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Chris Gibbs, a farmer who raises soybeans, corn and cattle, spent much of his adult life as a leader of the Republican Party in Shelby County, Ohio. He rose from vice chair of the local executive committee to party chairman, a role he served in for seven years, until 2015. Last fall he was elected to a far tougher job: chairman of the Democratic Party in Shelby County, where registered Republicans outnumber Democrats more than eight to one.

The story of his political conversion offers a glimmer of hope to Democrats in otherwise inhospitable terrain and a possible path forward in places where the party has withered. His pitch? At a time when Republicans must fall in line behind Donald Trump, Democrats have the chance to rebrand themselves as the party of freedom, a concept valued by rural people everywhere.

In todays Republican Party, You either speak with a Trump voice or youre vaporized, Mr. Gibbs told me. We chatted on a recent evening in his garage in Maplewood, after we searched his pasture for newborn calves. (We found three.) In the Democratic Party, everybody gets a voice. You dont always get your way, but you get a voice.

Mr. Gibbs, 65, long identified as a moderate Republican, of the sort Ohio used to be known for, in the era of Gov. John Kasich and Senator Rob Portman. He started to feel out of step with the party in 2014 as it turned against immigration. Nevertheless, in 2016 Mr. Gibbs voted for Mr. Trump, hoping for the best.

He quickly grew disillusioned by Mr. Trumps lack of statesmanship. Then came the tariff war with China, which ate into the value of Mr. Gibbss soybean crop in 2018. He wrote a scathing opinion essay in a local paper that compared the American farmer to Stormy Daniels. Both had gotten screwed by Mr. Trump, he wrote, and been offered cash to keep their mouths shut.

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Opinion | Can This Ex-Republican Revive Democrats in Rural Ohio? - The New York Times

Maryland Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate and Prince George's County Executive Angela Alsobrooks reacts after a voter tells her he voted for her outside at the Marilyn Praisner Community Recreation Center on May 14 in Burtonsville, Md. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images hide caption

Maryland Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate and Prince George's County Executive Angela Alsobrooks reacts after a voter tells her he voted for her outside at the Marilyn Praisner Community Recreation Center on May 14 in Burtonsville, Md.

Maryland Democrats chose Prince George's County Executive Angela Alsobrooks to be the party's nominee for U.S. Senate in Tuesday's primary election, beating a handful of Democrats including Rep. David Trone. Her win sets up a crucial race for the party in its attempts to maintain control of the chamber this fall.

Alsobrooks will face former Gov. Larry Hogan, who easily won the Republican nomination and gives the party its best chance to win a Senate seat in Maryland for the first time since 1980.

As Trone conceded the Democratic contest Tuesday night, he urged his supporters to move forward by backing Alsobrooks and reelecting President Biden.

"We cannot let the party of Trump take our Senate," he said. "We can't let them take our country."

Incumbent Sen. Ben Cardin, 80, announced he would not seek a fourth term in office last year. That set off a scramble within the Democratic Party to replace him, and Alsobrooks and Trone quickly rose to the top of the list. It was expected the winner of their clash would coast to the seat in the fall election.

Former Republican Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan visits the Bridge Boat Show in Stevensville, Md., April 12. Hogan easily won the Republican Senate primary in the state on Tuesday. Susan Walsh/AP hide caption

Former Republican Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan visits the Bridge Boat Show in Stevensville, Md., April 12. Hogan easily won the Republican Senate primary in the state on Tuesday.

But on Feb. 9, the last day of candidate filing for the primary, Hogan announced he would seek the Republican nomination after consulting with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and former President George W. Bush. The 67-year-old popular two-term governor, portrayed as a moderate in large part because of his criticisms of former President Donald Trump, had previously shown no interest in the race, instead making noise about a potential presidential run.

Alsobrooks is in her second term as county executive of Prince George's County in the Washington, D.C., suburbs. She previously served as state's attorney in the county, which is the second largest by population in the state. If elected, the 52-year-old Alsobrooks would be only the third Black woman ever elected to the Senate, and the first from Maryland. She had the backing of most of the state's Democratic establishment, including Gov. Wes Moore.

