Month: November 2018

And so it begins … Attorney General Sessions resigns at Trump’s request (Updated)

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Well that didn’t take long … America is still counting the votes from Tuesday’s election but “Dear Leader” has begun the “slow-motion Saturday night massacre” at the Department of Justice. Trump is just daring the Special Counsel and the new Democratic Congress to hold him accountable for his abuses of power and obstruction of justice.

The Washington Post reports, Attorney General Jeff Sessions resigns at Trump’s request (he tried to resign twice before, but was talked out of it):

[Confederate Attorney General Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III] resigned on Wednesday at President Trump’s request, ending the tenure of a loyalist Trump had soured on shortly after Sessions took office in 2017 because the former senator from Alabama had recused himself from oversight of the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign.

In a letter to Trump, Sessions wrote he had been “honored to serve as Attorney General” and had “worked to implement the law enforcement agenda based on the rule of law that formed a central part of your campaign for the presidency.” Trump tweeted that Sessions would be replaced on an acting basis by Matthew G. Whitaker, who had been serving as Sessions’s chief of staff.

“We thank Attorney General Jeff Sessions for his service, and wish him well!” Trump tweeted. “A permanent replacement will be nominated at a later date.”

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Preliminary Results Arizona State Candidates 2018

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It appears that GOP tribalism coupled with a statewide GOP voter registration edge of over a 100,000 registrants is still all it takes to win statewide races in Arizona.

Well, that and massive amounts of “dark money” from out of state anonymous sources.

Republicans appear to have won all the statewide offices, but the Superintendent of Public Instruction race remains too close to call.

Democrats appear to have picked up some seats in the Arizona House. Several races remain too close to call, and there are reportedly over 500,000 ballots yet to be be verified and counted.

Democrats may have narrowed the GOP margin in the legislature, which could force the GOP leadership to negotiate and compromise with the Democratic leadership to pass legislation, instead of simply ignoring Democrats and the constituents they represent. This is a good thing.

Current estimated voter turnout is 46.67%. When more than half of registered voters cannot take the time to fill out a ballot — not including the large number of eligible voting age persons not registered to vote — the health of our democracy is in serious jeopardy. You have to do better Arizona!

(These are the overnight numbers).

Governor

Doug Ducey (R)               57.8%
David Garcia (D)             40.2%

Secretary of State

Steve Gaynor (R)             51.3%
Katie Hobbs (D)              48.7%

Attorney General

Mark Brnovich (R)          53.4%
January Contreras (D)   46.6%

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Preliminary Results Arizona Federal Candidates 2018

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The U.S. Senate race is too close to call, but Rep. Martha McSally currently holds more than a 14,000 vote lead over Rep. Kyrsten Sinema. Green Party candidate Angela Green, who withdrew days before the election, received more votes than the margin between McSally and Sinema (who was a Green before she was a Democrat). Sort of ironic.

There are reportedly over 500,000 ballots yet to be be verified and counted. It’s going to be awhile (and it could be close enough for a recount).

The House races have all been called. Democrats picked up the open CD 2 seat with Ann Kirkpatrick’s win in Southern Arizona, and Greg Stanton held the open seat in CD 9 for Democrats in Maricopa County. All the incumbents were reelected along party lines.

Current estimated voter turnout is 46.67%. When more than half of registered voters cannot take the time to fill out a ballot — not including the large number of eligible voting age persons not registered to vote — the health of our democracy is in serious jeopardy. You have to do better Arizona!

(These are the overnight numbers.)

U.S. Senate (open)

Martha McSally (R)        847,021
Kysten Sinema (D)          832,441
Angela Green (GRN)         38,476
–Too close to call

Congressional District 1

Rep. Tom O’Halleran (D)   53.3% ✔︎
Wendy Rogers (R)               46.7%

Congressional District 2

Ann Kirkpatrick (D)            53.3% ✔︎
Lea Marquez Peterson (R) 46.7%

Congressional District 3

Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D)       61.4% ✔︎
Nicolas Pierson (R)            38.6%

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AZ General Election 2018 results – updated

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Lots of Arizona statewide races to report on, so the simplest way now is to just check the Arizona Sec. of State’s website for the latest results/updates:

www.azsos.gov

Leading – all Republicans for these Arizona statewide races:

Governor, Sec. of State, Attorney General, Treasurer, Superintendent of Public Instruction, Corporation Commission (2 seats), State Mine Inspector. (Incumbents in these races: Governor, AG, one Corporation Commissioner, Mine Inspector.)  Voter turnout was 46.8%

One to watch is Superintendent of Public Instruction (too close to call):

Kathy Hoffman (D)   830,676

Frank Riggs (R)   837,396

U.S. Senate seat (Jeff Flake stepping down)

Martha McSally (R)  850,043

Krysten Sinema (D)  834,135

CD 1:

Tom O’Halleran (D incumbent)   111,854

Wendy Rogers (R) 97,929

CD 2:

Ann Kirkpatrick (D)  125,349

Lea Marquez Peterson  (R)  109,759

CD 3:

Raul Grijalva (D incumbent)  78,308

Nick Pierson (R)  49,331

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Does Martha McSally have a Plan B?

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Arizona voters will decide the successor to Senator Jeff Flake today between Democrat Kyrsten Sinema and Republican Martha McSally.

But Arizona voters will have no say in who is the successor to Senator John McCain. That may occur as soon as December or January with the new Congress.

This decision belongs to the governor of Arizona, and former Senator Jon Kyl, who was appointed by Governor Doug Ducey as a “temporary” successor to Sen. McCain.

Sen. Kyl does not sound like a man who is contemplating staying past the current congressional term. The Arizona Republic recently reported, Sen. Jon Kyl hesitant to discuss his Senate service past 2018:

U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl was hesitant to say this week whether he will continue to serve in the Senate past the end of the year.

Kyl, R-Arizona, returned to the Senate in September, following the death of long-serving U.S. Sen. John McCain, who died Aug. 25 after a 13-month battle with brain cancer.

Kyl agreed to serve at least through the end of the year, although the governor said he hoped Kyl would seriously consider serving until a special election is held in 2020 to fill the rest of McCain’s term, which ends in 2022.

Kyl on Wednesday appeared non-committal about a future in the Senate during an interview with The Arizona Republic after a tour of Phoenix food bank with U.S. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and Rep. Martha McSally, a Senate hopeful.

“It’s not for any lack of interest, and it’s certainly an incredible honor to go back to work for the people of Arizona,” he said. “You see from a group of people like this how great they are to work with and to represent. But I have family needs, as well, and so, we’ll decide what to do at that point. I’ll talk to the governor.”

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