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Dems struggle to resist Trump's culture war 'bait' - Belleville News-Democrat

A future Democratic-controlled Congress will be able to establish a single-payer healthcare system about 10 years sooner than they thought, according to a House lawmaker.

Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., believes that the internal Republican debate over a repeal of the Medicaid expansion created by Obamacare has greased the skids for a single-payer program modeled on Medicaid or Medicare. That's a far cry from the 2009 healthcare debate, when Democrats took pains to avoid the perception of government-run health care, but it builds on Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's promise of a renewed progressive agenda.

"They've accelerated the move toward single-payer, probably advancing it by a decade," Blumenauer said Wednesday at a healthcare policy event hosted by The Hill.

Then-President Barack Obama rejected conservative claims that the healthcare overhaul represented a step toward single-payer healthcare during the debate. "What are not legitimate concerns are those being put forward claiming a public option is somehow a Trojan horse for a single-payer system," he said in 2009. "So, when you hear the naysayers claim that I'm trying to bring about government-run healthcare, know this they are not telling the truth."

Some congressional Democrats hoped at the time that a component of the healthcare bill known as a public option could provide a template for single-payer, but the provision was stripped out of the bill in the course of the debate. But the Medicaid expansion may have played a similar function, if Blumenauer's assessment is correct.

"I think the steps for Medicare for All or Medicaid For More are pretty simple, incremental steps that can go forward moving that because the public is aware, the inefficiencies have been exposed and what we're seeing in terms of the dynamics that people are struggling with in terms of trying to make this one-sixth of the economy function better," the Oregon Democrat said.

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Democrat says Obamacare debate 'accelerated the move toward single-payer' - Washington Examiner

MANCHESTER, N.H.

Democratic Manchester Ward 1 Alderman Kevin Cavanaugh capitalized on a strong get-out-the-vote effort to upset Republican former Sen. David Boutin in a special state Senate election in three Manchester wards and four area towns Tuesday.

Cavanaughs win kept the seat in Democratic hands and also kept the Republican majority in the Senate at 14-10.

The win was viewed as an upset because registration figures show 35 percent of the districts voters are Republicans and 29 percent are Democrats, with undeclared voters the largest segment, at 36 percent. In addition, Boutin had held the seat from 2010 through 2016 and was better-known district-wide than Cavanaugh.

Unofficial results showed that Cavanaugh won with nearly 55 percent of the vote as compared to 44 percent for Hooksett resident Boutin. Libertarian candidate Jason Dubrow of Dunbarton picked up 1 percent of the vote.

Nearly 8,700 votes were cast, making for a turnout of nearly 21 percent, impressive for a mid-summer special election.

The closely-watched contest was necessitated by the death of Democratic Sen. Scott McGilvray in March. The late NEA-New Hampshire teachers union president was the first Democrat to win the seat in more than three decades.

Boutin first won the seat in a February 2010 special election, and then won re-election to full, two-year terms in November 2010, 2012 and 2014. He chose not to seek re-election in November 2016 in order to spend more time with his daughter, who was pregnant at the time. McGilvray defeated a lesser-known candidate, Republican state Rep. Joseph Duarte, by a margin of only 51 percent to 49 percent to win the seat.

But after McGilvrays death, Boutin decided to attempt to return to the Senate, where he was viewed as a fiscal conservative but with moderate stances on some key issues, such as his opposition to right-to-work legislation.

The voting took place in Senate District 16, which is composed of Manchester Wards 1, 2 and 12 and the towns of Hooksett, Bow, Candia and Dunbarton.

Cavanaugh won his home ward with 1,191 votes, to 708 for Boutin and two votes for Dubrow. He won Manchester Ward 2, by a margin of 771 to 441, with 24 votes for Dubrow. In Ward 12, it was 447 for Cavanaugh, 336 for Boutin and 11 for Dubrow.

The total of the three wards showed a 924-vote margin for Cavanaugh, who received 61.2 percent of the city vote, while Boutin received 37.8 percent and Dubrow, 1 percent.

"This was a tremendous turnout for a mid-summer special election," City Clerk Matthew Normand told WMUR. "It was consistent with what we might see at a typical city-wide general election in the fall."

Unofficial results from Hooksett showed Boutin winning his home town, but by a narrow-than-expected margin of 1,012 to 850, with 24 votes for Dubrow. Boutin won in Dunbarton, 255 to 247, with 16 for Dubrow, which was a nearly 24 percent turnout.

In Bow, Cavanaugh won with 938 votes to 626 for Boutin and 17 for Dubrow. And in Candia, unofficial results showed Boutin with 426 votes to 307 for Cavanaugh and 14 for Dubrow.

Cavanaugh, a first-term alderman, husband and father of three young children, has said he intends to remain in the city post while also serving in Concord. Like his sate Senate predecessor, he is also a union activist. A longtime employee of FairPoint Communications, Cavanaugh is currently the assistant business manager of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 2320.

