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The Attorney General Hits the Campaign Trail for GOP Candidates
Confirmed
In Short: Blanche’s campaign efforts for Whatley come as Whatley trails Democratic candidate Roy Cooper in polls.
Attorney General Blanche, who was confirmed by the Senate, has broken a long-standing tradition by campaigning for Republican candidates, including former RNC head Michael Whatley, who is running for Senate in North Carolina.
Blanche’s political campaigning pales in importance compared with the department’s aggressive prosecution of the president’s enemies — from random protesters and social media shit-stirrers to former FBI directors.
The norm of the attorney general remaining apolitical dates back to the ’70s, when Nixon’s first attorney general, John Mitchell, ran Nixon’s 1968 and 1972 campaigns and, in between, played a central role in multiple aspects of Watergate.
While nearly 50,000 more people voted in the Democratic primary than in the Republican contest, the short general election sprint begins as a close race.
Republican candidates are facing challenges in states and districts that typically vote Republican, with polls showing them underperforming.
If President Donald Trump can use a rare midterm convention to energize the party faithful and boost GOP turnout in the closing weeks by hitting the campaign trail, Republicans could hold the Senate and minimize their losses in the House.
The current political climate has seen a shift in norms, with Blanche’s actions reminiscent of the controversy surrounding Attorney General Loretta Lynch’s airport meeting with Hillary Clinton during the 2016 election.
Marshall Rawson’s candidacy, we found, had seemingly become a kind of cause célèbre among the furthest-right activists in American politics, who donated at least $15,000 to his campaign.
What this adds
Blanche’s political campaigning has become a focal point for furthest-right activists, with at least $15,000 donated to Blanche’s campaign.
The shift in norms is also reflected in the increasing use of anti-Muslim rhetoric by GOP candidates, according to reports.
Background
Attorney General Blanche, who was confirmed by the Senate, has broken a long-standing tradition by campaigning for Republican candidates, including former RNC head Michael Whatley, who is running for Senate in North Carolina.
GOP candidates are increasingly using anti-Muslim rhetoric in their campaigns, according to reports. This shift includes blanket calls for deportation and specific calls for stripping citizenship from Muslim Americans, as documented by the Center for the Study of Organized Hate.
What's confirmed
- Not only has he given a White House press briefing — in recent weeks, he’s hit the campaign trail.
- The norm of the attorney general remaining apolitical dates back to the ’70s, Charlie Savage writes in the New York Times, when Nixon’s first attorney general, John Mitchell, ran Nixon’s 1968 and 1972 campaigns and, in between, played a central role in multiple aspects of Watergate.
What's still developing
- When Sen. Bill Cassidy’s (R-LA) voted to confirm Blanche, he asserted that if Blanche wasn’t the Senate-confirmed attorney general, Trump would likely go find an acting attorney general who was worse.
- GOP candidates are increasingly using anti-Muslim rhetoric in their campaigns, according to reports.