Texas Weekly Online

Texas-trans-white
Menu
Menu

Year: 2024

Late Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee’s daughter running for mother’s old House seat: ‘I want to finish for my mom!’

Late Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee’s daughter running for mother’s old House seat: ‘I want to finish for my mom!’

Late Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee’s daughter, Erica Lee Carter, announced Monday she is running in the special election for the U.S. House seat formerly held by her mother to finish the remainder of the late congresswoman’s term. This comes after Jackson Lee, D-Texas, died last month at the age of 74 following a battle with pancreatic cancer. She had represented Texas’ 18th congressional district for 30 years. Lee Carter said in a statement: “I want to finish for my mom!” “Nearly two weeks after we laid my dear mother, the late Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee to rest, I am humbled to thank the entire Houston community for the overwhelming outpouring of love, support and appreciation for our entire family,” Lee Carter wrote. “As I witnessed my mother’s tremendous commitment to public service and legislative acumen firsthand, the countless stories and moments that I have heard since her passing have made her ‘larger than life’ presence even more so.” REP. SHEILA JACKSON LEE HAS PASSED AWAY AFTER BATTLE WITH PANCREATIC CANCER “The people of the 18th Congressional District, re-elected my mother to the 118th Congress to protect their interest and uphold our democratic values,” she continued. “Congresswoman Jackson Lee kept their interests in her heart and mind until the very end. Since then, so many community leaders and democratic stalwarts have requested that I consider completing her term this year by running in the November 5th Special Election. After careful consideration, the answer is YES.” Jackson Lee also previously battled breast cancer, having been diagnosed in 2011, before announcing the following year she was cancer free. Prior to her time in Congress, Jackson Lee served as a judge before she was elected to an at-large Houston City Council seat in 1989. KAMALA HARRIS TO ATTEND REP. SHEILA JACKSON LEE’S FUNERAL IN TEXAS Last year, Jackson Lee ran an unsuccessful campaign for Houston mayor, losing by a wide margin to then-state Sen. John Whitmire, also a Democrat, before announcing she would seek re-election in Congress. “My Mom was the ultimate finisher,” Lee Carter wrote. “She would stay until the latest hour at her D.C. Congressional office, she supported community events late into the evening, made calls doing the ‘people’s business’ until the wee hours of the morning, closed every important meeting with an ask, solution, or next step and never took ‘No’ as a final answer.” Lee Carter said she cared for her mother until her passing. The winner of the special election, which will be held on Nov. 5, would only fill the seat for the remainder of the current term, which runs through Jan. 3. A separate election, which will also be held on Nov. 5 for the general election, will be for the opportunity to hold the seat for the next Congress, which runs from Jan. 3, 2025 until Jan. 3, 2027. Harris County Democratic Party precinct chairs will meet on Tuesday to nominate a candidate in that race to run against Republican Lana Centonze in the district considered safe for Democrats. Lee Carter said if the people of Texas’ 18th congressional district entrust her with their vote, then she wishes to complete the 118th session “in the way that [Jackson Lee] would have, by supporting justice, equality, healthcare, human rights and economic opportunity for all.” “I call on all Harris County Democrats to unite to ensure that the people of the 118th Congressional District regain their vote on critical national issues,” Lee Carter said. “Together, we will finish for my Mom, The Honorable Sheila Jackson Lee.”

Rural residents reveal how they feel about Gov Walz’s ‘very liberal’ policies: ‘We’re mini California’

Rural residents reveal how they feel about Gov Walz’s ‘very liberal’ policies: ‘We’re mini California’

