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President TrumpDonald John TrumpAs Biden surges, GOP Ukraine probe moves to the forefront Republicans, rooting for Sanders, see Biden wins as setback Trump says Biden Ukraine dealings will be a 'major' campaign issue MORE faces more than nine months left in office before voters head to the pollsto decide on his reelection,but the early dynamics of the race to succeed him are already on display.

Several prominent Republicans who have been floated aspotential 2024 candidates took the stage at this year's Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Md., making appearances at the confab to boost Trump while keeping up their own profiles.

While the potential for a second Trump term looms large, Republicans have already started buzzing about who may run toreplacehim,such as Vice President Pence, Secretary of State Mike PompeoMichael (Mike) Richard PompeoCarson on coronavirus: Task force is not 'sugarcoating' messaging Melania Trump at State award ceremony: I'm 'proud of what this country continues to do for women' House Republicans sound the alarm on Taliban deal MORE, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki HaleyNimrata (Nikki) HaleyThe Hill's Campaign Report: Biden riding wave of momentum after stunning Super Tuesday Nikki Haley expected to endorse Loeffler in Senate race CNN's Begala: Trump will 'dump Pence' for Haley on day of Democratic nominee's acceptance speech MORE and Sen. Ted CruzRafael (Ted) Edward CruzHegar advances to Democratic runoff in Texas Senate race Texas lawmakers call for investigation into CDC's handling of released coronavirus patient in San Antonio Klobuchar, O'Rourke endorse Biden at Dallas rally MORE (R-Texas).

Speaking at the annual gathering is viewed as a key step for any potential GOP presidential hopeful,with Republicans this week presenting themselves tothousands of activists amid speculationover their political futures post-Trump.

"CPAC gives prospective candidates an opportunity to introduce themselves to the some of the most active and influential conservatives throughout the country," Sean SpicerSean Michael SpicerSean Spicer to launch 'Spicer & Co.' on Newsmax TV Tuesday night Republicans give 2024 tryouts at CPAC Hillicon Valley Presented by Facebook FCC fines mobile carriers 0M for selling user data | Twitter verified fake 2020 candidate | Dems press DHS to complete election security report | Reddit chief calls TikTok spyware MORE, the former White House communications director, told The Hill.

Pompeo used his Friday speech tolist offthe administration's accomplishments, including the elimination of several high-profile terrorists, but also cast his tenure as secretary of State as one focused on tackling issues rather than hobnobbing with international leaders.

Im not in it for the fancy dinners in Paris or Switzerland or Vienna. Ive only been to those places twice, Pompeo said during his speech, casting his tenure as secretary of State as one that has shirked traditional hobnobbing with foreign leaders.

Id rather go be with my team in tough places, places that present hardship to the young men and women who are serving as diplomats all across the world, he said.

Pompeo, whodrew headlineswhen organizers announced he would speakto an influential conservative group in theearly voting state of Iowa next month, has opted to stay in Trump's Cabinet instead of run for Senate in his home state of Kansas.

He was introduced at CPAC on Friday byhis wife, who spoke in personal termsabouther husband's time working at a Baskin-Robbins in high school andcoming from a family with a "mean" Italian meatball recipe details aimed at showing Pompeo's softer side even as the secretary of State touted hisrole as the United States' top diplomat.

"Wherever I go, working for President Trump, people tug on my sleeve. They want to meet me. They want to meet not because Im Mike from Kansas but because I represent the greatest country in the history of civilization," he said to raucous applause and chants of "USA."

Pence used his speech at the gathering to voice confidence in the administration's efforts to combat the coronavirus which Trump tapped him to oversee this week and ticked off a list of accomplishments under the Trump administration, includingkilling several terrorists.

The vice president, who has crisscrossed the country to pitch various Trump policies, has alsoraised eyebrows with several trips in the past year to the crucial primary state of South Carolina. He went after Democrats in his CPAC speech, arguing thattheir party was lurching to the left with presidential front-runner Sen. Bernie SandersBernie SandersRepublicans, rooting for Sanders, see Biden wins as setback Sanders says Biden winning African American support by 'running with his ties to Obama' Sanders condemns his supporters' 'ugly, personal attacks' against Warren MORE (I-Vt.)leading the way.

