In the year since a one-time window opened in New York State allowing people to file sex-abuse lawsuits even after the statute of limitations had expired, more than 3,000 civil suits have been filed. Before the deadline on Thanksgiving, a flurry of attention-grabbing suits were filed against politicians — like former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and […]
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It makes perfect sense to treat Donald Trump as the most immediate threat to the future of American democracy. He has an ambitious plan to turn the office of the presidency into an instrument of “revenge” against his political enemies and other supposedly undesirable groups. But while we keep our eyes on Trump and his […]
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Democrats are planning to spend millions of dollars next year on just a few state legislative elections in Kansas, North Carolina, Kentucky and Wisconsin — states where they have little to no chance of winning control of a chamber. Yet what might appear to be an aimless move is decidedly strategic: Democrats are pushing to […]
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From Northern Virginia to Northern Kentucky, the American suburbs rejected Republican candidates on Tuesday, sending a message that leafy residential communities where elections were once won and lost increasingly side with the Democratic Party — especially on abortion rights. Only in the New York suburbs of eastern Long Island did the Republican message on crime […]
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The political potency of abortion rights proved more powerful than the drag of President Biden’s approval ratings in Tuesday’s off-year elections, as Ohioans enshrined a right to abortion in their state’s constitution, and Democrats took control of both chambers of the Virginia General Assembly while holding on to Kentucky’s governorship. The night’s results showed the […]
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Democrats retook full control of the Virginia General Assembly, The Associated Press reported, handing a defeat to Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican who had poured millions of dollars and his personal political capital into expanding power for his party in the legislature. The Democratic Party not only maintained its narrow hold on the State Senate, […]
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Before a single ballot was cast, Louisiana Democrats knew they couldn’t win control of the State Legislature this year. It was mathematically impossible, because a lack of candidates meant they were not even contesting the majority of districts. Their best hope for political success rested with Shawn Wilson, a former state transportation secretary, and the […]
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Election Day is nearly here, and while off-year political races receive a fraction of the attention compared with presidential elections, some of Tuesday’s contests will be intensely watched. At stake are two southern governorships, control of the Virginia General Assembly and abortion access in Ohio. National Democrats and Republicans, seeking to build momentum moving toward […]
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Michael J. Bragman, a Democratic powerhouse who was deposed as the majority leader of the New York State Assembly and retired from politics after mounting an unsuccessful and politically suicidal coup against the speaker, Sheldon Silver, in 2000, died on Oct. 13 in Syracuse, N.Y. He was 83. His death was confirmed by his daughter […]
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New York has banned the use of corporal punishment in all private schools, making it one of just a handful of states in the nation to bar teachers in all types of schools from hitting students. The law, which was signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday after being unanimously approved by the State Legislature […]
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In a direct challenge to federal power over immigration, the Texas House on Thursday approved the creation of a state-level crime for entering the country from Mexico between ports of entry, allowing local police agencies to arrest and jail unauthorized migrants or order them back to Mexico. The legislation had been called for by Gov. […]
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Last month, Mayor Eric Adams unveiled a big plan to tackle New York City’s housing shortage and make the city more affordable. The plan, the city says, would make way for something on the order of 100,000 additional homes over the next 15 years, mainly through changes to the city’s zoning code. While an ambitious […]
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Gavin Newsom, the California governor, packed his bags and his ambition Monday and flew to Chinese provinces on a weeklong mission to negotiate climate agreements. Last month, he was the only American invited to address the United Nations about climate change, where he excoriated the fossil fuel industry for what he called its decades of […]
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The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a lower-court ruling that delays an effort to redraw Louisiana’s congressional map, prolonging a bitter clash over the representation of Black voters in the state. The order temporarily leaves in place a Republican-drawn map that a federal judge had said diluted the power of Black voters while an appeal […]
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California has banned four common food additives — Red Dye No. 3, potassium bromate, brominated vegetable oil and propylparaben — through the California Food Safety Act. The law will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2027, which offers “significant time for brands to revise their recipes to avoid these harmful chemicals,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said […]
