Most of the attention on this year’s midterm elections is about which party will control Congress after the results are known on November 6. In addition to races for the Senate and House of Representatives, U.S. voters also will elect 36 state governors, and Democrats appear poised to make gains.

Republicans control 26 of the state governorships at stake in November, while Democrats currently hold nine seats, and there is one independent governor, Bill Walker in Alaska.

Democrats see opportunities for gains in some larger states like Florida, Michigan and Ohio, where Republican incumbents are term-limited and barred from running again. They also have targeted vulnerable Republican incumbents in Illinois and in Wisconsin, though, where Governor Scott Walker is making a bid for a third term.

In Florida, progressive Democrat Andrew Gillum is in a close race with Republican Ron DeSantis, an avid supporter of President Donald Trump.

Another close race is expected in Ohio where Republican Mike DeWine hopes to succeed Governor John Kasich, a once and possibly future presidential contender, but must fend off Democrat Richard Cordray.

Republicans believe their best chances to pick up seats previously held by Democrats are in Connecticut and Colorado. Republicans also are confident about holding governorships in two heavily Democratic states, Maryland and Massachusetts, where popular GOP incumbents have distanced themselves from President Trump.

The outcome of the 36 governor’s races have implications for the next presidential election in 2020 and beyond. Control of the governor’s mansion in a given state can help the party’s presidential contender in 2020. In addition, governors in most states play a crucial role in approving how congressional districts are redrawn every 10 years based on population shifts reflected in the national census.

Republicans were successful in redrawing House districts to their advantage after the 2010 census in large part because of the gains they made in governors’ races and state legislatures, which also have a key role in the process.

The political process often leads to what is known as “gerrymandering,” when one party has an advantage in how congressional districts are redrawn that results in an electoral advantage that can last for years.

Both parties have done it throughout history, and now Democrats are counting on gains at the gubernatorial level to create a more level playing field after the 2020 census.

 
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Thousands of scientists joined on Monday to accuse the Trump administration of trying to erode the Endangered Species Act in favor of commercial interests with a plan to revamp regulations that have formed a bedrock of U.S. wildlife protection for over 40 years.

The extraordinary critique of the administration’s proposal, which was unveiled in July, came in an open letter addressed to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross from three associations representing 9,000 professional biologists.

A separate letter similarly condemning revisions proposed to endangered species policies was signed by 273 leading university scientists from around the country.

Both came as the 60-day public comment period drew to a close for what would be the most sweeping overhaul in decades of the rules implementing the landmark environmental law.

The 1973 Endangered Species Act (ESA) currently protects more than 1,600 species of U.S. animals and plants listed as either endangered — on the brink of extinction — or threatened — deemed likely to become extinct in the foreseeable future.

The ESA is credited with a number of high-profile success stories, including the comeback of the American bald eagle, the California condor and the grizzly bear.

But the act has long been controversial for requiring the government to designate “critical habitat” deemed essential to a listed species’ survival and limiting commercial activities there, such as construction, mining, energy development or logging.

Developers and other critics argue that such restrictions pose an unfair and overly burdensome intrusion on property rights and economic activity.

Under the administration’s proposal, the government would end the practice of automatically treating endangered species and threatened species essentially the same.

The plan also calls for initially evaluating a species’ critical habitat on the basis of its current range, rather than according to the larger area it could be expected to occupy once recovered.

The administration has argued its proposal would enhance wildlife protection by building greater support for a statute that has become outdated and by streamlining the regulatory process.

Scientists, however, said the planned revisions would undermine the ESA and drive some wildlife closer to extinction.

One proposed change, they said, to allow consideration of economic factors when assessing a species’ status, would violate the law’s requirement that safeguards hinge solely on science.

“This is completely disastrous for efforts to save species from extinction,” said Stuart Pimm, a conservation ecology professor at Duke University.