Democrats credited Cavanaugh's win to an outpouring of enthusiasm from voters frustrated by the GOP legislative and congressional majorities at the State House and on Capitol Hill.

"This loss is a stunning repudiation of the reckless Trump-Sununu agenda," said state Democratic Party Chairman Raymond Buckley. "It should serve as a huge wake-up call to New Hampshire Republicans, Governor (Chris) Sununu, and Mayor (Ted) Gatsas. They poured everything they had into this race and still came up short.

"The NHGOP's efforts to suppress the vote only served to energize the Democratic base," Buckley said. "This should teach Republicans to back away from fear-mongering, bullying rhetoric that is not just eroding our political discourse but hemorrhaging Republican votes in the state."

Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez also weighed in from Washington, saying in a statement, "When we invest, we win. That's what we did here in New Hampshire and that's what we will continue to do in races up and down the ballot."

NHGOP Chair Jeanie Forrester noted that in November, Democrat Hillary Clinton won the district. Clinton's win was narrow -- 15,132 to 15,040 for President Donald Trump. However, Republicans Sununu and former Sen. Kelly Ayotte also won the district by substantial margins.

"With massive out-of-state support, the Democrats managed to hold onto a state Senate seat," Forrester said. "The New Hampshire Republican Party is continuing the process of building our organization for long-term victory in the Granite State."

In an interview, Cavanaugh would not acknowledge that he entered the race as an underdog, but he did say, I knew we had a lot of work to do. And I like working. Someone told me that I should put my name out there but told me, Youll never beat him. That got me going.

He said that in the Senate, he will focus on working families and education.

Boutin and Cavanaugh both poured substantial funds into the race.

Through last Wednesday, Boutin had raised $108,000, including $37,600 brought forward from his previous campaigns' fundraising. He had spent $62,669.

The NHGOP had raised and spent about $61,000 promoting Boutin in direct mail and radio ads. Gov. Chris Sununu and former Sen. Kelly Ayotte appeared in separate radio spots praising Boutin.

Cavanaugh had raised $125,771 and had spent $87,346 as of July 19.

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Updated: Democrat Cavanaugh pulls off upset in state Senate special election - WMUR Manchester

The Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity had its first official meeting last week, launching its agenda amid widespread controversy about Vice Chair Kris Kobachs request for all 50 states individual voter data, and while facing seven federal lawsuits related to that request.

Trump's Voter-Fraud Commission Has Its First Meeting

Although the stated mission of the group, as outlined in President Trumps May executive order, is to study the registration and voting processes used in federal elections, the public outcry against the commission has come from fear that it would use overblown charges of voter fraud to encourage or even create widespread voter-suppression programs. The first meeting went roughly the way detractors expected it would: Voter fraud was the center of discussion among the most prominent attendees, though several state elections officials there expressed concern about less sensational issues, like voting equipment and automatic registration. (There is no proof of widespread in-person voter fraud or noncitizen voting.)

Among those state officials was Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap, one of three Democrats in a 12-member body that otherwise includes a brain trust of conservative voter-fraud crusaders. I spoke to Dunlap, who in the past has said that Trumps claims of rampant fraud are a ploy to make it harder for people to vote, about his reasons for joining the commission and about what he suspects will be the groups true agenda moving forward. Our conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Vann R. Newkirk II: What are your goals for your work with the commission?

Matthew Dunlap: Its simple: This commission should be about the sovereign right of a citizen to exercise the franchise of self-governance. Everything else falls into place after that.

Newkirk: Where does the idea of voter fraud fall within that goal?

Dunlap: One of the things I tried to convey in the first meeting was, they were talking about this coiled serpent of people being registered to vote in more than one place. But thats not against the law and is usually not the fault of the voter. Its because theyve moved and the administrators havent updated their voter files. Its not because somebodys trying to do anything wrong, but those people have been described as this great threat or tremendous risk.

Newkirk: And the members of this commission are the ones creating that narrative.

Dunlap: Some of the people who are opposed rather vehemently to the very existence of this commission say that I should resign, because being a respected elections official and a Democrat only lends legitimacy to what many people are regarding as a sham to increase suppression and to disenfranchise voters.

Well, thats arguable. I think you have to give it a shot first. If youre not there saying the things that Im saying, then the only things theyre talking about are how to stop voter fraudwithout really trying to define what that means.

I, for one, dont believe for a second that were going to find 3 million to 5 million illegally cast votes, as the president claims. My goals and hopes for this are that we can actually answer some of the lingering questions; put voters first; and, if there are opportunities to improve the process, well do it with the voter in mind and not the elections administrators.

