Politics

RENO, Nev. (AP) — A Nevada judge has dismissed Republican Joey Gilbert’s lawsuit seeking to overturn his loss to Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo in the Republican gubernatorial primary.

Gilbert, a Reno lawyer who was outside the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, finished second in the June primary to Lombardo by 11 percentage points, or about 26,000 votes.

He was seeking a recount of ballots by hand that he claimed — without any evidence — would result in him winning the GOP nomination by more than 55,000 votes. Gilbert’s campaign separately had already paid for a recount that showed no change in the overall outcome.

Lombardo, the sheriff in Las Vegas who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, is seeking to unseat first-term Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak in November’s general election in the swing Western state.

Carson City District Court Judge James Wilson announced his decision from the bench during a status hearing Wednesday afternoon. But a formal order had not been issued by the time the clerk’s office closed for the day. The Nevada Independent first reported the ruling.

J. Colby Williams, Lombardo’s lawyer, confirmed in an email to The Associated Press Wednesday night that Judge Wilson “granted our motion for summary judgment today, effectively dismissing the case with prejudice, and directed us to submit a proposed order (to) that effect, which we’ve done.”

“We cannot comment further until the court issues its written order,” Williams wrote.

Lombardo declined to comment on the judge’s ruling in a brief campaign statement emailed to The Associated Press, saying: “It’s time to take our state back.”

Gilbert didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.

A former boxer who enjoyed support from the GOP’s far-right wing, he campaigned on false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump, something Lombardo never claimed.

Gilbert’s lawsuit filed last month in state district court in Carson City was based primarily on mathematical formulas and algorithms that he said showed the results certified by every county in the state were erroneous and a “geometric impossibility.”

Gilbert said earlier this month he would never concede the primary election to Lombardo. He maintained that his challenges to the outcome were not about his loss but election integrity overall.

His lawsuit was based largely on the false assumption that a fair election would result in each candidate’s vote total being divided roughly proportionally equal to the others in terms of whether the ballots were cast by mail, in-person during early voting and in-person on election day.

Gilbert’s refusal to concede was denounced by many high-profile Republicans. Nevada GOP chairman Michael McDonald said Gilbert had a right to file the lawsuit, but he wished he’d abandon the effort and unite with other Republicans in support of Lombardo’s campaign.

Former U.S. Sen. Dean Heller, who lost his seat to Democrat Jacky Rosen in 2018 and finished third in this year’s primary for the GOP gubernatorial primary in June, said recently that lawsuits like the one Gilbert filed are “almost always counterproductive and can do serious damage to the reputation of the Republican Party.”

Heller was Nevada’s secretary of state when he oversaw the most famous recount in the state’s election history in 1998, when Democratic Sen. Harry Reid defeated Republican John Ensign by 428 votes in a recount that lasted six weeks after Election Day results showed Reid winning by 459.

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Gabe Stern, a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative, contributed to this report. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

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(This Aug 9 story corrects Rebecca Kleefisch’s title to show she is a former, not current, lieutenant governor)

By Joseph Ax

(Reuters) – Republican voters in Wisconsin and Minnesota on Tuesday nominated abortion foes for governor, ensuring the issue will be central to what are expected to be two of the most high-profile races in November’s general election.

In Wisconsin, Republican construction magnate Tim Michels will face Democratic Governor Tony Evers, Edison Research projected, while in Minnesota, former Republican state Senator Scott Jensen will challenge Democratic Governor Tim Walz.

Michels’ nomination also represented a victory for former President Donald Trump, whose endorsement of Michels – along with millions of dollars in campaign spending from Michels’ personal wealth – helped propel him past former Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch. Kleefisch, once seen as the favorite, had the backing of key establishment Republicans, including Mike Pence, Trump’s estranged former vice president.

Michels has falsely asserted that Trump, rather than Democratic President Joe Biden, won the state’s 2020 election, echoing the former president’s claims. He has also vowed to enforce a 19th-century abortion ban that went into effect after the U.S. Supreme Court in June eliminated a nationwide right to the procedure.

