Susan Wright (R), the widow of the late Rep. Ron Wright (R-TX), announced she will run for her husband’s vacant seat in Texas’s 6th Congressional District.
Virginia GOP Never Asked to Use Liberty Parking Lot
Virginia Republicans voted last night to hold a drive-through convention at Liberty University to nominate their 2021 statewide candidates, but according to the Lynchburg News & Advance, they didn’t get Liberty’s permission to use their parking lot first, sowing even further confusion over how Republicans will pick their nominee.
Virginia Republicans to Nominate Candidates by Drive Thru
“After months of disagreement, the Virginia Republican Party’s governing body agreed Tuesday night on a method to nominate statewide candidates for the November election. They’ll hold a drive-up convention May 8 on the campus of Liberty University,” the Richmond Times Dispatch reports.
“The decision followed feuds among members of the party’s State Central Committee, who had opted for a convention to nominate candidates for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general. But such a gathering would be illegal under Virginia’s COVID-19 rules.”
“They plan to use ranked-choice voting, so delegates would fill out one ballot and list their choices.”
2021-22 Gubernatorial Overview
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McAuliffe, Chase Lead In Virginia Primary Races
A new Wason Center poll in Virginia finds former Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) leading in the Democrats’ primary race for governor with 26%, followed by Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax (D) at 12%, but 46% of Democratic voters are still undecided.
On the Republican side, State Sen. Amanda Chase (R) leads Republican field for governor with 17%, with former Virginia House Speaker Kirk Cox at 10% and tech entrepreneur Pete Snyder at 6%; but 55% of Republican voters say they are undecided.
A Big Test Comes Early in 2021
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Can Phil Murphy Break The Curse?
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Thousands of Progressives Want to Run for Office
CNN: “Run For Something, the PAC that supports young progressives running for state and local office, says 6,554 people signed up for its pipeline in January, many of whom indicated their interest to run in the wake of the insurrection at the US Capitol on January 6.”
“The high interest comes on the heels of Democrats winning the White House and Senate, and maintaining their majority in the House.”
Andrew Yang Using Confidentiality Agreements
Andrew Yang (D) “is making volunteers for his New York City mayoral campaign sign confidentiality contracts that threaten stiff legal repercussions for any violators—even though he put his name behind an effort to purge nondisclosure agreements from politics last year, the New York Daily News reports.
A Deep Dive Into Virginia’s Gubernatorial Race
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Catsimatidis Mulls Mayoral Run as a Democrat
Billionaire John Catsimatidis — who Republicans have viewed as their best hope in the 2021 New York City mayoral race — now says he’s considering switching parties and jumping into the Democratic race instead, Politico reports.
Said Catsimatidis: “I may want to run as a Democrat with this ranked choice thing. This is a Democratic city, and I was a Bill Clinton Democrat. I was a Democrat for a long time. I’m a middle-of-the-road guy. I can be a conservative Democrat, or I can be a liberal Republican.”
Pelosi Endorses McAuliffe for Virginia Governor
“Speaker Nancy Pelosi is endorsing Terry McAuliffe’s campaign in a very crowded Democratic primary that will winnow the field of those seeking to be the next governor of Virginia,” Axios reports.
“McAuliffe, who already served one term as governor, faces competition from four other Democrats. He’s looking to Pelosi to help burnish his credentials with female and progressive voters in this year’s contested race.”
Andrew Yang Hasn’t Been Living In New York City
Andrew Yang, who is running for New York City mayor, acknowledged to the New York Times that he has not lived in the city for most of the year.
Said Yang: “We’ve spent more time upstate than in the city over the last number of months, but I also spent time in Georgia, as you know, I spent time in Pennsylvania campaigning for Joe and Kamala.”
He added: “We live in a two-bedroom apartment in Manhattan. And so, like, can you imagine trying to have two kids on virtual school in a two-bedroom apartment, and then trying to do work yourself?”
Terry McAuliffe Raises $6.1 Million
“Terry McAuliffe (D) announced Monday that he has raised more than $6 million for his comeback bid for Virginia governor, far surpassing what previous gubernatorial hopefuls have raised at similar points in their campaigns,” the Washington Post reports.
Max Rose Won’t Run for Mayor
Former Rep. Max Rose (D-NY) said he won’t run for mayor of New York City this year, the New York Daily News reports.
Yang Files to Run for New York City Mayor
Andrew Yang has filed paperwork to run for mayor of New York City, NBC New York reports.
“Yang’s filing has the potential to immediately upend a race that was shaping up as a contest between long-entrenched city politicians. It comes just days after a new poll giving him a slight lead among his fellow Democrats running for mayor.”
Eye on the Governor’s Races
Politico: “Thirty-eight of 50 states — accounting for nearly 85 percent of the U.S. population — will hold gubernatorial elections between 2021 and 2022.”
“A dozen states are likely in play, if not more, raising the potential for one party to expand its influence across the nation. Republicans will have a four-seat advantage in statehouses starting in January, though the majority of Americans will still live under Democratic governors.”
Max Rose Launches Exploratory Bid for Mayor
“Rep. Max Rose, the brash Staten Island Democrat who recently lost his re-election race, appears all but certain to run for mayor of New York City, confirming for the first time that he is exploring a bid and casting his potential candidacy as a sharp rebuke of the de Blasio administration,” the New York Times reports.
“Mr. Rose’s entry into the race at a moment of extraordinary crisis for New York would test whether a relatively moderate Democrat could catch fire in a crowded field that may be defined by debates over both ideology and matters of competence.”
