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In a year of fiercely fought elections in battleground states across the country, some might have questioned why Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel spent her Wednesday night in a deep-blue pocket of Connecticut that Joe Biden won by nearly 33 points just two years earlier.

Leora Levy, the party's nominee against incumbent U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, trailed in the polls by double digits and by millions of dollars in fundraising, and was in need of significant help to stay competitive. Bob Stefanowski, their candidate for governor, trailed incumbent Democrat Ned Lamont in the polls by double digits in a campaign many observers initially felt would be a replica of their contentious head-to-head matchup in 2018.

But in a state where Democrats outnumber Republicans by nearly two-to-one in the Statehouse, one candidate in New Britain Wednesday nightformer state Senator George Loganmight have been the main attraction.

Logan, the party's nominee for Connecticut's 5th Congressional District this year, is one of the strongest candidates the party has ever run for the solidly blue congressional seat once held by current U.S. Senator Chris Murphy. He has a history of winning competitive races against a diverse field of liberal candidates. He is a relative moderate on policy and has come out against national Republicans' efforts to curb abortion rights. He is also a Black conservative, an anomalous breed of politician rarely seen on the federal stage. (Logan could not be reached for comment.)

Since the days of Reconstruction, just 30 Black Republicans have ever been elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, and just four to the Senate. Most were elected immediately after the end of the Civil War. Today, there are just three Black Republicans congressmen Byron Donalds of Florida and Burgess Owens of Utah, as well as South Carolina Senator Tim Scottout of the 66 total Black members of Congress.

Republicans hope to change that, as more Black candidates are running for state and federal office as part of the GOP. The National Republican Congressional Committee counted 81 Black candidates running as Republicans in 2022 in 72 congressional districts, more than a 50 percent increase over 2020.

Last weekend, the Congressional Leadership Funda super PAC with ties to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthydropped significant sums in support of Black Republican candidates it believes could be competitive in several traditionally Democratic districts this year.

The list includes Indiana Republican Jennifer-Ruth Greenwhose Gary-based district has been trending toward Republican presidential candidates in recent cyclesas well as the campaign of Michigan Republican John James, a proven candidate who nearly won a seat in the U.S. Senate two years ago and who is now running in a Republican-leaning House district outside of Detroit.

Other candidates, including Logan and Texas Republican Wesley Hunt, who appears to be a clear favorite in the newly redrawn 38th Congressional District, have also attracted substantial financial support from national Republicans, a show of confidence strategists say is not just circumstantial.

"We're running candidates who look like members of the communities they want to serve in Congress," Congressional Leadership Fund spokesperson Calvin Moore told Newsweek.

The change in strategy, Moore said, came after Republican failures in 2018 and the recognized need for a more diverse candidate poola lesson they apparently learned from in the following election.

"In 2020, every single seat that Republicans flipped from Democrat to Republican was won by a woman or a minority candidate," said Moore. "The biggest lesson we learned was that if you want to win, you need to recruit and support compelling candidates with unique stories that fit and look like the districts they are trying to represent."

But it also comes during a period of significant demographic change among the Black electorate. In 2020, Republican President Donald Trump won 20 percent of the vote among Black men, compared to 13 percent just four years earlier.

The Democratic Party still has a virtual monopoly on Black voters, particularly in the South, where the Republican Party notably campaigned on white voters' racial anxieties in the 1980s to win seats. However, the GOP is beginning to earn converts among more socially conservative members of the Black community, even as some argue the party continues to adopt policies and rhetoric that are actually antithetical to the rights of Black citizens.

One example is Harriet Holman, a South Carolina county commissioner who, earlier this year, made national headlines after publicly switching her affiliation from Democrat to Republican. In an interview, Holman said she noticed some of her views, namely around the economy and on abortion, were no longer compatible with the Democratic Party platform.

Other issues, including national rhetoric around defunding the police, she said, also prompted her to switch parties.