With a Republican-majority legislature, Michels could push through new abortion restrictions if elected. Democratic incumbent Tony Evers and his administration have filed litigation challenging the 1849 law while promising not to prosecute doctors who violate it.

In Minnesota, Jensen, who has also cast doubt on the seriousness of COVID-19, has said he would seek to ban most abortions. Minnesota has become a haven of sorts for residents of neighboring states where abortion bans went into effect after the Supreme Court ruling.

Last week’s Kansas ballot, which saw about 60% of voters support abortion rights, has raised Democrats’ hopes that the issue will mobilize their base and attract votes from independents and moderate Republicans. This follows the Supreme Court’s overturning of the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide in 1973.

Unlike the Kansas initiative, which was open to voters of all parties, Tuesday’s Republican primaries will reflect the preference of just Republican voters.

SENATE MAJORITY AT STAKE

In addition to a high-profile gubernatorial race, Wisconsin will also host a crucial Senate contest in November. Democrats on Tuesday nominated Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes to challenge U.S. Senator Ron Johnson, perhaps the most vulnerable Republican senator running for re-election this year.

Barnes, who scored endorsements during the primary campaign from liberal U.S. senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, would be the state’s first Black senator.

The battle for Johnson’s seat could determine which party controls the Senate. The chamber is split 50-50 with Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris casting tie-breaking votes.

While it is unclear whether Democrats will be able to hold their razor-thin Senate majority, Republicans are favored to win back control of the U.S. House of Representatives, which would enable them to block much of Biden’s legislative agenda and initiate politically damaging investigations.

For much of the year, Biden’s sagging popularity coupled with persistent inflation have weighed on Democrats’ chances. But the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll, completed on Tuesday, showed Biden’s approval rating rose for a third straight week to 40% – still historically low but at the highest level since early June after a string of Democratic legislative victories.

Wisconsin’s Senate and gubernatorial elections this year could serve as a preview of 2024, when Wisconsin will likely again be a major swing state in the presidential election. Trump, who still asserts falsely that Biden’s statewide win in 2020 was fraudulent, has strongly hinted that he intends to run again.

Republicans on Friday named Milwaukee as the site of their 2024 national convention, underscoring the state’s strategic importance.

Trump has endorsed hundreds of candidates this year in an effort to exert his influence over the Republican Party. Many of his picks, mostly incumbents, have prevailed, though some have not.

Minnesota also held a special election on Tuesday for the U.S. House seat left vacant when Republican Jim Hagedorn died in February after a battle with cancer.

Republican Brad Finstad, a former agriculture official in the Trump administration, won that race by defeating Democrat Jeff Ettinger, a former CEO of Hormel Foods, to keep Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District in Republican hands, Edison Research projected.

In the state’s 5th Congressional District, Ilhan Omar, one of the most prominent liberal voices in Congress, survived an unexpectedly strong challenge from fellow Democrat Don Samuels, Edison projected.

Voters in Connecticut and Vermont were also choosing nominees for congressional and statewide races.

(Reporting by Joseph Ax and Kanishka Singh; Editing by Scott Malone, Cynthia Osterman, Ross Colvin and Daniel Wallis)

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By Karen Freifeld and Kanishka Singh

(Reuters) -Former U.S. President Donald Trump arrived at the New York attorney general’s office in lower Manhattan on Wednesday, where he is scheduled to testify as part of a civil investigation into his family’s business practices.

New York State Attorney General Letitia James is looking into whether the Trump Organization inflated real estate values. Trump and two of his adult children, Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump, fought to avoid testifying but lost.

Trump raised his fist as he left Trump Tower on Wednesday morning, wearing a blue suit with a flag pin on his lapel.

Late on Tuesday, Trump said in a posting on his app Truth Social that he would see the New York attorney general on Wednesday. A source also told Reuters that Trump is scheduled to testify in the probe on Wednesday. Trump’s children already have been questioned, the source said.

