DDHQ Morning News Spotlight: Tories Suffer Defeat, Valadao Clings to Lead

Morning Headlines

• UK Conservatives suffered even worse than expected defeats in Parliamentary By-Elections yesterday, in light of the recent no-confidence vote against Boris Johnson. In Wakefield, the Labour Party handily flipped a Tory seat, greatly outperforming national polls. Even more worrisome for Tories, they dropped a seat to Lib Dems in Tiverton & Honiton. While Wakefield is generally a battleground area, Tiverton & Honiton is a seat traditionally held by Tories (Conservatives won the seat by 40% in the 2019 general election). If results in the next general election parallel result from last night, Conservatives should certainly expect to lose their majority to Labour.
• Yesterday, a lawsuit was filed in Alaska on behalf of three voters to challenge a state decision that fifth-place finisher Tara Sweeney could not advance into Alaska’s Top 4 general election after Independent Al Gross withdrew. Although Gross dropped out of the race in time to be removed from the ballot, the Alaska Division of Elections ruled that it was too late for Sweeney to fill his place.
• In California US House District 22, incumbent Republican David Valadao still clings to a marginal lead over primary challenger Chris Mathys. Valadao was one of ten House Republicans to vote for Donald Trump’s second impeachment related to the January 6th insurrection but was still favored to win his primary over Mathys because of his electability and cross-over appeal in his light blue district. Given that Biden won CA-22 handily in 2020, some National Republicans worry that Valadao is the only Republican candidate who can hold the seat in 2022. Valadao holds a 1,500-vote lead with about 40,000 ballots outstanding in Kern County, with the winner challenging Democrat Rudy Salas in the general election.
• Illinois finance magnate Ken Griffin announced yesterday he is relocating his Citadel Hedge Fund HQ from Chicago to Miami. This comes after Griffin donated roughly $ 50 million to Illinois Republican Gubernatorial candidate Richard Irvin, who is expected to lose to Southern Illinois State Senator Darren Bailey in Tuesday’s Gubernatorial Primary. Most analysts consider Irvin much more electable than Bailey in a state as blue as Illinois, especially given Governor J.B Pritzker’s moderate popularity. Griffin has been consistently active in Illinois politics, also donating $1.5million to the Illinois Values PAC to attempt to boost Rodney Davis in his primary against Mary Miller

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