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LANSING, Mich. (AP) State Police Capt. Mike Brown on Tuesday submitted nominating petitions to run for governor, saying he brings trusted leadership to what is expected to be a large Republican primary field vying to challenge Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

Brownis the third GOP candidate to turn in signatures, joining chiropractor and grassroots activist Garrett Soldano and financial adviser Michael Markey. Contenders must file 15,000 to 30,000 signatures by next week to advance to the August primary.

Several top candidates have not yet submitted petitions.

I just bring trusted leadership and the ability to connect with citizens, whether its the country, the suburbs or the urban areas, Brown told reporters after turning in nearly 21,000 signatures. I frankly get things done. Weve seen total incompetence from this administration, just about every state department.

He added: Ive actually been a Republican my whole life. That was an apparent dig at ex-Detroit Police Chief James Craig, a former Democrat who is running in the GOP contest.

Brown, who had given his campaign about $120,000 as of late December accounting for most of his fundraising lags well behind financially compared with Craig, Soldano, former online news host Tudor Dixon and self-funding millionaire businessmen Perry Johnson and Kevin Rinke. That will make it difficult for Brown to get his message to the electorate.

He said, however, that wealthy candidates spending is not going to matter in this race. I dont sense a millionaire vibe out there for this race. We need a commonsense conservative that can lead the Republican Party. They dont have what it takes.

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Brown is 3rd Republican Governor Candidate to File Petitions - 9 & 10 News - 9&10 News

As a former Hamilton County Republican Party Chairman, I have a unique understanding of the way our local party qualifies candidates. Mike Dumitru is one of those candidates and I wholeheartedly support his candidacy for Circuit Court Judge, Division II.

Earlier this week, I received a mailer from the other candidate suggesting that Mike is not a true conservative and implying he voted in the Democratic primary in 2020. This is a patently false mischaracterization and is contradicted by Mikes voting record, which reflects that he voted in both Republican primaries in 2020. This type of campaigning is certainly troubling to me, especially in a judicial race. I have nothing against the other candidate as I do not know him and Im not sure I ever met him at our Republican party events through the years.

Just as troubling is the implicit statement that Mike is not a true Republican. I understand fully the values that make someone a Republican and Mike holds those values! He is a Republican under both the Bylaws and Rules of the Tennessee Republican Party but just as importantly in his actions and values. He is engaged in the local Republican party, has supported other local Republican candidates, and was seated as a voting delegate for his precinct in the last Hamilton County Republican Delegate Convention. Mike is a strict jurist who will enforce the law as written and passed by our elected representatives, will not legislate from the bench, and will rule narrowly. He will never be an activist judge. And his personal storyof a family who fled a communist country where the concept of small government was a mere fairy talehas colored the lens through which he views our government, including the judiciary.

But even setting aside his values, let me say this. I have personally known Judge Jeff Hollingsworth inside and outside of the courtroom for nearly 20 years. If you are looking for someone who will follow in the same footsteps, Mike Dumitru is your candidate. I have no doubt that he will bring to the position the same moral character, legal ability, and judicial temperament of Judge Hollingsworth while honorably serving our community as the Division II Circuit Court Judge.

I encourage all Republicans to join me and my family and vote for Mike Dumitru in the Republican primary for Circuit Court Judge during early voting or on May 3.

Tony SandersHamilton County Republican Party Chairman2013-2017

* * *

I've always been involved in this community and I've met a lot of people during those years as a businessman and volunteer. Mike Dumitru cares about Hamilton County and he's committed to our citizens and the judicialprocess.

Mike has proven he has the knowledge and the temperament to be a great judge. His strong work ethic, understanding of the importance of responsive local government , and willingness to listen to community concerns makes him the best in this race.

If you don't know Mike, you need to meet him. You'll see what I mean; he's the real thing and Hamilton County needs him.

Manny Rico, Local Businessman and former City Councilman

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This Republican Is Supporting Mike Dumitru - And Response - The Chattanoogan

Maryland will be expanding abortion access in spite of Republican Governor Larry Hogan's opposition a victory for reproductive healthcare as Republicans mount threats to it nationwide. Democratic lawmakers drove the push to override the governor's veto over the weekend, enacting legislation that will allow nurse practitioners and midwives to perform abortions and requires most insurance to cover the procedure. They stood up for healthcare, they stood up for access to abortion care, said Karen J. Nelson, president and chief executive of Planned Parenthood of Maryland, according to the New York Times. They did what was right for the women in the state of Maryland.

