February 6, 2020

How to Bet on Politics: Everything You Need to Get Started

Note: I am not encouraging anyone to place wagers on the primary races. However, since some of the political sites are making projections that mirror the betting markets, I believe this is an important topic to discuss. Please keep in mind that the odds in betting markets are based upon how much is being wagered rather than reflecting an actual count of voters and that gamblers can wager on more than one candidate.



https://www.sportsbettingdime.com/guides/how-to/bet-on-politics/

February 6, 2020

Nevada Democrats attempt to calm nerves after problem-plagued Iowa contest, may transition entirely

Nevada Democrats attempt to calm nerves after problem-plagued Iowa contest, may transition entirely to paper system


Nevada Democrats, the day after their counterparts in Iowa held a problem-riddled caucus, sought to calm the nerves of voters, the media and other interested observers Tuesday.

The statement released by the party was short, but its message was simple: What happens in Iowa, stays in Iowa.

But it’s going to take a lot more than that to assuage the fears of the public — and campaigns — in the wake of Iowa’s first in the nation presidential nominating contest on Monday, which left the public clueless about who the victor was for roughly 20 hours. The Iowa Democratic Party finally released almost two-thirds of the results Tuesday afternoon, showing former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders neck-and-neck in the race, but remained vague about its timeline for releasing the rest of them.

The Iowa Democratic Party has blamed the delay in reporting results to a “coding error” in their app, casting doubt on the future of Nevada’s Feb. 22 caucus, which was slated to lean on not only one but two different apps to proceed smoothly. Nevada State Democratic Party spokeswoman Molly Forgey confirmed Tuesday afternoon that the political technology company Shadow Inc., which was responsible for developing the problem-plagued Iowa caucus app, also developed the two Nevada apps. The party has since terminated its relationship with Shadow and is currently looking into other alternatives for its upcoming caucus.

Read more: https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/nevada-democrats-say-different-app-vendor-to-be-used-in-caucus-than-the-one-that-plagued-iowas-contest

February 6, 2020

A Complicated Map To Victory: The New Hampshire Towns To Watch On Primary Day

Four years ago, the dynamics of the New Hampshire Democratic presidential primary were elemental. Voters were either in with establishment frontrunner Hillary Clinton, or they joined forces with the outsider, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. In the end, the “outs” had it: Sanders won in a landslide, sweeping every county in the state by double-digit margins.

This time, the map to victory in New Hampshire may be more complicated for Sanders and his wide array of competitors.

No one expects the winner of this multi-candidate contest to win an outright majority. During the past 30 years, winners of multi-candidate New Hampshire primaries typically have carried 30 to 40 percent of the vote.

For all the candidates -- fresh faces such as Pete Buttigieg, Tulsi Gabbard and Andrew Yang, and familiar ones like Sanders, former Vice President Joe Biden and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren -- the path to victory (or at least an impressive showing) will depend on winning one or more smaller contests within the Granite State, across a variety of geographic and socioeconomic settings.

Read more: https://www.nhpr.org/post/complicated-map-victory-new-hampshire-towns-watch-primary-day

February 5, 2020

Buttigieg says 'absolutely' he can win NH

CONCORD -- Former South Bend, Ind. Mayor Pete Buttigieg said he can "absolutely" win the first-in-the-nation primary, while admitting it will be more difficult than his breakthrough showing at the Iowa caucus.

"I recognize I am competing with not one but two New England senators from states touching New Hampshire," Buttigieg said referring to primary rivals Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

"We recognize this is a competitive challenge but I think that the independent nature that is so important here in New Hampshire also allows us to prove once again that this is a campaign that can bring in many different kinds of people across the spectrum and form the coalition that can defeat Donald Trump.”

Buttigieg, 38, said the magnitude of his stunning result in Iowa hit him during a town hall forum at Laconia Middle School Tuesday night.

Read more: https://www.unionleader.com/news/politics/voters/buttigieg-says-absolutely-he-can-win-nh/article_5a43c2ce-b14d-5b38-8d73-8b2df9284095.html

February 5, 2020

Texas State suspends Pi Kappa Phi for 7 years following allegation of 'brutal attack'

SAN MARCOS -- Texas State University has suspended the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity for seven years after a student sued the organization and its members, alleging an attack left him with a skull fracture and traumatic brain injury.

A spokesman for the university confirmed the chapter has been suspended for a minimum of seven years beginning on Jan. 27. He did not comment on what prompted the suspension. Victor Tran, a spokesman for the national Pi Kappa Phi headquarters, said the organization is appealing the university decision.

In December, 22-year-old Texas State student Nikolas Panagiotopoulos filed a lawsuit in state district court in Travis County seeking more than $1 million in compensation after he said fraternity members and their guests attacked him in the early hours of Oct. 27.

According to the lawsuit, Panagiotopoulos passed by the house around 2:30 a.m., where members and social guests of the fraternity were outside and were “unruly, acting aggressively and/or intoxicated.” The group began to taunt and harass Panagiotopoulos, in part, because they mistakenly believed he was part of a different social club, his attorneys said.

Read more: https://www.statesman.com/news/20200205/texas-state-suspends-pi-kappa-phi-for-7-years-following-allegation-of-lsquobrutal-attackrsquo

February 5, 2020

Texas Southern University regents vote to fire school's president

by Shannon Najmabadi. Texas Tribune


Texas Southern University regents moved to terminate President Austin Lane — who was abruptly suspended from his post in January — early Wednesday morning for failing to report allegations of fraud in the university admissions process and directing a former law school dean to “engage in acts that violate university policy,” among other contract violations.

