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    Democrat State Senator Announces Switch to GOP

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    1
    Democrats via Pixabay images

    As the Democrat Party steadily inches leftward toward outright disaster members are seeking to distance themselves from increasingly radical values by any means necessary.

    A prominent West Virginia Democrat state senator officially flipped his registration to Republican this week. State Senator Glenn Jeffries submitted paperwork to join the Republican caucus after being elected in 2016 to serve as a Democrat. 

    According to The Daily Wire, Republicans now hold a majority in the state senate of 31 senators. 

    “I have the greatest respect for the many friends and supporters I have been blessed with during my time in public office,” Jeffries said in his announcement. “I hope to continue and strengthen those relationships going forward.”

    “Our politics have gotten so personal and difficult. I want to make sure that I serve constituents and our state in a respectful, thoughtful way that leads to a better life for all West Virginians,” he added. 

    Jeffries didn’t disclose what exactly led up to his decision to abandon the Democrat Party however in a release, the West Virginia Democrats said the change was because of “discomfort with Democratic Party values.”

    His change in party status was first announced by the Putnam County Republican Executive Committee. 

    “I warmly welcome Senator Glenn Jeffries into the West Virginia Republican Party,” Tony Hodge, the Putnam County Republican Party Chairman and the Co-Chairman of the West Virginia Republican Party, said. “Senator Jeffries has proven himself to be a very hard worker for Putnam County. His efforts to improve infrastructure such as water and sewer services as well as road maintenance have been exemplary.”

    Senate President Craig Blair welcomed Jeffries to the GOP in a statement this week.

    “With Senator Jeffries as a member of our caucus, we stand at 31 members strong. Glenn has been a leader in the minority caucus with his work in economic development and infrastructure,” Blair said. “As a successful small business owner, he knows what meeting a payroll, hard work, responsibility, and teamwork mean. I know he has been – and will continue to be – an incredibly valuable member of the West Virginia Senate.”

    As progressive Democrats continue to push the party towards insanity will moderate Dems make the eventual switch to the GOP? Tell us what you think in the comments below!

    Nikki Haley Reveals New Timeline for 2024 Decision

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    2
    The White House from Washington, DC, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

    Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley is taking some time to mull her options before making any hasty decisions about 2024.

    Haley, who served as Ambassador to the United Nations during the Trump administration, has been named a potential contender to seek the 2024 Republican presidential nomination but says no final decision will come until after the holidays, according to The Hill.

    “We are taking the holidays to kind of look at what the situation is,” the former South Carolina governor said at an event at Clemson University. “If we decide to get into it, we’ll put 1,000 percent in, and we’ll finish it.”

    “A lot of people have asked if I’m going to run for president. Now that the midterms are over, I’ll look at it in a serious way, and I’ll have more to say soon,” Hayley said at a Las Vegas meeting of the Republican Jewish Coalition earlier this month.

    “For now, I’ll say this. I’ve won tough primaries and tough general elections. I’ve been the underdog every single time. When people underestimate me, it’s always fun,” she added. “But I’ve never lost an election. And I’m not going to start now.”

    Earlier this fall, Haley told reporters that she would not launch her own bid for the White House if Donald Trump runs for president in 2024 but it seems she’s reconsidering.

    Trump announced his own bid for the presidency earlier this month but has been met with a lukewarm response from high-profile Republicans- and donors.

    Veteran Republican strategist John Thomas, who backed Trump during the 2016 and 2020 elections, recently told The Washington Examiner that he will not be supporting Trump a third time saying the bombastic Republican isn’t a viable candidate to defeat Democrats and take back the White House.

    Thomas recently created the Ron to the Rescue super PAC and says he’s committed to spending at least $50 million in the next six to 12 months to ensure the governor earns the GOP nomination over Trump. However, DeSantis has not even announced his presidential campaign.

    “The problem is, for Trump, is he needed to announce and pretty much steamroll everybody. He needed all the donors to capitulate his way. He needed all the party leaders to come his way, and while he’s had some success, it’s not been unanimous, and he needed it to almost be unanimous because the cracks that are appearing are going to turn into canyons very soon,” he explained. “He’s going to be constantly trying to, like, plug these leaks. I think his legal challenges, whether they have merit or not, I would think are going to turn his operation into more of a sclerotic beast.”

