Mega Millions has generated over $17M in HOPE, pre-K funding since June

Posted on by Tammy Joyner

By now you’re acutely aware you’re not holding the winning ticket to this week’s $810 million Mega Millions Jackpot. That honor goes to a Texan who matched all six numbers.

Take solace, though, knowing your weekly spending on lottery tickets in Georgia helps preschoolers get an early educational start and pays students’ way through college via the HOPE Scholarship. 

While the jackpot grew from June through Tuesday, Mega Millions generated $17.42 million for HOPE and Georgia’s pre-K programs, according to the Georgia Lottery Corp. The jackpot also paid out nearly $4.5 million in prizes to lottery players. 

The winner of this week’s jackpot is looking at a cash option of $409.3 million. Those Texans sure are lucky. Tuesday’s win is the 15th Mega Millions jackpot won in Texas since the Lone Star State joined the game in December 2003. 

Tuesday’s jackpot is the largest Mega Millions ever won in September and the seventh largest jackpot in the game’s history. The drawing also produced 2.1 million other winning tickets nationwide. 

Just so you know, Georgians are among the nation’s most lottery-obsessed folks, according to Lottery Geeks study. Peach State residents are the seventh biggest lottery spenders, having bought nearly $5.7 billion worth of lottery tickets in 2023. With nearly 11 million residents in the state, that comes to about $520 per person annually.

The study used data from the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries’ 2023 Lottery Sales Report. Rhode Island, with a population of 1.1 million, spent the most on lottery tickets, with residents shelling out an average of $939 per person last year. Rhode Islanders also made the most money in lottery prizes, winning an average of $397 each.

All Georgia Lottery profits pay for specific educational programs. Since 1993, the Georgia Lottery Corp. has returned over $28.3 billion to the state for education. More than 2.1 million students have received HOPE Scholarships and over 2.2 million 4-year-olds have attended the statewide, voluntary pre-K program.

To all the lottery loyalists out there: Another Mega Millions drawing, with an estimated $20 million jackpot, will happen Friday.

Have questions, comments or tips? Contact Tammy Joyner on X @lvjoyner or at [email protected].

Georgia has $2B in lottery reserves, but pre-K child care is in crisis
HOPE Scholarship vs. Zell Miller Scholarship: Key differences

Council of State debates set for September and October

Posted on by Matthew Sasser

A series of debates between Council of State candidates will take place over the next two months leading up to the election. 

While voters may head to the polls with the presidential ticket at the top of their minds, these statewide races can carry just as much impact, according to Brad Young, executive director of the Institute of Political Leadership. 

“These are still very important jobs that have an impact on the lives of a lot of North Carolinians,” Young said. “[It’s] very important for people to know who these candidates are and what the jobs do and give the candidates an opportunity to outline their vision for the office.”

The 2024 Hometown Debate Series will be hosted by the statewide cable network Spectrum News 1 and the NC Institute of Political Leadership. This is the ninth year the institute will put on the event. The last time the series featured Council of State races in 2020, an in-person audience wasn’t allowed because of COVID-19. 

Young worked on two previous Council of State campaigns. He said voters often expressed they didn’t know they could vote in some races, such as state treasurer or labor commissioner.

“We want people to know who these candidates are but also to keep going down the ticket and not necessarily just vote for president and call it a day,” Young said. 

The debate slate is as follows: 

  • Sept. 24, the state superintendent of public instruction debate at East Carolina University in Greenville will feature Democratic nominee Mo Green and Republican nominee Michele Morrow.
  • Oct. 1, the labor commissioner debate at Johnston County Community College will feature Democratic nominee Braxton Winston and Republican nominee Luke Farley. 
  • Oct. 8, the state treasurer debate at Greensboro College will feature Democratic nominee Wesley Harris and Republican nominee Brad Briner.

A previously scheduled lieutenant governor debate at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte has been canceled. 

