Biden visits a key Democratic city on the Wisconsin-Minnesota border
Biden is holding an infrastructure-focused event today in Superior, Wisconsin, a Democratic bastion the party desperately needs to hang on to in an otherwise red region of the battleground state.
Democrats have long found success in three blue-collar counties in northwest Wisconsin — Ashland, Bayfield and Douglas (home to Superior) — even as Republicans have largely swept up the surrounding areas in recent elections.
Still, Trump has managed to cut into Democrats’ advantage in Superior. Prior to 2016, Democrats routinely won the port city by nearly 40 points in presidential elections. But Hillary Clinton only carried the city of Superior by 18 points, while Biden won it by 20 points four years later.
Biden’s trip today to Superior, his second as president, underscores how it will be critical for Democrats to at the very least stem their losses in rural, working-class areas across the Midwest that have become core to the GOP base.
Ariz. secretary of state: Sinema has not begun qualifying for ballot
Arizona's secretary of state says Sen. Kyrsten Sinema has not yet filed her statement of interest to begin the process of collecting signatures to qualify for the ballot.
Sinema, a moderate who left the Democratic Party to become an independent in 2022, has until April 4 to gather the more than 42,000 signatures she would need to qualify for the ballot as an independent. If she decides to run, Sinema could face a tough re-election campaign against candidates from her former party and the GOP.
The U.S. economy grew at a 3.3% pace in the fourth quarter, much better than expected
The economy grew at a much more rapid pace than expected in the final three months of 2023, as the U.S. easily skirted a recession that many forecasters had thought was inevitable, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.
Gross domestic product, a measure of all the goods and services produced, increased at a 3.3% annualized rate in the fourth quarter of 2023, according to data adjusted seasonally and for inflation.
That compared with the Wall Street consensus estimate for a gain of 2% in the final three months of the year. The third quarter grew at a 4.9% pace.
In addition to the better than expected GDP move, there also was some progress on inflation.
Fox Corp. must face Smartmatic’s $2.7 billion defamation suit
Fox Corp. must face Smartmatic’s $2.7 billion defamation suit, a New York judge ruled Wednesday, denying a motion to dismiss defamation claims against Fox News’ parent company.
But Smartmatic must also face Fox’s counterclaims that the substantial defamation claims are intended to supress free speech, the judge ruled in a separate order.
The pair of orders — a win for each side — continue the lengthy and costly court battle between Smartmatic, a voting company accused of rigging the election despite being used by just one U.S. district in 2020, and Fox Corp., which has said it covered newsworthy events and individuals surrounding the 2020 election.
Smartmatic sued Fox and some of its hosts and guests in 2021; this case is one of at least 11 ongoing lawsuits over election conspiracy theories.
Former Trump White House aide Sarah Matthews donates to Haley
Sarah Matthews, who served as White House deputy press secretary under Trump, said she donated to Haley in the GOP primary.
Matthews shared that she made the contribution in a post on X, retweeting a threat from Trump to "permanently" bar from the MAGA camp anyone who donates to Haley that a reporter had shared.
Matthews testified in 2022 before the House select committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. She told lawmakers that she resigned from the White House on Jan. 6 after Trump refused to condemn the attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Sen. Jon Tester outraised leading GOP opponent in Q4
Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., announced he raised $5.5 million in the last quarter of 2023 as he prepares for his competitive re-election race.
Tester managed to outpace his leading Republican opponent, businessman Tim Sheehy, whose campaign told Fox News he raised $2.45 million from October through December. A chunk of that — $450,000 — was a personal contribution from Sheehy himself.
The Montana Senate race could determine whether Democrats hold on to their narrow majority or whether Republicans flip the chamber.
Maine Supreme Court declines to weigh in on Trump's ballot eligibility
Maine’s top court yesterday decided against weighing in on Trump’s ballot eligibility, dismissing an appeal from Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows requesting the high court to consider her earlier ruling that the former president is constitutionally barred from appearing on the state’s primary ballot over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
A judge had put Bellows’ ruling on hold pending the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on a similar case in Colorado that found him ineligible to appear on the ballot, citing a clause in the Constitution’s 14th Amendment that prohibits “an officer of the United States” who “engaged in insurrection” from running for various federal offices applied to Trump.
“The Secretary of State suggests that there is irreparable harm because a delay in certainty about whether Trump’s name should appear on the primary ballot will result in voter confusion,” the Maine Supreme Court wrote in its unanimous decision. “This uncertainty is, however, precisely what guides our decision not to undertake immediate appellate review in this particular case.”
Trump last week urged the Supreme Court to allow him to remain on the Republican primary ballot in Colorado.
The Trump campaign praised the Maine high court’s decision for having “soundly rejected” the appeal by Bellows.
“President Trump is confident that the United States Supreme Court will ultimately be fair and eliminate these meritless, sham ‘14th Amendment’ cases once and for all,” Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a statement. “Until then, President Trump will continue to fight them off at every turn.”
Florida Supreme Court will consider challenge to redistricting map pushed by DeSantis
The Florida Supreme Court has agreed to consider a challenge to a redistricting plan pushed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, which eradicated a congressional seat for a Black-majority district, in a filing yesterday.
The challenge was filed by voting rights groups after an appeals court ruled last month that the Florida Legislature didn’t unconstitutionally approve a congressional map that DeSantis sought to dismantle Rep. Al Lawson’s district.
The new map, drawn in 2022, dismantled a congressional seat for a district where 46% of voting-age residents were Black. Lawson, a Black Democrat, represented the district and lost re-election in the newly drawn seat.
A lower court previously ruled that the new map had improperly weakened Black voters’ voting authority. Circuit Judge Lee Marsh in September ruled that the map backed by DeSantis had violated the state constitution by “diminishing the ability of Black voters in North Florida to elect representatives of their choice.” He ordered the Legislature to draw a new one.
Trump expected to testify as E. Jean Carroll damages trial resumes after Covid delay
Trump will be back Thursday in a federal courthouse in New York City, where he’s expected to testify in his own defense in E. Jean Carroll’s defamation case against him.
Trump was initially expected to testify Monday, but the proceedings were postponed after a juror fell ill and Trump attorney Alina Habba told the judge she’d been exposed to the coronavirus and was feeling sick. Habba and her co-counsel Michael Madaio both tested negative for the virus Monday.
Trump, who defeated Haley in Tuesday’s GOP presidential primary in New Hampshire during the three-day postponement, is likely to take the stand in the early afternoon.