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Kelly, Tillis Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Increase Access to Plasma-Based Medicines
Incoming Durham superintendent familiar with state’s political makeup
Incoming Durham Public Schools Superintendent Anthony Lewis will begin his new role next month, bringing with him 22 years of education experience.
He’s leaving Kansas, where he served as superintendent of Lawrence Public Schools for the past six years. Lewis sees many political parallels as he prepares for his new post.
Similar to Durham, Lawrence was a “blue dot in a red state,” Lewis said. Kansas has conservative supermajorities in its House and Senate, along with a Democratic governor, mirroring North Carolina.
Lewis said he has seen the positive strides put forward by diversity, equity and inclusion offices, especially in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd, that are now being dismantled in Kansas. He is aware of the recent UNC System decision to eliminate positions related to diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.
Lewis has been praised for his work within the Kansas African American Affairs Commission and the Commission on Racial Equity and Justice, but he acknowledged the progress from those efforts was “minimal.”
“It’s unfortunate that some of the work that we know needs to be done is so politicized,” Lewis said, crediting the efforts of Gov. Laura Kelly in Kansas but citing the reluctance of conservative supermajorities in the Legislature to act on issues important to the African American community.
Lewis said he looks forward to building relationships with North Carolina legislators and inviting them to visit Durham schools to get a firsthand look at policies impacting the education system, both positive and negative.
“Schools can’t do this work alone,” Lewis said, adding he wants to educate others while recognizing that he will need some education as well.
“We never want any student in their classroom to feel less than or that they caused harm,” he said. “It’s important for us to really understand, teach accurate history, so that we won’t repeat it.”
Lewis, who looks forward to being much closer to his family in Alabama, will begin his position as Durham superintendent Aug. 12.
“That’s the work I’ve been doing pretty much my entire educational career and that’s why I do believe Durham Public Schools is a great fit for my experiences,” Lewis said, adding that questions regarding racial equity were at “every step” of his hiring process. “I just want to come in and continue and even excel at some of the work that is already taking place there.”
For questions or comments, or to pass along story ideas, please write to Matthew Sasser at [email protected] or contact the NC Insider at [email protected] or @StateAffairsNC
In Indianapolis, Harris says she’s fighting for America’s future
Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, told a gathering of women of color in Indianapolis on Wednesday that she is fighting for America’s future.
She contrasted her vision with another — one she said is “focused on the past.”
“Across our nation, we are witnessing a full-on assault on hard-fought, hard-won freedoms and rights — the freedom to vote, the freedom to be safe from gun violence, the freedom to live without fear of bigotry and hate, the freedom to love who you love openly and with pride, the freedom to learn and acknowledge our true and full history and the freedom of a woman to make decisions about her own body,” she said.
Harris delivered her Wednesday remarks during Zeta Phi Beta Sorority’s 2024 Grand Boulé, a six-day conference held at the Indianapolis Convention Center. The event was closed to the public.
Her approximately 15-minute speech received a standing ovation from thousands of women of color. Founded in 1920 on Howard University’s campus, the sorority is one of nine historically Black Greek-letter organizations that make up the National Pan-Hellenic Council, colloquially known as the Divine Nine.
During her speech, Harris touted familiar policy talking points, highlighting the Biden administration’s forgiveness of student debt, cap on insulin prices for seniors and expansion of the child tax credit. She also thanked President Joe Biden for his service to the country.
Harris received Biden’s endorsement after he announced Sunday his decision to exit the race. By Monday, Harris had reportedly earned the support of enough delegates to secure her party’s nomination.
Other prominent Democrats have endorsed Harris in recent days, including U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries endorsed Harris during a Tuesday news conference.
A funding windfall has accompanied Harris’ momentum. Her presidential campaign announced it had raised $81 million within 24 hours of Biden’s decision to exit the race.
Harris held her first rally Tuesday in Wisconsin, a battleground state. There, she said she aimed to unite her party, which for weeks had encouraged Biden to drop out of the race. A former prosecutor in California, she also quipped she knows former President Donald Trump’s “type.”
On Wednesday, Harris attacked the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, a proposed transition plan for if Trump wins the presidential election. Trump said in a social media post earlier this month that he knows nothing about Project 2025.
“Can you believe they put that in writing?” Harris asked the crowd.
She claimed Project 2025 was “a plan to return America to a dark past.” She called the crafters of the plan “extremists” and said, “We are not going back.”