Though she said she always felt some pressure to be a Democrat throughout her life, she called the Republican Party "the future," with ideals she says no longer represent those of the days of South Carolina resident Lee Atwater leading the national party. Democrats, she said, have lost sight of "kitchen table issues" like public safety and inflation that truly matter to people. Meanwhile, the GOP, she said, has made those policies its centerpiece.

"I'm running an election in 2022, dealing with 2022 issues," she told Newsweek. "The Republican Party has accepted me. I am loved within the Republican Party. I'm not going to keep reaching back for negative stuff. I'm moving forward."

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Fundraising Gives Black Republicans Reason to Believe They'll Win Elections - Newsweek

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EXCLUSIVE: Heritage Foundations' political advocacy group is making a big investment in the upcoming midterms and pouring money into states where congressional Republicans have raised concerns about candidate quality.

Heritage Action for America's super PAC, the Sentinel Action Fund, is spending $5 million in Arizona and $1 million in Georgia to boost the candidacy of two candidates who have fallen out of favor with nationally elected Republicans.

That spending is being supplemented by Heritage Action itself, which exclusively told Fox News Digital that it has spent $1.8 million on voter engagement in Nevada and New Hampshire. Both of states have high-profile Senate and House races this year that could determine which party holds power in Congress.

"There are conservative candidates and conservative polices on the line," said Jessica Anderson, Heritage Action's executive director. "Let's go and get this done and win back a [congressional] majority for the right reasons and frankly with the right people."

ARIZONA'S BLAKE MASTERS SAYS VOTERS QUESTION WHY WASHINGTON REPUBLICANS ARE NOT INVESTING MORE IN HIS RACE

"There are conservative candidates and conservative polices on the line," said Anderson. (Aesthetic Images Photography.)

Arizona is where Heritage's super PAC has made its biggest investment. It is spending more than $5 million to bolster Blake Masters, the GOP nominee for U.S. Senate.

INDEPENDENTS IN KEY BATTLE GROUND STATES FAR MORE ALIGNED WITH REPUBLICANS THAN DEMOCRATS

In contrast, the Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC closely aligned with Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., announced last month it was cutting nearly $8 million in ads that it had reserved in Arizona throughout Election Day.

"We think he's got a real shot. We think that this race is winnable," Anderson said of Masters. "We think that other conservative and Republican establishment groups should come back to Arizona, they should take a second look at the state and realize everything that's at stake."

In Arizona, Heritage Action's linked super PAC is spending more than $5 million to bolster Blake Masters. (Joseph A. Wulfsohn/Fox News Digital)

Masters, who trails his Democratic opponent in fundraising, told Fox News Digital that conservative voters in Arizona were beginning to question why national Republican were not more involved in his race.

Outside of Arizona, Sentinel is spending $1 million to boost GOP Senate nominee Herschel Walker in Georgia. The super PAC is also running nearly $1 million worth of negative ads against Democratic Sens. Mark Kelly of Arizona and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire over high gasoline prices.

"I think there's probably a greater likelihood the House flips than the Senate," Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell told an audience last month. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

In each of those states, national Republicans have raised concerns in recent months about their chances for success. Candidates like Walker and Masters trail incumbent Democrats in polling and fundraising.

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As of July, Masters had raised $4.8 million to Kelly's more than $52 million, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Walker has raised nearly $20 million compared to Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock's more than $60 million.

"I think there's probably a greater likelihood the House flips than the Senate," Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell told an audience last month in his home state of Kentucky. "Senate races are just different, they're statewide. Candidate quality has a lot to do with the outcome."

Haris Alic covers Congress and politics for Fox News Digital. You can contact him at haris.alic@fox.com or follow him on Twitter at @realharisalic.

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Heritage Action spending heavy to boost GOP candidates spurned by congressional Republicans - Fox News

FREDERICKSBURG, Va. (MarketWatch) Holding a Yesli Vega for Congress sign for his lawn that he just picked up from one of the Virginia Republicans campaign offices, Clinton Melson says he and his wife plan to vote for her because of their concerns about schools, inflation and defense.

