JAIME HARRISON

National Democrats this year have insisted the party is united and ready to rally around President Joe Biden heading into next year’s election.

A Democratic watchdog group has asked a U.S. House committee to rescind an invitation to Robert F.

Christale Spain, a longtime party operative, was elected Saturday as chair of South Carolina’s Democratic Party.

Trav Robertson won’t seek another term leading South Carolina's Democrats.

The Democratic Party has approved the reordering of its 2024 presidential primary.

Bitter divisions dominated a recent national Republican Party gathering.

Democrats have voted to remove Iowa as the leadoff state on the presidential nominating calendar and replace it with South Carolina starting in 2024.

The news that 70 million people will see an 8.7% boost in their Social Security checks next year came just weeks before Election Day, but it's unlikely to give Democrats the edge they're desperately seeking at the polls.

In battleground Wisconsin, Donald Trump’s pick for governor defeated the favorite of the Republican establishment.

Jill Biden barnstormed the country during her debut year as first lady as if on a one-woman mission to help her husband's administration tackle the problem of the moment.

Democrats and their aligned groups raised more than $80 million in the week after the Supreme Court stripped away a woman’s constitutional right to have an abortion.

President Joe Biden’s top political advisers are bracing for big election losses in November.

Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia has easily dispatched Donald Trump’s hand-picked challenger in a Republican primary that demonstrated the limits of the former president and his conspiracy-fueled politics in a critical swing state.

One of President Joe Biden’s closest aides is leaving the White House to take on a role as senior adviser to the Democratic National Committee.

In taking on Disney, Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis is testing the limits of his combative leadership style while sending an unmistakable message to his rivals.

In taking on Disney, Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis is testing the limits of his combative leadership style while sending an unmistakable message to his rivals.

Florida Sen. Rick Scott is barely halfway through his first term, but he's already leaning into a fight against his own party’s leadership.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell is drawing criticism for comments he made shortly before the GOP blocked a federal elections bill, when he said that “African American” voters cast ballots at similar rates to “Americans.”.

This time last year, the Republican Party was hitting bottom.

Jaime Harrison is a man leading a party in peril.

Democrats in Virginia are scrambling to stave off disaster in the state’s closely watched governor’s race.

President Joe Biden is framing the Virginia governor’s race as a repudiation of his predecessor, tying the Republican candidate to former President Donald Trump.

Nevada’s governor has signed a law making the Western state the first to vote on the 2024 presidential primary contests, bumping Iowa and New Hampshire from their leadoff spots.

Democrats have a sales job of their own this summer.

South Carolina state Sen. Mia McLeod says she's the person who can become the United States' first Black female governor.

Nevada lawmakers have passed a bill aiming to make the state the first to weigh in on the 2024 presidential primary contests.

Doug Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, is campaigning in New Mexico on behalf of a Democratic congressional candidate.

A Democratic state lawmaker is mounting a bid to unseat Republican U.S. Sen. Tim Scott.

He told reporters the Georgia law is an “atrocity" and the Justice Department is looking into it. Allies meanwhile plan to fight the Georgia law, and others, in court. He called as well for the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would restore some aspects of a landmark law struck down by the Supreme Court in 2013. Donald Trump, the former president who promoted false claims of election fraud, congratulated the Georgia governor and state leaders on the new law. 1 is vast, and its Senate counterpart would confront the new Georgia law by expanding voting by mail and early voting, both popular during the pandemic.

He told reporters the Georgia law is an “atrocity" and the Justice Department is looking into it. Allies meanwhile plan to fight the Georgia law, and others, in court. He called as well for the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would restore some aspects of a landmark law struck down by the Supreme Court in 2013. Donald Trump, the former president who promoted false claims of election fraud, congratulated the Georgia governor and state leaders on the new law. 1 is vast, and its Senate counterpart would confront the new Georgia law by expanding voting by mail and early voting, both popular during the pandemic.

(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)WASHINGTON – In President Joe Biden's war against the coronavirus, former President Donald Trump hardly exists. The Democratic president ignored Trump in his first prime-time address to the nation, aside from a brief indirect jab. AdThe truth is that both Biden and Trump deserve some credit, though Biden stands to benefit from being in power during the nation’s emergence from the pandemic. Well it wasn't,” Biden said, taking credit for putting the federal government on a “war footing” after he took office. AdIn his early days in the White House, Biden’s team made headlines as they said publicly that he had inherited no plan to combat the pandemic.

