Passing of an Icon: Georgia U.S. Rep. John Lewis dies at 80
State Democrats scramble to replace Lewis on November ballot before Monday deadline
♦By Rich Shumate, ChickenFriedPolitics.com
ATLANTA (CFP) — During his long and illustrious life, John Lewis had a first-hand presence at some of the most pivotal moments of American history.
In 1960, as a student at Fisk University, he participated in protests to desegregate lunch counters in Nashville, and, a year later, became of the original “freedom riders,” risking his life to desegregate buses in the South.
U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Georgia
By 1963, he had risen to a leadership position in the civil rights movement, as president of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and, at just 23, was the youngest person to address the historic March on Washington, led by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
During the summer of 1964, he went to Mississippi to register black voters, part of the “Freedom Summer” to break the power of segregation in its most redoubtable citadel.
In 1965, baton-wielding state troopers fractured Lewis’s skull as as he tried to lead marchers over the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, a shocking scene captured on national television that led to passage of the Voting Rights Act.
In 1968, he was in Los Angeles working for the presidential campaign of U.S. Senator Robert Kennedy when Kennedy was gunned down after winning the California primary.
And in 2018, Lewis stood on the House floor and exhorted his colleagues to vote to impeach President Donald Trump: “When you see something that is not right, not just, not fair, you have a moral obligation to say something.”
Lewis had eventually extended his activism into politics, winning a seat in the U.S. House in 1986 that he held for more than three decades, becoming known as the “conscience of Congress” — opposing military action, supporting gay rights, leading a sit-in for gun safety.
Through all the beatings and tragedies, and the twists and turns of political life, Lewis never wavered from the philosophy of non-violence — and never stopped advocating for equality.
Battling pancreatic cancer, he made his last public appearance in June at the dedication of a “Black Lives Matter” mural in Washington, the latest incarnation of the cause to which he had dedicated his adult life.
His death Friday in Atlanta marks the turning of a page — he was the last surviving speaker of the March on Washington, which galvanized the civil rights movement in the summer of 1963.
His death also opens up his seat representing Georgia’s 5th U.S. House District, which includes much of the city of Atlanta and suburbs to the south and west, and has set off an immediate search for his successor, even before his funeral takes place.
That’s because state law only gives the state Democratic Party until Monday afternoon to replace Lewis on the fall ballot. Party officials opened up an application process for the seat, with a Sunday evening deadline, with the state party executive committee making a final decision on Lewis’s replacement.
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp will decide when to call special election to fill the remainder of Lewis’s current term, which could be held concurrently with the November vote.
Lewis’s first run for Congress, in 1977, was unsuccessful. In 1981, he was elected to the Atlanta City Council and launched a second congressional run in 1986, after the Democratic incumbent, Wyche Fowler, gave up the seat to run for the U.S. Senate.
Lewis faced tall odds in the Democratic primary against another civil rights icon, State Senator Julian Bond. But he narrowly defeated Bond in a runoff to win the nomination and then the 5th District seat.
He was re-elected 16 times, including six times without opposition; his closest race came in the Republican wave of 1994, when he still won by 38 points.
Lewis is survived by his son, John-Miles Lewis. His wife, Lillian, died in 2012.
Funeral arrangements have not yet been announced.
A campaign is now underway in Lewis’s native Alabama to rename the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma in his honor.
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MJ Hegar wins Texas Democratic U.S. Senate runoff, will take on John Cornyn
Donald Trump’s former White House doctor Ronny Jackson wins U.S. House runoff in Panhandle; Pete Sessions makes a comeback
♦By Rich Shumate, ChickenFriedPolitics.com editor
AUSTIN (CFP) — Former Air Force combat pilot MJ Hegar has won the Democratic nomination to take on incumbent Republican U.S. Senator John Cornyn for a seat that Democrats have hopes of flipping in November.
Hegar, who had the backing of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, defeated State Senator Royce West of Dallas by a margin of 52% to 48% in Tuesday’s runoff and now faces the task of pulling off something no Democrat has done in 32 years — win a Senate race in the Lone Star State.
Texas Democratic U.S. Senate nominee MJ Hegar
In a victory statement, Hegar vowed to run “a Texas-sized winning campaign that will take down Sen. Cornyn and deliver real results on health care, racial justice, economic opportunity, climate change, immigration and gun violence.”
The Cornyn campaign responded with a statement calling her “Hollywood Hegar,” because of her out-of-state support, and noting that she barely beat West even though she and her allies outspent him on advertising by a margin of 100 to 1.
“Senator Cornyn is prepared to face whatever comes his way,” his campaign said.