Newkirk: So you think that collecting more data, as Kobach has requested of states, could ease concerns about voter fraud and allow you to pursue the questions you want to pursue?

Dunlap: It depends on what data youre looking at. This is one of the first rules of research. Know what youre looking for.

We had our now-infamous organizational conference call. Thats where the idea came up to ask for the voter data and start looking at this interstate voter-registration issue. Nobody expected the backlash that we got, but I had my spider-sense tingling. I said, Well, you want to be a little careful with what youre asking for and how youre asking for it. Dont demand it, ask for it. And only ask for whats legally and publicly available pursuant to those states laws.

Newkirk: With the commission going forward, how do you think you can represent the interests of voters?

Dunlap: Now that weve had our first meeting, Ive gotten a flavor of where everybody else is coming from. For the next meeting, Im going to be a bit better prepared, and bring some material on the things that weve seen and done in Maine.

A similar commission in Maine, led by Republicans, came out with a report that said the amount of additional security that a voter ID law would provide would be completely and overwhelmingly offset by the number of people who would be disenfranchised because they didnt have access to identity documents. And that commission recommended against it. Id like to bring that to this commission.

Newkirk: What other issues are on your radar?

Dunlap: The week before the 2016 election, there were notices that were sent to college students on a couple of campuses in Maine saying that if you were from out-of-state and you registered to vote in Maine, you would lose your financial-aid package. Thats complete bullshit, but it was meant as a voter-intimidation move. Those are the things that we should be talking about. Thats voter suppression.

For the commissions focus on fraud, say somebody moved from Lincolnville to Old Town [in Maine], and they voted absentee in Lincolnville to cover their bases before they got their new apartment. And as theyre registering their new truck in Old Town, they get handed all kinds of documents, including a voter-registration card and a ballot application. They fill it all out and get a ballot with different names, and they votethey dont necessarily realize theyre voting twice. Is that voter fraud? Not really. We need to sit and think about those things, but instead were talking about illegal aliens coming here to vote, which is not what people come here to do. They come here to work.

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What's the Real Goal of Trump's Voter-Fraud Commission? - The Atlantic

SIOUX CITY, Iowa Sioux City native J.D. Scholten was bound for distant Cerro Gordo County and handled media calls in a car Tuesday after announcing his candidacy for Iowas 4th Congressional District seat held by U.S. Rep. Steve King.

Scholten's announcement was posted Tuesday to his campaign website, which said an official launch event will be held at an unspecified date. Scholten is a Democrat who becomes the partys sole candidate after Kim Weaver of Sheldon dropped out of the 2018 race.

In a phone interview, Scholten, 37, said he has little name identification in his first run for elective office as he adjusts to his new life after returning to Iowa in June. Scholten also noted that he has ties all over the 39 counties of the 4th District; his parents hail from Larchwood and Lake Mills, and he lived in Nevada and Sioux City over his years of being raised with Iowa values, he said.

Scholten was on his way to speak to three groups in Clear Lake, then was headed back to Siouxland for stops in Le Mars on Wednesday and in Sioux City, prior to a weekend fundraiser in Minnesota, the state he most recently lived in. He's pointing toward the November 2018 election for the chance to beat King, a person Scholten didn't name in the interview.

"I am dedicating the next 17 months of my life to traveling and meeting as many people as possible," he said. "I am asking a lot of my little Nissan Altima."

Scholten, in a website statement, said politics have become too divisive and divorced from the lives of people.

"I was raised to believe that hard work, civility and community are the values we should all aspire to, and Im committed to bringing the same values and a new energy to this campaign," Scholten said. "The 4th needs a voice that cares more about building our districts future than it does about dividing us apart."

King has won seven elections to the U.S. House, beginning in 2002. King defeated Weaver in 2016.

Scholten graduated from Sioux Citys East High School, then played baseball at Morningside College and the University of Nebraska before graduating from Nebraska. He played baseball for several years in the U.S. and overseas, including for the Sioux City Explorers. He also worked as a paralegal.

He is a son of Jim Scholten, who retired in 2011 after 28 years as Morningside baseball head coach.

Scholten said he bought his childhood home and will work remotely as a paralegal and technical consultant. He said the fact that he is single will give him plenty of time to campaign.

"I have to show who I am," he said.

His biography notes that Scholten is a lifelong Democrat who took a 20-hour, one-way bus ride to protest the war in Iraq and has volunteered on local, state and national campaigns.

Scholten said health care will be a key issue, saying the Affordable Care Act enacted by Democrats should not be completely repealed by majority party Republicans. He said the health care law should be amended to cover as many people as possible, while care should be given as efficiently as possible.

"Medicare for all is what I am leaning toward," he said.

If other Democrats enter the Iowa 4th field, a party primary in June 2018 would determine the nominee.

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Democrat announces candidacy in Iowa's 4th District - Quad City Times