    “I still like the guy. I just think he should move from a party leader to a party elder. That’s kind of the nuanced dynamic here that I want to make sure it’s not lost in the media, and also voters are reminded that it’s OK to vote for somebody else. It doesn’t mean you don’t like Trump,” Thomas continued. “I think at the end of the day, particularly primary voters want to get excited about their nominee, but it really is a sport about winning. If you don’t win, you can’t enact your legislative agenda. It’s not just about rallies and having a good time. It’s about winning, and Trump has kind of called into question at best his ability to do that anymore.”

    GOP Senator Breaks with Trump Over Kanye Dinner

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    7

    Donald Trump’s recent moves in Mar-a-Lago have triggered a distinct uptick in criticism from his Republican colleagues.

    Trump hosted the rapper “Ye,” formerly known as Kanye West as well as white nationalist Nick Fuentes for dinner at his Florida resort last week. Ye has also faced criticism for his recent antisemitic remarks published on his social media channels.

    Trump said in a post on Truth Social that Ye brought Fuentes, who has been labeled a “white supremacist” by the Justice Department, to the dinner and claimed he did not know who Fuentes was. Fuentes has denied that the Holocaust took place. 

    “So I help a seriously troubled man, who just happens to be black, Ye (Kanye West), who has been decimated in his business and virtually everything else,” Trump wrote. “And who has always been good to me, by allowing his request for a meeting at Mar-a-Lago, alone, so that I can give him very much needed ‘advice.’” 

    “He shows up with 3 people, two of which I didn’t know, the other a political person who I haven’t seen in years,” the former president added. “I told him don’t run for office, a total waste of time, can’t win. Fake News went CRAZY!”

    Trump’s recent actions caused Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy to strongly rebuke the former President on Twitter.

    “President Trump hosting racist antisemites for dinner encourages other racist antisemites. These attitudes are immoral and should not be entertained,” Cassidy tweeted.

    Cassidy was among the seven Senate Republicans to vote to impeach the former President but the Senator’s harsh language comes after Trump saw a tepid response from GOP lawmakers after announcing his third campaign.

    MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell to Challenge Ronna McDaniel for RNC Chair

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    0
    Mike Lindell via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell is planning to challenge Ronna McDaniel to become the next chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC).

    Despite midterm election losses, McDaniel recently announced her plans to seek re-election to the position.

    In a livestream this week, Lindell called for new RNC leadership and suggested he would be up to the job.

    “We need someone everybody, and I would step into that, if God willing,” he said, according to Mediaite.

    “Ronna McDaniel has failed in her leadership,” he said. “We need a new input to get a different output.”

    “We need someone who knows how to run a business to lead one of the most important organizations in our country,” Lindell said.

    The MyPillow CEO continues to claim he has evidence of mass v*ter fr*ud, though no actual proof has been found to back up his claims. Lindell claimed he would “drop everything” to present his supposed evidence to Elon Musk so he could get his Twitter account back.

    “I would fly to him, do whatever it takes. I would hand- deliver it on a silver platter and say, ‘here you go, look at it,” Lindell told Steve Bannon this week. “You’re a very smart man. Look at this and do whatever you want to do with my Twitter account. But for sure I would like you to say, ‘hey, this guy got banned and he’s banned right now for no reason.’”

    McCarthy Wins Nod to Become House Speaker as Senate Leadership Feud Heats Up

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    7

    Despite a last-minute challenge from House Freedom Caucus chairman Andy Biggs (Ariz.) Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) handily won the nomination for House Speaker in a closed-door conference meeting on Tuesday.

    Rep. McCarthy won easily, 188 to 31, in the internal conference meeting.

    The secret-ballot House Republican Conference vote is just the first step for McCarthy to take hold of the gavel. He must win a majority in a public vote on the House floor — at least 218 votes, assuming a fully sworn-in House — on the first day of the next Congress on Jan. 3.

