Nikki Haley’s Slow Burn Was No Accident
After 10 long months of campaigning, it was a 30-second video that suggested Nikki Haley was finally getting somewhere. The December television ad, paid for by Donald Trump’s allies and aired in New Hampshire, accused the Republican presidential candidate of flip-flopping on the gas tax as South Carolina governor. But you could practically hear the champagne corks popping at Haley’s headquarters in Charleston.
Why So Many Politicians Are Talking About World War III
Not too long ago, some Americans feared an inexperienced and mercurial President Donald Trump would start World War III. Now, he’s basing his comeback bid on avoiding it.
Cornel West Isn’t Worried About Being Called a Spoiler
Cornel West knows what most Democrats think of him. Since he launched his presidential bid four months ago, the progressive, media-savvy academic has heard the accusations that he’ll prove a spoiler and hand the 2024 election to Donald Trump. He doesn’t think that will be the case. But he also can’t imagine four more years of Joe Biden as President would be much better.
Is Anyone Having More Fun Running For President Than Vivek Ramaswamy?
Vivek Ramaswamy is in a crowded Ford Explorer zooming through New Hampshire. It's early August, and the Republican presidential candidate is racing between campaign stops, taking questions from three reporters while strategizing with a campaign aide. At one point, the SUV shakes as his driver veers onto the highway's rumble strip, but Ramaswamy looks only momentarily startled before launching back into a response.
For Marianne Williamson, the Bernie Sanders Lane Looks Wide Open
Four years ago, before Gabriela Orozco was old enough to vote, she knew Bernie Sanders was her candidate to take on Donald Trump. She liked how the Vermont Senator wanted to remake the federal government to help those most in need.
Exclusive: RNC Considers New Criteria for First Presidential Primary Debate
The first Republican presidential debate is still three months away, but as the field grows, the Republican National Committee is already discussing how it plans to decide which candidates will land a spot on the stage in Milwaukee.
What I Learned Playing Magic: The Gathering With a Marine Running for Senate
When Missouri Senate candidate Lucas Kunce logs onto Zoom for our game of Magic: The Gathering, he isn’t messing around.
The 164-year-old Senate chamber was not designed for wires and screens. Senators aren’t even allowed to use their phones when they’re inside. But to help with freshman Senator John Fetterman’s stroke recovery, the chamber just got a digital upgrade.
How Hakeem Jeffries' Fraternity Days Shaped Him
More than 30 years before he was elected to lead 211 of his fellow Democrats in Washington, Hakeem Jeffries was tapped to lead a dozen young men in upstate New York.
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Republicans count on candidates of color to expand the House map
On Wednesday, as Hurricane Ian bore down on the Florida district Anna Paulina Luna is likely to represent next year, she remained down the street from one of the last few open gas stations in the county. “A lot of my constituents could not leave,” she said. “And so I stayed.”
In battleground Orange County, parties start to see Asian American voters as just voters
ORANGE COUNTY, Calif.—When Taiwanese American Navy veteran Jay Chen ran for Congress a decade ago in the district now held by Young Kim, he thought his identity might help him surmount Republicans’ traditional advantage here.
Trump predicted Dr. Oz would have an edge with women voters. Does he?
HUNTINGDON VALLEY, Pa.—If it weren’t for a man in a red “Oz” ball cap striding towards this plain building in the Philadelphia suburbs, one would never recognize it as the Republican Senate nominee’s office. The cap-wearer unlocks the door and summons another aide, who hands over a business card printed with the phrase “America’s Doctor. Pennsylvania’s Senator.”
In Pennsylvania, Black voters’ concerns go beyond Fetterman gun incident
ALLENTOWN, Pa.—John Fetterman thought he heard shots. It was 2013, and the man who is now Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor and the front-runner for the Democratic nomination for Senate was mayor of Braddock, a borough in the Pittsburgh suburbs. He saw a person running near where he had heard the gunfire—he couldn’t tell the individual’s race, he maintains, because they were so bundled up. After calling the police, he decided to follow. He had his own shotgun with him.
