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In a sprawling California congressional district that includes some of the nation’s richest farmland and part of one of its poorest cities, a first-time candidate, a Cambodian-American woman, is taking on a well-entrenched Democrat, a white man.

Neither reflects the 16th District’s majority, the 58 percent of residents who identify as Hispanic or Latino. Slightly more than 25 percent identify as white, like Rep. Jim Costa, the Democratic incumbent, and only 8.6 percent are Asian, like Elizabeth Heng, the Republican challenger. Blacks and others make up the remaining chunk of voters.

Republican Heng, 33, a graduate of Fresno public schools, Stanford and Yale universities, aims to flip the district, long dependably Democratic. 

“I truly believe that we need new voices with fresh perspective to fight for our community,” said Heng in an interview with VOA Khmer. Although this is her first run for an elected position, Heng is the first Cambodian-American to make it through a primary and run for Congress.

Costa, 66, has represented the district since 2013. He began his political career in 1978 in the California State Assembly, moved up to the State Senate, and from 2005 to 2013, served in the U.S. House of Representative for California’s 20th District, part of which moved into the 16th when district borders changed.

The Costa-Heng race, one he’s likely to win, drew national attention the first week in August after Facebook and Twitter yanked a campaign ad from Heng, who was a registered Democrat before turning right.

The ad showed footage of genocide in Cambodia during the Pol Pot regime, which caused the deaths of at least 1.7 million people. Heng said her slogan “Great things can come from great adversary,” referred to her parents’ flight from Cambodia to the United States via Thailand to become successful small business owners in California.

Heng tweeted: “@facebook rejected my video because it was ‘too shocking’ for their platform, referring to the scenes of horrific events my parents survived in Cambodia.”

She also tweeted a copy of the notice she received from Facebook which states, “we don’t allow ads that contain shocking disrespectful or sensational content, including ads that depict violence or threats of violence” and asked “Facebook, do you think it’s right to censor history?”

Conservative outlets including the National Review, chimed in, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, from California’s 23rd Congressional District tweeted support and The San Francisco Chronicle reported conservatives were “irate” at Facebook with many claiming what happened to Heng was the latest example of tech companies trying to censor the right of center.

Facebook restored the ad within days, Twitter reinstated it by midmonth, and the race in California’s 16th returned to key issues such as jobs, water and immigration. And, in the crucial final weeks before the midterm vote, the Fresno Chamber of Commerce, the Merced Sun-Star and the Fresno Bee endorsed Costa, who despite repeated requests, did not speak to VOA for this story.

The 16th Congressional District has one of the lowest median household incomes, $43,839, in California, where the median household income is $63,783 according to 2010 U.S. Census data.

“So I believe it’s important for us to invest in areas such as vocational training and career technical training and trade skills,” Heng said. “So, we can provide our community and many people who are struggling in our community with the skillsets that they need to get to the next level, breaking out of this vicious cycle of poverty.”

Welding, electrical and plumbing skills for jobs in construction, and the computer training needed by the tech industry are what people need to get ahead, she said.

Growing up in Fresno

Heng grew up in Fresno. Her parents, mother Siv Khoeu and father Chieu Heng, arrived the U.S. in 1983 after living almost four years under the Khmer Rouge. They began their working lives in the United States as a construction worker and seamstress before saving enough money to buy a Fresno grocery store where Heng worked after classes throughout elementary, middle, and high school.

Heng, valedictorian of Fresno’s Sunnyside High School Class of 2003, attended Stanford University, where she served as student body president during her senior year. Heng, who majored in political science and American politics, told the school newspaper, the Stanford Review, in 2007 that she wanted to work on a presidential campaign and was interested in a career in politics.

After graduating from Stanford, she returned to Fresno where she opened cell phone stores with her brothers. It was when she was managing some 75 employees that she says she realized “how government regulations impacted businesses negatively,” she told the National Review in an interview published before her campaign ad controversy.

Time in D.C.

Fed up, she packed her bags and headed to Washington, where she eventually landed a job with the House Foreign Affairs Committee headed by California Republican, Ed Royce.

She recalls that was where she learned how U.S. foreign aid is distributed worldwide and how, during a visit to Cambodia, she was inspired to do more for the community.

“I realized how different my life could have turned out had my parents not sought refuge in the United States,” Heng told VOA. “And that was a perfect example of why I continue to dedicate my life to service and politics and empowering and holding to the fundamentals of what make this country, the United States, great, but also to use that to great work around the world including places like Cambodia.”

She decided to run for office when she returned to Fresno in 2017. As of Sept. 30, Costa has beaten Heng in the race for campaign contributions, $1,148,149 to $312,732, according to Federal Election Commission reports. The 16th District favored Democrat Hillary Clinton over Trump in the 2016 presidential election by a margin of 21.3 points. Of California’s 53 House seats, Democrats hold 39.

Part of Heng’s effort to flip the district focuses on a get-out-the-vote campaign, so she knocks on a lot of doors. 

“We’re doing this every single day to turn people out to vote,” she said. “It’s so important for our community to get involved and so they can be a part of the process.”

Immigration a key issue

Heng, who has made immigration one of her key areas, repeated the Republican line that the current U.S. immigration policy is broken and says that she would work to protect the border and enhance security measure to “prevent criminals and terrorists” from entering the country, but encourage legal immigration, according to her website.

“Immigration is one of the top priorities in my campaign because as you’ve seen in the national media that something that we consistently talk about,” Heng told VOA. “I would love nothing more [than] to be on the forefront of immigration reform and getting that right for our country.”

Sophal Ear, associate professor at Occidental Community College in Los Angeles is a leading authority on Cambodia and the Cambodian diaspora. He said he hopes Heng uses the Cambodian-American narrative in a “meaningful way” and not “simply as a steppingstone for power.”

“Her family’s refugee story of struggle is not just something she ought to exploit for political gain as a Republican candidate,” he said. “She can’t just take that and serve President Trump’s agenda. She ought to remember that to whom much is given, much is expected.”

However, Heng told VOA she would not be “a rubber stamp” for any political party. “I know how Washington D.C. works,” she said. “I know how to hit the ground running to move legislative policy that works.”
…

In a sprawling California congressional district that includes some of the nation’s richest farmland and part of one of its poorest cities, a first-time candidate, a Cambodian-American woman, is taking on a well-entrenched Democrat, a white man.

Neither reflects the 16th District’s majority, the 58 percent of residents who identify as Hispanic or Latino. Slightly more than 25 percent identify as white, like Rep. Jim Costa, the Democratic incumbent, and only 8.6 percent are Asian, like Elizabeth Heng, the Republican challenger. Blacks and others make up the remaining chunk of voters.

Republican Heng, 33, a graduate of Fresno public schools, Stanford and Yale universities, aims to flip the district, long dependably Democratic. 

“I truly believe that we need new voices with fresh perspective to fight for our community,” said Heng in an interview with VOA Khmer. Although this is her first run for an elected position, Heng is the first Cambodian-American to make it through a primary and run for Congress.

Costa, 66, has represented the district since 2013. He began his political career in 1978 in the California State Assembly, moved up to the State Senate, and from 2005 to 2013, served in the U.S. House of Representative for California’s 20th District, part of which moved into the 16th when district borders changed.

The Costa-Heng race, one he’s likely to win, drew national attention the first week in August after Facebook and Twitter yanked a campaign ad from Heng, who was a registered Democrat before turning right.

The ad showed footage of genocide in Cambodia during the Pol Pot regime, which caused the deaths of at least 1.7 million people. Heng said her slogan “Great things can come from great adversary,” referred to her parents’ flight from Cambodia to the United States via Thailand to become successful small business owners in California.

Heng tweeted: “@facebook rejected my video because it was ‘too shocking’ for their platform, referring to the scenes of horrific events my parents survived in Cambodia.”

She also tweeted a copy of the notice she received from Facebook which states, “we don’t allow ads that contain shocking disrespectful or sensational content, including ads that depict violence or threats of violence” and asked “Facebook, do you think it’s right to censor history?”

Conservative outlets including the National Review, chimed in, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, from California’s 23rd Congressional District tweeted support and The San Francisco Chronicle reported conservatives were “irate” at Facebook with many claiming what happened to Heng was the latest example of tech companies trying to censor the right of center.

Facebook restored the ad within days, Twitter reinstated it by midmonth, and the race in California’s 16th returned to key issues such as jobs, water and immigration. And, in the crucial final weeks before the midterm vote, the Fresno Chamber of Commerce, the Merced Sun-Star and the Fresno Bee endorsed Costa, who despite repeated requests, did not speak to VOA for this story.

The 16th Congressional District has one of the lowest median household incomes, $43,839, in California, where the median household income is $63,783 according to 2010 U.S. Census data.