But in the end, only seven of 50 Senate Republicans voted to convict Trump in his historic second impeachment trial on Saturday, Feb. 13, 2021. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)NEW YORK – The Republican Party still belongs to Donald Trump. But in the end, only seven of 50 Senate Republicans voted to convict Trump in his historic second impeachment trial on Saturday. Indeed, in Trump's Republican Party, there are very few willing to cross him if they harbor future political ambitions. “The authoritarian side of the Republican Party is the dominant side,” he said.

But in the end, only seven of 50 Senate Republicans voted to convict Trump in his historic second impeachment trial on Saturday, Feb. 13, 2021. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)NEW YORK – The Republican Party still belongs to Donald Trump. But in the end, only seven of 50 Senate Republicans voted to convict Trump in his historic second impeachment trial on Saturday. Indeed, in Trump's Republican Party, there are very few willing to cross him if they harbor future political ambitions. “The authoritarian side of the Republican Party is the dominant side,” he said.

“I feel like we've significantly made our city better; now, it's time to pass the baton.”Benjamin was elected in 2010 as Columbia's first Black mayor. As for higher office, Benjamin — South Carolina’s 2002 Democratic attorney general nominee, beaten in that contest by now-Gov. AdAs was witnessed in Jaime Harrison's unsuccessful 2020 challenge of Republican U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Democratic challenger winning a statewide office in South Carolina — where all such offices are in GOP hands — remains an uphill climb. When asked if that had factored into his decision-making, Benjamin said the outcome had no effect on his ultimate decision. Even out of elected office, Benjamin will likely continue to play an outsized role in the Democratic politics of South Carolina, particularly in the state's first-in-the-South presidential primary.

Democrats in Nevada are making a play to bump Iowa and New Hampshire from their early spots on presidential primary calendar. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)LAS VEGAS – Democrats in Nevada are making a play to bump Iowa and New Hampshire from their early spots on the presidential primary calendar. Nevada Democrats also plan to make their case in the coming months to the DNC, which sets the party's nominating process. Some of the state party's governing committee acknowledge there's internal debate over whether the leadoff caucus is worth fighting over. But others say Iowa Democrats should instead be focused on winning elections — after years of watching the state trend Republican.

Harrison, the longtime Democratic Party official, is President-elect Joe Bidens choice to lead the national party, according to multiple party officials. (AP Photo/Richard Shiro, File)COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Democratic National Committee elected Jaime Harrison of South Carolina as chair on Thursday, signifying an early alignment between newly inaugurated President Joe Biden and state party leaders around the country. Harrison was a key liaison with state party leaders with whom Perez sometimes had rocky relationships. Harrison, 44, comes into the job with overwhelming support from state party leaders, making his elevation a sign of relative unity in a party organization often beset by infighting among state leaders and Washington power players. Thursday's meeting also included a video tribute to Don Fowler, a former national party chair and mainstay of South Carolina politics, who died last month at age 85.

Harrison is expected to be elected without any significant opposition when the Democratic National Committee convenes next Thursday in a virtual session, a day after Biden is inaugurated. In addition to Harrison, Biden on Thursday announced that Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, Michigan Gov. “This group of individuals represent the very best of the Democratic Party,” Biden said in a release. “Everyone cleared the field for Jaime,” said Texas Democratic Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa. __This story has been corrected to show that Cyburn is Democratic whip, not minority whip.

Raphael Warnock addresses supporters during a rally with Jon Ossoff in Atlanta on the first day of early voting for the senate runoff, Dec. 14, 2020. Raphael Warnock, who is trying to unseat Sen. Kelly Loeffler, was close behind with a little over $103 million. Perdue reported $68 million over the same two-month span, with Loeffler taking in just under $64 million. The two races will determine which party controls the Senate — and likely how ambitious President-elect Joe Biden can be with his agenda. That will likely enable Biden to enact a more ambitious agenda, assuming he can keep fellow Democrats on board.

