Mediaboss Marketing

A California Republican candidate for Congress is demanding that the state add the term "MAGA Conservative" to the ballot ahead of the primary election.

Chris Mathys, a Republican candidate for California's 22nd Congressional District filed a lawsuit this month against California Secretary of State Shirley Weber for rejecting a request that the terms "MAGA Conservative" and "MAGA Conservative Republican" be added to the state's ballot as a designation for candidates like Mathys.

"I am looking forward to my day in court. My campaign believes that the best description of who I am and what I do is "MAGA Conservative," Mathys said in a statement obtained by Newsweek. "We believe that our request is on par with other terms used by candidates before us. The First Amendment guarantees freedom concerning expression and the right to petition."

Supporters of the MAGA, Make America Great Again, movement have continued to gain popularity. The slogan was coined by former President Donald Trump, and many of his staunch supporters, such as Republican Representatives Lauren Boebert, Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz, are seen as members of the movement.

In April, a poll conducted by NBC News found that 52 percent of Republicans said that they view the MAGA movement positively. However, among all respondents, only 24 percent viewed the MAGA movement as positive and 45 percent viewed it as negative.

According to a complaint viewed by Newsweek, Mathys first made the request to add the terms to the state's ballot in November, but it was denied by Weber, who explained state law in a letter.

"The designations 'MAGA Conservative Republican' and 'MAGA Conservative' do not constitute a current profession, vocation, or occupation," Weber said.

Shortly after the letter from Weber, Mathys filed a lawsuit saying that his self-identification as a "MAGA Conservative" and "MAGA Conservative Republican" should be left to voters and that "it is not different than the terms incumbent/businessman or legislator/attorney, those are also adjectives followed by a noun."

Mathys also said in the complaint that the denial by Weber is a violation of his First Amendment rights "when they unilaterally reject a candidate's description of who he or she is or how he or she describes themselves."

In response, Weber filed a court document reviewed by Newsweek saying that the terms that Mathys wants added are not allowed under California law.

One portion of the document stated that "the designation 'MAGA' is understood in the present context as an acronym for 'Make America Great Again' which is a trademarked campaign slogan...and is therefore prohibited as a ballot designation under California Code of Regulations section 20716(d)."

Mathys is running against incumbent Republican Representative David Valadao. State Senator Melissa Hurtado and former Assemblyman Rudy Salas, both Democrats, are also running. According to the statement obtained by Newsweek, Mathys is scheduled to appear in court for his lawsuit on Friday.

Newsweek reached out to Mathys and Weber's office via email for comment.

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

View post:
Republican Demands 'MAGA' Be Added to California Ballot - Newsweek

Former President Donald J. Trump on Sunday defended six Nevada Republicans who were recently indicted in connection with a scheme to overturn his 2020 election loss, claiming without evidence that they were victims of political persecution by the Biden administration.

Mr. Trump has repeatedly rebuffed accusations this month that he has antidemocratic inclinations by pointing his finger at President Biden. He often claims without evidence that Mr. Biden is weaponizing the Justice Department to influence the 2024 election.

At a campaign event on Sunday in Reno, Mr. Trump sharpened that attack by pointing to the indictment this month in state court of six members of Nevadas Republican Party who had acted as fake electors in a scheme intended to overturn Mr. Bidens 2020 victory. Those charged in the case, which was brought by Nevadas attorney general, included Michael J. McDonald, the state partys chairman.

Theyre a bunch of dirty players, Mr. Trump said of Mr. Biden and Democrats. Look at what theyre doing right here to Michael and great people in this state. Its a disgrace.

Mr. Trumps comments in Nevada, which is expected to be a crucial battleground state, are among the many ways he has sought to question the integrity of the election process and to raise doubts about results he opposes.

The former president, who also faces charges over his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, repeated his false claims that the election was stolen from him. And he broadly accused Democrats of cheating in elections, without evidence.

Both parties are eyeing Nevada next year, when a Senate seat will also be on the ballot. The state has voted for Democratic presidents consistently since 2008, but other races have been more competitive. A poll released last month by The New York Times and Siena College found that Mr. Trump was leading Mr. Biden in Nevada by 10 points.

Still, Republican primary candidates have not campaigned much in the state, where Mr. Trump remains dominant in polls, and where the party-run caucus has adopted rules expected to tilt the outcome in his favor.

Mr. Trumps speech in Reno focused heavily on Mr. Biden, offering a possible preview of attacks he may wield if he wins the Republican nomination and the two face off next fall.

As he conjured up a dark vision of America plagued by crime and overrun by violent and mentally ill immigrants, his campaign displayed a new slogan, Safer With Trump, on screens around him. (His campaign has unveiled a similar message, Better Off With Trump, with regards to the economy.)

As he often does at rallies, Mr. Trump asserted that leaders of unspecified countries were releasing patients from insane asylums and sending them to the United States. Fact checkers have found no evidence, but Mr. Trump has repeatedly compared migrants to Hannibal Lecter, the fictional cannibal and serial killer.