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In the summer of 2019, Uber, Lyft and other companies that use contract drivers faced a crisis in California. The State Legislature was poised to pass a law that would effectively require them to treat their drivers as employees, meaning the gig companies would have to pay drivers a minimum wage, cover their expenses and […]
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The liberal majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear a case challenging the state’s Republican-drawn legislative districts, a decision that could spur impeachment proceedings against a newly elected justice, Janet Protasiewicz, who refused to recuse herself from the case. The decision to accept the case — known as an original action […]
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But here’s where we come to the Catch-22, because the stability of our system rests on supermajority rules so strong that they stymie all but the broadest attempts to change that system. And who is to say that stability is such a paramount goal? In a dynamic society, which is to say in a human […]
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The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused Alabama’s request to reinstate a congressional map drawn by Republican lawmakers that had only one majority-Black district, paving the way for a new map to be put in place before the 2024 election. Alabama’s request to keep its map was the second time in under a year that it […]
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For nearly two years, poll after poll has found Americans in a sour mood about President Biden, uneasy about the economy and eager for younger leaders of the country. And yet when voters have actually cast ballots, Democrats have delivered strong results in special elections — the sort of contests that attract little attention but […]
Read More For nearly two years, poll after poll has found Americans in a sour mood about President Biden, uneasy about the economy and eager for younger leaders of the country. And yet when voters have actually cast ballots, Democrats have delivered strong results in special elections — the sort of contests that attract little attention but […]
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For decades, Republicans have outmaneuvered and outspent Democrats in state legislatures, gerrymandering them into the minority in both red states and political battlegrounds. G.O.P. state lawmakers have used that advantage to pass countless conservative policies — with a lot of help along the way. In back rooms and behind the scenes, conservative think tanks and […]
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The News Gov. Gavin Newsom of California vetoed a bill on Friday that would instruct judges presiding over custody battles in the state to take into consideration a parent’s support for a child’s gender identity when making custody and visitation decisions. Why It Matters: The veto signals a break from the governor’s stance in support […]
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Shortly before Gov. Roy Cooper, a North Carolina Democrat, began his first term in 2017, his rivals in the Republican-controlled legislature voted to strip the position of key powers, including the governor’s longstanding authority to appoint majorities to the state election board and local election boards in all 100 counties. After the state Supreme Court […]
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For the past year, Kevin de León, a Los Angeles city councilman, has been trying to make amends in his diverse and liberal city, hoping to remind voters of the formidable record he had before a secretly taped conversation nearly ended his political career. The campaign has been arduous. The audio was about as damaging […]
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Why It Matters: The vote will determine a swing state’s power balance. Pennsylvania is a crucial swing state, playing an important role in presidential elections, as well as determining which party holds power in the United States Congress. Whichever party gains an upper hand in the state can make a major difference in Washington, in […]
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Gov. Gavin Newsom of California said on Sunday that he would sign a landmark climate bill that passed the state’s legislature last week requiring major companies to publicly disclose their greenhouse gas emissions, a move with national and global repercussions. The new law will require about 5,000 companies to report the amount of greenhouse gas […]
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Judy Govatos has heard that magical phrase “you’re in remission” twice, in 2015 and again in 2019. She had beaten back Stage 4 lymphoma with such aggressive chemotherapy and other treatments that at one point she grew too weak to stand, and relied on a wheelchair. She endured several hospitalizations, suffered infections and lost nearly […]
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The impeachment trial of Ken Paxton that ended in his acquittal on Saturday was about more than the fate of the Texas attorney general. It was also the most dramatic flashpoint in a yearslong struggle among Republican leaders in the Legislature over control of the party and the future direction of the state. The trial […]
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Wearing a dark green suit from Express and Cole Haan dress sneakers, Representative Maxwell Frost, Democrat of Florida, took the stage at Metrobar in Washington. He was speaking at an event this summer by Run for Something, a political action committee that supports young Democrats seeking state and local office. “How’s everybody doing?” Mr. Frost, […]
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The case against Ken Paxton, a nationally prominent conservative politician, was overseen by a board of managers from the state’s House, led by Republicans, and it played out at times as a contest over how much Republican politics should matter in the proceedings. The House lawmakers approached the case like a criminal trial, appointing a […]
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