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The midterm elections are just over nine months away. What will Democrats run on? What will Republicans run on?

One hint came at a Houston-area Trump rally Saturday night. If I run and if I win, the former guy said, referring to 2024, we will treat those people from January 6th fairly. He then added, and if it requires pardons, we will give them pardons, because they are being treated so unfairly.

Trump went on to demand the biggest protest we have ever had if federal prosecutors in Washington or in New York and Atlanta, where cases against him are moving forward, do anything wrong or illegal. He then called the federal prosecutors vicious, horrible people who are not after me, theyre after you.

Trumps hint of pardons for those who attacked the Capitol could affect the criminal prosecution of hundreds now facing conspiracy, obstruction and assault charges, which carry sentences that could put them away for years. If they think Trump will pardon them, they might be less willing to negotiate with prosecutors and accept plea deals.

His comments could also be interpreted as a call for violence if various legal cases against him lead to indictments.

But if Trump keeps at it and of course he will hell help the Democrats in the upcoming midterm elections by reminding the public of the attempted coup he and his Republican co-conspirators tried to pull off between the 2020 election and January 6. That would make the midterm election less of a referendum on Biden than on the Republican party. (Dont get me wrong. I think Biden is doing a good job, given the hand he was dealt. But Republicans are doing an even better job battering him as his sinking poll numbers show.)

Last week, Newt Gingrich, who served as House speaker from 1995 to 1999, suggested that members of the House select committee investigating the January 6 attack on the Capitol should face jail time if the Republican party returns to power. The wolves are gonna find out that theyre now sheep, and theyre the ones who in fact, I think face a real risk of jail for the kind of laws theyre breaking, Gingrich said on Fox News.

Gingrichs remark prompted Representative Liz Cheney, Wyoming Republican and vice-chair of the select committee, to respond: A former speaker of the House is threatening jail time for members of Congress who are investigating the violent January 6 attack on our Capitol and our constitution. This is what it looks like when the rule of law unravels.

Trump and Gingrich are complicating the midterm elections prospects for all Republicans running or seeking reelection nine months from now.

Many Republican leaders believe they dont need to offer the public any agenda for the midterms because of widespread frustration with Biden and the Democrats. Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, recently asked what the Republican partys agenda would be if it recaptured Congress, quipped Ill let you know when we take it back.

But if Republicans fail to offer an agenda, the Republican partys midterm message is even more likely to be defined by Trump and Trumpers like Gingrich: the big lie that the 2020 election was stolen along with promises to pardon the January 6 defendants, jail members of the select committee investigating the attack on the Capitol, and other bonkers claims and promises.

This would spell trouble for the GOP, because most Americans dont believe the big lie and remain appalled by the attack on the Capitol.

House minority leader Kevin McCarthy (who phoned Trump during the attack on the Capitol but refuses to cooperate with the Houses January 6 committee investigation) will have a central role in defining the Republican message for the midterms. And whom has McCarthy been consulting with? None other than Newt Gingrich. The two have been friends for years and McCarthys chief of staff in his leadership office, Dan Meyer, served in the same role for Gingrich when he was the speaker.

McCarthy knows Gingrich is a master huckster. After all, in 1994 Gingrich delivered a House majority for the Republicans for the first time in 40 years by promising a contract with America that amounted to little more than trickle-down economics and states rights.

But like most hucksters, Gingrich suffered a spectacular fall. In 1997 House members overwhelmingly voted to reprimand him for flouting federal tax laws and misleading congressional investigators about it making him the first speaker panned for unethical behavior. The disgraced leader, who admitted to the ethical lapse as part of a deal to quash inquiries into other suspect activities, also had to pay a historic $300,000 penalty. Then, following a surprise loss of Republican House seats in the 1998 midterm election, Gingrich stepped down as speaker. He resigned from Congress in January 1999 and hasnt held elected office since.

Ive talked with Gingrich several times since then. I always come away with the impression of a military general in an age where bombast and explosive ideas are more potent than bombs. Since he lost the House, Gingrich has spent most of his time and energy trying to persuade other Republicans that he alone possesses the strategy and the ideas entitling him to be the new general of the Republican right.

