Good morning, it’s Tuesday, September 17, 2024. In today’s edition, Dems aim to break GOP supermajorities; Ohio Gov deploys Guard to Springfield; first New Hampshire Gov poll:
Top Stories
ELECTIONS: Seven weeks before Election Day, Democrats are eyeing pickups in state legislatures where Republicans hold or are near supermajorities. In North Carolina, Kansas and Wisconsin, the Democrats’ goal isn’t to win majorities of their own — they just hope to win enough seats to make a governor’s veto matter.
Democrats hold the governorships in Kansas and Wisconsin. In North Carolina, Gov. Roy Cooper (D) faces term limits, but Attorney General Josh Stein (D) has opened a lead on Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson (R) in the race to replace Cooper. Right now, all three governors face massive Republican majorities that threaten their vetoes.
As our reporter Humberto Sanchez writes this morning: Politics isn’t always about having all the power — sometimes it’s ensuring the other side doesn’t, either. Read more at Pluribus News.
PUBLIC SAFETY: Suspicious packages were sent to elections offices in at least six states on Monday, including Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Tennessee, Wyoming and Oklahoma. None of the packages apparently contained hazardous material; the package in Oklahoma contained flour. (Associated Press)
MORE: Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) said he would deploy state troopers to Springfield after a rash of bomb threats closed schools and community sites. At least 33 bomb threats have targeted schools in the week after former President Donald Trump repeated unfounded rumors about Haitian migrants in the city. (New York Times) The state patrol will conduct daily bomb sweeps at city schools. (Columbus Dispatch)
MARIJUANA: A bipartisan duo of Pennsylvania lawmakers introduced legislation to legalize marijuana for recreational use. Tax revenue from sales would be divided between the state and municipalities that host pot shops. (Pennsylvania Capital-Star)
GAMBLING: The Pennsylvania Senate has approved legislation allowing nonprofit organizations to hold raffles and small games of chance to raise money. The bill would allow registered organizations to hold raffles online, and to accept credit and debit card payments to enter those games. (Harrisburg Patriot-News)
ART HISTORY: California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has signed legislation requiring artworks looted by the Nazis to be returned to rightful owners. The measure is aimed at a Pissarro painting in a Spanish museum claimed by the descendants of a Jewish woman who surrendered the painting to the Nazis in exchange for a visa to leave Germany in 1939. (Los Angeles Times)
In Politics & Business
NEW HAMPSHIRE: A new St. Anselm College poll finds former U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R) leading Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig (D) 46%-43% in the race to replace retiring Gov. Chris Sununu (R). The poll shows Craig leading big in her home city, while Ayotte leads by a wide margin in her base in Nashua. (WMUR)
PENNSYLVANIA: Democrats are poised to regain their majority in the state House today when voters in two Philadelphia-area districts head to the polls to fill vacancies. In both districts, no Republican filed to run against Democrats who are replacing incumbents who resigned to take other jobs. (Associated Press)
ARKANSAS: The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals has reinstated an Arkansas rule prohibiting election officials from accepting voter registration forms signed with an electronic signature. A voter registration group has sued, arguing that an opinion from the state attorney general’s office found electronic signatures generally valid under state law. (Associated Press)
PEOPLE: Kentucky Sen. Johnnie Turner (R) is recovering after an accident involving a riding lawn mower. Turner, 76, is in critical but stable condition at the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville. (Kentucky Lantern) Our best wishes for a speedy recovery.
By The Numbers
640%: The increase in the number of calls to Utah’s Poison Control Center related to GLP-1 weight loss drugs like Ozempic. Officials blame user error for most of the calls. (KSL)
108 days, 12 hours: The time it took Lael Wilcox to circumnavigate the globe on her bicycle. The Alaska native finished her ride in Chicago last week, two weeks faster than the previous record. (Alaska Public Media)
Off The Wall
Longtime late night host David Letterman served his first-ever stint of jury duty in the Southern District of New York. Asked what he does for a living, Letterman told the judge he works “for a company called Netflix.” Asked whether he has a spouse or significant other, he responded: “I’ve had both. Currently I just have the spouse.” (Associated Press)
Google will spend $13 million on improved satellite images to help track and detect wildfires beginning next year. The constellation of FireSat satellites will be able to detect wildfires as small as 16 by 16 feet. (Los Angeles Times)
Quote of the Day
“A lot of those customers are realizing that (the cannabis is) not as good in Ohio and they’re still driving up to see us.”
— Sean Lyden, president of Green Labs Provisions, a recreational marijuana dispensary in Michigan near the Ohio border. (Detroit Free Press)
Because there’s nothing that Michigan and Ohio residents won’t fight over.