
الوسم: 4th
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AP Race Call: Republican Aaron Bean wins reelection to U.S. House in Florida's 4th Congressional District
Republican Rep. Aaron Bean won reelection to a U.S. House seat representing Florida on Tuesday. Bean won a second term representing the 4th District in northeastern Florida, which includes Nassau and Clay counties as well as downtown Jacksonville. -
Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar is a heavy favorite to win 4th term against ex-NBA player Royce White
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Democratic U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar was a heavy favorite to win a fourth term Tuesday against a challenge by anti-establishment Republican and former NBA player Royce White in Minnesota’s top election matchup.
Klobuchar went into the campaign with a history of big wins and a huge financial advantage. She drew 58% of the vote in 2006, 65% in 2012 and 60% in 2018. And she raised nearly $21 million by the end of the last reporting period in September.
That compares with just under $449,000 for White, who acknowledged he was as surprised as anyone when the state Republican Party endorsed him in May. The self-described populist went on to get a plurality in the August primary against a more conventional Republican, Navy veteran Joe Fraser.
While White has been a strong supporter of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, the former president never endorsed him, and top Minnesota GOP office-holders kept their distance. But his party endorsement effort was backed by Trump strategist Steve Bannon, and White also is allied with conspiracy theorist and Infowars founder Alex Jones.
White’s NBA career was cut short by mental health issues, primarily a fear of flying, and he calls his podcast, “Please, Call Me Crazy.” Critics have denounced White’s comments on social media and other forums as misogynistic, homophobic and antisemitic. In an interview with Bannon, he once said: “Look, let’s just be frank. Women have become too mouthy. As the Black man in the room, I’ll say that.”
A victory Tuesday would give Klobuchar Minnesota’s record for the most consecutive wins by a Democratic senator since the state began directly electing senators in 1918, according to Eric Ostermeier, curator of the Minnesota Historical Election Archive at the University of Minnesota. She’s tied for four terms with Henrik Shipstead, who was elected as a Farmer-Laborite in 1922, 1928 and 1934 and as a Republican in 1940.
Only two Minnesota senators won five terms: Republican Knute Nelson, who was elected by the Legislature for his first three, and Democrat Hubert Humphrey, whose terms were not consecutive.
Klobuchar, who announced her 2019 run for president amid a heavy snowstorm, was chief prosecutor in Minnesota’s largest county when she was first elected to the Senate in 2006.
She chairs the powerful Senate Rules Committee, which examined the security failures surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. And as a member of the Judiciary Committee, she drew attention for her questioning of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh in 2018.
Klobuchar is the daughter of Jim Klobuchar, a well-known Minneapolis newsman who died in 2022, and Rose Klobuchar, a schoolteacher who died in 2010. Her grandfather was an iron miner.
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Democratic Rep. Angie Craig seeks a 4th term in Minnesota’s tightest congressional race
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Democratic U.S. Rep. Angie Craig is seeking a fourth term in Minnesota’s tightest congressional race, a faceoff against Republican former federal prosecutor Joe Teirab.
And in the race for the open seat being vacated by Democratic U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips, Kelly Morrison, a Democratic former state senator, was favored over retired Washington County District Judge Tad Jude. He’s a Republican who also served on the Hennepin County Board and in both chambers of the state Legislature, where in 1972 at age 20 he became the youngest member ever elected to the House.
Craig and Teirab ran in the 2nd District, which includes a political mix of outer suburbs of Minneapolis and St. Paul south of the Minnesota River, and rural areas farther south that trend Republican. It’s Minnesota’s sole swing district. Morrison and Jude competed in the 3rd District, which includes suburbs surrounding Minneapolis and has gone Democratic in recent elections.
Craig lost to Republican Jason Lewis by less than 2 percentage points in 2016 before beating him by just over 5.5 points in their 2018 rematch. She defeated Marine Corps veteran Tyler Kistner by just over 2 points in 2020 and just over 5 points in 2022.
Craig, who was targeted with death threats and forced to move after fighting off a mentally disturbed attacker in the elevator of her Washington apartment building, staked out centrist positions on many issues. But she supports abortion rights and accused Teirab of being an anti-abortion activist. Teirab disputed that, saying he’d vote against any federal ban or restrictions.
Teirab, a Marine Corps veteran and son of a Sudanese immigrant, was supported by influential Republicans including House Majority Whip Tom Emmer. But despite a strong financial advantage, he lost the GOP endorsement at the district convention to anti-establishment conservative Tayler Rahm. Teirab won the primary with former President Donald Trump’s endorsement after Rahm dropped out to become a senior adviser to Trump’s campaign in Minnesota, but divisions between the Teirab and Rahm camps persisted.
Craig had raised nearly $7.6 million by the end of the last reporting period in September, compared with nearly $2.8 million for Teirab.
Morrison touted her leadership on abortion rights in the Minnesota Senate. Jude was an abortion opponent when he was a legislator and supports the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, which struck down the nationwide right to abortion. Morrison raised just over $2 million by September, while Jude netted just under $300,000.
Incumbents were expected to easily win the state’s six other congressional races. They include Emmer and his fellow Republicans Brad Finstad, Michelle Fischbach and Pete Stauber, and Democrats Ilhan Omar and Betty McCollum.