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June 16, 2025

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News Maryland News

Hogan: Trump Should Be Removed From Office

January 8, 2021 by Maryland Matters

Maryland’s Republican governor said Thursday there was “no question that America would be better off if the president would resign or be removed from office.”

Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. made the remarks at a State House press conference in which he decried the mob siege of the U.S. Capitol building a day earlier as a “heinous and violent assault.”

Hogan said he was not sure what should happen logistically but that Donald Trump had proven himself unfit to remain in office and that Vice President Mike Pence should oversee an orderly transition of power.

“Over the last two months, the sacred tradition [of a peaceful transition of power] has come under attack from our own president,” Hogan said. “…Who has chosen to fan the flames of hate and mislead millions of voters through lies, and conspiracy theories, rather than face the reality of his own defeat.”

Hogan said that Trump had also abandoned his oath of office and fomented chaos.

“What we saw in the nation’s capital was not just an attack on the people’s representatives, our historic buildings, and our law enforcement. It was an attack on the rule of law,” Hogan said. “The foundations of self government and who we are as Americans. The mob may have shattered glass. But they did not, and they will not, shatter our democracy.”

Lt. Gov. Boyd K. Rutherford (R) tweeted earlier in the day that Trump should resign from office.

Hogan also detailed on Thursday the state’s attempts to deploy National Guard members in Washington, D.C., which was delayed by a lack of authorization from federal authorities.

Hogan said he was in a video conference with the Japanese ambassador to the United States when his chief of staff came in to inform him that the U.S. Capitol was under attack. Hogan said he immediately called a meeting of his Unified Command Team, which includes Maryland’s top law enforcement, military and emergency response officials.

During that meeting, Hogan said he got a call from a panicked U.S. House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.), who said the U.S. Capitol Police was overwhelmed, that there was no federal law enforcement presence, and that the leaders of Congress were pleading with him for assistance.

“However, we were repeatedly denied approval to do so,” Hogan said at the State House press conference, flanked by Rutherford, Adjutant General of the Maryland National Guard Major General Timothy Gowen, and Colonel Jerry Jones, superintendent of the Maryland State Police.

Under federal law, Maryland must receive approval from the U.S. Secretary of Defense before guard members can be sent over the border to respond to incidents in the District of Columbia.

“General Gowen was repeatedly being told by the National Guard at the national level that we did not have authorization,” Hogan said, detailing calls coming and going from his administration to D.C.

In the end, “none of us really spoke to the Secretary of Defense,” Hogan said, and it was the Secretary of the Army who called his cell phone and requested immediate assistance.

It took about 90 minutes before the state got that authority to move into the city, Hogan said.

“The initial contingent of Maryland National Guard members were the first to arrive in Washington from out of state,” Hogan said.

The governor announced Thursday that the Maryland National Guard’s mission in D.C. ― to protect and secure federal buildings ― will continue through Inauguration Day, which is Jan. 20, and the end of the month. About 500 state guard members remain in the city.

“I just want to assure all Americans that the state of Maryland will do anything and everything we possibly can to continue to secure the core of our nation’s capital,” Hogan said.

In light of political extremism, Hogan said security was also being increased around the Maryland State House complex as a precaution.

Hogan did not vote for Trump in either of the last two elections, and faced criticism in 2020 after casting a write-in vote for the deceased former President Ronald Reagan.

By Danielle E. Gaines

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Filed Under: Maryland News Tagged With: Hogan, oath, removal, Trump, unfit

Maryland Electors Cast Votes for Biden, Harris in Socially Distant State House Ceremony

December 15, 2020 by Maryland Matters

Maryland’s 10 electors cast their votes for President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on Monday, sealing an historic win for the Democratic candidates in the state.

Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) called for a “peaceful transition of power” before the Democratic electors cast their votes at the Maryland State House on Monday. Hogan was one of the first prominent Republicans to publicly acknowledge Biden’s victory as President Trump refused to concede.

“The peaceful transition of power that we formally take part in here today is a hallmark of our democracy,” Hogan said. “At times it has been tested, sometimes even questioned, but it is a reminder that, despite our differences, we are united as Americans who honor the will of the people through the greatest and most enduring democratic process that the world has ever known.”

The Certificate of Vote for Joe Biden as president and Kamala Harris as vice president, signed by the members of Maryland’s Electoral College. Photo from the Maryland State Board of Elections.

