Politics, Parties, Candidates
Here's a look at documents from politicians, candidates and interested parties
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Republican Party of Virginia Chairman Ryer Issues Statement on Va. Supreme Court Gerrymandering Ruling
RICHMOND, Virginia, May 9 -- The Republican Party of Virginia posted the following statement on May 8, 2026:
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Statement from RPV Chairman Jeff Ryer on the Virginia Supreme Court Gerrymandering Ruling
Republican Party of Virginia Chairman Jeff Ryer issued the following statement on the Virginia Supreme Court's ruling invalidating Democrats' partisan gerrymandering power grab:
"Today, a majority of the justices serving on the Supreme Court of Virginia reaffirmed the Constitution of Virginia and revitalized the Commonwealth's motto.
"The referendum, as approved by the General Assembly's
... Show Full Article
RICHMOND, Virginia, May 9 -- The Republican Party of Virginia posted the following statement on May 8, 2026:
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Statement from RPV Chairman Jeff Ryer on the Virginia Supreme Court Gerrymandering Ruling
Republican Party of Virginia Chairman Jeff Ryer issued the following statement on the Virginia Supreme Court's ruling invalidating Democrats' partisan gerrymandering power grab:
"Today, a majority of the justices serving on the Supreme Court of Virginia reaffirmed the Constitution of Virginia and revitalized the Commonwealth's motto.
"The referendum, as approved by the General Assembly'sDemocrat majority, was unconstitutional from the start. And, those who promoted it knew it. Had they adhered to then-Attorney General Jason Miyares's opinion telling them so, they would not be facing the despair and frustration they're experiencing today.
"Violating the Constitution while twisting and bending the clear provisions of the Code of Virginia to impose a cynically partisan outcome has, sadly, become the hallmark of the Spanberger Administration and the Democrat-controlled General Assembly. Now, it is time for the Governor and the General Assembly to fulfill their actual duties under the Constitution by approving a biennial budget.
"The focus on gaining partisan advantage by effectively disenfranchising half of Virginians needs to end today.
"The Republican Party of Virginia is grateful and deeply indebted to its partners at the Republican National Committee for spearheading our legal efforts, to our Republican Congressmen for remaining steadfast throughout this struggle, to our General Assembly Republicans for holding the Democrat-majority to account, to our four former Republican governors, and to Virginians for Fair Maps for their tireless efforts. The closeness of the now-invalidated referendum serves as a credit to our partners, and to our 11 District Committees, 124 Unit Committees, the Virginia Federation of Republican Women, and the tens-of-thousands of volunteers who fought diligently on our behalf."
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Original text here: https://virginia.gop/statement-from-rpv-chairman-jeff-ryer-on-the-virginia-supreme-court-gerrymandering-ruling/
Mich. Democratic Party: Politico - Republicans Say Mike Rogers Is "In Trouble" As Skyrocketing Michigan Gas Prices "Sway Voters"
LANSING, Michigan, May 9 -- The Michigan Democratic Party issued the following news release on May 8, 2026:
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POLITICO: Republicans Say Mike Rogers Is "In Trouble" As Skyrocketing Michigan Gas Prices "Sway Voters"
According to new reporting in POLITICO, Republicans are saying "rising gas prices are giving them doubts" that Mike Rogers can flip Michigan's U.S. Senate seat. According to Michigan GOP consultant Jason Roe, "If we are still talking about [gas prices] at the end of June, [Republicans are] in trouble."
This comes after The Bulwark reported earlier this week that DC Republicans
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LANSING, Michigan, May 9 -- The Michigan Democratic Party issued the following news release on May 8, 2026:
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POLITICO: Republicans Say Mike Rogers Is "In Trouble" As Skyrocketing Michigan Gas Prices "Sway Voters"
According to new reporting in POLITICO, Republicans are saying "rising gas prices are giving them doubts" that Mike Rogers can flip Michigan's U.S. Senate seat. According to Michigan GOP consultant Jason Roe, "If we are still talking about [gas prices] at the end of June, [Republicans are] in trouble."
This comes after The Bulwark reported earlier this week that DC Republicansare "concerned" skyrocketing gas prices could cost them their Senate majority as Rogers continues to dismiss Michiganders' economic pain at the gas pump (at a campaign event in March, Rogers said "We're gonna be fine, we got plenty of oil").
"Michiganders sent a clear message in this week's special election: they're done with Republicans like Mike Rogers who ignore their economic pain while costs skyrocket because of the GOP's toxic agenda," said Michigan Democratic Party spokesperson Joey Hannum. "Every single time a family pulls up to the gas pump and watches the price climb, they'll be reminded that Price Hike Mike is 'fine' with everything costing more. They're not going to forget that in November--and they're going to make sure Rogers hits the road for Florida once again."