A spokesman for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Brian Hires, said the agency encourages “input on our proposed ESA regulatory changes from all stakeholders as part of a robust and transparent public process.”
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Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh is denying allegations of sexual misconduct and says he will not withdraw his name from consideration for the top court.

Appearing Monday on Fox News for his first television interview on the allegations, Kavanaugh said, “I’ve never sexually assaulted anyone. Not in high school. Not ever.”

Kavanaugh appeared on the news program with his wife, Ashley Estes Kavanaugh, who said Kavanaugh’s nomination process has been “incredibly difficult.” She said, “at the end of the day, our faith is strong. We know we are on the right path.”

Kavanaugh’s television appearance comes one day after new allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced against him.

The New Yorker magazine reported Sunday that two U.S. senators are investigating a charge Kavanaugh exposed himself at a Yale University dormitory party during the 1983-1984 academic year.

Deborah Ramirez described the incident in an interview after being contacted by the magazine.  She admitted she had been drinking and has gaps in her memories.  But after consulting a lawyer, Ramirez said she felt confident in her recollection.

Speaking in New York on Monday, President Donald Trump labeled the new charges “totally political.”

Kavanaugh has also denied allegations by a woman who claimed he sexually assaulted her when they were both high school students in 1982.

The woman, Christine Blasey Ford, is expected to testify Thursday before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Kavanaugh is also expected to respond to the allegations on Thursday.

The new allegations that were reported Sunday have prompted a key senator to call for “an immediate postponement” of any further proceedings by the committee, which is considering Kavanaugh’s nomination.

California’s Diane Feinstein, the committee’s top Democrat, sent a letter Sunday to Republican committee chairman Chuck Grassley, urging him to refer the new allegations to the FBI in order to ensure “a fair, independent process that will gather all the facts.”

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell vowed Monday that the chamber will vote on Kavanaugh’s nomination, promising the vote will come “in the near future.”

McConnell, who was visibly angry, accused Democrats of attempting to destroy an honorable jurist on the basis of “decades-old allegations that are unsubstantiated and uncorroborated.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said if Republicans believe in Kavanaugh, then they, too, should want the accusations investigated by the FBI.

“Leader McConnell is afraid of what might come out (about Kavanaugh), what the truth is,” Schumer said.

Ford accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her at a party in the 1980s when both were teenagers. Kavanaugh vehemently denied the charge.

Kavanaugh, a judicial conservative and Trump’s second Supreme Court pick, was nominated to fill the vacancy created by Justice Anthony Kennedy’s retirement.

His confirmation by the Republican-controlled Senate had seemed all but assured until allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced last week.

Capitol Hill correspondent Michael Bowman contributed to this report.
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U.S. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who oversees the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller into Russia’s role in the 2016 presidential election, is set to meet President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday to discuss his future.

The following explains what happens to oversight of the Mueller probe if Rosenstein is no longer in charge.

What is Rosenstein’s involvement with the Mueller probe?

The deputy attorney general took charge of the investigation into Russian interference in the election because U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who had some contact with Russian officials while working on the Trump campaign, recused himself.

After Trump fired Federal Bureau of Investigation director James Comey in May 2017, Rosenstein appointed former FBI director Mueller to the role of special counsel and tasked him with investigating Russian interference in the election.

Rosenstein supervises Mueller and has signed off on his decisions to bring criminal charges against individuals associated with Trump’s presidential campaign. The probe has so far resulted in more than 30 indictments and six guilty pleas.

Who would succeed Rosenstein in overseeing the Mueller probe?

If Rosenstein left his job, the task of overseeing Mueller’s investigation would typically fall to the associate attorney general, the No. 3 official at the Department of Justice behind Sessions and Rosenstein.

The current holder of that position, Jesse Panuccio, does so in an acting capacity and has not been confirmed by the Senate.

That means under Justice Department rules he would not be able to succeed Rosenstein in taking charge of the special counsel probe.