“So I believe it’s important for us to invest in areas such as vocational training and career technical training and trade skills,” Heng said. “So, we can provide our community and many people who are struggling in our community with the skillsets that they need to get to the next level, breaking out of this vicious cycle of poverty.”

Welding, electrical and plumbing skills for jobs in construction, and the computer training needed by the tech industry are what people need to get ahead, she said.

Growing up in Fresno

Heng grew up in Fresno. Her parents, mother Siv Khoeu and father Chieu Heng, arrived the U.S. in 1983 after living almost four years under the Khmer Rouge. They began their working lives in the United States as a construction worker and seamstress before saving enough money to buy a Fresno grocery store where Heng worked after classes throughout elementary, middle, and high school.

Heng, valedictorian of Fresno’s Sunnyside High School Class of 2003, attended Stanford University, where she served as student body president during her senior year. Heng, who majored in political science and American politics, told the school newspaper, the Stanford Review, in 2007 that she wanted to work on a presidential campaign and was interested in a career in politics.

After graduating from Stanford, she returned to Fresno where she opened cell phone stores with her brothers. It was when she was managing some 75 employees that she says she realized “how government regulations impacted businesses negatively,” she told the National Review in an interview published before her campaign ad controversy.

Time in D.C.

Fed up, she packed her bags and headed to Washington, where she eventually landed a job with the House Foreign Affairs Committee headed by California Republican, Ed Royce.

She recalls that was where she learned how U.S. foreign aid is distributed worldwide and how, during a visit to Cambodia, she was inspired to do more for the community.

“I realized how different my life could have turned out had my parents not sought refuge in the United States,” Heng told VOA. “And that was a perfect example of why I continue to dedicate my life to service and politics and empowering and holding to the fundamentals of what make this country, the United States, great, but also to use that to great work around the world including places like Cambodia.”

She decided to run for office when she returned to Fresno in 2017. As of Sept. 30, Costa has beaten Heng in the race for campaign contributions, $1,148,149 to $312,732, according to Federal Election Commission reports. The 16th District favored Democrat Hillary Clinton over Trump in the 2016 presidential election by a margin of 21.3 points. Of California’s 53 House seats, Democrats hold 39.

Part of Heng’s effort to flip the district focuses on a get-out-the-vote campaign, so she knocks on a lot of doors. 

“We’re doing this every single day to turn people out to vote,” she said. “It’s so important for our community to get involved and so they can be a part of the process.”

Immigration a key issue

Heng, who has made immigration one of her key areas, repeated the Republican line that the current U.S. immigration policy is broken and says that she would work to protect the border and enhance security measure to “prevent criminals and terrorists” from entering the country, but encourage legal immigration, according to her website.

“Immigration is one of the top priorities in my campaign because as you’ve seen in the national media that something that we consistently talk about,” Heng told VOA. “I would love nothing more [than] to be on the forefront of immigration reform and getting that right for our country.”

Sophal Ear, associate professor at Occidental Community College in Los Angeles is a leading authority on Cambodia and the Cambodian diaspora. He said he hopes Heng uses the Cambodian-American narrative in a “meaningful way” and not “simply as a steppingstone for power.”

“Her family’s refugee story of struggle is not just something she ought to exploit for political gain as a Republican candidate,” he said. “She can’t just take that and serve President Trump’s agenda. She ought to remember that to whom much is given, much is expected.”

However, Heng told VOA she would not be “a rubber stamp” for any political party. “I know how Washington D.C. works,” she said. “I know how to hit the ground running to move legislative policy that works.”
…

President Donald Trump on Wednesday kicked off his final campaign rally blitz before the midterm elections by accusing the media of sowing division and stoking fears about illegal immigration.

Trump’s rally in Estero, just outside Fort Myers, was the first of 11 events he will hold across eight battlefield states over the next six days as he tries to bolster Republican turnout and counter Democratic enthusiasm heading into Election Day, which will determine whether the GOP retains control of Congress.

The president continued the grievance-airing that has long been a fixture of his rallies, seizing on news reports about protests during his Tuesday visit to Pittsburgh, where he paid his respects to the 11 people killed at a synagogue in the worst anti-Semitic attack in U.S. history.

Media and caravan

He said any protests there were small and far away from him, and he called reporting to the contrary “fake and make-believe.”

A small group of protesters was within earshot of Trump outside the synagogue, and hundreds more were kept blocks away by police. Some community leaders had asked Trump not to make the trip.

“The left-wing media doesn’t want to solve problems. They want to stoke resentment,” Trump claimed, adding: “It has to stop.”

At the rally, Trump also referenced a caravan of Central American migrants that is slowly making its way toward the U.S. border.

The president implored rallygoers to vote and painted a dark picture of the stakes, telling the crowd that if Democrats take control of Congress, they will raise taxes and open the country’s borders to illegal drugs and immigration, including the Central American migrants traveling through Mexico and seeking asylum in the U.S.

Democrats “want to bring caravan after caravan into our country,” he claimed, without offering evidence.

Stoking immigration fears

The president has been stoking fears that the nation is under attack from an onslaught of dangerous illegal immigrants and said earlier Wednesday that the number of military troops deployed to the U.S.-Mexico border could reach 15,000, which would bring the military commitment on the border to roughly the same level as in war-torn Afghanistan.

Trump this week also threatened to end the constitutionally enshrined right of birthright citizenship via executive order and announced plans to erect tent cities to house asylum seekers, even as his administration has been discussing a dramatic executive overhaul of immigration policy that would bar those in the caravan from entering the U.S. completely.

​First of two Florida rallies

The rally was the first of two this week in Florida, where Republican Gov. Rick Scott is challenging Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson for U.S. Senate and where Democrat Andrew Gillum and Republican Ron DeSantis are locked in a tight race to replace Scott as governor.

Both Scott and DeSantis joined the president at the rally, where Trump offered his enthusiastic endorsement.

“Rick Scott always delivers for the people of Florida,” Trump said as he introduced the governor.

​On the road

Trump’s last-stretch rally lineup will include two rallies each in Indiana and Missouri, plus stops in a Pensacola, Florida, Tennessee, Georgia, Ohio, Montana and West Virginia.

While Trump is not on the ballot, both Democratic and Republican strategists have reported that Trump’s rallies, the centerpiece of his unconventional and underestimated 2016 campaign, have been a boost for local candidates, generating hundreds of thousands of dollars in free media and boosting Republicans in post-rally polls.

By Election Day, Trump will have held 30 rallies since Labor Day, according to the White House. He’s been holding events in competitive House districts and in states with competitive senatorial and gubernatorial races.

Supporters line up early

Indeed, supporters in southwest Florida started to line up for Wednesday’s rally before dawn, and by late morning, about 3,000 people were in line for the event scheduled to start at 7 p.m. on Halloween.

Several attendees wore costumes to mark the occasion, one in an Uncle Sam hat, another dressed as a Revolutionary War soldier, a third as Trump himself.

Adam Botana, the president of Bay Water Exclusive Boat Club & Rentals, said he told his employees they were free to take the day off if they wanted to go to the rally. He said one took him up on the offer.

“It’s a piece of history,” he said, adding he would feel the same way about former President Barack Obama or former President Richard Nixon. “If they want to do that, we have no problem with it.”

Early voters

More than 3.4 million people have already voted in Florida, surpassing the number who voted early or by mail four years ago. And most of those in attendance at the rally claimed to be among them, thrusting their hands into the air when Trump asked who in the crowd had already cast their ballots.

History and recent polls suggest Republicans will lose a significant number of seats in the House. Democrats are facing an uphill battle to gain control of the Senate, with several vulnerable incumbents running in Republican-leaning states.

“I feel very good about the Senate,” Trump told ABC News in an interview before the rally. “And frankly I think we feel pretty good about the House.”
…

President Donald Trump on Wednesday kicked off his final campaign rally blitz before the midterm elections by accusing the media of sowing division and stoking fears about illegal immigration.

Trump’s rally in Estero, just outside Fort Myers, was the first of 11 events he will hold across eight battlefield states over the next six days as he tries to bolster Republican turnout and counter Democratic enthusiasm heading into Election Day, which will determine whether the GOP retains control of Congress.

The president continued the grievance-airing that has long been a fixture of his rallies, seizing on news reports about protests during his Tuesday visit to Pittsburgh, where he paid his respects to the 11 people killed at a synagogue in the worst anti-Semitic attack in U.S. history.

Media and caravan

He said any protests there were small and far away from him, and he called reporting to the contrary “fake and make-believe.”

A small group of protesters was within earshot of Trump outside the synagogue, and hundreds more were kept blocks away by police. Some community leaders had asked Trump not to make the trip.

“The left-wing media doesn’t want to solve problems. They want to stoke resentment,” Trump claimed, adding: “It has to stop.”