Thats what we got, Mr. Trump said of Lecter. Weve got him coming in. And this is not good. Thats like an explosion waiting to happen.

Mr. Trumps anti-immigrant rhetoric has grown more severe as he campaigns for the third time. In New Hampshire on Saturday, he told the crowd that immigrants were poisoning the blood of our country, a comment that previously drew condemnation because of echoes to language used by white supremacists and Adolf Hitler.

Mr. Trumps stop in Reno was part of an unusually busy campaign schedule in which he gave speeches in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada the first three nominating states in five days. He is scheduled to return to Iowa on Tuesday.

Here is the original post:
Trump Defends 6 Republicans Charged in Scheme to Overturn His 2020 Loss - The New York Times

The question of whether Donald Trump is eligible to appear on Marylands Republican primary ballot is under consideration by the secretary of state, her office said Wednesday, one day after a Colorado court disqualified the former president from that states election.

Maryland Secretary of State Susan Lee, a Democratic former state delegate and senator from Montgomery County, has wide latitude under Maryland law to determine who is recognized as a legitimate candidate. She was appointed secretary in January by first-year Democratic Gov. Wes Moore.

Marylands primary is May 14, and the secretary must have the presidential primary ballot finalized by Jan. 22. Thats the deadline for the secretary of state to give me a letter to provide the State Board of Elections with Democratic and Republican candidates for the primary, said Jared DeMarinis, Marylands elections administrator.

Maryland election law says it is in the Secretarys sole discretion to determine, within party rules, whether a candidate is generally advocated or recognized and can be on the ballot.

A presidential candidate may also become eligible by submitting a petition with the signatures of at least 400 registered voters from each congressional district.

Trump, a Republican who lost his reelection bid for the presidency in 2020, is the leading contender for the GOP nomination next year.

In a 4-3 opinion, Colorados Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that Trump is ineligible under a section of the 14th Amendment, Section 3, barring people who engaged in insurrection from becoming candidates. The section says candidates who took an oath to support the Constitution will be ineligible if they shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.

In the ruling, which is likely to be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, the judges had to first consider whether Trump engaged in insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, when a mob of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol as the 2020 presidential election vote count was being finalized. Then the judges in the majority determined the amendment applied and state law barred him from the ballot.

The Supreme Court, as it should, will reject all these challenges, Maryland Republican Party Chairwoman Nicole Beus Harris said in a prepared statement Wednesday. The people have the right to decide, not a small group of biased judges.

Lees office hasreceived emails or letters from about 100 members of the general public on the general topic of keeping Donald Trump off the ballot, her office said in a Dec. 6 reply to a Public Information Act request filed by The Baltimore Sun.

The office confirmed in a November email and again Wednesday that the issue is under consideration by the secretary.

Lee was not available to be interviewed Wednesday, and DeMarinis said it would it be inappropriate for him to comment on how or whether the 14th amendment provision would figure in her decision.

The Colorado suit was filed in Denver in September by a group of Colorado Republican and independent voters assisted by the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

According to The Associated Press, dozens of lawsuits challenging Trumps eligibility on similar grounds have been filed in several states, with no others succeeding so far. Among other cases with significant backing, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled in November that Trump could remain on the ballot there because political parties have discretion over their primary ballots. And, AP reported, a Michigan judge has ruled that Congress should decide if Section 3 of the 14th Amendment applies to Trump. That ruling was appealed Monday.

In its response to The Sun, Lees office declined to release five internal documents on grounds that they were privileged.

It did release correspondence from people writing, often passionately, urging Lee not to permit Trumps name to appear on the ballot.

Trump is an existential threat to our Democracy and must not serve in any elected capacity, wrote one Marylander on Aug. 29. Names of the writers were redacted.

We are aware of this issue, a Lee representative wrote back, thanking the Marylander for your thoughts on the matter.

Read this article:
Will Donald Trump be on Maryland primary ballots in 2024? Secretary of state has broad discretion - Baltimore Sun

Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley listens as she is introduced during a campaign stop in Hooksett, New Hampshire, U.S., November 20, 2023. REUTERS/Brian Snyder Acquire Licensing Rights

WASHINGTON, Nov 28 (Reuters) - The conservative U.S. political network led by billionaire Charles Koch on Tuesday endorsed Nikki Haley for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, giving the former South Carolina governor a boost among party rivals struggling to make a dent against frontrunner Donald Trump.

The influential group, which pushes for tax cuts and less government regulation, has made clear that beating former President Trump in the Republican nominating contest is a top priority, arguing that he would lose the November election to President Joe Biden. The Democrat beat incumbent Trump in the 2020 White House race.

In addition to controlling tens of millions of dollars for campaign spending, the Koch-affiliated Super PAC known as Americans for Prosperity Action, or AFP Action, has thousands of staffers throughout the country who will now promote Haley among potential voters.

