Puerto Rico Governor Chooses Two Shadow Senators and Five Shadow Representatives

On August 15, Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello, a Democrat, chose two shadow U.S. Senators, and five shadow U.S. House members, to represent Puerto Rico in Congress.  If Puerto Rico were a state, it would have that number of members of congress.

The two shadow Senators are Zocaida Fonalledas, a Republican; and Carlos Romero Barcelo, a Democrat.

The five shadow representatives include two Democrats, two Republicans, and an independent.  See this story.

The main job of these seven individuals will be to spend time at the national Capitol, lobbying for statehood.

North Carolina Legislature Still Working on Redistricting

The North Carolina legislature will convene at 1 p.m. on Monday, August 28, to continue working on redistricting.  Afterwards, it is hoped that the legislature will work on other bills, including the ballot access bill that has passed both houses, but still needs action from its conference committee because the two versions in each house differ.

The bill to redraw State House districts is HB 927.  It hasn’t passed either House but will received a vote in the House on Monday, August 28.  The bill to redraw State Senate districts is SB 691.  It passed the Senate on Friday, August 25, by 27-16.

Here is a link to legislative webpage that has details about redistricting.

Axios Article Says Governors John Kasich and John Hickenlooper Might be Independent Ticket in 2020

This article by Axios founder Mike Allen says that Governor John Kasich of Ohio, a Republican, and Governor John Hickenlooper of Colorado, a Democrat, could conceivably be an independent ticket in 2020 for president and vice-president.

Axios is a new on-line news source.  Allen was formerly Politico’s chief White House correspondent.

It would be ironic if Kasich were to become an independent candidate, because no public official has done more to harm ballot access in the last three years than he has.  His attorneys in 2014 spent approximately $700,000 to keep the Ohio Libertarian candidate for Governor off the Libertarian primary ballot.  They succeeded, and established an Ohio precedent that candidates can be kept off the ballot if their circulators fail to list their employers on the petition forms, even though that had not been policy before 2014.  Thanks to Political Wire for the link.

Survey Shows Fewer than 80% of Bernie Sanders Supporters Who Voted in General Election Voted for Hillary Clinton

On August 23, Cooperative Congressional Election Survey released a study of general election voters in 2016 who had supported Bernie Sanders during primary season.  See this story.  It shows that 12% of them voted for Donald Trump, and 8% voted for someone other than either major party presidential nominee.