In other Texas runoff races, Ronny Jackson — the former White House doctor whom President Trump tried and failed to install as Veterans’ Affairs secretary in 2018 — won a Republican runoff for a U.S. House seat in the Panhandle, making him the favorite to win in November in the Republican leaning 13th District.
Jackson now faces the winner of the Democratic runoff, Gus Trujillo, who works for a Latino business group in Amarillo.
In the Waco-based 17th District, Pete Sessions, a former House Republican leader who lost his Dallas-area seat in 2018, made a comeback by winning a runoff in a new district. He will face Rick Kennedy, a software developer from Round Rock, in November; the Republican lean of this district will also make Sessions the favorite.
In other Texas U.S. House runoffs Tuesday:
In the 10th District (East Texas between Austin and Houston), Mike Siegel won the Democratic runoff for the right to face incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul in a race that Democrats have targeted as a pickup opportunity.
In the 22nd District (Southern Houston suburbs), Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls won the Republican runoff and will face Democrat Sri Preston Kulkarni in a race that Democrats have also targeted. The winner will replace retiring Republican U.S. Rep. Pete Olson.
In the 23rd District (West Texas between San Antonio and El Paso), the Republican runoff may be headed into overtime after Tony Gonzales ended election night with a scant seven vote lead over Raul Reyes in a race fill the seat of retiring Republican U.S. Rep. Will Hurd.
The runoff pitted U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, who endorsed Reyes, against Trump, who endorsed Gonzales. In the closing days of the race, Trump’s campaign sent Reyes a cease-and-desist order over a mailer that implied he had the president’s endorsement.
The winner will face Democrat Gina Ortiz Jones, who nearly defeated Hurd in 2018 in the state’s most competitive House district.
In the 24th District (Metro Dallas-Ft. Worth), Candace Valenzuela, a school board member in Carrollton-Farmers Branch, won the Democratic nomination and will face the Republican nominee, former Irving Mayor Beth Van Duyne, in the race to succeed incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Kenny Marchant, which Democrats are also targeting.
In the 31st District (Northern Austin suburbs), Donna Imam, an Austin computer engineer, won the Democratic runoff to face incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. John Carter, who is also on the Democrats’ target list.
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Donald Trump gets his revenge as Jeff Sessions goes down to defeat
Sessions crushed by Tommy Tuberville in Alabama U.S. Senate GOP runoff
♦By Rich Shumate, ChickenFriedPolitics.com editor
MONTGOMERY (CFP) — Former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions was crushed Tuesday in his quest to reclaim the U.S. Senate seat he gave up to serve in Donald Trump’s Cabinet, in a sweeping triumph for the president and his Twitter feed.
Tommy Tuberville, the former head football coach at Auburn University who was making his first run for elective office, took 61% to 39% for Sessions, carrying 64 of the state’s 67 counties.
“Thank you for your trust, your confidence. Your message of change is loud and clear,” Tuberville told supporters at a victory party in Montgomery, where he went directly after his November opponent, Democratic U.S. Senator Doug Jones.
Republican Alabama U.S. Senate nominee Tommy Tuberville addresses supporters in Montgomery (WVTM via YouTube)
“In Doug Jones’ Alabama, you take your marching orders from Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, and the bartender AOC,” Tuberville said, referring to New York U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
“Doug Jones’ Alabama is not the conservative state we love and embrace and defend. It’s a liberal fantasy,” he said.
Jones won a special election in 2017 in deep red Alabama after the Republican nominee, Roy Moore, imploded in a sex scandal. He is considered the most endangered Democratic incumbent in the country this year.
Jones issued a statement after Tuberville’s win saying Alabama voters will have a choice in November between “an unprepared hyper partisan that will add to the divide in Washington, or my proven track-record to find common ground and get things done.”
Tuesday’s result was an ignominious defeat for Sessions, who represented Alabama in the Senate for 20 years and built a political brand so potent that Democrats didn’t even both to contest his election the last time he ran in 2014.
But this time around, he could not overcome the implacable opposition of Trump, who has never forgiven Sessions for recusing himself from the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Trump endorsed Tuberville, made robocalls on his behalf, and used his Twitter feed to needle Sessions throughout the campaign. But Sessions continued to insist that he fully supported the president and his agenda.
“The people of Alabama have spoken, and they want a new leader, a new fresh face to go to Washington,” Sessions said at an election night event in Mobile where he was surrounded by eight of his grandchildren. “We felt like we were beginning to make some progress here at the very end, but it wasn’t enough.”
Sessions said he had “no regrets” about the decision to recuse himself, insisting that legally, he had no other choice.
“I was honored to serve the people of Alabama in the Senate, and I was extraordinarily proud of the accomplishments we had as attorney general,” he said. “I leave elective office with my integrity intact.”