At the rally, Trump also referenced a caravan of Central American migrants that is slowly making its way toward the U.S. border.

The president implored rallygoers to vote and painted a dark picture of the stakes, telling the crowd that if Democrats take control of Congress, they will raise taxes and open the country’s borders to illegal drugs and immigration, including the Central American migrants traveling through Mexico and seeking asylum in the U.S.

Democrats “want to bring caravan after caravan into our country,” he claimed, without offering evidence.

Stoking immigration fears

The president has been stoking fears that the nation is under attack from an onslaught of dangerous illegal immigrants and said earlier Wednesday that the number of military troops deployed to the U.S.-Mexico border could reach 15,000, which would bring the military commitment on the border to roughly the same level as in war-torn Afghanistan.

Trump this week also threatened to end the constitutionally enshrined right of birthright citizenship via executive order and announced plans to erect tent cities to house asylum seekers, even as his administration has been discussing a dramatic executive overhaul of immigration policy that would bar those in the caravan from entering the U.S. completely.

​First of two Florida rallies

The rally was the first of two this week in Florida, where Republican Gov. Rick Scott is challenging Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson for U.S. Senate and where Democrat Andrew Gillum and Republican Ron DeSantis are locked in a tight race to replace Scott as governor.

Both Scott and DeSantis joined the president at the rally, where Trump offered his enthusiastic endorsement.

“Rick Scott always delivers for the people of Florida,” Trump said as he introduced the governor.

​On the road

Trump’s last-stretch rally lineup will include two rallies each in Indiana and Missouri, plus stops in a Pensacola, Florida, Tennessee, Georgia, Ohio, Montana and West Virginia.

While Trump is not on the ballot, both Democratic and Republican strategists have reported that Trump’s rallies, the centerpiece of his unconventional and underestimated 2016 campaign, have been a boost for local candidates, generating hundreds of thousands of dollars in free media and boosting Republicans in post-rally polls.

By Election Day, Trump will have held 30 rallies since Labor Day, according to the White House. He’s been holding events in competitive House districts and in states with competitive senatorial and gubernatorial races.

Supporters line up early

Indeed, supporters in southwest Florida started to line up for Wednesday’s rally before dawn, and by late morning, about 3,000 people were in line for the event scheduled to start at 7 p.m. on Halloween.

Several attendees wore costumes to mark the occasion, one in an Uncle Sam hat, another dressed as a Revolutionary War soldier, a third as Trump himself.

Adam Botana, the president of Bay Water Exclusive Boat Club & Rentals, said he told his employees they were free to take the day off if they wanted to go to the rally. He said one took him up on the offer.

“It’s a piece of history,” he said, adding he would feel the same way about former President Barack Obama or former President Richard Nixon. “If they want to do that, we have no problem with it.”

Early voters

More than 3.4 million people have already voted in Florida, surpassing the number who voted early or by mail four years ago. And most of those in attendance at the rally claimed to be among them, thrusting their hands into the air when Trump asked who in the crowd had already cast their ballots.

History and recent polls suggest Republicans will lose a significant number of seats in the House. Democrats are facing an uphill battle to gain control of the Senate, with several vulnerable incumbents running in Republican-leaning states.

“I feel very good about the Senate,” Trump told ABC News in an interview before the rally. “And frankly I think we feel pretty good about the House.”
…

The National Rifle Association, long seen as a kingmaker in Republican politics, is taking a lower profile in this year’s high-stakes midterm campaign, a sign of the shifting dynamics of the gun debate as the GOP fights to maintain its grip on Congress.

The NRA has put $11 million into midterm races this year, less than half what it spent four years ago in a campaign that gave Republicans full control of Congress. This year’s totals are also far below the $54 million the group spent in 2016 on both the presidential and congressional races.

The shift comes as spending to support tougher gun control measures has surged. Everytown for Gun Safety, a group founded by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, pledged $30 million for this year’s election, and has continued to put new money into competitive races in the final days. A political action committee formed by Gabby Giffords, the former congresswoman wounded in a shooting, is spending nearly $5 million.

​NRA may be outspent

It’s the first time under current campaign finance laws that the NRA might be outspent by gun control groups, though the organization often ramps up spending late in the campaign. That money won’t show up in federal financial reports until after Election Day.

It all underscores a changing political landscape on guns after a series of election year mass shootings, including the February massacre at a Parkland, Florida, high school that left 17 people dead, and Saturday’s deadly attack at a Pittsburgh synagogue.

“The politics of guns has changed,” said Jim Kessler, the senior vice president for policy at Third Way, a centrist think tank. “The groups supporting more gun safety restrictions are smarter than in the past and have more resources, both in terms of people and money, than in the past.”

Support for tightening laws

With polls showing that the majority of Americans now support at least some tightening of gun laws, the issue is no longer taboo in swing districts, particularly the suburban areas that could determine which party controls the House next year. Everytown and Giffords’ group are on the air in competitive districts in Texas, Virginia, Kansas and elsewhere.

After the Pittsburgh shooting, a Bloomberg aide said Everytown bought another $700,000 in advertisements aimed at ousting Rep. Mike Coffman, a vulnerable Republican who represents a suburban Denver district, a significant sum to spend on a single House race in one week.

The group has also spent about $4 million in the Atlanta suburbs to back Democrat and gun control advocate Lucy McBath, whose son was shot and killed in 2012.

Despite the public polling, there are no guarantees that sending more pro-gun control lawmakers to Washington would result in tougher legislation. Modest measures have repeatedly been blocked in Congress, even as Americans have grown more supportive of steps like banning assault weapons and tightening background checks.

Not walking away

Bloomberg, who is weighing a run for president as a Democrat in 2020, promises to keep up the pressure on lawmakers and candidates he’s backing if they end up on Capitol Hill.

“I’ve put an awful lot of my money and an awful lot of my time into this,” he said in an interview with The Associated Press. “I’m not going to forget it. I’m not going to walk away.”

He continued: “The nice thing about the House, it may be a stupidly designed system but if they don’t do what they said they were going to do, you get another crack at deciding to support them or somebody else two years from now.”

An NRA spokeswoman would not comment on the group’s election spending compared with organizations pushing for stricter gun laws.

Bloomberg, who is spending $120 million on the midterms, has helped pro-gun control groups level a playing field long dominated by the NRA.

The organization was riding high after the 2016 election, with a strong supporter in the White House and Republicans in charge of both the House and Senate.

Tumultuous year for NRA

But 2018 has proved to be a tumultuous year for the NRA, which has been faced with boycotts from parts of corporate America in the wake of mass shootings and an investigation into what federal authorities allege were covert Russian agents seeking to influence the 2016 election to benefit Trump by courting NRA officials and funneling money through the group.

Publicly, the NRA has portrayed itself as being in financial distress because of deep-pocketed liberal opposition to guns and what it calls the mainstream media “spewing toxic lies” about the group. Over the summer, the organization raised its annual dues fees from $40 to $45, the second increase in two years.

NRA watchers dismiss the notion that the organization is in trouble and say it’s more of a ploy to energize its ardent supporters, which in turn could help bring in more donations.

“It’s in the NRA’s interests to exaggerate how much trouble it’s in,” said Robert J. Spitzer, chairman of political science at the State University of New York at Cortland and an expert on guns and the Second Amendment.

Indeed, the group’s political fundraising is up this year compared to the last midterm election. According to data provided by an NRA official, the group’s Political Victory Fund has raised more than $12 million this year compared to nearly $11 million at this same point in the 2014 midterms.

Other ways to sway votes

While the NRA is not pumping the same levels of money into this year’s elections, it still has much at its disposal to try to sway campaigns: its NRATV media arm, social media and an ability to mobilize its millions of members to get them to the polls.

The NRA’s membership rolls and finances are not public, but the organization has said it has about 6 million in its ranks. Those who closely watch the group believe its membership is closer to 4 million.

Both the NRA and groups such as Everytown can also quietly influence elections with money that doesn’t have to be reported in publicly available campaign finance reports.
…

The National Rifle Association, long seen as a kingmaker in Republican politics, is taking a lower profile in this year’s high-stakes midterm campaign, a sign of the shifting dynamics of the gun debate as the GOP fights to maintain its grip on Congress.

The NRA has put $11 million into midterm races this year, less than half what it spent four years ago in a campaign that gave Republicans full control of Congress. This year’s totals are also far below the $54 million the group spent in 2016 on both the presidential and congressional races.

The shift comes as spending to support tougher gun control measures has surged. Everytown for Gun Safety, a group founded by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, pledged $30 million for this year’s election, and has continued to put new money into competitive races in the final days. A political action committee formed by Gabby Giffords, the former congresswoman wounded in a shooting, is spending nearly $5 million.