“I think debates are an important part of our civic process, and certainly they require more out of a candidate than you might see out of a one-on-one interview,” Young said. 

Each hourlong debate will take place Tuesday at 7 p.m. It will air on Spectrum the following Sunday.

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 

A State Fair: The Dodgers and Yankees of politics

Posted on by Morton Marcus

“A State Fair” is a new column from Morton Marcus that runs Thursdays in State Affairs.

INDIANAPOLIS — Dominance in a sports market depresses the ambition of competitors and the spirits of their supporters. Victory is often provided by lots of money. Those funds flow from fortunate financiers and fanatical fans who vanish without victories.

I grew up with the Dodgers, Giants and Yankees when St. Louis was at the western edge of civilization. In my section of New York City (Brooklyn), one was a deviant if not a Dodgers devotee.

Today, I live in Indianapolis, a city so blue that Republicans struggle to find candidates to run for mayor or the City-County Council. Indianapolis is the capital of Indiana, a state so red that to fly the state flag (a field of blue with a gold torch and 19 stars) will soon be declared an act of treason by the red General Assembly.

Indiana is more than a flyover state. It is forgotten. Late one evening several years ago, I sat in a Washington, D.C., bar with my national academic counterparts who, in all sober seriousness, could not recall the name of our capital city.

How could they know anything about Indiana? What does Indiana produce? Idaho has potatoes. We had a vice president who could not spell that word. When I’ve asked Hoosiers what we are known for, their best answer is popcorn.

One myth believed by every politician, political analyst and big-money contributor is that Indiana votes red. We’re so red that blues can’t get any green from inside or outside our borders. Note: In the upper two-thirds of Marion County and the upper tier of Lake County, blue is known to be dominant.

Indiana has been so polarized in the past two decades that one-third of the General Assembly is usually unopposed in the November elections. This is the behavior of a self-defeating people. It is an acceptance of a widely supported myth, a cowardly withdrawal from competition.

Yes, gerrymandering is an evil that facilitates political dominance. But it is money that makes the big difference. Donors want to support winners. They don’t care about competition. Building the capacity of a party to parity isn’t their game.

Democrats and Republicans are weak in many areas of the state because they don’t choose to compete, and their supporters are unwilling to think beyond the current election.

The New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers continue their winning ways, backed by huge populations with plenty of money to fill the stands. Hoosier Ds and Rs play in the lowest level of the minor leagues. They compare to this year’s Chicago White Sox.
Morton Marcus is an economist. Reach him at [email protected], and follow him and John Guy on the “Who Gets What?” podcast, available at mortonjohn.libsyn.com.

Opinion: Conspiracy theorist on Tucker Carlson show paints Churchill as WWII villain

Posted on by Joshua Claybourn

EVANSVILLE, Ind. — Winston Churchill, like all great historical figures, is often subject to revisionism. But recently, a fringe conspiracy theorist slithered onto Tucker Carlson’s show, peddling an asinine narrative: Churchill as one of the chief villains of World War II. 

The claim is as absurd as it is dangerous, seeking to turn historical truth on its head for a cheap ideological thrill. And in today’s climate, where misinformation spreads like wildfire, it’s imperative to confront this head-on.

Let’s get one thing straight: Winston Churchill was a hero of World War II. He was the very embodiment of defiance when the world teetered on the edge of darkness. In the summer of 1940, when France had fallen and the British Empire stood alone against Nazi tyranny, it was Churchill’s voice, his resolve, that kept Britain from succumbing to Hitler’s barbaric regime. 

It’s easy to underestimate what that meant at the time. Most of Europe had capitulated, and the United States had yet to join the fight. For Britain, surrender might have seemed the safest option. 

But Churchill refused. His speeches — “We shall fight on the beaches …” — were not just rhetorical flourishes; they were the crystallization of moral clarity in a world gone mad. 

