DDHQ Morning News Spotlight: April 13, 2022

Morning Headlines

• New York’s Lieutenant Governor resigns after being indicted on federal corruption charges. Democrat Brian Benjamin was nominated for the post by Governor Kathy Hochul after she vacated it to become Governor when Andrew Cuomo resigned last year.  The timing of his indictment and resignation means he will likely still be on the June 28th primary ballot and could conceivably be on the ballot in November. In New York the Governor and Lt. Governor are nominated and elected independently. It is possible for Hocul to be elected and serve with a Republican Lt. Governor. Something similar happened when Mario Cuomo was paired with Lt. Governor Alfred DelBello who had been the choice of Ed Koch, Cuomo’s opponent for the Democratic nomination.
• In South Dakota, Republican Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg was impeached by the state’s House of Representatives. Ravnsborg pleaded no contest to two misdemeanor charges related to the death of a man hit by a car Ravnsborg was driving. The state Senate will now hold a trial .
• Generic ballot model indicates House Democrats are likely to lose their majority in November but the margin may not be as large as some are predicting.
• How Iowa has gone from a swing state to barren electoral ground for Democrats in a relatively short period of time. Now it may lose it’s predominate place in picking presidential nominees.
• Democrats are moving on from “Defund the Police” with many in the party urging a return to tougher “law and order” policies.
• Support for law enforcement is becoming an issue in the Georgia GOP primary for Governor. Challenger David Perdue says incumbent Brian Kemp has overseen a degrading of the State Police force. Kemp counters saying Perdue is attacking the department and was nowhere to be found during protests and unrest in 2020. The back and forth came on the same day Kemp signed a bill allowing for permitless carrying of firearms in the state.
• Former President Donald Trump offers and “anti-endorsement” of sorts in the race for the Pennsylvania Republican gubernatorial nomination. He hasn’t backed anyone yet but is definitely not backing Bill McSwain, a former federal prosecutor appointed by Trump.

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