Biden and Harris need 270 of the 538 Electoral College votes to win the presidential election. The pair will receive 306 votes, based on the results of the Nov. 3 election, including all 10 of Maryland’s votes.

Biden and Harris received more votes in Maryland than any previous presidential ticket in the state’s history, Maryland Democratic Party Chair Yvette Lewis said. The pair defeated President Trump by a margin of 65.4% to 32.2% in the state.

“Their vote today is the first step of many in healing age-old divisions, addressing the hardships ahead, and building our country back better,” Lewis said.

Gloria G. Lawlah, the former Maryland Secretary of Aging and the president of the state’s Electoral College, called the vote a “repudiation of hate.”

“Today we are turning the page,” Lawlah said. “We are ensuring a better nation for our children, for our grandchildren, and a better nation for generations to come.“

While the Electoral College will seal Biden’s victory on Monday, the results could be challenged by Republican members of Congress. The New York Times reported that some of the president’s loyalists in Congress are planning to attempt a last-minute challenge in the House of Representatives, which is controlled by Democrats.

Congress will meet in a joint session on Jan. 6 to tally and confirm the Electoral College’s votes. Although Trump has continued to rail against the election results, he said last month that he would leave the White House if the votes go to Biden.

Both the House and Senate would have to agree to toss out the election results, although constitutional scholars and even congressional Republicans told the Times that such a challenge will almost certainly fail.

By Bennett Leckrone

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Filed Under: Maryland News Tagged With: Biden, election, electoral college, electors, harris, Maryland, Trump

Harris Joins GOP’s High Court Bid Challenging Biden Victory

December 11, 2020 by Spy Desk

Louisiana Rep. Mike Johnson has been joined by 125 Republican colleagues, including First District Congressman Andrew P. Harris, in seeking to join a lawsuit filed by the Texas attorney general challenging the presidential election results in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, filed the suit earlier this week with the U.S. Supreme Court. The four states have asked the case to be dismissed and numerous parties have asked to intervene or file amicus briefs.

Paxton claims election officials in those four states illegally changed voting laws, affecting the outcome of the election.

Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh is among a group of attorney generals who have opposed the case.

“Our country held a free and fair election with record turnout in the midst of a pandemic,” Frosh said in a statement. “Despite multiple losses in courts across the country, the President and his allies continue to peddle false claims of voter fraud. These actions are an abuse of the legal system. It is time to end the misinformation and accept the choice of the people.”

Electors in Maryland and other states are scheduled to meet Dec. 14 to cast their votes in the presidential election.

Rep. Harris’s office did not respond to an email request for comment on his decision to join Rep. Johnson’s motion.

To look at the docket in the case, go to https://www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?filename=/docket/docketfiles/html/public/22o155.html.

 

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Filed Under: 3 Top Story Tagged With: andy harris, Biden, election, supreme court, Trump

Biden Wins Talbot County in Final Unofficial Count; First Dem Victory Here Since 1964

November 14, 2020 by John Griep

Joe Biden has eked out a narrow victory in Talbot County, according to the final unofficial results, becoming the first Democratic presidential candidate to win here since 1964, when Lyndon Johnson took the county during his landslide over Republican Barry Goldwater.

Election officials conducted the final canvassing on Friday, when mail-in ballots could be received until 10 a.m.

Biden has 11,062 votes (49%) to 10,946 (48.5%) for President Donald Trump, the Republican incumbent, as of the final unofficial count.

The shift in results over time mirrors similar trends seen nationwide — Trump supporters voted in person (whether on Election Day or during early voting); the majority of Biden voters opted to vote by mail. Nearly 77% of Talbot’s votes for Trump were in person; about 57% of Biden’s votes were by mail.

In Talbot County, early voting was the most popular choice with more than 10,000 voters casting ballots in the days before Election Day. More than 8,500 county residents cast mail-in ballots, an option urged by the Biden campaign due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Nearly 2,900 voters went to the polls on Election Day.

Biden outperformed Hillary Clinton by about 7 percentage points. Clinton got 42.1% of Talbot’s vote in 2016; Trump had 52.2%.

In 2012 and 2008, Barack Obama had similar margins of defeat in the county as Clinton. He lost Talbot by more than 12 percentage points against Mitt Romney in 2012; by about 10 percentage points against John McCain in 2008.

