NationalWatch

GOP Votes McCarthy 188-31 in First Step to Be House Speaker (Newsmax)

LISA MASCARO and FARNOUSH AMIRI Tuesday, 15 November 2022 02:33 PM EST

Republican leader Kevin McCarthy cleared the first major step Tuesday toward becoming House speaker, winning majority support from colleagues on a secret ballot. He now faces a weeks-long slog to quell objections from his right flank before a final vote.

McCarthy has led House Republicans this far, and with them now on the cusp of majority control, he has a chance to seize the gavel from Nancy Pelosi if Democrats are defeated.

"We're going to have the ability to change America," McCarthy said, upbeat as he entered the private meeting.

He noted backing from right-flank Republicans Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, as part of his "vast support."

But Republican leaders are facing an intense backlash on Capitol Hill over their disappointing performance in the midterm elections, when McCarthy's promises of a GOP sweep that would transform Washington collapsed. Instead, the House could have one of the slimmest majorities in 90 years, leaving McCarthy exposed to challengers. The fallout is spilling down-ballot in other Republican leadership races and in the Senate, where Republican leader Mitch McConnell will face his own colleagues on Wednesday.

The formal vote for House speaker will come when the new Congress convenes in January, Before then, McCarthy will need to shore up support from 218 lawmakers with potentially just a few votes to spare.

The former chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona, announced he is challenging McCarthy, saying Americans want a "new direction."

"The promised red wave turned into a loss of the United States Senate, a razor-thin majority in the House of Representatives, and upset losses of premiere political candidates," Biggs said in a statement. "McCarthy does not have the votes needed to become the next Speaker of the House and his speakership should not be a foregone conclusion."

Many in the Republican Party are blaming their losses on Donald Trump, the former president who endorsed hundreds of candidates, many of them far-right contenders rejected by voters. The closed-door leadership elections are playing out on Capitol Hill hours before Trump is expected to announce his 2024 bid for the White House from his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida later Tuesday evening.

It's not just McCarthy's leadership that is in question but his entire team. This includes Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., the campaign chairman who traditionally would be rewarded with a leadership spot but finds himself in a three-way race for GOP whip that might be forced into a runoff.

And one of Trump's top allies in the House, Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York — the third-ranking House Republican and the first lawmaker to back Trump in a 2024 run — is working to fend off rival Rep. Byron Donalds, a Black Republican from Florida seen by many lawmakers as a potential new party leader.

A self-described "Trump-supporting, liberty-loving, pro-life, pro-Second Amendment Black man," Donalds said after a closed-door forum late Monday he has enough support for the race with Stefanik to be close.

Tuesday's vote will provide a snapshot of the grind ahead for McCarthy, as the 57-year-old Californian reaches for the gavel when the new Congress convenes in January.

Trump backs McCarthy for speaker, but the two have had a rocky relationship, and even Trump's support is no guarantee McCarthy will reach the needed 218 votes, particularly if Republicans win the House with just a slim, few-seat majority that would leave him no cushion for detractors.

At least one Trump ally, Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, said he's voting no on McCarthy.

It's a familiar dynamic for House Republicans, one that befell their most recent Republican speakers — John Boehner and Paul Ryan — who both retired early rather than try to lead a party splintered by its far-right flank.

McCarthy survived those earlier battles between party factions, but he was forced to back out of a bid for the speaker's job in 2015 when it was clear he did not have support from conservatives.

The weeks ahead promise to be a grueling period of hardball negotiations with the Freedom Caucus and rank-and-file Republicans as McCarthy tries to appease them and rack up the support he will need in the new year.

In a sign of how desperate Republicans are to bolster their ranks, some made overtures to conservative Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas to switch parties and join the GOP.

"They just said, 'name your price,'" Cuellar told reporters. "I'm a Democrat."

The conservative Freedom Caucus lawmakers, who typically align with Trump, are prepared to extract demanding concessions from McCarthy before giving him their backing. They have a long list of asks — from prime positions on House committees to guarantees they can have a role in shaping legislation.

"I'm willing to support anybody that's willing to change dramatically how things are done here," Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., the chairman of the Freedom Caucus and a Trump ally, said after meeting privately with McCarthy.

But even rank-and-file lawmakers are assessing their choices for speaker, a position that is second in line to the president.

"I don't just automatically assume heir apparent, necessarily," said Rep. Steve Womack, R-Ark., who said he is still studying his choice for House speaker.

"We are voting for somebody who is going to be two heartbeats from the presidency," he said.

While newly elected lawmakers arrived for orientation Monday, there are questions over who, exactly, will be voting Tuesday — with some of the House races still undecided. All the leaders will need to clear a simple majority Tuesday.

Original Article

GOP Votes McCarthy 188-31 in First Step to Be House Speaker (Newsmax)

LISA MASCARO and FARNOUSH AMIRI Tuesday, 15 November 2022 02:33 PM EST

Republican leader Kevin McCarthy cleared the first major step Tuesday toward becoming House speaker, winning majority support from colleagues on a secret ballot. He now faces a weeks-long slog to quell objections from his right flank before a final vote.

McCarthy has led House Republicans this far, and with them now on the cusp of majority control, he has a chance to seize the gavel from Nancy Pelosi if Democrats are defeated.

"We're going to have the ability to change America," McCarthy said, upbeat as he entered the private meeting.

He noted backing from right-flank Republicans Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, as part of his "vast support."

But Republican leaders are facing an intense backlash on Capitol Hill over their disappointing performance in the midterm elections, when McCarthy's promises of a GOP sweep that would transform Washington collapsed. Instead, the House could have one of the slimmest majorities in 90 years, leaving McCarthy exposed to challengers. The fallout is spilling down-ballot in other Republican leadership races and in the Senate, where Republican leader Mitch McConnell will face his own colleagues on Wednesday.

The formal vote for House speaker will come when the new Congress convenes in January, Before then, McCarthy will need to shore up support from 218 lawmakers with potentially just a few votes to spare.

The former chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona, announced he is challenging McCarthy, saying Americans want a "new direction."

"The promised red wave turned into a loss of the United States Senate, a razor-thin majority in the House of Representatives, and upset losses of premiere political candidates," Biggs said in a statement. "McCarthy does not have the votes needed to become the next Speaker of the House and his speakership should not be a foregone conclusion."

