Free Republic

Democrats are fighting tooth and nail to hold on to their ultra-narrow Senate majority this year in a midterm election cycle that has several of the party’s most vulnerable incumbents facing voters amid rising inflation and surging gas prices. Republicans need to net just one new seat this year to reclaim control of the upper chamber. Still, Democrats are more optimistic about their chances of holding their Senate majority than they are their House majority and are eyeing several opportunities to flip GOP-held seats.

s their preferred candidate crashes in national polls and the race tightens to a dead heat in Joe Biden’s must-win states, NeverTrump “conservatives” are once again taking their marching orders from Democrats. The death, destruction, and mayhem besieging Democratic-run cities across the country, NeverTrump dutifully recites, is all Donald Trump’s fault. Team Biden crafted the inane talking points to deflect concerns that the violence in cities such as Portland and Kenosha rapidly was backfiring on Democrats; scenes of angry mobs attacking Trump supporters, including Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and his wife, leaving the White House late Thursday night after the...

Full Title: Sen. John McCain's pallbearers to include Warren Beatty, Joe Biden, Gary Hart, plus billionaire Michael Bloomberg and FedEx CEO while his ushers include health and telecom execs McCain's office announced his pallbearers and other aspects of three days of services for hero Actor Warren Beatty will be among those serving as pall bearers Vice President Joe Biden, a friend from the Senate, also will be there Former Sens. Gary Hart, Phil Gramm, and Russ Feingold will join, as well Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse Among those paying tribute to McCain at his memorial services will be Jeff Flake, Joe...

In 2016, the only battleground state Senate Republican to falter in a re-election bid was New Hampshire's Kelly Ayotte.  She fell by the slimmest of margins -- losing by roughly 1,000 votes (0.2 percentage points) statewide.  Conservative third party candidate Aaron Day ended up receiving more than 17,000 votes in the contest, tipping it to Democrat Maggie Hassan, who was also helped by a Libertarian candidate pulling in more than 12,000 ballots.  The little-known Day's candidacy benefited from anonymous mailers sent to Republican voters designed to attack Ayotte "from the right."  The liberal outfit behind the ads peddled their mischief...

Since this week’s surprise announcement that Nikki Haley would depart by year’s end, everyone wants to know who’ll replace America’s UN ambassador — who was first dismissed, then hated, then feared and eventually appreciated, heck, even loved (at least by some). The answer, obviously, is up to the never-predictable President Trump, so most names bandied about are speculative, with many driven by wishful thinking. So here’s a wish: Christopher Burnham. Never heard of him? You may soon. Sure, there are other worthy candidates; Washington reporters come up with new ones daily. The much-advertised front-runner, former Deputy National Security Adviser Dina...

Outgoing Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., is at the top of President-elect Trump's list for secretary of defense, according to a Washington Post report published Friday evening. Other candidates up for the Pentagon chief slot are retired Army Lt. Gen. Joseph "Keith" Kellogg, former Defense Intelligence Agency director Gen. Mike Flynn and Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions. snip.... Sources said Ayotte's neoconservative background would help her serve as a liaison between the GOP establishment in Congress and Trump administration. She would also be the first woman to oversee the Defense Department.

MANCHESTER, N.H. —New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte conceded the Senate race to Gov. Maggie Hassan Wednesday evening. he concession announcement comes after Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan declared victory in the closely-watched U.S. Senate battle against the Republican incumbent. "I just spoke with Gov. Hassan to congratulate her on her election to serve in the U.S. Senate," Ayotte said in a statement. "I wish Gov. Hassan, her husband, Tom, and their children, Ben and Meg, the very best." Hassan is pledging to work with President-elect Donald Trump "when it's in the best interest of New Hampshire and the country," and she...

"The policies and strategies of (Hillary) Clinton and (incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Kelly) Ayotte have not worked," Rubens said. "They've spread terrorism. What we need is to respect veterans, soldiers, obey the Constitution and then make a case for war if needed, and that includes drone war."

The following is a list of prominent Republicans who say they’re not planning to attend the Republican National Convention -- based on responses from their offices and previously published reports: Former President George W. Bush Former President George H.W. Bush 2008 Republican presidential nominee and Arizona Sen. John McCain 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney 2016 presidential candidate and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval Wyoming Gov. Matthew Mead South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson Kansas Sen....

They’re coming for your home. Right now. I suggest you save it. I can guide you, but you must do exactly as I say. Except, this isn’t The Matrix. You’re no actor, like Keanu Reeves, playing a distraught programmer-hacker named “Neo.” Nor am I an actor, like Laurence Fishburne, playing your guide “Morpheus.” This is real life, baby. Your home or apartment—and the neighborhood in which you live—is under siege. “Agents”—sans black glasses and black business suits—who work for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) have written a new regulation called “Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing” (AFFH) that...