Todays Democratic Party has been taken over by radical leftists who want higher taxes, open borders and late-term abortion, Pence said during his address on Thursday. There are no moderates in this Democratic field. Every other one of the Democrats running for president embraces Bernies democratic socialism.

Haley urged CPAC attendees to fight for capitalism during her speech and was mobbed when walking into the crowd. The former United Nations ambassador has given a spree of speeches since her departure from the Trump administration and this month launched a policy group that will focus on issues such as border security and socialism.

Cruz, meanwhile, took the opportunity to record a live taping of his podcast The Verdict, with the Texas Republican making a pitch to blue-collar voters who helpedelect Trump in 2016.

Today Democrats are the party of Hollywood celebrities and Silicon Valley billionaires and Wall Street titans. They sip their lattes and they look down on working-class Americans, he said. And on the other hand, working men and women, the working men and women here, union members, blue-collar union members used to form the heart of the Democratic Party. FDR Democrats who became Reagan Democrats and right now today theyre Trump Democrats.

A handful of otherGOP figures who have been floated as potential2024 candidates made appearances at CPAC this year, includingDonald Trump Jr. and Sen. Josh HawleyJoshua (Josh) David HawleyGOP senator to try to censure Schumer over SCOTUS remark Hillicon Valley: Lawmakers seek 5G rivals to Huawei | Amazon, eBay grilled over online counterfeits | Judge tosses Gabbard lawsuit against Google | GOP senator introduces bill banning TikTok on government devices GOP senator to offer bill banning TikTok on government devices MORE (R-Mo.).

Trump Jr. and Hawley, two conservative firebrands who have emerged as favorites of the GOP base, appeared onstage together at a panel railing at social media giantssuch as Facebook and Twitter for allegedly suppressing conservative accounts.

Several politicians who have later gone on to launch White House bids have been featured at CPAC, given its platform in front of thousands of faithful grassroots activists.

The CPAC tradition of fueling presidential bidsgoes back to former President Reagan. Reagan, then the governor of California, made an appearance at the conference in 1974 six years before hebecame president.

Trumphimself madeappearances at the gathering starting in 2011, using his speeches to burnish his conservativebona fides before ultimately going on to win the GOP nomination and the presidency in 2016.

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Republicans give 2024 tryouts at CPAC | TheHill - The Hill

A mail-in ballot option for all voters is just one of the voting changes for Pennsylvania in the 2020 presidential election year. Wochit

The last presidential election was historic in Pennsylvania for multiple reasons, including a voter registration surge.

More than 738,000 new voters registered in 2016 to cast ballots for the first time.

Most years, about 150,000 to 200,000 new voters register in Pennsylvania, but having the first woman on a major ballot and the Trump phenomenon yielded a surge four years ago.

Similarly, there was a surge of new voters in the 2018 midterms when Pennsylvania elected a record number of women. Some 330,594 voters registered that year.

This year, Pennsylvania is seeing another uptick in voter registration. Just a little more than two months into the year, it's impossible to say what the final count will be in 2020. But current registrations are already outpacing the 2018 midterms, though they are about half of the unprecedented number of registrations in 2016.

As of Monday, there were 34,729 new voter applications in Pennsylvania, according to the most recent numbers available from the Department of State.

Here are five things you should know about this year's numbers so far, according to a York Daily Record analysis.

Results: Biden pulls ahead on Super Tuesday

One of the keys to President Trump's Pennsylvania upset in 2016 was the nearly 200,000 voters that had switched parties to vote for him in the Republican primary and general election.

Now, it appears more Republicans are switching parties than Democrats.

There's always a theory that Pennsylvanians switch parties to be able to vote in the state's closed primary, which limits voters to cast ballots only for their registered party.

There's no way to prove that on an Excel spreadsheet, but the numbers do show that 28,137 Republicans and third-party voters have switched to the Democratic party since January. In that same time frame, some 18,937 Democrats and third-party voters have switched to the Republican party.

Election 2020: After Super Tuesday, Pa.'s 'third senator' Joe Biden looks to win home state primary

The primaries are here! How does one get elected in the first place and what is in store for the Democratic National Convention in 2020? We explain. USA TODAY

Register to vote by April 13: The Pa. primary is April 28.