Many in the Republican Party are blaming their losses on Donald Trump, the former president who endorsed hundreds of candidates, many of them far-right contenders rejected by voters. The closed-door leadership elections are playing out on Capitol Hill hours before Trump is expected to announce his 2024 bid for the White House from his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida later Tuesday evening.

It's not just McCarthy's leadership that is in question but his entire team. This includes Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., the campaign chairman who traditionally would be rewarded with a leadership spot but finds himself in a three-way race for GOP whip that might be forced into a runoff.

And one of Trump's top allies in the House, Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York — the third-ranking House Republican and the first lawmaker to back Trump in a 2024 run — is working to fend off rival Rep. Byron Donalds, a Black Republican from Florida seen by many lawmakers as a potential new party leader.

A self-described "Trump-supporting, liberty-loving, pro-life, pro-Second Amendment Black man," Donalds said after a closed-door forum late Monday he has enough support for the race with Stefanik to be close.

Tuesday's vote will provide a snapshot of the grind ahead for McCarthy, as the 57-year-old Californian reaches for the gavel when the new Congress convenes in January.

Trump backs McCarthy for speaker, but the two have had a rocky relationship, and even Trump's support is no guarantee McCarthy will reach the needed 218 votes, particularly if Republicans win the House with just a slim, few-seat majority that would leave him no cushion for detractors.

At least one Trump ally, Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, said he's voting no on McCarthy.

It's a familiar dynamic for House Republicans, one that befell their most recent Republican speakers — John Boehner and Paul Ryan — who both retired early rather than try to lead a party splintered by its far-right flank.

McCarthy survived those earlier battles between party factions, but he was forced to back out of a bid for the speaker's job in 2015 when it was clear he did not have support from conservatives.

The weeks ahead promise to be a grueling period of hardball negotiations with the Freedom Caucus and rank-and-file Republicans as McCarthy tries to appease them and rack up the support he will need in the new year.

In a sign of how desperate Republicans are to bolster their ranks, some made overtures to conservative Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas to switch parties and join the GOP.

"They just said, 'name your price,'" Cuellar told reporters. "I'm a Democrat."

The conservative Freedom Caucus lawmakers, who typically align with Trump, are prepared to extract demanding concessions from McCarthy before giving him their backing. They have a long list of asks — from prime positions on House committees to guarantees they can have a role in shaping legislation.

"I'm willing to support anybody that's willing to change dramatically how things are done here," Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., the chairman of the Freedom Caucus and a Trump ally, said after meeting privately with McCarthy.

But even rank-and-file lawmakers are assessing their choices for speaker, a position that is second in line to the president.

"I don't just automatically assume heir apparent, necessarily," said Rep. Steve Womack, R-Ark., who said he is still studying his choice for House speaker.

"We are voting for somebody who is going to be two heartbeats from the presidency," he said.

While newly elected lawmakers arrived for orientation Monday, there are questions over who, exactly, will be voting Tuesday — with some of the House races still undecided. All the leaders will need to clear a simple majority Tuesday.

Schumer Wants to Work With 'Non-MAGA' Republicans (Newsmax/"Wake Up America")

By Jeffrey Rodack | Tuesday, 15 November 2022 01:35 PM EST

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., appealed to non-MAGA Republicans to join with Democrats to pass legislation and avoid a stalemate.

Schumer said he was going to talk with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and other Republicans to try to convince them to team up with Democrats and get legislation through, according to The New York Times.

"I'm going to reach out to McConnell and I want to say to the non-MAGA Republicans, 'Work with us; we want to get some things done here,'" Schumer said. "What gives us the opening is that they know embracing [former President Donald] Trump and MAGA is a failure. Not all Republicans know it, but a large number do."

Schumer did not specify on what areas he hopes the two parties would agree, but noted Democrats will need to compromise in dealing with Republicans.

"I'm going to say to my party, 'We are not going to get everything we want; we're going to have to compromise,'" he said. "But it is a lot better to accomplish something than to just make a mark."

The Hill noted that many Trump-backed candidates who repeated the former president's claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen were defeated in key contests

Meanwhile, McConnell welcomed the prospect that the GOP would likely win a very narrow majority in the House. The Times said.

"It appears the likeliest outcome would mean the American people have put a stop to two years of Democrats' disastrous one-party government," McConnell said.

"If Washington Democrats do not want to pivot to sanity and common sense, if they will not help us address the ways their policies are hurting families, they will encounter stiff resistance from the sizable Senate Republican conference that half the country elected to be their voice."

Original Article

Trump-Backed Adam Laxalt Concedes to Nevada Dem Sen. Masto (Newsmax)

By Newsmax Wires | Tuesday, 15 November 2022 01:35 PM EST

The Republican challenger to Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, R-Nev., conceded Tuesday he lost, saying in a statement that although the race was very close, he will not contest the result.

"I am confident that any challenge of this election would not alter the ultimate outcome," GOP candidate Adam Laxalt said in a tweet that campaign adviser Robert Uithoven confirmed was authentic.

Laxalt, who had the vocal endorsement of former President Donald Trump, said he called Masto to congratulate her on her victory. Newsmax called the race, declaring Masto the winner this weekend by 8,215 votes.

Masto's campaign did not immediately respond to messages about Laxalt's concession. It came a week after the Nov. 8 election.

Nevada's vote count took several days partly because of the mail voting system created by the legislature in 2020 that requires counties to accept ballots postmarked by Election Day if they arrive up to four days later. Laxalt had an early lead that dwindled after late-counted ballots came in from the state's population centers in Las Vegas and Reno.

Masto's victory, along with Democrat Sen. Mark Kelly's victory in Arizona, gave Democrats a 50-49 edge in the Senate. Along with Vice President Kamala Harris' tiebreaking vote, the party will retain control of the chamber no matter the result of next month's Georgia runoff between Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., and Republican candidate Herschel Walker.

Masto, the first Latina to serve in the Senate, was considered the most vulnerable Democrat senator in the midterm elections, and the Republican Party had high hopes of flipping the seat.

She raised far more money than Laxalt, but had to weather an onslaught of attack ads funded by national GOP groups. Masto spent nearly $47 million and had more than $6 million in cash on hand through mid-October, according to OpenSecrets, a nonprofit that tracks campaign finances and lobbying. Laxalt spent nearly $13 million and had about $3 million remaining during the same time.