    According to The Hill, Biggs was nominated by Rep. Chip Roy (Texas), with Reps. Michael Cloud (Texas) and Ralph Norman (S.C.) seconding the nomination, according to a source in the room. Rep. Kelly Armstrong (N.D.) gave a speech in support of McCarthy.

    While McCarthy has been considered the favorite to become Speaker when Republicans retake the House the lackluster midterm results have recently spurred infighting among House Republicans, with some directly criticizing McCarthy’s leadership.

    Rep. Biggs announced his plans to challenge the California Republican for the position on Monday. (RELATED: Freedom Caucus Chairman Expected to Announce Challenge for House Speaker)

    Biggs acknowledged successfully challenging McCarthy would be difficult.

    Separately, Senate leadership is also facing an uncertain future as Florida Senator Rick Scott officially announced he’s running to unseat Mitch McConnell (Ky.) as Senate Minority Leader.

    The chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee has been at odds with McConnell for most of this year over political strategy.

    Scott announced his campaign in a letter to Senate Republicans on Tuesday:

    “I’m writing to you today because I believe it’s time for the Senate Republican Conference to be far more bold and resolute than we have been in the past. We must start saying what we are for, not just what we are against,” Scott said in a letter to GOP colleagues. “I do not believe we can simply continue to say the Democrats are radical, which they are. Republican voters expect and deserve to know our plan to promote and advance conservative values. “

    Scott added: “For those who want to get serious about ending reckless government spending and the devastating inflation it has caused, finally take action to protect Social Security and Medicare and preserve the promise of these programs for our children and grandchildren, hold government accountable from the FBI to the IRS, truly combat the extreme danger posed by Communist China and refocus our military on lethal defense instead of woke nonsense, I ask for your support in changing the direction of the Senate and rescuing America from the dangerous path Democrats have set it on.”

    11.15.22-RickScott-DearColleagueLetterDownload

    Pompeo Says Impending Trump Announcement Won’t Deter His Own 2024 Plans

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    12
    Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    Hours before Donald Trump is expected to formally announce his 2024 presidential campaign Republicans are making it clear his announcement won’t deter their own political ambitions.

    Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has been floated as an early contender to mount his own presidential bid, possibly teeing up a challenge against his old boss.

    While some Republicans, like Nikki Haley, that have expressed interest in seeking the Republican nomination in 2024 have indicated their plans will ultimately rely on Trump’s decision Pompeo says that is not the case for himself.

    “We’re trying to think our way though, figuring out what’s next for us,” Pompeo told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, adding, “But what happens today or tomorrow, what some other person decides won’t have any impact on that [decision].”

    “We need more seriousness,” Pompeo said. “We need less noise. We need steady hands. We need leaders that are looking forward, not staring in the rearview mirror claiming victimhood.”

    Trump is set to make a “special announcement” at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday night.

    The former president could be facing another challenge for the nomination from another administration official – former Vice President Mike Pence.

    On Monday, when asked by ABC “World News Tonight” host David Muir about his 2024 plans Pence answered that he’s giving “prayerful consideration” to a 2024 presidential bid.

    “We’re giving it consideration in our house. Prayerful consideration,” Pence said.

    Asked whether former President Donald Trump should ever be president again, Pence said, “That’s up to the American people. But I think we’ll have better choices in the future.”

    He added, “For me and my family, we’ll be reflecting about what our role is in that.”

    Why GOP Red Wave Failed in 2020 But is More Likely in 2024

    By
    Paul Crespo
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    0
    Donald Trump via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    ANALYSIS – After the disappointing ‘Red Ripple’ last week the Republican questioning and blame game quickly began. 

    I wrote that the GOP failed to win more seats because it did not forcefully address the abortion issue by countering the left’s hysteria over the Dobbs decision. 

    I also argued that former President Trump didn’t help Republicans by continuing to obsess over the 2020 election and making the 2022 election all about loyalty to him.

    And I still believe those were major factors.

    However, conservative commentator Mark Levine provides an added perspective as to why (mathematically) 2022 could never have been a ‘Red Wave’ midterm election.