Were all about education because we have grandchildren, and we just think that the Republican Party in general and Vega in particular are better for education, said Melson, a retired resident of Virginias Stafford County, which lies just north of Fredericksburg.

Theyve figured out that the schools are drifting into subjects that really dont benefit the kids in the long run, he told MarketWatch, making a similar point as other GOP-leaning voters have amid a national debate over how much K-12 schools should teach about race and sex. They need to stick with the basics in education.

Related: Youngkin says his win in Virginia governors race shows going on the offensive on schools works for Republicans

Melson, who worked for the Defense Department before retiring, said hes also supporting the GOP challenger rather than incumbent Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger because he thinks Republicans are traditionally better on defense ITA, -1.14% issues and because the U.S. cant stay on its current path with inflation through the roof and hurting retirees.

Read MarketWatchs coverage of U.S. inflation.

The battle between Spanberger and Vega to represent Virginias newly redrawn Seventh Congressional District is among the competitive midterm contests that analysts are watching closely.

Republicans are aiming to take back control of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate from Democrats in Novembers midterm elections, and betting market PredictIt gives a 74% chance for a House flip, but just 40% odds for the Senate changing hands. The outcomes for the midterms will determine the extent to which the GOP can shake up President Joe Bidens agenda, such as by providing aggressive oversight of the Biden administrations regulators or taking action on issues such as the child tax credit or crime. A first-term presidents party tends to lose congressional ground in the midterms.

The Seventh Congressional District sits in northern Virginia, not far from Washington, D.C. After a redistricting last year by court-appointed special masters, it consists of the city of Fredericksburg and nearby counties, such as Stafford, Spotsylvania, Culpeper and Orange, as well as a chunk of Prince William County, while no longer including parts of the Richmond area where Spanberger lives.

Its rated as leaning Democratic by both theUniversity of Virginias Center for Politicsand theCook Political Report, though Cook had ranked it as a toss-up until Sept. 1. In switching its rating, Cook cited a post-Dobbs spike in Democratic voter enthusiasm, referring to the Supreme Courts June decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 case that established a constitutional right to an abortion.

As our Leans Democratic rating implies, wed choose Spanberger if we had to pick a winner, but shes not out of the woods yet. There are still about two months left until Election Day, said J. Miles Coleman, associate editor for Sabatos Crystal Ball at the University of Virginias Center for Politics. Things have seemed on the upswing for Democrats, with their party jumping ahead in a key indicator thats known as the generic ballot, but there may be time for things to shift back to the GOP, he told MarketWatch.

If Republicans beat Spanberger, theyve probably won a relatively comfortable House majority, Coleman said, adding that means a majority perhaps in the range of 230 to 240 seats. He noted that Biden carried the new district by a 7-point margin in 2020, but then Republican Glenn Youngkin won it by a 5-point margin in the 2021 governors race.

Cliff Heinzer, who chairs the Stafford County Democratic Committee, said hes been knocking on voters doors and gets the sense that fuel prices were an issue for a while, but they dont seem to be much of an issue now. Gasoline prices RB00, -0.52% have dropped by well over $1 after the U.S. average peaked in June above $5 a gallon.

Instead, women voters often want to confirm that Spanberger supports abortion rights, and some residents talk about theFBIs search last month of Donald Trumps Mar-a-Lago home as part of an investigation into whether the former president tookclassified records, according to Heinzer. He has worked for the federal government, including on Defense Department contracts, and noted that many other locals have that type of experience, given the areas proximity to Washington.

A lot of folks, myself included, spent lots of time meticulously making sure that we secured classified information, so that resonates a little more loudly in Stafford than it might in another community, he said of the Mar-a-Lago search. Heinzer added that transportation issues, such as congestion on I-95, are crucial for the district, but achieving solutions is often challenging and requires a regional effort.

