Free Republic

CARLISLE, Pa. (AP) — Freshman U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey is the rare conservative Republican who is running for re-election with the support of leading gun-control groups, but it may not be enough to save him in Democratic-leaning Pennsylvania in this unusual election year....His stance so angered one gun-rights group that it is backing his Democratic opponent, Katie McGinty, just to send a message to Toomey and any other Republican who might deviate from orthodoxy on guns.

WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats, aware of the dead weight that Donald J. Trump has placed on their vulnerable Republican colleagues, can taste a reclaimed majority. But just as Senate Republicans blew their chances in 2010 and 2012 before finally taking control in 2014, Democrats find themselves hobbled by less-than-stellar candidates in races that could make the difference in winning a majority. In Pennsylvania, Katie McGinty, a relatively unknown former federal official who has never held elective office, is ahead in polls but lags Hillary Clinton’s large lead in the state. In Florida, a nasty primary between two flawed candidates could...

Democratic megadonors, including George Soros and Tom Steyer, are putting millions of dollars into efforts to put Hillary Clinton in the White House and win control of the Senate. Their investment comes as Republicans worry about not only their nominee Donald Trump’s chances, but also his effect on down-ballot races. Yet few of the GOP’s biggest donors have put major money into Trump efforts, a striking change from four years ago when Mitt Romney had more million-dollar donors on his side than did President Barack Obama. …

Senator Cruz stunned conservatives when he refused to endorse Donald Trump at the RNC Convention in Cleveland. This came after Cruz was thumped in the GOP primary race. Perry leads Cruz in a senate primary matchup 46% to 37%. The Texas Tribune reported: A new poll suggests there is at least one fellow Republican who could unseat U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz in 2018: Rick Perry. The former Texas governor would beat Cruz by 9 percentage points, according to the forthcoming survey from the Democratic-leaning firm Public Policy Polling. Set to be released later today, the poll found Perry would get...

On election night 2016, the nation’s attention might be focused on Nevada, where Republicans have their most promising, and probably their only realistic, chance to capture a Democratic Senate seat. Harry Reid, Senate minority leader, is retiring, and Republicans’ hopes of retaining their majority might depend on Joe Heck replacing Reid. He is a strong candidate for his party, as his opponent is for hers. Catherine Cortez Masto is a former two-term state attorney general who won reelection even against the 2010 anti-Democratic wave. She would be the Senate’s first Latina. Heck, an emergency room physician and a brigadier general...

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Thursday that GOP prospects for keeping control of the Senate after the November elections are “very dicey,” sounding an alarm amid mounting Republican concerns about presidential nominee Donald Trump. […] Twenty-four GOP-held seats are on the ballot this year, compared with 10 for Democrats, he noted. McConnell was promoted to majority leader two years ago when a Republican surge wrested Senate control from Democrats. McConnell did not mention Trump as being a drag on Republican down-ballot races, but he chided Trump’s campaign tactics. The Kentucky senator said he hopes Trump “settles down and follows...

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Ilhan Omar spent four years in a Kenyan refugee camp as a young girl, fleeing with her family from civil war in Somalia. Two decades later, after forging a new life in Minnesota, she appears on the brink of becoming the nation's first Somali-American state legislator. Omar, a 33-year-old community activist, cried as she delivered victory speeches in English and Somali after defeating a 44-year incumbent in the latest sign of the Somali community's growing influence in the city and state. Her victory in a heavily Democratic Minneapolis district makes her a strong favorite in the general...

The Democratic National Committee is feeding excited speculation that first lady Michelle Obama will follow Hillary Rodham Clinton from the East Wing to the Senate. Following on the heels of her well-received Democratic convention speech, the DNC has just printed up Obama bumper stickers and is offering them to supporters of Clinton for a $10 donation.

The Democratic National Committee is feeding excited speculation that first lady Michelle Obama will follow Hillary Rodham Clinton from the East Wing to the Senate. Following on the heels of her well-received Democratic convention speech, the DNC has just printed up Obama bumper stickers and is offering them to supporters of Clinton for a $10 donation. It shows the first lady bathed in Obama blue beside her convention speech phrase, "When they go low, we go high." Ever since that speech, dubbed "stunning" by the Los Angeles Times, speculation has been high in Illinois that the popular native daughter...

The Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence told Breitbart News Thursday the more he learns about the reality of President Barack Obama’s Iran deal the more shocked he becomes at its reckless disregard for the safety of Americans. “The Obama Administration and Secretaries Clinton and Kerry insisted that the Iranian deal was beneficial to the United States, and proceeded with the deal despite warnings from experts and the wishes of the American people,” said Sen. Richard Burr (R.-N.C.), who is a direct descendant of the family of Aaron Burr, Thomas Jefferson’s first vice-president and the man who shot...

Folks breaking now. Laura Endorsed Kelli Ward! Her track record for endorsing people has been good aka what happened to Cantor!

Donald Trump might be unwilling to support Arizona Sen. John McCain's re-election bid, but Ohio Gov. John Kasich thinks McCain deserves a lifetime appointment to the Senate. "Honestly, I don't even think they ought to have an election. They ought to tell McCain, as long as you want to be in the Senate, you can have it," Kasich told WGN radio. "He's just the greatest guy."

Colorado U.S. Senate candidate Darryl Glenn says he was defending his mother against an abusive father in a 1983 altercation that led to a misdemeanor assault charge against Glenn. Glenn, the Republican challenger to Democrat Michael Bennet, had previously denied he was arrested when asked about the charge by The Denver Post, which reported his statement on Thursday. The charge against the then-18-year-old Glenn was dropped. Glenn said he did not remember the incident until he spoke this week to his mother about it.

California’s racially charged all-Democrat Senate race has spilled onto the Democratic National Convention as the candidates continued to feud over President Obama’s endorsement of one over the other. Attorney General Kamala Harris, the recipient of Mr. Obama’s blessing, said Monday that she thought Rep. Loretta Sanchez should apologize to the president for suggesting that race played a role in the endorsement. Ms. Harris is black and Ms. Sanchez Hispanic. “I find it very troubling, and I think that that is not the voice or perspective of a leader,” Ms. Harris told Fox11 in Los Angeles. “Especially in these times, where...

Suffice to say that neither being a U.S. Senator nor signing a petition by the UCS makes you a scientist. That "App" needs (much) more work! No need for you to feel “scientifically challenged” anymore; there’s an App for nearly everything now. It appears that one of the easiest ways to become a “scientist” (concerned or not, my personal view) is to join the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). That group has already millions of members (so it claims) and you are most welcome to join. No experience or other credentials required—if anything, just a few dollars from your wallet....

Discuss.

Orange County congresswoman Loretta Sanchez let loose on resident Obama for endorsing her rival in California’s U.S. Senate race, accusing him of being part of the “entrenched political establishment” that has failed California voters. Obama and Vice President Joe Biden announced their support for U.S. Senate candidate Kamala Harris early Tuesday morning, praising her record as California’s attorney general and a prosecutor. Harris has been a longtime political ally of the resident. Sanchez said she was “disappointed” that Obama would intervene in a Senate race between two Democrats, ... I believe that California voters are deeply concerned about the entrenched...

Numerous death threats made towards Republican Senators on Twitter remained on the platform for weeks before being deleted, despite the platform’s consistent record of removing “problematic” opinions within a matter of hours.

Sen. John McCain warned Google and Apple executives Thursday that the Senate Armed Services Committee “has subpoena power” that could compel them to testify on why their encryption systems on newer smartphones are not accessible to law enforcement operating under court orders.The Arizona Republican, who chairs the panel, said, “There’s an urgency” to finding a solution to the matter of protecting privacy while also not closing out police, prosecutors and intelligence agencies from lawfully pursuing criminals and terrorists.At the start of the hearing, McCain noted that Tim Cook, president of Apple, declined to attend the session. “This is unacceptable,” he...

Three Republican senators have filed a bill to ratchet up penalties against anyone who intentionally targets the police, a response to the deadly shooting that left five officers dead in Dallas last week. Sens. John Cornyn (R-Tex.), Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) filed a bill Wednesday to make attempting or conspiring to kill a law enforcement officer or judge a federal crime punishable by up to 30 years in jail, with lesser penalties for assaulting such officials or trying to flee prosecution by crossing state lines. In states that have capital punishment, a murder of a police officer...