Republican George W. Bush won Talbot by nearly 20 percentage points against Democrats John Kerry in 2004 and Al Gore in 2000.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Filed Under: 2 News Homepage Tagged With: Biden, democrats, early voting, election, election day, mail-in, republicans, Talbot County, Trump

Senators See New Momentum for Maryland Priorities with Biden in White House

November 10, 2020 by Maryland Matters

Buoyed by Joe Biden’s victory in the race for president, Maryland’s U.S. senators on Monday predicted significant progress on a range of issues important to the state.

Speaking to reporters roughly 48 hours after news organizations called the race for the challenger, Sens. Benjamin L. Cardin (D) and Chris Van Hollen (D) said they were elated by Biden’s win over Donald Trump.

Having spent the last four years battling the White House, Democrats in Congress can now shift gears and look for ways to move the country forward, the senators said.

“You’re going to see immediate changes,” said Van Hollen. “Not just in tone and in bringing the country together, which is so important. But very important actions that will positively impact the people of the state of Maryland.”

Cardin and Van Hollen said they are confident that Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala D. Harris — a former senator and a current one — will bring the Trump era’s divineness and rancor to a close.

“I believe that democracy and decency prevailed,” said Cardin.

The men — who, like the nation as a whole, are forced to wait while the battle for control of the Senate rages on — predicted the Democrats’ victory will pay significant dividends for Maryland.

Federal workforce

Cardin and Van Hollen said Trump was wrong to demonize federal workers, many of whom live in Maryland. They also opposed his recent efforts to expand the number of workers who serve at the pleasure of political appointees.

“Maryland has one of the highest concentrations of federal workers in the nation,” said Cardin. “Clearly we’re going to have a president who will stop beating up on the federal workers and recognize that we have to invest in our federal workforce and respect science.”

“We’ve seen a gross politicization of the federal workforce,” added Van Hollen. “We’ve seen a president who thinks that the Justice Department is his own personal, political plaything. We know that with a President Biden we will see respect for the merit-based federal civil service and that will help restore morale to so many of our agencies.”

The fight against COVID-19

When he was chairman of the National Governors Association, Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) complained that the states were left to fend for themselves on testing, PPE and other issues.

Van Hollen predicted that Biden “will put public health over politics” in the fight against the virus. “We can begin to see the federal government playing a lead role in the COVID response, rather than the Trump administration approach, which has been a dog-eat-dog approach — let every state try to deal with this on its own.”

“It’s going to be night and day,” he added. “We’re going to have a president who respects the science and the scientists, and will put in place a plan that help Maryland.”

The environment and the Bay

President Trump attempted to reduce funding for a key Chesapeake Bay cleanup program, over the objections of leaders from both parties.

Biden will make the environment a priority, Van Hollen and Cardin said.

“Important funding measures — things like the air pollution standards, the California car standards — making sure we deal with methane emissions, all things that are all so very important to protect the Bay, the waters of the U.S.,” will get new life, Van Hollen said. “So we can expect to see dramatic change early on.”

Aid to cities

Trump dumped on “Democrat cities” repeatedly during his four years in office. In Biden, Cardin said, America’s urban areas will again have a partner.

“We’ll have a president who wants to invest in our cities, who really likes cities, and will be much more aggressive in helping cities deal with their problems,” he said. “There’s so many different areas where we can look at funding to help Baltimore. There’s got to be a concerted game plan as to what we’re trying to achieve.”

Van Hollen predicted new investment in the Community Development Block Grants program, the Economic Development Administration and minority business programs at the Department of Commerce, among others.

All of those programs were zeroed-out by the Trump administration,” he said.

New FBI headquarters

When Trump short-circuited the FBI’s years-long effort to move from its crumbling headquarters in Washington, D.C., Democrats accused him of attempting to thwart competition from a potential new Pennsylvania Avenue hotel adjacent to his.

Under Biden, Maryland’s senators predicted, the quest for a more modern and secure FBI headquarters can resume.

“Looking at the next Congress, it’s going to be Team Maryland that’s going to be trying to get that back on track,” Cardin said. “We believe Prince George’s County is where that should be.”

A transition in limbo

The lawmakers said they expect the Biden administration to fight to uphold the Affordable Care Act, take steps to support “Dreamers” and people in the U.S. under the Temporary Protected Status program, promote immigration and gun safety, battle systemic racism and climate change, fund infrastructure resources (particularly for transit projects) and rejoin the Paris Climate Accord and the World Health Organization.

