(WASHINGTON) — The House Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing Wednesday on abortion access as the nation awaits a final decision from the Supreme Court in a case that result in the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., kicked off the hearing with a warning that if the landmark 1973 decision legalizing abortion is in fact overturned — as was indicated in a leaked Supreme Court draft opinion — the impact will be “devastating.”
“Making decisions about when and how to start a family is essential to women’s lives,” Nadler said. “The right to decide whether to carry or terminate a pregnancy is central to life, liberty and equality. It is the very essence of what it means to have bodily autonomy, which is a prerequisite for freedom.”
Expert witnesses speaking at Wednesday’s hearing include Dr. Yashica Robinson, a board-certified OBGYN and board member with Physicians for Reproductive Health; Michele Bratcher Goodwin, a chancellor’s law professor at the University of California, Irvine; Catherine Glenn Foster, the president and CEO of the anti-abortion law firm Americans United for Life; and Aimee Arrambide, the executive director of the abortion rights nonprofit Avow Texas.
Goodwin told committee members that if the draft opinion holds, it would be an “incredibly unusual” moment in American democracy.
“The Supreme Court has never gone back to in fact revoke what has been freedoms that have been well-articulated and established in the Constitution and also by the Supreme Court,” she said.
The draft opinion, which is not the final ruling, was published by Politico on May 2 — and later confirmed by the court to be authentic. Politico later reported that the Feb. 10 draft was still the only one circulated among the group and that none of the conservative justices have changed their vote in the wake of the bombshell leak.
Protests have been a near-daily occurrence since the document became public, with demonstrations extending to the homes of Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Samuel Alito and Justice Brett Kavanaugh. A nationwide day of protest was held on May 14 featuring hundreds of “Bans Off Our Bodies” events organized by abortion rights groups.
Security measures at the Supreme Court and for all nine justices have been increased since the demonstrations began.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, ABC News reported, domestic violent extremists have invaded the national abortion debate “to incite violence amongst their supporters.” Targets of threats include the justices, members of Congress, public officials, clergy, health care providers and more.
Republican Rep. Jim Jordan, ranking chairman on the House Judiciary Committee, focused his opening statement Wednesday on accusing Democrats and activists of a trying to strong-arm the Supreme Court.
“You know why they’re trying to bully and intimidate the court?” Jordan asked. “You know why, because the evidence for overturning Roe is overwhelming.”
(NEW YORK) — Consequential primary races in five states, including some battlegrounds, helped shed light Tuesday night on what the rest of the midterms might look like.
For Republicans, former President Donald Trump’s star-making power and election conspiracies thrived on the ticket in swing state Pennsylvania, but one controversial North Carolina-based member of Congress heavy in MAGA-orbit fell to scandal. And on the left, progressives locked horns with establishment Democrats in North Carolina, Oregon and Pennsylvania while the strength of President Joe Biden’s introductory midterm race endorsement bore out in Oregon.
Here are three major takeaways from the primaries in Kentucky, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Oregon and Idaho:
Election integrity on the ballot
Trump notched a significant win in the Republican primary for the Pennsylvania governor’s race with the success of state Sen. Doug Mastriano, a conservative grassroots candidate who attended the “Stop the Steal” rally in Washington on Jan 6. The Republican candidate for governor has been subpoenaed by the Jan. 6 committee and posits a full-throated endorsement of the debunked conspiracy theory that the 2020 general election was tampered with and stolen from Trump.
His win is a direct challenge to a less extreme wing of the Republican Party (remember, Biden won the state by about 2% in 2020), some of whom backed Rep. Lou Barletta. For what it’s worth, Barletta was backed by Trump in his losing Senate race in 2018.
Another key race in Pennsylvania full of loaded election integrity rhetoric was the GOP primary for Senate, a true-nail biter that has Trump-endorsed celebrity Dr. Mehmet Oz in a dead heat with former Bridgewater executive David McCormick. The race edged into too-close-to-call territory around midnight Tuesday, and tight margins could leave Pennsylvanians waiting. No matter who wins, a candidate who at least pushes some sort of election integrity policy — promoting election skepticism without outright embracing the “big lie” — will represent Republicans on the ballot come November.
A MAGA candidate’s concession
What may be the biggest blow to Trump’s magic touch so far this election cycle was the crushing loss of his endorsed candidate Rep. Madison Cawthorn, the embattled congressman embroiled in several controversies, notably one in which he claimed his Washington colleagues partake in orgy and drug-filled romps. He later walked his claims back, saying he had been exaggerating. Cawthorn conceded the race Tuesday night (in not very MAGA fashion) to state Sen. Chuck Edwards.
Edwards boasts support from Republicans like Sen. Thom Tillis, who leans more moderate.
Cawthorn, a freshman lawmaker, quickly made enemies — sparring with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, carrying a loaded firearm into an airport and calling Ukrainian President Vlodomymyr Zeleksnyy a “thug,” among other incitements.
In the waning days of the primary race, many began to cast doubts on Cawthorn’s staying power. Several attempts from Trump to save Cawthorn — even at the 11th hour on Truth Social — clearly failed.
Earlier, before the concession, Cawthorn’s communication director said his team was “not listening to the beltway media.” Now, they don’t have to.
And while Trump may still be a kingmaker for some, his endorsement doesn’t equate to a sure path to victory either.
Progressive setbacks
Progressives failed to capture North Carolina’s 4th Congressional District with the loss of incumbent Nida Allam, a 28-year-old county official who boasted support from progressive Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders. Allam was overtaken by Valerie Foushee, a Black state lawmaker with largely establishment backing. Foushee benefited from millions of dollars in support from outside groups that spent big to sink Allam — a trend slammed by Sanders on Monday.
“The goal of this billionaire funded effort is to crush the candidacies of a number of progressive women of color who are running for Congress,” Sanders wrote to Democratic National Committee Chair Jamie Harrison. “I am writing to you today to demand that the Democratic National Committee make it clear that super PAC money is not welcome in Democratic primaries.”
Clay Aiken, who some may remember as the runner-up in Season 2 of American Idol, was also singing a sad tune Tuesday night, having lost the chance to represent Democrats on the national stage.
A win for the center is also a proxy win for Biden. Worrisome approval ratings for the White House and mass conflict abroad spell an uphill battle and then some for Democrats — though Foushee’s playbook (and embrace of those lucrative contributors) may offer a helpful playbook to victory.
(WASHINGTON) — Voters were heading to the polls Tuesday for primary elections in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Kentucky, Idaho and Oregon amid a midterm season that will test the endorsement power of both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.
While Trump wasn’t successful across the board, at least 22 of his 25 endorsed candidates for Senate, House and governor (mostly in noncompetitive races) won Tuesday night, according to FiveThirtyEight.
Here is how the news developed Tuesday. All times Eastern:
May 18, 12:12 am
Pennsylvania Senate primary too close to call between Oz, McCormick
As the Pennsylvania Republican Senate race tightens, David McCormick and Dr. Mehmet Oz both appeared to thank supporters at their respective election night parties but said their race would not be called Tuesday because of outstanding votes, errors on some mail-in ballots — and, experts note, a split electorate.
“We’re not going to have a resolution tonight, but we can see the path ahead,” said McCormick, the former hedge fund owner whose wife worked in the Trump administration. “We can see victory ahead, and that’s all because of you.”
Oz, speaking minutes after McCormick, thanked former President Donald Trump for his endorsement and then, Fox News host Sean Hannity for his “behind-the-scenes” advice.
“We’re not going to have a result tonight,” Oz told supporters. “When all the votes are tallied, I am confident we will win.”
Within the past couple of weeks, far-right conservative commentator Kathy Barnette, who marched at Trump’s rally on Jan. 6, saw a surge in support in the race. Though she trailed behind on election night, her presence in the race appeared to split votes among Trump’s MAGA base and away from Oz.
May 18, 12:03 am
Gisele Fetterman speaks with ABC News about husband’s projected win, health scare
Gisele Fetterman, wife of Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, spoke with ABC News’ Linsey Davis after her husband’s projected win in Pennsylvania’s Democratic primary for U.S. Senate. Fetterman suffered a stroke just five days ago and underwent surgery on Election Day to get a pacemaker and defibrillator.
“It’s been a long road here and we’re grateful to celebrate together very soon,” she told Davis from an election night party in Pittsburgh. She said Tuesday’s surgery was “very successful” and that her husband is “well on his way to a full recovery.”
Gisele Fetterman also spoke about the role Pennsylvania will play in national politics this midterm election cycle. The state was the center of former President Donald Trump’s effort to overturn the 2020 election results after Joe Biden flipped the state from red to blue. Democrats see the race as their best shot to pick up a seat in the chamber from retiring Republican Sen. Pat Toomey.