Gavin Newsom speaks at a COVID-19 testing facility in Valencia, Calif. As California Gov. Gavin Newsom's shoulders as he considers his pick to serve out the rest of Vice President-elect Kamala Harris' Senate term through 2022. The South saw its highest number of Black Senate candidates ever this year, but none won races outright. Labor icon Dolores Huerta and California Latinas for Reproductive Justice want Newsom to appoint a Black woman. De Leon won the endorsement of the California Democratic Party and prominent labor unions, in part because of his support for immigrant rights and aggressive policies to curb climate change.

(AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)ATLANTA – The Georgia U.S. Senate runoffs don't take place until Jan. 5. And President Donald Trump has complicated the contest by claiming baselessly that the November election in Georgia was beset by fraud. Already, $329 million in advertising has been spent or reserved in the state since Election Day, according to data from the ad tracking firm Kantar/CMAG. While Biden’s campaign ran operations in Georgia until the Nov. 3 election, Senate Democrats’ campaign arm is in charge now. “People are very inspired by the Stacey Abrams magic,” said Michael Smith, a Los Angeles donor who has given to several groups raising money for the Georgia Democrats.

(Nicholas Kamm/Pool via AP)WASHINGTON – Arizona Democrat and former astronaut Mark Kelly was sworn into the Senate on Wednesday, narrowing Republican control of the chamber and underscoring his state's shift from red to blue. Kelly, 56, defeated GOP Sen. Martha McSally in last month's election, making her one of only three incumbents to lose. Kelly's Arizona colleague, Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, held the Bible on which he took his oath. In what was one of the country's most expensive Senate races, Kelly raised $89 million. That was second only to the $108 million collected by defeated South Carolina Democratic Senate candidate Jaime Harrison, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.

His only win during a short-lived Democratic bid for the White House was in the territory of American Samoa. Yet after dumping $1.1 billion into his campaign, he waited until September to follow through on his vow to spend big to unseat Trump. The showing could raise questions about Bloomberg's ability to use his vast financial resources to sway politics in the future. Bloomberg advisers say it's unfair to blame him for not doing enough to help Biden in Florida. Democrats lost seats in the House on Election Day and failed to flip statehouse chambers they had targeted.

PORTLAND, Maine – If Republicans are able to hold onto their majority in the U.S. Senate, the remarkable staying power of Susan Collins will be a big reason why. As Biden won the state, Collins outperformed Trump by 7 percentage points, and her opponent, Democrat Sara Gideon, had little success peeling moderate voters away from the senator. Collins appeared to beat Gideon with independents while overwhelmingly holding on to Republicans, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of voters. Democrats in the Senate admitted that Democratic leader Chuck Schumer discouraged them from sponsoring bills with Collins or other actions that might help her burnish her bipartisan brand as Democrats eyed her seat. And, as they have for almost a quarter of a century, Mainers will be counting on Collins in the Senate.

New York Senator Chuck Schumer speaks at a news conference outside an early voting site in New York, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. New Yorkers lined up to vote early for a fourth consecutive day Tuesday after a weekend that saw a crush of more than 400,000 voters statewide. The unofficial tally shows about 194,000 voters this weekend in New York City, where some people waited an hour or more in lines that stretched for several blocks. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Republicans held key Senate seats that Democrats hoped to flip, and the GOP may ultimately shrink the Democrats' House majority. The stakes are too damn high.”Indeed, should Trump lose, no matter the margin, he would be the first incumbent president to fail to win reelection since 1992. And in a warning sign for Democrats, Trump demonstrated an uptick of support in some Black and Latino communities. To be sure, Biden performed better than Hillary Clinton four years earlier in states like Iowa, Ohio, and Texas. “Incumbent presidents don’t often lose, and this one is going to lose and lose resoundingly."

U.S. Rep. Kendra Horn, an Oklahoma City lawyer, faced Republican state Sen. Bice for the Oklahoma City-area House seat. President Donald Trump supported Mace on Twitter and she once worked on the president’s campaign. Fischbach contended that Peterson was too close to Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other liberals. Republican Ronny Jackson has won a House seat in West Texas, where he moved after leaving the White House in 2018. They are banking on anxiety over the pandemic, suburban indignation with President Donald Trump and a fundraising advantage.

