Democratic Senate candidates defend Obama during forum

FLORENCE, Ky. (AP) After years of being a political punching bag in Kentucky, President Barack Obama has gotten favorable reviews from several Democrats running for the U.S. Senate seat held by Republican Rand Paul.

Lexington Mayor Jim Gray, the front-runner for the Democratic Senate nomination, said at a candidates’ forum Monday evening that Obama “deserves more credit than he gets for what he’s achieved.” Another Democratic candidate, Tom Recktenwald, said terror leader Osama bin Laden was killed during Obama’s presidency and the stock market has rebounded.

For several elections, Kentucky Republicans have made inroads while tying Democratic candidates to Obama, especially for his push for stricter federal pollution regulations for coal-burning power plants.

In a later question about energy policy, Gray said the state’s coal sector is struggling due to regulations and market trends. For the full article click here

from democratic dojo http://ift.tt/1TjjaZQ
via IFTTT

Ex-challenger supports Ohio Democratic nominee for US Senate

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – The Cincinnati city councilman who lost to former Gov. Ted Strickland in Ohio’s Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate nomination is now endorsing his former rival.

Cleveland.com reports P.G. Sittenfeld endorsed Strickland for the Senate seat in a video Monday. He praised Strickland’s “graciousness and thoughtfulness and humility” toward him after the campaign. Sittenfeld criticized Strickland during the campaign over gun control and others issues.

The councilman received 22 percent of the primary vote.

Sittenfeld’s video says there’s a season for highlighting differences and a season for coming together to champion a Democratic vision for the future.

The swing-state race between Strickland and Republican incumbent Rob Portman is being closely watched nationally. Democrats see Ohio as among possible opportunities to win enough seats to retake a Senate majority. For the full article click here

from democratic dojo http://ift.tt/1Tjj84m
via IFTTT

Unity will be theme at Maine Democratic Convention

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) – Maine Democrats are divided over the best candidate for president – Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders – but the theme will be unity as they gather for the state convention.

About 3,500 Democrats from all corners of the state will descend on Portland for the convention Friday and Saturday at the Cross Insurance Arena.

During the event, they’ll elect delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.

Maine will be sending 30 delegates to the convention in July. Those include 25 that’ll be selected on Saturday and five so-called super delegates. For the full article click here 

from democratic dojo http://ift.tt/1Z35VB3
via IFTTT

Three seek state Senate seat: Libertarian, Republican vie against Democratic incumbent

Three are in the running to represent San Mateo County in the state Senate as incumbent Jerry Hill seeks to secure his final term representing the 13th district.

The candidates from varied political parties include Rick Ciardella, a Menlo Park Republican who owns a landscape company; Libertarian John Webster, a software engineer residing in Mountain View; and Jerry Hill, a San Mateo Democrat who’s seeking his second term in the state Senate.

The district encompasses all of San Mateo County as well as Los Altos, Palo Alto, Mountain View and Sunnyvale. The top two candidates, regardless of party, in the June 7 race will advance to the November general election.

Webster and Hill have varied opinions on how to address critical issues facing constituents from how to address the high cost of housing and the region’s traffic woes, to the role of government. Ciardella opted not to participate in the Daily Journal’s endorsement process.

Webster will again vie against Hill, having also run in the 2012 election.

“My main concern is fighting the dark side of democracy. I really admire liberal thinking people, they’ve got good values and all that. The problem is they want to impose them on everybody by forcing them into laws that then make other people support those causes,” Webster said.

Hill, a longtime politician who formerly served on the San Mateo City Council, county Board of Supervisors and in the Assembly, said he remains committed to representing his constituents and prefers to focus on policy not politics.

“I’m accessible, I work hard, I listen and I think what I have is a sense of the district,” Hill said. “I try to represent [constituents’] views in Sacramento and frankly, I’ve always considered myself an average guy. So I look at the issues like an average person … and I take on these issues and personalize them.” For the full article click here 

from democratic dojo http://ift.tt/1Z35Yga
via IFTTT

Planned Parenthood CEOs and late-term abortionists donate thousands to Democratic party

A 2015 Planned Parenthood Affiliate Chief Executive Officers Report (prepared by STOPP International) lists 62 current or recent Planned Parenthood affiliate CEOs. Searching these CEOs on the FEC and Open Secrets websites will turn up thousands of dollars in donations to three favorites:

1. Barack Obama
2. Hillary Clinton
3. The Democratic Party (both national and state)

Time and space in previous articles have already been spentdetailing the dedication of Planned Parenthood to President Barack Obama. Those donations have ended, as Obama is term-limited and will be longer be campaigning for a political office.

This article will not be focusing on donations to candidates by Planned Parenthood’s political action committee or by its president, Cecile Richards. (The relation between the abortion giant at large and Hillary Clinton is explained in detail here.) Instead, this article will focus on personal donations by top Planned Parenthood staff throughout the nation, as well as late-term abortionists, to the Democratic party. For the full article click here 

from democratic dojo http://ift.tt/1Z35VAQ
via IFTTT

GOP accuses Democratic House candidate Richard Theroux of violating campaign finance laws

AGAWAM — The Massachusetts Republican Party claims Agawam City Councilor Richard M. Theroux, a Democrat running for state representative, violated the law by creating a campaign fundraising website before establishing a candidate’s committee with the state Office of Campaign and Political Finance. As a public employee, Theroux also cannot directly solicit funds without a candidate’s committee, according to the GOP, which has filed a complaint with the OCPF in Boston.

Theroux, a longtime Agawam official who is challenging Rep. Nicholas A. Boldyga, R-Southwick, for his 3rd Hampden District seat, said his campaign website was created only hours before OCPF officials certified his committee on April 14. He accused the GOP of Watergate-style “dirty tricks” and of exploiting the oversight to taint his campaign. For the full article click here 

from democratic dojo http://ift.tt/26KOVoL
via IFTTT

The real obstacle to voter turnout in Democratic primaries: caucuses

Bernie Sanders wants to transform how the Democratic Party chooses its presidential nominee.

To do so, Sanders has made abolishing the closed primary — which prevents independents from voting — one of his top demands of Democratic officials, arguing that the party needs to “open the doors to working people, to senior citizens, to young people.” Expanding voter participation is indeed a noble goal. But if Sanders really wants the Democratic Party’s presidential primaries to be more representative of the public, he should forget the closed primary and go after a much better target: the caucus.

On Thursday, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights published a report showing that caucuses — which often require voters to spend hours at the polls — have been closely connected with very low voter turnout during this election. For the full article click here 

from democratic dojo http://ift.tt/26KOV8k
via IFTTT