Will congressional staffers join the Great Resignation?
Turnover has always been high in Congress, where low wages and long hours in the Capitol can transform bright-eyed young people into burnt-out ex-staffers within a few years. Right now, other factors are at play as well; since President Biden came to Washington, the executive branch has plucked its aides from the halls of Congress, as new administrations tend to do. Meanwhile, campaigns are staffing up for the midterms.
Trumpworld’s favorite fashion designer is still making statements
If someone is getting canceled while wearing a dress, there’s a good chance Andre Soriano made it.
Can ‘community centers’ help GOP court voters of color?
DORAL, Fla.—On Wednesday, Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel was scheduled to appear at a little office in a South Florida shopping center. Beneath streamers and strings of flags representing Latin American countries, members of the largely Hispanic and Latino group awaiting her wore baseball caps emblazoned with military logos or “Make America Great Again.”
Openness about health struggles is part of ‘new normal’ for politicians
Charles Booker’s 2018 bid for the Kentucky state House nearly killed him. The Democrat, who is now running for U.S. Senate for the second time, needed to dip into his personal funds to launch his campaign, leaving him struggling to make ends meet in his household budget. A week away from payday, he couldn’t afford to both feed his family and refill the insulin that he needs as a Type 1 diabetic. So he did all the things he wasn’t supposed to do. He skipped meals. He rationed the insulin he had. He ended up in the hospital for almost two weeks.
In Nevada, a proxy fight for the soul of the Democratic Party
Fights between centrist Democrats and the party’s left flank aren’t just playing out in primaries. They’re also dividing state parties, and in turn risking Democrats’ chances in next November’s elections. Perhaps nowhere is this more true than in Nevada, a blue-leaning swing state where Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto’s reelection campaign will help decide whether Democrats keep the Senate.
Andrew Yang has become a lightning rod. Has his identity become one, too?
The same week he became the last of New York City’s most prominent Asian American politicians to endorse Andrew Yang in the mayoral race, state Sen. John Liu recalled the racism he experienced growing up. He heard “Ching Chong” on a daily basis, Liu said. Sometimes, when the school cafeteria served rice, other students would pass their portions over to him.
The GOP’s common cause with conspiracists
Marjorie Taylor Greene has already done the hard part. While several fringe conspiracy theorists have gotten themselves elected to Congress before they became vocal about their beliefs, voters sent Greene to Washington knowing she was a full-throated QAnon supporter. Even as some Republicans attempt to ostracize her, they should be concerned she will flourish—or at least stick around.
For staffers of color, response to riot fits into larger pattern of racial tensions
As thousands of troops remain at the Capitol in anticipation of threats during President Trump’s impeachment trial, the attack on the building nearly three weeks ago still weighs heavily on the minds of congressional aides, especially staffers of color.
In a primary season that’s seen progressives oust powerful incumbents, the race in Massachusetts's Senate primary is in a category of its own.
Midsummer Night’s Dream? Progressives’ final push for 2020 starts with the original Justice Democrat
Since her name last appeared on the ballot, Cori Bush became a movie star.
After skiing down a glacier and taking on a grizzly, Gross reaches $4M for Senate campaign
It was very quiet. Dr. Al Gross was looking out over the water on a duck-hunting trip with a friend in the Sweetheart flats, near where, as a teenager, he had hunted with his father, former Alaska Attorney General Avrum Gross, and then-Gov. Jay Hammond. He turned around to find a grizzly bear standing four feet away.
Current and aspiring House members push back on anti-Asian campaign themes
Facing an increase in anti-Asian sentiment since the coronavirus shut down the country, even members of Congress aren’t immune to racist attacks.
Why do celebrities love Bernie Sanders?