Tonya James, who chairs the Prince William County Democrats, said shes also often finding voters are concerned about abortion rights, including men because their kids and their grandkids and possibly their spouses could be impacted.

A lot of what Im hearing at the doors as I talk to voters is about the right to choose, said James, who is helping to campaign for Spanberger but lives in part of Prince William County thats not in the Seventh Congressional District.

Meanwhile, Steve Mouring, who chairs the Culpeper County Republican Committee, said hes seen the Mar-a-Lago search affecting voters, but in a different way. On the night that news broke about the FBIs move, part of the GOP committee tried to start a meeting at their headquarters building, but got delayed as locals who support Trump showed up after hearing the news.

We had to wait like 45 minutes to start a meeting, because so many people were coming up wanting to sign up, wanting to get signs and things like that, Mouring told MarketWatch. He also said: People cannot believe that a former president was being treated that way.

When asked about issues in the race, Spanberger said in a statement that lowering prescription-drug costs often comes up with voters, and thats why she supported the Inflation Reduction Act, which gives Medicare the power to negotiate drug PJP, -0.39% prices.

She also said shes been ringing the alarm bell about inflation for nearly a year and has aimed to fix U.S. supply chains by introducing a bipartisan bill that would provide a new tax incentive to attract and retain truck drivers.

Related: Lobbyist for truckers on the driver shortage: If the job that youre offering sucks, is the solution really go find more suckers, or should you improve the job?

Regarding the Supreme Courts overturning of Roe and the aftermath, the two-term congresswoman said West Virginia has become the second U.S. state to pass stringent abortion restrictions, so Virginians can feel these bans coming closer to home, which is why I have voted with majorities in the U.S. House to codify a womans right to choose, defend access to contraception and ensure interstate travel for reproductive care.

Vegas campaign didnt respond to multiple requests for comment. In an interview last month with Fox News at a Conservative Political Action Coalition (CPAC) event in Texas, she said a survey of Prince William County residents found that the top issue for residents was having a safe and secure community.

So for me personally, ensuring that we provide that to our constituents is paramount, she said, adding that other priorities for her are getting a handle on the chaos at the U.S.-Mexico border, the historic inflation thats hitting the country and wasteful spending.

Vega has an uplifting personal biography, said Coleman from the University of Virginias Center for Politics.

Shes the daughter of Salvadoran immigrants who became a police officer, then a sheriffs deputy, and currently serves on Prince William Countys Board of Supervisors.

One challenge for Vega, Coleman said, is she had a sort of Todd Akin moment, referring to the Missouri politician criticized in 2012 for saying that victims of legitimate rapetypically dont get pregnant.

In Vegas case, she played down the likelihood of becoming pregnant as a result of rape. As her comment drew media attention in June, she said: Liberals are desperate to distract from their failed agenda of record high gas and grocery prices and skyrocketing crime.

Spanberger also has law-enforcement experience, having worked on narcotics and money-laundering cases for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service before becoming a CIA officer. And she has perhaps apopulisty, bipartisan image, according to Coleman, thanks in part to efforts such as her work with Texas Republican Rep. Chip Roy on a bill that would ban members of Congress from trading stocks.

Related: Its crunch time for the push to ban Congress from trading stocks

The national environment may be Spanbergers biggest challenge Bidens approval ratings are generally not positive, and inflation is still a leading issue, the University of Virginia expert said.

Rosalyn Cooperman, a political science professor and department chair at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, said Vega is a very compelling candidate, in many regards, who has captivated the attention of national Republicans in part because of her background as a Latina and law-enforcement officer.

At the same time, Cooperman reckons that Spanberger has positioned herself perhaps better than other candidates defending seats in either swing districts or lean districts, as shes generally viewed as pretty moderate on issues and didnt vote for California Democrat Nancy Pelosi to be House speaker.

Having more money doesnt ensure a victory in congressional contests, but there is a tremendous gap in fundraising that favors Spanberger, said the University of Mary Washingtons Cooperman.