“This is the city that can decide everything,” she said. “So it’s why it’s going to be the most watched seat in the country. And it’s critical to make this seat a blue seat.”
May 17, 11:50 pm
Bo Hines projected to win in North Carolina GOP House primary
In North Carolina’s 13th Congressional District, ABC News projects Bo Hines will win the Republican House primary.
Hines’ win is a victory for former President Donald Trump, who is testing his endorsement power in several races this midterms season. Trump also endorsed incumbent Rep. Madison Cawthorn in another North Carolina House race — but Cawthorn conceded his loss earlier Tuesday and threw his support behind Republican State Sen. Chuck Edwards.
Hines is running in an area he has no connection to and does not live in, and many people have criticized him for using this campaign to launch his political career. His campaign finance disclosure shows that only six people from North Carolina donated money to him in the first quarter, and those same six people do not live in the district he is trying to represent.
The 26-year-old is a former college football star who played for the North Carolina State Wolfpack and Yale Bulldogs. He has said his ultimate goal is to become president.
May 17, 11:12 pm
Last polls close in Idaho, Oregon
All polls are now closed in Tuesday’s primary elections.
In Idaho, there will be a showdown between incumbent Gov. Brad Little and Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin in the Republican gubernatorial primary. Little and McGeachin have clashed over coronavirus protocols during their administration, with McGeachin once issuing an executive order to “fix” statewide rules while Little was out of town.
In Oregon, term-limited Democratic Gov. Kate Brown’s unpopularity could open the door for Republicans to hold the governorship for the first time in more than three decades. There are 19 Republicans running for the party’s nomination on Tuesday.
President Joe Biden’s influence will be put to the test in Oregon, where Rep. Kurt Schrader is facing a challenge from progressive Jamie McLeod-Skinner in a redrawn district. Biden threw his support behind Schrader a few weeks ago, marking his first endorsement of the 2022 election season.
Returns are still coming in from Kentucky, North Carolina and Pennsylvania, with the winners of several key races already projected by ABC News.
May 17, 10:56 pm
Rep. Madison Cawthorn concedes to Chuck Edwards in North Carolina
Freshman Rep. Madison Cawthorn’s wild freshman year appears to have caught up with him.
ABC News has learned that Cawthorn has just conceded the race in North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District — a seat he won in 2020 at the age of 25, making him the youngest person in the 117th Congress.
State Sen. Chuck Edwards, one of seven Republicans challenging Cawthorn for the nomination, declared victory in a statement on Tuesday night. ABC News has yet to project a winner in the race, but early returns showed Edwards ahead of the pack.
“This is simply incredible,” Edwards said. “Against all odds, we fought hard to win this election and provide clear conservative leadership for the mountains. I am so grateful for the support I received and am forever indebted to the hardworking people of this district who made this victory possible. Now, we will harness this energy, come together as a party, and keep this seat in Republican hands in November. My campaign has been about staying true to mountain values and delivering real results for Western North Carolina, and that is exactly what I intend to do.”
Republican voters were tasked with deciding if they wanted to keep Cawthorn around despite multiple scandals, including his unsubstantiated claims that some of his GOP colleagues on Capitol Hill invited him to sex parties and used cocaine.
He later told House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., that his remarks were exaggerations, but the incident caused some in the party to look to Edwards as a possible replacement.
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who backed Edwards in March, said Cawthorn had “fallen well short of the most basic standard western North Carolina expects from their representatives.”
Other controversies surrounding Cawthorn include allegations of insider trading, trying to bring a loaded gun through airport security and his description of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a “thug.”
Still, Cawthorn had former President Donald Trump on his side heading into Tuesday’s contest, but it doesn’t appear to have been enough to sway enough voters. Trump said Monday that Cawthorn should be given a “second chance” after making some “foolish mistakes.”
May 17, 10:33 pm
Shapiro blasts Mastriano’s stance on abortion, support of Trump’s ‘big lie’
Josh Shapiro, who is quarantining with COVID Tuesday and running unopposed for the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania governor, put out a statement about his general-election opponent, Trump-backed Doug Mastriano, now that Mastriano is projected to win.
Shapiro slams Mariano’s stance on abortion rights and election conspiracies, saying in a statement that “Pennsylvanians need a Governor who can meet this moment, but Republicans just nominated a dangerous extremist who wants to take away our freedoms. The contrast in this election could not be clearer – Doug Mastriano wants to ban abortion without exceptions, restrict the right to vote and spread conspiracy theories, and destroy the union way of life for hard working Pennsylvanians.”
Mastriano participated in the Jan. 6 rally before the march to the Capitol, organized buses to the rally and was caught on camera walking past barricades at the Capitol ahead of the deadly attack. He has denied participating in any violence.
Republicans in the state were worried about Mastriano getting the nomination, while Democrats were vying for that outcome, hoping Shapiro can appeal to more voters in a general election. The race takes on additional significance because the winner appoints the secretary of state, the officer who will oversee elections in the battleground state.
May 17, 10:15 pm
Chris Deluzio projected to win primary for Rep. Conor Lamb’s seat
ABC News projects that Chris Deluzio will win the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania’s 17th Congressional District.
Deluzio is a veteran and voting rights attorney and beat out LGBTQ rights advocate Sean Meloy for the Democratic nomination in the seat currently held by a Democrat. The district Deluzio ran in is being vacated by Rep. Conor Lamb, who ran for Senate in the state but fell short to Lt. Gov. John Fetterman in the Democratic primary earlier Tuesday night.
May 17, 9:56 pm
Mastriano projected to win GOP gubernatorial primary in Pennsylvania
In the Pennsylvania gubernatorial Republican primary, ABC News projects state Sen. Doug Mastriano will win, beating out his closest primary rival, former Rep. Lou Barletta.
Mastriano, a retired Army colonel and long proponent of “the big lie,” gained former President Donald Trump’s endorsement only three days ago. Mastriano attended Trump’s Jan. 6 rally in Washington and falsely claimed in December 2020 that “cheating and fraud happened in our state.” As a state senator, he also attempted to launch a forensic “audit” of the state’s election results, similar to the partisan inquisition that took place in Arizona. It failed to find any evidence of widespread fraud.
The race is especially significant since the governor of Pennsylvania gets to name the secretary of state — the state’s chief election official, charged with overseeing elections.
The House Jan. 6 committee has subpoenaed Mastriano, given that he was in communication with Trump on Jan. 6, but neither he nor the committee has confirmed whether he complied with the order.
Attorney General Josh Shapiro, running unopposed for the Democratic nomination for governor, has called Mastriano “the most extreme and dangerous GOP candidate.” The two will face off in November.
May 17, 9:50 pm
Fetterman’s wife thanks supporters, calls out two key campaign promises
Gisele Fetterman, wife of Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, spoke to supporters at an election night party in Pittsburgh following her husband’s projection to win the Democratic primary for Senate as he recovers from a stroke in the hospital.
She opened by “addressing the elephant in the room,” which is that “my husband John Fetterman is not in the room,” and said Fetterman would be “back on his feet in no time.”
“This race we’re running is a race for the future,” she said to a warm audience. “It’s a race for every job that has been lost, every factory that has been closed, every cost that has been rising, every worker that can’t keep up. It’s a race for a better Pennsylvania.”
She also mentioned two issues her husband raises at almost every stop: a commitment to legalizing marijuana and to eliminating the Senate filibuster.
May 17, 9:42 pm
Biden celebrates Fetterman’s projected win
President Joe Biden didn’t endorse in the race, but the son of Pennsylvania celebrated John Fetterman’s win in the state’s Senate Democratic primary on Tuesday.
“John Fetterman understands that working class families in Pennsylvania and across the country have been dealt out for far too long. It’s time to deal them back in, and electing John to the United States Senate would be a big step forward for Pennsylvania’s working people,” the president wrote.
May 17, 9:36 pm
Foushee wins North Carolina primary in setback for progressives
In North Carolina’s 4th Congressional District, ABC News projects state Sen. Valerie Foushee will win the House Democratic primary.
Foushee defeated eight other candidates vying for the nomination, including American Idol star Clay Aiken. Aiken launched his bid in January, citing white supremacy and racism as reasons for his second congressional bid.
She also defeated Nida Allam, a 28-year-old county official who is Muslim and who got wide support from the Bernie Sanders-Elizabeth Warren wing of the party. Sanders on Tuesday called out national groups who spent a large amount of money trying to sink Allam’s candidacy.
The safely Democratic district has been held by Rep. David Price for nearly 35 years. Price announced in October 2021 that he is retiring at the end of this term.