A lengthy notice read after the regents emerged from a five-hour, closed-door meeting also said Lane “directed excessive entertainment expenses to be paid through the TSU foundation rather than the university entertainment expenses reimbursement process,” which requires board approval.

Regents gave Lane 30 days to "cure" the allegations "if cure can be made." A hearing before the board of regents will be held and Lane will be "given the opportunity to demonstrate any error in fact contained in this notice" or "evidence of cure," the statement said.

Lane, who attended the meeting, told the Houston Chronicle the allegations are false and accused the board of mismanagement and "trying to make sure they do my job."

Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2020/02/05/texas-southern-university-regents-vote-fire-schools-president/

February 5, 2020

New Texas election process has Democrats expecting a delay in Super Tuesday delegate totals

By Alexa Ura, Texas Tribune


As their counterparts in Iowa reel from a disastrously slow election returns process, Texas Democrats say they're worried that a change in the way Texas reports election results will delay the final tally of delegates won by presidential hopefuls in the upcoming March 3 primary past election night.

Officials with the Texas Democratic Party said they were recently told by the Texas Secretary of State’s office that it will not be able to provide on election night the numbers needed to allocate a majority of the 228 delegates up for grabs in the state on Super Tuesday. In a Jan. 23 meeting, the Democrats said, top state election officials cited limitations to their revamped reporting system, which is used to compile returns from the state's 254 counties.

"They basically said that's not built out yet," said Glen Maxey, the special projects director for the Texas Democratic Party who attended the meeting with state officials.

At issue are 149 delegates that will be won by Democratic presidential candidates through a complex formula that divvies up those delegates based on the distribution of votes in each of Texas' 31 state Senate districts. Maxey said he and other officials were told the state initially will collect election returns at the county level but not at the senatorial district or precinct level, which are needed to calculate how many delegates each candidate picks up. Party officials were told those more detailed numbers would be made available "the next day or so," Maxey said.

Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2020/02/05/texas-democrats-expect-delay-presidential-delegate-totals-super-tuesda/

February 5, 2020

Scenes from Bernie's dispirited would-be victory party

By HOLLY OTTERBEIN

02/04/2020 09:53 PM EST


ABOARD BERNIE SANDERS’ CHARTER PLANE TO NEW HAMPSHIRE — The political revolution was put on hold.

When Bernie Sanders’ campaign was preparing for a potential win in the first 2020 contest Monday, his aides and allies envisioned him giving a primetime victory speech, raising millions of dollars from small-dollar donors amid their ecstatic high, and savoring proving so many elites wrong at a party at the Holiday Inn.

Instead, Sanders and his senior aides found themselves working to reassure demoralized and shaken staffers and volunteers on Tuesday.

In a last-minute all-staff call around noon, Sanders’ campaign manager, Faiz Shakir, told aides that the Iowa Democratic Party had been incompetent and the delayed results were frustrating. But, he said, it was critical to appreciate what had just happened despite receiving the most negative news coverage of any 2020 campaign.

Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2020/02/04/scenes-bernie-would-be-victory-party-110791

February 5, 2020

Exclusive New Hampshire Primary Poll: Pete Buttigieg Gains, Bernie Sanders Leads

BOSTON (CBS) – History tells us that New Hampshire often echoes the results out of Iowa – not always, but often.

And even though most of Tuesday night’s exclusive WBZ/Boston Globe/Suffolk University tracking poll was taken before the Iowa results began to emerge, there are signs history is repeating itself.

The poll found Bernie Sanders holding his lead with 24 percent, about the same as Monday night. But there’s a new number two – Pete Buttigieg is up four points over Monday night with 15 percent, just within the survey’s 4.4% margin of error.

Joe Biden is in a virtual tie with Buttigieg, just a fraction behind, and Elizabeth Warren is down three points at 10 percent.

Read more: https://boston.cbslocal.com/2020/02/04/new-hampshire-primary-tracking-poll-pete-buttigieg-bernie-sanders/

February 5, 2020

Taylor Swift releases new single inspired by Beto O'Rourke Senate run

EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — Taylor Swift’s much-anticipated documentary, “Miss Americana” was released Friday on Netflix. The film shows Swift’s writing process for her latest single, noting El Pasoan Beto O’Rourke’s Senate run as one of the inspirations behind the lyrics.

While the singer tackles body image, sexual assault, misogyny, self-affirmation and loneliness, she also tackles politics — in a big way. Much of the end of the documentary focuses on Swift’s unsuccessful attempt to derail Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn’s 2018 election, going so far as to call her “Trump in a Wig.”

As her frustrations regarding the current state of politics become clearer in the film, she begins writing “Only the Young,” the single that accompanies the release of “Miss Americana.”

“The first verse I want to be all about, like, hearing the news. You know, if you were like a kid who loved Beto and thought that was the future of Texas, or you really thought Stacey Abrams was gonna win and you went door-to-door trying to make it happen and she still gets beat,” she explains to her songwriting partner Joel Little in the film.

Read more: https://www.ktsm.com/news/politics/taylor-swift-releases-new-single-inspired-by-beto-orourke-senate-run/amp