​NRA may be outspent

It’s the first time under current campaign finance laws that the NRA might be outspent by gun control groups, though the organization often ramps up spending late in the campaign. That money won’t show up in federal financial reports until after Election Day.

It all underscores a changing political landscape on guns after a series of election year mass shootings, including the February massacre at a Parkland, Florida, high school that left 17 people dead, and Saturday’s deadly attack at a Pittsburgh synagogue.

“The politics of guns has changed,” said Jim Kessler, the senior vice president for policy at Third Way, a centrist think tank. “The groups supporting more gun safety restrictions are smarter than in the past and have more resources, both in terms of people and money, than in the past.”

Support for tightening laws

With polls showing that the majority of Americans now support at least some tightening of gun laws, the issue is no longer taboo in swing districts, particularly the suburban areas that could determine which party controls the House next year. Everytown and Giffords’ group are on the air in competitive districts in Texas, Virginia, Kansas and elsewhere.

After the Pittsburgh shooting, a Bloomberg aide said Everytown bought another $700,000 in advertisements aimed at ousting Rep. Mike Coffman, a vulnerable Republican who represents a suburban Denver district, a significant sum to spend on a single House race in one week.

The group has also spent about $4 million in the Atlanta suburbs to back Democrat and gun control advocate Lucy McBath, whose son was shot and killed in 2012.

Despite the public polling, there are no guarantees that sending more pro-gun control lawmakers to Washington would result in tougher legislation. Modest measures have repeatedly been blocked in Congress, even as Americans have grown more supportive of steps like banning assault weapons and tightening background checks.

Not walking away

Bloomberg, who is weighing a run for president as a Democrat in 2020, promises to keep up the pressure on lawmakers and candidates he’s backing if they end up on Capitol Hill.

“I’ve put an awful lot of my money and an awful lot of my time into this,” he said in an interview with The Associated Press. “I’m not going to forget it. I’m not going to walk away.”

He continued: “The nice thing about the House, it may be a stupidly designed system but if they don’t do what they said they were going to do, you get another crack at deciding to support them or somebody else two years from now.”

An NRA spokeswoman would not comment on the group’s election spending compared with organizations pushing for stricter gun laws.

Bloomberg, who is spending $120 million on the midterms, has helped pro-gun control groups level a playing field long dominated by the NRA.

The organization was riding high after the 2016 election, with a strong supporter in the White House and Republicans in charge of both the House and Senate.

Tumultuous year for NRA

But 2018 has proved to be a tumultuous year for the NRA, which has been faced with boycotts from parts of corporate America in the wake of mass shootings and an investigation into what federal authorities allege were covert Russian agents seeking to influence the 2016 election to benefit Trump by courting NRA officials and funneling money through the group.

Publicly, the NRA has portrayed itself as being in financial distress because of deep-pocketed liberal opposition to guns and what it calls the mainstream media “spewing toxic lies” about the group. Over the summer, the organization raised its annual dues fees from $40 to $45, the second increase in two years.

NRA watchers dismiss the notion that the organization is in trouble and say it’s more of a ploy to energize its ardent supporters, which in turn could help bring in more donations.

“It’s in the NRA’s interests to exaggerate how much trouble it’s in,” said Robert J. Spitzer, chairman of political science at the State University of New York at Cortland and an expert on guns and the Second Amendment.

Indeed, the group’s political fundraising is up this year compared to the last midterm election. According to data provided by an NRA official, the group’s Political Victory Fund has raised more than $12 million this year compared to nearly $11 million at this same point in the 2014 midterms.

Other ways to sway votes

While the NRA is not pumping the same levels of money into this year’s elections, it still has much at its disposal to try to sway campaigns: its NRATV media arm, social media and an ability to mobilize its millions of members to get them to the polls.

The NRA’s membership rolls and finances are not public, but the organization has said it has about 6 million in its ranks. Those who closely watch the group believe its membership is closer to 4 million.

Both the NRA and groups such as Everytown can also quietly influence elections with money that doesn’t have to be reported in publicly available campaign finance reports.
…

The National Rifle Association, long seen as a kingmaker in Republican politics, is taking a lower profile in this year’s high-stakes midterm campaign, a sign of the shifting dynamics of the gun debate as the GOP fights to maintain its grip on Congress.

The NRA has put $11 million into midterm races this year, less than half what it spent four years ago in a campaign that gave Republicans full control of Congress. This year’s totals are also far below the $54 million the group spent in 2016 on both the presidential and congressional races.

The shift comes as spending to support tougher gun control measures has surged. Everytown for Gun Safety, a group founded by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, pledged $30 million for this year’s election, and has continued to put new money into competitive races in the final days. A political action committee formed by Gabby Giffords, the former congresswoman wounded in a shooting, is spending nearly $5 million.

​NRA may be outspent

It’s the first time under current campaign finance laws that the NRA might be outspent by gun control groups, though the organization often ramps up spending late in the campaign. That money won’t show up in federal financial reports until after Election Day.

It all underscores a changing political landscape on guns after a series of election year mass shootings, including the February massacre at a Parkland, Florida, high school that left 17 people dead, and Saturday’s deadly attack at a Pittsburgh synagogue.

“The politics of guns has changed,” said Jim Kessler, the senior vice president for policy at Third Way, a centrist think tank. “The groups supporting more gun safety restrictions are smarter than in the past and have more resources, both in terms of people and money, than in the past.”

Support for tightening laws

With polls showing that the majority of Americans now support at least some tightening of gun laws, the issue is no longer taboo in swing districts, particularly the suburban areas that could determine which party controls the House next year. Everytown and Giffords’ group are on the air in competitive districts in Texas, Virginia, Kansas and elsewhere.

After the Pittsburgh shooting, a Bloomberg aide said Everytown bought another $700,000 in advertisements aimed at ousting Rep. Mike Coffman, a vulnerable Republican who represents a suburban Denver district, a significant sum to spend on a single House race in one week.

The group has also spent about $4 million in the Atlanta suburbs to back Democrat and gun control advocate Lucy McBath, whose son was shot and killed in 2012.

Despite the public polling, there are no guarantees that sending more pro-gun control lawmakers to Washington would result in tougher legislation. Modest measures have repeatedly been blocked in Congress, even as Americans have grown more supportive of steps like banning assault weapons and tightening background checks.

Not walking away

Bloomberg, who is weighing a run for president as a Democrat in 2020, promises to keep up the pressure on lawmakers and candidates he’s backing if they end up on Capitol Hill.

“I’ve put an awful lot of my money and an awful lot of my time into this,” he said in an interview with The Associated Press. “I’m not going to forget it. I’m not going to walk away.”

He continued: “The nice thing about the House, it may be a stupidly designed system but if they don’t do what they said they were going to do, you get another crack at deciding to support them or somebody else two years from now.”

An NRA spokeswoman would not comment on the group’s election spending compared with organizations pushing for stricter gun laws.

Bloomberg, who is spending $120 million on the midterms, has helped pro-gun control groups level a playing field long dominated by the NRA.

The organization was riding high after the 2016 election, with a strong supporter in the White House and Republicans in charge of both the House and Senate.

Tumultuous year for NRA

But 2018 has proved to be a tumultuous year for the NRA, which has been faced with boycotts from parts of corporate America in the wake of mass shootings and an investigation into what federal authorities allege were covert Russian agents seeking to influence the 2016 election to benefit Trump by courting NRA officials and funneling money through the group.

Publicly, the NRA has portrayed itself as being in financial distress because of deep-pocketed liberal opposition to guns and what it calls the mainstream media “spewing toxic lies” about the group. Over the summer, the organization raised its annual dues fees from $40 to $45, the second increase in two years.

NRA watchers dismiss the notion that the organization is in trouble and say it’s more of a ploy to energize its ardent supporters, which in turn could help bring in more donations.

“It’s in the NRA’s interests to exaggerate how much trouble it’s in,” said Robert J. Spitzer, chairman of political science at the State University of New York at Cortland and an expert on guns and the Second Amendment.

Indeed, the group’s political fundraising is up this year compared to the last midterm election. According to data provided by an NRA official, the group’s Political Victory Fund has raised more than $12 million this year compared to nearly $11 million at this same point in the 2014 midterms.

Other ways to sway votes

While the NRA is not pumping the same levels of money into this year’s elections, it still has much at its disposal to try to sway campaigns: its NRATV media arm, social media and an ability to mobilize its millions of members to get them to the polls.

The NRA’s membership rolls and finances are not public, but the organization has said it has about 6 million in its ranks. Those who closely watch the group believe its membership is closer to 4 million.

Both the NRA and groups such as Everytown can also quietly influence elections with money that doesn’t have to be reported in publicly available campaign finance reports.
…

The U.S. government is monitoring for possible foreign interference in Tuesday’s congressional elections and is prepared to sanction any company or individual involved in such activity, a senior intelligence official said Wednesday.