REDWOOD COUNTY, Minn. — Rural Minnesotans are unhappy with Democrat Gov. Tim Walz’s policies, which they say have hurt them over the years. Minnesotans at “Farmfest,” a local agriculture trade show, revealed what they thought about Walz as their state leader after the governor was tapped as Vice President Harris’ 2024 running mate, while speaking with Fox News Digital. Matthew A., a Minnesota resident who owns a farm with his family raising corn and soybeans, said Walz has “done very little to help rural Minnesota.” “We joke that we’re mini California. Most of us, if we could, we would annex into South Dakota. He’s put policies in place that have hurt small businesses. I have friends that have lost small businesses because of his policies. It’s killing our small towns, our rural development,” Matthew A. told Fox News Digital.  HARRIS VP PICK MINNEOSTA GOV TIM WALZ LAVISHED ILLEGAL MIGRANTS WITH TAXPAYER-FUNDED ‘BLANKET OF BENEVOLENCE’ “He point-blank said we’re just rocks and cows out here, and he has done very little to help us. And honestly, a man that can sit and let a city burn to the ground and not do anything about it like he did in 2020, that’s no integrity. And he … doesn’t deserve any vote.” Dan Fedders, a salesman in Minnesota, described the Harris-Walz ticket as “very liberal.” ‘WE ARE SUFFERING’: OMAR CHALLENGER RIPS WALZ FOR PUSHING SAME ‘DANGEROUS’ POLICIES AS ‘SQUAD’ “I think they’re a great team, the two of them together. God bless them. But they’re not going to have a chance at all,” Fedders said of Walz and Harris. “In my opinion, he is just about as far liberal as she is. And I think most of the people in Minnesota are happy about it because he might leave or at least be gone for a period of time.” “Governor Walz has been, I think, a disaster for Minnesota,” a local resident, who requested his name not be shared, told Fox. “He has no more time for rural America. I think as a potential leader right now, he’s showing a lot of disdain for his opponents, the way he’s addressing them. It might be the way the game is played, but it’s not the way that I want to see our leaders act. It just hasn’t been good for Minnesota,” he said, adding that he believes Walz’s “fiscal responsibility has been very poor for the citizens of Minnesota.” “He’s been bad for the state. There’s no other way to say it,” said a farmer and local restaurant owner, who also requested his name not be used. “He has hurt this state more than he’s helped it.” Farmfest has been described as the largest gathering of farmers and agriculturalists on Walz’s home turf. His administration has garnered national attention for his policies designed to invest in sustainability and biofuels, subjects typically unpopular with people in red states and cultivating farmland.  Walz has represented the state as governor since 2019. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris-Walz campaign for comment.

‘Squad’ faces final primary challenge as 4 states go to polls Tuesday

‘Squad’ faces final primary challenge as 4 states go to polls Tuesday

After a tough summer at the ballot box for members of the so-called “Squad,” the group of progressive and diverse House Democrats is facing its final intraparty challenge on Tuesday as four states in the Midwest and New England hold primary elections. Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota faces voters one week after her fellow Squad member, Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri, lost her bid for re-nomination and nearly two months after another Squad member, Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York, fell to his primary challenger. But Omar, who made history as the first Somali American in Congress and the first woman of color to represent Minnesota on Capitol Hill, is the favorite as she faces three primary challengers in the Democrat primary. Omar is seeking a fourth two-year term representing the Minneapolis-anchored 5th Congressional District. CHECK OUT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POWER RANKING IN THE 2024 ELECTION Bush and Bowman faced well-funded challengers and millions in outside spending by United Democracy Project, a super PAC affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. While Omar is also a very vocal critic of Israel, she hasn’t been targeted by any ads from the United Democracy Project. And Omar is considered to be in a much better political position than she was two years ago when she narrowly defeated Don Samuels, who for a second straight cycle is her top challenger. But Samuels, in an interview Monday on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom,” said he’s seen a surge in his fundraising and in volunteers to his campaign in the week since Bush’s defeat. And he said Omar is “divisive and combative. She picks a side including, simply trying to divide her, her constituency, and ignores the other side.” Minnesota’s primary comes a week after Vice President Harris named the state’s governor, Gov. Tim Walz, as her running mate on the Democrat 2024 ticket. And an old clip of Walz praising Omar has gone viral in recent days. Arguably the highest-profile Squad member, three-term Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, easily crushed her primary challenger in June. The only other Squad member with a primary yet to come this cycle is Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, who is unchallenged in her September contest. Sen. Amy Klobuchar is the overwhelming favorite in a five-candidate Democrat Senate primary as she seeks a fourth six-year term representing Minnesota in the chamber. Eight candidates are running in the GOP Senate primary. In neighboring Wisconsin, Democrat Sen. Tammy Baldwin is unopposed in her party’s primary as she seeks a third term. Republican businessman Eric Hovde, a real estate developer who’s loaned his campaign $13 million and who is backed by former President Trump, faces nominal opposition in the GOP primary. Two Democrats are running in their party’s primary in western Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District, with the winner taking on Republican Rep. Derrick Van Orden, a staunch Trump ally, in November. And in northeast Wisconsin’s heavily red 8th Congressional District, all eyes are on the GOP primary in the race to fill the seat of former Rep. Mike Gallagher, who left Congress in April. Taking place alongside the primary is a special election for the remainder of Gallagher’s current term, which expires at the end of the year. In Connecticut, the spotlight is on Republican primaries to challenge two longtime Democrat members of Congress: Sen. Chris Murphy and Rep. Jim Himes. In Vermont, two Democrats are vying for their party’s gubernatorial nomination, with the winner challenging Republican Gov. Phil Scott in November. Scott, a moderate Republican and GOP Trump critic, is unopposed in his party’s primary as he seeks a fifth two-year term steering Vermont. Even though Vermont is a reliably blue state. Scott remains popular and grabbed nearly 70% of the vote in his 2022 re-election. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Harris camp ducks questions on why Walz retired from military before completing coursework for high rank