The deposition will not be public.

A spokeswoman for James has declined to comment. A lawyer for Trump did not respond to requests for comment.

James has said her investigation uncovered significant evidence that the Trump Organization, which manages hotels, golf courses and other real estate, overstated asset values to obtain favorable loans and understated the values to get tax breaks.

Trump has denied wrongdoing and called the New York investigation politically motivated. James is a Democrat.

“In New York City tonight. Seeing racist N.Y.S. Attorney General tomorrow, for a continuation of the greatest Witch Hunt in U.S. history! My great company, and myself, are being attacked from all sides. Banana Republic!” Trump said in a post on Truth Social late on Tuesday.

It is unclear how much Trump will say during the deposition. He may decline to answer questions on the grounds that he might incriminate himself, according to a person familiar with the matter.

But the testimony could help determine where the probe goes. No case has been filed.

Separately, the FBI searched Trump’s Florida estate on Monday, an escalation of the federal investigation into whether he illegally removed records from the White House as he was leaving office in January 2021.

Trump has been flirting publicly with the question of running again for president in 2024 but has not said clearly whether he will do so.

The warrant to search Trump’s Florida estate relates to the National Archives and Records Administration, which is charged with safeguarding presidential records that belong to the public, and whether there were classified documents at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Trump has had to deal with a slew of legal troubles since he left office, after his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in an unsuccessful bid to overturn his election loss. Trump continues to claim falsely that the election was stolen through widespread voting fraud.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington and Karen Freifeld in New York; Editing by Will Dunham, Robert Birsel, Noeleen Walder and Andrew Heavens)

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By Karen Freifeld and Kanishka Singh

(Reuters) – Former U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to testify on Wednesday in a civil investigation by the New York attorney general into his family’s business practices, as he deals with a flurry of other legal woes.

New York State Attorney General Letitia James is conducting a probe into whether the Trump Organization inflated real estate values. Trump and two of his adult children, Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump, fought for months to avoid testifying.

Late Tuesday, Trump said in a posting on his app Truth Social that he would see the New York attorney general on Wednesday. A source also told Reuters that Trump is scheduled to testify in the probe on Wednesday. Trump’s children were already deposed, the source said.

The deposition will not be public.

A spokeswoman for James has declined to comment, and a lawyer for Trump did not respond to requests for comment.

James has said her investigation uncovered significant evidence that the Trump Organization, which manages hotels, golf courses and other real estate, overstated asset values to obtain favorable loans and understated the values to get tax breaks.

Trump has denied wrongdoing and called the New York investigation politically motivated. James is a Democrat.

“In New York City tonight. Seeing racist N.Y.S. Attorney General tomorrow, for a continuation of the greatest Witch Hunt in U.S. history! My great company, and myself, are being attacked from all sides. Banana Republic!”, Trump said in a post on Truth Social late on Tuesday.

It is unclear how much Trump will say during the long-anticipated deposition. He may decline to answer questions on the grounds that he might incriminate himself, according to a person familiar with the matter.

But the testimony could help determine where the probe goes. No case has been filed.

Separately, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) searched Trump’s Florida estate on Monday, an escalation of the federal investigation into whether the former president illegally removed records from the White House as he was leaving office in January 2021.

Trump has been flirting publicly with the question of running again for president in 2024 but has not said clearly whether he will do so.

The warrant to search Trump’s Florida estate relates to the National Archives and Records Administration, which is charged with safeguarding presidential records that belong to the public, and whether there were classified documents at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Several investigations have focused on Trump since he left office, after his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in an unsuccessful bid to overturn his election loss. Trump continues to claim falsely that the election was stolen through widespread voting fraud.