Instead, it would fall to U.S. Solicitor General Noel Francisco, according to an internal Justice Department memo on succession from November 2016 that is still in effect.

Some legal experts have said Francisco would have to recuse himself because his former law firm, Jones Day, represented the Trump campaign. If that were to happen, the next in line to oversee the special counsel would be Steven Engel, the assistant attorney general in charge of the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel.

Could Trump pick a replacement for Rosenstein?

President Trump could potentially bypass the Justice Department’s succession order by invoking the Vacancies Reform Act of 1998 (VRA), which lays out general rules for temporarily filling vacant executive branch positions when the prior holder “dies, resigns, or is otherwise unable to perform” their duties.

If Rosenstein resigned, the VRA would allow the president to replace him on an interim basis with another official who has already been confirmed by the Senate. That person could be from any part of the executive branch, not necessarily the Justice Department.

Some legal experts argue that such a replacement would not be able to oversee the Mueller probe because Rosenstein is doing so as acting attorney general. A Justice Department guideline holds that an official cannot be both acting attorney general and acting deputy attorney general, but experts differ on whether that rule would have to be followed.

It is also not clear whether the law, intended to address vacancies created by deaths or resignations, would apply if such a vacancy were created by an official being fired by the president. Such an appointment could be challenged in court on that ground.
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Secretary of State Mike Pompeo vows the United States will be victorious in any trade war with China, a day before the Trump administration’s latest tariffs on Chinese imports go into effect.

Pompeo told Fox News on Sunday. “We are going to get an outcome which forces China to behave in a way that if you want to be a power, a global power… you do not steal intellectual property.”

The Trump administration has argued tariffs on Chinese goods would force China to trade on more favorable terms with the United States.

It has demanded that China better protect American intellectual property, including ending the practice of cyber theft. The Trump administration has also called on China to allow U.S. companies greater access to Chinese markets and to cut its U.S. trade surplus.

Last week, the United States ordered duties on another $200 billion of Chinese goods to go into effect on September 24 (Monday). China responded by adding $60 billion of U.S. products to its import tariff list.

The Untied States already has imposed tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods, and China has retaliated on an equal amount of U.S. goods.

Earlier this month, President Donald Trump threatened more tariffs on Chinese goods — another $267 billion worth of duties that would cover virtually all the goods China imports to the United States.

 
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The New Yorker magazine is reporting another allegation of sexual misconduct against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

The magazine reported late Sunday two U.S. senators are investigating a woman’s charge that Kavanaugh exposed himself and shoved his penis into her face, causing her to touch it as she shoved him away at a Yale University dormitory party during the 1983-1984 academic year.

Deborah Ramirez, 53, admits she had been drinking and that she has gaps in her memories. But after consultation with a lawyer, Ramirez told the magazine she felt confident enough in her recollection that it happened.

The New Yorker says it could not find any witnesses.

Several of Kavanaugh’s Yale classmates say he would never have done such a thing. But some of Ramirez’s classmates vouch for her integrity and recall seeing Kavanaugh “frequently and incoherently drunk.”

An aide to one of the senators investigating the story said, the “allegations seem credible and we’re taking them very seriously. If established, they’re clearly disqualifying.”

The White House has issued a statement from Kavanaugh who denies the incident, calling it “a smear, plain and simple.”

Meanwhile, the woman accusing Kavanaugh of a 1982 sexual assault has agreed to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday morning.

Details on exactly under what conditions Christine Blasey Ford will tell her story are still being worked out.

Reports say her lawyers lawyers —  Debra Katz, Lisa Banks and Michael Bromwich  — agree Ford will go first, to be followed by Kavanaugh.

The three lawyers are not pleased with but agree to the committee’s decision not to call any other witnesses. They include Kavanaugh’s friend, Mike Judge, who Ford says was in the room when the alleged sexual attack occurred.

