Politics

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — A video shows Maryland Republican Dan Cox, who is running for governor, accepting a gift from a young man wearing a shirt with a Proud Boys insignia during the candidate’s primary victory party this summer.

The video, obtained by The Washington Post, shows Cox accepting a comb from him.

“Here, this is a present from Maryland Proud Boys to you,” the young man said in video footage publicly posted on Cox’s Vimeo account.

Members of the Proud Boys, a far-right extremist group, were involved in storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

After accepting the gift, Cox asked the man’s name and shook his hand.

“Nice to meet you,” Cox said, before greeting other supporters.

The Washington Post reports the clip was removed after the newspaper contacted Cox’s campaign, which responded with a statement denying an association with the young man.

“In the noise of the victory celebration, it was hard to hear what was being said,” Cox said, adding that he was surprised by the man handing him something and that “frankly, I did not even keep the comb.”

Cox added: “I had never seen him before, and I have not seen him since. I have no affiliation with anyone involved in violence on January 6th, period.”

Cox has reiterated false claims that the 2020 presidential election “was stolen” from Donald Trump, and he volunteered to help decertify results in Pennsylvania. He has also issued denials and apologies about his conduct surrounding Jan. 6. Although he said he attended the “Stop the Steal” rally, he has said he left before the march to the Capitol.

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By David Shepardson

(Reuters) -A bipartisan group of House of Representatives lawmakers criticized the Biden administration decision on Friday to waive U.S. shipping rules in September for the delivery of fuel to Puerto Rico.

The Sept. 28 Jones Act waiver allowed for the delivery of diesel sourced from the mainland United States by British Petroleum Products North America.

House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee chair Peter DeFazio, a Democrat, and top committee Republican Sam Graves expressed “concerns and disappointment” over the waiver.

“We do not understand how the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)… made a retroactive determination that no U.S.-flag vessels could have performed the move for which the waiver was granted,” the letter said to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg that was also signed by Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation subcommittee chair Salud Carbajal and ranking Republican Bob Gibbs.

DHS issued a waiver of the Jones Act, a century-old law that requires goods moved between U.S. ports to be carried by U.S.-flagged ships.

Hurricane Fiona hit on Sept. 18, causing an island-wide power outage for its 3.3 million people. Last month, Puerto Rico Governor Pedro Pierluisi asked the White House for a waiver to increase the availability of fuel after the storm.

The lawmakers agreed with the Maritime Administration that consideration of a waiver while a vessel is already underway is “novel and problematic” and said they “would like to better understand the reasoning for your decision to issue a waiver for a company that appeared to be gaming the Jones Act waiver process.”

BP and DHS did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A spokeswoman for Buttigieg said the department would respond to the lawmakers.

On Sunday, DHS granted a second waiver to address Puerto Rico’s urgent need for liquefied natural gas.

On Monday, the White House said “fuel companies are reminded that any request to waive the Jones Act … should be made using the standard processes and timelines with which these companies are very familiar.”

(Reporting by David Shepardson; editing by Diane Craft and Chris Reese)

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By Sarah N. Lynch

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Steve Bannon, a one-time adviser to former President Donald Trump, was sentenced by a judge on Friday to four months in prison for refusing to cooperate with lawmakers investigating last year’s U.S. Capitol attack.

Bannon was found guilty in July on two counts of contempt of Congress for failing to provide documents or testimony to the House of Representatives committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 attack. Prosecutors had sought a six-month sentence, while Bannon’s attorneys had asked for probation.

U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols also ordered Bannon, a key adviser to the Republican Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, to pay a fine of $6,500. The judge allowed Bannon to defer serving his sentence while he appeals his conviction.

Prosecutor J.P. Cooney said at Friday’s hearing that Bannon chose to “thumb his nose at Congress.” He “is not above the law, and that’s what makes this case important,” Cooney said.

Bannon, 68, served as Trump’s chief White House strategist during 2017 before a falling out between them that was later patched up.

A firebrand, Brannon helped articulate the “America First” right-wing populism and stout opposition to immigration that helped define Trump’s presidency. Bannon has played an instrumental role in right-wing media and has promoted right-wing causes and candidates in the United States and abroad.

A pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol and attacked police with batons, sledgehammers, flag poles, Taser devices, chemical irritants, metal pipes, rocks, metal guard rails and other weapons in a failed effort to block congressional certification of his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.

Bannon declined to address the judge prior to sentencing on Friday.

Outside the courthouse, he delivered fiery remarks as protesters at times tried to drown his voice out with shouts of “Traitor!”

“Today was my judgment day by the judge,” Bannon told reporters. But…on November 8, they are going to have judgment on the illegitimate Biden regime, and quite frankly, (House Speaker) Nancy Pelosi and the entire committee.”

Bannon has two weeks to file his appeal, which his lawyers said they intend to do. If he fails to file it on time, he is required to turn himself in by Nov. 15.

According to the Jan. 6 committee, Bannon spoke with Trump at least twice on the day before the attack, attended a planning meeting at a Washington hotel and said on his right-wing podcast that “all hell is going to break loose tomorrow.”

In his trial, prosecutors called only two witnesses while Bannon’s defense team called none. Bannon opted not to testify. Bannon’s lawyers have said they will appeal his conviction.

Bannon’s defense was hamstrung by rulings by Nichols that barred him from asserting that he relied on executive privilege claims and arguing that he relied on advice from his attorney.