Trump remains the Republican Party’s most influential voice, and some observers said the FBI search could bolster his standing with Republican voters.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington and Karen Freifeld in New York; Editing by Robert Birsel, Noeleen Walder and Andrew Heavens)

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – FBI agents on Tuesday seized the cellphone of Republican congressman Scott Perry, according to media reports that cite a statement from the Pennsylvania lawmaker.

Perry did not say why his phone was confiscated by the FBI agents, who he said handed him a warrant while he was traveling with his family.

A supporter of former President Donald Trump, Perry has been the subject of a congressional investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters.

Perry’s office and the FBI did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Reuters. A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment.

“They made no attempt to contact my lawyer, who would have made arrangements for them to have my phone if that was their wish,” Perry said in the statement, first reported by Fox News.

“My phone contains info about my legislative and political activities, and personal/private discussions with my wife, family, constituents, and friends. None of this is the government’s business,” he said.

Perry, who helped spread Trump’s false statements of 2020 election fraud, was in contact with the Trump White House in the weeks before the 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol.

During a congressional hearing in June, lawmakers heard testimony that Perry sought a pardon from Trump. Perry has denied seeking a pardon.

(Reporting by Eric Beech and Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Ross Colvin and Daniel Wallis)

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The House panel investigating the U.S. Capitol insurrection interviewed former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and met briefly with Pennsylvania’s Republican nominee for governor Doug Mastriano on Tuesday as it probes Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

Pompeo is among several of Trump’s former Cabinet officials the committee wanted to talk to after it was disclosed that some of them raised concerns about former president’s actions — going so far as having considered invoking the 25th Amendment process to remove Trump from office after the riot. Pompeo’s appearance was confirmed by a person familiar with the situation but unauthorized to discuss it publicly.

Mastriano, who was outside the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and helped organize efforts in Pennsylvania to submit alternate presidential electors beholden to Trump, cut his interview short without answering questions. He disputed the validity of the committee and the terms of the appearance, his attorney said.

The committee is working through August, deepening its probe after blockbuster public hearings this summer that began to outline its investigation into Trump’s multi-pronged effort to reverse his election loss to Joe Biden and the subsequent storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

The meeting with Pompeo, who is considering a 2024 presidential run, comes as the panel’s Vice Chair Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., has publicly disclosed that the committee has several former Cabinet officials in mind for interviews. Steven Mnuchin, Trump’s treasury secretary, testified before the committee last month.

The scheme to compile alternative electors has involved Republican officials in battleground states across the nation who are now facing questions, from the Jan. 6 committee and federal investigators. The “fake electors” emerged as a last-ditch plan by Trump’s team to stop Biden’s victory when Congress met for the typical routine job of certifying the state election results.

Mastriano’s attorney, Timothy Parlatore, said his client’s appearance before the committee was over in less than 15 minutes. He said Mastriano wanted to be able to record the interview and said little during the brief session, Parlatore said they plan to challenge the committee in court.

“Because he’s currently in a general election, we just want some protective measures,” Parlatore said in a phone interview, “to prevent them from putting out a false or misleading quote that would potentially impact the election.”

Committee chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson issued the subpoena for Mastriano back in February as the panel intensified its probe of the “fake electors” scheme, seeking documentation from him and others potentially involved and in close contact with Trump.

The committee “is seeking information about efforts to send false slates of electors to Washington and change the outcome of the 2020 election,” Thompson wrote. “We’re seeking records and testimony from former campaign officials and other individuals in various states who we believe have relevant information about the planning and implementation of those plans.”

Mastriano, who organized two buses from central Pennsylvania for the Trump speech that preceded the violent siege and himself had VIP seating at the rally, walked to the Capitol afterward. He had been scheduled to speak on the Capitol steps that afternoon.

Parlatore said Mastriano “knows nothing about any insurrection” and did not witness any violence or see any firearms. He said his client would be willing to testify publicly before the panel.

A retired Army officer who beat out several candidates to emerge as the GOP nominee for governor in Pennsylvania, Mastriano has previously been willing to talk to the committee. He also spoke with the FBI last year and said he did not know about a planned insurrection, his lawyer has said.