On Monday, Cardin and Van Hollen sent a letter urging General Services Administration Administrator Emily Murphy, who has refused to authorize a Biden presidential transition team, to do so. “We hope you will recognize that every hour between now and Jan. 20, 2021 is critical for the transition team’s preparations for taking on the multiple, pressing challenges our nation faces,” the senators wrote.

Trump has yet to acknowledge Biden’s win and is continuing to contemplate legal challenges in a number of states he lost. Cardin and Van Hollen called his unsubstantiated statements about the election reckless.

“Is it dangerous? The answer is yes,” Cardin said. “What he’s doing is wrong. It’s wrong for our nation. And he should accept the results of this election.”

Van Hollen accused Trump of “spewing out falsehoods.” He said the president’s claims that he won the election are “an outright lie.”

“What President Trump is doing (is) aiding and abetting the enemies of democracy,” he added. “This is very dangerous.”

Like the president, Rep. Andrew P. Harris, the lone Republican in Maryland’s congressional delegation, has made vague claims about voting irregularities. Through a spokesman, he declined an interview request to discuss Biden’s victory.

By Bruce DePuyt and Danielle E. Gaines

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Filed Under: Maryland News Tagged With: Biden, cardin, environment, Maryland, science, Trump, van hollen

In an Anxiety-Ridden Year, U.S. Voter Turnout Rate Highest Since 1900

November 9, 2020 by Capital News Service

More people voted in this year’s election than ever before, some motivated by fear, some by peer influence, some by the wide options available for voting, some by social media and still others by love or hate for President Donald Trump.

As of Thursday, an estimated 159 million people, accounting for 66.4% of the eligible voting population, cast ballots in this election, according to the University of Florida’s United States Elections Project. That exceeds the turnout percentages for the past 120 years, going back to the 1900 race, when 73.2% of the voting eligible population cast ballots, ultimately re-electing President William McKinley over Democratic challenger William Jennings Bryan.

“High turnout is a sign of a healthy democracy,” Michael McDonald, who runs the Elections Project, wrote in USA Today on Wednesday.

He also pointed to a pre-election Gallup Poll in which 77% of registered voters said the 2020 election mattered more to them than previous elections – the highest level since the polling firm started asking that question in 1996. Still, over one-third of voting eligible people did not cast a ballot in this election.

Experts say fear of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and about the economy, strong feelings about Trump, the current social climate and peer influences, among other factors, spawned this historic turnout. And many states still are tabulating ballots.

Following an established pattern since at least 2000, turnout rates were especially high in key swing states. Over 75% of eligible voters cast ballots in Wisconsin, New Hampshire, and Iowa, while over 70% of eligible voters did so in Ohio, Michigan, North Carolina and Florida. Georgia received ballots from just under 70% of eligible voters.

“There’s a couple of things going on there,” said Michael Hanmer, research director of the University of Maryland’s Center for Democracy and Civil Engagement.

“The feeling that something more is at stake could be part of the internal motivator” for individual voters, Hanmer said, in states where, because of the Electoral College system, a vote for Trump wouldn’t have much impact in a state that voted Democratic, and a vote for Biden wouldn’t count for much in a state that voted Republican.

Voters in the battleground states don’t have that concern. Campaigns spend more energy and money in states that could go either way.

“It’s harder in those states to ignore what’s going on. It’s going to be on TV, it’s going to be on radio, it’s more likely to be on their social media, they’re more likely to get a door knock,” Hanmer said.

Non-swing states with especially high turnout rates, estimated by the Elections Project, were Maine, Minnesota, Colorado, Washington and Oregon – all saw three-quarters or more of their eligible voters cast ballots. Maryland ranked fifteenth in voter turnout, with just over 72% of eligible voters, according to the Elections Project estimates.

The availability of mail-in voting and early voting due to the coronavirus pandemic may have contributed to high turnout in some states. In Maryland, about half of the state’s voters mailed in their ballots.

Historically, states that regularly conduct elections by mail, such as Oregon, have greater voter turnout than those states that traditionally do not use the mails for balloting.

In Pennsylvania, where ballots still were being counted, Secretary of State Kathy Bookvar told reporters Thursday that she expected a very high turnout in the battleground state.

“Pennsylvanians have had more choices this year than in the history of the commonwealth,” she said.