Hollywood royalty and uber-rich pop stars may not seem like natural allies for a 78-year-old democratic socialist taking on millionaires and billionaires. But of the presidential candidates, it’s Sen. Bernie Sanders who lands what feel like daily celebrity endorsements, thanks to the campaign’s outreach efforts and the power of young voters.
Vulnerable House Dems Start to Weigh in on Presidential Primary
Swing-district Democratic representatives—the ones who know what it takes to win over supporters of President Trump—have been quiet about their party’s presidential primary. But they may finally be close to breaking their silence.
2020 Dems Gamble With Asian-American Voter Outreach
COSTA MESA, Calif.—In an era of rapidly shifting demographics and intense competition for the Democratic nomination, presidential candidates are taking a gamble with Asian-American and Pacific-Islander communities. While several are targeting the broad voting bloc with hopes of a boost in the polls, some AAPI leaders said they are feeling ignored.
Who Are Your Donors and What Do They Do
From the usual white-collar suspects to the serpentine-related, a stroll through 2020 presidential fundraising reveals a range of professions—and which contenders are getting their support.
Have 2020 Democrats Found God?
In Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s Bible, one chapter is heavily underlined: Matthew 25, in which Jesus praises his followers for feeding the hungry, caring for the sick, and welcoming the stranger.
Please Welcome the Next President ... and Her Handsome Husband
It isn’t that venture capitalist Jonathan Gillibrand is avoiding the campaign trail; last month, he could be found sitting next to his wife, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, in a New Hampshire diner, talking with voters. But like most of 2020’s political husbands, he has avoided the spotlight.
SANTA NELLA — The biggest political battles of 2018 feel a long way from the tiny Merced County communities connected by Interstate 5, where cars, not campaigns, rumble through otherwise quiet farm towns. But the year’s most expensive state legislative race is here, and the outcome could tip the partisan balance in Sacramento.
Celebrity advocates use social media to influence which California bills become law
SACRAMENTO — Barbra Streisand took to social media to endorse an ambitious clean energy proposal being heard in Sacramento. Alicia Silverstone tweeted her support for a bill to end the sale of animal-tested cosmetics in California. Maroon 5 guitarist James Valentine urged state lawmakers to resist a water project backed by President Trump.
California Gov. Jerry Brown rejects bill to prohibit schools from starting before 8:30 a.m.
SACRAMENTO — California teenagers will not get to sleep in on weekdays after Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a bill that would have required middle and high schools to start no earlier than 8:30 a.m.
Census takers could miss counting millions of Californians, researchers say
SACRAMENTO — The U.S. Census Bureau stands to undercount millions of Californians across the state in its 2020 survey, an error that could result in less federal funding or the loss of a congressional seat, according to a new analysis by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California.
Stanford's history with free speech
Though this year has seen controversy over free speech at Stanford, the dramatic history of free speech issues on campus, which spans over a century, consists of incidents that mirror recent events. Some historical events may even overshadow modern ones in terms of the harm they inflicted and the bitterness they generated in the Stanford community. The Daily combed through Stanford’s archives and spoke to community members ranging from campus media heads to alumni activists-turned-politicians to understand campus dialogue, past and present. This is the story of free speech at Stanford.
Content in Stanford Alumni Association handbook draws controversy among FLI community
A page in a handbook distributed to graduating seniors by the Stanford Alumni Association (SAA) has provoked shock and disgust among members of the first-generation low-income (FLI) community.
Fraternity, sorority residents consider diversity, community
In Greek houses on campus, many students say they find close communities where they are able to share aspects of their identities — such as ethnicity or gender — that can be harder to explore in other spheres of their lives. However, many say they still experience the reverberations of Greek life’s decades-long struggle with diversity.
New student publication wants to challenge ‘liberal consensus’ from all sides
A new campus publication intended to challenge campus liberalism, The Stanford Sphere, launched this week.
Philosophers hurry around onstage, babbling on their cellphones about God until, a few minutes later, Jesus walks in. So begins Godspell, recently performed by Harriton High School.