Mastriano has said he had regular calls with then-President Donald Trump in the months between Trump’s reelection defeat and the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

His attorney sought to shield Mastriano from testifying over the alternative electors plan because it was undertaken when his client was a state senator.

Parlatore said much of Mastriano’s contacts with Trump in the lead-up to Jan. 6 involved Mastriano’s capacity as a state lawmaker — a status that complicates the committee’s efforts to interview him about what the lawyer described as “alternative electors” to the Electoral College.

Parlatore said he planned to file a court action in Washington, D.C., federal court, seeking to have a judge determine if Jan. 6 committee’s makeup and procedures violate House rules.

Growing from Trump’s false claims of voter fraud, the fake electors strategy relied on having several battleground states that Biden won submit their tally for the defeated Republican president, rather than the Democratic winner, Biden.

Federal authorities earlier this summer issued subpoenas in several key battleground states across the nation to individuals in Arizona, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Georgia and other Republican officials potentially involved in the strategy to submit electors for Trump.

Prosecutors in Georgia are similarly probing Trump’s attempt to subvert the election results in that state.

The Justice Department has charged more than 800 people in the deadly Capitol riot and is investigating Trump’s actions in the run up and aftermath of the insurrection.

The Jan. 6 attack left at least nine people dead in the riot and its aftermath, including a Trump supporter shot by police and a police officer who died later.

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Scolforo reported from Harrisburg, Pa.

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By David Shepardson and Jeff Mason

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed a landmark bill to provide $52.7 billion in subsidies for U.S. semiconductor production and research and to boost efforts to make the United States more competitive with China’s science and technology efforts.

“The future is going to be made in America,” Biden said, calling the measure “a once-in-a-generation investment in America itself.”

Biden touted investments that chip companies are making even though it remains unclear when the U.S. Commerce Department will write rules for reviewing grant awards and how long it will take to underwrite projects.

Some Republicans joined Biden on the White House lawn to attend the signing of the chips bill that was years in the making in Congress.

The chief executives of Micron , Intel, Lockheed Martin, HP and Advanced Micro Devices attended the signing as did governors of Pennsylvania and Illinois, the mayors of Detroit, Cleveland and Salt Lake City, and lawmakers.

The White House said the bill’s passage was spurring new chip investments. It noted that Qualcomm on Monday agreed to buy an additional $4.2 billion in semiconductor chips from GlobalFoundries’ New York factory, bringing its total commitment to $7.4 billion in purchases through 2028.

The White House also touted Micron announcing a $40 billion investment in memory chip manufacturing, which would boost U.S. market share from 2% to 10%, an investment it said was planned with “anticipated grants” from the chips bill.

Progressives argued the bill is a giveaway to profitable chips companies that previously closed U.S. plants, but Biden argued Tuesday “this law is not handing out blank checks to companies.”

The legislation aims to alleviate a persistent shortage that has affected everything from cars, weapons, washing machines and video games. Thousands of cars and trucks remain parked in southeast Michigan awaiting chips as the shortage continues to impact automakers.

A rare major foray into U.S. industrial policy, the bill also includes a 25% investment tax credit for chip plants, estimated to be worth $24 billion.

The legislation authorizes $200 billion over 10 years to boost U.S. scientific research to better compete with China. Congress would still need to pass separate appropriations legislation to fund those investments.

China had lobbied against the semiconductor bill. The Chinese Embassy in Washington said China “firmly opposed” it, calling it reminiscent of a “Cold War mentality.”

Biden noted the United States needs chips for key weapons systems like Javelin missiles. “It’s no wonder the Chinese Communist Party actively lobbied U.S. business against this bill,” Biden said.

Many U.S. lawmakers had said they normally would not support hefty subsidies for private businesses but noted that China and the European Union had been awarding billions in incentives to their chip companies. They also cited national security risks and huge global supply chain problems that have hampered global manufacturing.