Hanmer said that voting law changes to accommodate the pandemic likely generated some turnout, but added that since even many states that did not make these changes, like Texas, saw increased turnout, there were other factors at play as well.

“I really think that the turnout story for this election is more about general interest and mobilization,” Hanmer said.

The pandemic may have been responsible for some of this mobilization: “We’ve had our lives upended and we’re in this environment where our physical social circles have largely shrunk, and we’re really hard pressed to avoid coverage of what’s going on in the news,” Hanmer said.

David Paleologos, director of Suffolk University’s Political Research Center, said usually “what increases voter turnout is the quality of the candidates,” but this year is historic in that high voter turnout seemed to be primarily motivated by fear.

“it’s just ironic to me that Joe Biden … has the ability to get the most votes, ever, ever, and he’s not the person that people are excited about,” Paleologos said.

Memories of Hillary Clinton’s loss in 2016 may also have spurred additional turnout for Biden.

“People didn’t get out to vote because they assumed she was going to win,” Paleologos said, adding that there wasn’t “that element of surprise” this time around.

Hanmer also suspects social media and peer influence contributed to the high turnout.

“A lot of people were engaged this year in contacting other people, and I mean just regular people contacting their friends, not necessarily always part of some wider formal campaign activity,” Hanmer said. “That’s just been increasingly common as a tactic.”

Alexandra Palm, a 24-year-old nanny and pizza deliverer in Spokane, Washington, said she did not want to vote this year, but was shamed into casting a ballot for Biden.

“On social media is where I felt shamed a lot,” Palm said. She said that it wasn’t usually personally directed toward her, but “if I ever brought up that I was not voting, there was never a time when someone would just ever respect that decision, ever.”

Instead, she said people told her she couldn’t complain about election results if she didn’t vote, and that if she didn’t vote for Biden it counted as a vote for Trump. Her father and people on social media told her “you have to vote, you have to vote, you have to vote,” she said.

Ralph Watkins, a volunteer with the League of Women Voters, said “just the tone overall seemed to be far stronger than in many recent elections.”

“Democrats were very passionate about wanting to turn (Trump) out of office, and many Republicans were equally passionate about wanting to keep (Trump) in office,” Watkins said.

Watkins said the pandemic and the resulting economic downturn generated turnout along party lines: those who worried more about the economy tended to vote Republican, while those who worried more about the pandemic tended to vote Democrat.

Additionally, “concerns about racism are really critical, and turnout in African American areas was very high and very democratic,” Watkins said.

Marqus Shaw, 35, of Oklahoma City, voted for Biden — his first time voting. He said it was mainly to vote against Donald Trump.

“(Biden)’s better than Trump to me,” Shaw said. “Trump just says things that you shouldn’t say, he shows no compassion, and he’s a racist.”

In the past, Shaw said, he has felt like his vote wouldn’t matter, but this year he said he “just can’t take Trump anymore.”

Paleologos said turnout driven by fear “doesn’t bode well for the system at large” and may indicate a failure of the party system.

“If we’re going to have two parties, the key is for the party system to enable and support candidates who have broad appeal,” he said. “Right now we don’t have that. Right now the party system thrives on negativity.”

By Gracie Todd and Luciana Perez Uribe

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Filed Under: Maryland News Tagged With: 2020, ballots, Biden, Economy, election, pandemic, Trump, voter turnout

Mail-in Ballot Counts Put Biden Up in Kent County, Narrows Trump’s Lead in Talbot

November 8, 2020 by John Griep

As the nation has seen with the presidential vote count in several battleground swing states, election results may change after Election Day as mail-in ballots are counted by poll workers.

And the final certified results in most states are yet to come.

In Maryland, the first round of counting mail-in ballots was Thursday, Nov. 5. The unofficial results after that count show Kent County flipped from voting Donald Trump in 2016 to Joe Biden in 2020.

That result could change again as provisional ballots are counted Thursday, Nov. 12, and the last batch of mail-in ballots are counted Nov. 13. Mail-in ballots may be received by 10 a.m. that day postmarked by Nov. 3 or dated Nov. 3 with a voter’s oath.

Election results will be verified and certified Nov. 13 and sent to the state elections board.

The statewide certification of results will be Tuesday, Dec. 8, with presidential electors casting votes for president on Monday, Dec. 14.