If Harris wins her party’s nomination next month, she will take on Trump in the November presidential election.
According to the Indiana Democratic Party, Wednesday marked Harris’ third stop in Indianapolis since 2019. And though her speech excited the Zeta Phi Beta crowd, Harris faces a difficult path to winning the solidly red Hoosier state, where a Democrat hasn’t won a statewide election since 2012.
The Indiana GOP criticized Harris in a Wednesday news release, saying the next four years would be “more radical” than the last if she were elected president.
“Joe Biden tasked Kamala Harris to be our border czar, and it’s been an unmitigated disaster, as every day thousands of illegal immigrants are following through our southern border with an end goal of either taking Hoosier jobs or bringing drugs to our state, and it needs to stop,” U.S. Sen. Mike Braun, the Republican nominee for governor, said in the release.
Contact Jarred Meeks on X @jarredsmeeks or email him at [email protected].
Indiana Black Legislative Caucus endorses Harris, pledges future support
The Indiana Black Legislative Caucus unanimously voted Wednesday to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential run and will look at ways to assist her candidacy, the caucus chair, state Rep. Earl Harris Jr., D-East Chicago, told State Affairs.
The caucus is made up of 14 members of the Indiana General Assembly, all of whom are Democrats.
The vote came as Vice President Harris was speaking to members of the historically Black Zeta Phi Beta sorority at the Indiana Convention Center on Wednesday. The stop was one of her first since she entered the race following President Joe Biden’s decision to end his reelection bid on Sunday.
Continue reading “Indiana Black Legislative Caucus endorses Harris, pledges future support”Trump-Vance ticket officially on Kansas ballot
Former President Donald Trump and his recently selected running mate JD Vance are officially on the ballot in Kansas.
Secretary of State Scott Schwab announced Wednesday that his office received the official certificate of nomination for the Republican presidential and vice presidential candidates.
Trump won 75% of the vote in Kansas’ March 19 presidential preference primary, giving him each of the state’s 39 delegates en route to earning the Republican Party’s nomination.
At the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Trump picked Sen. Vance, R-Ohio, to join him on the ticket.
Trump and Vance join Libertarian presidential candidate Chase Oliver and running mate Mike ter Maat. The Libertarian Party ticket filed for the ballot earlier this month.
As for the Democratic Party, Schwab said the Democratic National Committee will submit its nominee to the Secretary of State’s Office after the party’s convention, scheduled for Aug. 19-22 in Chicago.
President Joe Biden dropped out of the race on Sunday afternoon and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, who quickly secured the support of enough Democratic delegates to put her in position to win the party’s nomination on the first ballot. She hasn’t yet announced a running mate.
Kansas’ Democratic delegation voted Monday night to back Harris. Earlier that day, state Democrats including Gov. Laura Kelly threw their support behind the former attorney general and senator from California.
There’s no official deadline for major parties to certify their nominees in Kansas, so Biden’s decision shouldn’t pose any legal hurdles for the Democratic Party. Schwab said parties must submit their presidential electors by Sept. 1, and ballots for military and overseas voters must be sent 45 days ahead of the general election.
Brett Stover is a Statehouse reporter at State Affairs Pro Kansas/Hawver’s Capitol Report. Reach him at [email protected] or on X @BrettStoverKS.
3 county judges picked as finalists for Court of Appeals spot
Three county judges have been picked as the finalists to fill an upcoming vacancy on the Indiana Court of Appeals.
That list, approved by Indiana Judicial Nominating Commission this week, did not include former Allen County Judge Wendy Davis, who applied for the appeals court spot just weeks after losing her race for the Republican nomination for the 3rd Congressional District seat.
The commission interviewed eight applicants for the vacancy coming when Judge Patricia Riley retires Aug. 30 after serving 30 years on the Court of Appeals.
The finalists selected were:
- Porter County Circuit Court Judge Mary DeBoer, who has been a judge since 2020. She was previously a magistrate for courts in Porter and Starke counties and a deputy prosecutor in those counties.
- Lake County Superior Court Judge Stephen Scheele, who has been a judge since 2019. He was previously a magistrate for Lake County courts, an attorney in private practice and a deputy public defender.
- St. Joseph County Superior Court Judge Stephanie Steele, who has been a judge since 2021. She was previously corporation counsel for the City of South Bend and a deputy county prosecutor.
Once Gov. Eric Holcomb is formally notified of the finalists, he will have 60 days to make the judicial appointment.