For decades, a seven-county region in southcentral Pennsylvania was a Republican stronghold. And to be clear, there are still more registered Republicans than Democrats in the overwhelming majority of those counties.

But Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Lebanon, Lancaster and York counties are changing. Some areas, like Cumberland, Dauphin and Lancaster, are seeing a surge of Democratic voters. And York County, thoughoutpaced in population by Lancaster County, is seeing more voters switch to the Republican Party than any other county in southcentral Pennsylvania.

But overall, more voters are switching to the Democratic Party in southcentral Pennsylvania than the Republican Party, and it's a statistic that started to change in 2019.

In the last two months, some 3,870 Republicans and third-party voters have switched to the Democratic Party, while 2,156 Democrats and third-party voters have switched to the Republican Party.

The biggest shift from Republican to Democrat occurred in Lancaster (657), Cumberland (403) and Dauphin (373) counties. The biggest shift from Democrat to Republican occurred in York County (398).

Hundreds of votes or a few thousand votes don't seem like much in a large state with 8.5 million voters. But in a battleground state like Pennsylvania, which Trump won by a narrow 44,000 votes in 2016, those numbers matter.

And it doesn't just affect the presidential race. It could have a big impact on down-ballot races.

Jesse White, district operations director for Progressive Turnout Project and political consultant at Perpetual Fortitude, is counting on it.

Progressive Turnout Project is heavily focused on flipping the 10th congressional district in Pennsylvania from red to blue. Rep. Scott Perry, a Republican from York County, narrowly defeated Democratic challenger George Scott in 2018.

The grassroots organization is working to increase voter turnout in the district, whichincludes York, Cumberland and Dauphin counties, to elect a Democrat.

"Southeastern Pennsylvania usually votes blue, southwestern Pennsylvania has been leaning red. But southcentral Pennsylvania is growing more purple," White said.

Read more:Over 20,000 Pennsylvanians register for new mail-in ballots

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The City of Pittsburgh is reliably blue. But the counties surrounding it, where a fire hall fish fry is a rite of spring and Steelers flags proudly wave from front porches and trucks, are full of red.

The upper-class Republican communities in Allegheny County have been joined by blue-collar areas in Beaver and Washington Counties, and beyond, as they bought into Trump's signature slogan, "Make America Great Again."

A trend that started in 2016 is continuing this year. There are fewer Democrats this year than there were in 2016 in Allegheny, Beaver and Washington counties. Meanwhile, there are more Republicans in each of those counties than there were in 2016.

For example:

Changes in 2020: New mail-in ballots, other new voting rules in Pennsylvania

There's been a saying for decades that you can't win Pennsylvania without winning the Philadelphia suburbs. Trump proved that untrue, at least for one year, when he won in 2016 without winning Philadelphia and its suburbs.

But the old adage becametrue again in 2018, when a five-county region in southeastern Pennsylvania sent a record number of women to U.S. Congress and state offices.

In 2019, history was made again. Democrats were elected to all five seats on the Delaware County Council, which had been held by a majority of Republicans since the Civil War. That same year, Democrats won the Board of Commissioners in Bucks County for the first time since 1983.

This year could yield a record Democratic turnout in Philadelphia, Montgomery, Bucks, Chester and Delaware counties. As of Monday, the five-county region had added 75,574 more registered Democrats than in 2016. The biggest increase was an addition of 20,214 Democrats in Montgomery County since the last presidential election.

In the same time period, the region has shed 31,384 Republicans from its voting rolls. The biggest loss was in Delaware County, where there are 16,981 fewer Republicans than in 2016.

Voting in 2020: Pa. lawmakers could change law to allow early counting of mail-in ballots

From registering to vote to election day, here are the dates that are important for voters to know. Wochit

Pennsylvania could rockthe vote a little harder.

There are 644,835 inactive voters in the state, including 418,777 inactive Democrats and 226,058 inactive Republicans, according to voter registration records.

The state defines an inactive voter as someone who has not voted in five years or has moved and not registered to vote in their new Pennsylvania county.

