Alabama: Trump slams Moore.  Prospective Republican candidate for Senate Roy Moore took a big hit this week when President Donald Trump said his nomination could have “devastating” consequences, especially for the future of the U.S. Supreme Court.  The twice-removed former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice lost to Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL) in 2017, following allegations that he had improper sexual contact with teenage girls in the 1970s.  North Carolina: Dems struggle to find good candidates.  U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) is considered to be one of the more vulnerable Senate Republicans heading into 2020, but Democrats have struggled to find a suitable candidate to challenge him.  Cal Cunningham, a candidate for Lt. Gov., and State Senator Jeff Jackson have been floated as names, but as of now there is no big time candidate for the party to rally around.  Texas: SOS Whitley resigns.  Embattled Texas Secretary of State David Whitley resigned this week after he was failed to be confirmed before the end of the legislative session, as is required by law.  Whitley came under fire after his office wrongly flagged tens of thousands of Texans as […]

The Southern Political Report has been put on hold for the rest of 2019. We also extend best wishes to our legendary publisher emeritus Hastings Wyman on his well-deserved retirement after his decades of hard-hitting, in-depth reporting and analysis.

Donald Trump must win Florida in 2020 if he wants to remain president. And he knows it.

U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA) joined Democrat Chris Murphy of Connecticut Tuesday and re-introduced bipartisan legislation that he says will help Americans ensure they do not outlive their retirement savings.

Kentucky: Beshear wins Dem nomination.  Attorney General Andy Beshear won the Democratic primary for governor this week, setting up a showdown with current Gov. Matt Bevin.  The two have had a testy relationship over the past four years, waging a series of legal battles over pension and education.  South Carolina: Biden boasts big lead.  The Palmetto State is one of the key early states for the Democratic presidential primary, and if early polls are any indicator then former Vice President Joe Biden has a major advantage.  A poll from Columbia-based Crantford Research has Biden at 42% of respondents’ first choice, followed distantly by California Sen. Kamala Harris at 10% and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren at 8%.  Florida: DeSantis calls for elections security check.  Following a report that Russian hackers successfully breached two counties’ election data ahead of the 2016 election, Gov. Ron DeSantis has called for a security check to ensure that elections infrastructure in the state is protected.  The state’s budget, still awaiting the governor’s signature, designates an additional $2.8 million in cybersecurity grants for county elections departments.