McConnell: Democrats 'won't get our help' to lift debt limit

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans will oppose raising the federal debt limit if Democrats pursue their $3.5 trillion, 10-year plan to strengthen social and environment programs, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Thursday. The Kentucky Republican's threat was the...

Texas governor orders new try at passing GOP voting laws

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday ordered the Legislature to reconvene for a third time to try to pass a Republican-backed voting restrictions bill that Democratic members blocked by leaving the state nearly a month ago. The announcement, which...

Q&A: Democrat Shontel Brown on how she won Ohio primary

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Shontel Brown's surge came almost out of the blue. Over just a few weeks, she surmounted a double-digit lead that progressive Nina Turner had built over months and easily won the Democratic nomination for a Cleveland-area congressional seat. But...

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott orders another special session to pass GOP voting bill after Democrats left the state in protest

Progressives see blueprint for next fights in eviction win

WASHINGTON (AP) — The rare clash this week between the Biden administration and congressional Democrats over a lapsed eviction moratorium could become a blueprint for even larger fights that lie ahead. Finding allies in congressional leadership, a new generation of...

Report: GOP accepts four times as much from businesses

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Republicans collected nearly four times as much money from corporations as Democrats during the first half of the year, according to a report released Thursday. The analysis from government watchdog group Wisconsin Democracy Campaign shows...

Virginia House, Senate pass Democratic spending plan

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The Virginia House and Senate gave initial approval Wednesday to budget legislation allocating billions of dollars in federal coronavirus relief money, each passing slightly different bills that lawmakers will have to reconcile. Legislators started...

Republicans aim at GOP base in 1st California recall debate

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Four Republicans hoping to claim Gov. Gavin Newsom's job in a September recall election skirmished in their first debate Wednesday, labeling the incumbent Democrat a failure whose pandemic policies sent the state into a tailspin while hewing closely to familiar...

Republicans aim at GOP base in 1st California recall debate

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Four Republicans hoping to claim Gov. Gavin Newsom's job in a September recall election skirmished in their first debate Wednesday, labeling the incumbent Democrat a failure whose pandemic policies sent the state into a tailspin while hewing closely to familiar...

In Democrats' budget: Eviction protection, utility relief

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A key protection against evictions would be restored and a new round of funding would flow to utilities to cover unpaid customer bills under legislation advancing through the Democrat-controlled Virginia General Assembly. Those provisions are among...