May 17, 9:15 pm
Fetterman thanks supporters in a tweet
Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, recovering in the hospital from a stroke and primary day surgery, tweeted a thank you to supporters Tuesday night after he was projected to win the Senate Democratic primary in Pennsylvania.
“The fate of our Democratic majority all comes down to Pennsylvania,” tweeted.
The front-runner candidate who supports progressive policies but refuses the progressive label, Fetterman defeated Pennsylvania Rep. Conor Lamb, considered an establishment candidate, and state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, a progressive representing Philadelphia, in the primary race.
Fetterman voted from his hospital earlier Tuesday via an emergency absentee ballot. His wife, Gisele, is slated to speak later at his campaign party.
May 17, 9:03 pm
Fetterman projected to win Pennsylvania primary after suffering stroke
ABC News projects Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman will win the Senate Democratic primary in Pennsylvania — after a stroke just five days ago took him off the campaign trail.
Fetterman, the lieutenant governor since 2019, who led in the polls for the Democratic nomination, beat out Pennsylvania Rep. Conor Lamb and state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta. Fetterman and Kenyatta both staked out progressive positions on policy, while current Lamb is considered more centrist.
Fetterman will not be present at his campaign party Tuesday while he recovers in the hospital, but his wife, Gisele, will speak instead.
Earlier Tuesday, Fetterman underwent a “successful procedure,” his campaign said, to get a pacemaker and defibrillator, after suffering a stroke late last week. He also voted via an emergency absentee ballot from his hospital.
Fetterman doesn’t fit the mold for what a typical senator looks like: Standing 6-foot-8, he is bald, goateed and tattooed and frequently eschews traditional suits and ties in favor of shorts and Dickies shirts. He earned his master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University but has campaigned with a blue-collar approach, having served as the mayor of the small borough of Braddock, just outside Pittsburgh, for 16 years before being elected alongside Gov. Tom Wolf, a fellow Democrat, four years ago.
The general election in Pennsylvania later this year could help decide the balance of power in Congress. Democrats see the Keystone State as their best shot to pick up a seat from retiring Republican Sen. Pat Toomey.
Fetterman will face either Trump-backed Dr. Mehmet Oz, businessman David McCormick or right-wing fringe candidate Kathy Barnette.
May 17, 8:53 pm
‘The big lie’ candidates in big races Tuesday
Often when checking for candidates who endorse Trump’s “big lie” — his baseless claim that the 2020 election was fraudulent — they wind up being fringe candidates or trailing in their races. But that’s less so the case Tuesday night, where multiple candidates who support ‘the big lie” are competitive, or even the front-runners in some of tonight’s biggest races.
Take Pennsylvania, where Doug Mastriano, a retired Army colonel who marched with Trump supporters on Jan. 6, is the front-runner in the Republican primary for governor. He’s been a proponent of “the big lie” from the start, claiming in December 2020 that “cheating and fraud happened in our state.” As a state senator, he also attempted to launch a forensic “audit” of the state’s election results, similar to the partisan inquisition that took place in Arizona. (It failed to find any evidence of widespread fraud.) He recently gained Trump’s endorsement.
“The big lie” has cast a shadow over another hot race: the GOP primary for Pennsylvania’s open Senate seat. All three front-runners have offered mixed responses regarding whether they endorse the idea that the 2020 presidential election was fraudulent.
FiveThirtyEight’s Kaleigh Rogers is tracking all of these races and others where “the big lie” believers are on the ticket here.
May 17, 8:31 pm
More voting trouble in Pennsylvania
After news surfaced of voting issues in Lancaster County, it became clear that Berks County is also dealing with minor issues but will be able to keep its polling places open an extra hour.
The Reading Eagle, a local news outlet, reported that polling places in Berks County were having issues with new electronic poll books, forcing a return to paper. Attorneys for both Democratic and Republican county parties successfully filed emergency petitions to keep the polls open past the regular 8 p.m. closing time.
May 17, 8:11 pm
Trump-endorsed Rep. Ted Budd to face Beasley in North Carolina Senate race
ABC News has projected Rep. Ted Budd will win the North Carolina GOP Senate primary, setting him up to run against North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Cheri Beasley, the projected Democratic nominee, in November.
There were over 10 candidates in the GOP race — but Budd, carrying the endorsement of former President Donald Trump, came out victorious and led the pack heading into the primary after lagging in the polls and in fundraising early on. Other candidates included former Gov. Pat McCrory, who had a record of running statewide, and former Rep. Mark Walker, a Trump loyalist who stayed in the race even though he faded down the stretch.
Budd voted against the certification of election results after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, though he has acknowledged Joe Biden’s legitimacy as president.
Democrats are hoping to pick up the seat from retiring Republican Sen. Richard Burr — but it’s an uphill battle as the seat leans red.
May 17, 8:00 pm
Pennsylvania polls close
Polls are now closed in Pennsylvania, which is home to one of the most competitive primaries of the night featuring celebrity Dr. Mehmet Oz.
Oz shook up the Republican primary for Senate after launching his campaign late last year, winning former President Donald Trump’s endorsement over businessman David McCormick. But it’s been another candidate, conservative commentator Kathy Barnette, making headlines in the final weeks of the race as she experiences a sudden surge.
Trump said of Barnette last week that she will “never be able to win the general election against the radical left Democrats.” Her momentum in the polls has jeopardized his second attempt to influence the race — he endorsed Oz after Sean Parnell, his initial pick, dropped out of the race.
Leading candidates for the Democratic nomination include Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, Rep. Conor Lamb and state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta.
Another race to watch will be the gubernatorial primary. Attorney General Josh Shapiro is running unopposed for the Democratic nomination to take over for term-limited Gov. Tom Wolf, while several Republicans are looking for the opportunity to flip control of the governor’s mansion.
May 17, 7:51 pm
Cheri Beasley projected to win in North Carolina Dem Senate primary
In the North Carolina Democratic Senate Primary, ABC News projects that former North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Cheri Beasley will win.
North Carolina presents a key opportunity for Democrats to possibly pick up another seat in the chamber as Republican Sen. Richard Burr retires this year.
Beasley was seen as the presumptive front-runner for the Democratic nomination.
On the Republican side, incumbent Rep. Ted Budd, carrying former President Donald Trump’s endorsement, is hoping to beat two standouts in the GOP field: Former Rep. Mark Walker and former Gov. Pat McCrory. Tuesday presents a telling test of Trump’s endorsement power across state lines, as he also aims for Dr. Mehmet Oz to win the Republican primary race for Pennsylvania’s open Senate seat.
May 17, 7:32 pm
Polls close in North Carolina
Polls have officially closed in North Carolina, where voters are picking their party’s nominees for the Senate and House elections.
The battleground state presents a key opportunity for Democrats to possibly pick up another seat in the chamber as Republican Sen. Richard Burr retires this year. Former North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Cheri Beasley is seen as the presumptive frontrunner for the Democratic nomination, while there are three standouts in the Republican field: Rep. Ted Budd, former Rep. Mark Walker and former Gov. Pat McCrory. Budd was endorsed by Trump earlier this year.
Another test of Trump’s influence will be in North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District and 13th Congressional District, where he’s backed two 26-year-olds: Rep. Madison Cawthorn, widely known across the country for his scandals and irreverent attitude, and Bo Hines, a former college football star with little name recognition running in a district he doesn’t live in.
Candidates will need to receive more than 30% of the vote to become the party’s nominee or face a runoff election on July 26.
May 17, 7:21 pm
Pennsylvania county reports voting issue
The Lancaster County Board of Elections on Tuesday reported issues with its mail-in ballots, stating that a mistake by a vendor left it unable to scan thousands of ballots because it printed them with the wrong identification codes.
County officials called the error “unacceptable.”
“About 22,000 mail ballots were printed by the print vendor with the incorrect code and could not be read by the county’s scanners,” the secretary of state’s office told ABC News. “County election officials will re-mark the ballots by hand and then scan them. This is allowed under [Pennsylvania] law. It is likely to take county officials a few days.”
It’s unclear how the glitch will impact the election. Polls close at 8 p.m. ET in the state, where voters are choosing their party’s nominees for Senate and governor.
May 17, 7:13 pm
Sens. Rand Paul, Charles Booker projected to win respective Kentucky primaries
The first poll closure of the night comes in Kentucky, where Republican Sen. Rand Paul is seeking a third term and ABC News projected he will win the GOP primary.
Paul has garnered national recognition for his libertarian-leaning views and recently made headlines for single-handedly delaying a $40 billion aid package for Ukraine, which ultimately passed with bipartisan support. Five other Republicans had challenged Paul in the primary race, though he was expected to easily clinch the nomination and win the general election in November.