After Thursday’s initial count of mail-in ballots, Biden is leading in Kent County by 49.4% to 48.2% for Trump. Trump was leading 53% to 45% after ballots were counted on Election Day.

In 2016, Trump won 48.7% of Kent County’s vote to 45.7% for Hillary Clinton.

Biden won about 70% of the mail-in ballot vote in Kent County this year, mirroring trends seen nationwide.

Trump urged his voters to go to the polls on Election Day and has falsely claimed mail-in ballots are fraudulent. The Biden campaign encouraged mail-in ballots so voters could avoid lines on Election Day during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Trump’s numbers also slipped in Talbot County during Thursday’s count, but he still maintains a narrow lead over Biden.

The Republican president was leading Biden 50.5% to 47.3% on Election Day, but, as of Thursday, is only up 49.1% to 48.5%.

Trump’s vote margin dropped from 616 to 116 after the count of mail-in ballots.

In 2016, Trump won Talbot County 52.2% to 42.1% for Clinton.

In Dorchester County, Trump is faring better in 2020 than he did in 2016. He beat Clinton 55.3% to 41% four years ago and leads Biden 58.2% to 39.5%.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Filed Under: 2 News Homepage Tagged With: Biden, election, Kent County, mail-in ballots, provisional, results, Talbot County, Trump

Biden Elected 46th President of the United States

November 7, 2020 by Capital News Service

After more than three days of uncertainty in a closely-contested race, former Vice President Joe Biden has defeated President Donald Trump to become the 46th president of the United States.

California Sen. Kamala Harris also made history, as she will become the first woman — and first woman of color — to hold the vice-presidency. She is of Jamaican and Indian descent.

“America, I’m honored that you have chosen me to lead our great country,” Biden tweeted just before noon Saturday. “The work ahead of us will be hard, but I promise you this: I will be a president for all Americans – whether you voted for me or not. I will keep the faith that you have placed in me.”

After four days of waiting, news organizations declared Biden the winner late Saturday morning after new returns from his native state of Pennsylvania made it clear he would take the battleground and its 20 Electoral College votes, giving him 3 votes more than needed to make him president.

The president-elect, who turns 78 on Nov. 20, began his political career with narrow victories in Delaware and election to the United States Senate in 1972 weeks before he turned 30. He twice previously ran unsuccessfully for the presidency – in 1988 (ended after just three and a half months in 1987) and again in 2008. He will finally make it to the White House with another close win.

He amassed more votes than any other presidential candidate in American history, breaking the record that President Barack Obama set in 2008.

Harris’s ascension to the vice presidency will be “really wonderful for the United States,” said William Spriggs, an economics professor at the Californian’s alma mater, Howard University, an historically black institution in Washington.

“I think this will start a legacy that Americans will finally get used to the idea of women in leadership, and accept her role as setting the mark and paving a path for other women to ascend to top leadership,” Spriggs told Capital News Service.

Harris, 56, is a challenger-turned-ally of Biden. A rising progressive star, she attacked him during the primary for his opposition to busing to desegregate schools. She also set herself apart from the political veteran by embracing the Green New Deal and Medicare-for-All, as well as calling for a ban on fracking.

Harris is expected to bring a more progressive perspective to the moderate president-elect’s agenda.

With the coronavirus pandemic raging across the nation, it appears unlikely that Biden and Harris would celebrate the start of their administration in the traditional manner that would call for an oath-taking ceremony Jan. 20 on the West Front of the United States Capitol, witnessed by massive crowds stretching for blocks on the National Mall.

The inauguration plans are to come, but Biden and Harris already have activated a website for the transition and are assembling a transition team. As a symbol of the coming change in power, the United States Secret Service earlier in the week dispatched additional agents to the Biden home in Wilmington, Delaware, and the Federal Aviation Administration designed the skies above that home as restricted airspace.

Despite the pandemic — or many experts believe because of the various voting methods it made necessary — the total turnout for this election is expected to break a 120-year-old record.

Michael Hanmer, research director for the University of Maryland’s Center for Democracy and Civil Engagement, said “motivational factors (to vote) were just more present” in this election, though voting law changes to accommodate the pandemic also played a part.

The small margin of victory, combined with the overwhelming use of mail-in ballots, appeared to infuriate the president, as he continued to falsely claim that he was cheated out of reelection. Some of his Republican allies made similar unfounded attacks, while others in the GOP – mainly those out of office – denounced Trump’s accusations as dangerous and irresponsible.

