Mediaboss Marketing

Democratic state Representative Shawn Thierrys list of political contributors reads like a whos who of Republican mega-donors and Christian nationalist public school defunders. The Houstonian received $28,000 from the Charter Schools Now PAC, $25,000 from conservative Dallas billionaires Darwin and Douglas Deason, $10,000 from the pro-voucher Family Empowerment Coalition, $10,000 from the powerful pro-tort reform PAC Texans for Lawsuit Reform, backed by the Republican establishment, and $50,000 fromthe Texas Sands PAC, which was created to push for the legalization of casinos and bankrolled largely by Miriam Adelson, widow of Trump mega-donor Sheldon Adelson.

It was more than enough money to buy Thierry billboards by the Houston Rodeo leading up to the electionbut not enough for the four-term state representative to beat out Lauren Ashley Simmons in the District 146 Democratic primary, after Thierry alienated liberal voters by aligning with Republicans last year to ban gender-affirming care for transgender teens. Simmons fell just shy of 50 percent while Thierry received around 44 percent, so the two will head to a May 28 runoff. Community activist Ashton Woods received 6 percent of the votes.

In comparison to Thierrys high-rolling funders, as of March 4, Simmons received nearly $100,000 less than Thierry in total contributions and mostly in small individual donations. Leading up to the election, Simmons picked up a slew of endorsements from progressive organizations and the Houston Chronicle editorial board.

The results show that people in the district are ready for new representation. We deserve somebody that aligns with our values. Thierry has not shown up for us in the way that we need her to. Now its time for somebody else to do that job, Simmons told the Texas Observer.

On the campaign trail, Simmons distinguished herself, telling the Houston Chronicle editorial board, Im not a politician. Im a community advocate. The mom and union organizer grew up in Houstons Third Ward, becoming pregnant at age 19. After she and her baby were kicked off of welfare and evicted from their apartment, she shoplifted food and clothing for her baby until she was arrested (the charges were later dismissed). Since then, Simmons said shes been organizing Black and immigrant women to achieve better working conditions, health care, and living wages. As a mother of two kids enrolled in the Houston Independent School District and a former organizer with the Houston Federation of Teachers, shes publicly taken state-appointed Superintendent Mike Miles to task for his unpopular reforms in the district.

If you talked to me a year ago and told me Id be running for office, I would have absolutely laughed at you, because I love my work, Simmons said. But the biggest reason I ran is because our community deserves a better representative than what we currently have.

During the last legislative session, Thierry angered her Democratic colleagues and advocates when she aligned with Republicans to ban gender-affirming care for trans youth. Even though the bill had enough votes to pass without any votes from Democrats, Thierry decided to publicly defend her vote with a 12-minute speech on the House floor and later an interview on Fox News. The move drew praise from Republicans and censure from Democrats. In response, Thierry later tweeted, I voted my district, claiming Black voters were more conservative on the issue.

Simmons told the Observer: Im really uncomfortable with Black folks being used as an excuse in that way. Were not a monolith. Black trans people do exist. And as a good Democrat, there is always an opportunity to educate your community, your constituents, and explain why this is not the right way.

The fallout from Thierrys vote to ban gender-affirming care was followed by public condemnation from her staffers who accused her of creating an abusive work environment. In one incident, Thierry reportedly threw a flowerpot across the room at a staffer after she failed to immediately inform her when the flowers arrived. Thierry dismissed the criticism saying her staffers are gay and were retaliating against her for her vote banning transgender care. Thierry provided a similar comment when Simmons noted to the Houston Chronicle editorial board that she, Simmons, had earned the support of some of Thierrys colleagues. Thierry retorted, The gay ones. Thierry did not immediately respond to the Observers request for comment.

Simmons told the Observer that Thierry abandoned voters in her district when she chose to focus on culture war issues, instead of the problems constituents faced, citing the rise in gun violence, the lack of good jobs and grocery storesparticularly in Sunnyside, the poorest neighborhood in Houston.

The organizer in me is going to make sure we touch folks who have been disconnected for so long from this process. The momentum and excitement is on our side, Simmons said.

Like Thierry, longtime Houston state Representative Harold Dutton, also a Democrat, had to turn to Republican big donors after he alienated his Democratic colleagues, voting to ban gender-affirming care, to ban books in school libraries, and to expand charter schools. During this election cycle, he received $58,000 from Charter Schools Now, $79,000 from the Texas Sands PAC, and $10,000 from the Family Empowerment Coalition.