Masto, the state's former two-term attorney general, focused her Senate campaign on threats to abortion access nationwide and worked to court the state's Spanish-speaking residents and hourly wage earners. She pointed out her support of a permanent pathway to citizenship for "Dreamers" and regularly visited union halls and workers' groups.

Laxalt, also a former state attorney general, lost a bid for governor in 2018. He co-chaired Trump's campaign in Nevada in 2020, and spent months leading efforts in the media and in courts to challenge the result.

He insisted ineligible and dead voters cast ballots, that laws adopted by the Democrat-led legislature to send mail-in ballots to every active voter invited fraud, and Republican observers were prevented from seeing ballot counting or challenging signatures on mail-in ballots.

Only a case to keep some Las Vegas-area polling places open until people in line had cast ballots briefly survived court scrutiny. Like all the others, it was later dismissed.

Laxalt told the AP more than a year ago that he was preparing to mount legal challenges to the outcome of the 2022 vote.

"I entered this arena for my family and those all over Nevada and America who believe our country is headed in the wrong direction," Laxalt, an attorney, said in his statement Tuesday. He said he will "return to private life and private practice."

"This race and the 2022 election cycle didn't go as we hoped," he said, "but I am proud of the race that we ran."

Original Article

Trump-Backed Adam Laxalt Concedes to Nevada Dem Sen. Masto (Newsmax)

By Newsmax Wires | Tuesday, 15 November 2022 01:35 PM EST

The Republican challenger to Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, R-Nev., conceded Tuesday he lost, saying in a statement that although the race was very close, he will not contest the result.

"I am confident that any challenge of this election would not alter the ultimate outcome," GOP candidate Adam Laxalt said in a tweet that campaign adviser Robert Uithoven confirmed was authentic.

Laxalt, who had the vocal endorsement of former President Donald Trump, said he called Masto to congratulate her on her victory. Newsmax called the race, declaring Masto the winner this weekend by 8,215 votes.

Masto's campaign did not immediately respond to messages about Laxalt's concession. It came a week after the Nov. 8 election.

Nevada's vote count took several days partly because of the mail voting system created by the legislature in 2020 that requires counties to accept ballots postmarked by Election Day if they arrive up to four days later. Laxalt had an early lead that dwindled after late-counted ballots came in from the state's population centers in Las Vegas and Reno.

Masto's victory, along with Democrat Sen. Mark Kelly's victory in Arizona, gave Democrats a 50-49 edge in the Senate. Along with Vice President Kamala Harris' tiebreaking vote, the party will retain control of the chamber no matter the result of next month's Georgia runoff between Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., and Republican candidate Herschel Walker.

Masto, the first Latina to serve in the Senate, was considered the most vulnerable Democrat senator in the midterm elections, and the Republican Party had high hopes of flipping the seat.

She raised far more money than Laxalt, but had to weather an onslaught of attack ads funded by national GOP groups. Masto spent nearly $47 million and had more than $6 million in cash on hand through mid-October, according to OpenSecrets, a nonprofit that tracks campaign finances and lobbying. Laxalt spent nearly $13 million and had about $3 million remaining during the same time.

Masto, the state's former two-term attorney general, focused her Senate campaign on threats to abortion access nationwide and worked to court the state's Spanish-speaking residents and hourly wage earners. She pointed out her support of a permanent pathway to citizenship for "Dreamers" and regularly visited union halls and workers' groups.

Laxalt, also a former state attorney general, lost a bid for governor in 2018. He co-chaired Trump's campaign in Nevada in 2020, and spent months leading efforts in the media and in courts to challenge the result.

He insisted ineligible and dead voters cast ballots, that laws adopted by the Democrat-led legislature to send mail-in ballots to every active voter invited fraud, and Republican observers were prevented from seeing ballot counting or challenging signatures on mail-in ballots.

Only a case to keep some Las Vegas-area polling places open until people in line had cast ballots briefly survived court scrutiny. Like all the others, it was later dismissed.

Laxalt told the AP more than a year ago that he was preparing to mount legal challenges to the outcome of the 2022 vote.

"I entered this arena for my family and those all over Nevada and America who believe our country is headed in the wrong direction," Laxalt, an attorney, said in his statement Tuesday. He said he will "return to private life and private practice."

"This race and the 2022 election cycle didn't go as we hoped," he said, "but I am proud of the race that we ran."

Rep. Mooney Announces Run for Sen. Manchin's Seat in 2024 (Newsmax)

By Nicole Wells | Tuesday, 15 November 2022 12:35 PM EST

Rep. Alex Mooney, R-W.Va., said Tuesday that he will challenge Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., in 2024, becoming the first serious candidate to jump into a potentially crowded Republican primary race.

"I'm announcing right now that I am officially running for the United States Senate for the seat that's open in two years that Joe Manchin currently is in, and I'm all in," Mooney told Hoppy Kercheval, the host of West Virginia MetroNews' "Talkline."

Just reelected to a fifth House term with 66% of the vote, Mooney said he is "not happy with the U.S. Senate results," referring to the Republicans' failure to wrest control of the chamber from the Democrats.

"Republicans need to take the West Virginia seat in two years for the sake of this country," he said.

Mooney described Manchin as "the chief enabler of Joe Biden" due to the senator's August vote for the sweeping Inflation Reduction Act, which set a minimum corporate tax, earmarked billions for climate change initiatives and lowered prescription drug costs.

"I think he's a liberal Democrat and West Virginia doesn't deserve that anymore and it has to be changed," Mooney said.

Manchin, 75, has not revealed if he will run for a fourth term in the Senate in two years.

Mooney may find himself in a primary contest with West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, who told The Hill last week that he's "looking very closely at the Senate race."

Morrisey would enter the race with a considerable war chest; he and his allies claim to be able to raise upward of $12 million for a statewide primary, which may have factored into Mooney's decision to announce his plans so early.

Mooney noted that Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., similarly declared a run for Senate in November 2012 for the 2014 election.

Mooney also said he will support former President Donald Trump's campaign if Trump announces plans to run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024.

"I'm very grateful to President Trump for endorsing me in my primary," Mooney said. "I do think West Virginia voters support him. He's a fighter."

