Accountability | Florida
DeSantis to Headline Anti-Gay Event Days Before Election
Ron DeSantis will be the keynote speaker at an event in Miami next week sponsored by an anti-gay group that opposes same-sex marriage, lobbied against a local law banning gay-conversion therapy, used images of men leering at girls in bathrooms to stir fear about a proposal to accommodate transgender students and called homosexuality “aberrant” behavior.
Corruption & Secrecy | Arizona
McSally Embraced Trump, but Not His Pledge to ‘Drain the Swamp’
Since Donald Trump was elected, Rep. Martha McSally has voted to protect Trump and his political appointees from scrutiny while obstructing efforts to overturn Citizens United and stop the flow of dark money into politics, a review of her voting record showed. McSally, R-Ariz., now running for an open Senate seat, has even boasted that she votes with Trump more than any other Arizonan in Congress.
Public Safety | Minnesota
GOP Congressman Blamed Mass Shootings on Antidepressants
Rep. Jason Lewis, R-Minn., said antidepressants cause mass shootings and has also pinned gun violence on immigration, terrorism, racism, gang culture and so-called gun-free zones. But one thing Lewis doesn’t believe causes gun violence is guns. In the wake of many of the high-profile mass shootings during the past decade, the Lewis took to Twitter or his radio show to express anger toward politicians who called for restrictions to gun access while theorizing that many factors — but not guns — were responsible.
Accountability | Oklahoma
Stitt’s Company Faced Multiple Sexual Discrimination Suits
Kevin Stitt portrays himself as a conservative family man whose business acumen qualifies him to be governor of Oklahoma, but in the past five years, his mortgage company has been sued three times alleging he or other managers sexually discriminated against women.
Public Safety | Wisconsin
Walker Ignores State Prisons After a Career Boosting Private Ones
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, seeking a third term, has taken a hard line on prison reform, denouncing a Democratic proposal to reduce the state’s prison population as a plan to let out “violent offenders” as he faces criticism that he has mishandled and ignored an abuse scandal in the state’s correctional system while pushing for privatization.
Accountability | Arizona
Fact Check: McSally Campaigned on Protecting Benefits and Consumer Privacy but Did Opposite in Congress
At a town hall in Sahuarita, Ariz., last year, Rep. Martha McSally was asked a yes-or-no question: Would she defend Social Security and Medicare?
McSally responded emphatically, “Yes,” and the audience cheered. But McSally’s record in Congress gave a different answer.
Despite promises to the contrary, the Republican who is now...
Accountability | New Mexico
Pearce Courts Fringe Anti-Abortion Conspiracy Theorists in New Mexico Governor’s Race
While Rep. Steve Pearce doesn’t mention abortion on his campaign website, he is planning to appear this weekend with anti-abortion activists who have actively pushed QAnon and other far-right conspiracies as his campaign for governor enters its final weeks.