LOUISVILLE — Gun rights backers lament what they describe as a leftward drift on Second Amendment rights by Democrats in recent years, and predicted the push for stricter laws in blue state bastions such as California and Illinois will cost them even more independent-minded voters. Within the last decade, Democrats, including then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, were making overtures to gun groups including the National Rifle Association. But the 2012 Newtown school shooting spurred a realignment, with Democrats at the national level increasingly adopting a gun control posture, pushing gun rights Democrats to suppress their own views, said attendees at...

In a radio interview with a Philadelphia radio station today, former Gov. Ed Rendell (D-Pa.) called GOP Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) a “dumbbell” for her opposition to gun control. Listen to the full interview below.

When President Obama first nominated Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court, Senate Republicans were united in their wall of opposition — no meetings, no hearing, no vote. And while Garland’s path remains a very uphill battle, some Republicans are starting to shift their tone. Two weeks into the nomination fight, 16 Republican senators now say they will meet with Garland — over 25 percent of the GOP caucus — according to a running count by NBC News. That includes senators up for re-election in Blue States, such as New Hampshire’s Kelly Ayotte and Illinois’ Mark Kirk, who will be the...

With Donald Trump continuing to dominate the Republican presidential primary field, many of the GOP's senior leaders are beginning to contemplate the down-ballot consequences of having the controversial outsider atop the ticket. Typically, control of the Senate and House are heavily influenced by the outcome of the presidential contest, and a bruising general election contest between Trump and Democratic frontrunner Hillary Rodham Clinton almost certainly would affect the outcome of some of the congressional races.

Ted Cruz says his hard-line strategy to defund Planned Parenthood and risk a government shutdown is about doing the “right thing” and following through on Republicans' vows to conservative voters. But many of his Republican colleagues say it’s really all about Cruz. Even some of his closest allies from past battles— fellow tried and true tea party Republicans like Sen. Mike Lee of Utah — aren’t exactly jumping to join Cruz’s latest crusade. Same goes for Cruz’s onetime allies-turned-presidential rivals, Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Rand Paul of Kentucky. As the Texas Republican prepares for a potentially decisive month...

Donald Trump heaped praise on Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire in a Friday interview with a Concord radio station, calling the idea of having a woman as his running mate “absolutely great.” Trump referenced his private meeting with Ayotte earlier this year, as well as “a couple of times” they had met, in his discussion with WKXL. Calling the New Hampshire senator “a terrific woman” and “tremendous,” Trump said that he really liked her a lot and “would be somebody that you would consider” as veep.

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz stood next to former New Hampshire House Speaker Bill O’Brien on Friday and called Sen. Kelly Ayotte “a friend.” He also called embattled U.S. Rep. Frank Guinta “a good man." Cruz would not say whether he agreed with O’Brien that Ayotte should face a primary next year, saying that he is “focused on my own primary.” (SNIP) And I think it is incumbent on every elected official to make the case to his or her constituents that we’re going to do the job we’re elected to do. And so I will leave those suggestions to the...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) applauds the passage of the FY 2016 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) by the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) on Thursday after a week of debate and consideration by both parties. Sen. Cruz introduced or cosponsored more than a dozen amendments that were successfully adopted by the committee. “Congress’ first priority is to provide for the national defense and ensure our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines have everything they need to defend our freedom,” said Sen. Cruz. “I am grateful for the committee’s support for my amendments, including measures that will ensure...

The incumbent Republican senator from New Hampshire opened up a six-point over Gov. Margaret “Maggie” Hassan, her presumptive Democratic challenger in the April 21-22 Townhall/Gravis poll of 1,117 voters. Sen. Kelly A. Ayotte (R.-N.H.), who was endorsed in 2010 by former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, is building a solid lead over Hassan, said Doug Kaplan, the managing partner of Gravis Insights, the Florida-based firm that conducted the poll. Hassan has not announced. Ayotte leads with voters under 50, 52 percent to Hassan’s 40 percent and support of 88 percent of Republicans, he said. Hassan holds the support of 82 percent...

This morning on radio, Glenn gave some hints from an important phone call he received before going on the air. While Glenn was unable to release any of the details about who called or exactly what it was about, he did share a snippet of content concerning the GOP. Courtesy of Glenn, we do know that there were “big names involved” and Glenn was “encouraged by who it came from.”Glenn did provide some of the message from the mystery caller, saying“Just please tell Glenn to continue to put the heat on. Because the party is split. And half of...