Original Article

With Dem Senate, Biden Eyes Overhauling Judiciary (Newsmax)

By Charles Kim | Tuesday, 15 November 2022 11:12 AM EST

With a Democrat Senate Majority, President Joe Biden is looking to confirm appointments to the federal bench that could overhaul the judiciary.

"There's a big difference between a 50-50 Senate and a 51-49 Senate for the functionality of the Judiciary Committee and the Foreign Relations Committee," Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., a member of the judiciary panel, told the Washington Examiner Tuesday. "Simply having control of the Senate means we have the ability to continue moving forward the personnel who will represent us and shape our laws."

Like his predecessor, former President Donald Trump, Biden has been working diligently behind the scenes getting some 84 federal judge nominations confirmed as he heads into the midpoint of his first four-year-term in the White House, with another 57 nominees waiting for Senate approval, the news outlet reported.

"I think all we can say is that they've been pretty aggressive and trying to get appointments through, and there's no reason to think that's going to change," Russell Wheeler, a governance studies expert with the Brookings Institution, told the Examiner.

According to Ballotpedia, former Republican President Ronald Reagan made the most appointments to the bench during his eight years in office with 402, followed by former Democratic President Bill Clinton with 387 during his two terms.

Both former GOP President George W. Bush and Democratic former President Barack Obama were almost evenly split on appointments during their tenure with Bush appointing 340 judges and Obama appointing 334.

Despite serving just one four-year-term in office, Trump was on pace to take the top spot, making 245 appointments during his solo White House term.

Biden is currently running even ahead of that pace midway into his first term by making 142 appointments as of Nov. 1, according to Ballotpedia.

A Pew Research Center report from August, Biden is ahead of former President John F. Kennedy during the same period in his administration.

In the case of both presidents, most appointments were to federal district courts, the report said.

Those courts, which preside over criminal and civil trials, made up around 76% of Biden's appointments, while Trump only appointed around 51% to that level and 47% to the appeals courts, the report said.

If Democrat incumbent Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock can win his runoff race with GOP challenger Herschel Walker on Dec. 6, it would give Biden and the Democrats some breathing room in confirming the appointments moving forward, the report said.

Original Article

Pompeo: Run for President Not Affected by Trump's Plans (Newsmax)

By Charlie McCarthy | Tuesday, 15 November 2022 11:01 AM EST

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says that his decision concerning a run for president in 2024 will not be impacted by former President Donald Trump's plans.

Pompeo was interviewed by Hugh Hewitt on Tuesday, hours before Trump was expected to announce the start of his campaign for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

"We're trying to think our way though, figuring out what's next for us," Pompeo, referring to himself and wife Susan, told Hewitt. "We've been part of the conservative movement for 30 years. We will still be part of the conservative movement until the good Lord takes us from this planet.

"And our decision about whether that'll be by putting ourselves forward in the election that's ahead of us still is a decision to be made. But what happens today or tomorrow, what some other person decides won't have any impact on that."

Pompeo has been mentioned as a potential contender for the GOP nomination, as has other Trump administration veterans including former President Mike Pence and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, assuming he runs, widely is considered to be Trump's top opponent.

Pompeo told Hewitt that his decision will come "probably by the spring."

"But you know, these are deeply personal decisions, and we will sort our way through," Pompeo told Hewitt. "And as soon as we have figured it out, we will let the American people know, and you'll figure it out, too, because you'll see me in Manchester and Des Moines and South Carolina."

Pompeo was a former congressman from Kansas before serving as Trump's CIA director and then secretary of state. He appears to have remained on good terms with the former president, who was planning to kick off his 2024 campaign at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday night.

"What I hope he'll talk about is things that matter to the American people, things that can work for them going forward," Pompeo told Hewitt. "I served in the administration. I'm proud of the policies we laid out.

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

Hewitt asked Pompeo whether Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., should continue to lead their respective conferences in the new Congress.

"I think both of them are going to be the next leaders," Pompeo said. "I'm less worried, to be honest, Hugh, with the palace intrigue. I am much more worried about our focus to make sure that as we move into what is now the 2024 campaign season, as we move into making this case over these next 23 months, we have to articulate why it is we can actually fix."

Original Article

Dems Meddled in GOP Senate Recruitment to Create Election Chaos (Newsmax)

By Jeffrey Rodack | Tuesday, 15 November 2022 10:03 AM EST

Democrats carried out a plan to discourage strong potential Republican candidates from running for Senate seats, The New York Times is reporting.

The plan was hatched in 2021 by Democrat strategists and Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., the newspaper said. Peters, chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee informed staff members that the best chance for Democrats to keep control of the Senate was to focus on four seats: Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, and New Hampshire.

"We knew we needed to localize the races and disqualify our Republican opponents," said David Bergstein, the group's communications director.

But Peters also authorized a bit of meddling in the GOP's Senate recruitment effort, according to the Times.

The plan had two main parts: convincing potentially strong Republicans from entering races against those "core four" Democratic incumbents, and "maximizing the chaos" within Republican primaries.

They called it the "Summer of Chaos."

Particularly concerning to Democrats were Republican Govs. Chris Sununu of New Hampshire and Doug Ducey of Arizona, the newspaper noted. Republican leaders were making a strong effort to recruit them for Senate races.

But the Democrats targeted Sununu for his shifting position on abortion, the Times said. The Times pointed out that in 2016 he had said he was "pro-choice, but with some caveats."

But in June 2021 he signed a bill restricting abortions after 24 weeks of pregnancy with no exceptions made for rape or incest.

Newspapers began to pick up on the Democrats' plan to go after Sununu's abortion stance.

"Targeting Sununu over abortion will be a key part of the Democrat's playbook," said a June 2021, article in The Concord Monitor, referring to the incumbent Sen. Maggie Hassan.

Sununu eventually backed away from making a Senate bid, and allies of the governor say abortion had nothing to do with it.

In Arizona, the Democrats' point of leverage on Ducey was his refusal in 2020 to go along with former President Donald Trump's insistence that the presidential election was stolen.

Still, some Republican leaders tried to get him to run for the Senate. But Democrats learned of meetings with Ducey and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and passed it to reporters in the hope that it would anger Trump and lead to the former president blasting Ducey.

And at a rally in Jan. 15, 2002, rally in Arizona, Trump trashed Ducey as "a terrible, terrible representative of your state."