Read more:
POLITICO (https://www.politico.com/newsletters/morning-money-capital-risk/2026/05/08/well-always-have-the-stock-market-right-00911098#:~:text=message%20from%20BPI%3A-,BEYOND%20THE%20BELTWAY,-Michigan%20offers%20Republicans):
* Michigan offers Republicans one of their best chances to flip a U.S. Senate seat and thwart a Democratic bid to seize the upper chamber. But rising gas prices are giving them doubts that they can count on a state that swung for Trump in 2024.
* A special election on Tuesday in a state senate district often dubbed the "battleground of battlegrounds" gave Republicans a taste of how those gas costs might sway voters this November: Republican Jason Tunney lost to Democrat Chedrick Greene by about 20 percentage points, in a race that a year ago Republicans were confident they would win.
* "If we are still talking about [gas prices] at the end of June, we're in trouble," said Michigan GOP consultant Jason Roe, an occasional Trump critic, former executive director of the Michigan Republican Party and an alumnus of the Romney and Rubio presidential campaigns.
* Gas prices in Michigan rose 68 cents last week, the third-largest average weekly increase of any state, according to GasBuddy. Gas prices have been rising steadily in the two months since the war began and Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz.
* And that's not the only Trump economic policy playing into the electoral calculus: Michigan's auto and agriculture industries have also been buffeted by the president's tariffs and the trade war with Canada, which shares a border with the state. Michigan's unemployment rate is one of the highest in the nation: More than 36,000 jobs were lost in Michigan between December 2024 and December 2025, and nearly 20,000 more in January 2026 alone.
* Farmers in key districts have faced the loss of export markets while paying higher prices for inputs like fertilizer and nitrogen.
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Original text here: https://michigandems.com/politico-republicans-say-mike-rogers-is-in-trouble-as-skyrocketing-michigan-gas-prices-sway-voters/
Mich. Democratic Party: Michigan Leaders Slam Mike Rogers for Trying to "Intimidate and Disenfranchise" Detroit Voters
LANSING, Michigan, May 9 -- The Michigan Democratic Party issued the following news release on May 8, 2026:
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Michigan Leaders Slam Mike Rogers for Trying to "Intimidate and Disenfranchise" Detroit Voters
Mike Rogers: "'You know what, let's put police officers [...] as our poll watchers in Detroit.' Because, go ahead: Try to intimidate them. Please."
*
Failed GOP Senate candidate Mike Rogers was slammed by Michigan leaders this week amid reports that Rogers wants to recruit current and former police officers to monitor Detroit polling locations and "flash their badges at voters."
Meanwhile,
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LANSING, Michigan, May 9 -- The Michigan Democratic Party issued the following news release on May 8, 2026:
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Michigan Leaders Slam Mike Rogers for Trying to "Intimidate and Disenfranchise" Detroit Voters
Mike Rogers: "'You know what, let's put police officers [...] as our poll watchers in Detroit.' Because, go ahead: Try to intimidate them. Please."
*
Failed GOP Senate candidate Mike Rogers was slammed by Michigan leaders this week amid reports that Rogers wants to recruit current and former police officers to monitor Detroit polling locations and "flash their badges at voters."
Meanwhile,as Rogers faces backlash for trying to "revive a strategy historically used to scare or intimidate voters of color," he has spent the past week doubling down, refusing to acknowledge concerns about voter suppression, and publicly questioning the results of his 2024 Senate race.
Read what Michigan leaders are saying:
* Former Lt. Governor John Cherry told Gongwer: "There are provisions that allow observation, but to somehow suggest it needs to be former police officers? Are they going to be operating with a badge? Are they going to be using old uniforms? Is this about intimidation or is it about assuring the integrity of the election."
* Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum told the Detroit News: "If Mike Rogers does not want to lose because of the legitimate votes of qualified, registered voters in the City of Detroit, I would recommend spending less time trying to negate their votes... But he is starting off from behind when he tries to intimidate and disenfranchise the city with the largest concentration of people of color in the state."
* Detroit City Council Member Denzel McCampbell reacted to Rogers' remarks on X: "After the U.S. Supreme Court further gutted the Voting Rights Act earlier this week, @MikeRogersForMI said hold my beer and went into full Jim Crow mode."