Republican Senate candidate Sen. Mitch McConnell, second from right, and his wife, Elaine Chao, right, look on as aides show him the election results in Louisville, Ky., Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)WASHINGTON – Hopes fading for Senate control, Democrats had a disappointing election night as Republicans swatted down an onslaught of challengers and fought to retain their fragile majority. Democrats contested seats from New England to the Deep South and the Midwest to the Mountain West, reaching deep into GOP strongholds. The Democrats' gains were in Colorado and Arizona, where former astronaut Mark Kelly beat GOP incumbent Martha McSally. Republican Cynthia Lummis, the former congresswoman from Wyoming, won the Senate seat being vacated by Republican Mike Enzi.

On Saturday, Harrison made stops in northwestern South Carolina, a heavily Republican area. You,” Graham told supporters Saturday, saying the area represented a ”red wave” of GOP support. More than 1 million people had already cast their ballots in a race that drew sums of money unheard of in South Carolina politics. It’s a critique Graham has faced in the past from some South Carolina conservatives, seeing his bipartisan work on issues like immigration reform as weakness. “The problem with Sen. Graham is that, if Trump is president, he’s going to be all in with Trump,” Reynolds told the AP on Saturday.

— Trump paints an apocalyptic portrait of life under a Biden presidency— Trump Cabinet members fan out to states, blending politics and policy. ___HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON:8:45 p.m.President Donald Trump has met with rap star Lil Wayne at his resort in Doral, Florida. The Trump campaign and the company didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press. The Minnesota Department of Health has linked 28 coronavirus cases to other recent Trump campaign events in the state. Mrs. Trump warmed up the large crowd outside Raymond James Stadium in Tampa for President Donald Trump.

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Jaime Harrison speaks at a campaign rally on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2020, in North Charleston, S.C. (AP Photo/Meg Kinnard)COLUMBIA, S.C. – In the battle for control of the U.S. Senate this year, the Deep South is fielding more Black candidates than it has since Reconstruction. Mike Espy and Adrian Perkins, meanwhile, are launching spirited bids for the Senate in Mississippi and Louisiana, respectively. The Senate currently has three Black members: Republican Tim Scott of South Carolina and Democrats Cory Booker of New Jersey and Kamala Harris of California. “The more competitive races are, and Black candidates win those competitive races, it diminishes this worry that Black candidates can’t win,” Abrams recently told The Associated Press. In Mississippi, Espy is trying for a second time to become the state’s first Black senator since Reconstruction with his challenge to Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith.

– Six years after being elected in an expensive and heated race, Republican Sen. Tom Cotton is on the ballot again and he's campaigning hard — just not in Arkansas. Cotton insists his focus has been on helping fellow Republicans and the president, not on any future plans. “The campaigning I've been doing this year across the country is laying the groundwork for a Republican majority in the Senate and hopefully the president's reelection," Cotton said. Cotton has also lent his support to a proposal going before Arkansas voters that would impose new restrictions on ballot initiatives. While he's a Trump loyalist, Cotton and Trump have split on some issues, including saying he would have urged the public to wear masks earlier in the coronavirus pandemic.

Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett departs with her husband, Jesse, after the third day of her confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2020. (Jonathan Ernst/Pool via AP)WASHINGTON – For Republicans, the nomination fight over Amy Coney Barrett is a chance to seal conservative control of the Supreme Court for decades. Either way, both sides are using the Supreme Court battle in fundraising appeals and other ways that underscore its political potency. Four GOP senators in competitive campaigns are on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which wrapped up hearings Thursday on Barrett's nomination. That contrasts with the 2018 confirmation fight over Trump Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, who was accused of a decades-old sexual assault that he denied.

(Bob Daemmrich/Nexstar/KXAN via AP, Pool)WASHINGTON – Buoyed by massive fundraising success, Democratic Senate candidates are mounting a push in Republican states that few would have thought possible just a few months ago, placing continued GOP control of the chamber at risk. MJ Hegar in Texas reported raising over $13 million during the same period for her race against Republican Sen. John Cornyn. In deep-red Kentucky, Amy McGrath has posted strong fundraising numbers against Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. In Mississippi, Mike Espy reported raising $4 million in his rematch against Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith. O'Rourke was criticized for being too stingy with his cash, only reluctantly aiding other Democrats, though he eventually donated large amounts to the Texas Democratic Party.