On Feb. 14, Trump warned that his strongest supporters would not back a senatorial campaign by Ducey.

"MAGA will never accept RINO Governor Doug Ducey of Arizona running for the U.S. Senate — So save your time, money, and energy, Mitch!" Trump said in a statement.

The former president blames Ducey for not helping to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss in Arizona. Trump and allies insist voter fraud in Maricopa County led to President Joe Biden's victory in the state by little more than 10,000 votes, and that Ducey did nothing about it.

Original Article

Newsmax Projection: GOP Captures House Majority With 218th Seat (Newsmax/"Prime News")

By Charlie McCarthy and Eric Mack | Tuesday, 15 November 2022 07:36 PM EST

Republicans have secured a House majority in the next Congress, Newsmax can officially project.

The GOP clinched its 218th seat – posting plus-9 in these midterm elections thus far – a tally that earns a majority. Democrats are projected to win 203 seats, with more than a dozen races still undecided.

California District 3 going to Republican Kevin Kiley was the 218th seat to be clinched at 6:13 p.m. ET on Tuesday night, just hours before former President Donald Trump's 9 p.m. ET announcement at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida. Trump's announcement will air live on Newsmax.

Owning the majority gives House Republicans the power to determine what bills will be presented for floor votes, and control the gavel of the House committees.

It also guarantees President Joe Biden and Democrats will not be able to pass partisan laws, furthering what critics deride as inflationary spending and a progressive agenda, and likely means there will be oversight and investigations into such things as the Afghanistan troop withdrawal, the administration's COVID-19 response, and business dealings involving Biden's family members.

Current House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., has been in line to become speaker, though some members have called for other candidates to emerge. He won a first vote Tuesday 188-31.

McCarthy and other GOP leaders are facing backlash after the party failed to snag control of both chambers in the midterms.

Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., told Newsmax on Monday night that he will challenge McCarthy to be speaker.

"The one thing you got to think about is it's going to be a tight majority so everyone is going to have to work together," McCarthy said.

Among the races that can expand the GOP majority:

1. Colorado District 3 — Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., leading Democrat Adam Frisch by 1,122 votes.
2. California District 27 — Rep. Mike Garcia, R-Calif., leads by 13,167 votes.
3. California District 22 — Rep. David Valadao, R-Calif., leads by more than 5 points.

Democrats can close the gap, leading these 11 races:

1. Alaska's lone House seat — Democrat Mary Peltola leads Republicans Sarah Palin and Nick Begich in the ranked-choice voting format, which would need Begich or Palin voters to have the other ranked No. 2 on their ballot by a vast majority. That will not be decided until Nov. 23.
2. Maine District 2 — Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, leads Bruce Poliquin by more than 3 points in a race to be determined on ranked-choice voting.
3. Oregon District 6 — Democrat Andrea Salinas leads Republican Mike Erickson by less than 3 points.
4. California District 13 — Democrat Adam Gray leads Republican John Duarte trails by 761 votes.
5. California District 49 — Rep. Mike Levin, D-Calif., leads Republican Brian Maryott by almost 5 points.
6. California District 9 — Rep. Josh Harder, D-Calif., leads Republican Tom Patti by more than 12 points.
7. California District 21 — Rep. Jim Costa, D-Calif., leads Republican Michael Maher by almost 9 points.
8. California District 16 — Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., leads by more than 16 points.
9. California District 6 — Rep. Ami Bera, D-Calif., leads by more than 12 points.
10. California District 15 — Democrat Kevin Mullin leads by more than 12 points.
11. California District 47 – Rep. Katie Porter, D-Calif., leads Republican Scott Baugh by 2,891 votes.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Original Article

Newsmax Projection: GOP Captures House Majority With 218th Seat (Newsmax/"Prime News")

By Charlie McCarthy and Eric Mack | Tuesday, 15 November 2022 07:36 PM EST

Republicans have secured a House majority in the next Congress, Newsmax can officially project.

The GOP clinched its 218th seat – posting plus-9 in these midterm elections thus far – a tally that earns a majority. Democrats are projected to win 203 seats, with more than a dozen races still undecided.

California District 3 going to Republican Kevin Kiley was the 218th seat to be clinched at 6:13 p.m. ET on Tuesday night, just hours before former President Donald Trump's 9 p.m. ET announcement at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida. Trump's announcement will air live on Newsmax.

Owning the majority gives House Republicans the power to determine what bills will be presented for floor votes, and control the gavel of the House committees.

It also guarantees President Joe Biden and Democrats will not be able to pass partisan laws, furthering what critics deride as inflationary spending and a progressive agenda, and likely means there will be oversight and investigations into such things as the Afghanistan troop withdrawal, the administration's COVID-19 response, and business dealings involving Biden's family members.

Current House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., has been in line to become speaker, though some members have called for other candidates to emerge. He won a first vote Tuesday 188-31.

McCarthy and other GOP leaders are facing backlash after the party failed to snag control of both chambers in the midterms.

Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., told Newsmax on Monday night that he will challenge McCarthy to be speaker.

"The one thing you got to think about is it's going to be a tight majority so everyone is going to have to work together," McCarthy said.

Among the races that can expand the GOP majority:

1. Colorado District 3 — Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., leading Democrat Adam Frisch by 1,122 votes.
2. California District 27 — Rep. Mike Garcia, R-Calif., leads by 13,167 votes.
3. California District 22 — Rep. David Valadao, R-Calif., leads by more than 5 points.