Think of a Penn State football game. Imagine a sellout crowd at Beaver Stadium. Multiply it by 6. Add 5,403 more people. That's how many registered voters in Pennsylvaniaare not actually voting.

That includes 80,862 voters in southcentral Pennsylvania throughout Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Lancaster, Lebanon and York Counties.

A closer look:

While those numbers pale in comparison to the more than 6.6 million active voters in Pennsylvania, every vote matters especially in a battleground state. The 644,835 inactive voters here could easily decide the election.

Remember, in 2016, it was 44,000 votes that decided the winner.

The USA Today Network is working to register every voter, make it easy for voters to check their registration and find their polling place. You can find all of that here.

Candy Woodall is a reporter for the USA Today Network. She can be reached at 717-480-1783 or on Twitter at @candynotcandace.

This coverage is only possible with support from our readers. Sign up today for a digital subscription.

Read or Share this story: https://www.ydr.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/03/05/election-2020-republicans-switching-parties-red-parts-pennsylvania/4901908002/

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Pa. voter trends: Republicans switching parties in reliably red counties and more - York Daily Record

The wine bottles were not meant to make light of alcoholism or the crime's seriousness, said state House Majority Leader Chet Pollert.

Kirsten Baesler, superintendent of public instruction who faces pending charges of driving under the influence for a Feb. 26 stop along Interstate 94 in Bismarck, was the keynote speaker at the Lincoln Day Dinner held at the Jamestown Knights of Columbus for Republicans in Districts 12 and 29.

The districts sold several bottles of Baeslers Bulldog Red Baesler graduated from Flasher Public Schools, whose mascot is a bulldog and Supt. Baeslers Honor Roll White, which features an A+ on the label. That night, Baesler, a Republican, signed the bottles of wine at the request of fundraiser organizers but did not take any home, Pollert said.

"I was told it was a longstanding tradition for the districts to auction off bottles of wine that had been personalized for the keynote speaker and signed by that person," Baesler said in a statement Tuesday, March 3. I was unaware of this tradition beforehand. I was told they were a major piece of the fundraising auction and that I would only be signing them.

Baesler declined to comment beyond the statement.

The event was meant to raise money to help reelect Republicans in the districts, said Pollert, a Republican from District 29. The wine was not meant to make a mockery of the superintendents office, drunken driving or anyone who has been arrested for a DUI, he said.

Anybody who has problems with alcoholism, or anybody who's had a car accident caused by a person from (drunken) driving, this was not to be a slap in the face for that, he said. I actually went away from that night thinking this was a pretty good social event. People had a good time.

Dwaine Heinrich, the mayor of Jamestown who also serves on the District 12 GOP executive committee, started the tradition of selling wine and pies in 2000. Last year, the districts sold wine bottles with State Auditor Josh Galleons name on them.

This is a tradition that has been done here for years as more of a memento of the evening and a fundraising gimmick, Heinrich said.

No one was endorsed for public office at the event, Pollert said. He estimated about 100 people attended.

Pollert apologized if the events of the fundraiser offended anyone, adding that was not the districts intentions.

If the districts had canceled the event, asked Baesler not to speak or declined to sell the wine, the story would have twisted into the GOP embarrassing the superintendent, Heinrich said. Instead, he feels leaders chose the high road.

Are we going to show compassion to someone whos hurting, or are we going to further hurt someone whos hurting? he asked. If people take that the wrong way, as far as Im concerned, thats OK with me.

Heinrich said he would take responsibility for the fundraiser since it was his idea, adding Baesler should not be blamed.

If theres any fault on the situation to place on anyone, it is on the people who are trying to make this something other than what it was, he said.

Baesler was booked for the event in the fall and reportedly asked if the districts wanted someone else to speak at the fundraiser after she was arrested.

She had not been charged with a DUI as of Tuesday. State troopers said she refused to submit to a chemical test to determine her blood alcohol content. No booking mug was taken.

The Burleigh County State's Attorney's Office said it is reviewing the case.

Baesler previously announced she would seek reelection to her office this year. She has held the post since 2013.

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Republicans auction wine signed by North Dakota K-12 leader days after her DUI arrest - INFORUM

Former Democratic Beaver County sheriff candidate Wayne Kress, who ran unsuccessfully for the seat twice, has become a Republican.

