MD-SEN: Ben Cardin says he will make his final 2024 Senate reelection decision in February or March.

Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) said Tuesday that he'll come to a final decision on whether he'll run for a fourth Senate term "probably in February or March."

"Just mentally, I want to make sure we get through this election and the transitions," the 79-year-old Maryland Democrat said, referring to his state's new governor and Legislature. "I want to get organized for this Congress. ... I will have my conversations with my principal adviser, who is Myrna, my wife. We'll talk it over."

Cardin is among several Senate Democrats who have yet to announce whether they'll run for reelection in 2024, when the party faces a tough map. Maryland, however, has proven a reliably blue state for Senate seats. Cardin was reelected to a third term in 2018 with nearly 65 percent of the vote.

The last Republican from the state to hold a Senate seat was Sen. Charles Mathias, who was succeeded by Democratic Sen. Barbara Mikulski in 1987.



https://www.politico.com/minutes/congress/01-10-2023/cardins-24-decision/

MS-GOV: Democrat Brandon Presley is running for governor

Brandon Presley, a Democrat who has spent the past 15 years regulating utility companies on the state’s Public Service Commission, will announce today that he is running for governor in 2023.

Presley is among the most notable Democrats to run for the state’s highest office this century, and his candidacy is expected to inspire one of the most expensive and bitter campaigns in state history.

The 45-year-old Nettleton native will launch his campaign and introduce himself to many Mississippians this week with a three-minute video that includes a blistering critique of current Gov. Tate Reeves, the first-term Republican who announced last week he will seek reelection.

“I’m running for governor because I know Mississippi can do better,” Presley says in the video. “We’ve got a state filled with good people but horrible politicians — and that includes our governor. Tate Reeves is a man with zero conviction and maximum corruption. He looks out for himself and his rich friends instead of the people that put him into office. And he’s been caught in the middle of the largest public corruption scandal in state history.”

Presley, whose early campaign strategy will target the state’s sprawling welfare scandal and other corruption in Jackson, has built a modest brand over the years as a politician focused on apolitical priorities like expanding high speed internet access across the state and regulating the rates that electric and water companies charge Mississippians.

Advisers close to Presley hope his background, demeanor and ideas appeal to many Mississippians. A relative of legendary performer Elvis, Presley speaks in a deep Southern drawl. He was raised in a small town by a single mother who worked in a factory while struggling to pay bills, and he has long dwelled on those early life lessons in his public life.



https://mississippitoday.org/2023/01/12/brandon-presley-governor-campaign/

The Mysterious, Unregistered Fund That Raised Big Money for Santos

A month before George Santos was elected to Congress, one of his large donors received a call asking him to consider making another sizable contribution.

The request came from a Republican loyalist calling on behalf of RedStone Strategies, which was described in an email to the donor as an “independent expenditure” group that was supporting Mr. Santos’s bid to flip a Democratic House seat in New York. The group had already raised $800,000 and was seeking to raise another $700,000, according to the email, which was reviewed by The New York Times.

The donor came through: Days later, on Oct. 21, he sent $25,000 to a Wells Fargo Bank account belonging to RedStone Strategies.

Three months later, Mr. Santos is now in Congress, but where the donor’s money went is unclear. The Federal Election Commission said it had no evidence that RedStone Strategies was registered as a political group, and there do not appear to be any records documenting its donors, contributions or spending.



https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/12/nyregion/george-santos-donors-fund-raising.html

MT-SEN, WV-SEN: Dems to Tester and Manchin: Run in 2024, save our majority

Democrats are already waging what might be the most consequential fight for Senate control next fall: Getting Jon Tester and Joe Manchin to run again.

The decisions of the two Democratic senators from Montana and West Virginia, respectively, will determine their party’s chances of hanging onto its slim majority in 2024. And landing their reelection bids is job No. 1 for Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chair Gary Peters as he embarks on his second tour of duty.

Peters (D-Mich.) will have plenty of help in that task. Democratic senators confirmed in interviews that they’re leaning on their colleagues to help preserve their fragile majority.