The Democratic incumbent reported raising $5.6 million in the current election cycle as of June 30, while Vega disclosed bringing in about $750,000.

Vega might not get help as much help from other GOP organizations, as some may be drawn instead to the race in Virginias Second Congressional District, which is rated as a toss-up, Cooperman said.

If Im a party, if I am an organized interest that wants to throw money into a race in the Commonwealth of Virginia, where am I going to put it? Im probably going to put it in Virginia 2 as opposed to Virginia 7. Thats great news for Rep. Spanberger, but for the Republican challenger, Yesli Vega, that becomes another challenge to overcome, the professor said.

Steve Thomas, a former chair of the Spotsylvania County Republican Committee who does fundraising and consulting for campaigns, said he thinks GOP donors have lots of interest in both Virginia races.

Vega has a great story, but not a lot of money to tell it, starting out at least. So how that balances out is going to be the question, Thomas said. He argued that Spanberger has a terrible story, as she doesnt live in the district and is a member of an unpopular incumbent party but shes got 5 million bucks.

Thomas currently doesnt live in the seventh district but worked for one of Vegas opponents in the GOP primary. He said he had concerns that Vega hadnt been in her county-level elected office for long and lived just outside the Seventh Congressional District. But he said now he expects shell be a solid representative.

When asked about moving into the new district, Spanberger stressed that her job at the moment doesnt involve representing the people living within the districts new borders, as the prior boundaries are still in effect through years end.

I serve the people of the current 7th District until January 2nd, said Spanberger, who took office after her 2018 win over Rep. Dave Brat, a Republican known for ousting Eric Cantor, then the No. 2 House Republican, in their 2014 primary.

She said the new seventh district is 75% new terrain, and 25% the current district, so she is always meeting new people and, fortunately, getting to see old friends. Spanberger said she will make my plans to move to the new 7th District after January 2023.

Read more here:
Midterm elections: If this seat flips red, Republicans will have 'probably won a relatively comfortable House majority' - MarketWatch

Today, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra released the following statement on House Republicans introducing legislation to deny women essential medications:

Denying women the care they need is un-American in fact, its dangerous. That sums up the latest move in Congress to try to take away womens access to prescription medication for reproductive health. Under federal law, patients have the right to access the health care they need, free of discrimination. The Biden-Harris Administration will vigorously advance and protect women's rights to essential health care. We wont hesitate to enforce the law.

Below is a summary of the actions HHS has taken to ensure access to reproductive health care following the Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization Supreme Court decision:

Protecting Emergency Medical Care: HHSissued guidanceand aletter from Secretary Becerrato reaffirm that the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA, also known as the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act) protects providers when offering legally-mandated, life- or health-saving abortion services as stabilizing care for emergency medical conditions.

Safeguarding Information on Health and Rights for Patients and Providers: HHSlaunched the ReproductiveRights.govpublic awareness website, which includes accurate information about reproductive health, including a Know-Your-Rights patient fact sheet to help patients and providers.

Protecting Patients and Providers from Discrimination:

Protecting Patient Privacy:HHSissued guidancethat clarifies to patients and providers the extent to which federal law and regulations protect individuals private medical information when seeking abortion and other forms of reproductive health care, as well as when using apps on smartphones.

Supporting Quality Reproductive Health Care:HHSannounced nearly $3 millionin new funding to bolster training and technical assistance for the nationwide network of Title X family planning providers.

Protecting Access to Birth Control:

HHS has also released a report that the agency prepared for the President on HHS actions taken to-date to ensure access to reproductive health care following the Supreme Courts ruling, with further details on future actions and commitments. Read the report Secretarys Report: Health Care Under Attack: An Action Plan to Protect and Strengthen Reproductive Care.

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Statement by HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra on House Republicans Introducing Legislation to Rip Away Women's Access to Contraception and Abortion...