Gingrich has no scruples, which is why he has allied himself with Trump and Trumps big lie appearing regularly on Fox News to say the 2020 election was rigged and mouth off other Trumpish absurdities (such as last weeks claim that members of the House select committee should be jailed).

Gingrich likes to think of himself as a revolutionary force, but he behaves more like a naughty boy. When he was Speaker, his House office was adorned with figurines of dinosaurs, as you might find in the bedrooms of little boys who dream of becoming huge and powerful. Gingrich can be mean, but his meanness is that of a nasty kid rather than a tyrant. And like all nasty kids, inside is an insecure little fellow who desperately wants attention.

Still, as of now, the best hope for Democrats in the midterms lies with Trump, Gingrich and others who loudly and repeatedly remind the public how utterly contemptible the Republican party has become.

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Trump and his enablers unwittingly offer Democrats their best hope in the midterms - The Guardian

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELOLAND) The last time South Dakota had a Democrat as governor, the Dallas Cowboys won the Super Bowl with Roger Staubach as quarterback.

South Dakota State University, the University of South Dakota and Augustana football were members of the North Central Conference (NCC).

But Gov. Harvey Wollman was not elected, he replaced Democrat Richard Kneip as governor in 1978 and served until Jan. 1, 1979. Wollman was the lieutenant governor when Kneip resigned to be the ambassador to Singapore.

The last elected Democrat governor was Kneip who took office in 1971.

Democrat candidate Jamie Smith who is running for governor in 2022.

Smith announced today he was running a Democrat for governor of South Dakota. Hes a Democratic lawmaker from Sioux Falls in District 15 and is House Minority Leader.

Since 1889, South Dakota has had only five Democrat governors: William J. Bulow, 1927-1931; Thomas M. Berry, 1933 1937; Ralph Herseth, 1959-1961; Richard Kneip, 1971-1978; and Harvey Wollman, 1978-1979.

According to the South Dakota Secretary of State, there are 5,592 registered Democrats and 5,846 registered Republicans in District 15. There are also 6,543 voters registered as Independent or with no party affiliation.

Statewide voter registrations show how hard it could be for a Democrat to get elected governor in South Dakota.

As of Feb. 1, there were 280,125 registered Republicans in South Dakota. There were 152,482 registered Democrats.

As of Feb. 1, there were 152,482 registered Democrats in South Dakota, according to the Secretary of State.

But there were 140,194 who had registered as Independents or with no political party.

Libertarian registrations totaled 2,617 while other affiliations totaled 1,378.

Those total 576,796 total voters.

The state has 63,475 inactive registrations.

Since 2008, the number of registered Democrats has declined while the number of registered Republicans has increased. The state has almost 40,000 more registered Republicans than it did in 2008. There are about 50,000 fewer registered Democrats.

The number of Independents and no party affiliation registered voters is growing. On Sept. 1, 2014, there were less than 100,000 of these registered voters. About eight years later, there are 40,000 more.

The state had 241,528 registered Republicans in the general election of 2008. It had 204,413 registered Democrats. It had a total of 530,462 registered voters.

But registered voters dont always vote that way when it comes to elections. Or not all the members registered in a party vote on election day.

Gov. Kristi Noem won the 2018 election with 51% of the popular vote or 172,912 votes to 47.6% or 161,454 for Democrat Billie Sutton.

Billie Sutton, the 2018 Democrat candidate for South Dakota governor.

As of Nov. 1, 2018, there were 256,496 registered Republicans and 158,968 registered Democrats, according to the SOS office. There were also 126,656 registered as Independents or with no party affiliation.

The Sutton-Noem race did break a trend. The percentage of victor of Noem was the smallest since 1986, when Republican George S. Mickelson beat Democrat Lars Herseth by 3.6 points.

Races from 1986 to 2018 were not that close.

Republican Dennis Daugaard won in 2010 with 61.1% of the vote or 195,024 votes. Democrat Scott Heidepriem received 122,010 votes or 38.5% The state had 235,906 registered Republicans as of Oct. 1, 2010, and 193,304 registered Democrats.