Trump had repeatedly questioned the legality of mail-in ballots and discouraged his supporters from voting by mail. As a result, mail-in ballots in many states with little history of using that voting method leaned very heavily to Biden.

Many states counted mail-in ballots after tabulating Election Day ballots cast in-person, initially generating the appearance of a Republican surge in some of the battleground states. But the counting of the mail-in ballots – a slow process – began producing a Democratic counter-wave that materialized as early as Wednesday.

Multiple networks — including ABC, NBC, MSNBC, and CBS — cut away almost at the start of a Trump speech in the White House Thursday night when the president leveled baseless and false claims about the vote counts.

“If you count the legal votes, I easily win. If you count the illegal votes, they can try to steal the election from us,” Trump claimed.

No credible evidence of fraud has been produced, according to the Associated Press.

The president’s claims of cheating were “especially disconcerting because the dangers of Trump’s rhetoric will outlive his time in the office,” Peter Ubertaccio, dean of arts and sciences at Stonehill College in Massachusetts, told CNS.

Millions of people believe Trump’s accusations of voter fraud despite no neutral observers stepping in to raise concerns about legitimacy, he said. This will, in turn, lead many citizens to believe that this election was stolen from Trump, Ubertaccio added.

“On the list of dangerous things Donald Trump has done, this ranks pretty highly — he has basically called American elections illegitimate because they didn’t go his way,” Ubertaccio said.

While counting of votes continued, the Trump campaign filed lawsuits to stop the counts in Michigan, Georgia — where federal judges rejected them — and Pennsylvania.

Caleb Jackson, a voting rights attorney at the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center, called the lawsuits “absolutely frivolous and meritless” that “will not get them anywhere and not have an impact on the election.”

In states where mail-in ballots seemed to be benefitting Trump a bit more, such as Arizona, the president and his allies urged election officials to count every vote.

“Of course it’s contradictory,” Jackson said. “There’s nothing legally that bars them from making those arguments, but, you know, professionally and ethically…it goes against what you swear to do as an attorney.”

In states such as Pennsylvania and Georgia, automatic recounts will be generated if the margins are 0.5% or less. But recounts also can be requested by Trump’s team and were expected.

Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, has announced Friday that there will be a recount in his state.

But Biden’s victory, especially given the closeness of this race, does not indicate that it would necessarily open the way for significant policy changes, Ubertaccio said.

“We are a 50/50 country, and partisans on both sides have an active dislike of the folks on the other side,” said Ubertaccio. “Even landslide victories don’t by themselves indicate long-term changes to American politics.”

If Republicans retain control of the Senate, which is not yet clear, Biden would have a hard time getting legislation to pass without the acquiescence of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky.

While it was Biden who often negotiated with McConnell during the Obama years over budget deals and other legislation – both drawing on their long relationship with each other – the new president would be dealing with very different political dynamics after a hard-fought, divisive election.

With Senate races waiting to be called, the current makeup is even with 48 members projected to be on each side of the aisle, and two runoff elections in Georgia in January present the Democrats with an opportunity to take control of the chamber.

Even so, it was the stark contrast between Biden’s progressive agenda and Trump administration policies that “helped drive turnout,” Hanmer said.

“Most people had a pretty good understanding of what they would get with Donald Trump if he were to win, and what they would get from Joe Biden if he were to win,” he added.

By Kaanita Iyer, Jacob Rousseau, Gracie Todd, Luciana Perez-Uribe, Aneurin Canham-Clyne, and Michelle Siegel

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Filed Under: 2 News Homepage Tagged With: ballots, Biden, election, president, Trump, vote

Hogan Sees Silver Linings in National Election Results

November 5, 2020 by Maryland Matters

Even as former vice president Joe Biden inches closer to victory in the cliffhanger presidential contest, Maryland Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) ― who wrote in Ronald Reagan on his presidential ballot ― sees silver linings in this week’s election results.

“There’s no question it was a pretty good night for Republican candidates up and down the ballot,” Hogan said during a webinar Wednesday with Washington Post national political reporter Robert Costa.

Symbolically sporting a purple tie, Hogan declined to say whether he thought a potential Trump defeat would be good for the Republican Party. But he did note that “common sense conservatives” ― most of them unaffiliated with Trump ― outperformed the president just about everywhere on Tuesday.

