Congress

Ramaswamy and DeWine met to discuss Ohio Senate appointment

Published

2 years ago

January 15, 2025

Two months after taking himself out of the running for an Ohio Senate seat, Vivek Ramaswamy is under consideration for the post, according to two people familiar with the matter granted anonymity to discuss ongoing conversations.

Ramaswamy and Gov. Mike DeWine, who is tasked with appointing someone to the job recently vacated by President-elect JD Vance, met at the governor’s mansion over the weekend to discuss the post, according to one of the people.

Ramaswamy enters the mix after going dark on social media for almost two weeks, shortly after making controversial comments that upset MAGA activists online. In a discussion of H-1B visas, he said that tech companies hire foreign workers partly because of an American cultural mindset that has “venerated mediocrity over excellence.”

The timing of Ramaswamy’s decision to seek higher office has sparked speculation in GOP circles that he is looking for a lifeline after his contentious comments. Not only had he previously removed himself from consideration for the Senate post, he has also taken on a high-profile job co-leading President-elect Donald Trump’s cost-cutting efforts with Elon Musk in the Department of Government Efficiency.

Trump’s transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Ramaswamy is being considered even as he’s interested in continuing to serve on DOGE and potentially launching a gubernatorial run, according to one of the people.

Billionaire Elon Musk, co-director of DOGE, Ramaswamy and Trump are all said to be in agreement that the group needs an advocate in the Senate.

Appointing Ramaswamy to the Senate would offer Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted a cleaner shot to succeed DeWine by eliminating a potential competitor.“DeWine isn’t incentivized to pick Ramaswamy for Senate, but Vivek is also the one roadblock to Husted,” this person said.

Dewine brought Husted down to Mar-a-Lago last month to visit Trump, Ohio Capital Journal reported.

Dewine has previously said he wants someone who can win the special election in 2026 to fill out the remainder of Vance’s term and hold the Senate seat again in 2028.

One Trump ally, granted anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter, warned that Ramaswamy’s comments about American culture might complicate his chances of being tapped for the Senate nomination.

“The problem now is that he is damaged goods,” the person said.

DeWine’s decision may come as early as this week, he told reporters at a press conference at Mar-a-Lago day?, standing alongside other Republican governors.

“Neither Governor DeWine nor our office has commented on any possible candidates for the pending appointment,” Dewine Press Secretary Dan Tierney told Blue Light News in a statement.

A Senate appointment would allow Ramaswamy, 39, to work on efforts to cut federal spending from inside Congress while Musk pursues it from the outside, the second person familiar with Ramaswamy’s thinking told Blue Light News. It would also provide Ramaswamy a chance to go fight for DOGE priorities against expected pushback from Senate Democrats, given his penchant for debating.

Ramaswamy has been uncharacteristically quiet on social media after being caught up in a heated debate between different MAGA factions over H1-B visas at the start of the year.

His support of the temporary visa program for highly skilled foreign workers, was met with significant pushback from right wing voices including Steve Bannon, Laura Loomer and Jack Posobiec, though Trump ultimately said he supported the program.

“Our American culture has venerated mediocrity over excellence for way too long (at least since the 90s and likely longer). That doesn’t start in college, it starts YOUNG,” wrote Ramaswamy, the son of Indian immigrants, on X. “A culture that celebrates the prom queen over the math olympiad champ … will not produce the best engineers.”

Ramaswamy ran unsuccessfully for the GOP presidential nomination during the 2024 cycle, but managed to raise his national profile and break through with some GOP voters by aligning himself with Trump and campaigning on “America First” policies.

As a presidential candidate, Ramaswamy’s proposals ranged from cutting 1 million government jobs to ending birthright citizenship to raising the voting age to 25.

Congress

Chris Murphy plans midterm travel blitz, fundraising for Nixon in Florida

Published

34 minutes ago

October 9, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Sen. Chris Murphy wants Democrats to go big for Angie Nixon in Florida’s Senate race — and he’s pushing to raise some “serious money” to help.

“I do believe that we’d make a big mistake if we slept on Florida,” the Connecticut Democrat told Blue Light News on Friday. “I know it feels like a longer shot, but I just think this year is looking exceptional.”

Murphy plans to hit the trail with Nixon as part of a campaign swing for Senate candidates over the next three weeks that will take him through North Carolina and Florida, as well as events with Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, Peggy Flanagan in Minnesota and Chris Pappas in New Hampshire. Murphy will serve as a surrogate for El-Sayed in the spin room at his next debate, and said he’s “just a big believer” in the Michigan Senate nominee.

Murphy’s bullishness about a blue wave comes as Senate Democrats are pushing the boundaries of a midterm battle map that is shifting further into red territory. The Chuck Schumer-aligned Senate Majority PAC has dropped roughly $5 million apiece into Texas and Kansas over recent days, and the minority leader has included Kansas and Mississippi in his pitches to donors.

“If I were in charge, I would definitely put some resources in Florida,” Murphy said. “When you have an exciting candidate like this, it’s a good long-term investment” in growing Democrats’ activist base.

Still, Murphy stressed he’s “not making any formal recommendations” on where Schumer or top Democratic campaign groups should move their money.

