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It won't get much media attention, but there was a Republican presidential caucus in Iowa tonight, too, and it was as dramatic as it was predictable: President Donald Trump absolutely clobbered primary opponents Bill Weld and Joe Walsh.

The most persistently unpopular president since the end of World War II was at a Castro-like 97 percent of the vote with 79 percent of precincts reporting, while Weld and Walsh were at 1.3 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively. This race has never been close, but man, that's not close.

Weld, a former Republican National Convention keynoter and twice-elected governor of Massachusetts who ran in 2016 as the vice presidential nominee of the Libertarian Party, stressed in his closing argument to Iowa voters his limited-government bonafides.

"I'm running to offer the opportunity to elect a president who actually believes in the principles of limited government, free and fair markets, and economic opportunity for all. Principles that, until recently, were the trademarks of a great political party," Weld wrote. "I don't believe trillion-dollar deficits are okay. I believe in markets, not trade wars.We believe in the Rule of Law, and that it applies to everyone, including the President. We believe the Constitution means what it says, rather than scoffing at its limits on the power of presidents and the federal government. And we believe the purpose of foreign policy and our military is to make us safer."

Walsh, who served one term in the House from nearby Illinois as a Tea Partier and then transitioned to (and then out of) conservative talk radio, has been emphasizing the president's poor character, though he also foregrounds issues such as free trade, spending cuts, gun rights, and criminal justice reform. "If you want four more years of a president who wakes up every morning and makes every day about himself," Walsh said in Ankeny, Iowa today, "then vote for Donald Trump." The crowd booed him out of the room.

There is no demonstrated market for limited-government opposition to Trump within the modern GOP. Trump's approval rating among Republicans, as measured every couple of weeks by Gallup, has not dipped below 87 percent since December 2018. He's been up by more than 80 percentage points among GOP primary voters in national polls for most of the race.

The fundraising numbers for the challengers are, if anything, even worse. Fourth quarter campaign finance results were announced at the end of January, and they were brutal: $411,000 for Weld, $245,000 for Walsh, $45.98 million for Trump. Add the $72.3 million raised in the last three months of 2019 by the Republican National Committeewhich, remember, effected an unprecedented merger with the Trump campaign in December 2018plus a couple of other big-money operations, and the incumbent is outraising the competition combined by a ratio of more than 230 to 1.

Weld and Walsh combined failed to raise as much in the 4th quarter as Steve Bullock, John Delaney, Michael Bennet, Marianne Williamson, Deval Patrick, Beto O'Rourke, and several other Democratic presidential candidates, many of whom have dropped out.

Worse even still, the ankle-biters have been spending what funds they raise, which means that the results they produced tonight, and whatever they gin up in New Hampshire next week, represent something close to maximum effort. Weld had just $37,000 in the bank at the end of 2019, Walsh just under $10,000, compared to Trump's war chest of $195 million. And the Trump-run GOP has been canceling primaries across the country.

Weld is more competitive in New Hampshire, where he owns one home and is close to his base of operations in Boston. He is hoping for a Pat Buchanan-style 1992 surprise, but runs the risk of having a 1972 Pete McCloskey loss as a best-case scenario.

Read the rest here:
Donald Trump Stomps Bill Weld and Joe Walsh in Iowa - Reason

In politics, what a difference a week can make.

On Jan, 21 in the West Newton Lions Club, Democrats chose Robert Prah Jr. as their nominee in the upcoming special election in Westmoreland Countys 58th Legislative District.

At the time, no Republican was listed as a candidate on the Pennsylvania Department of State website. GOP conferees werent meeting until the night of Jan. 23.

The candidate who emerged from the gathering at the Herminie VFW Post was Eric Davanzo, 43, of Smithton.

But the political process didnt end there. Monday was the filing deadline for the special election and a third candidate emerged.

Ken Bach, 52, who finished in Democratic balloting with 14 votes to Prahs 42 in the first and only round, made a trip to Harrisburg to resurrect his candidacy in the March 17 special election as a Libertarian.

I left the party, Bach said Tuesday of Democrats in a conversation from his automotive repair shop in Smithton.

Ive always had Libertarian thinking on many issues, so thats why I became a Libertarian. Property owners are in revolt. Our representative has to stand up for us, the little working people.

I guess Im a one-issue candidate, if nothing else, to get this out and make (my opponents) talk about it.

A 12-year member of the Yough school board, Bach is a member of the Pennsylvania School Boards Association property tax reform task force.

Prah, 37, said he is taking an unpaid leave of absence from his job as the director of military and veterans affairs at California University of Pennsylvania to campaign.

A major in the U.S. Army Reserve, he was a U.S. Army infantryman, infantry officer and military intelligence officer during the Iraq War.

Prah, who now lives in Fellsburg, Rostraver Township, is a Smithton native and firefighter. He served for eight years on Smithton borough council and one term as mayor.

Davanzo, the Republican nominee, identified himself as a union carpenter for nearly 20 years. As a superintendent, he said in a news release he is responsible for managing million-dollar budgets, controlling costs and ensuring his projects are completed on time, skills that will serve him and taxpayers in the State House of Representatives.