(Reporting by David Shepardson and Jeff Mason; Editing by Bradley Perrett and Lisa Shumaker)

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DECATUR, Ga. (AP) — Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams is arguing that it’s time for Georgia to use its budget surplus to invest in its residents, accusing Gov. Brian Kemp and other Republicans of hurting the state by prioritizing low taxes and low spending.

With the state flush with $7 billion in extra funds, Abrams has proposed $1 billion in new spending, including expanding Medicaid and giving raises to teachers, state police and prison guards.

“What I’m saying is let’s put Georgians to work. Let’s invest in Georgians,” Abrams told The Associated Press in an interview ahead of a speech on the economy she’s expected to deliver Tuesday. “Let’s use the resources that are in our state to do what’s right for the people of the state.”

Trailing in the polls, Abrams is focusing on the economy as she looks to press reset on an issue that has emerged as a top vulnerability for Democrats across the U.S. this year amid inflation and high gas prices. Kemp is hoping the economy is an especially potent issue for him in Georgia this year as he points to billions of new investment in the state under his administration.

“This team has put our state on the path to greater economic opportunity for all who call the Peach State home,” Kemp said in a campaign speech last month in the Atlanta suburb of McDonough. “We brought good paying jobs to every corner of Georgia, landed the largest economic development deals in our state’s history, passed the biggest income tax cut on record, and kept government out of your way and out of your pocket.”

Kemp plans to unveil his own plans on Thursday for some of Georgia’s surplus. It’s likely to include another round of state income tax rebates plus a property tax break for homeowners, said a Kemp campaign official with knowledge of the governor’s plans who spoke on condition of anonymity to preview the announcement.

Nodding at Abrams’ work as a voting rights advocate, Kemp said she shares responsibility for the surging inflation and stubbornly high gas prices by helping get Joe Biden elected. He calls it the “Biden-Abrams agenda.”

The question is whether pocketbook issues will take precedent over other concerns for voters, including abortion, particularly in a state where a six-week ban is now in effect.

Abrams and other Democrats hope to pivot away from inflation and toward ways government can help voters. Many of her plans are the same as when she ran against Kemp in 2018, including expanding the Medicaid health insurance program to all low-income adults and expanding state aid to small businesses.

But in 2022, Georgia is flush with cash. The state closed its budget year in June with a roughly $5 billion surplus, atop $2.3 billion in surplus from the year before, and a legally protected $4.3 billion rainy-day fund.

Abrams acknowledges austerity may have been necessary during the Great Recession. Now, though, she says Republicans are inflicting a “poverty of imagination and a poverty of thinking” on Georgia by insisting on low spending and tax cuts.

“I liken it to a company that realizes a windfall,” Abrams said. “You can either give dividends to your wealthiest shareholders or you can invest in the infrastructure of your company so you can create more opportunities and create more revenue. I want to do the latter.”

Kemp warns that increasing spending will worsen inflation and argues Abrams will ultimately seek to raise taxes after spending the surplus.

“What she really believes is more government, controlling more and more of your everyday lives, and taking more of your hard-earned paychecks,” Kemp said in McDonough.

Abrams flatly vows not to raise taxes and says her spending plan is sustainable.

The Democrat weaves her argument with other attacks on Kemp. She says permissive gun laws and a law banning most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy will drive away business.

She’s also trying to eclipse Kemp on some policies, arguing for another round of checks to taxpayers like a billion-dollar state income tax rebate Kemp championed earlier this year. Kemp has repeatedly suspended Georgia’s state gas tax for short periods, but Abrams calls for Kemp to pledge now to suspend it until the end of the year. And Abrams has pledged not to repeal a state income tax cut that begins in 2024 and could ultimately reduce taxes by $2 billion.

Kemp said Abrams’ support for his proposals shows voters he’s the one to trust.