“We remain concerned about interference coming from Russia, China and Iran,” the official said in a phone briefing with reporters to discuss federal government plans to help secure the Nov. 6 elections.

The official provided no details about specific threats of foreign influence during the call, but said the intelligence community is prepared to identify individuals who meddle in the voting process.

U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that Russia meddled in the 2016 presidential election in a bid to bolster support for Donald Trump and have more recently accused Moscow of seeking to influence the outcome of next week’s congressional elections. Russia has denied the allegations.

While speaking at the United Nations last month, Trump accused China of meddling in the election. He did not provide evidence to support his claim, and Beijing has denied the charges.

Trump signed an executive order in September allowing the government to sanction any individual or company found to be interfering in the election through either hacking or disinformation efforts.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Justice Department, Department of Homeland Security and intelligence will contribute to efforts for thwarting digital attacks on the election, officials said on the call. The White House will coordinate with these agencies through its National Security Council.

The Justice Department is also planning to launch an “election interference command post” on Election Day to help the FBI rapidly communicate with its different field offices around the country, a second senior administration official said.
…

The U.S. government is monitoring for possible foreign interference in Tuesday’s congressional elections and is prepared to sanction any company or individual involved in such activity, a senior intelligence official said Wednesday.

“We remain concerned about interference coming from Russia, China and Iran,” the official said in a phone briefing with reporters to discuss federal government plans to help secure the Nov. 6 elections.

The official provided no details about specific threats of foreign influence during the call, but said the intelligence community is prepared to identify individuals who meddle in the voting process.

U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that Russia meddled in the 2016 presidential election in a bid to bolster support for Donald Trump and have more recently accused Moscow of seeking to influence the outcome of next week’s congressional elections. Russia has denied the allegations.

While speaking at the United Nations last month, Trump accused China of meddling in the election. He did not provide evidence to support his claim, and Beijing has denied the charges.

Trump signed an executive order in September allowing the government to sanction any individual or company found to be interfering in the election through either hacking or disinformation efforts.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Justice Department, Department of Homeland Security and intelligence will contribute to efforts for thwarting digital attacks on the election, officials said on the call. The White House will coordinate with these agencies through its National Security Council.

The Justice Department is also planning to launch an “election interference command post” on Election Day to help the FBI rapidly communicate with its different field offices around the country, a second senior administration official said.
…

Oprah Winfrey plans to lend her star power to Georgia Democrat Stacey Abrams’ quest to become the United States’ first black woman governor at a couple of appearances in the state on Thursday.

After a brief flirtation earlier this year with a run for the White House in 2020, the media mogul, who has long associated herself with Democratic Party causes, has instead thrown her influence into a race that has become a flash point for accusations of voter suppression.

Abrams’ Republican rival, Brian Kemp, serves as Georgia secretary of state, a role in which he oversees state elections.

Earlier this month, a coalition of state civil rights groups sued Kemp, accusing him of trying to depress minority voter turnout to improve his chances of winning. On Monday, former U.S. President and former Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter asked Kemp to step down as secretary of state since he was running for governor.

Abrams’ campaign said she would appear with Winfrey in Cobb and DeKalb counties for a discussion on “the critical value of women in leadership and what is at stake for our communities in the election.”

Winfrey, 64, stole the show at January’s Golden Globes awards ceremony with a speech against sexual harassment and assault. It sparked an online campaign to persuade her to run against Republican U.S. President Donald Trump in the next election cycle.

“It’s not something that interests me,” Winfrey told InStyle magazine in January. “I met with someone the other day who said that they would help me with a campaign. That’s not for me.”

Winfrey could not be reached for immediate comment on Wednesday.
…

Oprah Winfrey plans to lend her star power to Georgia Democrat Stacey Abrams’ quest to become the United States’ first black woman governor at a couple of appearances in the state on Thursday.

After a brief flirtation earlier this year with a run for the White House in 2020, the media mogul, who has long associated herself with Democratic Party causes, has instead thrown her influence into a race that has become a flash point for accusations of voter suppression.

Abrams’ Republican rival, Brian Kemp, serves as Georgia secretary of state, a role in which he oversees state elections.

Earlier this month, a coalition of state civil rights groups sued Kemp, accusing him of trying to depress minority voter turnout to improve his chances of winning. On Monday, former U.S. President and former Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter asked Kemp to step down as secretary of state since he was running for governor.

Abrams’ campaign said she would appear with Winfrey in Cobb and DeKalb counties for a discussion on “the critical value of women in leadership and what is at stake for our communities in the election.”

Winfrey, 64, stole the show at January’s Golden Globes awards ceremony with a speech against sexual harassment and assault. It sparked an online campaign to persuade her to run against Republican U.S. President Donald Trump in the next election cycle.

“It’s not something that interests me,” Winfrey told InStyle magazine in January. “I met with someone the other day who said that they would help me with a campaign. That’s not for me.”

Winfrey could not be reached for immediate comment on Wednesday.
…

Republican campaigns took a defensive approach a week before elections to determine control of the U.S. Congress, with the party spending more to try to hold on to previously secure House seats and President Donald Trump preparing a six-day trip focused on Senate races. 

The National Republican Congressional Committee on Tuesday launched a wave of ads targeting 14 House of Representatives races, including defenses of eight incumbents and four currently Republican-held seats whose current officeholders are not running in the Nov. 6 elections. 

Trump’s planned blitz of Senate battleground states, including Florida, Missouri and Tennessee, follows an NBC/Marist opinion poll showing the Democratic U.S. Senate candidate in Arizona taking a 6 percentage-point lead and a Quinnipiac University Poll showing Democrat Beto O’Rourke pulling closer to Republican Senator Ted Cruz in Texas. 

A Reuters analysis of a trio of political forecasting groups showed the picture in the House brightening for Democrats. 

Of 65 races seen as competitive or leaning against the incumbent party, the odds of a Democratic victory had increased in 48 as of Tuesday in the eyes of at least one of the three of political forecasting groups — Cook Political Report, Inside Elections and the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics — according to the Reuters analysis. 

Democrats would need a net gain of 23 seats in the House and two in the Senate to take majorities away from Trump’s fellow Republicans, which would put them in position to oppose the president’s legislative agenda. Opinion polls and political forecasters generally show Democrats having a strong chance of winning a House majority, with Republicans expected to keep control of the Senate. 

Early voting 

Early voting has surged nationwide, with eight states already recording more ballots cast ahead of Election Day than in all of 2014, the last midterm congressional election cycle, according to University of Florida researchers. 

“Many voters are looking for someone who will be a check and not just a rubber stamp,” said Mike Levin, Democratic candidate in California’s 49th congressional district, which encompasses a wealthy suburban stretch between Los Angeles and San Diego. 

Republican Darrell Issa currently represents the district but is not seeking re-election. 

Until recently solidly Republican, the district has been trending Democratic in recent elections. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney won it by 6 percentage points in 2012, but Democrat Hillary Clinton won it by 7 percentage points in 2016, a swing of 13 percentage points. This year, opinion polls give Levin an edge over his Republican rival, Diane Harkey. 

“We talk a lot about the need to have a check on this administration,” Levin said in an interview at a campaign office in San Clemente. 

The seat is among more than 40 that were held by Republicans who are not running for re-election, the highest number since at least 1930. 

Safer districts

Republicans are focusing their efforts on conservative districts Trump won by double-digit margins in 2016, particularly in rural areas. That has allowed Democrats to gain ground in more racially diverse urban and suburban districts like the one Issa represents. 

In conservative areas where Trump remains popular, from upstate New York to southern Illinois, several Republican incumbents said they saw the odds as moving in their favor. 

They said their chances have been boosted by the bruising debate around Trump Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, who was narrowly confirmed by the Senate after denying a sexual assault allegation. 

Anger over his contentious, protest-marred confirmation hearings and sympathy among conservatives toward Kavanaugh have boosted the enthusiasm of the Republican base, particularly in rural areas, candidates and strategists said. 
…

Republican campaigns took a defensive approach a week before elections to determine control of the U.S. Congress, with the party spending more to try to hold on to previously secure House seats and President Donald Trump preparing a six-day trip focused on Senate races. 

The National Republican Congressional Committee on Tuesday launched a wave of ads targeting 14 House of Representatives races, including defenses of eight incumbents and four currently Republican-held seats whose current officeholders are not running in the Nov. 6 elections. 

Trump’s planned blitz of Senate battleground states, including Florida, Missouri and Tennessee, follows an NBC/Marist opinion poll showing the Democratic U.S. Senate candidate in Arizona taking a 6 percentage-point lead and a Quinnipiac University Poll showing Democrat Beto O’Rourke pulling closer to Republican Senator Ted Cruz in Texas. 

A Reuters analysis of a trio of political forecasting groups showed the picture in the House brightening for Democrats. 

