Dewhurst and Cruz headed for runoff in Texas Senate race
Updated at 11:52 p.m.
The Texas Republican Senate primary is headed for a runoff, after Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst fell shy of 50 percent of the vote Tuesday.
Dewhurst will face former state solicitor general Ted Cruz, a favorite of the tea party, in the July 31 runoff. The winner of that runoff will be a heavy favorite to succeed retiring Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), after Democrats failed to land a top-tier recruit.
With 57 percent of precincts reporting, Dewhurst led Cruz 46 percent to 33 percent. Seven other candidates split the vote enough, though, to push the two into a runoff, according to AP.
Romney app misspells ‘Amercia’
Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign misspelled the word “America” on its new iPhone app, and it’s already paying a price for it.
In the app, the phrase “A Better America” is misspelled “A Better Amercia.” The misspelling was picked up and tweeted widely Tuesday night, soon spawned a hashtag-driven Twitter meme in which people imagined just what Amercia stood for and what kind of policies Romney had planned for Amercia.
The Romney campaign told The Fix that it had submitted a corrected version of the app to Apple, which has to approve the update.
Here’s a sampling of the reaction:
Will Mitt Romney apologize for Amercia?
— Ben Jacobs (@benhjacobs) May 30, 2012
Does @MittRomney believe in #Amercia-n exceptionalism?
— Patrick Stevenson (@stevensonpj) May 30, 2012
In the new Romney iPhone app, America is misspelled. instagr.am/p/LO5EGZh9LY/ h/t @thischoi #Amercia
— Jared Keller (@jaredbkeller) May 30, 2012
< <AMERCIA TEH BUETIFLU.
— Brett Sandusky (@bsandusky) May 30, 2012
Obama wins Texas primary
Updated at 11:47 p.m.
President Obama easily won Texas’ Democratic presidential primary Tuesday, ending a streak of surprisingly close races against little-known challengers.
With 82 percent of precincts reporting, Obama is winning 88 percent of the vote.
John Wolfe, a Tennessee lawyer who took 42 percent of the vote in Arkansas’ Democratic primary, so far is winning only 5 percent in Texas. Florida author Darcy Richardson has 4 percent; Chicago investor Bob Ely is at 2 percent.
Obama has fared poorly recently in Democratic primaries in Arkansas, Kentucky and West Virginia, losing large votes shares to longshot challengers. But while all four states tend to vote Republican, Texas is not like the other three.
Texas is more urban and racially diverse, and the Republican Party has already captured most voters who would be inclined to oppose Obama from the right.
As Democratic strategist Matt Angle told The Fix earlier today, “In Texas, the people who don’t like Obama vote in the Republican primary.”
Artur Davis switches from Democratic to Republican party
It’s official: Former Democratic Alabama House member and gubernatorial candidate Artur Davis is becoming a Republican and laying the groundwork for a potential political future in Virginia.
“If I were to run, it would be as a Republican,” he wrote on his Web site. “And I am in the process of changing my voter registration from Alabama to Virginia, a development which likely does represent a closing of one chapter and perhaps the opening of another.”
Scott Walker raises $5 million, bringing total haul to $30 million
Scott Walker raises $5 million and puts out a harsh new ad, Joe Walsh talks about minorities and the Democratic party, Jesse Kelly won’t commit to John Boehner and Rob Portman is going to sit down with Israel’s PM.
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Donald Trump calls Wolf Blitzer ‘ridiculous,’ defends birtherism
This afternoon, Donald Trump reminded the nation why he’s a dangerous surrogate for any political candidate.
Hours before hosting former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney for a Las Vegas fundraiser, Trump appeared on CNN and repeatedly raised questions about President Obama’s place of birth.
Obama’s campaign has been making hay out of Romney’s appearance with Trump, and the celebrity mogul only gave Democrats more fodder in the contentious interview. After criticizing CNN for focusing on the “birther” issue, Trump repeatedly argued that Obama’s origins are unclear.
How $2 billion gets raised— in one graphic
With the pricetag on the 2012 presidential election at $2 billion — yes, you read that right, billion with a “b”— or higher, it’s tough to follow all of the various avenues by which money makes it into the candidate’s accounts.
Thankfully we have the “Consider the $ource” Tumblr, a joint project between the Center for Responsive Politics and the Center for Public Integrity — and one of the Fix’s best political Tumblrs.
Below, they’ve charted all of the various campaign committees affiliated with the presidential campaigns of Obama and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney.
And, even more helpfully, the chart detail show a single donor can cut a check for $75,800 and watch as it populates to the various aligned committees supporting the two presidential nominees.
Will Obama get snubbed (again) in Texas primary?
In tonight’s Texas primary, President Obama faces another set of red-state voters — and with it the possibility that some little known challenger could wrack up some significant portion of the Democratic vote.
Challenging Obama for the Democratic primary nod will be John Wolfe, the Tennessee attorney who took over 40 percent of the primary vote in Arkansas, Florida author Darcy G. Richardson and Chicago investor Bob Ely.
Thad McCotter’s problems mount
The Michigan attorney general’s office is preparing to look into potential election fraud within Michigan Republican Rep. Thaddeus McCotter’s campaign after large numbers of the signatures turned in by the campaign were ruled invalid.
“We will review information provided by the Secretary of State and determine whether additional action is warranted,” said a Joy Yearout, a spokeswoman for Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette.
McCotter, who briefly waged a long shot bid for the GOP presidential nomination last year, has failed to qualify for the ballot and announced Tuesday that he will wage a write-in campaign in the primary.
Republican presidential candidate Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-Mich.) speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill on September 12, 2011, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
Mitt Romney’s losing gamble on Donald Trump
Late last week Mitt Romney’s campaign unveiled its latest fundraising gambit: Donate just $3 and you are eligible to have dinner with reality star Donald Trump — and, oh, yeah, the former Massachusetts governor will be there, too.
“Donate today and you are eligible for a chance to win: Airport transportation in the Trump vehicle;” a “stay at the Trump International Hotel & Tower New York;” a chance to “tour the Celebrity Apprentice Boardroom;” and an opportunity to “dine with Donald Trump and Mitt Romney,” reads the message on the Romney campaign Web site.
Latest Tweets
Dr. Ron Paul at 10 percent in Texas. Of course, he's still 60 points behind Romney.
No surprises in Texas Democratic primary http://t.co/YKxdgtjl
Trump being Trump at Romney fundraiser: "It's been amazing the amount of money we have raised."
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