The Abortion Care Access Act will take effect in July. Maryland is currently one of 36 states that only allows physicians to perform abortions. The new law also allocates $3.5 million in state funding annually toward abortion care training. Hogan, who has previously said that he personally opposes abortion but would not attempt to roll back access to the procedure in his state, vetoed the legislation on Friday, claiming that while he has upheld his promise to take no action restricting reproductive rights, the bill in question would set back standards for womens health care and safety.

The bill risks lowering the high standard of reproductive health care services received by women in Maryland, Hogan wrote in a letter accompanying his veto. The legislature, which is controlled by Democrats, overrode him the next day, with the state House voting 90-46 and the state Senate voting 29-15.

In so doing, Maryland became one of several states swimming against the tide to work to expand access to abortion; one such state is New Jersey, which in January moved to protect and expand abortion access. But nationally, the momentum is with those attempting to roll back reproductive rights. Several GOP-led states have moved to dramatically limit abortion access; the most recent, Oklahoma, approved a near-total ban on the procedure last week that would make performing it a felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison, unless it is being done to save the life of a pregnant woman in a medical emergency. That bill is currently awaiting signature from Governor Kevin Stitt, who has already said he would sign any anti-abortion legislation that is sent to him. Senate Bill 612 is the strongest pro-life legislation in the country right now, which effectively eliminates abortion in Oklahoma, Republican Nathan Dahm, the bills primary author, said in a statement last week.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court dominated 6-3 by conservatives, including three appointed by Donald Trump, who had campaigned in 2016 on a promise to overturn Roe v. Wadeseems poised to either weaken or eliminate the federal protections in that landmark 1973 ruling. That would leave a patchwork of laws that vary from state to state, with some like Oklahoma and Texas criminalizing the procedure and others, which have scrambled to enshrine protections, acting essentially as safe havens for reproductive rights. Its very important that we keep in mind the strategies that this bill is using is ensuring that people can access the care that they need, when they need it, no matter what happens with the rest of the country, said Democrat Ariana Kelly, the lead sponsor of Marylands bill, per CBS News. No matter what happens with the Supreme Court.

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Maryland Lawmakers Expand Abortion Access, Overriding Republican Governor's Veto - Vanity Fair

Happy hump day, OnPolitics readers.

More on the two suspects accused of impersonating law enforcement agents: A federal magistrate Tuesday rejected prosecutors' request to detainArian Taherzadeh and Haider Ali, who were arrested last week for offering personal gifts, including rent-free apartments, to at least two members of the Secret Service.

The two allegedly posed as federal law enforcement agents to gain access to the agency, butU.S. Magistrate G.Michael Harvey questioned theirability to follow through on the lavish gifts.

Harvey also said there is no evidence thatTaherzadeh, 40, and Ali, 35, tried to infiltrate the Secret Service or posed a risk to national security.

"There has been no showing that national security information has been compromised," he ruled.

The suspects were scheduled for releaseWednesday morning forproper placement in home confinement with family members.Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Rothstein said the government would possibly appeal Harvey's ruling.

Defense lawyers argued for release of alleged impersonators: Attorneys representingTaherzadeh and Ali said prosecutors had spun"the wildestconspiracy theories imaginable"bygrossly exaggeratingclaims against their clients.

It's Amy and Chelsey with today's top stories out of Washington.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., is treading a thin line between the moderate and far right wings of his party in an attempt to climb the ladder to House speaker, a role currently occupied by political opponent and fellow representative fromCalifornia, Democrat Nancy Pelosi.

But maintaining a balance between the conservatives who attend white nationalist rallies, the traditionalists weary of RINOaccusations ("Republicans In Name Only") and the few House Republicans who have publicly denounced former President Donald Trump will prove tricky.

A GOP House majority could ensure McCarthy the role he's openly coveted for so long, but heavy opposition from one Republican faction toward another could hurt the party's chances during the November midterm elections.

"If he tries to silence the crazies, they will turn against him, possibly denying him a majority in the House vote on the speakership," said Jack Pitney, a government professor at Claremont McKenna College in California. "If he doesn't try to silence the crazies, the party will suffer reputational damage, and non-crazy Republicans will start looking for another leader."

If Republicans triumph in November, experts say McCarthy has a good chance at the speaker role.