Democrats and public education advocates are urging Gov. Doug Ducey and his fellow Republicans in the state Legislature to keep their promise to lift the states annual school spending cap.

Republicans and Democrats in the state legislature together passed a budget in June that dedicated more than $600 million to new, permanent funding for K-12 education. However, if two-thirds of the legislature doesnt vote to lift the states Aggregate Expenditure Limit, or AEL, districts across the state wont be able to spend around $1.3 billion already allocated to them.

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Many Democrats in the Legislature say they only voted in favor of the budget because Ducey and the Republican legislators promised they would later call a special session to lift the limit.

If Democrats can prove they have the votes to override the AEL, Ducey will call a special session, said C.J. Karamargin, communications director for the governors office.

What is the point of giving our public schools money but not allowing them to spend it? asked Sen. Christine Marsh during a press conference Thursday. Its a betrayal of our students and our schools. Its also a betrayal of the legislators who voted for a less-than-ideal budget under the promise that there would be a special session to address the AEL.

Voters added the AEL to the Arizona Constitution in 1980. It implemented a shared monetary limit based on the spending and enrollment at all public school districts in the state, according to the Arizona Education Association. Once districts reach their shared limit, they can do no more spending in that fiscal year.

Advocates pointed out on Thursday that the AEL predates laws requiring sometimes costly accommodations for special education students as well as expensive technology that is now used in many classrooms.

A small group of legislators and education advocates gathered for the press conference on the state Capitol grounds in Phoenix on Thursday morning to call out Ducey and legislative Republicans for their failure to schedule a special session.

If the AEL isnt lifted for 2023, school funding will drop off April 1 and districts will be unable to spend more than $1 billion in money they were given.

According to Marsh, who is a teacher at Scottsdale Unified School District, her district stands to lose around $28.4 million if the limit isnt lifted. Chandler Unified School District stands to lose $62.4 million, Phoenix Union High School District would lose $52.6 million and Tucson Unified School District would lose $66.1 million

This comes down to kids, and they deserve to know that their state cares about their education, Marsh said. And right now, they dont know this.

Failure to lift the limit will result in teacher layoffs, larger classroom sizes and poor learning outcomes, Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman said during the press conference.

Sierra Vista Unified School District, located southeast of Tucson, would have to reduce its average teacher salary from $50,000 to $35,200 if the limit stays in place, Hoffman said.

How are schools supposed to obtain highly qualified teachers for only $35,000 a year? Hoffman said.

The spending cap might also mean fewer paraprofessionals to assist special education students, and fewer counselors, behavioral coaches and school nurses, she said.

Democrats said they agreed to approve the state budget in June without addressing the AEL as a concession to Republicans who wanted to wait for a judgment in a court case challenging Proposition 208, also known as the Invest in Education Act. The voter-approved measure would have provided millions in funding for schools through a 3.5% surcharge on all income greater than $250,000 for individuals or $500,000 for joint filers.

But the judgment calling the act unconstitutional and the following appeal period are now long passed, and Democrats say its time for Ducey to call the promised special session.

Democrats are confident that, if Ducey does call for a special session, they have the votes to lift the spending limit. The state education budget passed in June with 48 votes in the House and 21 in the Senate, more than the votes needed to lift the limit, said House Democratic Leader Reginald Bolding.

But Karamargin countered that Democrats havent supplied the governor with a list of Legislators who are on board.

Well consider it as we said we would, he said.

Those who supported that budget should support lifting the limit so that money can be spent, Bolding said on Thursday. He believes that anyone who changes their vote was playing political games or being dishonest.

Karamargin believes Bolding was making assumptions when he said that those who voted for the budget should support lifting the AEL.

The Legislature voted in February to lift the AEL for the 2022 fiscal year, which ended June 30. The proposed vote would be to lift it for 2023.

***This story has been updated to include comments from the governors office.

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Democrats urge Republicans to keep promise, lift cap that will stop schools from spending $1 billion - Arizona Mirror