Of 65 races seen as competitive or leaning against the incumbent party, the odds of a Democratic victory had increased in 48 as of Tuesday in the eyes of at least one of the three of political forecasting groups — Cook Political Report, Inside Elections and the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics — according to the Reuters analysis. 

Democrats would need a net gain of 23 seats in the House and two in the Senate to take majorities away from Trump’s fellow Republicans, which would put them in position to oppose the president’s legislative agenda. Opinion polls and political forecasters generally show Democrats having a strong chance of winning a House majority, with Republicans expected to keep control of the Senate. 

Early voting 

Early voting has surged nationwide, with eight states already recording more ballots cast ahead of Election Day than in all of 2014, the last midterm congressional election cycle, according to University of Florida researchers. 

“Many voters are looking for someone who will be a check and not just a rubber stamp,” said Mike Levin, Democratic candidate in California’s 49th congressional district, which encompasses a wealthy suburban stretch between Los Angeles and San Diego. 

Republican Darrell Issa currently represents the district but is not seeking re-election. 

Until recently solidly Republican, the district has been trending Democratic in recent elections. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney won it by 6 percentage points in 2012, but Democrat Hillary Clinton won it by 7 percentage points in 2016, a swing of 13 percentage points. This year, opinion polls give Levin an edge over his Republican rival, Diane Harkey. 

“We talk a lot about the need to have a check on this administration,” Levin said in an interview at a campaign office in San Clemente. 

The seat is among more than 40 that were held by Republicans who are not running for re-election, the highest number since at least 1930. 

Safer districts

Republicans are focusing their efforts on conservative districts Trump won by double-digit margins in 2016, particularly in rural areas. That has allowed Democrats to gain ground in more racially diverse urban and suburban districts like the one Issa represents. 

In conservative areas where Trump remains popular, from upstate New York to southern Illinois, several Republican incumbents said they saw the odds as moving in their favor. 

They said their chances have been boosted by the bruising debate around Trump Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, who was narrowly confirmed by the Senate after denying a sexual assault allegation. 

Anger over his contentious, protest-marred confirmation hearings and sympathy among conservatives toward Kavanaugh have boosted the enthusiasm of the Republican base, particularly in rural areas, candidates and strategists said. 
…

President Donald Trump has warned that if Democrats regain political power in the midterm elections, the U.S. economy would essentially implode. 

Democrats, he insists, would push tax hikes and environmental restrictions that stifle growth. Undocumented immigrants would steal jobs and unleash a crime wave that would halt commerce. Health insurance would devolve into a socialist program offering shoddy care at unsustainable cost. 

“At stake in this election,” Trump declared at a rally in Houston, “is whether we continue the extraordinary prosperity that we’ve all achieved or whether we let the radical Democrat mob take a giant wrecking ball and destroy our country and our economy.” 

Almost no private economist agrees with Trump’s portrait of a financial apocalypse. 

If Democrats win control of the House in next week’s congressional elections, their legislative priorities wouldn’t likely much alter a $20 trillion economy. For one thing, Trump would remain able to block Democratic initiatives — just as they could stop his plans for more tax cuts and a 5 percent cut to Cabinet department budgets. 

What instead would likely result is continued gridlock — perhaps even more entrenched than what exists now in Washington. Arrayed against a stout Republican majority in the Senate, a Democratic House majority couldn’t do much to reorder the economy, which typically hinges more on the willingness of consumers and businesses to spend and on the state of the global economy than on government policy priorities. 

“It’s probably not that much of a change,” Beth Ann Bovino, chief U.S. economist at S&P Global, said of the likely outcome. “While you might see further gridlock if the Democrats take the House, that doesn’t mean it would tip the boat and slow growth.” 

Many polls and analyses suggest — though hardly assure — that the Democrats could regain a majority in the House if their voters turn out in sufficient numbers in key races. If so, Trump would have to contend with a divided government instead of one with Republicans in complete control. Yet depending on voter turnout, it’s also possible that the Republicans could maintain their hold on both the House and the Senate. 

Analysts at Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley foresee a divided government as most probable. So do their peers at Oxford Economics and Keefe Bruyette & Woods. 

“The most likely political consequences would be an increase in investigations and uncertainty surrounding fiscal deadlines,” Goldman Sachs concluded in a client note. 

Oxford Economics’ senior economist, Nancy Vanden Houten, has suggested that the Republicans’ legislative agenda would stall if they lost the House. 

“A Democrat-controlled House would, in our view, be a line of defense against further tax cuts, reduced entitlement spending and efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act,” she said. 

The economy has enjoyed an acceleration in growth this year — to a gain estimated to be 3 percent after deficit-funded tax cuts. Unemployment is at a 49-year low of 3.7 percent, and employers continue to post a record number of job openings. The economic expansion is already the second longest on record. 

But annual growth is widely expected to dip back to its long-term average of near 2 percent by 2020. It’s even possible that the economy could slip into a recession within a few years as growth inevitably stalls — for reasons unrelated to who controls the White House or Congress. A global slowdown could, for example, spill over into the United States. Or higher interest rates, spurred by the Federal Reserve, might depress economic activity. 

Trump would still have plenty of discretion on some key economic issues. His trade war with China and his drive to reduce regulations are two of them. The president has managed to pursue those priorities without Congress’ involvement, though his updated trade agreement with Canada and Mexico would need congressional approval. 

“Trade stuff is being done administratively; regulatory stuff is being done administratively,” said Douglas Holtz-Eakin, president of the right-of-center American Action Forum. “There’s just not that much on the table legislatively.” 

In an appearance this month at Harvard University, the House Democratic leader, Nancy Pelosi, outlined her agenda should her party regain the chamber’s majority and she the speakership. 

Within the first 100 days, Pelosi said, she would seek to reduce the influence of large campaign donors and groups that aren’t legally required to disclose their funding sources. She would also push for infrastructure funding — to rebuild roadways, rail stations or airports, for example — and seek protections for undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children, among other priorities. 

Any such initiatives, though, could be blocked by a Republican Senate, or by Trump. 

Budget and deficit issues will also surface after the election. Congress will most likely need to raise the government’s debt limit and approve spending packages before October 2019. And mandatory government spending caps are set to kick in for the 2020 fiscal year after having been suspended for two years. Those spending limits could dampen economic growth. 

Lewis Alexander, chief U.S. economist at Nomura, said Republicans might renew their focus on reducing the national debt, after having approved tax cuts last year that swelled annual budget deficits by $1.5 trillion over the next decade. 

Alexander noted that shrinking the deficit has historically become a higher priority when competing parties have controlled the White House and Congress. If the government seeks to pare the deficit, it could possibly slow the economy, which in the past year has been fueled in part by government spending. 

It’s likely Trump would blame Democrats if growth falters, just as he might absorb criticism for his economic stewardship as Democratic presidential campaigns accelerate into a higher gear. 

The hostile rhetoric makes it unlikely that Democrats and Republicans would join to pass any meaningful legislation for the economy, such as for infrastructure rebuilding.  

“The way parties are talking about it right now, I don’t think anybody is dying to cooperate,” said Michael Madowitz, chief economist at the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank. 

Still, if Democrats regain the House, the president might feel pressure to produce some tangible legislative results ahead of his own quest for re-election in 2020. 

“Trump is the wild card here,” said Jason Rosenstock, a financial industry lobbyist with Thorn Run Partners. “He may want to be seen as a deal-cutter going into the 2020 election.” 
…

The FBI is investigating an anonymous woman’s claim that she was offered $20,000 to accuse Special Counsel Robert Mueller of sexual assault.

Mueller is investigating allegations that President Trump’s campaign colluded with Russia to meddle in the 2016 election. He is also looking into whether Trump attempted to obstruct the probe.

In a rare public statement, Mueller spokesman Peter Carr said Tuesday “when we learned last week of the allegations that women were offered money to make false claims about the special counsel, we immediacy referred the matter to the FBI for investigation.”

Carr offered no details of the case which may be an effort to discredit Mueller as the investigation continues.

News outlets say an unknown woman contacted them by email, claiming someone offered her cash to say Mueller sexually assaulted her in the 1970s when they worked together at the FBI.

The woman says the person who contacted her claimed to work for Republican activist and right-wing radio talk show host Jack Burkman.

Burkman calls himself “the victim of a hoax” and that he did not pay anyone.

But he said last week on Facebook and in tweets that he would “reveal the first of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s sex assault victims. I applaud the courage and dignity and grace and strength of my client.”
…

The FBI is investigating an anonymous woman’s claim that she was offered $20,000 to accuse Special Counsel Robert Mueller of sexual assault.

Mueller is investigating allegations that President Trump’s campaign colluded with Russia to meddle in the 2016 election. He is also looking into whether Trump attempted to obstruct the probe.