Although a slim majority of South Dakotans who voted elected a female as governor in 2018, female Democratic candidate Susan Wismer was soundly defeated in 2014 by incumbent Daugaard. Daugaard won with 70.5% of the vote to 25.4% for Wismer.

Former South Dakota Governor Dennis Daugaard. The incumbent Republican won with 70% of the vote in 2014.

Daugaard received 195,477 votes, fewer than the 240,545 number of registered Republicans.

Democrat Gov. Thomas Berry once called a special session to once to legalize 3.2 % alcoholic beer, according to the National Governors Association.

During Gov. Thomas Berrys administration, state property tax was abolished and replaced by a gross income tax. The gross income tax was replaced by the state sales tax.

The Big Bend Dam on the Missouri River was started during Gov. Ralph Herseths time in office. Herseth was also active in developing natural resources in the state.

Kneip consolidated 160 state agencies, boards, and departments into 16 in order to make the executive branch more efficient and responsible, according to the National Governors Association.

Two years after Kneip won the governors race in 1970 with about 55% of the vote, South Dakota voters didnt even choose home-state Democrat candidate George McGovern for president. McGovern received 45.5% of the states vote to winner Republican Richard Nixons 54.2%.

Democrat George McGovern was the partys candidate for president in 1972.

But much like voting for governor, the majority of South Dakotans do not vote for a Democrat for president.

They did in 1964 when the majority voted for Democrat Lyndon B. Johnson over Republican Barry Goldwater.

If there is a Republican candidate, theres more than a good chance South Dakota will vote for that candidate.

South Dakota did vote for Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932 and 1936 for his first and second of four terms.

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Democrats as governor are rare in South Dakota - KELOLAND.com

A pack of 50 Kimberly-Clark N95 masks cost $2,319 in October 2021. By mid-January, the same box of masks cost $5,715, according to the Groundwork Collaborative, a left-leaning activist group focused on economic issues.

Manufacturers like Kimberly-Clark say the price hikes are a result of supply-chain bottlenecks, worker shortages, and other pandemic-related disruptions.In December, the cost of consumer goods and services rose 7% over the past year.

Lawmakers say its price-gouging. And its not just happening in pandemic-related supplies. The cost of diapers, food and even drugs has skyrocketed dramatically in recent months as corporations have increased prices and maintained healthy profit margins, according to Democrats in Congress who conducted a hearing on pricing on Wednesday.

Corporate greed is motivating large companies to use the pandemic and supply chain issues as an excuse to raise prices simply because they can. And a lot of executives brazenly boast to investors about raising prices on consumers without consequencesand these executives are saying they're going to continue to do so, House Energy and Commerce committee chairman Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) said during Wednesday's hearing.

American consumers have experienced unconscionable price hikes in everyday consumer goods, added Janice Schakowsky (D-Ill.). We are at war with this pandemic, war with this virus. And during World War II, war profiteers were held accountable. The same should be applied here today.

To fight this kind of price-gouging, Pallone, Schakowsky, and several Democrat co-sponsors introduced legislation earlier in the week to hold companies accountable. The COVID19 Price Gouging Prevention Act would give the Federal Trade Commission the ability to seek civil penalties from companies that raise prices to unconscionably excessive levels during the pandemic. The bill also gives states attorneys general the authority to enforce the legislation without losing any of their existing authority under state law.

Story continues

But enforcing this proposed legislation may be impossible, supply-chain expert Glenn Richey said Wednesday. The legislation will have to be quite careful in uncovering what is really a price-gouging situation and what is just a natural need to increase prices, he said.

It is important to remember that prices move with the market and across supply chain transactions, said Richey, a professor and department chair in supply chain management at Auburn Universitys Raymond J. Harbert College of Business.

Among the bills serious flaws is the fact that it fails to define what constitutes an excessive price increase, according to Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.)

On the issue of price-gouging, standing up against those who have profiteered during the pandemic is a bipartisan issue, McMorris Rodgers said Wednesday, chastising Democratic leadership for their go it alone approach and for failing to get Republican input.

Currently, about 39 states have some kind of statute or regulation that defines price-gouging as illegal during a time of disaster or emergency, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. But the specifics of each states rules vary substantially, as do the consequences.