Trone poured a significant amount of his wealth into his Senate hopes but failed to win. He is in his third term in Congress representing Maryland's 6th District, which comprises the westernmost part of the state. The 68-year-old is the co-founder of the national liquor store chain Total Wine and More and he mostly self-funded his campaign, spending more than $60 million.

Hogan easily won the Republican primary with two-thirds of the vote. The only other candidate with double-digit support was Robin Ficker, a perennial candidate and disbarred attorney best known for his days as a heckling fan at Washington Bullets (now Wizards) games at the Capital Center in Landover.

"Like you, I am completely fed up with politics-as-usual in Washington where the politicians on both sides seem to be more interested in attacking each other than in actually getting anything done for the people they represent," Hogan told supporters on primary night in Annapolis.

"I don't come from the performative arts school of politics. I come from the get-to-work and get things done school, and I'll work with anyone who wants to do the people's business. Most Marylanders and most Americans prefer straight talk to empty rhetoric and they think it's time for less talk and more action," he continued.

Polls had shown a tight race, with Hogan benefitting from his statewide name recognition and popularity as governor. But the most recent polls done this month from Public Policy Polling and Emerson College show Hogan trailing Alsobrooks. The PPP poll had her winning 46% to 37% with 17% undecided, and the Emerson College poll had Alsobrooks up 48% to 38% with 14% undecided.

Charles Mathias was the last Republican to win a U.S. Senate race in Maryland, winning his third and final term in 1980. The closest the party has come to winning this century was in 2006, when Cardin won his first term by defeating then-Lt. Gov. and future Republican National Committee Chair Michael Steele 54% to 44%.

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Who is Angela Alsobrooks? The Maryland Democrat faces Larry Hogan this fall - NPR

Angela Alsobrooks emerged as the victor in a bruising Democratic Senate primary in Maryland -- and now the state's Democratic Party faces the challenge of reuniting to take on a formidable Republican opponent in the general election.

Alsobrooks, a county executive in a Maryland suburb outside the nation's capital, defeated Rep. David Trone and now faces the daunting task of taking on a popular Republican challenger, Larry Hogan, a two-term former GOP governor.

While Maryland is a deep blue state, Alsobrooks is not on a glide path to a Senate win. Experts tell ABC News that Democrats, wounded in the Alsobrooks-Trone battle, needs to realign to take on Hogan -- with nothing short of control of the U.S. Senate at stake.

MORE: 5 takeaways from Tuesday's primaries: Alsobrooks, Hogan to face off in Maryland Senate race

Both Alsobrooks and Trone sounded a conciliatory note in their election night speeches on Tuesday, signaling a hope to mend the party and keep the Senate seat -- vacated by retiring Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin -- in Democratic hands.

"I want you to know we are united in order to keep the Senate blue," Alsobrooks said.

Trone urged his supporters to "come together to support the Democratic Party so we can hold this U.S. Senate."

The Maryland Democratic Party is also showcasing what it says is a unified front, releasing statements from members of Maryland's congressional delegation and from local leaders praising Alsobrooks and Trone. One of those statements came from Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger, D-Md., who had endorsed Trone, but now urged Democrats to band together to not let "Mitch McConnell's handpicked candidate turn control of the U.S. Senate over to Republicans."

Former Democratic state party chair Yvette Lewis told ABC News that the grassroots work to bridge the gap between the candidates' supporters began right after the primary.

"People started making phone calls and mending fences [on Wednesday] -- I was a part of that -- to make sure that everybody knows that the primary is over, and that it's time for us to come together for the general election," Lewis said.

"You can't just brush people aside and say, OK, this is over. Now it's time to come to the table What you have to do is validate them, validate their work and thank them for the work that they did. And then welcome them to this new coalition."

Susan Turnbull, another former state party chair for the Maryland Democratic Party, expressed similar optimism: "What we do in Maryland, is work as Team Maryland," she told ABC News.

One official who endorsed Trone, Prince George's County State's Attorney Aisha Braveboy, said she's "eager to rally behind [Alsobrooks] to retain control of the Senate and ensure Maryland remains blue."

Michael Hanmer, director of the Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement at the University of Maryland, told ABC News that Trone and Alsobrooks must now work together to show party unity.