Democrats can close the gap, leading these 11 races:

1. Alaska's lone House seat — Democrat Mary Peltola leads Republicans Sarah Palin and Nick Begich in the ranked-choice voting format, which would need Begich or Palin voters to have the other ranked No. 2 on their ballot by a vast majority. That will not be decided until Nov. 23.
2. Maine District 2 — Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, leads Bruce Poliquin by more than 3 points in a race to be determined on ranked-choice voting.
3. Oregon District 6 — Democrat Andrea Salinas leads Republican Mike Erickson by less than 3 points.
4. California District 13 — Democrat Adam Gray leads Republican John Duarte trails by 761 votes.
5. California District 49 — Rep. Mike Levin, D-Calif., leads Republican Brian Maryott by almost 5 points.
6. California District 9 — Rep. Josh Harder, D-Calif., leads Republican Tom Patti by more than 12 points.
7. California District 21 — Rep. Jim Costa, D-Calif., leads Republican Michael Maher by almost 9 points.
8. California District 16 — Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., leads by more than 16 points.
9. California District 6 — Rep. Ami Bera, D-Calif., leads by more than 12 points.
10. California District 15 — Democrat Kevin Mullin leads by more than 12 points.
11. California District 47 – Rep. Katie Porter, D-Calif., leads Republican Scott Baugh by 2,891 votes.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

US, Cubans Will Meet Again in Havana: State Department A vintage American car carries tourists next to hotel Riviera, managed by the Spanish company Iberostar, in Havana, Cuba, April 24, 2019. U.S. and Cuban officials plan to meet in Havana on Nov. 15, 2022, to discuss migration policy. (Ramon Espinosa/AP)

MATTHEW LEE and MEGAN JANETSKY Tuesday, 15 November 2022 09:30 AM EST

U.S. and Cuban officials plan to meet in Havana on Tuesday to discuss migration policy, the latest in a series of sessions between two governments with a historically icy relationship and amid one of the biggest migratory flights from the island in decades.

The State Department on Monday confirmed the latest meeting to The Associated Press. While the department did not offer specifics on what would be discussed, it said the talks were routine and represent a continuation of a nearly 30-year engagement with Cuba on migration matters as neighboring states. The talks were limited to migration, the State Department said.

U.S. authorities stopped Cubans nearly 221,000 times in the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, a 471% increase from the year before, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data.

In October, Cubans replaced Venezuelans as the second-largest nationality after Mexicans, extending the biggest flight from the Caribbean island to the United States since the Mariel boatlift in 1980, according to figures released late Monday. Cubans were stopped 28,848 times, up 10% from September.

The mass migration is fueled by a complex mix of economic and political turmoil exacerbated by a deepening energy crisis and devastation wrought by Hurricane Ian in late September.

Last Wednesday, State Department officials traveled to Cuba to discuss the expansion of consular and visa services with Cuban officials. Those services were previously closed following a series of health incidents in 2017.

The Biden administration also announced that visa processing would resume in January.

Tuesday's meeting represents a slow thawing of a relationship that has always been tense, but has been particularly strained since President Donald Trump tightened American sanctions on the island.

A U.S. official who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity said Cuba has agreed to receive one flight of deported Cuban migrants from the U.S. It would be the first flight since the beginning of the pandemic, potentially offering American authorities a tool to deter Cuban border crossers.

U.S. officials, the official said, hope more will come out of the Havana talks as the exodus from the island has no end in sight.

Original Article

Fred Fleitz to Newsmax: Biden Didn't Confront China on Serious Issues Fred Fleitz (Newsmax)

By Sandy Fitzgerald | Tuesday, 15 November 2022 09:00 AM EST

President Joe Biden's meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, where vital issues such as China's export of fentanyl and the origins of COVID-19 were not discussed, shows that the administration is not "interested in confronting the Chinese on any serious issues," Fred Fleitz, the vice-chair of the America First Policy Institute Center for American Security, told Newsmax on Tuesday.

"It seems like Biden spent most of his time talking about climate change and trying a new way to cooperate," Fleitz, a Newsmax contributor and former chief of staff to the National Security Council, said on Newsmax's "Wake Up America." "Let's be clear: The Chinese have no intention of cooperating with climate change."

Fleitz also questioned why Secretary of State Antony Blinken hasn't visited China before, and wants to know why there haven't been negotiations or discussions between the United States and Russia or China, "whether we agree or not."

"Why has the dialogue been absent?" Fleitz said. "I think just think this is another element of the incredible incompetence of this administration."

The summit was also "strange," said Fleitz, noting that there was no joint press conference or statement issued after the meeting.

"Biden claims things were discussed in the meetings such as North Korea, such as that a nuclear war should never be fought, but the Chinese statement didn't say that," Fleitz said. "We're not sure what was agreed to. The Chinese had a statement, and I read all of it. They talk about that … Xi explained his position on Taiwan. He would like a negotiated settlement to Ukraine."

Meanwhile, Biden said that he does not think there is an "imminent attempt" by China to invade Taiwan, but Fleitz noted that Biden's comments "don't track what the Chinese statement says."

"The Chinese were very clear and aggressive on their right to Taiwan," Fleitz said. "They make this clear in their statement. Biden seems to be talking about the world he wishes for rather than the world that actually exists here. There's growing tension concerning Taiwan. China looks like it is preparing its military foreign invasion."

Fleitz also said Tuesday that Biden showed weakness in the way he greeted Xi by walking across a stage to greet him, while the Chinese leader stood still.

"Compare this to the way President (Donald) Trump dealt with every foreign leader," he said. "You know who the great power was … it's simply another sign of weakness. It's body language. I don't understand why [Biden's] advisers would allow the meeting to start this way."

Fleitz said he was also concerned about Biden's speech about China, where he "condemned Republicans for political violence and voter intimidation."

"How a president could say that on foreign soil," said Fleitz. "After an election, you're supposed to bury the hatchet, and to say something so awful, so divisive in countries that do not have free elections, I just thought it was reprehensible."

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Original Article

Fred Fleitz to Newsmax: Biden Didn't Confront China on Serious Issues (Newsmax/"Wake Up America")

By Sandy Fitzgerald | Tuesday, 15 November 2022 09:45 AM EST

President Joe Biden's meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, where vital issues such as China's export of fentanyl and the origins of COVID-19 were not discussed, shows that the administration is not "interested in confronting the Chinese on any serious issues," Fred Fleitz, the vice-chair of the America First Policy Institute Center for American Security, told Newsmax on Tuesday.

"It seems like Biden spent most of his time talking about climate change and trying a new way to cooperate," Fleitz, a Newsmax contributor and former chief of staff to the National Security Council, said on Newsmax's "Wake Up America." "Let's be clear, the Chinese have no intention of cooperating with climate change."

Fleitz also questioned why Secretary of State Antony Blinken hasn't visited China before, and wants to know why there haven't been negotiations or discussions between the United States and Russia or China, "whether we agree or not."

"Why has the dialogue been absent?" Fleitz said. "I think just think this is another element of the incredible incompetence of this administration."

The summit was also "strange," said Fleitz, noting that there was no joint press conference or statement issued after the meeting.

