August 28th, 2019Johnny Isakson, the senior Senator of Georgia, will be resigning midway through his third term. He cited health concerns with the reason for his retirement. Georgia Governor Brian Kemp will appoint Isakson's successor, and a special election will be held concurrently with the current 2020 Georgia Senate election. Several names have already been floated for Kemp's possible appointment, including former Congresswoman Karen Handel, Rep. Doug Collins, and attorney general Chris Carr.
Would-be Democratic frontrunner Stacey Abrams, who narrowly lost to Brian Kemp last year in the governor's race, has ruled out a run. Meanwhile, Sarah Riggs Amico has announced that she will shift her campaign from challenging David Perdue to running for the special election. Former Columbus mayor Teresa Tomlinson will continue running in the normally scheduled 2020 election.
Both Georgia Senate seats will be hotly contested.
August 31st, 2019Source: Wikimedia Commons
Seth Moulton and Tulsi Gabbard Exit Presidential Race
The 2020 Democratic primary field got a little smaller today as both Congressman Seth Moulton and Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard were forced to abandon their campaigns for President. The two faced near-impossible odds as neither of them polled above 0% in most polls, though Gabbard insisted that mainstream polls are rigged towards Meg Whitman and that her internals found Gabbard had upwards of 0.6% in support. Both campaigns come to a close for legal reasons.
Seth Moulton was ordered a cease and desist order from a spokesperson for the Korean girl group Blackpink yesterday. Moulton had been playing Blackpink songs at rallies and other campaign events without permission.
"I could have sworn those were LOONA songs," Moulton said during a press conference. "I am, and always have been, a LOONA stan. I don't know how Blackpink songs accidentally got on my playlist. Because of this egregious oversight on my part, however, I will be suspending my campaign for President and endorsing Marianne Williamson. I will seek re-election to Congress, and I hope the voters of Massachusetts will understand that this was a mistake. Stan LOONA."
Tulsi Gabbard, meanwhile, was arrested in a sting operation in California last night. Gabbard was successfully lured into appearing at a fake campaign rally in San Bernardino, California. When Gabbard arrived, she found an empty room and was quickly ambushed by California Attorney General and cop Kamala Harris. An audio transcription of the event was released to the press:
Harris: Aha! Gotcha b*tch!
Gabbard: What the f**k?!
Harris: You're under arrest for insulting me during the Democratic debate!
Gabbard: What are you talking about?! You're not even running in this timeline!
Harris: Enough chit chat, Gabbard. Looks like your campaign is... suspended.
Gabbard: Was that supposed to be a clever cop show line? You're really bad at this.
Harris: Just get in the f**king car.
A spokesman for the Tulsi Gabbard campaign released the following statement shortly afterwards.
"Tulsi's arrest was unjust and we will certainly be working on her behalf to fix this, but for now we are forced to suspend this campaign. Unlike some people still in the race, we know that running a campaign from prison is wrong. We hope that Tulsi will be freed as soon as possible and she can get back to work in Congress soon."
Seth Moulton and Tulsi Gabbard are the second and third candidates respectively to drop out of the 2020 Presidential race. Billie Sutton dropped out in June to instead challenge South Dakota Senator Mike Rounds.
September 3rd, 2019Source: Wikimedia Commons
Meg Whitman Names Former Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear as Running Mate
Once the frontrunner for the nomination, businesswoman Meg Whitman has found herself stuck in third in the polls behind both spiritual self-help author Marianne Williamson and Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. In an attempt to regain crucial momentum, Whitman announced that Steve Beshear would be her running mate should she win the nomination.
"Steve is a good friend of mine, and we will defeat Donald Trump and Mike Pence come 2020," an email sent to her supporters read.
Whitman is not the first to announce her running mate during the primary campaign. Ronald Reagan famously named moderate Pennsylvania Senator Richard Schweiker as his hypothetical Vice President during his unsuccessful 1976 bid for the presidency. More recently, businesswoman and former political ally to Whitman Carly Fiorina was selected to be Cruz's running mate in 2016.
Whitman might not be the first to announce a running mate before the primaries are over, but she is the first to announce a running mate before the primaries have even begun. It is an unprecedented move but the Whitman campaign insists it's already paying off.
"We have already seen a 4% bump in the polls, putting us within striking distance of Williamson and ahead of Ginsburg. People love Steve Beshear!" Whitman told Rachel Maddow on MSNBC.
Other candidates have criticized Whitman, however, saying it is too early to be discussing potential Vice Presidents.
"She's already picking her cabinet and she hasn't even won any primary yet, it's incredibly arrogant," Rahm Emanuel said to a crowd of supporters.
Meg Whitman will most likely be asked about her VP pick during the upcoming September debates. Once again, every candidate will share a single stage regardless of polling numbers.