In light of all that is occurring in government today, I believe we need a true fiscal and social conservative who will stand up for our values. This includes making government do more with less to protect taxpayers, creating a fairer property system that does not force seniors from their homes and reforming welfare so those most in need get the help they deserve.

We must expand vocational-technical training schools to prepare students and adults for good-paying jobs in the trades and expanding rural broadband to ensure all families have access to high-speed internet. It also includes fighting for our Constitutional rights and the sanctity of life.

There is a vacancy in the 58th District Legislative seat due to the resignation of Justin Walsh, who became a Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court judge this year.

Although the state relaxed some rules regarding absentee ballots and pre-election voter registration, the changes apply only to contests taking place April 28, the date of the primary, or thereafter.

For the March 17 special election, 5 p.m. Tuesday, March 10, is the deadline for the Westmoreland County elections bureau receiving applications for absentee ballots.

Friday, March 13 - also 5 p.m. - is the last day for voted absentee ballots to be returned to the elections bureau, 2 N. Main St., Suite 109, Greensburg, PA 15601.

The person who is elected to the House of Representatives in the special election will serve the remainder of this year, the equivalent of Walshs unexpired term.

The seat will also appear on the 2020 April 28 primary and Nov. 3 general election ballots for a two-year term that will begin in early January 2021.

The 58th Legislative District includes Monessen, Rostraver Township and Smithton and North Belle Vernon boroughs, plus parts of two other townships, all of Sewickley and South Huntingdon townships, and seven other boroughs.

See the article here:
Field of candidates triples in special election for the 58th District - Uniontown Herald Standard

Ipswich man Anthony Bull has put his hand up to run for Division 2 in this year's historic election.

Mr Bull, a second generation Ipswich resident, works in digital marketing and analytics.

"I went to Redbank Plains State School before moving to Westside Christian College, then I actually enrolled at the University of Queensland at Ipswich before the business element got shut down and moved to St Lucia," he said.

"My history here (Ipswich) also extends to my parents; my dad used to be the president of one of the local soccer clubs. He has a field named after him at Westminster Soccer Club; the Kevin Bull field down in Redbank Plains.

"My mother works in a couple of charities here and my wife is from Ipswich as well."

Mr Bull said he wanted to run for council because he had a passion for politics and believed he could do better than the previous council.

"The previous council was a perfect example of an unchecked government," he said

"I'm a big believer in government transparency and government accountability; that the people who work in government have to answer to the people who voted them in."

Mr Bull has three main focuses if elected to council, which include not only streaming council meetings but having audio transcribed as a way of ensuring accountability.

"The other two issues that my platform is about are ending the gouging of rate payers by looking at some of the policies that were implemented by the previous government," he said.

"Perhaps some of the services we agreed to aren't the best service at the same price.

"The fact that there was corruption makes me think that there are some services there that need to be looked at."

Mr Bull was very open and admitted he hadn't done any specific research as to why he thought rates were higher but has looked at some previous budgets made by council.

He said he also wanted to support business growth, believing that embracing more business would make way for more jobs in the region.

Mr Bull registered with his wife as a group for council election in order to run as a Liberal Democrat because the party is not registered with the Electoral Commission of Queensland.

"The Liberal Democratic Party of Australia is only registered at the federal level at this stage but not at the state level," Mr Bull said.

"I kind of convinced her to run with me, I didn't want to run as an independent," he said.

"I wanted to let my flag fly and who I am is a member of the Liberal Democrats and for that reason I needed her help.

"You can't run as a group with one person and for her she's really helped me out a lot, she's mostly in it to help me out. She was thinking about running but she's mostly here to help me out for sure."

Mr Bull's wife, Jacinta, is registered as a Division 1 candidate but has since decided to change to Division 3.

"We just sort of did some polling and found there was more support in that area we did some research and thought that (Division 3) was a better fit."

Mrs Bull is not taking media interviews regarding her candidacy for Division 3.

Originally posted here:
Proud Libertarian to run in upcoming council election - Queensland Times

A source confirmed that Roberts has indicated he would not read a question from Paul regarding the whistleblower at the center of the House impeachment inquiry.

The question from Paul is expected to name the individual. Because Roberts is responsible for reading the questions that would put him in the position of publicly outing the person on the Senate floor.

Paul indicated to reporters after a closed-door Republican dinner that he was not backing down from trying to ask his question.

Its still an ongoing process; it may happen tomorrow, the libertarian-leaning senator told reporters as he headed back to the Senate chamber.

Senatorshave been submittingtheir questions to Republican leadership, who were responsible for weeding out duplicative questions.

I dont think that happens, and I guess I would hope that it doesnt, he told reporters.

