OLYMPIA, Washington, Jan. 12 (TNSPer) -- The Washington Senate Republicans issued the following news: Simon Sefzik of Ferndale, who worked as an intern in Congress and was employed at the White House, has been named to replace the late Sen. Doug Ericksen in the Washington State Senate, and will assume the 42nd District Senate position immediately. Sefzik took the oath of office following his appointment by the Whatcom County Council. District Court Judge Angela Anderson conducted the swearing-  more

HAMDEN, Connecticut, Jan. 14 (TNSOps) -- The Quinnipiac University Polling Institute issued the following news release on Jan. 13, 2022: With voting rights legislation in focus in the United States, Americans are split on which party in Congress is more likely to protect their right to vote with 45 percent saying the Democratic Party, 43 percent saying the Republican Party and 12 percent not offering an opinion, according to a Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pea- ack) University national poll of adults rel  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 12 -- Sen. Patty Murray, D-Washington, chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, issued the following news release on Jan. 11, 2022: U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, led a hearing on the federal response to the continuing surge of the COVID-19 Omicron variant across the country, with members of the Biden Administration COVID response team including Dr. Rochelle Walensky, Dir  more

DENVER, Colorado, Jan. 13 -- The Colorado Senate Republicans issued the following news on Jan. 12, 2022: At noon today, Senate and House Republicans in the Colorado General Assembly came together to introduce their Commitment to Colorado legislative package, containing 44 pieces of legislation. The core tenants of the Republican Commitment to Colorado were unveiled at a press conference with the Republican Party of Colorado last year. Today's event focused on translating those principles into  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 12 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following report (No. R45101) on Jan. 10, 2022, entitled "Congressional Gold Medals: Background, Legislative Process and Issues for Congress" by Congress specialist Jacob R. Straus: * * * Summary Senators and Representatives are frequently asked to support or sponsor proposals recognizing historic events and outstanding achievements by individuals or institutions. Among the various forms of recognition that Congress bestows,  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 10 -- The COVID-19 Consortium for Understanding the Public's Policy Preferences Across States issued the following report (No. 76) on Jan. 6, 2022, entitled "Storming of the Capitol, One Year Later". The report was a joint project of Northeastern University, Harvard University, Rutgers University and Northwestern University. * * * Summary Memo The COVID States Project From: The COVID-19 Consortium for Understanding the Public's Policy Preferences Across States Partners: No  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 14 -- The Democratic National Committee issued the following news release: Just one year after Senator Lindsey Graham said "count me out" when it came to Donald Trump, he's done a complete 180 to openly calling defeated former President Donald Trump the leader of the Republican Party and threatening to vote against Mitch McConnell's leadership unless he also bends the knee. We would be remiss if we didn't remind people just how far Lindsey Graham has debased himself to cozy up  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 9 -- The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee issued the following news release on Jan. 9, 2022: In response to Ron Johnson's campaign announcement -- breaking his term limit pledge -- today the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is releasing a new digital ad, "Himself." The spot highlights how Johnson is a self-serving politician who pushed for laws that enriched him and helped his wealthy political donors, hurting Wisconsinites in the process. The ad will reach tar  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 11 -- The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee issued the following statement: * * * In response to Chuck Morse and Kevin Smith's entrance into the New Hampshire Republican Senate primary, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spokesperson Amanda Sherman released the following statement. "After failing to get their top Senate recruit, Republicans are left with a messy and divisive primary filled with bottom-tier candidates. Whichever candidate finally emerges from this  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 15 -- The Federal Election Commission issued the following weekly digest: Commission meetings and hearings On January 11 and 13, the Commission met in executive session. On January 13, the Commission held an open meeting. Advisory Opinions Request Received Advisory Opinion Request 2022-01 (Joan Farr for U.S. Senate OK and KS) On January 13, the Commission made public Advisory Opinion Request 2022-01. The requestors, authorized committees of a candidate for the U.S. Senate   more

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts, Jan. 14 (TNSPol) -- Harvard Law School issued the following Q&A with Professor Richard Lazarus on Jan. 13, 2022: As part of a series examining the first year of the Biden presidency, Harvard Law Today asked Richard J. Lazarus '79, Howard and Katherine Aibel Professor of Law, an expert in environmental law and policy, to share his thoughts on the administration's successes, failures, and agenda for the future. Harvard Law Today: What has the administration done right s  more