Hogan endorsed six Republicans this fall ― Vermont Gov. Phil Scott, Maine Sen. Susan Collins, three members of the House of Representatives, and a House challenger ― and all but one, the challenger, New Jersey state Sen. Tom Kean Jr., prevailed.

All are center-right Republicans who, like Hogan, appeal to women, minorities and suburban voters far more than Trump. Hogan pointed out that he has outperformed Trump by “45 points” in Maryland ― a reference to the president’s 30-point deficit to Biden in the Free State, along with Hogan’s 13-point re-election victory in 2018.

Hogan has been the rare Republican officeholder willing (and sometimes even eager) to criticize Trump. Hogan frequently rails against ideological extremists in both political parties, and suggests voters are sick of Washington, D.C., insiders and believe political leaders ought to emphasize compromise over confrontation.

Responding to a question by Costa, Hogan was sharply critical of Trump’s televised address to the nation at 2:30 a.m. Wednesday, in which he declared victory in the White House contest but suggested that fraudsters were trying to take it away.

“I thought it was outrageous and uncalled for and a terrible mistake,” Hogan said.

He added that every ballot needs to be counted and that Americans need to be patient before drawing conclusions about the election results.

Asked what he would say to a President-Elect Biden if they had a brief conversation about the COVID-19 pandemic, Hogan said he would counsel Biden to resist pressure from the progressive wing of his party during policy debates. Pressed about specific advice on addressing COVID-19, Hogan said he would urge Biden to work with Congress on a deal on relief funding as quickly as possible and would urge him to expedite development of a coronavirus vaccine.

“I’m afraid we’ve still got many months ahead in this tremendous struggle, both on the public health side and the economic side,” he said.

Asked whether he had any interest in running for president in 2024, Hogan demurred, saying it was premature to talk about 2024 when the 2020 election hasn’t been resolved yet ― and that he wanted to “stayed focused on the day job.”

But pressed by Costa, Hogan asserted that win or lose, Trump would continue to wield enormous influence over the GOP, but that other voices and points of view should be welcomed into the conversation about the future of the party.

Hogan predicted that while there will be 15 Republican candidates for president in 2024 “who want to become the next Donald Trump,” there would be a far smaller “common sense lane” whose candidates would appeal to many voters.

“I think looking to a common sense governor is not such a far-fetched idea,” he said.

By Josh Kurtz

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Filed Under: Maryland News Tagged With: Biden, common sense, compromise, Covid-19, election, Hogan, president, Trump

Letter to Editor: Why Don’t We Work Together to Solve the Problems Created by the Coronavirus?

March 19, 2020 by Letter to Editor

I was stunned when I read the article by Mr. Parks in the Talbot Spy yesterday.  Mr Parks said that he, and apparently others, are not self-quarantining, since he used the phrase “we’re not self-quarantining.”  He then went on to criticize President Trump’s handling of coronavirus in many ways, including questioning President Trump’s leadership qualities, none of which complaints were valid and none of which helped stop the spread of the virus in the slightest respect.

I ask you, Mr Parks, why  are you not self-quarantining?  You should be! All Americans should be!

We’re all in this together!  Rather than criticizing the President, let’s try following his advice so that we, as Americans, not as Democrats or Republicans, or as Trump-Lovers or Trump Haters, but as Americans, can defeat the coronavirus!

President Trump has requested legislation to make whole those workers who are losing their jobs due to virus related closings, and to make whole businesses who are losing money or being forced to close due to the virus.

Why don’t we make certain that every penny of our tax dollars in the final version of such legislation actually goes towards victims of coronavirus, and not to the various state and local “pet pork” projects of Congressmen, Congresswomen or Senators.  If any dollar does not go towards those coronavirus goals lets hold those who are responsible for such accountable by voting them out of office in November.

Let’s work together as Americans to solve this problem and not constantly criticize the President for his efforts without offering any alternative workable solutions.  The biggest complaint that we hear is “why have more people not been tested?”  How can you test 320 million Americans with an invasive testing procedure that requires a hazmat suit to ensure that the tester is not infected?  We don’t have 320 million tests or 320 million hazmat suits in the US, or even in the World.  Let’s all listen to our President’s advice and put forth our best efforts to self-quarantine, and let’s defeat this as proud Americans, the same way that we have overcome numerous obstacles in the past!

Mike Huffstetler
Talbot County

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Filed Under: 8 Letters to Editor Tagged With: Trump

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