See the original post:
John Roberts blocks Rand Paul's question on whistleblower | TheHill - The Hill

Former Massachusetts Gov. William WeldWilliam (Bill) WeldAdvocacy group launches tour to encourage religious voters to vote against Trump Trump allies to barnstorm Iowa for caucuses Republican group calls for 'President Pence' amid impeachment trial MORE (R) is betting on undeclared voters in New Hampshire to fuel his long shot challenge against President TrumpDonald John TrumpDemocrats outraged over White House lawyer's claim that some foreign involvement in elections is acceptable Senators take reins of impeachment trial in marathon question session White House announces task force to monitor coronavirus MORE, believing the states fierce independent streak and potential for cross-over voters could turn him into a contenderafter the Feb. 11 primary.

Weld faces astronomically long odds in his effort to win New Hampshire. Trumps grip on the Republican Party is as tight as ever.

Over the course of 120 events Weld has attended across the Granite State over the past year, he said theres been no evidence to suggest that Trumps voters are warming to him as an alternative.

However, Weld says hes gaining traction among left-leaning independents and undeclared voters who are eligible to vote in either partys primary in New Hampshire.

When people say, how are you going to turn around those die-hard Trumpers Im not, Weld said in an interview at The Hills office. My job is to enlarge the electorate of people who vote in the Republican primary.

Weld said he and his wife have been throwing boutique soap parties to convince independents to cross over on primary day to cast a ballot against Trump.

The soap is so voters who become independents for a day can take a long hot shower and go back to being a Democrat after casting a ballot against Trump in the GOP primary, Weld said.

Weld faces near impossible odds in his quest for the nomination.

A WBUR survey of New Hampshire from last month found Trump at 74 percent support, against 9 percent for Weld.

The Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee (RNC) combined to raise more than $463 million in 2019. The Weld campaign brought in about $1.3 million in the first three quarters of 2019.

About a half-dozen states will not even hold GOP primaries this year, and the RNC has taken other steps to head off a potential primary challenger as well.

But Weld says the bar for success is so low that hes set up to shock the world on primary day in New Hampshire.

The wise guys, Weld said, expect him to get only 1 or 2 percent in New Hampshire, so a 10 percent showing or better might be all he needs.

If I got 20 percent, theyd be like, holy shit, whats happening here?, Weld said.

Regardless, Weld said hes in the race for the long haul to ensure that Republicans have a candidate running in the unlikely case Trump is removed from office by the Senate or some unforeseen political pressure chases him from the ballot.

Unless the roof falls on my head, Ill keep going as long as I can, Weld said.

Weld, who ran on the Libertarian Party ticket with former New Mexico Gov. Gary JohnsonGary Earl JohnsonWeld bets on New Hampshire to fuel long shot bid against Trump The 'Green' new deal that Tom Perez needs to make The Trump strategy: Dare the Democrats to win MORE in 2016, said if he does not win the GOP nomination, he will not run as a third-party candidate again.

Rather, Weld said he could happily support former Vice President Joe BidenJoe BidenSenators take reins of impeachment trial in marathon question session Sanders campaign says it raised more than .3 million in one day after negative ad Warren's dog campaigns in Iowa while senator sits in impeachment trial MORE in a matchup against Trump. Weld even volunteered to campaign for Biden and believes hed be an effective surrogate for the campaign in convincing moderate Republicans to reject Trump.

They could use me if they want crossover votes and Id be there, Weld said.

The former Massachusetts governor said he likes and admires Sens. Bernie SandersBernie SandersSanders campaign says it raised more than .3 million in one day after negative ad Warren's dog campaigns in Iowa while senator sits in impeachment trial Weld bets on New Hampshire to fuel long shot bid against Trump MORE (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth WarrenElizabeth Ann WarrenSanders campaign says it raised more than .3 million in one day after negative ad Warren's dog campaigns in Iowa while senator sits in impeachment trial Weld bets on New Hampshire to fuel long shot bid against Trump MORE (D-Mass.), but would have a tough time supporting either of them, believing their progressive politics are out of step with where most of the country is.

And hes worried about how a candidate from the left would fare in a head-to-head matchup against Trump.

I think itd be tight and I dont want it to be tight, Weld said.

Weld also said hed also be happy if either Rep. Justin AmashJustin AmashWeld bets on New Hampshire to fuel long shot bid against Trump Sanders co-chair: Greenwald charges could cause 'chilling effect on journalism across the world' Trump rails against impeachment in speech to Texas farmers MORE (I-Mich.) or former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee secured the Libertarian Partys nomination.

Regardless, Weld says he wants Trump out of office at all costs. He believes the president should be removed from office immediately by the GOP-controlled Senate.

I think he should be removed from office right now by the Senate and we can all get back to our normal lives, Weld said. I think thats what the founders would say. This is precisely the conduct they were most worried about they were thinking about someone who would interfere with the structure of government.

Weld says he thinks GOP senators stick with Trump out of fear of retribution from the president and his supporters.

Its fear and its fueled by an obsession with getting reelected, he said.

Weld is warning Senate Republicans that absolving Trump of wrongdoing in the impeachment trial will backfire, and that instead, the GOP will pay a price at the ballot box for not removing him from office.

When asked if he thinks Republicans will lose the Senate, Weld responded: I think its quite likely.

Read more:
Weld bets on New Hampshire to fuel long shot bid against Trump | TheHill - The Hill