Republican George Santos becomes first House member expelled in more than 20 years
The House of Representatives voted to expel Republican Rep. George Santos last week; Santos is the first member expelled from the House in 20 years and just the sixth House member expelled in history. The vote was 311-114 with 112 Republicans voting with Democrats to expel Santos. Visit ABC News to learn moreImage Credit:Ted Eytan (CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED)
Many in Mississippi see signs of change as Black voters reengage
Black voters, representing 40% of Mississippi’s overall population, have begun reengaging with the political process. Five Black candidates are running for state-wide office, each trying to become the first African American candidate to win in the posts they are campaigning for. Voting rights advocates hope this effort will catalyze change in the state, rebuilding the Black communities voting base and giving Democrats more opportunities in jurisdictions currently controlled by Republicans. Visit ABC News to learn moreImage Credit:Peter Ciro (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 DEED)
Newsom taps Laphonza Butler as interim pick to fill Sen. Feinstein’s seat
Governor Gavin Newsom announced Sunday that he plans to appoint Laphonza Butler to fill the Senate seat left vacant after Dianne Feinstein’s passing. Butler previously served as a labor leader and as advisor to Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign. Butler had most recently been working as the president of EMILY’S List, a political action committee working to elect Democrat pro-choice women. Visit ABC News to learn moreImage Credit:Wikimedia Commons (PMD 1.0 DEED)
Democrats, Republicans release dueling abortion ads in high-stakes Virginia elections
Democrats and Republicans have released opposing ads on abortion in Virginia, a hot button issue at the center of the highly contested races for positions within the Virginia legislature. Virginia Republicans released an ad titled “No Limits” claiming that Democrats are attempting to make late term abortions “the rule and not the exception.” Virginia Democrats on the other hand released numerous ads across the state emphasizing that if Republicans gain full control of the Virginia Assembly they would institute a state wide abortion ban.
Taylor Swift told fans to register to vote- then Vote.org got 35K new voter registrations
Vote.org, a non-partisan and non-profit platform encouraging election participation, received a massive spike in voter registrations last Tuesday. The group attributed the 35,252 newly registered voters to pop star Taylor Swift who posted an instagram story that day urging her fans to register. According to representatives from vote.org, the site saw a 1,226% increase in participation the hour after Ms. Swift posted the story to her instagram account. Visit ABC News to learn moreImage Credit:Jana Beamer (CC BY 2.0)