On the Democratic side, ABC News projected Sen. Charles Booker would win the Senate primary. Booker rose to prominence in the 2020 election cycle when he nearly upset a well-funded, establishment-backed Democratic rival in a Senate primary to challenge Republican leader Mitch McConnell.
May 17, 6:58 pm
Fetterman’s primary day surgery ‘successful’: Campaign
Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, the front-runner in the state’s Democratic Senate primary race, has completed a “successful procedure” to recieve a pacemaker and defibrillator, his campaign said Tuesday, after he suffered a stroke late last week.
“John Fetterman just completed a successful procedure to implant a pacemaker with a defibrillator. The procedure began at 3:15pm, John was released at 5:56pm, and he has been given the all-clear that it was successful. He is resting at the hospital and recovering well. John continues to improve every day, and he is still on track for a full recovery,” the campaign said in a statement.
Dr. Jay Bhatt, an internal medicine physician, instructor at the University of Illinois School of Public Health and ABC News Contributor, said the procedure to implant a defibrillator and pacemaker are “common but carry risks of infection, bleeding, and complications and inappropriate shocks from the defibrillator.”
A day after Fetterman announced his stroke, his team said that he would not be attending his election night party and would remain in the hospital. His wife, Gisele, will speak in his place. His campaign released a photo Tuesday morning of Fetterman voting with an emergency absentee ballot from the hospital, where he is recovering.
May 17, 5:41 pm
Democratic House primaries could foreshadow party’s direction
While much of the focus this midterm cycle has been on statewide races and the momentum behind Republicans amid dismal approval numbers for President Joe Biden, several Democratic House primaries could be emblematic of the direction of the party ahead of November.
In these contentious primary races in North Carolina, Oregon and Pennsylvania, voters will choose between progressive and more moderate candidates. These races have drawn the attention of progressive heavyweights, including Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.
Click here to read what you need to know about key Democratic House primary races, which include incumbent Rep. Kurt Schrader in Oregon gaining Biden’s endorsement, and in North Carolina, Clay Aiken of “American Idol” fame taking another shot at Congress.
-ABC News Deputy Political Director Averi Harper
May 17, 5:38 pm
Pennsylvania Rep. Conor Lamb says primary will offer ‘lessons’ for Dems
With primary day underway in some of the hottest races of the year, Rep. Conor Lamb, a moderate two-term Democrat vying for the U.S. Senate nomination in Pennsylvania, told ABC News’ Senior Washington Reporter Devin Dwyer that results in the state Tuesday could be a key bellwether for the future direction of the party and control of the Senate.
“I think the Democratic Party is going to have to, you know, think really hard about how we’re going to succeed and what is a very, very challenging political environment — and today is going to have some lessons,” Lamb said outside a polling place in his district.
Lamb, who has been trailing progressive Lt. Gov. John Fetterman in recent polls, acknowledged that Democrats face a choice between “two very different paths based on two different sets of experience and two different personalities,” as many in the party view the race as their best shot at flipping a Senate seat.
Asked by ABC News whether he thinks Fetterman’s hospitalization for a stroke will have any impact on the race, Lamb said “I don’t know” and then offered what seemed to be criticism of his rival for “very little information about it [his condition] much like the rest of the general public.”
“I wish him well, but I really can’t forecast that and people are just got to make up their own minds,” he said.
May 17, 5:35 pm
Top Dem candidates face health issues on primary day
Two top Democrats in midterm races in Pennsylvania are facing health issues on primary day, causing them both to miss their election night events. One is isolated with COVID and another was in the hospital Tuesday undergoing surgery after a stroke.
Pennsylvania’s Attorney General Josh Shapiro, who is running unopposed in the Democratic primary race for governor, announced this morning on Twitter that he tested positive for COVID-19 Monday night. He said he’s isolated at home with “mild symptoms” and will be back on the campaign trail next week.
Shapiro also shared on Tuesday afternoon that he voted using an emergency absentee ballot, speaking in a video posted from his campaign’s Twitter account.
Meanwhile, the front-runner in the Democratic Senate primary race, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, underwent surgery on Tuesday to get a pacemaker and defibrillator after he suffered a stroke last Friday. As a result, his campaign team said he would not be able to attend his election night rally; instead, his wife, Gisele, will speak in his place.
Earlier on Tuesday, ahead of sharing the news of his surgery, Fetterman’s campaign shared a photo of him voting via an emergency absentee battle in the hospital.
May 17, 5:26 pm
Dr. Oz touts Trump endorsement, says opponent has ‘had her moment in the sun’
In a somewhat last-minute endorsement in April, former President Donald Trump threw his support behind Dr. Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania’s Republican Senate primary, citing the television doctor’s popularity and compliments regarding Trump’s health.
ABC News Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott was the only network reporter with Dr. Oz as he voted this morning in Pennsylvania. On his way out, Oz told Scott he’s confident he will win this evening’s primary. But a last-minute surge by conservative commentator Kathy Barnette has now shaken up the race.
When Scott asked Dr. Oz about her momentum, he said, “I think that Kathy, metaphorically, had her moment in the sun.”
“And I’m very proud of the president’s endorsement. He said I was smart-talking — never let you down, smart enough to understand the issues tough, tough enough to not weather in the face of criticism. When you go to bed at night, you know, I’ll never let you down,” he added.
“I just cast a vote for myself, which is not a humble thing to do,” Oz said. “But it’s what I’m humbly asking all Pennsylvanians to do to vote for someone that they know will win in the general election which is one of the main reasons President Trump endorsed me.”
May 17, 5:23 pm
McCormick speaks about missing out on Trump endorsement
McCormick did not get the coveted endorsement from former President Donald Trump, who threw his weight behind Dr. Mehmet Oz, so McCormick tried to balance complimenting the former president and saying Trump’s endorsement doesn’t have much impact.
“He’s very popular in Pennsylvania with good reason, in my opinion, but in terms of his endorsement — of course, his endorsement matters — but his endorsement to Mehmet Oz hasn’t had much of an impact,” McCormick said. “And the reason for that is much more about Mehmet Oz than it is about the president in that Mehmet doesn’t have a track record.”
McCormick also said the race boils down to two main issues: inflation and authenticity.
Recent polls have shown many Pennsylvania voters were still undecided leading up to primary day.
-ABC News’ Alexa Presha
May 17, 4:44 pm
Here’s what time polls close by state
Here’s what time the polls close in each state Tuesday. All times Eastern.
May 17, 4:43 pm
Tuesday’s contents test endorsement power of Biden, Trump
Tuesday’s primaries span five states, the most so far this season, and will test of the strength of endorsements from both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.
Biden handed out his first endorsement just a few weeks ago to Oregon incumbent Rep. Kurt Schrader in a race that was low profile until the president weighed in.
Trump has interjected himself in several primary races so far, including backing Dr. Mehmet Oz for Senate in Pennsylvania and Doug Mastriano for the state’s governor.
The state is one of several battlegrounds across the country where supporters of Trump tried to overturn the 2020 election results, and Mastriano attended the rally preceding the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, as did Kathy Barnette, a dark horse ultra-conservative GOP Senate candidate.
One question that will be answered Tuesday night is if the Trump endorsement can save tainted candidates. Trump put his neck out for two 26-years-olds in North Carolina: GOP Rep. Madison Cawthorn, widely known across the country for his scandals and irreverent attitude, and Bo Hines — running for Congress in North Carolina’s 13th Congressional District where he doesn’t live or have wide name recognition.
(WASHINGTON) — As Democrats have ratcheted up condemnation of “replacement theory” in the wake of Saturday’s mass shooting in Buffalo, New York, some Republicans on Capitol Hill have shied away from rejecting the racist idea that some members of their own party have espoused.
At a news conference Tuesday afternoon, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell was asked repeatedly about his views of “replacement theory,” a conspiracy theory that holds that Democrats are trying to replace white Americans with undocumented immigrants and people of color in order to win elections.
He repeatedly avoided denouncing it outright.
McConnell was asked whether he, as the party leader, had a responsibility to speak out against the theory, which authorities say was adopted by the 18-year-old white man accused of killing 10 Black people at a local food market.
He responded by denouncing the actions of the suspect, calling him a “deranged young man,” but making no mention of “replacement theory.”
Pressed again by reporters on whether the Republican Party is obligated to denounce the theory, McConnell condemned racism generally.
“Look — racism of any sort is abhorrent in America and ought to be stood up to by everybody, both Republicans, Democrats, all Americans,” McConnell said.
He then was asked whether he believed that Democrats are seeking amnesty for undocumented immigrants for the purpose of influencing and changing the electorate. He responded by criticizing the Biden administration’s policy at the southern border.
McConnell’s comments Tuesday came as the Senate GOP conference hosted Ohio Republican Senate candidate J.D. Vance, who has used language similar to the theory on multiple occasions.