For Graham, the Republican Senate majority and Trump himself, the hearings three weeks before Election Day could be a last stand. But they're also a real-time test of whether that's enough to counter a jaw-dropping $57 million fundraising haul by Graham's Democratic opponent in the South Carolina race, Jaime Harrison. He once vowed to oppose any Supreme Court confirmation hearings in presidential election years. But the days leading up to the Barrett hearings were particularly challenging for Graham. Back then, Trump had called Graham a “lightweight” and a “liberal,” and famously made public the senator's cell phone number.

Feinstein led Democrats in calling on Barrett to provide any missing materials from a questionnaire she completed for her confirmation. SEN. KAMALA HARRIS, D-CALIF.Harris, Joe Biden's running mate in the presidential election, will again be in the spotlight as Democrats question a Trump nominee for the Supreme Court. Those hearings, at which Harris played a starring role, drew more than 20 million viewers. Harris and other key Democrats said the hearings should not move forward without plans to test people attending, including senators, for coronavirus. In just three years on the 7th Circuit, Barrett has twice argued for approval of abortion restrictions that violated Supreme Court precedent, Hirono said.

Confirmation hearings are set to begin Monday for President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee giving Republicans one last chance to salvage their Senate majority by wresting attention away from the White House and its COVID-19 response and onto the GOP’s longtime goal of fashioning a conservative court. Only two GOP senators balked at quick confirmation. This time, it's much about securing his own legacy reshaping the judiciary into what allies call the “McConnell Court” as giving his majority a landing pad after a tumultuous four years with Trump. Having already bent Senate rules to allow 51-vote threshold to advance Supreme Court nominees, rather than 60 as was tradition, McConnell is now poised to usher a third Trump justice to confirmation. “It’s not going to be remembered as the McConnell Court,” said Stevens.

“The Senate map is looking exceedingly grim,” said one major GOP donor, Dan Eberhart. (It's only three if Biden wins the White House.) As Trump’s fundraising has plateaued in recent months, it has spiked for Republican outside groups that are supporting House and Senate candidates. In 2016, Republican Senate candidates lost in every state Trump lost and won where Trump won. Even in red states, Republicans are starting to make clear they aren't following Trump when it comes to the pandemic.

(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)WASHINGTON – The Latest on the 2020 presidential election (all times local):8:30 p.m.Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is detailing his approach on what he’s called a “national mask mandate” as he campaigns against President Donald Trump. Biden told NBC News during a town hall Monday night that he doesn’t believe a president can impose a national mandate nationwide. The Biden-Harris campaign requested a plexiglass shield for Wednesday's vice presidential debate, and the Commission on Presidential Debates agreed to it. It will be the first debate since President Donald Trump was diagnosed with the coronavirus. Plans for the second debate are in question following Trump’s diagnosis, and the development has already informed changes to the vice presidential debate.

Barrett’s confirmation would cement a 6-3 conservative majority on the court, and she has compared her approach to the law generally to that of her mentor, Justice Antonin Scalia, one of the dissenters in the gay marriage case. Reversing the court’s decision in the gay marriage case would seem a tall order, but Thomas’ statement underscored liberals’ fears that the court could roll back some of their hardest-fought gains. The justices seemed prepared to uphold Delaware's political party provision, and the argument passed without any comment about the partisan fighting over the Supreme Court’s makeup. The justices will hear a total of 10 arguments this week and next, but the term is so far short on high-profile cases. The justices last heard argument in their courtroom in February and skipped planned arguments in March and April before hearing cases by phone in May.

In his pursuit of a fourth term, Graham — chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee — also argued the case for his chief congressional goal at the moment: the confirmation of President Donald Trump's latest Supreme Court nominee. That moment, Graham said Saturday, also riled up liberals he now says are pouring $100 million into Harrison's campaign and groups supporting him, to try to oust Graham. “Senator, you said ‘use my words against me,’” Harrison said, referencing Graham's 2018 comments on the subject. Of his partition, Harrison said he was taking every precaution to keep himself and his loved ones safe. Graham's campaign said they “don't discuss those numbers.” The two men are next scheduled to debate Oct. 9.