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana, Jan. 12 -- The Indiana Democratic Party issued the following news release on Jan. 11, 2022: The Indiana Democratic Party, the organization that advocates for the future of Indiana and its families, today added its name to the effort to protect an American's constitutional right to vote in future city, state, and federal elections. With Republicans like Jim Baird, Jim Banks, Greg Pence, and Jackie Walorski all voting to overturn the 2020 presidential election results, the   more

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana, Jan. 11 -- The Indiana Democratic Party issued the following news release on Jan. 11, 2022: The Indiana Democratic Party, the organization that advocates for the future of Indiana and its families, today celebrated how the American Rescue Plan has "anchored" Indiana's economic future via the state's READI program. Governor Eric Holcomb is expected to tout READI and its $500 million economic investment in tonight's State of the State Address. But here's the thing: the Demo  more

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana, Jan. 13 -- The Indiana Democratic Party issued the following news release on Jan. 12, 2022: The Indiana Democratic Party, the organization that advocates for the future of Indiana and its families, today criticized the Indiana Republican Party for showing sympathy to Nazism and other forms of extremism in our state. This includes one of the Republicans' elected leaders, State Senator Scott Baldwin, who said educators must be impartial when teaching Nazism. Baldwin's white  more

RALEIGH, North Carolina, Jan. 15 -- The North Carolina Democratic Party issued the following news: Former President Trump and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell are feuding again as the Republican Party combats another circular firing squad. In a race which, according to an ABC11 interview with Chris Christie, is "emblematic of where we want to go as a party," North Carolina Republican U.S. Senate candidates have been awfully quiet about where they stand. * Earlier this year, Budd and Walk  more

RALEIGH, North Carolina, Jan. 11 -- The North Carolina Republican Party issued the following news: The N.C. Republican Party applauds the Superior Court for upholding the legislature's constitutional role in redistricting and rejecting the attempts of Democrat activists to leverage the judiciary for political purposes. We're happy this court affirmed the maps in question were drawn legally by the legislature as according to the Constitution. This lawsuit was never anything more than a 'Sue til  more

CONCORD, New Hampshire, Jan. 11 -- The New Hampshire Democratic Party issued the following statement: * * * Last night, Kevin Smith, one of the leading opponents of women's reproductive freedom and marriage equality in the Granite State, announced he will run for US Senate. Smith was a lobbyist for the anti-choice, far-right group Cornerstone Action, advocated for making abortion illegal in New Hampshire and defunding Planned Parenthood -- and called being gay a "lifestyle choice." With Don Bo  more

LINCOLN, Nebraska, Jan. 14 -- The Nebraska Democratic Party issued the following news release: Nebraska Democratic Party leaders pushed back Thursday on Gov. Pete Ricketts' State of the State address to Nebraska lawmakers. "Ricketts has failed Nebraskans across the board. From failing to fix the broken child welfare system, to reforming the unfair property tax system, to letting our prison overcrowding crisis languish, he gets failing grades. He has bucked safety measures advocated by Presiden  more

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Jan. 13 -- The Ohio Democratic Party issued the following statement on Jan. 12, 2022: * * * Ohio Democratic Party Chair Elizabeth Walters released the following statement applauding the Ohio Supreme Court decision blocking the GOP-gerrymandered state legislative maps from moving forward. Following the Court's decision, Chair Walters called on the Republican-controlled commission to finally put politics aside and do the jobs Ohio voters twice overwhelmingly called on them to do   more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 14 -- Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, issued the following news release on Jan. 13, 2022: Today on Fox News' America Reports, U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) discussed the Democrat Senators joining Republicans to preserve the filibuster, President Biden's speech in Atlanta, and Leader McConnell's work with President Trump. Excerpts of Sen. Cornyn's remarks are below, and video can be found here: https://youtu.be/b0ChgNgFn24 On Sen. Sinema's Announcement She Supports Preserving the  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 13 -- Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, issued the following news release on Jan. 11, 2022: In an interview with Rachel Maddow tonight, U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Chairwoman of the Senate Rules Committee with oversight of federal elections and campaign finance law, once again called for changes to Senate rules in order to pass federal voting rights legislation following her trip to Georgia with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. Klobuchar noted that c  more