Churchill’s insight was simple but profound: some evils cannot be appeased. He understood that Hitler’s regime wasn’t just another geopolitical adversary. It was a monstrous force of unspeakable cruelty that had to be confronted, no matter the cost. Without Churchill’s leadership, it’s conceivable that Britain would have sought terms with Hitler, leaving the Nazi regime to consolidate its power and extend its reign of terror across Europe.

Was Churchill a perfect man? Of course not. His imperialist leanings and controversial decisions, like the Bengal famine, invite rightful scrutiny. But to reduce his legacy to a collection of flaws and failings is a grotesque distortion. The world is messy. Leaders, especially in times of existential crisis, make brutal choices. But Churchill’s overarching contribution to the 20th century is undeniable: He stood against totalitarianism when few others dared, and he prevailed.

To cast Churchill as a villain of the war, as this conspiracist did, is to mock history itself. It’s a disservice not only to the British people but also to all those who fought and died to ensure Hitler’s vision did not become our shared reality. The man who rallied a nation and helped inspire an Allied victory deserves his place in the pantheon of heroes, not among its villains.

In an age when demagoguery and misinformation seem to proliferate, the truth still matters. Winston Churchill’s legacy — his courage, his clarity of purpose and his unwavering stand against evil — reminds us what true leadership looks like. 

He belongs in the annals of history as one of World War II’s greatest heroes, not as some distorted caricature invented by incompetent conspiracy peddlers. Let’s keep the record straight.

Joshua Claybourn is an attorney and author in Evansville, Indiana. Visit him at JoshuaClaybourn.com.

Opinion: JD’s cat is out of the bag

Posted on by Jack Colwell

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The cat’s out of the bag.

And JD Vance can’t get it back in there, or at least stop it from clawing him in polls that consistently show the Republican vice presidential nominee with an unfavorable rating.

Political pundits in early summer explored myriad issues that could affect the presidential election. Not one cited “childless cat ladies.”

Then Donald Trump selected Vance as his running mate. Kamala Harris became the Democratic presidential nominee. And with the usual search of what a new member of a national ticket has said and done, the cat was out of the bag. There it was, a past Vance TV interview where he ridiculed Harris as one of the “childless cat ladies” leading Democrats on a mission to make America miserable.

Then that label was tossed back at the Trump ticket in the endorsement of Harris by superstar celebrity Taylor Swift. The strong endorsement, likely to have significant effect with the legions of “Swifties,” came in an Instagram post shortly after the Tuesday presidential debate. It included a photo of Swift with her cat and was signed “Childless Cat Lady.”

“It’s just a basic fact,” Vance said in his cat remarks that went viral. “You look at Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, AOC (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez), the entire future of the Democrats is controlled by people without children.”

Vance ridiculed that “bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices they made and so they want to make the rest of the country miserable, too.”

He suggested that without children, they have “no direct stake” in America. In referring to them as “cat ladies,” he brought up past stereotypes of childless women accused of turning attention to pet cats to replace concern for children. 

The attack was terribly timed and cruel for one of those attacked. 

Vance no doubt thought it amusing to cite Buttigieg as one of the “childless cat ladies.” But Buttigieg, the first openly gay cabinet member, said the Vance slur came right after he and spouse Chasten Buttigieg “had been through a fairly heartbreaking setback in our adoption journey.”

Soon thereafter, however, Pete and Chasten were successful in adopting twins, now 3 years old. Congratulations from Vance? Maybe lost in the mail. 

Harris has two stepchildren. Does that count in determining whether she cares about the nation’s future?     

In poll after poll since the conventions, Vance has had ratings in negative territory, sometimes with a double-digit negative margin. Those polls consistently showed Tim Walz, the Democratic vice-presidential nominee, with a comfortable positive margin.

Ironically, Vance’s own words about “cat ladies” and other “weird” issues were cited by Walz to gain national attention and become a surprise selection by Harris for running mate.

In his cat comments, Vance actually was seeking to bring up an important problem, the drop in the birth rate and resulting decline in a younger workforce needed for productivity and for paying into Social Security and health care for an aging population.

