Tag: state senate

Annnnnd there goes Virginia Democrats’ state Senate majority.

Lots of people blinking over this, I reckon:

State Sen. Phillip P. Puckett- D-Russell has resigned his seat, leaving Democrats one vote shy of the majority they need to control the chamber.

Puckett’s stunning resignation throws Democratic budget strategy into chaos and opening the way for Republicans to seize control of the chamber and reorganize its committees with GOP majorities, the Richmond Times Dispatch said in a report issued late Sunday.

Despite brave Democratic rhetoric to the contrary, this puts McAuliffe’s entire Medicaid expansion plan in jeopardy. While the state Senate still technically has a two vote majority (including three Republicans) in place for expansion, the new Republican majority now has a potential tool to reel in recalcitrant members. Given that Puckett was essentially bought off* with a judgeship for his daughter and a nice tobacco commission spot for himself, be rest assured that events will, as they say, continue to proceed.  Should be a thing!

Via

Moe Lane

*Please note that the term ‘bought off’ is not intended to be representative of the moral or legal conditions involved in any deal between state Senator Puckett and the Republican party. Besides,the Democrats do it all the time.

RS Interview: Aaron Bean (R-CAND, FL State Senate 4 PRI)

This is the other state-level interview (Florida) that I’ve done recently (more or less because of the RedState Gathering): again, I encourage people to interview their own state-level candidates and politicians.  These races matter.

Here we have Aaron Bean, who is running in Florida’s Fourth Senate district: we chatted about the race, and state-level races generally.

Aaron Bean’s site is here.

Moe Lane (crosspost)