Dutton drew the ire of parents, teachers, and advocates in Houstons school district after he tripled down on his support for the unpopular state takeover of the district. In 2015, Dutton authored the bill that allowed the state to take over. In 2019 he empowered the state education commissioner with final and unappealable power to take over districts, clearing the way for the Texas Supreme Court to lift an injunction on the takeover. And even after the state seized control, Dutton bragged that it was him, and not Abbott, who made it happen.

But the support of Houstonspublic education community for Duttons opponent, Danny Norris, was not enough Tuesday night to dislodge the incumbent of 40 years. With around 60 percent of the vote, Dutton avoided a runoff against three challengers; Norris garnered less than 20 percent. Dutton had outraised Norris 10-to-1. Dutton did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Norris told the Observer he intends to run again. Win, lose, or draw, I am not going anywhere. Im dedicated to making a difference in the district.

Original post:
Houstonians Force Anti-LGBTQ Democrat into Runoff with Progressive Challenger - The Texas Observer

Democratic prosecutor Maggy Krell is poised to advance to the general election in the Sacramento-based 6th Assembly district. She emerged from a crowded primary with a commanding lead of 26.9% for the seat currently held by Assembly member Kevin McCarty, who is running for mayor.

Krell, a deputy attorney general at the California Department of Justice, will likely face a Republican opponent in November.

Unofficial results showed Nikki Ellis, a trade specialist who worked for the California Chamber of Commerce, in second place with 16.8%. The other Republican in the race, Preston Romero, had 13.9%.

California Assembly district 6 candidate Nikki Ellis.Courtesy Nikki Ellis

The districts liberal electorate was fractured among six other Democratic candidates, including SMUD Board president Rosanna Herber, San Juan School Board member Paula Villescaz, ACLU California leader Carlos Marquez III, local education labor leader Sean Frame, Sacramento Housing Commissioner Emmanuel Amanfor and nonprofit director Evan Minton. Peace and Freedom candidate Kevin Olmar Martinez was also running.

Krell was boosted by a huge influx of support from business-aligned interests during the primary. Political action committees funded largely by business and law enforcement groups spent over $1 million on advertising, mailers and other support for her.

A charter school PAC also spent roughly $500,000 to boost Marquez, according to campaign finance data.

CapRadio provides a trusted source of news because of you. As a nonprofit organization, donations from people like you sustain the journalism that allows us to discover stories that are important to our audience. If you believe in what we do and support our mission, please donate today.

Here is the original post:
Assembly District 6 results: Democrat Maggy Krell poised to face Republican opponent in November - Capital Public Radio News

The Justice Department is expected to recommend dropping a fraud lawsuit which implicates Dish Network as early as this Friday, according to sources with the FCC. This proposed dismissal comes just before Dishs CEO and Democratic donor Charlie Ergen and executives at BlackRock were scheduled to be deposed.

The case goes back to a 2015 FCC Spectrum Auction for valuable bandwidth that could be used for wireless internet. To promote competition, the FCC issued a 25 percent discount called bidding credits to very small businesses which averaged below $15 million in revenue over the previous three years. Between 2011 and 2014, Dishs revenue ranged from $13.5 to 15 billion. Nonetheless, Dish, with backing from BlackRock, financed two ostensibly small companies Northstar Wireless and SNR Wireless, which went on to win the auctions, with discounts worth over $3 billion.

SNR and Northstar acknowledged the financing, but certified they had total independence. An FCC inquiry later found persuasive...evidence that the two companies served as arms of Dish, which had de facto control. The FCC, under Ajit Pai, doubted these companies are, or could ever become, truly independent enterprises and revoked the credits in 2020.

A senior FCC official familiar with the process tells me, multi-billion dollar corporations setting up shell corporations to get subsidies designed for very small businesses demands serious scrutiny in court.This scrutiny comes in the form of a qui tam suit filed by Vermont National Telephone Company, which lost the auction to Dish and its financed very small businesses. Qui tam actions are filed by private parties on behalf of the U.S. Government, which will recover the bulk of defrauded money under the False Claims Act. Both the Justice Department and FCC supported the lawsuit, noting there was a substantial interest in any discovery produced in this case that relates to Defendants alleged failure to disclose material facts to the Commission.

After years of procedural and technical wrangling, a federal district court judge dismissed the case in 2021 arguing fraud had not been properly alleged and the government was not harmed. However, last November, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit unanimously reversed and reinstated the case.The three-judge panel unanimously held that the applications contained false certifications that Northstar and SNR had disclosed all agreements, arrangements, and understandings related to the licenses made a viable case for fraud.