Vance could have apologized for slipping into partisan weirdness with slurs against “childless cat ladies.” Instead, he doubled down. That has kept the controversy going.

Well, Vance did apologize to cats.

But why won’t he apologize to all those voters who were offended and now view him unfavorably?

Cat got his tongue?

No, but Trump does.

When Vance signed on with Trump, he swore off his onetime concern of Trump as “America’s Hitler” and pledged to be 100 percent MAGA. That includes following Trump’s style of never backing down or apologizing for anything, no matter how outrageous or wrong.  

Will the cat issue vanish? It had seemed to be slipping away.

Now, with Taylor Swift’s use of it in an endorsement that received millions of  “like” responses in just the first half-hour, the issue could have nine lives.

Jack Colwell has covered Indiana politics for over five decades for the South Bend Tribune. Email him at [email protected].

Opinion: Hogsett and Trump, engulfed

Posted on by Brian A. Howey

INDIANAPOLIS — As a political reporter I have received numerous news tips over the past four decades about rumors involving public servants. Some of them have panned out; others have been devoid of truth.

My threshold for taking such “rumors” to print often comes down to this: Does the situation affect this public servant’s ability to perform the job, to function at high capacity? And is blatant hypocrisy involved?

Two politicians are currently under such scrutiny: Democratic Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett and Republican presidential nominee Donald J. Trump. 

The former’s mayoral administration is engulfed in allegations and resignations involving widespread sexual harassment that had been reported and ignored for years. The latter is in apparent cognitive decline to the point that his reality is becoming an abstract concept that most of us cannot understand.

Mirror Indy and IndyStar investigations focused on Thomas Cook, Hogsett’s former chief of staff and past campaign manager, and strongly suggested a toxic culture existed for female employees, almost eight years following the #MeToo movement.

Cook left the administration two years ago, some five years after the first sexual harassment allegations surfaced. Last week another Indianapolis Department of Metropolitan Development employee was terminated after the city’s corporation counsel described “overwhelming evidence” against him. Another five city employees are under similar probes.

The media has been dogging Mayor Hogsett since these allegations surfaced. Before a show by a local comedian on Saturday, Hogsett told the audience: “I want you all … look, I ain’t on the ballot. I ain’t running for nothin’. I’m running from things, but I ain’t running for nothin’. But I want everybody here to make sure you get registered to vote at this election in November.”

On Friday, Hogsett skipped a ribbon cutting at a city animal shelter, sending a female deputy instead to take questions from the media.

Lauren Roberts, a former Hogsett administration employee who has said Cook sexually harassed her, told Fox59/CBS4 that when it came to alerting Hogsett of Cook’s inappropriate behavior, “May of 2017 is when I started emailing the mayor. … The mayor and the city claimed they investigated my report, but I was never interviewed.”

I’ve known Hogsett since 1986 when he managed Evan Bayh’s first statewide campaign. Throughout his legacy as secretary of state, as a congressional and attorney general candidate, as district attorney and finally as mayor, this is the most existential political threat he has faced, even worse than his wife filing for divorce two months before his 2023 reelection.

Democratic strategist Elise Shrock told IndyStar: “When people look at the behavior of the mayor and his top advisors I think they’re wondering where the self-awareness, personal accountability and baseline empathy are. What conditions make them feel that comfortable and so empowered to behave this way? To make jokes in the face of sexual assault?

“… And the void of calls for accountability from many in our party makes for deafening compliance,” Shrock said.

This is a party that has helped place female mayors in the state’s second- and third-largest cities. Now when the party seeks more women to register to vote, the most conspicuous public servant has provided a haven for horndogs.

On Monday, the City-County Council voted 22-1 to launch a wider probe. Now a mere nine months into his third term, the question for Mayor Hogsett is this: Does this mushrooming scandal impair his ability to govern? If he’s skipping events to avoid the media and keeps talking about “running from things,” his days in office will be numbered and his legacy tarnished.