The fact of the matter is there is no federal price gouging work today. While most states do have some kind of authority, those laws are inconsistent, and many failed to address the unique circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, Pallone said. So Congress has to give the FTC and state authority the enforcement tools they need to go after companies that are gouging consumers.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

Excerpt from:
Top Democrats rip corporations for price gouging. Executives brazenly boast to investors about raising prices - Yahoo Finance

Rep. Josh Gottheimer is the latest addition to the Democrats list of House members who could face tough re-election campaigns as polls show Republicans with an edge in this falls midterm elections.

Gottheimer, D-5th Dist., became the fourth New Jersey Democratic representative more than any other state on the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committees Frontline program, which provides extra help for incumbents expected to be in tight races.

This is in large part a reaction to the gubernatorial election and closer-than-expected result there, said Jacob Rubaskin, an analyst with Inside Elections, which rated the district as solid Democratic.

Thats when Gov. Phil Murphy defeated Republican nominee Jack Ciattarelli in a race that was not called until the following day. Ciattarelli outpolled Murphy in Gottheimers old 5th District.

Im focused on one thing: fighting for the families of the 5th District, Gottheimer said.

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokesman James Singer said the decision to include Gottheimer was made on internal DCCC criteria. Gottheimer was one of seven people added.

Rep. Gottheimer has been a bipartisan leader who has represented New Jersey with distinction and we look forward to working with him to win this district again, he said.

Under the new map approved by the states independent redistricting commission, Gottheimer will be running in more friendly terrain come November. In addition, he is one of the Houses formidable fundraisers, having banked $11 million for his re-election entering October.

It takes more than close gubernatorial election to make a race competitive, Rubashkin said. If things are really terrible for Democrats, could this district become more competitive? At the moment, we just havent seen that yet.

But National Republican Congressional Committee spokeswoman Samantha Bullock called Gottheimer one of the most vulnerable Democrats in the country because hes failed to deliver for his district.

Former investment banker Frank Pallotta, who lost to Gottheimer in 2020; businessman Fred Schneiderman, who has former Donald Trump campaign manager and New Jersey native Kellyanne Conway working for him; and Marine Corps veteran Nick De Gregorio are seeking the Republican nomination.

In a recent Monmouth University Poll, 35% of Americans said theyd rather see Republicans control Congress, compared with 33% who chose the Democrats. And just 39% approved of President Joe Bidens performance in office with 54% disapproving.

Democrats are spooked and they have good reason to be, Rubashkin said. If this race truly is one of the Democrats most vulnerable, they are in a world of trouble.

Also on the House Democratic list are 3rd Dist. Rep. Andy Kim, 7th Dist. Rep. Tom Malinowski and 11th Dist. Rep. Mikie Sherrill.

Kim and Sherrill also got friendlier districts for 2022 while Malinowski did not. The map is being challenged in court by the Republican commission members.

After the new districts were drawn, Kim and Sherrill were rated as safe bets for re-election while Inside Elections called Malinowskis race a tossup and the Cook Political Report gave the Republicans an edge in that district.

Those three and Gottheimer all are on the House Republicans target list. The NRCC also announced it was going after the four Democrats in 2020 but fielded only one strong challenger, then-state Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean Jr., R-Union, who barely lost to Malinowski.

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Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him at @JDSalant.

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Democrats concede this N.J. congressman could be in trouble. Is it a warning sign for Biden midterm? - NJ.com

The TAKE with Rick Klein

On this they see eye to eye: President Joe Biden says he's not Sen. Bernie Sanders, and Sanders says he's not Biden.

That may be as far as agreements take the Democratic Party for now -- even though the Biden and Sanders wings of the party have been working in lockstep in recent months. Different Democrats see different threats from different foes, both inside and outside their party, with implications for policy or the lack thereof.

In Arizona, the fallout from Sen. Kyrsten Sinema's vote to keep Senate rules intact now includes a formal censure from the state Democratic executive committee. Her fellow Democrats over the weekend approved that move while citing what they call "her failure to do whatever it takes to ensure the health of our democracy."

Sen. Bernie Sanders responds to questions from reporters before a meeting with Democrats at the Capitol in Washington, Jan. 18, 2022.