The case was set to begin trial in February with both Charlie Ergen as well as representatives for BlackRock set to testify under oath. This was delayed; just as the trial was set to begin, the Justice Department informed the parties and the FCC that it would seek to dismiss the case and let Dish and its shell companies off with no penalties.

Ive never heard of a party in any casegovernment or privateto back down just after a favorable ruling. Its usually the losing party that begs for an easy settlement, the FCC official added.Ergen and his wife are major Democratic donors, which has been widely speculated to be a cause for the favorable treatment of Dish by past Democratic administrations. Additionally, while emphasizing he has no first-hand knowledge, the FCC official speculated that Dishsfights with SpaceX over spectrum may have influenced the decision. SpaceXs Starlink and Dish have been in a protracted fight over an unrelated spectrum dispute. Musk tweeted Charlie Ergen is trying to steal the 12GHz band meant for space Internet. Not cool.

The FCC is an independent agency, and ultimately ruled against Dish on that issue.The Biden Administration has almost universally sided against Elon Musks businesses over the last year. While it could not fully control FCCs ruling on Starlink, if the DOJ protects Dish from the fraud lawsuitthis could sidestep the FCC to harm Starlink, the official speculated.

While the reason remains undeclared, the Justice Department is inviting speculation by reversing its position and dropping a case implicating a prominent Democratic donor on the eve of trial.

Originally posted here:
Why Is Biden's Justice Department Going Soft on Democrat Donors? - The American Conservative

Sign up for the We the Texans newsletter to receive twice-monthly updates on our year-long initiative dedicated to boosting civic engagement and chronicling how democracy is experienced in Texas.

State Rep. Julie Johnson of Farmers Branch appears to have narrowly avoided a runoff in the Democratic primary to replace U.S. Rep. Colin Allred in the 32nd Congressional District.

While she handily beat second-place finisher Brian Williams, a trauma surgeon, she had hovered near the threshold of being forced into a runoff against him as results came in late Tuesday and early Wednesday. Johnson claimed victory Wednesday.

This win belongs to all of us, and together, were going to make history, Johnson said on X. Today, we celebrate.

The North Texas district is considered safe for Democrats, so Johnson could be the first openly LGBTQ+ member of Congress from a Southern state if she prevails in November.

If no candidate gets a majority of votes in a primary race, the top two vote-getters will head to a May 28 primary runoff election. Whoever wins the runoff will be their partys nominee for that race in the Nov. 5 general election. There is also a May 4 local election, and subsequent June 15 runoff, during which some local governments, such as cities, school districts and water districts, hold a general election for their elected offices or special elections to fill vacancies.

In Texas, voters can only vote in one partys primary and runoff or in a third partys convention. During the November general election, voters can cast their ballot for any candidate, regardless of party affiliation. The candidate with the most votes wins, and there are no runoffs in state elections.

Election Day for the local election is May 4. You must register or update your voter registration by April 4 to participate. Applications to vote by mail must be received by the early voting clerk in your county not postmarked by April 23. Early voting is scheduled for April 22-30. (For any local runoffs on June 15, the last day to register or update your voter registration is May 16. Applications to vote by mail must be received by the early voting clerk in your county not postmarked by June 4. Early voting is scheduled for June 3-11.)

Election Day for the primary runoffs is May 28. You must register or update your voter registration by April 29 to participate. Applications to vote by mail must be received by the early voting clerk in your county not postmarked by May 17. Early voting is scheduled for May 20-24.

Election Day for the general election is Nov. 5. You must register or update your voter registration by Oct. 7 to participate. Applications to vote by mail must be received by the early voting clerk in your county not postmarked by Oct. 25. Early voting is scheduled for Oct. 21 to Nov. 1.

Yes, we noticed, too. Texas is one of just eight states that require primary candidates to win more than 50% of the vote before advancing to the general election. This adds runoff elections to the states election calendar. The long ballots Texas voters face, which include partisan elections for judges, stem from the states historic mistrust of government and desire to let Texans have a say at every level of government.

Allred, who first ran for Congress in 2018, is leaving his House seat to challenge Sen. Ted Cruz. Allred won the Democratic primary outright in that race Tuesday night.

Williams congratulated Johnson on X on Wednesday.

I got into this race because Ive had to pronounce too many victims dead on arrival due to gun violence and while this campaign is over, I look forward to continuing that work alongside the tireless friends and activists who were part of this team, he wrote.

Williams and Johnson led the field of 10 Democrats in the primary with their fundraising efforts, each amassing about $1 million in political donations since their campaigns were registered at the beginning of last summer.