Trump took to Twitter to congratulate Tuberville on the result, refraining from any direct attack on Sessions, although he dismissed Jones as “a terrible Senator who is just a Super Liberal puppet for Schumer & Pelosi.”
Alabama Republicans also decided competitive runoffs for two open U.S. House seats Tuesday.
In the 1st District (Mobile and southwest Alabama), Mobile County Commissioner Jerry Carl edged out former State Senator Bill Hightower for the Republican nomination. On the Democratic side of the ballot, James Averhart, a retired Marine who runs a non-profit that works to reintegrate former prisoners into society, won the Democratic nomiination over Kiani Gardner.
Carl will be the favorite in November in the heavily Republican district. U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne gave up the seat to make a losing U.S. Senate bid against Sessions and Tuberville.
In the 2nd District (Montgomery and southeast Alabama), former State Rep. Barry Moore defeated businessman Jeff Coleman and will be a heavy favorite in the fall against Democrat Phyllis Harvey-Hall. The seat opened up with the retirement of Republican U.S. Rep. Martha Roby.
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U.S. Senate runoffs top Tuesday’s primary ballots in Alabama, Texas
Jeff Sessions tries to survive Trump headwinds in Alabama, while Texas Democrats pick a foe for U.S. Senator John Cornyn
♦By Rich Shumate, ChickenFriedPolitics.com editor
(CFP) — Voters in Alabama and Texas go to the polls Tuesday to decide two hotly contested U.S. Senate runoffs, including a Republican runoff in Alabama where former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions is trying to reclaim his old Senate seat over the fervent opposition of President Donald Trump.
Trump also features in a U.S. House runoff in Texas, where former White House doctor Ronny Jackson — whom the president tried and failed to install as Veterans’ Affairs secretary in 2018 — is competing in a Republican runoff in the Panhandle, with the president’s endorsement.
Also in Texas, Democratic State Senator Royce West from Dallas is competing with former Air Force combat pilot MJ Hegar for the right to take on incumbent Republican U.S. Senator John Cornyn for a seat that Democrats hope to flip in November.
Former Republican U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions, who rose to the Republican leadership during two decades in Congress before losing his Dallas-area seat in 2018, is also trying to make a comeback in a runoff in a different Waco-area district.
Polls are open in both states from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time.
Jeff Sessions and Tommy Tuberville
Tuesday’s marquee race is in Alabama, where sessions is competing with former Auburn University football coach Tommy Tuberville for the right to take on Democratic U.S. Senator Doug Jones, considered the nation’s most endangered incumbent senator as he seeks re-election in deep red Alabama.
In 2017, Sessions gave up the Senate seat he had held for 20 years to become Trump’s attorney general, only to see that relationship sour after Sessions recused himself from the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Trump fired Sessions in 2018 and has continued to take shots at him, even though Sessions had continued to insist that he fully supports the president and his agenda.
With Trump’s endorsement, Tuberville is considered the favorite in the race, although Sessions may have reclaimed some ground in the closing weeks of the runoff amid headlines about Tuberville’s ties to a hedge fund fraud scheme.
Tuesday’s ballot also features two Republican runoffs for safe U.S. House seats in Alabama, as well runoffs in 11 districts in Texas, including five that Democrats hope to flip.
Those races include:
Alabama 1st District (Mobile and southwest Alabama): In the race to replace Republican U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne, who gave up the seat to make a losing U.S. Senate bid, the Republican runoff features Mobile County Commissioner Jerry Carl and former State Senator Bill Hightower. On the Democratic side of the ballot, James Averhart faces Kiani Gardner. The Republican nominee will be heavily favored in November.
Alabama 2nd District (Montgomery and southeast Alabama): In the race to replace retiring Republican U.S. Rep. Martha Roby, businessman Jeff Coleman faces former State Rep. Barry Moore. The winner will be a heavy favorite in the fall against Democrat Phyllis Harvey-Hall.
Texas 10th District (East Texas between Austin and Houston): Democrats Pritesh Gandhi and Mike Siegel are competing in Democratic runoff for the right to face incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul in a race that Democrats have targeted as a pickup opportunity.
Texas 13th District (Panhandle and part of North Texas): Both parties are holding runoffs in this district, where incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Mac Thornberry is retiring. Among Republicans, Jackson faces Josh Winegarner, a former congressional aide. Among Democrats, Greg Sagan will face Gus Trujillo. The Republican runoff winner will be heavily favored in the fall.
Texas 17th District (Waco and parts of Central Texas): Both parties are also holding runoffs in this district, where incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Bill Flores is retiring. Among Republicans, Sessions is facing businesswoman Renee Swann. Among Democrats, David Jaramillo will face Rick Kennedy. The Republican winner will be favored in the fall.