    And also explains why a congressional ‘Red Wave’ is far more likely in 2024.

    His point is that the electoral map simply favored Democrats over Republicans this year as far as how many seats were up for grabs in Congress.

    And how many were Democrats vs Republicans?

    As Fox News reported:

    “I noticed that many of the same people who were wrong about a red wave are now telling us what to think about a non-red wave. The experts, the consultants, the ruling class, the media, the politicians. We need to think for ourselves, enough of the static,” the host said over the weekend. “I said before the election, and I said repeatedly here and on radio: Forget about the red wave. Forget about a red tsunami. Forget about Armageddon and vote.”

    In the Senate, Republicans had to defend 20 of the 34 seats up for re-election. To win the majority, Republicans would have had to “tap into” the 14 Democrat incumbent seats, the host explained.

    “That was a tall hill to climb. And this is one of the reasons I wasn’t on this red-wave bandwagon so fast,” he said. “I needed to think about it. 2024. This is the key. The next election cycle, 33 seats are up. Now, listen to this. Two-thirds of them are Democrat seats. So the Democrats have to defend 23 Senate seats. The Republicans have to defend only ten.”

    “So,” he continued, “the math in 2022 never really led to a red wave possibility and the math in 2024, it does lead to a red wave possibility. Does that mean there will be one? Of course not. But I’m just explaining the math, the simple math. We had about 60% of the seats up. They have almost 70% of the seats up in the next round. So what does that mean? Democrats needed to have some serious gains in the Senate last week to stave off a disaster in 2024. They failed miserably.”

    So, while the congressional ‘Red Wave’ never materialized in November, because it likely never could, the GOP and conservatives are now very well positioned to make big gains in 2024.

    And that includes retaking the Senate. Fox News continued:

    Looking ahead to 2024, Levin said Republicans have a much higher chance of pulling off a true “red wave” than they did in last week’s midterms.

    “In 2024, [Democrats are] in a horrendous situation when two-thirds of the Senate seats that are up are Democrat seats, and they’re [now] celebrating that they only lost the House by a relatively few votes, but they lost the House. And the GOP can now block these radical kook programs that Biden’s pushing. They can conduct investigations. They can do what they need to do, and they damn well better.

    But this will only happen if the GOP picks the right candidate at the top of the ticket in 2024, and also makes its case in a far better way than it did just now. 

    Opinions expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of Great America News Desk.

    West Virginia Democrat Senator Already Has a 2024 Challenger

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    4
    Joe Manchin via Wikimedia Commons

    Republicans are looking forward to 2024 now that official projections reveal the GOP fell short of its goal to re-take the Senate this year.

    While the expected “red wave” turned out to be more of a “red ripple” conservatives refuse to be knocked down for long. Republicans are already setting their sights on which vulnerable Democrats to target during the next election cycle in hopes of turning the upper chamber red.

    Early reports indicate West Virginia Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin should expect to find himself within the GOP’s crosshairs in 2024.

    Despite the fact Sen. Manchin has sided with Republicans more than any other Democrat lawmaker, strategists are predicting that won’t stop Mitch McConnell from pouring millions of dollars into West Virginia next cycle to flip Manchin’s seat.

    West Virginia Attorney General and failed 2018 Senate hopeful Patrick Morrisey has already been named a likely challenger to seek Manchin’s seat.

    While speaking to The Hill, Morrisey said Manchin lost significant political capital when he voted in favor of President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, which included major components of President Biden’s agenda.

    Manchin stonewalled President Joe Biden’s original Build Back Better plan but ultimately was the deciding vote for the renegotiated Inflation Reduction Act.

    “Sen. Manchin deeply disappointed West Virginians and let them down tremendously when he supported the ‘Build Back Broke’ bill last summer. That legislation really hit our state very hard. You can dress up the pig any way you want but most people in West Virginia understand that that bill is going to hurt us,” Morrisey told the outlet.

    “He let the air out of his balloon and it’s not going to be so easy to pump it back up,” he said.  