This will be the sixth appointment Holcomb has made to the 15-member Court of Appeals. The applicants had to be residents of Indiana’s third appellate district, which covers roughly the northern third of the state.
Davis drew some attention by applying for the appeals court position weeks after finishing third in the crowded May 7 Republican primary field for the 3rd Congressional District seat now held by Rep. Jim Banks.
Davis had been an Allen County judge since 2010 before resigning last year for her congressional run.
Late in the campaign, Davis struck back against a Club for Growth television ad that labeled her a “liberal judge” with audio that she called fabricated.
“It’s laughable to call me a ‘liberal judge’ — I forfeited my position on the bench to run for office because I was too conservative to maintain the neutrality the job requires,” Davis said in a campaign news release.
Tom Davies is a Statehouse reporter for State Affairs Pro Indiana. Reach him at [email protected] or on X at @TomDaviesIND.
Tennessee early voter turnout plummets nearly 44% from 2020
At this point in the state’s 2020 primary, 345,000 Tennesseans had voted early in races ranging from a smattering of local office contests, state House and Senate contests all the way up to a knock-down, drag-out battle between Republican U.S. Senate rivals Bill Hagerty and Manny Sethi.
But in the first nine days of 2024 early voting, just 193,655 summoned the energy to head to the polls in Tennessee’s 95 counties. That represents a 44% drop from four years earlier. Ten counties in rural areas saw increases. However, everyone else saw decreases.
Turnout among Republicans has been down 39% compared with four years ago, while Democratic participation has cratered by 54%.
Only 10 counties have posted increases in Republican turnout compared with 2020: Lincoln (+46%), Gibson (+41%), Campbell (+38%), Madison (+21%), Beldsoe (+20%), Lauderdale (+20%), Sumner (+20%), Clay (+13%), and Dyer (+11%)
Of those, Madison County features a spirited Republican primary campaign between Rep. Chris Todd and challenger Jimmy Harris, a former county mayor.
Sumner County is the site of a high-dollar GOP primary between incumbent Sen. Ferrell Haile and “Constitutional Conservative” Chris Spencer.
Dyer is one of three counties that make up House District 77, where Rep. Rusty Grills is trying to fend off a primary challenge from County Commissioner Bubba Cobb. The others are Lake, where turnout is down 21%, and part of Obion where 41% fewer GOP voters have turned out so far.
The biggest downturns in Republican primary voting have occurred in Henderson (-80%), Hardin (-80%), Smith (-79%), Robertson (-76%), Putnam (-74%), Perry (-73), McMinn (-72%) and Franklin (-71%) counties.
GOP voting in Williamson County is down 15%. Parts of the county are home to both a spirited open race for state House District 65 and an expensive primary challenge to U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles by Nashville Metro Councilwoman Courtney Johnston.
The other counties that make up the 5th Congressional District are parts of Davidson (-43%) and Wilson (-45%), and all of Marshall (-41%), Maury (-24%) and Lewis (-29%).
Another big state Senate primary is the challenge of pharmacist Bobby Harshbarger, the son of U.S. Rep. Diana Harshbarger, of incumbent Jon Lundberg in District 4, which is composed of Sullivan (-5%) and Hawkins (-25%) counties.
State Sen. Frank Niceley in Senate District 8 faces an aggressive Republican challenge by Jessie Seal, who is being helped with independent expenditures from the Club for Growth’s School Freedom Fund. The county is comprised of all of Claiborne (-21%), Grainger (-45%), Hancock (-12%), Jefferson (-32%) and Union (-48%) counties plus part of Sevier County (-37%).
On the Democratic side, only Hardeman County has posted an increase in early voting as 15 more people, or 2%, went to the polls compared with 2020. The biggest falloffs were in Smith (-85%), Monroe (-84%), Union (-84%), Trousdale (-81%), Lawrence (-81%), Hardin (-79%), Crockett (-76%), Henderson (-75%), and Robertson (-74).
The three remaining counties that reliably vote Democratic in statewide elections include the state’s two most populous ones, Shelby (-55%) and Davidson (-61%), along with Haywood (-57%).
Democratic voting Knox County, the home of U.S. Senate hopeful Gloria Johnson, was down 32%. Incumbent Republican Marsha Blackburn of Brentwood faces token opposition from Tres Wittum, a former state Senate staffer.
Early voting ends on Saturday. The primary is on Aug. 1.