"Another key piece of strategy is not just to get Trone to say nice things and be supportive in words [about Alsobrooks], but to go out and work with Alsobrooks rather than just be on the sidelines," Hanmer said.

Alsobrooks and Trone's campaigns did not respond to a request for comment from ABC News about their next steps after the primary.

MORE: Can Republican Larry Hogan replicate his winning coalition in deep-blue Maryland?

Lewis said that Trone supporters can be a vital part of Alsobrooks' success as well.

"We want them to canvass, we want to phone bank, we want them to help us raise the money we want them to be part of the entire process," she said.

Alsobrooks wasted no time as the newly-minted Democratic nominee in aiming criticism at Hogan, reminding supporters of the stakes for Democrats in their upcoming battle.

"The fight ahead will not be easy. There are a lot of people in our state who say, 'Oh you know it's Maryland. It's a blue state. We can worry about another race someplace else ' but it will only stay a blue state if we put in the work," Alsobrooks said at her election night event.

Hogan, speaking to supporters on Tuesday night, said he already anticipated the politicking ahead.

"Over the next few months, you are going to hear a whole lot more of this political BS, and Marylanders are going to be inundated with scare tactics and false attacks. Don't let them get away with it," he said.

Hanmer anticipates that Democrats will need to articulate how they feel Hogan will be different as a senator -- and a potential deciding vote in the chamber -- than during his time as governor working with a Democratic-controlled legislature. He said it will be a challenge to get people to rethink their approach to Hogan, who won the governor job by about 5 points in 2014 and 12 points in 2018, and he left with sky-high approval ratings.

Hanmer said Democrats face a challenge in that Alsobrooks doesn't have as much statewide recognition as Hogan.

"[Alsobrooks] hasn't had a statewide position before, so I think there's still going to be a lot of people that need to get to know her."

ABC News' Tal Axelrod contributed to this report.

Democrats look to band together after Maryland's bruising Senate primary originally appeared on abcnews.go.com

Original post:
Democrats look to band together after Maryland's bruising Senate primary - Yahoo News UK

Now, their departure creates an opening for new leadership for the first time in decades. As a result, 20 people 18 Democrats and two Republicans have signed up across Districts 34, 38 and 55 to fill the seats being vacated. Tuesdays primary will be especially vital to Democrats, who are expected to easily retain all three seats.

Several candidates said they respect the work each lawmaker has contributed and are eager to bring change to the state, while others say the retirements were long overdue.

They point to Tate, who has rarely been seen in the chamber since 2020. In 2021, Tate missed the entire session. At the time, Tate told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in a statement that she began treatment for an illness in December 2020 and was hospitalized. She did not specify her illness, other than to say that it was not COVID-19.

Tate, 68, is the daughter of former state Sen. Horace Tate, who served 16 years in the chamber and has a section of I-75 named after him. The elder Tate died in 2002.

For a woman to be able to hold this seat (for decades), that is an incredibly powerful, impactful opportunity for whoever comes next, said Nkoyo Lewis, who is running for Tates seat.

Tate, who was elected to the same district as her father, returned to the chamber in 2022 and was reelected that year for another term. She was not present for much of the 2023 legislative session and was on the Senate floor a handful of times this year.

That absence was a detriment to her constituents, said Ralph Long III, who served in the Georgia House from 2009 to 2013.

She got sick. She couldnt go to the session, said Long, who is vying to take over her seat. That was three years of not being able to vote on our behalf. Her absence in voting has cost us.

Tate did not respond to an AJC interview request.

Butler, 82, became the first Black woman to be caucus leader when she was selected by her peers in 2020 after serving 19 years in various caucus leadership roles. When she was elected to Senate District 55 in 1998, she told herself she wouldnt stay in the chamber more than 10 years.

Her proudest legislative accomplishment came as a freshman lawmaker, when she sponsored a bill that made it easier for people needing inhalers to get them through their insurance, she said. Shortly after, she also passed a bill that allowed students to carry their inhalers, instead of having to leave them with a school nurse.

Somehow, you tend to forget about those things until they remind you and it makes you feel good to help someone, Butler said. Plus, I liked the job.

