Reuters: Twitter Inc CEO Elon Musk said in an email to Reuters on Friday that hiring law firm Perkins Coie to defend the company in a California federal lawsuit this week was a mistake it would not make again. Reuters … Continue reading

The Christian Science Monitor has a deep dive look into Alaska’s politics, including a balanced set of interviews about how the adoption of the Top-4 primary, with RCV in the general election, has shaped those politics.

This WSJ piece has a lot of good detail elaborating on a point I make in my recent NYT essay, which is the way small-dollar donations have enabled the rise of free-agent politicians. This also highlights concerns I’ve raised before… Continue reading

Politico: A handful of Republicans who remained in the Jan. 6 committee’s sights throughout its investigation are now leading the effort to deny Kevin McCarthy the speakership — using their power to bring the House to a standstill. During its… Continue reading

Letter.

SF Chronicle: A week after Alameda County announced that a computer error had incorrectly decided a local school board race, officials still had not explained how they plan to address the voting snafu or whether they intend to swear in… Continue reading

NY State of Politics reports.

Marketwatch reports.

Adam Smith: Interesting that an independent super PAC that isn’t supposed to coordinate with members of Congress comes to an agreement to benefit a specific member of Congress. https://t.co/Pb4m8NBxse— Adam Smith (@asmith83) January 5, 2023

The Republican Party’s struggle over choosing a Speaker reflects large structural changes in American democracy, as well as democracies more generally. For my perspective on that, see my (RP) latest NYT essay. An excerpt: This Washington drama reflects larger… Continue reading

NYT: Pennsylvania’s incoming Democratic governor, Josh Shapiro, will nominate a Philadelphia Republican who resisted Donald J. Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results to serve as the state’s chief election official, Mr. Shapiro said Thursday. For Mr. Shapiro,… Continue reading

Charles Stewart has posted this draft on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Although the hardest dividing line between those who accept the election of Joe Biden as legitimate is partisan, there is still variation within the Republican Party between those… Continue reading

CNBC: A nonprofit financed by billionaire George Soros quietly donated $140 million to advocacy organizations and ballot initiatives in 2021, plus another $60 million to like-minded charities. Soros, who personally donated $170 million during the 2022 midterms to Democratic… Continue reading

WaPo: All but two of the 20 Republican House members who voted against Kevin McCarthy for speaker in Tuesday’s third ballot round are election deniers who embraced former president Donald Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was rigged. Of… Continue reading