As for Donald Trump, he has spent the past nine years doing and saying things that no other American candidate or officeholder has said and survived. He has become the zombie nominee, surviving and rising in the polls despite indictments, convictions and utter weirdness. It appeared Joe Biden’s win in 2020 drove a stake through Trump’s heart, which was followed by Trump’s coup attempt on Jan. 6, 2021. But after that defeat and congressional losses in 2018 and 2022 that had Trump’s fingerprints all over them, here he is once again with his third GOP presidential nomination.

In the past week, Trump appears to be twisting, twisting, twisting into his own bizarre reality.

Saturday at a MAGA rally in Mosinee, Wisconsin, Trump rambled for nearly two hours. It prompted journalist Heather Cox Richardson to observe on her Substack page: “A number of us who have been watching him closely have been saying for a while that when voters actually saw him in this campaign, they would be shocked at how he has deteriorated, and that seems to be true: his meandering and self-indulgent speeches have had attendees leaving early, some of them bewildered.” 

Trump referred to the most conspicuous billionaire (besides himself) as “Leon Musk” (dyslexia?). He forgot the name of the governor of North Dakota (the Doug without the emu who was one of Trump’s veep finalists).

He talked of local school districts performing gender-affirming surgery on children. “Can you imagine you’re a parent and your son leaves the house and you say, ‘Jimmy, I love you so much. Go have a good day at school,’ and your son comes back with a brutal operation?” Trump said. “Can you even imagine this? What the hell is wrong with our country?”

If you don’t want to take my word that this is pure poppycock, go ask your local principal or superintendent how many gender transformations have occurred down at the nurse’s office.

Trump talked of his (and Project 2025) plans to deport some 20 million immigrants (the World War II internment of Japanese Americans in camps numbered around 150,000). “And you know,” Trump said, “getting them out will be a bloody story.”

Say what? What does this mean, dude?

Donald Trump’s world veered into a dystopian nightmare. “If I don’t win Colorado, it will be taken over by migrants, and the governor will be sent fleeing,” he said.

“I will prevent World War III, and I am the only one that can do it. I will prevent World War III. And if I don’t win this election, Israel is doomed. Israel will be gone. I’d better win.” 

And this: “I better win or you’re gonna have problems like we’ve never had. We may have no country left. This may be our last election. You want to know the truth? People have said that. This may be our last election. It’ll all be over, and you gotta remember, Trump is always right. I hate to be right. I’m always right.”

Spoken like a stable genius, right?

On the subject of E. Jean Carroll (whom he owes more than $90 million for continually shooting off his mouth despite court orders), Trump said last week: “She said I was making out with her. And then, after 15 minutes — and she changed her story a couple times, maybe it was quicker — then I grabbed her at a certain part and that’s when she had enough,” Trump told reporters as his lawyers looked on. “Think of the practicality of this: I’m famous, I’m in a plane, people are coming into the plane. And I’m looking at a woman, and I grab her and start kissing her and making out with her. What are the chances of that happening?”

Trump added, “And frankly — I know you’re going to say it’s a terrible thing to say — but it couldn’t have happened, it didn’t happen and she would not have been the chosen one. She would not have been the chosen one.”

Eeeeow! That was a terrible thing to say, bro.

On Sunday, he tweeted on his social media platform, Truth Social: “WHEN I WIN, those people that CHEATED will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the Law, which will include long term prison sentences so that this Depravity of Justice does not happen again. We cannot let our Country further devolve into a Third World Nation, AND WE WON’T! Please beware that this legal exposure extends to Lawyers, Political Operatives, Donors, Illegal Voters, & Corrupt Election Officials. Those involved in unscrupulous behavior will be sought out, caught, and prosecuted at levels, unfortunately, never seen before in our Country.” 

And Trump is still channeling “the late, great Hannibal Lecter” (a fictional cannibal) and Al “Scarface” Capone, who was responsible for the St. Valentine’s Day massacre (and the ultimate humiliation of Geraldo Rivera, standing next to that empty vault in Chicago).