In a rare public statement, Mueller spokesman Peter Carr said Tuesday “when we learned last week of the allegations that women were offered money to make false claims about the special counsel, we immediacy referred the matter to the FBI for investigation.”

Carr offered no details of the case which may be an effort to discredit Mueller as the investigation continues.

News outlets say an unknown woman contacted them by email, claiming someone offered her cash to say Mueller sexually assaulted her in the 1970s when they worked together at the FBI.

The woman says the person who contacted her claimed to work for Republican activist and right-wing radio talk show host Jack Burkman.

Burkman calls himself “the victim of a hoax” and that he did not pay anyone.

But he said last week on Facebook and in tweets that he would “reveal the first of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s sex assault victims. I applaud the courage and dignity and grace and strength of my client.”
…

During every election season, as many American citizens prepare to go to the polls, one group of immigrants has traditionally chosen not to get involved. The Cambodian community in the U.S. has been fearful of the government because of its past, but this midterm election is different. The largest Cambodian community in the U.S. is taking political action. VOA’s Elizabeth Lee has their story from Long Beach, California.
…

During every election season, as many American citizens prepare to go to the polls, one group of immigrants has traditionally chosen not to get involved. The Cambodian community in the U.S. has been fearful of the government because of its past, but this midterm election is different. The largest Cambodian community in the U.S. is taking political action. VOA’s Elizabeth Lee has their story from Long Beach, California.
…

Cambodian-American Laura Som said her mother raised her to never get involved in politics. Her mother would say politics is “a bloodbath, and we don’t want to see you walk into that.”

A deep fear of government is shared by Cambodians, many of whom experienced the violence of the Cambodian genocide, a four-year period in the 1970s when the communist Khmer Rouge regime killed nearly 2 million people.

“Just the word ‘government’ would trigger a lot of traumas of killing, violence, not just to ourselves but to our children or to our loved ones,” said Som, a community activist who lives in Long Beach, California, the U.S. city with the largest concentration of Cambodians.

Recalling the first time she became involved in local civic activities, Som said, “My mother received a call from a community leader to say how horrible of a mother she was to allow such a young college kid (to) participate in civic engagement events.”

Som’s experience as a Cambodian-American is not unusual.

During every election season, Cambodian-Americans have remained noticeably silent. Som said her community has traditionally avoided the polls during elections and have taught their children not to get involved.

Som said during the U.S. Census, which attempts to count every resident in the country, many Cambodian-Americans either do not participate or misreport the numbers in their households because they fear being on a government list.

Civics engagement

However, the 2018 midterm election season is proving to be different. Many Cambodian-Americans in Long Beach are on a mission to create political change for their community by pushing for a seat at the table in city government so their voices can be heard.

The movement was born during a civics class taught by Som at the MAYE Center, a center she founded to help fellow Cambodian genocide victims heal from the trauma they suffered and located in the heart of Long Beach’s Cambodia Town. (The four elements of self-healing at the MAYE Center include meditation, agriculture, yoga and education.)

One of her students, Vy Sron, remembered the discussion that started a tidal wave within the community.

“When the teacher said that (the) Cambodian community does not have a political voice like other communities, I asked the question of ‘why does the Cambodian community not have such political voice?’ ”

Som said she believes more political representation would help bring a cultural awareness and sensitivity to the needs of her community.

“We have members, elders who would go up to council and speak Cambodian, and we didn’t have anyone translating,” Som said. “We’re people of the earth. We want plants and gardens. This is how we heal ourselves, but yet we are put in a community where it’s a cement jungle.”

About 20,000 Cambodian-Americans live in Long Beach, or about 4 percent of the city’s population of 486,000, according to the Long Beach Convention and Visitor’s Bureau. More than half of the Cambodian-Americans in Long Beach live in and around an area known as Cambodia Town, a 1.2-mile business strip of Khmer-owned restaurants, shops and temples, according to the bureau.

However, the area in and around Cambodia Town is currently part of four of the city’s nine council districts. And each of the four districts is represented by a different council member, meaning any political clout the Cambodian community might have is diffused. 

The students in the MAYE Center civics class decided to take action, organizing their community and collecting signatures for a petition to ask the city of Long Beach to redraw district lines so the largely Cambodian community could be consolidated into one district, with one representative.

But they are learning that seeking representation is a complicated matter that takes work and patience.

Cities typically look at redrawing district boundaries every 10 years, after the U.S. Census, so the population can be equally divided. The Long Beach city charter also allows the city to redistrict every five years or at any time the City Council feels there is a need.

In the last redistricting, in 2011, the Long Beach City Council adopted criteria for redrawing district lines, including “splits in neighborhoods, ethnic communities and other groups having a clear identity should be avoided.”

Som said council members did not follow that criteria when they split the area in and around Cambodia Town among four districts. The MAYE Center group wants the city to redraw the boundary lines, consolidating the Cambodia Town area into one district, before the next U.S. Census in 2020. The new district would allow Cambodian-Americans to vote for someone who would more solidly represent their interests in the 2020 election cycle, the group said.

“All the students took part in educating one Cambodian resident at a time, (and) have collected 3,000 signatures in two months,” Som said.

Civil rights attorney Marc Coleman said other ethnic minority groups have been successful with similar endeavors in the past.

“The Latino community did the same thing, and they created what … they call the Latino District,” said Coleman, who is also treasurer of the MAYE Center. 

Midterm elections 

The group’s efforts are twofold in this election. The Cambodian community is also supporting a proposal on the November 6 ballot to amend the Long Beach city charter to create an independent, citizen-led redistricting panel, taking that duty away from City Council members. The hope would be to have a member of the Cambodian community on the panel, the group added.

Long Beach city officials, however, said redistricting of the city will not be considered until after the 2020 Census to get the most accurate population count. Who is involved in the redistricting process will depend on the results of the November vote on the independent commission. 

Guatamalan native and Long Beach resident Juan Ovalle, who also fled an oppressive government, said he supports the Cambodian community’s efforts for representation, but he opposes the ballot measure, calling it a façade by politicians that would only allow residents to think they have more control over redistricting. He warned the Cambodian community not to be fooled.

“It (the redistricting committee) is still beholden to political influences. Those that will select the members of the redistricting committee are basically politicians,” Ovalle said.

Coleman, of the MAYE Center, in responding to Ovalle said, “This is as good as we could get it. Nothing is perfect. Nothing is foolproof, but we feel confident this is a good system.” 

Knowledge is power

Charles Song, who survived the Cambodian genocide, said he had tried in the past to organize the Long Beach Cambodian community, but was never very successful.

“The roadblock is always here, because when you’re talking about the Cambodian community, the first thing is fear,” he added. 

Song said experts from outside the community, whom he credits with empowering residents by teaching them how city government works, are behind the intense interest among Cambodian-Americans in this year’s election.

For Som, whose civics class ignited the students’ interest in local politics, this has also been an exercise in trying to persuade her mother to trust the U.S. government.

“I have to remind her that this is a different political landscape, that many have died in this country to give us this kind of voice and that we could do it,” she said.
…

Cambodian-American Laura Som said her mother raised her to never get involved in politics. Her mother would say politics is “a bloodbath, and we don’t want to see you walk into that.”

A deep fear of government is shared by Cambodians, many of whom experienced the violence of the Cambodian genocide, a four-year period in the 1970s when the communist Khmer Rouge regime killed nearly 2 million people.

“Just the word ‘government’ would trigger a lot of traumas of killing, violence, not just to ourselves but to our children or to our loved ones,” said Som, a community activist who lives in Long Beach, California, the U.S. city with the largest concentration of Cambodians.

Recalling the first time she became involved in local civic activities, Som said, “My mother received a call from a community leader to say how horrible of a mother she was to allow such a young college kid (to) participate in civic engagement events.”

Som’s experience as a Cambodian-American is not unusual.

During every election season, Cambodian-Americans have remained noticeably silent. Som said her community has traditionally avoided the polls during elections and have taught their children not to get involved.

Som said during the U.S. Census, which attempts to count every resident in the country, many Cambodian-Americans either do not participate or misreport the numbers in their households because they fear being on a government list.

Civics engagement

However, the 2018 midterm election season is proving to be different. Many Cambodian-Americans in Long Beach are on a mission to create political change for their community by pushing for a seat at the table in city government so their voices can be heard.

The movement was born during a civics class taught by Som at the MAYE Center, a center she founded to help fellow Cambodian genocide victims heal from the trauma they suffered and located in the heart of Long Beach’s Cambodia Town. (The four elements of self-healing at the MAYE Center include meditation, agriculture, yoga and education.)

One of her students, Vy Sron, remembered the discussion that started a tidal wave within the community.