“Despite actual threats to her safety and her life, Dr. Ford believes it is important for senators to hear directly from her about the sexual assault committed against her,” the lawyers said in a statement. They noted that other witnesses are “essential for a fair hearing.”

Also to be worked out is exactly who will question Ford. There are 21 members of the Senate Judiciary Committee – 11 conservative Republican men and 10 Democrats.

“Various senators have been dismissive of her (Ford’s) account and should have to shoulder their responsibility to ask her questions,” Ford’s lawyers say.

Also watch: Kavanaugh Accuser Expected to Testify

But Republicans do not want to look as if they are badgering a woman who claims to be the victim of a sexual assault just weeks before congressional elections with control of Congress at stake.

Kavanaugh is President Donald Trump’s choice to fill the vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court created by Justice Anthony Kennedy’s retirement.

His confirmation by the Republican-controlled Senate seemed assured until Ford said in a Washington Post interview that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her at a house party when they were in high school in Maryland and she was 15 years old.

According to Ford, a drunken 17-year-old Kavanaugh pinned her to a bed and tried to tear her clothes off. She says he put his hand over her mouth when she tried to scream. Ford says she feared Kavanaugh might inadvertently kill her before she managed to get away.

Kavanaugh has denied sexually abusing anyone at any time in his life. A number of women who know and him and worked with him throughout his legal career have said he has been totally respectful toward them.

Trump has questioned Ford’s account, tweeting Friday that “if the attack …was as bad as she says, charges would have been immediately filed” with police.

The tweet has prompted an outpouring of testimonials by self-described sexual assault survivors under the hashtag #WhyIDidntReport, and a rebuke from a key Republican.

The White House has called Kavanaugh’s character and legal qualifications impeccable.

Capitol Hill correspondent Michael Bowman contributed to this report.
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Dozens of vehicles slowly approached President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Saturday afternoon, blasting reggaeton and salsa as they drove by. They honked their horns and waved Puerto Rican flags draped from their car windows and trunks. They were on their way to a rally a few miles away to mark the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Maria.

Despite the scorching hot sun, hundreds of activists showed up at the Meyer Amphitheater in West Palm Beach. Buses full of protesters came from as far as Miami and Orlando. The crowd was lively. People spread out on the grass and walked around carrying posters that read “Respeta Mi Gente” (Respect My People) and “Justice for Puerto Rico.” To one side of the stage, a giant blowup balloon of Trump depicted as a baby had been inflated. Crowds waited in line to take photographs in which they gave the orange balloon the middle finger.

Message: vote

Event organizers encouraged those in attendance to vote in the midterm elections in November. Anyone with a microphone was constantly telling people to vote, to register to vote, and to spread awareness about voting.

“We’re honoring the lives that were lost,” said Marcos Vilar, the president and executive director of Alianza for Progress, one of the event organizers. “We are recognizing all the people that were displaced and are living here in South Florida, central Florida and throughout the state.”

Vilar believes that although Puerto Ricans are citizens, the current administration’s response to the aftermath of Hurricane Maria has proved that Puerto Ricans are not treated equally.

Nearly 3,000 people have died as a result of Hurricane Maria, according to a study conducted by the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University. The president has repeatedly rebuked the death toll. Last week he tweeted that researchers had inflated the numbers “like magic” saying the amount was “FIFTY TIMES LAST ORIGINAL NUMBER -NO WAY!”

Trump was not at Mar-a-Lago during the event.

​Florida politics

Florida Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson, who was in attendance, called the current situation in Puerto Rico “inexcusable” and characterized Trump’s comments as offensive. “How much more insults do (Puerto Ricans) have to take after being treated like they have?” he asked.

He also criticized the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s relief efforts, saying that their treatment of Puerto Ricans has been “cold-hearted” and that the agency must do more to provide displaced people with temporary housing assistance.

