“GOP ward leaders voted to oust one of their own Saturday, hours after an Inquirer story highlighted his role in diverting dozens of mail ballots for Republican voters in South Philadelphia to a P.O. box under his control, raising concerns of a potential ‘ballot harvesting’ scheme,” the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
Tennessee Criminalizes Mail-In Abortion Drugs
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) signed a bill Thursday criminalizing abortion-inducing drugs that are provided via mail, CNN reports.
Exchange of the Day
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves (R) was interviewed on Meet the Press by Chuck Todd:
TODD: You’ve just said that you believe life begins at conception. If there is legislation brought to you to ban contraception, would you sign it?
REEVES: Well, I don’t think that’s going to happen in Mississippi. I’m sure they’ll have those conversations in other states.
TODD: But you’re not answering the question.
REEVES: As is always the case with things — well, that’s always the case. There’s so many things that we can talk about.
Jill Biden Makes Surprise Visit to Ukraine
“Jill Biden, the first lady, traveled to western Ukraine in an unannounced trip on Sunday, the latest sign of support from the United States, which has significantly increased military aid for Ukraine in recent weeks,” the New York Times reports.
“Dr. Biden met Ukraine’s first lady, Olena Zelenska, at a school in Uzhhorod, a town of 100,000 people a few miles from the border with Slovakia. The town’s population has doubled in recent weeks with the arrival of people fleeing fighting elsewhere in the country.”
Said Mrs. Biden: “I wanted to come on Mother’s Day. I thought it was important to show the Ukrainian people that this war has to stop and this war has been brutal and that the people of the United States stand with the people of Ukraine.”
Happy Mother’s Day!
If you forgot to send a Mother’s Day gift, I’ve got just the thing!
The GOP Establishment Looks Screwed for 2024
“The conventional view of J.D. Vance’s victory in Ohio’s Senate primary this week was that it demonstrated the power of Donald Trump’s endorsement,” Politico reports.
“But the election results also delivered something else: an outline of the 2024 GOP primary’s establishment lane, the one expected to be occupied by the likes of Govs. Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas or Larry Hogan of Maryland, former Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey or someone else from the party’s traditionalist wing.”
“In a crowded contest in which a field of free-spending Republicans competed for the Trump vote, the performance of the one serious contender who distanced himself from the former president proved revealing.”
Mastriano Holds Double-Digit Lead in GOP Primary
A New Democratic poll in Pennsylvania, reviewed by City & State, shows Doug Mastriano (R) leads the Republican gubernatorial field with support from 28% of voters, a 14-point lead over the next-closest candidate, former U.S. attorney Bill McSwain (R).
McSwain was second with support from 14% of voters, while former Rep. Lou Barletta (R) came in third with 12%. Dave White (R) was fourth with 11%, and two other candidates – former Rep. Melissa Hart (R) and Jake Corman (R) – received 6% and 3%, respectively.
Selena Zito: A Doug Mastriano win would cost the GOP the House and Senate in that state.
Midterms’ Biggest Abortion Battleground Is Pennsylvania
New York Times: “Pennsylvania, one of a handful of states where abortion access hangs in the balance with midterm elections this year, is a test case of the political power of the issue in a post-Roe world, offering a look at whether it will motivate party bases or can be a wedge for suburban independents.”
“After a draft of a Supreme Court opinion that would end the constitutional guarantee of abortion rights was leaked last week, Republicans downplayed the issue, shifting attention instead to the leak itself and away from its substance. They also argued that voters’ attentions were fleeting, that abortion was hardly a silver bullet for Democratic apathy and that more pressing issues — inflation and President Biden’s unpopularity — had already cast the midterm die.”
“To Democrats, this time really is different.”
Kai Kahele Kicks Off Bid for Hawaii Governor
“Rep. Kai Kahele (D-HI) today ended months of speculation by announcing that he is running for governor in the Aug. 13 Democratic Primary,” the Honolulu Star Advertiser reports.
Immigration Clamp Down Causing Labor Shortage
The U.S. is experiencing a labor shortage that’s partly fueled by a drop-off in immigration, which ground to a halt during the pandemic, the AP reports.
By some estimates, the U.S. now has 2 million fewer immigrants than it would have if the pace had stayed the same.
Brazil’s Lula Makes Presidential Candidacy Official
“Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva officially launched his bid to return to Brazil’s presidency on Saturday more than a decade after he left office,” Bloomberg reports.
“The widely expected announcement, marked by an official event in Sao Paulo, kicks off a new phase of the campaign, in which Lula and his running mate Geraldo Alckmin will start traveling across the nation trying to gather broad support to defeat President Jair Bolsonaro in the October vote.”
Madison Cawthorn Paid His Cousin $141,000
“A relative and close adviser to Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) has pocketed more than $141,000 from taxpayers and campaign donors since 2020,” WRAL reports.
“The documents also show a roughly eight-month period during which the 26-year-old North Carolina congressman paid Stephen Smith, his second cousin, simultaneously from Cawthorn’s congressional office and campaign. The payments were addressed to Smith at a Hendersonville address. The address matches that of Cawthorn’s, state voter registration records show.”
For members: Let Us Count the Scandals
GOP Candidate Wants States to Ban Contraceptives
After the U.S. Supreme Court overturns women’s constitutional right to abortion this summer, Arizona U.S. Senate candidate Blake Master (R) thinks judges should also take aim at the right to buy and use contraception, the Arizona Mirror reports.
Inside the Movement to Overturn Roe v. Wade
Washington Post: “For the activists who have fought against enormous odds to elevate the issues of abortion and judicial selection, the sudden turnabout is nearly as shocking as Trump’s election was for McConnell. Interviews with more than two dozen movement leaders, Republican officials and operatives describe a half-century journey that only began to settle over the last decade, as the politics of abortion finally polarized itself as a partisan issue and emerged as a top-tier Republican priority.”
“Abortion rights advocates have also been stunned by the transformation, accusing Republicans of hijacking the courts for partisan and unpopular ends.”
New York Times: Are more precedents next?
CIA Director Says China ‘Unsettled’ by Ukraine War
“The director of the CIA said that Chinese president Xi Jinping has been ‘unsettled’ by the war in Ukraine, which had demonstrated that the friendship between Beijing and Moscow had “limits” at a time when western allies were moving closer together,” the Financial Times reports.
McConnell Says National Abortion Ban Possible
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell told USA Today that a national abortion ban is possible if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade.
Said McConnell: “With regard to the abortion issue, I think it’s pretty clear where Senate Republicans stand.”
He added: “And if and when the court makes a final decision, I expect everybody will be more definitive. But I don’t think it’s much secret where Senate Republicans stand on that issue.”
Sinn Fein Pledges ‘New Era’ for Northern Ireland
“The Irish nationalist party Sinn Fein, which seeks unification with Ireland, hailed a ‘new era’ Saturday for Northern Ireland as it captured the largest number of seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly for the first time in a historic win,” the AP reports.
“The victory means Sinn Fein is entitled to the post of first minister in Belfast for the first time since Northern Ireland was founded as a Protestant-majority state in 1921.”
Clarence Thomas Worried Court May Be ‘Bullied’
Justice Clarence Thomas told a group of judges and lawyers at the 11th Circuit Judicial Conference in Atlanta that “the events of earlier this week” show that if people cannot “live with outcomes we don’t agree with,” then the integrity of the judicial branch of government is undermined, CNN reports.