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Original text here: https://michigandems.com/michigan-leaders-slam-mike-rogers-for-trying-to-intimidate-and-disenfranchise-detroit-voters/
Mich. Democratic Party Chair Issues Statement on Release of UFO Files
LANSING, Michigan, May 9 -- The Michigan Democratic Party issued the following statement on May 8, 2026:
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MDP Chair on the Release of the UFO Files
In response to the Trump administration's release of the UFO files, Michigan Democratic Party Chair Curtis Hertel released the following statement:
"If any aliens had flown over Epstein Island, you could be damn sure Trump would keep their secret.
"Whether aliens are out there or not, I'm more concerned about the American people here on Earth struggling to pay for food, rent, gas, healthcare, and everything in between. This stunt is another
... Show Full Article
LANSING, Michigan, May 9 -- The Michigan Democratic Party issued the following statement on May 8, 2026:
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MDP Chair on the Release of the UFO Files
In response to the Trump administration's release of the UFO files, Michigan Democratic Party Chair Curtis Hertel released the following statement:
"If any aliens had flown over Epstein Island, you could be damn sure Trump would keep their secret.
"Whether aliens are out there or not, I'm more concerned about the American people here on Earth struggling to pay for food, rent, gas, healthcare, and everything in between. This stunt is anothersad attempt to distract the American public from Trump's colossal failures and skyrocketing gas prices caused by his reckless war of choice.
"It would take an actual alien invasion to distract from his sad excuse of a presidency."
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Original text here: https://michigandems.com/mdp-chair-on-the-release-of-the-ufo-files/
ICYMI: The Telling Exaggeration in How Republicans Are Talking About Rural Health Care [Washington Post]
WASHINGTON, May 9 -- The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee posted the following news release on May 8, 2026:
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ICYMI: The Telling Exaggeration in How Republicans Are Talking About Rural Health Care [Washington Post]
In case you missed it, new reporting from The Washington Post exposes the "telling exaggeration" in how Republican Senate candidates are attempting to deceive voters about the health care crisis they created, while the issue continues to become "a liability for the party as the impacts of the Medicaid cuts under the Republican bill start to be felt."
After Republicans'
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, May 9 -- The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee posted the following news release on May 8, 2026:
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ICYMI: The Telling Exaggeration in How Republicans Are Talking About Rural Health Care [Washington Post]
In case you missed it, new reporting from The Washington Post exposes the "telling exaggeration" in how Republican Senate candidates are attempting to deceive voters about the health care crisis they created, while the issue continues to become "a liability for the party as the impacts of the Medicaid cuts under the Republican bill start to be felt."
After Republicans'toxic plan sold out hardworking Americans, GOP Senate candidates and outside groups are running "misleading" ads taking credit for "the Band-Aid they helped create, not the reason the bandage was needed in the first place," which "wholly ignore that the program was needed only because of the sizable cuts to Medicaid."
See for yourself:
Washington Post: The telling exaggeration in how Republicans are talking about rural health care (https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/05/08/republicans-health-care-exaggerations-are-telling/)
* On rural health care this year, Republicans want voters to remember the Band-Aid they helped create, not the reason the bandage was needed in the first place.
* It's an interesting dynamic playing out in races nationwide, with groups and campaigns spending money to inform voters that Republican senators supported the Rural Health Transformation Program [...]
* But those ads are somewhat misleading. They wholly ignore that the program was needed only because of the sizable cuts to Medicaid that Republicans made elsewhere in the same sweeping 2025 tax-and-domestic policy law that created the rural health program.
* Sen. Jon Husted's (R) reelection campaign in Ohio began running an ad in April that says the senator "secured more than $202 million for rural health care in Ohio," a reference to a study by KFF that found the Rural Health Transformation Program would award that amount of money to the state. But the ad omits that KFF (formerly the Kaiser Family Foundation) also found, in a 2025 study, that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act would shrink federal Medicaid spending in rural Ohio by $5.62 billion over the next decade.
* A Husted spokesperson declined to respond to our questions about the ad.
* The messaging is also being used in Iowa, where the National Republican Senatorial Committee began airing an ad in April that said Rep. Ashley Hinson, the likely Republican nominee for Senate in the state, secured "more than $209 million for rural healthcare in Iowa," another finding from the KFF study on the Rural Health Transformation Program.
* The foundation also found, however, that the One Big Beautiful Bill would shrink federal Medicaid spending in rural Iowa by $3.84 billion over the next decade.
* And, lastly, in Maine, One Nation -- a group closely linked to the Senate Leadership Fund -- started airing an ad in March supporting Sen. Susan Collins (R) [...] again, a reference to the Rural Health Transformation Program, a spokesperson for the group told us.