Among Haley's main weaknesses, according to her campaign operatives, has been a relatively underdeveloped network of campaign workers and allies in the early voting state of Iowa.

It is far from clear that the AFP endorsement will be a game changer, given that Trump leads his Republican rivals by more than 40 points in most national polls. About 10% of Republican primary voters support Haley, according to a polling average maintained by poll-tracking website FiveThirtyEight.

But the endorsement could tip the scales in favor of Haley in a tight battle with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for the No. 2 slot. Around 13% of primary voters support DeSantis, according to FiveThirtyEight.

It could also help her persuade other major donors to get behind her. Many big-dollar donors have been considering supporting Haley for months, but have held off amid concerns she is simply too far behind Trump.

"The Kochs have a tremendous following," said Texas-based Republican donor Fred Zeidman, a top Haley fundraiser.

The group said its internal polling indicates Haley is in the best position to defeat Trump in the Republican primary. It also "consistently shows" that Haley is the strongest candidate by far to beat Biden in a general election, it said.

"We would support a candidate capable of turning the page on Washington's toxic culture and a candidate who can win. And last night, we concluded that analysis," AFP Action said in a statement.

DeSantis supporters have disputed those assertions, saying he is better positioned to siphon supporters away from Trump than Haley is. Haley is beating DeSantis, however, in some of the states that are first to select a Republican nominee.

"Every dollar spent on Nikki Haley's candidacy should be reported as an in-kind to the Trump campaign," DeSantis spokesman Andrew Romeo wrote on X on Tuesday.

Trump campaign adviser Steven Cheung responded to the AFP endorsement with a swipe at Haley's foreign policy positions. AFP Action has endorsed a "pro-China, open borders, and globalist candidate," Cheung said.

While Haley, who was U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under Trump, has staked out a significantly more hawkish position on China than her 2024 rivals, the DeSantis and Trump camps have criticized her for welcoming Chinese investment into South Carolina while governor.

The Koch endorsement marks a turnaround from the previous two presidential cycles, which the Kochs broadly sat out.

DeSantis had been under active consideration for an endorsement, but his disappointing campaign turned off AFP Action, two sources with knowledge of those deliberations said.

AFP Action raised more than $70 million to spend on political races, an official with the group said in July. Super PACs are allowed to raise and spend unlimited sums supporting candidates as long as they don't coordinate with campaigns.

Emily Seidel, a senior adviser at AFP Action, told reporters on Tuesday the group would dedicate significant resources to getting out the vote for the Republican primaries, including encouraging general election voters to vote in the primaries for the first time.

During the 2022 congressional elections, AFP Action says it made more than 2 million phone calls, knocked on 5.5 million doors and sent more than 69 million pieces of mail.

The Democratic National Committee said Haley checks all the Koch group's boxes: "slashing taxes for the ultra-wealthy, gutting Social Security and Medicare, and ripping health care away from millions of Americans.

Reporting by Doina Chiacu and Gram Slattery in Washington and Alexandra Ulmer in San Francisco; Editing by Ross Colvin and Alistair Bell

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Washington-based correspondent covering campaigns and Congress. Previously posted in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Santiago, Chile, and has reported extensively throughout Latin America. Co-winner of the 2021 Reuters Journalist of the Year Award in the business coverage category for a series on corruption and fraud in the oil industry. He was born in Massachusetts and graduated from Harvard College.

Alexandra covers the 2024 U.S. presidential race, with a focus on Republicans, donors and AI. Previously, she spent four years in Venezuela reporting on the humanitarian crisis and investigating corruption. She has also worked in India, Chile and Argentina. Alexandra was Reuters' Reporter of the Year and has won an Overseas Press Club award. Contact: +4156053672

Read more:
Influential Koch group endorses Haley's 2024 Republican presidential bid - Reuters

The solution? Reverse course on a party maxim to oust Trump from the public consciousness, according to Democratic leadership, who no longer feel that ignoring the real estate mogul is an effective tactic and instead are quietly hoping for live broadcasting of his notorious campaign rallies, reported The New York Times.

Not having the day-to-day chaos of Donald Trump in peoples faces certainly has an impact on how people are measuring the urgency of the danger of another Trump administration, Adrianne Shropshire, the executive director of BlackPAC, an African American political organizing group, told the Times. It is important to remind people of what a total and absolute disaster Trump was.

Its a surprising about-face. From Trumps descent down the escalator in June 2015 until January 6, 2021, the consensus among mainstream Democrats was that the media was far too beholden to Donald Trump and that, in the cynical pursuit of eyeballs and profits, they essentially allowed him to act as their assignment editor. The notion that the press was complicit in Trumps rise was widely held during this period, as was the idea that the nation would wake up if they covered him as a dictator in training. The presss coverage of Trump has become more disciplined and aggressivewhen it happensin the aftermath of January 6. But it hasnt dimmed Trumps popularity. Now the hope is that more coverage of Trumps derangement will damage his candidacy.

Read more:
It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like a Republican Government Shutdown - The New Republic