"Biden claims things were discussed in the meetings such as North Korea, such as that a nuclear war should never be fought, but the Chinese statement didn't say that," Fleitz said. "We're not sure what was agreed to. The Chinese had a statement, and I read all of it. They talk about that … Xi explained his position on Taiwan. He would like a negotiated settlement to Ukraine."

Meanwhile, Biden said that he does not think there is an "imminent attempt" by China to invade Taiwan, but Fleitz noted that Biden's comments "don't track what the Chinese statement says."

"The Chinese were very clear and aggressive on their right to Taiwan," Fleitz said. "They make this clear in their statement. Biden seems to be talking about the world he wishes for rather than the world that actually exists here. There's growing tension concerning Taiwan. China looks like it is preparing its military foreign invasion."

Fleitz also said Tuesday that Biden showed weakness in the way he greeted Xi by walking across a stage to greet him, while the Chinese leader stood still.

"Compare this to the way President [Donald] Trump dealt with every foreign leader," he said. "You know who the great power was … it's simply another sign of weakness. It's body language. I don't understand why [Biden's] advisers would allow the meeting to start this way."

Fleitz said he was also concerned about Biden's speech about China, where he "condemned Republicans for political violence and voter intimidation."

"How a president could say that on foreign soil," said Fleitz. "After an election, you're supposed to bury the hatchet, and to say something so awful, so divisive in countries that do not have free elections, I just thought it was reprehensible."

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NEWSMAX is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America!

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Original Article

Boebert Colorado Race Rests With 'Cured' Ballots Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo. (Getty)

By Charlie McCarthy | Tuesday, 15 November 2022 08:31 AM EST

Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., continues to lead in her bid for reelection in a race still too close to call a week after Election Day.

The latest Newsmax numbers show Boebert with a 1,122-vote lead over Democrat Adam Frisch in Colorado’s 3rd District with 95% of the votes counted.

Republicans needed one more seat to claim a House majority in the next Congress. Newsmax projected the GOP with 217 seats, Democrats with 203 and 15 races still undecided.

"Waiting this long for election results is going to make firing Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House that much sweeter," Boebert tweeted Monday night.

Votes are still being counted and, in some cases, "cured" – a process by which voters are provided an opportunity to fix ballots initially rejected due to problems (e.g. missing signatures).

Voters have until Wednesday to cure their ballot.

"We're still in this fight," Frisch tweeted. "Just in a holding pattern. As ballots continue to be counted, we continue to feel proud of where we stand and what we've accomplished.

"As ballots continue to be counted, we continue to feel proud of where we stand and what we've accomplished."

The Washington Examiner reported that county clerks also are waiting to process a small number of ballots, including ones from military and overseas residents, until they can be counted with all the cured ballots.

Political operatives' estimate as many as 5,000 ballots remain uncounted or in transit.

Frisch is a businessman and former city councilman from the posh, mostly liberal ski town of Aspen.

Boebert, a strong supporter of former President Donald Trump, established herself as a partisan flashpoint in Washington, D.C., in her first term, and had been favored to win reelection after redistricting made the conservative and mostly rural district more Republican.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Original Article

Boebert Colorado Race Rests With 'Cured' Ballots Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo. (Getty Images)

By Charlie McCarthy | Tuesday, 15 November 2022 09:04 AM EST

Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., continues to lead in her bid for reelection in a race still too close to call a week after Election Day.

The latest Newsmax numbers show Boebert with a 1,122-vote lead over Democrat Adam Frisch in Colorado's 3rd District with 95% of the votes counted.

Republicans needed one more seat to claim a House majority in the next Congress. Newsmax projected the GOP with 217 seats, Democrats with 203 and 15 races still undecided.

"Waiting this long for election results is going to make firing Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House that much sweeter," Boebert tweeted Monday night.

Votes are still being counted and, in some cases, "cured" – a process by which voters are provided an opportunity to fix ballots initially rejected due to problems (e.g. missing signatures).

Voters have until Wednesday to cure their ballot.

"We're still in this fight," Frisch tweeted. "Just in a holding pattern. As ballots continue to be counted, we continue to feel proud of where we stand and what we've accomplished.

The Washington Examiner reported that county clerks also are waiting to process a small number of ballots, including ones from military and overseas residents, until they can be counted with all the cured ballots.

Political operatives' estimate as many as 5,000 ballots remain uncounted or in transit.

Frisch is a businessman and former city councilman from the posh, mostly liberal ski town of Aspen.

Boebert, a strong supporter of former President Donald Trump, established herself as a partisan flashpoint in Washington, D.C., in her first term, and had been favored to win reelection after redistricting made the conservative and mostly rural district more Republican.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Original Article

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 5:20 PM PT – Monday, November 14, 2022

Ohio Senator-elect J.D. Vance urged Republicans to stop blaming former President Trump for what some see as underwhelming midterms results.

In an op-ed published on Monday, Vance (R-Ohio) pointed out that lobbyists and lawmakers were taking all the credit on election night when the polls suggested the red wave was coming. However, when the numbers turned out to be more modest, Vance said those same people abandoned their optimism and turned on Trump.

Vance said the real reason Democrats kept the Senate and did not get blown out of the House was due to the DNC’s massive fundraising machine. He claimed that is how John Fetterman (D-Penn.) was able to overcome Doctor Oz’s campaign and why Stacey Abrams (D-Ga.) lost by a single digit margin.

The incoming Senator urged party officials to enhance outreach to small dollar donors and voters. He added that blaming the 45th President is counterproductive.

Original Article Oann

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 3:27 PM PT – Monday, November 14, 2022

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi threw her support behind Joe Biden following the midterms.

Pelosi (D-Calif.) expressed optimism about the direction of the United States in light of this year’s midterm elections.

During an interview on ABC’s This Week on Sunday, Pelosi voiced her support of Joe Biden’s reelection campaign. This comes despite the Democrat party being split on Biden’s 2024 aspirations.

Additionally, she praised Biden’s economic policies, which have led the country into experiencing a 40-year high inflation with recession worries looming on the horizon.

Recent exit polls showed that over 46% of voters felt Biden’s policies were hurting the economy and over 73% were dissatisfied with the direction the country is going.