    Morrisey, who is “evaluating options” about what to do in 2024, said “we’re looking very closely at the Senate race.”  

    Morrisey and his team estimated they will have at least $12 million to spend on a Senate Republican primary alone.  

    “I learned a lot from a past experience in a terrible political environment. The environment in 2024 is going to be much, much stronger” for Republicans, he predicted.

    Morrisey narrowly lost his bid to unseat Manchin in 2018 by 3 percentage points or about 19,000 votes, which turned out to be closer than what the polls indicated before Election Day.

    The Hill also lists Gov. Jim Justice (R) and Rep. Alex Mooney (R) as other potential challengers to Manchin.

    However, on Tuesday Rep. Alex Mooney, R, W.Va., announced that he will run for Senate in 2024 in a bid to unseat Sen. Joe Manchin.

    Mooney announced his challenge in a radio interview on MetroNews Talkline on Tuesday morning. 

    This story is developing. Stay with Great America News Desk for updates.

    Alabama Congressman Goes Scorched Earth on Trump While Endorsing DeSantis

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    1
    Mo Brooks via gage Skidmore Flickr

    Outgoing Alabama Congressman Mo Brooks refused to hold anything back while discussing former President Donald Trump during an interview.

    Brooks, who is retiring from politics at the end of his term, tore into Trump throughout the interview with AL.com making it clear he believes the former president is morally bankrupt. The outgoing Alabama lawmaker was once considered a staunch supporter of the 45th President and in 2020 played a role in pushing Trump’s allegations the presidential election was stolen.

    “It would be a bad mistake for the Republicans to have Donald Trump as their nominee in 2024. Donald Trump has proven himself to be dishonest, disloyal, incompetent, crude and a lot of other things that alienate so many independents and Republicans,” Brooks told the local outlet.

    “Even a candidate who campaigns from his basement can beat him,” Brooks added, parroting a common right-wing barb directed at President Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign. “It’s just the way it is.”

    “I did not fight for Donald Trump after the 2020 election,” Brooks also told Paul Gattis of Al.com. “I fought for election integrity. Donald Trump just happened to be the beneficiary of it.”

    “Keep in mind 2016 when I said he was dishonest, you cannot trust a single word that he says and I have never recanted that. No question, I am displeased with Donald Trump. But that does not change the truthfulness of what I say. I challenge anybody to make the argument that you can trust the word of Donald Trump,” the conservative Republican added.

    In 2022, Brooks received and then lost Trump’s endorsement in Alabama’s GOP primary for the U.S. Senate. Brooks eventually lost to Katie Britt who went on to win the Senate seat.

    Freedom Caucus Chairman Expected to Announce Challenge for House Speaker

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    5
    Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

    Trouble is brewing among House Republicans.

    House Freedom Caucus chairman Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) is reportedly seriously considering mounting a bid to challenge Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to become the next Speaker of the House.

    The expected announcement comes on the heels of Biggs’ openly criticizing McCarthy last week after Republicans experienced fewer-than-anticipated wins on election night. Rep. Biggs told reporters he believes House Republicans should work to enact a more rightward agenda in the next term.

    “I think we need to have a real discussion about whether he should be the speaker or not,” Biggs told reporters on Thursday.

    “I think that his statement recently that we shouldn’t impeach Secretary Mayorkas indicates that maybe we’re not going to be as aggressive going forward as we should be. I think we need to have a very positive statement of what we’re going to accomplish and do, and I haven’t seen that yet,” he added. “That’s — those are things that I think we should have a very frank discussion internally about, where we’re going to be going forward.”

    However, nearly one week after Election Day and neither party has officially won control of the House – although Republicans are projected to win by most major outlets some lawmakers want to push the elections until a majority is declared.

    “I think we don’t even know if we’re in the majority, so I think it’s responsible to just look and see where the cards fall right now, and we don’t know,” Rep.-elect George Santos (R-NY) said on Sunday.

    Tuesday’s leadership election is slated to be conducted via closed ballot and will only require a plurality of the conference to secure the nomination. McCarthy would need to reach 218 votes during the floor vote in January to win the Speakership.

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