FILE - In this May 3, 2020, file photo the setting sun shines on the Supreme Court building on Capitol Hill in Washington. The Supreme Court opens a new term Monday, Oct. 5. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court opens a new term Monday with Republicans on the cusp of realizing a dream 50 years in the making, a solid conservative majority that might roll back abortion rights, expand gun rights and shrink the power of government. Barrett's confirmation would cement a 6-3 conservative majority and diminish Chief Justice John Roberts' ability to moderate the court's decisions. Four years ago, Republicans were content to leave a Supreme Court seat open through the election, even if it meant having an eight-justice court decide any election challenges.

Part of Graham's justification for pressing ahead is Democrats' changing of the Senate rules to confirm more appeals court judges during President Barack Obama’s tenure. But what looms largest is the confirmation battle for the last Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh. Trump has promised to put forward a female nominee for the Supreme Court seat this week, starting the process for Graham in the Senate. It may end up being Graham's only chance to shepherd a nominee to the high court. As he seeks a fourth Senate term, it's clear that the consequences the Supreme Court battle could have on his own election are not far from Graham's mind.

FILE - In this Dec. 14, 2019 file photo, Democrat Jaime Harrison, who is seeking to challenge Republican U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, speaks to Democrats gathered at the Spratt Issues Conference in Greenville, S.C. U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham has been outraised for the first time by his Harrison, Democratic challenger, in a record-breaking quarterly period that sets up a multimillion-dollar grudge match leading into the general election. Harrison announced late Wednesday, April 14, 2020, that he took in $7.36 million in the first three months of 2020, a figure his campaign said brought his total, overall fundraising to nearly $15 million. (AP Photo/Meg Kinnard, File)

It also dwarfs the $10 million figure Harrison previously told The Associated Press he thought necessary to win. Harrison and the groups backing him argue that Graham, a Trump critic turned close ally, is too easily influenced by the president. Trump's popularity in South Carolina is a significant challenge for the groups working against Graham. His group has paid for jarring ads portraying Graham as a “parasite.”“You voted for Lindsey Graham before, but this is really the first race where you get to vote for Lindsey Graham where you know, really, who he is," Schmidt said during a recent meeting with AP reporters. “South Carolina Republicans always show up at game time,” Moore said.

President Donald Trump and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., right, play golf at Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Va., as seen from the other side of the Potomac River in Darnestown, Md., Saturday, July 18, 2020. On Wednesday, Carlson suggested that Graham is a false supporter of Trump, rhetorically asking his viewers why Graham — as a Republican — would have set up such a meeting. “Lindsey Graham was against all of that, more than many Democrats,” Carlson added. Book excerpts were released Wednesday, as well as taped conversations between Woodward and Trump. “Lindsey was in the room when one of the interviews took place,” Harrison said.

COLUMBIA, S.C. With one stroke, President Donald Trumps abrupt reversal on offshore drilling this week has loosened a political vise that was tightening around three Republicans senators running for reelection in coastal states where drilling is widely opposed. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue of Georgia, all Democratic targets. Brian Kemp, another Trump ally, and his Republican predecessor, Nathan Deal, have opposed drilling off the state's 100-mile (160 km) coast. The decision by President Trump to include South Carolina meets the desires of our coastal communities and states leadership, Graham said. I very much appreciate President Trump for listening to our state and delivering for our people.___Ben Nadler in Atlanta contributed to this report.

(AP Photo/Meg Kinnard, File)COLUMBIA, S.C. There's an unusual feeling emerging among Democrats in South Carolina: energy. But Democrats insist the GOP's grip on this Deep South state is weakening. "People wanted to see Kamala on the ticket, and the Democratic voters in South Carolina got what they preferred.Of course, South Carolina is still a Republican state. 'Matt Moore, a former South Carolina Republican Party chair, said he is skeptical that Democrats will win statewide races this year. But he acknowledged the gains that have helped Democrats in other states in the South could eventually spill into South Carolina.

(AP Photo/Susan Walsh)WASHINGTON A small but singularly influential group is a driving force for an agreement on a stalled coronavirus relief bill: Endangered Senate GOP incumbents who need to win this fall if Republicans are going to retain control of the majority. Several of them are refusing to allow the Senate to adjourn until Washington delivers a deal to their desperate constituents. And Sen. Susan Collins is in overdrive, backing help for cash-starved states and local governments and Maine's shipbuilding industry. GOP Senate candidates need a deal, a good deal ... so they can get home and campaign on helping small businesses get up and moving again, said Scott Reed, the chief political strategist at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Cornyn helped start a bandwagon of senators who are demanding the Senate stay at work in Washington until a coronavirus bill is passed.