HAMDEN, Connecticut, Jan. 13 (TNSOps) -- The Quinnipiac University Polling Institute issued the following news release on Jan. 12, 2022: In a sharply divided country, Americans agree on this: the bigger danger to the United States comes from within. Seventy-six percent say they think political instability within the country is a bigger danger to the United States compared to the 19 percent who think other countries that are adversaries of the United States are the bigger danger, according to a   more

ATLANTA, Georgia, Jan. 12 -- President Biden issued the following remarks on Jan. 11, 2022, at the Atlanta University Center Consortium on protecting the right to vote: * * * THE PRESIDENT: In our lives and the lives of our nation -- the life of our nation, there are moments so stark that they divide all that came before from everything that followed. They stop time. They rip away the trivial from the essential. And they force us to confront hard truths about ourselves, about our institutions,  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 14 -- Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Arizona, issued the following statement on Jan. 13, 2022: * * * Rep. Raul M. Grijalva (AZ-03) released the following statement after voting in support of the House Amendment to Senate Amendment to H.R. 5746 which included the Freedom to Vote and John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act. This marks the fifth time that House Democrats have voted to protect the right to vote with unanimous Republican opposition. "Protecting our democracy means ensuring that ou  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 14 -- The Ripon Society issued the following news release on Jan. 13, 2022: In remarks yesterday before a virtual meeting of The Ripon Society, U.S. Rep. Fred Upton (MI-6) discussed the impact of the omicron variant on the people he represents back home, and the effort he is spearheading to craft a follow-up to the 21st Century Cures Act, the landmark bill he authored that paved the way for the COVID-19 vaccine. "We're expecting 200,000 cases a week in Michigan for the next co  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 13 -- Sen. Richard J. Durbin, D-Illinois, issued the following floor statement, which was published in the Congressional Record on Jan. 12, 2022: Madam President, there are several issues swirling around the Senate at this moment. They relate to the voting rights of Americans. They relate to the voting rights of Senators--interesting that they would both be on parallel tracks as we debate them on the floor. It appears that the voting rights of Americans is witnessing a historic  more

LAS VEGAS, Nevada, Jan. 11 -- Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nevada, issued the following news release on Jan. 10, 2022: U.S. Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) announced that the Senate unanimously passed their bipartisan resolution honoring the life and legacy of U.S. Senator Harry Reid, which was co-sponsored by all 100 members of the Senate. "Senator Reid was a source of inspiration and pride for Nevada and our nation as he fought to improve the lives of millions of Americ  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 12 (TNSPol) -- Priorities USA issued the following statement on Jan. 11, 2022: * * * Priorities USA Chairman Guy Cecil issued the following statement in response to President Biden's speech on the urgency of passing voting rights legislation to protect against voter suppression efforts across the country: "President Biden's remarks this afternoon demonstrated a significant step in the right direction. It is time for Senate Democrats to reform the filibuster and pass desperate  more

MADISON, Wisconsin, Jan. 9 -- The Wisconsin Republican Party issued the following statement: * * * Following the announcement of Senator Johnson's re-election campaign, the Republican Party of Wisconsin released the following statement from Chairman Paul Farrow. "Grassroots Republicans are enthusiastically backing Senator Johnson's bid for re-election and are committed to doing the hard work to make it happen. "Since taking office, he has fought business as usual in Washington and his courag  more

MADISON, Wisconsin, Jan. 11 -- The Wisconsin Republican Party issued the following statement: * * * Tonight, after weeks of dodging questions on whether he planned to fire Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm, Tony Evers gave concerned Wisconsinites their answer: there will be no consequences for John Chisholm after his office authorized $1,000 bail for Darrell Brooks, who is the suspect of a violent attack that killed six Wisconsinites, including a child, and injured more than 60   more

MADISON, Wisconsin, Jan. 12 -- The Wisconsin Republican Party issued the following news: Senator Ron Johnson announced on Sunday his plans to seek a third term in the U.S. Senate and continue his "fight for freedom". After over a decade of service, his dedication to Wisconsin families is clear - as is the need for another term to help fight back against the failed agenda of the Biden administration and its far-left policies. Meanwhile, Democrats are tripping over themselves while they fight ov  more