Nelson is locked in a tight re-election race with Republican Gov. Rick Scott, who must leave office because of term limits. The large Puerto Rican vote in Florida is seen as a crucial bloc in the state. Scott has visited Puerto Rico numerous times since the hurricane.

​Devastating storm

Dayavet Velez, 17, said that her home in Adjuntas, a small municipality tucked away in the mountains of central Puerto Rico, had been destroyed by Hurricane Maria. She and her family have been living in central Florida for nearly a year.

“We came here because we lost everything there,” she said.

Velez said that when Trump visited Puerto Rico, he didn’t see the full devastation that Maria had caused, he saw only a distorted reality. He didn’t visit the areas that were most affected by the storm.

Despite the hardships she and her family have faced, the high school senior remains hopeful.

“We’re not going to be torn down,” she said. “We’re going to stand up for ourselves … we’re going to be strong … we’re going to progress here.”
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Six siblings of U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar have urged voters to cast their ballots against the Arizona Republican in November in an unusual political ad sponsored by the rival candidate.

The television ad from Democrat David Brill combines video interviews with Gosar-family siblings who ask voters to usher Paul Gosar out of office because he has broken with the family’s values. They do not elaborate.

They previously condemned the congressman’s false accusation in 2017 that wealthy Democratic donor George Soros was a Nazi collaborator in World War II.

“It’s intervention time,” Tim Gosar says in the ad, endorsing Brill. “And intervention time means that you go to vote, and you go to vote Paul out.”

Gosar is a fourth-term congressman for a sprawling district in northwestern and central Arizona. 

Congressman: ‘Stalin would be proud’

He fired back at his brothers and sisters in a series of twitter posts, calling them disgruntled supporters of Hillary Clinton from out of state who put ideology before family.

“My siblings who chose to film ads against me are all liberal Democrats who hate President Trump,” Gosar said. “Stalin would be proud.”

In a separate video segment, the siblings urge voters to hold the congressman accountable on health care, employment and environmental issues.

Paul Gosar’s comments about Soros came in a television interview with Vice News in which he also suggested a 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, might have been a liberal conspiracy.

Why siblings are speaking out

In the new ad, the congressman’s siblings describe their decision to speak out as saddening, horrible and ultimately a matter of pride for the family from Wyoming.

“I think my brother has traded a lot of the values we had at our kitchen table,” says Joan Gosar, an engineer.

Pete Gosar, another sibling who ran unsuccessfully as a candidate for governor of Wyoming in 2014, doesn’t appear in the ad, though he has publicly criticized his brother’s views in the past.

Wisconsin feud

The rift in the Gosar clan is not the only sibling feud to wend its way into campaigning this year for Congress, as Democrats seek to retake majority control of the House and Senate from Republicans.

In the race to replace House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, Democratic congressional candidate Randy Bryce is confronting an ad in which his brother endorses the Republican candidate.

That upset Nancy Bryce, their mother, who has denounced the campaign ad in a letter recently made public.
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A communications adviser helping lead the Senate Judiciary Committee’s response to allegations of sexual assault against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh has stepped down over allegations of his own sexual misconduct.

A spokesman for the committee said Saturday that Garrett Ventry, 29, had resigned as an aide to committee Chairman Charles Grassley, an Iowa Republican.

Ventry was “one of several temporary staff brought on to assist in the committee’s consideration of the Supreme Court nomination,” the spokesman said. “While he strongly denies allegations of wrongdoing, he decided to resign to avoid causing any distraction from the work of the committee.” 

NBC reported that Ventry also resigned Saturday from the public relations company where he was employed, having taken a temporary leave of absence to work with the Judiciary Committee. The report quoted a company spokesman for CC Public Relations confirming Ventry’s resignation.

NBC also reported that Ventry was fired from a previous position in the office of North Carolina House Majority Leader John Bell because a female employee of the North Carolina General Assembly accused him of sexual harassment. Bell confirmed to NBC that Ventry worked in his office but he did not confirm the reason for his departure.
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