Tweet of the Day

Virginia Freshman Elaine Luria endorses Joe Biden

Two Pa. reps in battleground districts - Chrissy Houlahan and Conor Lamb - endorse Joe Biden

Joe Biden, who uses his middle class Scranton roots to cast himself as the Democratic candidate who can beat President Donald Trump by winning over voters in purple districts and states, now has the backing of two Pennsylvania members of Congress from battleground districts the party hopes to win in the fall.
U.S. Reps. Chrissy Houlahan, of Chester County, and Conor Lamb, of Pittsburgh’s suburbs, plan to endorse Biden Monday along with Rep. Elaine Luria, from Virginia Beach, Va. All three represent districts traditionally held by Republicans in key swing 2020 states, feeding Biden’s narrative that he is a consensus candidate in the critical month leading to the primaries.

“Our country needs a steady hand, someone who can help heal the country, an experienced and proven leader who can build teams with deep expertise and work across the aisle," Houlahan said of Biden in a statement released Sunday. "Like me, he believes that in this polarized environment, real change will come from pragmatic solutions that help working families. Pennsylvania is not red or blue but a purple place which our next President needs to carry to win. .”

The announcement comes as Biden, whose campaign is headquartered in Philadelphia, aims to build momentum heading into the Feb. 3 Iowa caucuses, the first votes in the nominating contest. Biden polls around third place in Iowa and New Hampshire, the second-voting state, but remains atop the polls in South Carolina and Nevada. He’s also coming off a strong fundraising quarter in which his team brought in $22 million, a 50 percent increase over the last quarter, trailing South Bend Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg’s $24.7 million and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ $34.5 million.



https://www.inquirer.com/news/joe-biden-endorsement-chrissy-houlahan-conor-lamb-pennsylvania-swing-districts-democrats-primary-2020-20200106.html

I just have three words

Hillary warned us.

North Carolina will be a political hot spot as 2020 election nears

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- North Carolina is tied with New York for the second-most number of Congress members choosing not to run for re-election in 2020, just part of why political analysts said they believe the state will draw considerable national attention ahead of the 2020 election.

Earlier this month, District 2 Rep. George Holding and District 6 Rep. Mark Walker announced they would not seek re-election; both represent areas impacted by redistricting. Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics lists both those seats as "Safe Democratic," representing a likely two-seat flip. Holding himself cited the new maps as playing a reason in his decision.

The decision by Rep. Mark Meadows, the high-profile and vocal supporter of President Donald Trump who represents the state's 11th District, to not run again was more surprising, though Meredith College Political Science Professor David McLennan said he believes the seat will likely remain in Republican control.

Despite the slew of announcements, McLennan is not anticipating any shift in Republican ideologies.

"I think North Carolina's going to look a little more Democratic after the 2020 elections, but the Republicans who are in Congress are going to look a lot like the Republicans were before the election, in terms of the types. You're still going to have Virginia Foxx and Patrick McHenry, and a number of very strong conservatives," McLennan said.

He said he believes Democrats will try to use the retirements as a catalyst for all races in the state.

"They are obviously targeting 2020, not only to take over the White House but to build some advantage in the US House and try to take back the U.S. Senate seat in North Carolina. So they'll use retirements as a tool to fundraise and to put together some campaign ads," McLennan said.



https://abc11.com/politics/north-carolina-will-be-a-political-hot-spot-as-2020-election-nears/5788970/

Trump killed Soleimani while on way to meet people Trump asked to negotiate with him.

Democratic super PAC targeting legislatures in Florida and other key states

TALLAHASSEE — A Democratic super PAC focused on flipping state legislatures is set to pour at least $10 million into four states it wants to turn blue ahead of political redistricting in 2021.

Forward Majority, founded in 2017, is focusing on 50 legislative seats in Florida, Texas, Arizona and North Carolina that Democrats nearly won in 2018, according to a Roadmap 2020 plan the group released Friday.

“There are four states that represent the most powerful points of leverage to fortify our democracy,” Forward Majority co-founder Vicky Hausman said. “These states are where Democrats face the greatest risk of being locked out of power nationally for the next 10 years.”

State legislatures are in the spotlight headed into 2020 because of the huge influence the 2021 redistricting process will have on national elections. After the 2020 census, the four states are expected to account for 82 congressional seats.

“Right now in these states, Republicans have total control over the redistricting process and/or have been among the worst actors in voter suppression, fueling political extremism, and distorting national outcomes,” Forward Majority wrote.

The group's rallying cry has been amplified by off-year wins in Louisiana, where Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards won reelection in August, and Virginia, where Democrats took control of the Legislature in November.


https://www.politico.com/states/florida/story/2020/01/03/democratic-super-pac-targeting-legislatures-in-florida-and-other-key-states-1242480

Warren ends wine cave offensive

CONCORD, N.H. — Wine caves are out. Universal child care, student loan debt, and political corruption are in.

After Elizabeth Warren’s bumpy ride as a front-runner this past fall — her fundraising has slipped and she’s stalled in national and state polls — the Massachusetts senator is done with the attacks against former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg and reverting to the approach that helped power her initial rise in the polls.

When asked here Thursday about Buttigieg’s $24.7 million fundraising haul, Warren would only say, “I didn’t spend one single minute selling access to my time to millionaires and billionaires.” Then she pivoted to her gratitude for her own donors.

Her campaign’s emails to supporters struck a similarly non-combative tone in announcing their fundraising for the fourth quarter.

And in a speech on New Year’s Eve in Boston, Warren offered a rebuttal of her rivals’ critiques that she insists on damaging purity tests when she’s not pure herself, but without naming names.

“The billionaires, the corporate executives and their favorite presidential candidates have one clear goal,” she said. “To convince you that reform is hopeless. To convince you that because no one can be pure, it’s pointless to try to make anything better.”

The moves are part of an attempt to return to the core messaging and stay-above-fray style that served her so well for much of the campaign. But it’s also an effort to move beyond her recent slog.




https://www.politico.com/news/2020/01/04/warren-2020-strategy-093641

Millions of Iranians flock to the streets for the funeral procession of Qassem Soleimani

Extra Bonus Tweet of the Day