Harris camp ducks questions on why Walz retired from military before completing coursework for high rank

The Harris campaign dodged answering questions about why Gov. Tim Walz did not complete the required coursework to retire from the Army National Reserves with the high-ranking title of command sergeant major – a rank he’s repeatedly claimed having attained despite retiring as a master sergeant. Walz served 24 years with the Army National Guard, retiring in 2005 after he and his battalion were deployed to Italy in 2003 to support U.S. operations in Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. After returning from Italy, Walz was promoted to the command sergeant major rank, but he did not complete coursework with the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy to retain the rank in retirement. Walz instead retired as a master sergeant, one rank below command sergeant major. Fox News Digital reached out to both the Harris campaign and Walz’s gubernatorial office to ask why Walz did not complete coursework with the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy before retiring from the Minnesota National Guard in 2005, and both did not provide comment to explain the decision. Instead, the Harris campaign directed Fox Digital to a Minnesota Public Radio article from 2018, when a public affairs officer for the Minnesota National Guard told the outlet that “it is legitimate for Walz to say he served as a command sergeant major.” FORMER LEADER OF WALZ’S BATTALION PUBLISHES SCATHING MESSAGE AIMED AT GOVERNOR’S MILITARY CAREER: REPORT “[The public affairs officer] said the rank changed because Walz retired before completing coursework at the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy along with other requirements associated with his promotion,” the article explained.  Fox News Digital again asked the campaign for comment as to why Walz did not complete the course work but did not receive a follow-up reply.  WALZ ACCUSATIONS OF ‘STOLEN VALOR’ PROMPT BATTLE BETWEEN HOUSE VETERANS Last week, the Harris campaign updated its biography for Walz to omit a reference that he is a “retired Command Sergeant Major,” correcting the bio to show Walz “served as a command sergeant major.” Walz’s military record with the Army National Guard has come under increasing scrutiny since last week, when Vice President Harris named the Minnesota governor as her 2024 presidential running mate. After the announcement, veterans began sounding off on social media and to the media with criticisms of Walz’s “stolen valor.” Walz has previously publicly used language suggesting that he deployed to war zones during his 24 years of service with the Army National Guard, including that he would like to ban the kind of guns he had “carried in war” and describing himself as a retired command sergeant major. Walz was never deployed to a combat zone in his decades of service.  The Harris campaign said last week that Walz “misspoke” when he claimed he carried firearms “in war.”  JD VANCE ACCUSES TIM WALZ OF ‘LYING’ ABOUT MILITARY SERVICE: ‘STOLEN VALOR GARBAGE’ “In making the case for why weapons of war should never be on our streets or in our classrooms, the Governor misspoke,” campaign spokesperson Lauren Hitt told the media. “He did handle weapons of war and believes strongly that only military members trained to carry those deadly weapons should have access to them, unlike Donald Trump and JD Vance who prioritize the gun lobby over our children.” Walz retired ahead of his unit – 1st Battalion, 125th Field Artillery – deploying to Iraq in 2005, and he launched a successful congressional run in Minnesota. Walz served in the U.S. House from 2007 until 2019, when he launched his campaign for Minnesota governor. He is currently serving his second term as the Gopher State’s governor.  VP KAMALA HARRIS PICKING GOV TIM WALZ AS RUNNING MATE MET WITH MEDIA SCORN: ‘SUCH A WEIRD CHOICE’ “Walz left the National Guard in May 2005 after 24 years of service. His unit was not given deployment orders to Iraq until July. He had put his retirement papers in 5-7 months prior to his retirement in May,” the Minnesota National Guard said in a statement last week as questions mounted around Walz’s military career. “Second, there are questions about whether he served in OEF. His battalion was sent to Europe, in his case Vicenza to train units in artillery – his specialty was artillery. If you are deployed overseas in support of OEF according to the National Guard you officially served in OEF, whether you touched foot in Afghanistan or not. That is in his official military service record below,” the statement added.