And there’s a reason for the urgency. If both Tester and Manchin retire rather than face tough campaigns, it’s nearly impossible to imagine Democrats hanging onto those two seats — or their 51-49 Senate majority.

“Both of them are in challenging circumstances,” said Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.). “I think both can win, but they are the best candidates we have in their states.”





https://www.politico.com/news/2023/01/12/dems-manchin-tester-2024-00077536

Arizona Republicans walk out as Katie Hobbsreiterates her support for access to abortion

Extra Bonus Tweet of the Day

VT-SEN: Has Bernie announced plans for reelection?

Vermont is deep blue but a retirement would surely set off a domino effect in the upper ranks of small state poitics.

The state legislative chambers to watch in 2023/2024

Parents Fume as High School Ballers Are Benched for Monkey Taunts

Students accused of bullying a Black basketball player with monkey noises during a school game have been suspended from their Michigan school district—but it was not enough for parents and community members who claim the district is too soft on racism.

Despite the students’ punishment, parents and teachers continued to call out racism that pervades Jenison Public Schools at a board meeting Monday night.

Jenison Public Schools director of communications Peter DeGraaf told The Daily Beast Tuesday that the students responsible for the racist behavior had been given “out-of-school disciplinary action.” He didn’t specify what that entailed or how many students were involved; however, Michigan media outlet MLive reported that the students were suspended.

At Monday’s meeting in Georgetown Township, Superintendent Brandon Graham told the Jenison Board of Education that district officials were trying to find a way to create a more inclusive atmosphere for students, MLive reported. He added that staff members met with members of the NAACP for assistance. According to MLive, Graham wants to increase staff diversity, boost conversations among students about diversity, and make it easier for students to report racial incidents.

“It’s really important that we understand that our approach is not just the response to this isolated incident,” Graham said, according to MLive.




https://www.thedailybeast.com/parents-fume-as-jenison-high-school-ballers-are-benched-for-monkey-taunts?source=articles&via=rss

VA: 3 Key Consequences of Aaron Rouse's Special Election Victory in VASD-07

1. Legislation Limiting Abortion in Virginia is Dead: It would have been a long shot anyway due to the set up of committees in Virginia, but now it’s officially over. Some Virginia Republicans had a lot of hope that with a victory here and some help from Joe Morrissey, the notorious pro-life Democrat from Petersburg, they could pass a 15 week limit on abortion. With the Rouse victory, that dream is dead in the water. Abortion will be fully protected in Virginia for at least another legislative cycle, and it’s all in part because of Rouse’s victory tonight.

2. Aaron Rouse Becomes an Immediate Rising Star: Rouse does still have a 2023 election he needs to get through. But that should end up being no problem in the new VASD-22, which is significantly more Democratic leaning than the one he won tonight. However, winning here places Rouse as one of the most high profile officials in Virginia Beach City, and could see his phone get a lot of calls from the DCCC if Elaine Luria passes on a rematch with Jen Kiggans in 2024. Now, that’s still a long ways away and lots will happen over the next year and a half (and there’s rumors Rouse may be more focused on state level promotions). But with this win, Rouse has the pathway to a possibly quick promotion if he wants it, and I’m sure the DCCC has added him to their contact list after tonight.

3. Kelly Convirs-Fowler’s career is over… for now: Convirs-Fowler was rumored to be taking a long look at the new VASD-22 if Rouse lost tonight. Already retired from the House, where she wouldn’t win currently due to redistricting drawing her in to the Safe R seat in VA Beach, this was her only real shot at staying in state government after this year. I’m not so sure she’s done, and I’m sure she could make a comeback if Rouse does search for that quick promotion. But for now, her options are zilch, and it’ll be interesting to see what her next move is as someone who was also considered a rising start for Virginia Beach Democrats.




https://szymansays.substack.com/p/3-key-consequences-of-aaron-rouses?utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=auto_share&r=t4xg4