Happy Friday and welcome to the DDHQ Morning News Spotlight. Today we’re looking at the resignation of one congressman, and the conviction in federal court of another. Also, you can watch Ohio mapmakers create their fourth set of maps live!
Morning Headlines
- Democratic Rep. Filemon Vela of Texas announced yesterday that he will be resigning early from his Congressional seat. He announced last year that he would not be running for reelection, but surprised many yesterday when he announced he will not finish his term and take a job at a law and lobbying firm. A special election will be called to replace him. Check out Elections Daily’s breakdown of this district and why it will be a top target for a GOP flip in the House.
- Republican Rep. Jeff Fortenberry of Nebraska was found guilty in a federal court of lying to federal authorities about illegal campaign contributions from a Nigerian billionaire. It was the first trial of a sitting congressman since Jim Traficant of Ohio in 2002. Fortenberry has not said whether or not he will suspend his reelection campaign. The Nebraska primary is on May 10.
- Bob Woodward of the Washington Post and Robert Costa of CBS News have obtained a series of text messages between Virginia Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, and then Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows where she encourages him not to have the President accept the results of the 2020 election.
- The confirmation hearings for the Supreme Court nomination of Ketanji Jackson Brown ended yesterday with testimony from outside experts. Every Senate Democrat still appears poised to vote for confirmation, which is all she would need to join the Court. Senator Mitch McConnell said yesterday he would not support her confirmation.
- President Biden and European Union leaders announced a plan yesterday for the US to export natural gas to the EU in an effort to break the block’s dependence on Russia for energy. President Biden also announced that the US will begin to take in Ukrainian refugees. The President’s trip continues today as he travels to Poland to meet with leaders there and visit refugee encampments.
- The Ohio Supreme Court denied a motion from Democrats yesterday to have the court move the primary election from May 3 to June 28. The Ohio Redistricting Commission will continue to work on creating new state legislative maps today while we are still awaiting a ruling on the Congressional maps. The Ohio Channel has a live stream where you can watch the mapmakers work in real-time.
- ICYMI: Check out our piece from Nick Field yesterday exploring the Republican midterm messaging deployment in the Supreme Court hearings, and the possibility of an Andrew Cuomo comeback.
- You can also check in with us tomorrow night as we will have election results for the state house special election in Louisiana. Polls close there at 8 p.m. (CDT)
Upcoming Elections
| Sat March 26 | LA State House 101 Special Primary |
| Tues March 29 | SC State Senate 31 Special General |
| Tues April 5 | GA State House 45 Special General |
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| Milwaukee, WI Mayoral Special General | |
| CA US House 22 Special Primary | |
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| Thurs April 7 | NY State Assembly 20 Special Election |
| Tues April 19 | CA State Assembly 17 Special General |