* [The ad] ignores that KFF found the bill would shrink federal Medicaid spending in rural Maine by $1.12 billion over the next decade.
* [...] Republicans' sleight-of-hand also tells us something about the party's thinking heading into these critical midterm elections: Health care, specifically rural health care, could become a liability for the party as the impacts of the Medicaid cuts under the Republican bill start to be felt.
* At least two health care facilities have closed in Iowa just this year, something Democrats have jumped on as the state is home to a competitive gubernatorial race, a closely watched Senate contest and multiple swing House campaigns. Public Citizen, [...] published a report in March that found "446 hospitals are at heightened risk of closing or reducing services due to Medicaid cuts," including three in Iowa, two in Maine and nine in Ohio.
* Maeve Coyle, a spokesperson for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, accused Republicans of "lying through their teeth in campaign ads," but argued the need for them to do so shows "the GOP agenda that strips Americans of their health care is so damaging."
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Original text here: https://www.dscc.org/article/icymi-the-telling-exaggeration-in-how-republicans-are-talking-about-rural-health-care-washington-post/
DNC Issues Statement on the Supreme Court of Virginia's Decision to Overturn Free and Fair Elections
WASHINGTON, May 9 -- The Democratic National Committee posted the following statement on May 8, 2026:
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DNC Statement on the Supreme Court of Virginia's Decision to Overturn Free and Fair Elections
In response to the Supreme Court of Virginia invalidating the votes of over three million Virginians, DNC Chair Ken Martin released the following statement:
"Last month, Virginians made their voices heard by voting for a constitutional amendment to redraw their Commonwealth's congressional map. The process was a legal, fair, and necessary counterpunch to Donald Trump's efforts to rig the midterm
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, May 9 -- The Democratic National Committee posted the following statement on May 8, 2026:
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DNC Statement on the Supreme Court of Virginia's Decision to Overturn Free and Fair Elections
In response to the Supreme Court of Virginia invalidating the votes of over three million Virginians, DNC Chair Ken Martin released the following statement:
"Last month, Virginians made their voices heard by voting for a constitutional amendment to redraw their Commonwealth's congressional map. The process was a legal, fair, and necessary counterpunch to Donald Trump's efforts to rig the midtermmaps in his favor. Yet today, a group of unelected judges on the Virginia Supreme Court chose to put partisan politics over the will of the people by invalidating the referendum and rejecting the votes of millions of Virginians.
"Make no mistake, Democrats will not roll over while Republicans undermine our democracy to entrench their power. This is not over. Democrats will use every tool at our disposal -- the courts, Congress, and public opinion -- to fight back on behalf of all Americans who believe in and seek to uphold fair elections, democratic representation, and the sacred right to vote."
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Original text here: https://democrats.org/news/dnc-statement-on-the-supreme-court-of-virginias-decision-to-overturn-free-and-fair-elections/
DNC Issues Statement on Tennessee Republicans Passing New Racially Gerrymandered Maps
WASHINGTON, May 9 -- The Democratic National Committee posted the following statement on May 8, 2026:
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DNC Statement on Tennessee Republicans Passing New Racially Gerrymandered Maps
In response to Tennessee state lawmakers drawing new congressional districts to protect Republican incumbents and dilute the power of Black voters in Memphis, Reyna Walters-Morgan, the DNC Vice Chair for Civic Engagement and Voter Participation, released the following statement:
"Tennessee Republicans should be ashamed of themselves. After breaking up Nashville into multiple districts in 2022 to benefit their
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, May 9 -- The Democratic National Committee posted the following statement on May 8, 2026:
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DNC Statement on Tennessee Republicans Passing New Racially Gerrymandered Maps
In response to Tennessee state lawmakers drawing new congressional districts to protect Republican incumbents and dilute the power of Black voters in Memphis, Reyna Walters-Morgan, the DNC Vice Chair for Civic Engagement and Voter Participation, released the following statement:
"Tennessee Republicans should be ashamed of themselves. After breaking up Nashville into multiple districts in 2022 to benefit theirown party, Republicans chose to do the same in Memphis to prevent Black voters from electing a candidate of their choosing.
"Despite overwhelming public opposition, their new map carves up the nation's second-largest majority-Black city into three districts stretching hundreds of miles to drown out the voices of Memphis voters.
"Democrats, Independents, and Republicans of conscience will not forget this historic betrayal. We will continue to protect the right to vote, mobilize in communities that are under attack, and aggressively target Republican incumbents to right this wrong."
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Original text here: https://democrats.org/news/dnc-statement-on-tennessee-republicans-passing-new-racially-gerrymandered-maps/