Sanders says he is fed up as well, telling CNN on Sunday that Sinema and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., "have sabotaged the president's effort to address the needs of working families." Sanders also said that Democrats have "failed politically" over the past six months, and his solution in part is to bring up repeated votes to put his colleagues on the record "and let Manchin and Sinema decide which side they are on."

Biden also has said he wants to break down his Build Back Better bill into "chunks," but his inclination is more toward cutting compromises that all Democratic senators, starting with Manchin, will back. Then there is House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who is discouraging attacks on fellow Democrats though she is also skeptical of the approach of breaking Build Back Better into component parts.

Toward the end of his news conference last week, Biden said it's clear to him that the public doesn't want a "president-senator": "They want me to be the president and let senators be senators," he said.

Letting the Senate be the Senate hasn't worked of late, though. It has Democrats looking at themselves when it comes to confronting challenges in the second year of Biden's presidency.

The RUNDOWN with Averi Harper

In defense of restrictive voting legislation in Republican-led states, GOP lawmakers often cite even stricter voting procedures in some Democratic states, but the argument is flawed.

On ABC's "This Week," Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, reiterated the talking point when discussing sweeping voting legislation in her home state with co-anchor Martha Raddatz.

"I will also say that even with those changes in [Iowa's] law, our voting election systems are much more liberal than President Joe Biden's home state of Delaware, as well as Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's home state of New York," said Ernst.

Sen. Joni Ernst speaks during a press conference following the weekly Senate Republican policy luncheon in the Russell Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill, Jan. 19, 2022 in Washington, DC.

To properly evaluate if a state is making changes that restrict access to the ballot box, one must look at the history of access in that specific state.

For example, since the passage of the state's sweeping elections law last year, Iowa now only has 20 days of early voting -- down from 29 days. Before the passage of a 2017 voter ID law, the state offered 40 days of early voting. The number of early voting days in other states is a red herring.

The crux of the argument in favor of restrictive voting legislation has been that it makes voting "more secure," though many Republicans have struggled to articulate how exactly these measures do that.

"Well, it is the same level of security," said Ernst when asked by Raddatz how these changes make voting more secure. Ernst later suggested changing the number of early voting days in her home state was part of an effort to keep polling locations staffed.

The TIP with Alisa Wiersema

Rep. Henry Cuellar is continuing with his reelection campaign for Texas' 28th Congressional District against the backdrop of a federal grand jury probe.

As reported by ABC's Mike Levine, federal officials have begun issuing subpoenas, seeking records related to the congressman, his wife and at least one of his campaign staffers. An attorney representing Cuellar, Joshua Berman, told ABC News that "the congressman and his family are fully cooperating" with the investigation. On Wednesday, FBI agents raided Cuellar's home and campaign office.

Rep. Henry Cuellar speaks during a press conference at the southern border at the Humanitarian Respite Center, July 19, 2019, in McAllen, Texas.

Those developments, paired with a competitive primary season, appear to be giving progressives hope of seeing an upset in the south Texas contest. Cuellar's top competitor, Jessica Cisneros, came within four points of winning the Democratic primary in 2020 and is heading into 2022 with the backing of heavyweight progressives like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Cuellar's political success is largely centered on being one of the few lawmakers publicly willing to work across the aisle. But with the nation's first primary election just weeks away, progressives could look at the race as a bellwether for potential primary upsets elsewhere.

THE PLAYLIST

ABC News' "Start Here" Podcast. Monday's Start Here begins with the economy. ABC's Deirdre Bolton breaks down how COVID-19 is affecting the IRS and disrupting the stock market. Then, ABC's Patrick Reevell details the escalating tensions in Ukraine. And, ABC's Sabina Ghebremedhin describes how an investigation into a young Black woman's death has inspired social media outcry. http://apple.co/2HPocUL

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY

Download the ABC News app and select "The Note" as an item of interest to receive the day's sharpest political analysis.

The Note is a daily ABC News feature that highlights the day's top stories in politics. Please check back Tuesday for the latest.

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Democrats turn on each other as Biden agenda stalls: The Note - ABC News