Saying that he has always been a conservative, two-time Democratic Beaver County sheriff candidate Wayne Kress has become a Republican after a falling out with the countys Democratic Party.

So far, Ive been accepted with open arms, Kress, 49, said on Thursday. Im still the same person and the people who know me, who are Democrats, are still behind me.

Republican Sheriff Tony Guy defeated Kress for the seat in 2015 and 2019. Both men are retired state troopers.

Last fall, following his second loss, Kress told The Times that he might reconsider his future as a Democrat.

Kress said he quietly changed his party affiliation about a month or so ago following a disagreement with some unnamed Democratic committee members over a protest for gun rights at the Virginia Capitol on Jan. 20, the day honoring civil rights icon the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

A staunch Second Amendment supporter, Kress said he supported the protest and said it was appropriate for the holiday because King believed in free speech and peaceful protesting.

But, Kress said the Democrats he argued with labeled the protesters racists and Nazis, and condemned him for supporting them. Im not going to change my views or values based on what they tell me to be, he said.

Later that same night, Kress said he resigned from the Beaver County Democratic Committees executive board and a few days later changed his registration online.

Kress said the switch was the inevitable result of his conservative views on guns and abortion colliding with county Democratic leaders trying to make the party more progressive.

Beaver County Democratic Committee Chairwoman Terri Mitko did not respond to messages on Thursday.

While he has attended some GOP fundraisers and petition signings, Kress said he does not have his sights set on running for any particular seat as a Republican.

A Center Township resident, Kress lives in the district represented by state Rep. Josh Kail, R-15, Beaver, and the next countywide election will not be until 2023.

I didnt do it for any political gain or political advantage, he said. I just think that in todays world my views are more with Republicans than when I signed up with the Democrats when I was 18.

Originally posted here:
Kress becomes a Republican after 'falling out' with Democratic Party - The Times

In the Trumpified GOP of 2020, the battle among Republicans over who is or isnt sufficiently supportive of President Donald Trump be downright silly. Many Republicans fear that being accused of being insufficiently pro-Trump could be the political kiss of death. And Politicos Matt Dixon reports that in the important swing state of Florida, some of Gov. Ron DeSantis fellow Republicans are accusing him of not doing enough to help Trump win reelection.

In 2018s gubernatorial race, the far-right DeSantis narrowly defeated the Democratic nominee: former Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum. DeSantis, more than anyone, knows how much of a battleground state Florida can be: Gillum, who was endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, ran to the left and just barely lost while DeSantis ran as a Trump loyalist and just barely won.

DeSantis was a Trump loyalist when the president helped propel the two-term Republican congressman into the governors mansion in 2018, Dixon explains. But Trumps Republican allies in Florida now are spreading the word behind the governors back that DeSantis isnt doing enough to repay the political debt.

It remains to be seen whether 2020s Democratic presidential nominee will be Sanders or former Vice President Joe Biden; following Super Tuesday, the primary is essentially a two-person competition between Biden and Sanders. And Bidens supporters are arguing that he would have an easier time winning Floridas 29 electoral votes than Sanders. Florida, a state that went to President Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012 and to Trump in 2016, could turn out to be a real nail-biter on Election Night.

Some of the Florida Republicans quoted in Dixons article insist that there is no tension between Trump and DeSantis, including Rep. Matt Gaetz and Alia Faraj-Johnson (a spokesperson for the Florida GOP). But others Dixon quotes dont see it that way. An anonymously quoted source described by Dixon as a Trump campaign staffer told Politico, It might not be a DeSantis problem, but there is definitely a fucking problem.

That source also told Politico, Florida doesnt have a political leader at the moment who is working to reelect the president. The state party doesnt seem to be building a significant ground game because they lack resources and direction.

Another GOP source in Florida, described by Dixon as a person familiar with party finances, told Politico that a growing point of friction between DeSantis and Trumps reelection is the money raised from a Republican dinner in Florida in December. According to that source, The lack of money being available to the general party is making people around the president suspicious of what the governor is trying to accomplish.

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Behind the governors back: Florida Republicans are accusing Ron DeSantis of not doing enough for Trumps reelection campaign - AlterNet