https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/08/28/black-female-veteran-could-topple-republican-incumbent-her-red-florida-district/

GA-SEN: Loeffler criticizes Atlanta Dream players for walk-off protests

When Republican Kelly Loeffler was tapped for an open U.S. Senate seat, her stake in Atlanta’s WNBA franchise was promoted as a sign of her deep ties to the community. It’s also become a growing political headache.

Her most formidable GOP adversary, U.S. Rep. Doug Collins, has assailed her over her appearance with Democrat Stacey Abrams at midcourt of an Atlanta Dream game. And he’s blasted the league’s connection with an abortion rights group.

Loeffler has tried to use the platform to her political advantage, penning an open letter to the league commissioner denouncing the Black Lives Matter movement — a move that brought a surge of attention that her allies credit with sparking a recent rise in the polls.

The demonstrations over the police shooting of Jacob Blake this week in Wisconsin present a different challenge for Loeffler, who faces Collins and 19 other challengers in a November special election. With no party primary to filter out nominees, the race is sure to end in a January runoff.



https://www.ajc.com/politics/politics-blog/loeffler-criticizes-atlanta-dream-players-for-walk-off-protests/3DIVCTZUWBCZRC6HBRJOD3UGQQ/

NJ-07: Exiled, Disgraced Former Speaker Fundraising For Kean Jr.

Former Speaker Paul Ryan (remember him?) was run out of Washington after losing more than forty House seats in the 2018 midterm elections, but will boldly re-enter political life on a Zoom event for Tom Kean, Jr. this afternoon. We’re looking forward to hearing what the Trenton insider and career politician and former Washington Republican leader chat about.

Perhaps they’ll discuss the Ryan-GOP tax law that gave huge tax handouts to the super rich and massive corporations, including powerful drug manufacturers, added trillions to the national debt and slammed New Jersey more than any other state by capping the SALT deduction.

Or maybe they’ll talk about Ryan’s lifelong obsession with cutting Social Security, Medicare and other benefits for the most vulnerable. Will Kean take Ryan’s obsession as his own?

They could even discuss Washington Republicans’ efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which Ryan pushed in the House and which continues…even now.

Or… they’ll discuss the ongoing health and economic crisis. Maybe Paul Ryan and Kean Jr. will discuss their ally, Mitch McConnell’s ongoing assault on New Jersey families by blocking millions of dollars of much-needed state and local relief funds while towns across NJ-7 lay off workers.

We’ll see!

“Here we go again,” said DCCC Spokesperson Christine Bennett. “Tom Kean Jr. continues to cozy up to the same Washington insiders that brought New Jersey higher taxes, higher prescription drug costs, and gutted protections for people with preexisting conditions. Kean Jr. has made it plain—he stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the party that wants to take away your health care, not with your family.”



https://dccc.org/exiled-disgraced-former-speaker-fundraising-kean-jr/

New Jersey Legislature passes vote-by-mail bill to undermine Trump lawsuit

The New Jersey Legislature on Thursday voted to make the state’s November election primarily vote-by-mail — a repeat of what Gov. Phil Murphy already mandated and a move meant to head off a challenge by President Donald Trump’s campaign.

The Trump campaign last week filed a federal lawsuit against Murphy’s Aug. 14 executive order, claiming, among other things, that the governor ordered the election to be conducted mostly through mail-in ballots in “direct usurpation of the legislature’s authority.”

The bill, NJ A4475 (20R) — which originally just increased the number of ballot drop boxes available in New Jersey counties — was amended to make an end-run around that argument. It passed the Assembly, 50-28, and the Senate, 23-14.

“It’s going to undermine the lawsuit,” Assembly member Andrew Zwicker (D-Middlesex), a co-sponsor, said in a phone interview.


https://www.politico.com/states/new-jersey/story/2020/08/27/new-jersey-legislature-passes-vote-by-mail-bill-to-undermine-trump-lawsuit-1313141

NJ-02: Amy Kennedy raises $100k online around Van Drew GOP convention speech

A nationally televised address by party-switching Rep. Jeff Van Drew to the Republican National Convention on Thursday night turned out to be fundraising boon to his Democratic opponent, Amy Kennedy.

A spokesman for the Kennedy campaign said they raised over $100,000 in the last two days, with more than 1,100 online contributions connected to Van Drew’s speech.

That gave Kennedy, a mental health advocate and former public school teacher, the single best fundraising day since she launched her campaign for Congress on January 6.

Van Drew was elected to Congress as a Democrat in 2018, but bolted for the GOP last December after refusing to support the impeachment of President Donald Trump.

Kennedy, who won a five-way race for the Democratic nomination last month with 62% of the vote, was quick to jump on Van Drew’s brief moment in the limelight.

“My message to the people of South Jersey is … don’t be fooled,” she said after his speech. “The truth is that Jeff has changed. He made the choice to abandon the people of South Jersey to serve his own political career instead of the families he was elected to represent.”


https://newjerseyglobe.com/congress/kennedy-raises-100k-online-around-van-drew-gop-convention-speech/