(AP Photo/Susan Walsh)WASHINGTON A small but singularly influential group is a driving force for an agreement on a stalled coronavirus relief bill: Endangered Senate GOP incumbents who need to win this fall if Republicans are going to retain control of the majority. Confronted with a poisonous political environment, vulnerable Senate Republicans are rushing to endorse generous jobless benefits, child care grants, and more than $100 billion to help schools reopen. Several of them are refusing to allow the Senate to adjourn until Washington delivers a deal to their desperate constituents. And Sen. Susan Collins is in overdrive, backing help for cash-starved states and local governments and Maine's shipbuilding industry. GOP Senate candidates need a deal, a good deal ... so they can get home and campaign on helping small businesses get up and moving again, said Scott Reed, the chief political strategist at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Democrats have at least a punchers chance of grabbing Republican-held seats in four states Trump won by double digits: Alaska, Kansas, Kentucky and South Carolina. They argue that Trump's name on the ballot will give Senate candidates in Republican states a major edge and say they're spending there because Democrats are raising sums that can't be ignored. An expensive battle is brewing over Ernst's Iowa seat, with outside Democratic and GOP groups each planning to spend over $20 million. Kelly has a solid chance of defeating GOP Sen. Martha McSally while Harrison is waging an unlikely drive to oust Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, a close Trump ally. Republicans are eyeing Alaska, where GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan's likely opponent is Al Gross, an independent with Democratic support.

Now, during a national reckoning on racism, Democratic Party leaders want those symbolic changes to become part of a fundamental shift at the ballot box. North Carolina, Georgia, Texas these are becoming real two-party states, said Republican pollster Brent Buchanan, whose firm, Cygnal, aides GOP campaigns across the country. Senate contests in South Carolina, Alabama and Mississippi could be much closer than typical statewide races in those Deep South states. Obama won North Carolina and Virginia in 2008, leaning more heavily on diverse cities and battleground suburbs. In South Carolina, Harrison sees progress, even as more tangible policy fights remain.

Chairman Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., smiles during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 9, 2020, to examine COVID-19 fraud, focusing on law enforcement's response to those exploiting the pandemic. Graham, 64, bested fellow Republicans Duke Buckner, Michael Lapierre and Joe Reynolds in Tuesdays primary election. The 44-year-old Harrison, an associate chairman with the Democratic National Committee and former chairman of the South Carolina Democratic Party, has from the start aimed to draw national attention. State Republican Party Chairman Drew McKissick said GOP stalwarts were ready and eager to work to defeat Harrison. He is a powerful voice in the U.S. Senate for the right to life for the unborn and older citizens.___Associated Press writer Michelle Liu in Lexington, South Carolina, contributed.

Graham, 64, faces fellow Republicans Duke Buckner, Michael Lapierre and Joe Reynolds. Buckner, an attorney and former Walterboro city councilman, and Lapierre, a retired corporate executive from Pickens, have argued Graham isn't conservative enough. A year ago, all of South Carolina's statewide-elected officials endorsed Graham, as has Vice President Mike Pence, who helped kick off Graham's campaign last year. The 44-year-old Harrison, an associate chairman with the Democratic National Committee and former chairman of the South Carolina Democratic Party, has from the start aimed to draw national attention. Graham has taken in a total of $21 million, according to Federal Election Commission records.

FILE - In this Nov. 15, 2019, file photo former Georgia House Democratic Leader Stacey Abrams, speaks at the National Press Club in Washington. Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has already narrowed the field by saying he will pick a woman. Gretchen Whitmer, other names that have been part of the speculation are Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Abrams. On Thursday, Abrams announced that she was backing Democratic candidates in Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, North Carolina and South Carolina. For Arizona, Abrams said former astronaut Mark Kelly has a proven record of service to our country. John Hickenlooper, the former Colorado governor and 2020 presidential candidate, is the one to help us cross the finish line for a Democratic Senate majority, Abrams said.