“Yes, I do,” Pelosi said. “President Biden has been a great president for our country. He has accomplished so much. Over 10 million jobs under his leadership, working with the private sector, of course. He has just done so many things that are so great we would need a lot more show to talk about it. He’s put money in people’s pockets, vaccines in their arms, children back to school, people back to work, for starters, creating 10 million jobs.”

Pelosi then went on to claim that Democrats are a unifying force in the country by “making many of their bills bipartisan.”

However, cooperation between the two parties has been limited to a small fraction of the GOP who have been labeled as RINOS by 45th President Donald Trump.

“Well, we have always been taking that step because we honor our oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, and that should be a unifying principle for us,” Pelosi stated. “Many of our bills, we worked very hard to make it bipartisan, bipartisan, bipartisan, and while the bills were bipartisan, the votes were not.”

The House Speaker ended her interview with a bizarre comparison between the elections and Las Vegas live performances. She said that this year’s midterms were a lounge act with the 2024 presidential election being the main event.

“The main event of it all is the Presidential (election),” Pelosi said. “As important as our races are, if we were in Las Vegas, we’re the lounge act, they’re the Presidential is the main event, and this will be a very important election, very dispositive of the direction our country will go in.”

In the meantime, Pelosi has floated the idea of retiring after a recent attack on her husband.

Original Article Oann

N.Y. Rep.-Elect Brandon Williams Puts GOP on Verge of Majority (Newsmax)

By John Gizzi Monday, 14 November 2022 11:30 PM EST Current | Bio | Archive

The news Monday evening that Brandon Williams, a Republican who had the additional ballot line of the New York Conservative Party, was triumphant in the Syracuse-based 22nd District brought Republicans to just one seat shy of magic 218 they need for a majority in the House.

Observers on both sides agree with 15 House races left to be decided, it is now almost a foregone conclusion Republicans will have the majority for which they worked so hard in 2022.

With vote-counting almost finalized, software company owner and retired U.S. Naval officer Williams won by a margin of 50.75% to 49.25% for Democrat and fellow Navy veteran Francis Conole.

With Democrats in Albany wielding the redistricting knife, the 22nd had been made into a more Democrat district and one President Biden carried by 9 percentage points in 2020. In addition, Williams was considered to the right of retiring Rep. John Katko, R-N.Y., a moderate who was one of the 10 House Republicans to vote for Donald Trump's impeachment in 2021.

Pro-life, pro-gun, and pro-Trump, Williams nonetheless managed to overcome the better-funded Conole (who spent $2.6 million to Williams' roughly $750,000) by about 4,000 votes.

"Brandon Williams will make an outstanding member of Congress," Conservative Party State Chairman Gerard Kassar told Newsmax on Tuesday. "I am ecstatic that he won and pleased that the almost 19,000 votes he received on the Conservative Party line provided him with his margin of victory."

John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.

Original Article

McCarthy Still Best to Lead GOP as Speaker (Save America PAC)

By John Gizzi | Monday, 14 November 2022 10:41 PM EST

As House Republicans and those just elected to the House ponder the now-very-real possibility of a majority in their chamber, the immediate question before them is whether Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., should now assume the Speaker’s gavel.

With Republicans scheduled to meet behind closed doors Tuesday and select a speaker-designate, McCarthy remains the favorite for winning the support of the GOP Conference in the House.

And for good reason.

Michigan Rep. John Moolenaar spoke for scores of GOP colleagues when he told Newsmax on Monday morning, "Kevin is the best choice to lead our Conference in fulfilling our Commitment to America."

The Commitment for America was the McCarthy-inspired, conservative manifesto on which Republican House candidates ran.

Some are already voicing doubts and raising the specter that McCarthy is incapable of getting what is called “the magic 218”—a majority of the 435 member House required to elect the Speaker and determine control of the House when Congress convenes January 3.

But they are forgetting the real question: If not McCarthy, then who?

After interviewing dozens of Congressmen there is no member I could find who could both unite all wings of the party at the same time keeping former President Trump’s strong support.
Except for Kevin McCarthy.

Their complaints range from McCarthy not being forcefully conservative enough to his failure to see that the “Red Wave” many predicted for November 8.

The truth is that issue after issue McCarthy has been a strong conservative.

And he has been one of Donald Trump’s strongest supporters in the House.

An adviser to Donald Trump reminded me that he will never forget that just days after Biden was inaugurated and the former president found himself exiled to Mar-a-Lago, he was written off by the establishment GOP and the Washington Swamp.

Still, McCarthy got on a plane, went to Florida and stood with Trump.

Today, the current count on undecided races indicate that Republicans will eventually end up with around 220 seats. With near full support, the GOP Conference’s pick can get to the necessary 218 votes.

“All I’ll say at the moment is McCarthy doesn’t have 218, and there will be an alternative challenger,” Matthew Tragesser, a spokesman for Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs, told reporters Monday morning.

Biggs, a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, is seriously pondering a bid for speaker.

Other Capitol Hill sources told Newsmax that Biggs is actually a “stalking horse” for Rep. Jim Jordan (OH), who, they say, would be a stronger opponent to McCarthy.

And Mark Meadows, former White House chief of staff and a close ally of Jordan’s, has led 60 other conservatives to sign a letter calling for the leadership elections in the House and Senate to be postponed until after the special Senate runoff in Georgia December 6.

Some conservatives outside Congress have also weighed in against McCarthy. But they are few and far between.

Leading voices in conservative media like Mark Levin and Sean Hannity are backing McCarthy.

McCarthy’s Majority Committee Political Action Committee gave $25 million in helping Republicans in tight races including California Reps. Michelle Steel and Tom McClintock.

Steel and McClintock, both conservative stalwarts, told Newsmax that McCarthy was especially hard-working in electing new members from their state and that all of the Golden State GOP delegation would support their “favorite son” for Speaker.

And reelected New York Reps. Claudia Tenney and Nicole Maliotakis have already sent out signs they are for McCarthy for speaker.

Of course, the Californian has the strong public endorsement of Donald Trump, still the most popular figure in the Republican party.

It is becoming increasingly clear 2022 was a good year for incumbents overall, and that the GOP had misread the electorate.

With a relatively strong economy, a growing GDP last quarter, and very low unemployment, the public was not willing to make a major change in Washington.

Make no mistake about it, the next two years will be critical for the nation and the GOP.

McCarthy is the best man to lead the House during this time.

Original Article