Vance secured the GOP nomination during Ohio’s primary race earlier this month after a late endorsement from former President Donald Trump, who has supported multiple Republicans who echo the theory’s main points, if not its outright racist basis.
In a March 17 appearance on Fox News, according to the news monitoring site Mediaite, Vance told Fox News host Tucker Carlson that Democrats are intentionally creating a surge in undocumented immigration.
“You have to ask yourself who is benefiting from this and who is getting rich from it? First of all Chamber of Commerce-style Republicans and Democrats who love the cheap labor who love the fact that these immigrants are displacing America’s workers but also Democrat politicians who have decided that they can’t win reelection in 2022 unless they bring in a large number of new voters to replace the voters that are already here,” he said.
Vance’s campaign declined to comment to ABC News and he did not answer a barrage of reporter questions as he left the Senate GOP luncheon.
McConnell was not the only Republican leader to avoid calls to denounce replacement theory Tuesday.
Rep. Elise Stefanik, House GOP Conference Chair, has faced renewed criticism in recent days for her campaign ads echoing replacement theory. Her campaign released a statement about the attack, and another from her senior adviser calling the focus on the ads a “disgusting low for the left, their Never Trump allies and the sycophant stenographers in the media.”
When pressed by reporters, Stefanik didn’t respond directly, saying she didn’t want to make the Buffalo shooting political.
“Our nation is heartbroken and sad and of the horrific loss of life in Buffalo. This was an act of pure evil and the criminal should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Stefanik said. “It is not the time to politicize this tragedy. We mourn together as a nation.”
Republican reticence to reject replacement theory comes as President Joe Biden traveled to Buffalo on Tuesday and in a speech called on Americans, to “reject the lie” and condemn those “who spread the lie for power, for political gain and for profit.”
Later, speaking to reporters, Biden declined to name names but was blunt when asked if he thinks members of the Republican Party, and cable news pundits like Fox News host Tucker Carlson, deserve blame for violence.
“I believe anybody who echoes a replacement is to blame not for this particular crime, but it’s for no purpose, no purpose, except profit and or political benefit,” Biden said. “And it’s wrong. It’s just simply wrong,”
Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer has gone further, calling out Fox News and pundits like Carlson by name.
Schumer penned a direct appeal to media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, his son, and the heads of Fox News Tuesday urging them to “to immediately cease all dissemination of false white nationalist, far right conspiracy theories on your network.”
Invoking massacres with racial motivations in Pittsburgh and El Paso, Schumer wrote about his Buffalo constituents, saying that they’ll “be forced to relive this tragic event every single time they visit the supermarket for a loaf of bread or a gallon of milk” —- asking that Fox take into consideration the very real impacts of the dangerous rhetoric…”
Carlson has denied that discussing what he claims is a political matter is racist.
A spokesperson for Fox pointed to a comment Carlson made on his show earlier this week regarding the Buffalo shooting. Carlson, she said, called the shooter “racist” and “immoral” and “called for a de-emphasis of racial tensions and working toward a “colorblind meritocracy” adding “all people have equal moral value, no matter what they look like” and quoted Martin Luther King, Jr.”
She did not directly address Schumer’s letter.
The shooting has revealed a divide in the Republican ranks. While McConnell and Stefanik have fallen short of denouncing “replacement theory,” others have been outspoken on condemning it.
Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., had no qualms about rejecting the theory outright.
“Oh, it’s … an outrageous theory. I totally reject it as any reasonable discussion to be had.”
Blunt, who is retiring, is from a state where two GOP politicians have openly espoused the racist theory.
On Monday, GOP Rep. Liz Cheney, whose role as GOP conference chair was usurped by Stefanik, called her colleagues out directly in a tweet.
“The House GOP leadership has enabled white nationalism, white supremacy, and anti-semitism,” Cheney tweeted. “History has taught us that what begins with words ends in far worse. @GOP leaders must renounce and reject these views and those who hold them.”
“Despite sickening and false reporting, Congresswoman Stefanik has never advocated for any racist position or made a racist statement,” Alex DeGrasse, a senior adviser to Stefanik, said in a statement. “The shooting was an act of evil and the criminal should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” he added.
ABC News’ Ben Siegel, Lalee Ibssa and Trish Turner contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — While much of the focus this midterm cycle has been on statewide races and the momentum behind Republicans amid dismal approval numbers for President Joe Biden, several Democratic House primaries could be emblematic of the direction of the party ahead of November.
In these contentious primary races in North Carolina, Oregon and Pennsylvania, voters will choose between progressive and more moderate candidates. These races have drawn the attention of progressive heavyweights, including Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.
In many cases, moderate candidates have been the beneficiaries of millions of dollars in spending by controversial outside groups like Protect Our Future, a PAC funded by a billionaire cryptocurrency boss Sam Bankman-Fried, and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a pro-Israel super PAC.
“Money in politics is nothing new, and you’ve seen outside groups increasingly playing a role in North Carolina and around the country, what feels different this year is just how aggressively they’re investing in primaries,” said Asher Hildebrand, a professor at Duke University and former chief of staff to outgoing Rep. David Price.
Price’s district, North Carolina’s 4th Congressional District is a safely blue area which includes a few of the states large research universities. Primary voters there will likely make the deciding choice about who replaces him.
The leading candidates in the crowded Democratic primary are Clay Aiken of “American Idol” fame, Nida Allam, a local lawmaker and the first Muslim woman to hold elected office in the state who is backed by Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, and Valarie Foushee, a Black state lawmaker widely considered the establishment pick.
Aiken, who previously ran for Congress in 2014, could be the first LGBTQ lawmaker to represent North Carolina if he wins. Political experts in the state consider his chances of coming out on top relatively low despite his high name recognition via his celebrity status.
The aforementioned PACs have poured millions into the race for Foushee, a move some in the state have interpreted as an effort to tamp down on the influence of the party’s progressive wing. If Foushee wins, she could be the first Black lawmaker to represent the area in Congress.
Allam is a Medicare-for-all and Green New Deal-supporting progressive who has the approval of members of the so-called “squad” of progressive Democratic congresswomen of color. Should Allam prevail, it could mark a significant progressive victory this cycle in a battleground state.
“I think what we’re seeing there are actually two candidates that have pretty similar platforms on most of the issues but the contest has really been framed as one of moderates against progressives,” said Sarah Treul a political science professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “You’re gonna have a part of the Democratic Party, the more left leaning side, casting votes for Nida and the more moderate wing of the party no doubt casting votes for Foushee.”
In Oregon’s newly drawn 5th Congressional District, which includes Bend, incumbent Rep. Kurt Schrader has the endorsement of President Joe Biden. While progressive candidate Jamie McLeod-Skinner, an attorney who has mounted previous failed bids for Congress and Oregon Secretary of state, has the backing of most Democratic Party leaders within the district as well as Warren.
Schrader is considered one of the most conservative Democrats in the House and has taken heat from progressives on his vote against Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill and Biden’s Build Back Better spending plan.
“We don’t always agree, but when it has mattered most, Kurt has been there for me,” Biden said in a statement announcing his endorsement.
Schrader and his proponents argue that he can win in the district that now gives Republicans a better shot at winning.
“I’ve just got a proven track record of actually winning in a very difficult district,” said Shrader in an interview with ABC News. “This district got a lot more difficult than the previous district.”
But it’s a notion Mcleod-Skinner has pushed back on.
“I’m able to win crossover voters. I got the support even now of not just Democrats, but Republicans and independents. And that’s what’s we’re going to need,” she told ABC News.
Jack Miller, a political science professor at Portland State University, says McCleod-Skinner’s previous runs demonstrate an ability to appeal to Republicans in a district that has become more rural.
“I think that that experience, even though she lost, she got almost 40% of the vote in a supremely strong leaning Republican district. I think it’s the best Democrats have done there in 20 years. That is a great sign,” said Miller. “What’s interesting about her is that she has both that ability to run strong in those rural areas and she is what a lot of progressive Oregonians want.”
Sanders stumped for Summer Lee, a progressive running in Pennsylvania’s 12th district, another safely Democratic district that includes Pittsburgh.
For much of the race, Lee was considered the frontrunner, but a flood of cash from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee is boosting her more moderate opponent, Steve Irwin, complicating her prospects. If Lee wins, she could be the first Black woman to represent the area.
Sanders sent a letter Monday to Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison calling for the party to keep super PAC money out of primaries.
“The goal of this billionaire funded effort is to crush the candidacies of a number of progressive women of color who are running for Congress,” Sanders wrote. “I am writing to you today to demand that the Democratic National Committee make it clear that super PAC money is not welcome in Democratic primaries.”