“I’m running on my record. You know what Stacey Abrams’ record is? It’s going to be different tomorrow than it was today, I can tell you that,” Kemp said Thursday during a northeast Georgia campaign stop in Toccoa. ”She keeps changing it based on the way the winds are blowing or the way the polling is.”

Abrams notes Georgia ranked 24th among states for per-capita income in the early 2000s but has slid to 40th. Although close observers debate the cause of that, Abrams ascribes it to steering too many benefits to the rich.

She said it’s time to quit subsidizing out-of-state companies to set up shop and pay low wages, the traditional Southern approach to economic development.

“As long as our plans rely on sucking dry our people, then that’s the wrong approach,” Abrams said.

Instead, she said she envisions a focus on small businesses, helping minority-owned businesses catch up and promoting economic mobility in a region of the country where poor people are the least likely to get ahead.

“We can invest in every level of our economy, and everyone can thrive,” she said.

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Follow Jeff Amy at http://twitter.com/jeffamy.

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By Joseph Ax

(Reuters) – A week after Kansas voters firmly rejected an attempt to restrict abortion, the issue will play a key role in Wisconsin and Minnesota midterm primaries on Tuesday as Republican candidates for governor vow to ban the procedure if elected.

In Wisconsin, the two top contenders for the Republican nomination to run for governor on Nov. 8, construction magnate Tim Michels and Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch, say they will enforce a 19th-century abortion ban that has prompted providers to stop offering the procedure since the U.S. Supreme Court eliminated the nationwide right in June.

With a Republican-majority legislature, either candidate could push through abortion restrictions as governor. Democratic incumbent Tony Evers and his administration have filed litigation challenging the 1849 law while promising not to prosecute doctors who violate it.

The contest between Kleefisch and Michels is the latest proxy battle between Donald Trump and more moderate Republicans. The former president has thrown his support behind Michels, who has poured millions of dollars of his own money into the race, while former Vice President Mike Pence and former Governor Scott Walker have endorsed Kleefisch.

A similar dynamic is at play in Minnesota, where Republicans on Tuesday will select a nominee to take on Democratic Governor Tim Walz in November.

The leading Republican is former state Senator Scott Jensen, a physician who has pledged to try to ban most abortions and has cast doubt on the seriousness of the COVID-19 pandemic. Abortion remains legal in Minnesota, where Democrats control one of the two legislative chambers.

Last week’s Kansas ballot, which saw about 60% of voters support abortion rights, has raised Democrats’ hopes that the issue will mobilize their base in November and attract votes from independents and moderate Republicans. This follows the Supreme Court’s overturning of the Roe v Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide in 1973.

Unlike the Kansas initiative, which was open to voters of all parties, Tuesday’s Republican primaries will reflect the preference of just Republican voters.

2024 PREVIEW

November’s election could serve as a preview of 2024, when Wisconsin will likely again be a major swing state in the presidential election. Trump, the former president who still maintains falsely that Democratic President Joe Biden’s statewide win in 2020 was fraudulent, has strongly hinted that he intends to run for a third time.

Republicans on Friday named Milwaukee as the site of their 2024 national convention, underscoring the state’s strategic importance.

Kleefisch and Michels have both questioned the 2020 election results, following Trump’s lead. At a Friday night rally with Trump in Waukesha, Michels declared that “election integrity” would be his top priority if elected.

The winner should avoid focusing too much on 2020 in the fall, when the general electorate will include more Trump-skeptical voters, said Bill McCoshen, a veteran Republican strategist based in Madison.

“It’s manifestly in the winner of the primary’s interest to focus on the future, not the past,” he said.

Trump-backed candidates have recently prevailed in statewide races in Arizona and Michigan, though his overall endorsement record is somewhat mixed.

Also in Wisconsin, Democrats will choose a candidate to take on U.S. Senator Ron Johnson, who is perhaps the most vulnerable Republican senator. Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes, who would be the state’s first Black U.S. senator, is widely expected to win the nomination.