Williams and Johnson are ideologically aligned. They both rank health care a top priority and have touted their ability to work across the aisle.

Johnson, a trial lawyer in her third term in the state House, ousted hardline conservative incumbent Matt Rinaldi by 13 points in 2018. Rinaldi now chairs the state GOP.

As a Democrat in the Republican-dominated state Legislature, Johnson has played a lot of defense trying to kill bills she and other progressives deem harmful. Johnson, who is gay, said she and other members of the Houses LGBTQ+ caucus have had success in killing anti-LGBTQ bills by mastering the rules of procedure and being better at the rules than the other side.

She drew notable endorsements from Beto ORourke, Democratic U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Austin, EMILYs List, Equality PAC and several labor unions.

While he may be new to the Texas political arena, Williams is no stranger to the halls of Congress.

Williams was a health policy adviser to Democratic U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut who endorsed him to help pass the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act in 2022, the furthest reaching gun safety legislation in decades. The legislation, crafted in the aftermath of shootings in Uvalde and Buffalo New York, allocated millions of dollars to expand mental health resources, strengthens background checks and tightens the boyfriend loophole. U.S. Sen. John Cornyn was a lead negotiator on the bill with Murphy, and Williams worked closely with Cornyns office.

Williams said his experience as a trauma surgeon operating on victims of gun violence and women experiencing reproductive health emergencies has fueled his priorities to fight for gun restrictions and increase access to abortions and other womens health care. Williams, who is Black, said his desire to limit racial disparities in health care will resonate with the districts diverse constituency. The district has a 37% Hispanic or Latino population, 22% Black population and 8% Asian population.

Allred did not endorse in the Democratic primary race to succeed him.

We cant wait to welcome you to downtown Austin Sept. 5-7 for the 2024 Texas Tribune Festival! Join us at Texas breakout politics and policy event as we dig into the 2024 elections, state and national politics, the state of democracy, and so much more. When tickets go on sale this spring, Tribune members will save big. Donate to join or renew today.

The rest is here:
Democratic State Rep. Julie Johnson wins congressional primary race for North Texas seat - The Texas Tribune

The campaign of a little-known presidential candidate named Jason Palmer organized multiple events in American Samoa in recent weeks, including a town hall and beach cleanup day.

And while Palmer only appeared virtually, the outreach appeared to pay off Tuesday: He won the territorys Democratic caucuses, handing a loss to President Biden as he otherwise romped in the Super Tuesday contests.

From what Im gathering from the community there, they just wanted to be heard, Palmers campaign manager, Mario Arias, told The Washington Post on Tuesday night.

Palmer got 51 votes to 40 for Biden, according to the Associated Press. Initially, the AP said Palmer had won four delegates to Bidens two but later changed the delegate totals to three apiece.

The island territory in the South Pacific Ocean is home to about 45,000 people and Biden also lost there in the 2020 primary. Mike Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York, defeated Biden in the only win of Bloombergs campaign.

Palmer is a Baltimore resident who describes himself on his campaign website as an entrepreneur, impact investor, and philanthropist. He lists Microsoft and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as places where he has worked.

In his campaign, Palmer has played up his age 52 claiming to be the youngest Democrat challenging Biden.

Young people dont feel like theyre being heard on the issues they care the most about, Palmer said in a November BBC interview, naming climate change as an example.

Campaign finance reports show Palmer has loaned himself over $500,000 and spent the money on several traditional campaign expenses, such as ad buys and ballot filing fees.

Palmer said Monday on X that Washington D.C. is long overdue for a president who will be an advocate for American Samoa, sharing photos of what he called a meet and greet in Malaeimi, a village in the territory.

His campaign manager said the campaign had a staffer on the ground who helped organize the events, which Palmer then addressed virtually. For example, the staffer rented out a restaurant where a few dozen people showed up for the town hall, Arias said.

Palmer told The Post early Wednesday that he sought to speak to the very specific needs of the people of American Samoa, like their desire for a second hospital in the territory.

Palmer said the next state he is focusing on is Arizona, which has a March 19 presidential primary. He plans to release a 12-page paper on immigration reform ahead of the contest.

Palmers victory in American Samoa caught the attention of another Biden primary challenger, Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.).

Congratulations to Joe Biden, Uncommitted, Marianne Williamson, and Nikki Haley for demonstrating more appeal to Democratic Party loyalists than me, Phillips said Tuesday night, adding, And, Jason Palmer.

Read the rest here:
Who is Jason Palmer, the Democrat who beat Biden in American Samoa's caucuses? - The Washington Post