Historically, midterm elections don’t favor the president’s party and overall Democrats are bracing for losses. While the balance of power in Congress likely won’t hinge on the outcomes of these Democrat-on-Democrat races, they could serve as a bellwether for the state of the party in November and as it approaches the presidential cycle in 2024.
(WASHINGTON) — Voters were heading to the polls Tuesday for primary elections in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Kentucky, Idaho and Oregon amid a midterm season that will test the endorsement power of both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.
Here is how the news is developing today. All times Eastern. Check back for updates.
May 17, 5:41 pm
Democratic House primaries could foreshadow party’s direction
While much of the focus this midterm cycle has been on statewide races and the momentum behind Republicans amid dismal approval numbers for President Joe Biden, several Democratic House primaries could be emblematic of the direction of the party ahead of November.
In these contentious primary races in North Carolina, Oregon and Pennsylvania, voters will choose between progressive and more moderate candidates. These races have drawn the attention of progressive heavyweights, including Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.
Click here to read what you need to know about key Democratic House primary races, which include incumbent Rep. Kurt Schrader in Oregon gaining Biden’s endorsement, and in North Carolina, Clay Aiken of “American Idol” fame taking another shot at Congress.
-ABC News Deputy Political Director Averi Harper
May 17, 5:38 pm
Pennsylvania Rep. Conor Lamb says primary will offer ‘lessons’ for Dems
With primary day underway in some of the hottest races of the year, Rep. Conor Lamb, a moderate two-term Democrat vying for the U.S. Senate nomination in Pennsylvania, told ABC News’ Senior Washington Reporter Devin Dwyer that results in the state Tuesday could be a key bellwether for the future direction of the party and control of the Senate.
“I think the Democratic Party is going to have to, you know, think really hard about how we’re going to succeed and what is a very, very challenging political environment — and today is going to have some lessons,” Lamb said outside a polling place in his district.
Lamb, who has been trailing progressive Lt. Gov. John Fetterman in recent polls, acknowledged that Democrats face a choice between “two very different paths based on two different sets of experience and two different personalities,” as many in the party view the race as their best shot at flipping a Senate seat.
Asked by ABC News whether he thinks Fetterman’s hospitalization for a stroke will have any impact on the race, Lamb said “I don’t know” and then offered what seemed to be criticism of his rival for “very little information about it [his condition] much like the rest of the general public.”
“I wish him well, but I really can’t forecast that and people are just got to make up their own minds,” he said.
May 17, 5:35 pm
Top Dem candidates face health issues on primary day
Two top Democrats in midterm races in Pennsylvania are facing health issues on primary day, causing them both to miss their election night events. One is isolated with COVID and another was in the hospital Tuesday undergoing surgery after a stroke.
Pennsylvania’s Attorney General Josh Shapiro, who is running unopposed in the Democratic primary race for governor, announced this morning on Twitter that he tested positive for COVID-19 Monday night. He said he’s isolated at home with “mild symptoms” and will be back on the campaign trail next week.
Shapiro also shared on Tuesday afternoon that he voted using an emergency absentee ballot, speaking in a video posted from his campaign’s Twitter account.
Meanwhile, the front-runner in the Democratic Senate primary race, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, underwent surgery on Tuesday to get a pacemaker and defibrillator after he suffered a stroke last Friday. As a result, his campaign team said he would not be able to attend his election night rally; instead, his wife, Gisele, will speak in his place.
Earlier on Tuesday, ahead of sharing the news of his surgery, Fetterman’s campaign shared a photo of him voting via an emergency absentee battle in the hospital.
May 17, 5:26 pm
Dr. Oz touts Trump endorsement, says opponent has ‘had her moment in the sun’
In a somewhat last-minute endorsement in April, former President Donald Trump threw his support behind Dr. Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania’s Republican Senate primary, citing the television doctor’s popularity and compliments regarding Trump’s health.
ABC News Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott was the only network reporter with Dr. Oz as he voted this morning in Pennsylvania. On his way out, Oz told Scott he’s confident he will win this evening’s primary. But a last-minute surge by conservative commentator Kathy Barnette has now shaken up the race.
When Scott asked Dr. Oz about her momentum, he said, “I think that Kathy, metaphorically, had her moment in the sun.”
“And I’m very proud of the president’s endorsement. He said I was smart-talking — never let you down, smart enough to understand the issues tough, tough enough to not weather in the face of criticism. When you go to bed at night, you know, I’ll never let you down,” he added.
“I just cast a vote for myself, which is not a humble thing to do,” Oz said. “But it’s what I’m humbly asking all Pennsylvanians to do to vote for someone that they know will win in the general election which is one of the main reasons President Trump endorsed me.”
May 17, 5:23 pm
McCormick speaks about missing out on Trump endorsement
McCormick did not get the coveted endorsement from former President Donald Trump, who threw his weight behind Dr. Mehmet Oz, so McCormick tried to balance complimenting the former president and saying Trump’s endorsement doesn’t have much impact.
“He’s very popular in Pennsylvania with good reason, in my opinion, but in terms of his endorsement — of course, his endorsement matters — but his endorsement to Mehmet Oz hasn’t had much of an impact,” McCormick said. “And the reason for that is much more about Mehmet Oz than it is about the president in that Mehmet doesn’t have a track record.”
McCormick also said the race boils down to two main issues: inflation and authenticity.
Recent polls have shown many Pennsylvania voters were still undecided leading up to primary day.
-ABC News’ Alexa Presha
May 17, 4:44 pm
Here’s what time polls close by state
Here’s what time the polls close in each state Tuesday. All times Eastern.
May 17, 4:43 pm
Tuesday’s contents test endorsement power of Biden, Trump
Tuesday’s primaries span five states, the most so far this season, and will test of the strength of endorsements from both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.
Biden handed out his first endorsement just a few weeks ago to Oregon incumbent Rep. Kurt Schrader in a race that was low profile until the president weighed in.
Trump has interjected himself in several primary races so far, including backing Dr. Mehmet Oz for Senate in Pennsylvania and Doug Mastriano for the state’s governor.
The state is one of several battlegrounds across the country where supporters of Trump tried to overturn the 2020 election results, and Mastriano attended the rally preceding the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, as did Kathy Barnette, a dark horse ultra-conservative GOP Senate candidate.
One question that will be answered Tuesday night is if the Trump endorsement can save tainted candidates. Trump put his neck out for two 26-years-olds in North Carolina: GOP Rep. Madison Cawthorn, widely known across the country for his scandals and irreverent attitude, and Bo Hines — running for Congress in North Carolina’s 13th Congressional District where he doesn’t live or have wide name recognition.
(WASHINGTON) — Officials from the Department of Homeland Security warned that domestic violent extremists have been infiltrating the national abortion debate “to incite violence amongst their supporters,” a senior DHS official told state and local partners on a phone call Monday afternoon, according to a source familiar with the matter.
The DHS official did not specify which side, if any, the extremists were taking.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told reporters in January that domestic violent extremism remains one of “the greatest terrorism related threats” the U.S. faces.
“Over the past year, we in the Department of Homeland Security have improved and strengthened our approach to combating this dynamic, evolving threat,” Mayorkas said.
That official who spoke on the call with local partners warned that as summer approaches — and with the midterm elections in the fall — DHS will continue to be in a “heightened security environment.”
“The leaked Supreme Court opinion on abortion has already triggered an intense political and cultural debate on this topic, and it is very likely it will be an key driver that motivates domestic extremists on different ends of the ideological spectrum to engage in acts of political violence against targets whom they perceive as legitimate,” Javed Ali, a former senior director for counterterrorism on the National Security Council told ABC News.
Another top DHS official warned on a phone call Sunday that not only will domestic violent extremists attempt to use the abortion debate to incite violence, they will also try to take advantage of the ongoing immigration debate, expected to heat up due to the scheduled lifting on May 23 of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention public health order under Title 42 and the potential for the influx of migrants along the southern border.
“We do believe that a range of individuals motivated by different ideological grievances will essentially drive an increase in the threat,” one DHS official said, according to a source familiar with the call.
John Cohen, who recently departed as the former acting undersecretary for intelligence and analysis at DHS, told ABC News that domestic violent extremists try to exploit political divisions.
“Domestic violent extremists develop messaging that they promote online, messaging that’s intended to exacerbate the fractures in our society,” Cohen now an ABC News contributor said. “So, they’ll pick issues like abortion, immigration and government COVID activities and elections.”
(WASHINGTON) — Pennsylvania’s Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, the leading candidate for the Democratic nomination in the state’s Senate race, was scheduled to undergo surgery for a pacemaker and defibrillator on Tuesday after suffering a stroke late last week.
