An influx of outsiders and money turns Montana Republican, culminating in a Senate triumph

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Democrats' crushing loss in Montana's nationally important U.S. Senate race settled a fierce political debate over whether a surge of newcomers in the past decade favored Republicans — and if one of the new arrivals could even take high office. Voters...

What to know about Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Trump's pick for labor secretary

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump on Friday named Oregon Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer to lead the Department of Labor in his second administration, elevating a Republican congresswoman who has strong support from unions in her district but lost reelection in November. ...

Louisiana GOP lawmakers want to make it easier to try juveniles as adults

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana's Republican-controlled Legislature approved a constitutional amendment on Friday that would allow them to expand the number of crimes in which juveniles between 14 and 16 years old could be tried as adults. The state's constitution currently...

Louisiana lawmakers pass income and corporate tax cuts, raising statewide sales tax to pay for it

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana’s GOP-dominated legislature passed tax cuts on personal and corporate income on Friday in exchange for a statewide sales tax increase, giving Gov. Jeff Landry much of what he wanted after his original tax reform package faced mounting resistance from lawmakers...

Trump has chooses GOP U.S. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer as his nominee to lead the Labor Department

Vance takes on a more visible transition role, working to boost Trump's most contentious picks

WASHINGTON (AP) — After several weeks working mostly behind closed doors, Vice President-elect JD Vance returned to Capitol Hill this week in a new, more visible role: Helping Donald Trump try to get his most contentious Cabinet picks to confirmation in the Senate, where Vance has served for the...

North Carolina governor candidate Mark Robinson sues CNN over report about posts on porn site

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson sued CNN on Tuesday over its recent report that he made explicit racial and sexual posts on a pornography website’s message board, calling the reporting reckless and defamatory. The lawsuit, filed in Wake...

Robinson won't appear at Trump's North Carolina rally after report on online posts, AP sources say

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson will not appear at former President Donald Trump ’s rally on Saturday in the battleground state following a CNN report about Robinson’s alleged disturbing online posts, an absence that illustrates the liability the gubernatorial...

North Carolina GOP governor nominee vows to keep running after report on racial and sexual comments

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Republican gubernatorial nominee Mark Robinson vowed on Thursday to remain in the race despite a CNN report that he posted strongly worded racial and sexual comments on an online message board, saying he won’t be forced out by “salacious tabloid lies.” ...

JD Vance is leaving the Senate for the vice presidency. That's set off a scramble for his Ohio seat

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — JD Vance's election as vice president has opened up one of Ohio's U.S. Senate seats for the third time in as many years, setting off a scramble for the appointment among the state's ruling Republicans. GOP Gov. Mike DeWine is tasked with filling the vacancy,...