Texas 22nd District (Southern Houston suburbs): In the race to replace retiring Republican U.S. Rep. Pete Olson, Republicans will choose between Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls and businesswoman Kathaleen Wall. The winner will face Democrat Sri Preston Kulkarni in a race that Democrats have targeted as a pickup opportunity.
Texas 23rd District (West Texas between San Antonio and El Paso): In a race to replace retiring Republican U.S. Rep. Will Hurd, Iraq War veteran Tony Gonzales will face Raul Reyes, a builder and retired Air Force officer, in the Republican runoff. The winner will face Democrat Gina Ortiz Jones, who nearly defeated Hurd in 2018.
Texas 24th District (Metro Dallas-Ft. Worth): Democrats Kim Olson, a retired Air Force colonel and former Weatherford school board member, will face Candace Valenzuela, who serves on the school board in Carrollton-Farmers Branch. The winner will face the Republican nominee, former Irving Mayor Beth Van Duyne, for the race to succeed incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Kenny Marchant in a race Democrats have targeted.
Texas 31st District (Northern Austin suburbs): In the Democratic runoff, Donna Imam, an Austin computer engineer, will face Christine Mann, a physician from Williamson County who lost the party’s runoff in this district in 2018. The winner will face incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. John Carter, who is also on the Democrats’ target list.
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Insight: Will Joe Biden really make a play for Georgia and Texas in 2020?
Why, despite the summertime chatter, putting resources into these states makes little strategic sense
♦By Rich Shumate, ChickenFriedPolitics.com editor
The last time a Democratic presidential candidate carried Georgia, The Cover Girls (remember them?) were wishing on a star. The last time a Democrat carried Texas, people were still wearing bell bottoms.
Every four years, the pundit class and Democrats in these states insist that this time will be different — this year, finally, these states are going to flip. And every four years, Republicans scoff at their wishful thinking and hubris.
It’s deja vu all over again. Joe Biden’s campaign is making noises about competing in the Peach and Lone Star states, committing significant resources for a serious ground game in places where one hasn’t been seen in a generation.
So what are the chances this will actually happen? Probably pretty slim — not because it isn’t possible for Biden to win these states but because, if they are within reach, winning them won’t be necessary.
First, the numbers. Donald Trump carried Georgia by slightly more than 5 points in 2016, the smallest winning margin for a Republican since Bob Dole won by less than 2 points in 1996 in a three-way race. (By way of contrast, George W. Bush won by nearly 17 points in 2004.)
In Texas, Trump’s margin was larger, just under 9 points, but that was also the smallest winning margin for a Republican since Dole. (Bush won by more than 20 points.)
Clearly, the trend lines are headed in the Democrats’ direction, as even Republicans in these states would concede. These states are within (a long) reach.
However, in considering Electoral College strategy, it is helpful to think of the presidential race as a tug-of-war, with states arrayed along the rope in order from most Democratic to most Republican. The goal is to pull the rope far enough that there are at least 270 electoral votes on your side.
In 2016, six states on Trump’s side of the rope were closer than Georgia — the Southern states of Florida and North Carolina, along with Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Arizona. Those six and Ohio were closer than Texas.
So, if Georgia is truly within reach for Biden in 2020, six Trump states are likely already in Biden’s hands; make that seven if Texas is in play. And if Biden is already carrying all of those states, he won’t need to bother with Georgia or Texas. He’s already won.
This is why, strategically, it would make little sense for the Biden campaign to put resources into Georgia and Texas. But there are three reasons we might see them do it anyway.
First, engaging in these states could help drive up Democratic turnout, which could help in U.S. Senate and down ballot races. However, presidential campaigns aren’t known for their altruism; we’re only likely to see this if the race is a blowout for Biden and he can spare the resources to benefit other candidates.
Second, making a play for Texas or Georgia could be an insurance policy in the event that something unexpected happens in one of the closer states, as happened to Hillary Clinton in 2016 in Michigan and Wisconsin. However, given that experience, Biden won’t be caught napping like Clinton was, making such a surprise less likely.
And third, putting resources into Georgia or Texas could be a way to troll the Trump campaign and force it to engage in these states. Even talking about the possibility forces the Trump forces to consider countermeasures.
However, if Trump needs to shore up either of these states come November, his battle is already lost, and what happens in Texas and Georgia won’t matter (although Biden could make a play for them to run up the score.)
So, all this summertime chatter about competing in Georgia and Texas may make interesting cable news conversation, but the smart money says that in the end, Biden won’t bite.
Then again, betting on presidential politics these days might, admittedly, be a bit of a fool’s errand.
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