Butler attempted to navigate the partisan gridlock but was unable to pass key Democratic priorities, such as enrolling more people in government health care plans. Expanding Medicaid, the public health program that provides care to people with low incomes or disabilities, to more people who dont have insurance is one thing Butler said she is disappointed she wasnt able to achieve before leaving office.

Candidates vying to replace the outgoing senators are trying to differentiate themselves from the packed crowd. Several have either served as an elected official or been an advocate.

The three senators retirements open the door for greater opportunities, said former state Rep. Valencia Stovall, who is running for Seays seat.

Butlers open Senate district, which includes parts of DeKalb and Gwinnett counties, has drawn five Democratic and one Republican candidate. She hasnt endorsed a successor.

Robin Biro, a government consultant and U.S. Army veteran who lives in Tucker, said state Sen. Kim Jackson, a Pine Lake Democrat, encouraged him to run to succeed Butler.

I think (Jackson) just knew that I could bring that fighting spirit, Biro said. I feel (Butler) when she describes the burnout of trying to reach out across the aisle at people who are unwilling to hear her out, unwilling to even listen. Thats where I thought, Maybe theyll listen to me. Im a veteran.

Seay entered politics by serving on Clayton Countys school board for eight years. She was nervous about running, but her pastor persuaded her to go forward as a representative of her community.

It was new, and it was a little bit frightening, she said.

Seay, 70, was elected to the Georgia House in 2002, serving two years before switching chambers and winning election in a Senate district representing Clayton County and south Atlanta voters.

She said the Senate chamber has become a boys club, and from my perspective, a lot more mean-spirited.

Often, it was just a no-win situation, she said. One or two of the men would make remarks that I found not only offensive, but something that somebody who is leading our great state should not have in their vocabulary.

But Seay said shes still committed to public service.

Its been a journey, she said. Nobody said it would be easy. But if youre called, you answer the call.

One of the candidates answering the call is Herman Drew Andrews, a Jonesboro resident who serves on the Clayton County Library Board of Trustees.

Andrews, who unsuccessfully ran two years ago for a vacant House seat, said district residents need leaders who are established figures in the community.

(Seay) has cemented her legacy, he said, and its time for a new one.

This article was updated to correct Gloria Butlers title.

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Democratic Georgia Senate retirements open seats for first time in decades - The Atlanta Journal Constitution

House Republicans are preparing a vote this week on a bill that seeks to end President Joe Bidens flexibility on delivering weapons to Israel as Democrats marshal their members to remain united in opposition in the closely divided chamber.

The legislation, introduced late last week, could pass with only Republican votes, but the White House and House Democratic leadership are nevertheless working to minimize defections, seeking to paint the bill as unwarranted, poorly written, and a partisan power grab.

The House adopted a rule 212-200 Wednesday, setting the stage for floor action on the bill from Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Calif., the leader of the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, as early as Thursday or Friday. The rule allows no amendments.

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., introduced a draft companionbill that his office says has 17 GOP co-sponsors. But that measure has little chance of making headway in the Democratic-controlled Senate.

The House bill would place multiple binding provisions on the executive branch, including a prohibition on any U.S. fiscal 2024 or prior-year funds from being used to withhold or reverse the delivery of defense support forIsrael.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., is whipping against the bill, Democratic staffers confirmed on background. They said Democratic leaders are characterizingthe measureas a MAGA bill and not a serious legislative effort.

The White House said Biden wouldveto the billin a statement of administration policy Tuesday because itinfringes on the presidents Article II constitutional powers as commander-in-chief and his power to conduct foreign relations.

The veto threat came around the same time TheWall Street Journal reportedthat the administration earlier in the day told lawmakers it was proceeding with a $1 billion arms package for Israel that would include tactical vehicles, tank ammunition, and mortar rounds. The package hasnt received final approval yet though. A Senate Democratic staffer on condition of anonymity confirmed the report.

But senior Republicans were undeterred.

At a time of rising global threats, antisemitism, and campus demonstrations around the U.S. that have empowered anti-Jewish aggression, we cant equivocate in our support or waver in our promise of Never Again, House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., said in a Wednesday statement on the bill. We must deliver the critical assistance Israel needs.

House Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilarpredicted at his Wednesday press conference that Democrats would overwhelmingly vote against the bill.