“When the teacher said that (the) Cambodian community does not have a political voice like other communities, I asked the question of ‘why does the Cambodian community not have such political voice?’ ”

Som said she believes more political representation would help bring a cultural awareness and sensitivity to the needs of her community.

“We have members, elders who would go up to council and speak Cambodian, and we didn’t have anyone translating,” Som said. “We’re people of the earth. We want plants and gardens. This is how we heal ourselves, but yet we are put in a community where it’s a cement jungle.”

About 20,000 Cambodian-Americans live in Long Beach, or about 4 percent of the city’s population of 486,000, according to the Long Beach Convention and Visitor’s Bureau. More than half of the Cambodian-Americans in Long Beach live in and around an area known as Cambodia Town, a 1.2-mile business strip of Khmer-owned restaurants, shops and temples, according to the bureau.

However, the area in and around Cambodia Town is currently part of four of the city’s nine council districts. And each of the four districts is represented by a different council member, meaning any political clout the Cambodian community might have is diffused. 

The students in the MAYE Center civics class decided to take action, organizing their community and collecting signatures for a petition to ask the city of Long Beach to redraw district lines so the largely Cambodian community could be consolidated into one district, with one representative.

But they are learning that seeking representation is a complicated matter that takes work and patience.

Cities typically look at redrawing district boundaries every 10 years, after the U.S. Census, so the population can be equally divided. The Long Beach city charter also allows the city to redistrict every five years or at any time the City Council feels there is a need.

In the last redistricting, in 2011, the Long Beach City Council adopted criteria for redrawing district lines, including “splits in neighborhoods, ethnic communities and other groups having a clear identity should be avoided.”

Som said council members did not follow that criteria when they split the area in and around Cambodia Town among four districts. The MAYE Center group wants the city to redraw the boundary lines, consolidating the Cambodia Town area into one district, before the next U.S. Census in 2020. The new district would allow Cambodian-Americans to vote for someone who would more solidly represent their interests in the 2020 election cycle, the group said.

“All the students took part in educating one Cambodian resident at a time, (and) have collected 3,000 signatures in two months,” Som said.

Civil rights attorney Marc Coleman said other ethnic minority groups have been successful with similar endeavors in the past.

“The Latino community did the same thing, and they created what … they call the Latino District,” said Coleman, who is also treasurer of the MAYE Center. 

Midterm elections 

The group’s efforts are twofold in this election. The Cambodian community is also supporting a proposal on the November 6 ballot to amend the Long Beach city charter to create an independent, citizen-led redistricting panel, taking that duty away from City Council members. The hope would be to have a member of the Cambodian community on the panel, the group added.

Long Beach city officials, however, said redistricting of the city will not be considered until after the 2020 Census to get the most accurate population count. Who is involved in the redistricting process will depend on the results of the November vote on the independent commission. 

Guatamalan native and Long Beach resident Juan Ovalle, who also fled an oppressive government, said he supports the Cambodian community’s efforts for representation, but he opposes the ballot measure, calling it a façade by politicians that would only allow residents to think they have more control over redistricting. He warned the Cambodian community not to be fooled.

“It (the redistricting committee) is still beholden to political influences. Those that will select the members of the redistricting committee are basically politicians,” Ovalle said.

Coleman, of the MAYE Center, in responding to Ovalle said, “This is as good as we could get it. Nothing is perfect. Nothing is foolproof, but we feel confident this is a good system.” 

Knowledge is power

Charles Song, who survived the Cambodian genocide, said he had tried in the past to organize the Long Beach Cambodian community, but was never very successful.

“The roadblock is always here, because when you’re talking about the Cambodian community, the first thing is fear,” he added. 

Song said experts from outside the community, whom he credits with empowering residents by teaching them how city government works, are behind the intense interest among Cambodian-Americans in this year’s election.

For Som, whose civics class ignited the students’ interest in local politics, this has also been an exercise in trying to persuade her mother to trust the U.S. government.

“I have to remind her that this is a different political landscape, that many have died in this country to give us this kind of voice and that we could do it,” she said.
…

President Donald Trump’s administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to postpone a trial set for Nov. 5 that will examine the legality of its decision to ask people taking part in the 2020 U.S. census whether they are citizens.

The administration is asking for the trial to be placed on hold until the Supreme Court resolves a dispute over evidence, including whether Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, whose department oversees the U.S. Census Bureau, can be forced to answer questions about the politically charged decision.

On Friday, Manhattan U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman, who will preside over the trial, and a federal appeals court both refused to postpone the trial.

Furman said a stay of the trial was not warranted and could hinder a final resolution of the case before the government begins printing the census forms next year.

The lawsuit, brought by 18 states and a number of cities and counties, was spearheaded by Democratic officials. It is consolidated with another suit by several immigrant rights groups accusing the administration of discrimination against non-white immigrants.

Critics of the citizenship question have said it will deter people in immigrant communities from participating in the census, disproportionately affecting Democratic-leaning states by undercounting the number of residents.

The administration has said it needs the data to enforce a voting rights law as it relates to minority voters.

Furman said in a Sept. 21 order that Ross must face a deposition by lawyers for the states because his “intent and credibility are directly at issue” in the lawsuit.

Furman said there was doubt about Ross’ public statements that the Justice Department initiated the request to include the citizenship question and that he was not aware of any discussions with the White House about it.

But on Oct. 22, the Supreme Court blocked Ross’ deposition and gave the administration until Monday to appeal the trial judge’s orders.

The administration told the justices on Monday that there should be no trial into Ross’ motives for adding the citizenship question, including whether he harbored “secret racial animus” in doing so.

“The harms to the government from such a proceeding are self-evident,” the government said.

The U.S. Constitution mandates a census every 10 years. It is used in the allocation of seats in Congress and the distribution of billions of dollars in federal funds. A citizenship question has not appeared on the census since 1950.
…

President Donald Trump’s administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to postpone a trial set for Nov. 5 that will examine the legality of its decision to ask people taking part in the 2020 U.S. census whether they are citizens.

The administration is asking for the trial to be placed on hold until the Supreme Court resolves a dispute over evidence, including whether Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, whose department oversees the U.S. Census Bureau, can be forced to answer questions about the politically charged decision.

On Friday, Manhattan U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman, who will preside over the trial, and a federal appeals court both refused to postpone the trial.

Furman said a stay of the trial was not warranted and could hinder a final resolution of the case before the government begins printing the census forms next year.

The lawsuit, brought by 18 states and a number of cities and counties, was spearheaded by Democratic officials. It is consolidated with another suit by several immigrant rights groups accusing the administration of discrimination against non-white immigrants.

Critics of the citizenship question have said it will deter people in immigrant communities from participating in the census, disproportionately affecting Democratic-leaning states by undercounting the number of residents.

The administration has said it needs the data to enforce a voting rights law as it relates to minority voters.

Furman said in a Sept. 21 order that Ross must face a deposition by lawyers for the states because his “intent and credibility are directly at issue” in the lawsuit.

Furman said there was doubt about Ross’ public statements that the Justice Department initiated the request to include the citizenship question and that he was not aware of any discussions with the White House about it.

But on Oct. 22, the Supreme Court blocked Ross’ deposition and gave the administration until Monday to appeal the trial judge’s orders.

The administration told the justices on Monday that there should be no trial into Ross’ motives for adding the citizenship question, including whether he harbored “secret racial animus” in doing so.

“The harms to the government from such a proceeding are self-evident,” the government said.

The U.S. Constitution mandates a census every 10 years. It is used in the allocation of seats in Congress and the distribution of billions of dollars in federal funds. A citizenship question has not appeared on the census since 1950.
…

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rebuffed a bid by Republican legislators in Pennsylvania to reinstate a congressional district map struck down by that state’s top court as unlawfully biased in favor of Republicans.

The justices rejected the appeal of a January Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling invalidating the Republican-drawn map because it violated the state constitution’s requirement that elections be “free and equal” by marginalizing Democratic voters.

The case involves a practice called partisan gerrymandering in which electoral maps are drafted in a manner that helps one party tighten its grip on power by undermining the clout of voters that tend to favor the other party. The practice has been used for two centuries but has become more extreme with the use of computer programs to maximize the effects of gerrymandering in a way that critics have said warps democracy.
…

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rebuffed a bid by Republican legislators in Pennsylvania to reinstate a congressional district map struck down by that state’s top court as unlawfully biased in favor of Republicans.

The justices rejected the appeal of a January Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling invalidating the Republican-drawn map because it violated the state constitution’s requirement that elections be “free and equal” by marginalizing Democratic voters.

The case involves a practice called partisan gerrymandering in which electoral maps are drafted in a manner that helps one party tighten its grip on power by undermining the clout of voters that tend to favor the other party. The practice has been used for two centuries but has become more extreme with the use of computer programs to maximize the effects of gerrymandering in a way that critics have said warps democracy.
…