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US Senate Tag

Kenneth Marcus has been confirmed as Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights in the Department of Education. In that capacity, he will lead the Civil Rights Office, which was scandalized during the Obama administration, particularly on the issue of campus due process. The nomination had been opposed on a party-line vote, with Democrats siding with anti-Israel activist groups. See these posts for background:

June 5 was the most important primary night for 2018 with a handful of states hitting the polls. Most eyes stayed on California since the state has a crazy jungle primary, which means the top two candidates will land on the ballot even if they're in the same party. It looks like the important House races in California remain undecided and we won't have an answer for days, which means the GOP could still shut out Democrats in those districts. The Democrats also had a huge blow on the governor's ballot as a Republican grabbed the second spot over a former Los Angeles mayor. What about other states? Here are a few key points I put together from a crazy night.

Scandal-ridden Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) has taken a tumble in polls, which means his re-election isn't such a sure thing. Menendez only has a four point lead over his Republican challenger Bob Hugin, a former pharmaceutical executive.

President Donald Trump promised big changes to Dodd-Frank shortly after his inauguration. He may have the opportunity to do just that this week. In a rare instance of bipartisanship, the House passed a bill that will rollback portions of the financial law for smaller banks.

Former convict and coal CEO Don Blankenship plans to run as the Constitution Party nominee for the West Virginia senate. He will have to challenge the state's "sore loser" law, which "prevents failed candidates in a main-party primary from refiling to run in the general election under another party's banner." If Blankenship successfully runs as a third-party candidate, the GOP might be in for a bit of a challenge especially as they have a real chance to unseat incumbent Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin.

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) denies a desire to run for president in 2020, while busily building up a campaign war chest.  But she has a problem, a problem so big that even leftist Trevor Noah called her out on it. Warren's Native American deception has been dogging her for years, and it looks like she has a plan to help rid herself of the "Pocahontas" label.  With President Trump branding her as "Pocahontas" and even Bill Maher casually referring to her by that name, Warren has been inundated with negative press and social media.

It looks like the GOP escaped another potential Roy Moore fiasco in West Virginia after the convict and former coal CEO Don Blankeship lost the GOP Senate primary. With Blankenship's loss and wins in other states, the GOP may be poised to gain a few seats in the Senate.

West Virginia's GOP Senate primary will take place on Tuesday, and all eyes are on convicted criminal Don Blankenship (R).  Whoever wins Tuesday's GOP primary will face off against current West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin (D), and that is causing Republicans some concern given how important it is for them to keep the Senate in November. Republicans are concerned that West Virginia will turn into another Alabama where another wildcard candidate won the GOP primary but lost the Senate race.

A lot of eyes are focused on Missouri, West Virginia, etc, but it looks like Tennessee deserves a lot more attention this midterm because it could easily flip to the Democrats. Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) chose not to seek re-election after serving two terms. The latest Mason-Dixon Polling and Strategy poll shows Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) down by three points to former Governor Phil Bredesen, her Democrat opponent.

Earlier this year, Kemberlee blogged about former Massachusetts governor and former GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney announcing his Senate run in Utah.  Romney is running to fill the Utah Senate seat being vacated by Senator Orrin Hatch (R). He failed to secure the Republican nomination yesterday and will now run in Utah's June primary against Utah state representative Mike Kennedy.

Republican Florida Governor Rick Scott announced Monday that he will challenge Democrat Senator Bill Nelson for his seat. This has the potential to become the biggest midterm race this year.