"McCarthy has strong support because he is a prolific fundraiser and has tremendous depth on policy," said Alice Stewart, who served as the chief spokeswoman for former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabees 2016 presidential campaign. "The wildcard is the new incoming GOP member class, who could be campaigning on an anti-establishment, non-vote for McCarthy, platform. If that were to happen, anything's possible."

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President Joe Biden called Russia's attack on Ukraine a "genocide" on Tuesday while talking with reporters before heading back to the White House from Iowa.

The statement comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin said peace talks had reached a "dead end" and Russian troops will not leave Ukraine until the Kremlin's goals are accomplished.

Its become clearer and clearer that Putin is trying to wipe out the idea of being Ukrainian, Biden said.

Death count rises: Over 10,000 civilians have been killed in city of Mariupol since the beginning of the invasion in February, Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko said Monday.That number could reach more than 20,000 in Mariupol alone, according to Boychenko.

How do you prove genocide? Harold Hongju Koh, an international law professor at Yale Law School, told USA TODAY that in order to prove genocide, there has to be a high level of intent.

"The tricky part of it which is relevant to the President's statement yesterday is if I kill one person, that's homicide," he said. "If I kill that person with the intent to destroy every person of that persons ethnic group, then it could be a part of genocide, but you don't know."

Leading the league: San Francisco Giants' Alyssa Nakken becomes the first female coach on the field for a Major League Baseball game. Check out more coverage of this seasonfrom USA TODAY's Sports team.-- Amy and Chelsey

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OnPolitics: Will GOP Rep. Kevin McCarthy be the next House Speaker? - USA TODAY

In a way, its a riddle: When is a 3-cent property tax decrease really a 10-cent tax increase?

The answer: During a countywide property revaluation year in which property values have shot through the roof.

At the Guilford County Board of Commissioners meeting on Thursday, April 7, the three Republicans voted no to a resolution promising that the Board of Commissioners would lower the countys property tax rate in the coming budget if county voters pass a quarter-cent increase in the countys sales tax in the election next month.

At the meeting, Republican Commissioners Alan Perdue and Justin Conrad said they wouldnt vote for the proposed conditional tax cut because they didnt want to support a large tax increase which is what both men said the cut really was.

The third Republican on the nine-member board Commissioner James Upchurch was participating by phone and also voted no. Upchurch had already made it clear before the April 7 commissioners meeting that he also thinks the plan is really just an attempt to trick voters into thinking theyre getting a tax decrease when in reality they are not.

The commitment by the Board of Commissioners that the six Democratic commissioners passed at the meeting, was to reduce Guilford Countys property tax rate by an amount roughly equivalent to the amount that a sales tax hike would bring in. The sales tax increase, if approved by voters, is expected to bring in about $18 million to $20 million in additional revenue each year, which means that the property tax rate could come down about 3 cents and the county would pull in that same amount of lost revenue from new sales tax proceeds.

(Since the sales tax hike would take some time to implement, it likely wouldnt bring in the full $18 million to $20 million during the first fiscal year that its in effect. The countys fiscal year starts on July 1 but an approved sales tax would not go into effect until later in the year.)

Perdue, who had phoned in remotely to the meeting in order to participate, said, I support the sales tax, but I dont support raising taxes during a revaluation year so I wont be supporting this.

Alston asked for clarification. He said the motion before the board did not call for, or support, a raise in taxes.

I think it should be revenue-neutral, Perdue said of the coming budget.

A revenue-neutral budget would lower the property tax rate by an amount sufficient to keep property tax revenue at the same level as the previous budget.

Perdues phone connection cut out at that point, but Conrad was happy to jump in and explain Perdues point.

I believe he was trying to say that he would like to see a revenue-neutral budget without a tax increase, Conrad said.

Conrad added that the commissioners can parse words, but he pointed out that, in the end, even if the tax rate stays the same or comes down a few cents, county taxpayers will still be paying a lot more in property taxes this year since property values have shot up due to the 2022 revaluation.

To me, it should be part of a more global conversation, Conrad said of the small rate decrease that would mean people would be paying much more in property taxes.

Conrad also pointed out that the current Board of Commissioners cannot legally commit a future Board of Commissioners to action and he noted that the board could be very different after the 2022 election.

Despite the concerns from the Republicans, the motion passed on a straight party line vote.

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Republican Commissioners Publicly Call Out Coming Tax Increase - The Rhino Times of Greensboro - The Rhino TImes