Are these two men — Hogsett and Trump — capable of serving in office?

Brian A. Howey is senior writer and columnist for Howey Politics Indiana/State Affairs. Find Howey on Facebook and X @hwypol.

They Said It (09.12.24)

Posted on by David Jacobs

“Ain’t nothing we ain’t been through before.” —A Terrebonne Parish resident on Hurricane Francine, reported by Sam Karlin on X

“The time to evacuate has now passed.” —Jacques Thibodeaux, director of the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, during the last pre-landfall press conference at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday

“Stay home and stay put…Just because it is a Category 1, or possibly a Category 2, doesn’t mean it’s just going to be a thunder bumper.” —Gov. Jeff Landry at the same Wednesday presser

“MR. CANTORE DONT EVEN THINK ABOUT COMING HERE” —A digital sign on the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway referencing Jim Cantore of The Weather Channel

“Just grab a shovel and do it.” —Keep Tiger Town Beautiful founder Jennifer Richardson, urging residents to clear out the storm drains on their properties and in their neighborhoods, in Daily Report

“The fact still remains that constituents in my district, as well as those of members of this committee, don’t feel comfortable going to New Orleans unless they are carrying a large caliber pistol and two spare magazines while wearing a bulletproof vest.” —Sen. Blake Miguez, at a Judiciary C hearing with Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams

Our History: Pope John Paul II visits New Orleans

Posted on by David Jacobs

Pope John Paul II celebrated a massive mass in New Orleans on today’s date 37 years ago. 

New Orleans, and south Louisiana in general, has long been more Catholic than the rest of the South. The papal visit, on a hectic weekend that followed 16 months of planning, highlighted the importance of the city and its people to the Church. 

After spending Friday night at Notre Dame Seminary, the pope visited St. Louis Cathedral for a reception with 3,000 clergy members. At the Superdome, he spoke to Black Catholic leaders and Catholic educators, and also to a youth rally that featured a mini-Mardi Gras parade and the St. Augustine Marching 100 band. He also spoke about higher education at Xavier University. 

That afternoon, the pope celebrated an outdoor Mass near the University of New Orleans Lakefront Arena. Estimates of the crowd ranged from 130,000 by the police, which was about half of what was expected, to 200,000 by the Archdiocese.

Sweltering heat followed by afternoon rains no doubt kept many devotees at home. A busy sports weekend may also have had something to do with the lower-than-anticipated turnout. 

Those that braved the weather also got to hear Pete Fountain (who played “Just a Closer Walk with Thee”), Al Hirt (“Ave Maria”) and Ronnie Kole (“Amazing Grace”).

Tangible reminders of the visit include a plaque sunk into the flagstones in front of St. Louis Cathedral proclaiming the area “Place Jean Paul Deux,” and a marker at Xavier showing where the pope stood.

A Times-Picayune survey a year later found that 75 percent of the respondents said that seeing John Paul provoked a spiritual renewal in their lives. 

Catholics make up a little more than 21 percent of the U.S. population. They are prominent in battleground states, and often a majority of Catholics back the presidential winner, which is why you may hear a lot about the “Catholic vote” this time of year. 

From 1928 to 1968, Catholics voted solidly Democratic in presidential elections, with perhaps one exception: Gallup says they voted Democratic in 1956, while the National Election Studies says they voted Republican.

In 1972, a majority voted for Republican Richard Nixon. In the next few decades, they tended to vote Democratic but were not as reliable as they had been for the party of FDR and LBJ. 

More recently Catholics have been split, with nearly equal shares going to each party. Most white Catholics identify as Republicans, while a majority of Hispanic Catholics are Democrats.

Perhaps due to the nearly even split, Catholic preachers tend to avoid politics in their sermons. Only 41 percent of Catholics heard at least one sermon that mentioned the 2020 election, according to Pew, as compared with 71 percent of evangelical Protestants and 63 percent of Black church and mainline Protestants, writes Thomas J. Reese, an analyst for Religion News Service.