“John Fetterman is about to undergo a standard procedure to implant a pacemaker with a defibrillator. It should be a short procedure that will help protect his heart and address the underlying cause of his stroke, atrial fibrillation (A-fib), by regulating his heart rate and rhythm,” his campaign announced in a statement on Tuesday afternoon.
A day after Fetterman announced his stroke, his team also said that he would not be attending his election night party and would remain in the hospital. His wife, Gisele, will speak in his place.
Fetterman’s campaign released a photo of him Tuesday morning voting with an emergency absentee ballot from the hospital, where he is recovering.
The lieutenant governor since 2019, Fetterman entered the national spotlight when he launched his campaign for the Senate last February. A progressive, he is vying for the Democratic Party nomination against the more moderate Rep. Conor Lamb and others. The general election there, later this year, could help decide the balance of power in Congress.
Fetterman doesn’t fit the mold for what a typical senator looks like: Standing 6-foot-8, he is bald, goateed and tattooed and frequently eschews traditional suits and ties in favor of shorts and Dickies shirts.
He earned his master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University but has campaigned with a blue-collar approach, having served as the mayor of the small borough of Braddock, just outside Pittsburgh, for 16 years before being elected alongside Gov. Tom Wolf, a fellow Democrat, four years ago.
Fetterman previously ran for Senate in 2016, but lost in the primary.
Speaking with ABC News outside a polling place in his district on Tuesday, Lamb said of Fetterman amid his health challenges, “I wish him well.”
Lamb called their race a choice between “two very different paths based on two different sets of experience and two different personalities.”
The three leading candidates to watch in the Pennsylvania Democratic primary race are Fetterman and Lamb as well as state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta. Polls close at 8 p.m. ET.
ABC News’ Hannah Demissie, Devin Dwyer and Oren Oppenheim contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — An athletic icon and business success, Herschel Walker has the type of background that Republicans hope will propel him to the U.S. Senate, where his presence could very well tip the balance of power in the deeply divided chamber.
But Walker’s political ambitions have also revived scrutiny of another side of his record: allegations of domestic violence, physical threats and stalking. Walker has denied some of those accusations. Others he claims not to remember – a byproduct of his diagnosis with dissociative identity disorder, or D.I.D., a complex mental health condition characterized by some severe and potentially debilitating symptoms.
Recruited and endorsed by former President Donald Trump, his longtime friend and mentor, Walker is expected to win next week’s Republican primary by a substantial margin. Some Republicans fear, however, that if Walker earns the GOP nomination, these claims could catch up with him come November – when he would likely face formidable Democratic incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock – particularly if he fails to adequately answer for them now.
“[Walker] will have a better shot to win the general [election] if he addresses those issues that are out there from his past,” Georgia’s Republican Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, who has not endorsed any candidate in the primary, told ABC News’ “Nightline.” “If he doesn’t, then I think it’s going to be a tough day in Georgia when we get to the November election, and we’re going to send, unfortunately, another Democrat to represent us as a U.S. senator.”
Walker has insisted that he has made a full recovery and taken responsibility for any past transgressions, and in response to questions from ABC News, his campaign referred to his 2008 memoir, “Breaking Free,” in which he revealed his diagnosis, and a 2008 interview with ABC News’ Bob Woodruff, in which he discussed its effects on his marriage.
Watch “Nightline” on ABC on Tuesday night for a special report on Herschel Walker.
“This is an obvious political hit job [eight] days before an election orchestrated by Herschel’s primary opponents who are failing to get any sort of traction. Voters will see through it. Herschel addressed these issues in detail with Bob Woodruff 14 years ago — he even wrote a book about it,” Mallory Blount, a spokesperson for the Walker campaign, told ABC News. “The same reporters who praised him for his courage are now trashing him because he is a Republican. It is shameful and is why good people don’t run for office.”
But in his book, Walker does not address several claims about his behavior – some of which are documented in police records. Walker did not write, for example, about allegations that he once held a gun to his ex-wife’s head. Nor does he address a claim made in 2002 that he stalked a former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader. After the book was published, a woman claiming to have had a long-term relationship with Walker accused him of stalking and threatening her as well.
His critics have contended that he has yet to address the full scope of troubling allegations. Walker did not participate in any of the primary debates, and his opponents, most notably Georgia Agricultural Commissioner Gary Black, have demanded an explanation in his absence.
“Georgia deserves to know the details,” Black told ABC News’ “Nightline.” “There’s a pattern of deflect, defer, run, hide, twist. It’s unacceptable for service in the United States Senate. In my opinion, I think most Georgians are going to agree.”
A stunning interview
Walker ended a decorated football career in 1997, with a Heisman Trophy and more than a decade in the NFL to show for it. In Georgia, where he attended high school and college, he is an icon – widely considered one of the greatest college football players to ever hail from the state.
In 1984, the New Jersey Generals and its bombastic owner, Donald Trump, selected Walker with the first pick of the upstart USFL draft. It was the beginning of one of Walker’s most consequential relationships. In the ensuing decades, Walker has appeared as a contestant on the Trump-hosted reality television show, “Celebrity Apprentice,” and later served as co-chair of President Trump’s Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition. Walker has also credited Trump with helping him navigate a lucrative post-football career in the poultry industry and other business enterprises.
But shortly after retiring from the game, according to his memoir, “Breaking Free,” Walker’s mental health and 16-year marriage deteriorated. He discussed the book in a 2008 interview with “Nightline,” telling ABC News that many of his struggles stemmed from dissociative identity disorder.
The once fearsome running back claimed that his psyche had fractured into as many as 12 alternate personalities, or “alters,” and he admitted to experiencing both violent urges and significant gaps in memory.
“It’s just personalities that can do different things for you,” Walker told Woodruff in 2008. “I told somebody once, you don’t want the Herschel that played football, you don’t want the Herschel that do business babysitting your child. You want a different person. When I’m competing, I’m a totally different person.”
In his memoir, Walker described one incident, from 2001, in which he became “so angry” with someone who arrived late to deliver him a car that Walker became consumed with “the visceral enjoyment I’d get from seeing the small entry wound and the spray of brain tissue and blood — like a Fourth of July firework — exploding behind him.”
“With murder in his heart and mind,” Walker wrote, he got behind the wheel of his Mercedes – where he kept a Beretta pistol in the glove compartment – to find the delivery man. But he soon spotted a “SMILE. JESUS LOVES YOU” bumper sticker, he wrote, and returned home.
But it was Walker’s ex-wife, Cindy Grossman, who offered the most harrowing glimpse into Walker’s post-football life, telling ABC News that Walker once threatened her with a weapon.
“He got a gun, and he put it to my temple,” Grossman told Woodruff in 2008.
“Put the gun right to your temple,” Woodruff replied, “and what did he say?”
“I’m gonna blow your effin’ brains out,” Grossman said.
Walker told ABC News at the time that he had no recollection of the incident described by Grossman. He did not deny it, acknowledging that he “probably did it,” but asserted that the gaps in his memory, a hallmark symptom of D.I.D., left him unable to address it.
“Do you not remember something like that because you think that was another alter,” Woodruff asked Walker in 2008, “or do you want to get out of having to talk about it?”
“No, no, no, no,” Walker insisted. “I’m talking about everything else. If I can remember it, I’ll talk about it.”
For Grossman, however, the chilling experience remained clear in her mind.
“[Walker] says he doesn’t remember a lot of these details,” Woodruff told Grossman in 2008.
“He may not,” Grossman replied. “But I certainly do.”
Some observers have suggested that Walker’s diagnosis provides a convenient mechanism for deflecting responsibility.
“It’s an excellent excuse to use if you’ve pointed a gun at somebody,” retired Atlanta Journal-Constitution politics editor Jim Galloway recently told The Washington Post. “‘That wasn’t me; it was somebody else.’”
Walker and Grossman divorced in 2002, and Grossman sought and was granted a restraining order against Walker in 2005. Court records related to those proceedings contain additional allegations that Walker made other threats of violence toward Grossman and her then-boyfriend.
Walker denied the allegations when he was interviewed by police in 2005, and the police report notes that he “was very calm but surprised about [the statements]” and suggested that someone was “making allegations about him to help with future child custody issues.” Walker’s campaign did not respond to questions about the incident.
Grossman did not respond to multiple requests for comment for this story. Walker’s allies have pointed to the fact that she has participated in several interviews in support of Walker’s condition as evidence that the couple remains on friendly terms.
But police reports obtained by ABC News and others have since shown that Grossman is not the only woman to have made allegations of threatening behavior against Walker.
In 2002, a former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader told police that she believed Walker was lurking outside her home, and that a year earlier, Walker had “made threats to her” and was “having her house watched.” The former cheerleader declined to comment for this story. She told police in 2002 that she did not want officers to pursue Walker for fear of “[making] the problem worse.”