The battle for Johnson’s seat could determine which party controls the Senate. The chamber is currently split 50-50 with Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris casting tie-breaking votes, as she did on Sunday to advance a sweeping domestic bill intended to fight climate change, lower healthcare costs and raise taxes on the biggest corporations.

While it is unclear if Democrats will be able to hold their razor-thin Senate majority, Republicans are favored to win back control of the U.S. House of Representatives, which would enable them to block much of Biden’s legislative agenda and initiate politically damaging investigations. Biden’s low approval ratings, coupled with persistent inflation and recession fears, have weighed on Democrats’ chances.

Tuesday also brings a special election in Minnesota for the U.S. House seat left vacant when Republican Jim Hagedorn died in February after a battle with cancer. Democrat Jeff Ettinger, the former CEO of Hormel Foods, is running against Republican Brad Finstad, a former agricultural official in the Trump administration.

Voters in Connecticut and Vermont will choose nominees for congressional and statewide races as well.

(Reporting by Joseph Ax; Editing by Scott Malone and Cynthia Osterman)

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Voters in states including Wisconsin and Minnesota will pick candidates for the U.S. Congress and other offices in primaries on Tuesday, in another test of former President Donald Trump’s influence in the Republican Party ahead of the Nov. 8 midterms.

Vermont and Connecticut also hold nomination contests, while Minnesota holds a special election for its currently vacant 1st Congressional District. Following are four key races:

WISCONSIN REPUBLICAN GOVERNOR’S PRIMARY

In its final stretch, the Republican nomination contest for Wisconsin’s gubernatorial race has become a proxy battle in the rivalry between President Donald Trump and his former Vice President, Mike Pence.

Trump endorsed construction company owner Tim Michels in June, upending a race that until then was led by former state Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch. By the end of June, Kleefisch and Michels were neck-and-neck in a poll by Marquette Law School.

Pence then endorsed Kleefisch in late July, setting up the third high-profile race this year in which Pence and Trump backed opposing candidates. In the previous contests, Pence-backed Georgia Governor Brian Kemp won the party nomination for his re-election bid, while Trump-backed Kari Lake, a former news anchor, won the Republican nomination for the Arizona governor’s race.

Pence, who like Trump is considering running for president in 2024, has recently distanced himself from Trump’s repeated falsehoods about a stolen 2020 election.

MINNESOTA SPECIAL CONGRESSIONAL ELECTION

Democrats on Tuesday face an uphill battle to gain the U.S. House of Representatives seat left vacant following the death in February of Republican U.S. Representative Jim Hagedorn.

Ahead of Tuesday’s special election, Republican Brad Finstad, a former agriculture official in the Trump administration, was ahead of Democrat Jeff Ettinger 46% to 38%, according to a public opinion poll conducted in the last week of July by Survey USA.

Political observers have said the race could be close after Ettinger, a former CEO at Hormel Foods, spent early on television ads making the case that his business experience set him up as a problem solver on run-away food prices.

WISCONSIN DEMOCRATIC U.S. SENATE PRIMARY

In the race to challenge Republican U.S. Senator Ron Johnson, Wisconsin’s Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes, a progressive backed by U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, is expected to win the Democratic nomination after a leading moderate opponent dropped out of the race in late July. The focus now shifts to Barnes’ ability to appeal to moderate voters in the race against Johnson, which could be one of November’s tightest and most consequential Senate races.

MINNESOTA REPUBLICAN GOVERNOR’S PRIMARY

Former Minnesota state senator Scott Jensen, the Republican frontrunner to win the party nomination for the governor’s race in November, vows he will try to ban most abortions in the state.

Despite the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, abortion remains legal under state law in Minnesota. Jensen recently said he supports abortion rights in cases of rape or incest.

Jensen, a physician who has cast doubt on the seriousness of COVID-19, would challenge Democratic Governor Tim Walz if he wins the nomination. Walz is seen as potentially vulnerable in November.

(Reporting by Jason Lange; Editing by Alistair Bell)

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