We believe in supporting our friends and allies in Israel. We also believe that the president sets foreign policy as well. And we understand that theres different viewpoints within our own caucus on this, the California Democrat said. But overwhelmingly, House Democrats will reject this overly political bill that did not come through committee.

Aguilar said the bill would fence off and defund the Department of Defense, the Department of State from efforts that they are undertaking.

The Democratic effort to whip votes is likely aimed at 26 House Democrats, or just over 12 percent of the caucus, who wrote National Security Advisor Jake Sullivanlast week to criticize the pause in the bomb shipment. That letter, however, sought only a briefing to better understand how and when the appropriated aid would be delivered.

The legislation would order the secretary of State to promptly approve and ensure delivery to Israel of all direct commercial sales of defense articles for which delivery is expected in fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2025.

It would require the administration to deliver any paused weapons shipments within 15 days of bill enactment and would bar funding to the offices of the secretaries of State and Defense and to the National Security Council until those deliveries are made.

The latest blow-up over U.S.-Israel policy was sparked by the administrations pause this month ofshipment of large bombs on the grounds Israel would cause heavy loss of civilian lives using the munitions in the Gaza Strip. The pause was also aimed to causethe Israeli military to hold off from deepening its ground invasion of the city of Rafah, where some 1 million Palestinians are sheltering in unsafe conditions.

The bill is a misguided reaction to a deliberate distortion of the administrations approach to Israel, the statement of administration policy said. The president has been clear: we will always ensure Israel has what it needs to defend itself. Our commitment to Israel is ironclad.

Republican leaders of the Senate and House foreign affairs panels chastised Biden Tuesday for a tendency to undermine the regular order associated with the non-statutory informal notification process for arms sales.

House Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, and Senate Foreign Relations ranking member Jim Risch, R-Idaho., in a letterto Biden,accused the administration of selectively classifying and declassifying information on certain arms transfers to Israel for political purposes. They said Congress still has not received formal notifications of either a Foreign Military Sale or a Direct Commercial Sale that fits the administrations descriptionof the paused shipment of 2,000- and 500-pound bombs to Israel.

We still dont have basic answers to questions about the weapons you have stopped from shipping, McCaul and Risch wrote. To date, we do not know how these weapons were financed, where they are, or by what authority you chose to do this.

Also Tuesday, the top Republicans on the Senate Appropriations and State-Foreign Operations panels sent a joint letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III that repeated much of Risch and McCauls criticisms.

Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., asked the departments to respond in writing by May 20, ahead of Blinkens scheduled May 22 testimony before the State-Foreign Operations Appropriation Subcommittee, with details about the current location of the withheld shipment of high-payload bombs and the details of any other arms shipments the administration is considering withholding if Israel expands its invasion of Rafah.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a Wednesday interview with CNBC said his government would proceed with its campaign in Rafah despite the threats the Biden administration to hold back further shipments of offensive weapons if it does so. Netanyahu said the Israeli military could achieve its quest to eradicate the Palestinian militant group Hamas as a military threat without U.S. support.

Josh Paul, a former senior official in the State Departments Political-Military Affairs Bureau who resigned last fall in protest of U.S. policies around arming Israel, said the Calvert bill has problematic issues. He said it seems to require the U.S. to provide any type of weapon Israel wishes, regardless whether its a weapon that has traditionally not been shared, among them nuclear weapons and cluster munitions.

He also said the prohibition on paying the salaries of any Defense or State Department employee who takes action to curb weapons to Israel seems aimed at keeping the State DepartmentsDemocracy, Human Rights, and Labor Bureau, which is tasked with examining alleged gross human rights violations, from speaking up if it seessuch behavior using U.S. weapons from Israeli military units.

Essentially, youre handing control over foreign policy to Israels requests, Paul said in an interview.

Additionally, the legislations blanket requirement that all Israeli orders to U.S. defense manufacturers jump to the head of the queue is at odds with other aspects of U.S. defense policy that have sought to prioritize the delivery of weapons to Ukraine, key NATO allies, and Taiwan, he said.

Nina Heller and David Lerman contributed to this report.

The rest is here:
As House readies a vote on Israeli arms, Democrats whip members in opposition - Roll Call