In 2012, Myka Dean, who claimed to have had an on-again, off-again relationship with the former football star for nearly two decades, told police that Walker “lost it” after she tried to break up with him, and she said he threatened to “sit outside her apartment and blow her head off when she came outside.” Dean died in 2019, but in a statement provided to ABC News from the Walker campaign, Dean’s mother said the family was never aware of her daughter’s allegations, and they are “very proud of the man Herschel Walker has become. We love him, pray for him, and wish we lived in Georgia so we could vote him into the United States Senate.” Dean’s mother and stepfather also served on the board of Walker’s company, Renaissance Man, Inc.
Walker, who has never been charged with a crime, has denied both claims, telling Axios in December 2021 that “people can’t just make up and add on and say other things that’s not the truth. They want me to address things that they made up.”
A complex condition
Dissociative identity disorder, formerly known as multiple personality disorder, is a rare mental illness that Walker had said he has struggled with since childhood: “I just didn’t know what it was,” Walker told ABC News in 2008.
Walker was initially diagnosed and primarily treated by Dr. Jerry Mungadze, a Bedford, Texas-based licensed professional counselor with a Ph.D. in counselor education. Mungadze penned the forward to Walker’s memoir, in which Walker described him as “one of my best friends and probably the most essential,” as he has become central to Walker’s recovery narrative.
But Mungadze’s embrace of controversial or unproven psychological theories and treatments over the years have since raised questions about the treatment Walker may have received. In 2008, Walker wrote that Mungadze “played an important role in my healing process,” which featured both out-patient treatment at a hospital in Southern California and a protocol apparently developed by Mungadze himself.
“Dr. Jerry described his procedures and proposed treatment for the part of me I had never truly understood,” Walker wrote. “He said his treatment would focus on the whole person rather than the separate parts of personalities I created. He assured me it was possible to achieve emotional stability based upon the approach and methods he had developed.”
Mungadze did not respond to multiple requests for comment, and Walker’s campaign did not respond to questions about the nature and extent of the candidate’s treatment.
Walker told Axios in December 2021 that he held himself “accountable” for his behavior toward Grossman, and said he has since experienced something close to a full recovery from the disorder that previously led him down that violent path.
“[I’m] better now than 99% of the people in America,” he said. “Just like I broke my leg; I put the cast on. It healed.”
But according to one expert, recovery from D.I.D. is not as straightforward as Walker seems to suggest, and it often requires long-term treatment to manage symptoms that can cause “impairment on work and social function.”
Dr. J. Douglas Bremner, a professor of psychiatry and radiology at Emory University who specializes in the treatment of severe trauma-related conditions, cautioned that he could not speak definitively about Walker’s condition because he had not personally treated him, but he said the goal for most patients would “be more management of symptoms and, in some cases, it can be eventual integration of personalities.”
“In my experience, that kind of recovery is not something that is typical,” Bremner said of Walker’s assertion that he had completely healed. “The treatment is long term, so there’s no quick fixes.”
Walker’s campaign did not respond to questions about the current status of his recovery or whether he still receives treatment to manage the condition, leaving voters to parse Walker’s past statements.
“A lot of people may have this problem, but they’re too ashamed or they’re too scared to come out and say something,” Walker told ABC News in 2008. “I said I’m not ashamed, because guys, I’m human. I’m not nobody special. I’m just Herschel.”
Georgia Republicans will soon decide whether that’s enough for them.
ABC News’ Kate Holland and Jake Lefferman contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — Top Pentagon officials told a House panel on Tuesday that there are now close to 400 reports from military personnel of possible encounters with UFOs — a significant increase from the 144 tracked in a major report released last year by the U.S. intelligence community.
A Navy official also said at Tuesday’s hearing that investigators are “reasonably confident” the floating pyramid-shaped objects captured on one leaked, widely seen military video were likely drones.
That footage, which the military confirmed last year was authentic, had helped spur interest in purported UFOs, also referred to as “unidentified aerial phenomena” or UAPs.
Indiana Rep. André Carson, the Democratic chairman of the House Intelligence Counterterrorism, Counterintelligence, and Counterproliferation Subcommittee, called Tuesday’s hearing, the first in more than 50 years focused on the aerial incidents.
UAPs, Carson said, “are a potential national security threat and they need to be treated that way.”
“For too long the stigma associated with UAPs has gotten in the way of good intelligence analysis,” he added. “Pilots avoided reporting or were laughed at when they did.”
The number of UAP reports has risen to “approximately 400,” a significant increase from the 144 between 2004 and 2021 that were tracked in last year’s report, according to Scott Bray, the deputy director of Naval Intelligence. Bray told the House panel that the spike was due to a reduction in the stigma associated with stepping forward to report such incidents in the wake of the 2021 report.
“We’ve seen an increasing number of unauthorized and or unidentified aircraft or objects and military control training areas and training ranges and other designated airspace,” Bray said. “Reports of sightings are frequent and continuous.”
But Bray believes many of the newly disclosed accounts are actually “historic reports that are narrative-based” from prior incidents that people are only now coming forward with, which leads him to believe there will be fewer new accounts in the future.
Last year’s intelligence report could only explain one of the documented 144 encounters and did not contain the words “alien” or “extraterrestrial.” The report stated then that the UAP incidents would require further study.
At Tuesday’s hearing, Bray echoed last year’s conclusion that most of the phenomena were likely physical objects and noted that “the UAP task force doesn’t have any wreckage that … isn’t consistent with being a terrestrial origin.”
Even so, Bray said, questions remain.
“I can’t point to something that definitively was not man-made, but I can point to a number of examples which remain unresolved,” Bray said, citing video of a 2004 incident in which a Navy pilot recorded an unusual, Tic Tac-like object over the water.
“We want to know what’s out there as much as you want to know what’s out there,” said Ronald Moultrie, the Pentagon’s top intelligence official, who also testified at the hearing.
Moultrie said the Pentagon is establishing an office to speed up “the identification of previously unknown or unidentified airborne objects in a methodical, logical and standardized manner.”
“We also understand that there has been a cultural stigma surrounding UAP,” Moultrie said. “Our goal is to eliminate the stigma by fully incorporating our operators and mission personnel into a standardized data gathering process.”
“Our goal is to strike that delicate balance: one that enables us to maintain the public’s trust while preserving those capabilities that are vital to the support of our service personnel,” he said.
Bray said “Navy and Air Force crews now have step-by-step procedures for reporting on a UAP on their kneeboard in the cockpit” and that these efforts have led to more reporting.
The increasingly mainstream interest in UFOs and UAPs has been sparked in recent years by leaks of once-classified videos and the Navy’s release of footage from their pilots’ own encounters.
At Tuesday’s hearing, the defense officials played three clips to help explain how brief the aerial incidents could be, making it very difficult to determine what was seen in the videos.
In one of the more notable cases, the officials detailed how “considerable effort” went into determining a theory for what was observed.
Bray played footage taken in July 2019 off the California coast from the deck of the destroyer USS Russell that seemed to show several pyramid-shaped objects hovering above the ship.
Bray acknowledged that investigators did not initially have an explanation for what was seen in the green night scope video — until they were able to contrast it with a more recent video of an incident that occurred off the coast of the Atlantic Ocean.
Officials who looked at that video found a similar pyramid shape. They concluded the phenomena were likely from drones that had been seen on sensors from another Navy asset.
“We’re now reasonably confident that these triangles correlate to unmanned aerial systems in the area,” Bray explained. “The triangular appearance is a result of light passing through the night vision goggles and then being recorded by an SLR camera.”
“This is a great example of how it takes considerable effort to understand what we’re seeing in the examples that we are able to collect,” he added.
Ahead of the hearing, Jeremy Corbell, a documentary filmmaker and UFO enthusiast who made public that “pyramid” video last year, said he was happy to see increasing awareness and government action.
“What is so great is that this is a direct response to public will,” Corbell told ABC News. “It is direct response to public pressure. It is representative government representing the citizens and their interest.”
“I am encouraged by the public desire to know and find out the truth of what UFOs represent to humankind,” Corbell said then. “It’s the biggest story of our time. And finally we’re beginning to have the conversation without ridicule and stigma that has so injured the search for scientific truth on this topic.”
Moultrie, the Pentagon official, said at Tuesday’s hearing that he wasn’t immune to a bit of the zeal himself as a science fiction fan.
“I have gone to conventions — I’ll say it on the record. Got to break the ice somehow,” he told the panel in one lighthearted line of questioning, adding, “We have our we have our inquisitiveness. We have our questions.”
ABC News’ Matthew Seyler contributed to this report.
