primary

Ralph Nader — legendary consumer advocate, accused spoiler in the 2000 presidential campaign — is not, to state it mildly, terribly popular among Democrats, who still hold the election of George W. Bush against him.

So the idea, announced Monday, that he is seeking to recruit a slate of liberal stalwarts to mount a primary challenge against President Obama in 2012 is likely to elicit a response — at least among some in the party — ranging somewhere between eye-rolling and teeth-gnashing.

Nader seems not terribly concerned. His response to the 2000 controversy (a tie in Florida, hanging chads, a 5-4 Supreme Court decision stopping the recount and putting Bush in the White House) was to run for president again in 2004 and 2008.

Still, Nader insists the purpose of his latest electoral effort is not to deny Obama the Democratic nomination, or undermine his chances in the general election against whomever the Republicans put up against the president.

“Just the opposite,” Nader said, speaking via telephone from Washington shortly after the recruitment effort was made public. “If [Obama’s] smart, he’ll welcome it, because nothing’s worse than an incumbent president slipping in the polls, being constantly on the defensive, being accused by supporters of having no backbone and running an unenthusiastically received campaign. That’s a prescription for defeat.

“He’s got a lack of enthusiasm with his base,” Nader continued. “If he goes through a one-year presidential campaign with mind-numbing repetition, responding to crazed Republican positions, he is not going to activate his base. He will be put on the defensive, just the way he is now.”

To launch their insurgency effort, Nader and his allies released a scathing “Dear Colleague” letter sent to more than 150 potential sympathizers, accusing Obama of turning his back on his liberal base and its progressive agenda.

A partial bill of particulars, from a summary press release, includes “his decision to bail out Wall Street’s most profitable firms while failing to push for effective prosecution of the criminal behavior that triggered the recession, escalating the wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan while simultaneously engaging in a unilateral war in Libya, his decision to extend the Bush era tax cuts, and his acquiescence to Republican extortion during the recent debt ceiling negotiations.”

Signatories include a number of luminaries of the left (and some familiar Obama critics), among them academic Cornel West, writer Gore Vidal, actor Peter Coyote and singer Michelle Shocked.

Nader said details of a potential primary challenge, such as the names and number of candidates and where they would be fielded, remain to be worked out. He acknowledged that some fast-approaching filing deadlines mean organizers “will have to move quickly.”

As for his own plans, Nader did not rule out another independent run for president in the fall of 2012, though he called the prospect “very unlikely.”

“I don’t have an ax to grind here,” Nader said. “I’m not maneuvering for anything. I’m not a registered Democrat. I just want, as a citizen, to have a rigorous debate on all the matters we’ve worked on for decades: consumers affairs, environmental protection, new taxes, new ideas, new excitement.”

Ben LaBolt, a spokesman for Obama’s reelection effort, said the campaign had no comment.

ALBANY, N.Y. — Rep. Elise Stefanik announced Friday that she is suspending her campaign for New York governor and will not seek reelection to Congress, bowing out of the race in a surprise statement that said “it is not an effective use of our time” to stay in what was expected to be a bruising Republican primary.

Stefanik, a Republican ally of President Trump, said in a post on X that she was confident of her chances in the primary against Bruce Blakeman, a Republican county official in New York City’s suburbs. But she said she wanted to spend more time with her young son and family.

“I have thought deeply about this and I know that as a mother, I will feel profound regret if I don’t further focus on my young son’s safety, growth, and happiness — particularly at his tender age,” she said.

Stefanik has been an intense critic of incumbent Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul, who is also seeking reelection but faces a primary challenge from her own lieutenant governor, Antonio Delgado.

The announcement marks an abrupt end, at least for now, for a once-promising career for Stefanik. She was the youngest woman ever elected to Congress when she won her first campaign in 2014 at just 30 years old, representing a new generation of Republicans making inroads in Washington. She ultimately rose to her party’s leadership in the House when she became the chair of the House Republican Conference in 2021.

First viewed as a moderate when she came to Washington, Stefanik became far more conservative as Trump began to dominate the party. Once someone who refused to say Trump’s name, she became one of his top defenders during his first impeachment inquiry. She would go on to vote against certifying the 2020 election results, even after a violent mob stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6.

Stefanik was expected to have a bitter Republican primary against Blakeman, who also counts himself as an ally of Trump. The president had so far seemed keen on avoiding picking a side in the race, telling reporters recently: “He’s great, and she’s great. They’re both great people.”

Stefanik’s decision follows a clash with Speaker Mike Johnson, whom she accused of lying before embarking on a series of media interviews criticizing him. In one with the Wall Street Journal, she called Johnson a “political novice” and said he wouldn’t be reelected speaker if the vote were held today.

The tumultuous early December episode appeared to cool when Johnson said he and Stefanik had a “great talk.”

“I called her and I said, ‘Why wouldn’t you just come to me, you know?’” Johnson said. “So we had some intense fellowship about that.”

Still, Stefanik, the chairwoman of the House Republican leadership, has not fully walked back her criticisms. A Dec. 2 social media post remains online in which, after a provision she championed was omitted from a defense authorization bill, Stefanik accused Johnson of falsely claiming he was unaware of it, calling it “more lies from the Speaker.”

State Republican Chairman Ed Cox said the party respected Stefanik’s decision and thanked her for her efforts.

“Bruce Blakeman has my endorsement and I urge our State Committee and party leaders to join me,” Cox said in a prepared statement. “Bruce is a fighter who has proven he knows how to win in difficult political terrain.”

Izaguirre writes for the Associated Press. AP writers Steven Sloan and Joey Cappelletti contributed from Washington.

U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson (L), D-Miss, pictured in December 2022 with then-U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., (R) at House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection on the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. On Wednesday, an ex-Senate aide announced his bid to unseat Thompson. File Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

Dec. 17 (UPI) — Evan Turnage, a Jackson lawyer and ex-senate aide, is challenging Rep. Bennie Thompson in Mississippi’s 2nd District Democratic primary.

Turnage, 33, a Yale Law and Murrah High alumnus, formerly advised U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. He launched his campaign after returning home and hearing voters’ frustration over the district’s stagnant economy under Thompson’s long tenure, he said.

“I’ve talked to so many people and it’s clear that there’s an appetite for new leadership, an appetite for a fighter from Mississippi,” Turnage said in an interview.

Mississippi’s 2nd District covers Jackson and much of the Delta. With a majority-Black and solidly Democratic electorate, real competition happens in the primary and not the general election.

“This is the poorest district in the poorest state in the country. It was like that when he was elected, and it remains that way today,” he added.

Thompson, 77, has held the seat since 1993 as one of Mississippi’s longest-serving officials and has maintained broad support while gaining national recognition for civil rights issues, security and oversight.

Turnage joined Schumer’s team as chief counsel in early 2023, departing two years later to return to Jackson.

He said his time in the nation’s capital influenced his run for office, but a recent local Democratic runoff also shaped his decision.

“Grocery prices are the No. 1 economic concern I hear about,” Turnage said. “That experience in Washington showed me how much Congress can do when it’s willing to stand up to corporations.”

Turnage said his campaign will be focused on government reform, economic growth and protecting voting rights.

Mississippi’s Democratic primary is slated for March 2026.