“They’ve got so many mouths to feed,” Murphy said. “That’s why I’m going to try to step up and do some work on my own.”

Murphy, who is considered a potential 2028 presidential contender, has spread roughly $2.5 million across candidates, campaign arms and other organizations this cycle. That includes transferring more than $500,000 to Democrats’ three top campaign arms and 25 state parties.

Prominent Democrats have been ramping up their attention on Florida. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has funneled $250,000 toward Nixon’s campaign, along with other resources. Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) also told Blue Light News he hopes to campaign with Nixon.

But Democrats across suddenly competitive red states are clamoring for more cash and Florida is an expensive state, complicating the chances of a significant investment from national groups.

Nixon also faces an uphill battle against GOP Sen. Ashley Moody in the Sunshine State. A progressive state lawmaker, Nixon aligned herself with the Democratic Socialists of America over the summer in a state where many voters, especially those with ties to Cuba, reject such an ideology. Also, Republicans in Florida have a 1.5 million voter registration advantage over Democrats.

Congress

Democrats drop $5M into Kansas Senate race

Published

4 hours ago

October 9, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Senate Democrats’ top super PAC is pushing into Kansas.

The Chuck Schumer-aligned Senate Majority PAC is launching a $5 million statewide television ad blitz starting Saturday through Election Day — the latest sign that Democrats believe the Senate map is shifting onto red turf.

SMP had signaled in recent days it could get involved in the race, telling Blue Light News late last month it was “actively thinking” about whether to wade into the state where Democrats haven’t won a Senate seat in nearly a century but where Adam Hamilton narrowly leads GOP Sen. Roger Marshall in recent polls. Internal SMP polling that found an increasingly competitive race factored into the group’s decision to spend. It will also run digital ads.

“The gap is closing in Kansas,” SMP spokesperson Lauren French said in a statement. “We are committed to ensuring families understand Marshall’s real record of making health care and basic goods more expensive for working Kansans.”

Republicans are scrambling to shore up Marshall. Senate Leadership Fund, a top GOP super PAC aligned with Republican leadership, has booked over $10 million in ads through Election Day in the state, per ad tracking firm AdImpact.

SMP’s first ad attacks Marshall for joining Senate Republicans in voting to table a Democratic-led amendment last year to release the Jeffrey Epstein files. The Senate later approved legislation to release the files by unanimous consent. It’s the latest in a slate of ads from Democrats hitting their Republican rivals over the late, disgraced financier and convicted sex offender. Marshall’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Senate Democrats’ plunge into the state comes as the midterm battle map is undergoing a major realignment. Georgia and North Carolina — primed to be two of the cycle’s premiere battlegrounds — are tilting left to the point where national Republicans are retracting spending in both states and Democrats are starting to follow suit, freeing funds on both sides to shift elsewhere.

Republicans are racing to reinforce incumbents across what was once safer red turf. SLF has also pledged $5 million to bolster Sen. Darline Graham in South Carolina.

Democrats, meanwhile, are starting to spend more in red states. SMP has dropped over $2 million on digital ads in Texas. Schumer, the Senate minority leader, has included Kansas and Mississippi in his pitches to donors.

Congress

House Democratic campaign arm says it needs $17 million, and fast

Published

5 hours ago

October 9, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is begging for resources, and setting a hard deadline for donors to give $17 million in order to compete in a handful of districts that Republicans carried easily in 2024.

DCCC Executive Director Julie Merz said the committee needs the cash influx by Oct. 22 in order to “to take advantage of the opportunities we have” outside of the core battlefield, according to a memo shared with donors on Friday and obtained by POLITICO.

If they don’t pony up, Merz warns, the party “could be leaving winnable races on the table.”

Democrats have been clear that they have a fundraising disadvantage this cycle, but they have so far been reluctant to place a specific dollar amount on their needs, making the DCCC’s memo Friday a particularly surprising outlier.

“Here’s the tough reality though: the Republican ecosystem has amassed a massive war chest that is significantly greater than ours and is spending it,” Merz says in the memo after arguing that the members of the committee “remain confident that we will win back the majority in 25 days.”

Specifically, Merz dedicates significant portions of the memo to four districts where the committee is desperate for more money in order to compete — all of which President Donald Trump won by double-digit margins in 2024:

— Florida’s 27th District (Trump +14.6)

— Nevada’s 2nd District (Trump +13.9)

— South Carolina’s 1st District (Trump +13)

— New York’s 21st District (Trump +20.7)

The fundraising disadvantage has created headaches for both House and Senate Democrats over where, exactly, to deploy the resources they do have.

The committee tells donors that their internal polling shows all of those races within reach, but that Republicans’ big cash advantages — especially in the Trump-aligned super PAC MAGA Inc. — will make it harder to win those and other reach seats.

Merz also name drops a handful of other deep-red districts that are “worthy of additional investment in this environment,” including seats held by GOP Reps. French Hill (R-Ark.) and Richard Hudson (R-N.C.), the chair of the Republican National Congressional Committee.

The NRCC was quick to mock the DCCC’s memo.

“No amount of money fixes candidates voters don’t want. These seats are staying red, and Republicans are on offense across the map,” NRCC spokesperson Mike Marinella said in a statement.