Tag: Lamar Smith

In Texas’ 21st congressional district, walking from street to street, knocking on doors and asking for votes is not as straightforward as it sounds. Can the wave of female House candidates lead to a 'tsunami' of wins? But there is another dividing line, next to which Wilson stands on the left: a Democratic divide between progressives and moderates that will be closely watched on Tuesday, as Texas holds party runoff elections ahead of November’s midterms. The city is covered by six districts that extend far out into conservative strongholds, diluting the influence of Travis County, where Hillary Clinton won 66% of the vote in 2016. How did I, this lifelong Democrat, become that ‘anti-establishment’ candidate? Wilson, a minister and former math teacher, believes that the Washington establishment, in the form of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), favours her runoff rival, Joseph Kopser, a decorated army veteran and entrepreneur with endorsements from a number of party figures. “I don’t know why then we should consider him to be the most viable candidate to win in November when he couldn’t win in March with every advantage. “Being a progressive-minded person, social justice advocate – and being a female social justice advocate – really fits the tenor of the mood in the country right now.” If Wilson wins on Tuesday her path to victory in November will require a high turnout in Austin and San Antonio. The Great Revolt review: Trump-approved study of 2016 is key reading for Democrats Read more With no candidate securing a majority of the vote, Moser forced a runoff by finishing second in the primary to Lizzie Pannill Fletcher, a business attorney who has been endorsed by Emily’s List, an influential group that works to elect pro-abortion rights Democratic female candidates. “This part of the district is not as Republican as the Republicans think, but we just have to engage new voters out here,” Moser said.

Internal efforts to introduce a “secret science” initiative requiring all data used by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) be made public has been met with concern not only from scientists and environmentalists but from members of EPA head Scott Pruitt’s own staff. Smith has pushed for restricting the EPA’s use of scientific evidence, arguing the agency should only use scientific studies based on public data. And now, according to internal emails obtained by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) and shared with ThinkProgress, even members of the EPA with deep industry ties are concerned about the initiative’s implications. Writing to Richard Yamada, who works for the EPA’s Office of Research and Development and previously had a role working with Rep. Smith in drafting legislation restricting scientific studies to public data, Beck highlighted the staggering costs associated with requiring data be published, as well as concern over the restrictions on using chemical industry data. “Making data available is very different than requiring a publication requirement. Additional emails obtained by UCS confirm that Smith met with Pruitt in early January to discuss implementing the HONEST Act administratively in order to bypass Congress. The documents indicate the current initiative is driven largely by politics, the UCS says, rather than concern for data integrity and the work the EPA does more broadly. Under Pruitt’s leadership, the agency has repeatedly touted work authored by deniers of climate science, in addition to elevating writing from conservative publications like the Daily Caller. The EPA head’s spending habits have drawn the ire of Congress, including the installation of a $43,000 sound-proof privacy booth. Questions over Pruitt’s alleged misuse of funds led 170 lawmakers to sign a resolution calling for his resignation on Wednesday.