“The combination of official nonpartisanship with a congregational mix of Democrats and Republicans could make Catholic churches a unique location for civic conversation, where diatribes and hate speech are not allowed,” he says. 

Sources of information reviewed for this piece include The Times-Picayune, The New York Times, Pew Research Center and America. 

Lee, Haslam hosting fundraiser for Maryland U.S. Senate candidate

Posted on by Erik Schelzig

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and his predecessor, Bill Haslam, are hosting a fundraiser at the governor’s mansion in Nashville on Thursday for former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan’s campaign for the U.S. Senate.

Hogan has been running neck-in-neck with Democrat Angela Alsobrooks despite Maryland’s otherwise heavy Democratic tilt. Hogan has also been distancing himself from national Republicans and Donald Trump, though the former president has endorsed his bid for the Senate.

Trump’s imprimatur has apparently signaled the green light for close allies like U.S. Sens. Marsha Blackburn of Brentwood and Bill Hagerty of Nashville to be listed as special guests at the Hogan fundraiser (though they miss the event due to obligations at the U.S. Capitol). Blackburn, Hagerty and Lee were famously absent for the state GOP’s annual fundraiser last year when then-presidential rival Ron DeSantis was the keynote speaker.

Lee came into Trump’s crosshairs following the Aug. 1 primary when the the governor endorsed state Sen. Jon Lundberg’s re-election over Republican challenger Bobby Harshbarger, the son U.S. Rep. Diana Harshbarger, R-Kingsport. After Harshbarger won the race, Trump went after Lee in a social media post as a “RINO governor, whose endorsement meant nothing.”

Lee later declared himself perplexed at Trump’s attack, telling reporters he “can’t really explain what that was about.” The governor said the attacks didn’t change his support for Trump’s election this fall.

Former Tennessee Sens. Lamar Alexander of Maryville and Bob Corker of Chattanooga are also expected to be at the Nashville fundraiser.

Hogan outraged Trump in June when he asked Americans to “respect the verdict” when the former president was convicted on 34 counts related to hush money payments to a porn star.

“We don’t want to alienate Trump voters,” Hogan told The Associated Press in April. “We need Trump voters. And we need a lot of Biden voters. Maryland is tough.”

Haslam in 2016 called for Trump to drop out of the presidential race after the release of the Access Hollywood tape in which he boasted of groping women.

“It is time for the good of the nation and the Republican Party for Donald Trump to step aside and let Gov. Mike Pence assume the role as the party’s nominee,” Haslam said said at the time.

Corker also had a volatile relationship with Trump when they were both in office. Corker in 2017 said Trump had turned the White House into an “adult day care center” and was setting the country “on the path to World War III.” Trump in characteristic fashion hit back at Corker, calling him a “lightweight” who “couldn’t get elected dog catcher in Tennessee.”

News You Can Use (09.12.24)

Posted on by David Jacobs

—Governing: What did states do with their budget surpluses? 

—Governing: Want to make the most of federal infrastructure funding? There’s a hub for that

—Campaigns & Elections: The fractured landscape of competitive digital data

—The Advocate: Francine makes landfall in Louisiana as Category 2 hurricane

—Illuminator: Hurricane Francine leaves power outages in its path

—WWNO: Hurricane Francine knocks out power for 175,000 in Louisiana

—Illuminator: Incarcerated people from three jails evacuated ahead of Hurricane Francine

—Illuminator: Louisiana coastal hospitals transfer patients to make room for any Hurricane Francine needs

—Associated Press: Residents in a Louisiana city devastated by 2020 hurricanes are still far from recovery

—The Advocate: Tropical depression in Atlantic could become Tropical Storm Gordon overnight, NHC says

—The Advocate: September 10 is the peak of hurricane season, and Francine may follow similar Louisiana pattern

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