(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Morning Digest: How Democrats have already benefited from Republican disarray in the Ohio House [1] ['Daily Kos Staff', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-01-31 However, Cleveland.com's Jeremy Pelzer writes that only the speaker and his pick, state Rep. Jeff LaRe, have official corporate debit cards that allow them to spend the OHRA's money, and Stephens plans to use some of it on a caucus retreat. (Why anyone would want to attend what will likely be a horribly awkward event remains unanswered.) Stephens' side insists he has this power because the speaker has traditionally also been the leader of the majority caucus, and Republicans enjoy a 67-32 edge. Merrin and his choice to head the OHRA, state Rep. Phil Plummer, unsurprisingly see things very differently. Merrin, who has accused Stephens' side of "ramp[ing] up their efforts" to win the speakership when they learned their rival was busy caring for his dying father, has retained the loyalty of a majority of the GOP's members, and they elected him caucus chair on Tuesday. Stephens and the 21 Republicans who backed him for speaker, all of whom were censured by the state party's central committee weeks ago, were invited to attend this gathering but didn't show. Plummer cited Ohio law that says, "Each legislative campaign fund shall be administered and controlled in a manner designated by the caucus," arguing, "(Stephens) needs to read the law and follow it." He added, "If he wants a court battle over this, he will get one." Legal experts also tell the Associated Press that there's no law to "expressly require the speaker and caucus leader to be the same individual." The OHRA's website hasn't picked a side, though, as it's had a blank page under "members" since at least Friday; its donation section, however, seems to be working just fine. The GOP factionalism is also continuing to play out on the House floor. The chamber voted 63-35 last week to approve the rules package Stephens wanted despite intense opposition from Merrin's forces: Stephens' side got the support of all the Democrats and 31 Republicans, including eight who'd opposed him for speaker, while 35 Republicans stuck with Merrin. Among other things, the rules give Democrats more representation on committees and let Minority Leader Allison Russo choose members for special committees: They also empower the speaker and minority leader to fill vacant seats held by their respective parties (there are no special legislative elections in Ohio), a duty previously held by the caucuses. Merrin's people, by contrast, unsuccessfully pushed proposals to limit the speaker's power, let members bring guns onto the floor, and start the day with a "Christian prayer." What all of this chaos may not do, though, is stop Ohio Republicans from passing a new congressional gerrymander for 2024 especially now that, unlike last year, they have a friendly state Supreme Court to rubber stamp whatever they agree to. Though the state court ordered the legislature to adopt a new map within 30 days after striking down the second set of lines last summer, Republican lawmakers appear to have taken no steps to do so. Instead, Republicans filed an appeal months later with the U.S. Supreme Court, which has yet to decide whether or not to hear the case. Should lawmakers eventually be compelled to draw a new map or decide to do so on their own, it's possible that the two House GOP factions will reach an agreement with each other, the state Senate's Republican supermajority, and Gov. Mike DeWine. If they don't during the allotted time, the new maps would be drawn up by a seven-member commission consisting of DeWine, Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose, GOP state Auditor Keith Faber, and one appointee each by the four legislative majority and minority party leaders. Bolts Magazine's Daniel Nichanian notes that, even if Stephens' choice doesn't go along with the rest of the party, the GOP would still have enough members to pass their preferred boundaries. At least one fair redistricting advocate told Nichanian she was "guardedly optimistic" Stephens could at least make the process more transparent, but there was little hope that he'd dramatically change things. "It really is the ultimate political Groundhog Day," political scientist David Niven said to the Ohio Capital Journal, "without the redeeming learning that Bill Murray had." Senate ● AZ-Sen: Rep. Ruben Gallego on Friday publicized an endorsement from former Sen. Dennis DeConcini, whose 1988 re-election victory marked the last time that Arizona Democrats won a Senate seat until Kyrsten Sinema won this same seat in 2018. Gallego's announcement notes that, because Sinema bolted the party in December to become an independent, DeConcini is "the last Democrat to serve a full term in the seat." ● MI-Sen: Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens said Monday she'd decided to pass on a Senate run. Governors ● LA-Gov: Rep. Garret Graves tells the Louisiana Illuminator that he's still considering joining this year's all-party primary for governor even though House Speaker Kevin McCarthy last week named him to a GOP leadership position. "No! No," Graves said when asked if this appointment ensured he'd stay in D.C., adding, "That wasn't my release. That was theirs." House ● AZ-03: State Senate Minority Leader Raquel Terán, who just finished her stint as chair of the state Democratic Party, tweeted Friday that she was considering running to succeed Senate candidate Ruben Gallego in this safely blue seat. ● CA-30: State Sen. Anthony Portantino announced Monday that he was joining what's already a busy top-two primary to succeed his fellow Democrat, Senate candidate Adam Schiff, a declaration that came a day after former Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer set up his own campaign committee with the FEC. Portantino, who was first elected to the Assembly in 2006, launched a campaign for Congress back in 2011 against Republican incumbent David Dreier, but neither man ended up running for office the next year after redistricting completely scrambled the map. Portantino, who still has $180,000 on-hand from that effort, went on to win a state Senate seat in 2016 that's home to about half the residents of the 30th Congressional District. ● NY-22: Manlius Town Councilor Katelyn Kriesel, a Democrat who serves on the local government of this community of 34,000, has filed paperwork with the FEC for a potential bid against freshman Republican Rep. Brandon Williams. Williams won this constituency in the Syracuse area by a 50-49 margin two years after Biden prevailed 53-45 here. Mayors and County Leaders ● Jacksonville, FL Mayor: Both leading Republican candidates are tying the other to the aborted 2019 attempt to privatize the municipal utility JEA, which later led to federal indictments against two former executives who allegedly schemed to enrich themselves. Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce CEO Daniel Davis’ PAC is taking to the airwaves ahead of the March 17 nonpartisan primary to attack City Councilwoman LeAnna Gutierrez Cumber for previously failing to disclose that her husband advised a firm that was bidding to manage the utility. The offensive comes weeks after Cumber’s side ran a spot declaring, “As CEO of the Chamber of Commerce, Davis took over $300,000 from JEA to promote privatization.” That ad went on to play audio of Davis saying, "I think more privatization should take place in the city of Jacksonville,” though The Florida Times-Union says that he wasn’t talking about JEA. Each contender says they oppose selling JEA. Grab Bag ● Radio: Daily Kos elections editor Jeff Singer appeared on Kudzu Vine on Sunday to discuss two Louisiana topics close to his heart: this year’s race to succeed Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards, and the time he received completely unsolicited dating advice from none other than the late Adam West at the 2011 New Orleans ComicCon. Singer also talked about 2024’s Senate races in Arizona and California, whether Florida will be a key state in 2024, how Michigan is politically becoming something of an anti-Florida, and much more. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/1/31/2150184/-Morning-Digest-How-Democrats-have-already-benefited-from-Republican-disarray-in-the-Ohio-House Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/