Tag: bruce poliquin

Outgoing Republican Maine Gov. Paul LePage took a swipe on Friday at a Democratic candidate’s victory in a controversial House race, writing “stolen election” next to his signature on the certificate confirming the election result. LePage certified the victory of Democratic Rep.-elect Jared Golden after Rep. Bruce Poliquin, a two-term Republican congressman, conceded to his opponent on Christmas Eve following a contentious legal challenge. “I’ve signed off on the [Maine’s 2nd congressional district] election result as it’s no longer in federal court,” LePage wrote in a tweet, attaching of the certificate with the phrase “stolen election” next to his signature. “Ranked Choice Voting didn’t result in a true majority as promised-simply a plurality measured differently. The controversy over the race stems from Maine’s “ranked-choice” electoral system, where, if no candidate receives an outright majority of the votes, a second tally is triggered. Maine’s top state court last year warned that ranked-choice voting conflicts with the state’s constitution, which says the winners of state-level races are whoever gets the most votes, or a plurality. The Golden’s upset victory is a setback for Republicans in Congress, who lost the control of the House following the midterm elections. Maine’s 2nd congressional district historically leaned Democratic, thought the voters voted overwhelmingly for President Trump during the 2016 presidential election. He previously told reporters that he’s retiring from politics and will be moving to Florida due to low taxation.

The 1st Circuit Court of Appeals denied U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin’s attempt to keep Democrat Jared Golden from succeeding him Jan. 3 in the U.S. House of Representatives. A three-judge panel issued a one-page order at about 2:30 p.m. Friday denying the congressman’s appeal of a lower-court judge’s ruling against him because he didn’t “have a strong likelihood of success on the merits.” The underlying appeal challenging the constitutionality of ranked-choice voting will go forward but would not impact the results of the Nov. 6 election that Golden won. Poliquin’s legal team late Monday asked the court to prevent Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap from certifying the election results and sending a certificate of election to the clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives. In Maine, however, the Secretary of State can sign it. Gov. Paul LePage’s spokesman said Tuesday he would not sign the certificate due to the pending litigation. Poliquin and three Republican voters sued Dunlap on Nov. 13 in federal court in Bangor. LePage was added as a defendant two weeks later after Golden and independent candidate Tiffany Bond, along with two of her supporters, were granted intervenor status. The lawsuit sought to invalidate the ranked-choice voting process approved by Maine voters in 2016 and again earlier this year. Poliquin’s latest effort to keep his House seat came days after U.S. District Judge Lance Walker issued a 30-page decision against the congressman in which Poliquin asked Walker to order a new election.

Good Friday morning. Here are some of the stories making news in Washington and politics today. _____________________ • Florida concluded the first phase of the tumultuous recount of its midterm election on Thursday, as the Republican Ron DeSantis appeared to have enough votes to become governor. But officials ordered a manual recount for the hotly contested Senate seat. • The Trump administration sanctioned 17 Saudis accused in the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, as it faced pressure for stronger action. Here’s more on the sanctions, and on how Saudi Arabia is threatening five of its agents with the death penalty (while changing its account of the killing yet again). But is that a viable path to success in 2020? • Bruce Poliquin, New England’s lone House Republican, lost his bid for re-election in Maine. • With a few midterm races still open, the new Congress will have at least 105 Democratic women and 19 Republican women. Read about the president’s Twitter blast.

Written by Elaine Godfrey (@elainejgodfrey), Olivia Paschal (@oliviacpaschal), and Madeleine Carlisle (@maddiecarlisle2) Today in 5 Lines A federal judge in Florida ordered the state’s deadline to validate votes be extended until Saturday. Senate candidate Rick Scott’s campaign, whose race is in a recount, said it would appeal the decision. Democrat Jared Golden beat Republican Representative Bruce Poliquin in Maine’s 2nd District, flipping the seat and bringing the number of Democratic House pickups to 33, with seven races still undecided. The Trump administration has reportedly been looking for a way to remove a Turkish exile living in the United States in an effort to persuade Turkish President Recep Erdogan to ease pressure on the Saudi government, after the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Facebook is scrambling to respond to Monday’s New York Times report that top Facebook executives had worked to minimize and “deflect blame” over the numerous scandals, including Russian election interference, that have plagued the company over the last two years. Hundreds of Central Americans traveling in a migrant caravan, many of whom are seeking asylum in the United States, have started to arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border. Today on The Atlantic An Oral History: Twenty years ago, the House impeached Bill Clinton. This is the story of what went down, from the very people involved. (David A. Graham and Cullen Murphy) Lessons Learned: Republicans should take away one thing from the midterm elections, writes Ronald Brownstein: As long as they stay loyal to Trump, their electoral prospects will be restricted. A Wave of Support: After last month’s massacre at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue, hundreds of thousands of non-Jews turned out for Shabbat services worldwide.

NORRIDGEWOCK, Maine — Could towns like this, a tiny crossroads of fewer than 1,300 households — now draped in brilliant autumn foliage colors, by Election Day perhaps resting quietly under a gentle dusting of snow — decide whether Democrats or Republicans rule the House? These are some of the mysteries of the 2018 midterm elections, which will deliver an important national message — who’s in control of the House, who runs the Senate — but will be determined in 370 separate elections. It awards single electoral votes for president from each of its two congressional districts. The Poliquin-Golden congressional race will be determined by ranked choice voting, a reformist’s dream and a forecaster’s nightmare: Voters will rank their choices for the House among four contestants, the two major-party candidates and two others. If in a close race neither Poliquin nor Golden wins a majority, the election will turn on how many voters select either one of them as their second choice. “If Jared Golden can’t win this race in the 2nd district, then no Democrat can win in the 2nd district,” says L. Sandy Maisel, a political scientist at Maine’s Colby College. “Golden is tailor-made for this district. This is a leadership moment in the country. Despite Trump’s capture of that unusual single electoral vote, hardly anyone is talking about the president here. “People don’t ask me about him.” Here it is tattoos and lobster boats and — both candidates hope, in their own way — another expression of independence from fiercely independent Maine.

The Washington Post: One looming challenge Democrats face is to close what you might call the “pluto-populist gap” — the vast disconnect between how working-class whites perceive President Trump’s instincts and intentions on the one hand, and his full-on embrace…