The committee’s leaders have called Bannon’s conviction a victory for the rule of law. Bannon had sought to portray the criminal charges as politically motivated, lashing out at Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland, while saying, “They took on the wrong guy his time.”

The Democratic-led committee has sought testimony from dozens of people in Trump’s orbit. In addition to Bannon, prosecutors have charged former Trump White House adviser Peter Navarro with contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from the same committee, with a Nov. 17 trial date set. Navarro has pleaded not guilty.

During Friday’s hearing, Bannon’s attorney David Schoen said Bannon relied on the advice of his lawyers not to comply with a congressional subpoena after Trump invoked executive privilege, a legal doctrine that shields some White House communications from disclosure.

“A more egregious contempt of Congress would have been to say ‘Screw you Congress, take your subpoena and shove it!’” Schoen said.

Nichols, in rendering his decision, said he agreed that Bannon should get some credit for relying on legal advice, even if it was “misguided.”

At the same time, Nichols said that Bannon “had not produced a single document” or any testimony to Congress.

“The January 6 Committee has every reason to investigate what happened that day,” Nichols said, adding that “flaunting congressional subpoenas betrays a lack of respect” for Congress.

Friday’s sentencing does not end Bannon’s legal troubles. He was indicted in New York state in September on charges of money laundering and conspiracy, with prosecutors accusing him of deceiving donors giving money to help build Trump’s promised wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Bannon, who pleaded not guilty, could face up to 15 years in prison if convicted on those charges.

(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Additional reporting by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Will Dunham and Alistair Bell)

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CONWAY, Ark. (AP) — Former White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders defended her avoidance of local media in her bid for Arkansas governor on Friday as she appeared in her only debate ahead of next month’s election.

Sanders, the Republican nominee who is heavily favored in the November election, has conducted few local interviews during her bid for the state’s top office. Sanders had agreed to only one debate with Democratic nominee Chris Jones and Libertarian Ricky Dale Harrington.

Sanders said she’s been speaking directly to voters by campaigning around the state.

“Freedom of the press is incredibly important, but with freedom of the press comes a great deal of responsibility,” Sanders said. “When they don’t live up to their end of the bargain, it forces some of us to go outside the box, which I have done every single day for the past two years.”

Public polling has shown Sanders leading by double digits and she’s shattered fundraising records in the predominantly Republican state. Early voting begins Monday in Arkansas.

During her two year term as former President Donald Trump’s chief spokeswoman, Sanders scaled back televised news briefings after repeatedly sparring with reporters who aggressively questioned her. Sanders often sought to justify the lack of formal briefings by saying they were unnecessary when journalists could hear from Trump directly.

Jones, an ordained Baptist minister and nuclear engineer, said voters deserve to hear more from Sanders.

“The more we have leaders who are unwilling to show up and answer the tough questions in front of crowds that don’t agree with them and with media that don’t agree with them, the further we’ll get away from the strength of our democracy,” Jones said.

Sanders’ comments come a day after outgoing Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who held more than 200 news briefings during the COVID-19 pandemic, praised the role of the press. Hutchinson, who has endorsed Sanders, is leaving office in January due to term limits.

“While it is challenging for those in public office, your work is essential,” Hutchinson said Thursday night at the Arkansas Press Association’s Press Freedom Gala. “And it is an incredibly important part of the checks and balances that we have in our society and in our freedoms.”

The hourlong debate held by Arkansas PBS didn’t include questions that have dominated other campaigns nationally, including abortion access and the Capitol riot.

Sanders, who has vowed to use the office to fight President Joe Biden’s policies, repeatedly invoked an education plan she recently released that calls for improving literacy rates. She also said she believes the state can afford her plan to phase out the income tax. Sanders hasn’t released a detailed timeline for the tax cut plan.

“We have to do it responsibly but we do it with growing our own economy and cutting out the waste and fraud and abuse that exist in our government spending as it is now,” she said.

During the debate Jones touted his “PB&J” platform that he says stands for preschool, broadband and jobs. Jones said he was worried about the impact eliminating the income tax could have on state services.

“The math has to add up,” he said. “You cannot eliminate 55% of the state revenue and then not cut something.”

Sanders also said she would have signed into law the state’s ban on gender affirming care for minors, a prohibition that is the subject of a federal trial this week. The Republican Legislature last year enacted the ban, overriding a veto by Hutchinson.

“Kids are not capable of making life altering decisions like that,” Sanders said, comparing the prohibition to minimum ages for drivers licenses, drinking or smoking.

Arkansas was the first state to enact such a ban. Multiple medical groups, including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, oppose the bans and experts say the treatments are safe if properly administered.

Jones and Harrington said they both opposed the ban and that parents should have the right to make that decision.

“Are my children my children or do they belong to the government?” Harrington said.

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By Patricia Zengerle

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Former President Donald Trump was issued an order on Friday to testify under oath and provide documents to the House of Representatives committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters.

The committee said it had sent a subpoena to Trump

requiring documents to be submitted to the panel by Nov. 4 and him to appear for deposition testimony beginning on or about Nov. 14.

Deposition testimony often refers to closed-door, videotaped questioning of a witness on the record. Such testimony could be made public and become part of a final report by the special panel.

“As demonstrated in our hearings, we have assembled overwhelming evidence, including from dozens of your former appointees and staff, that you personally orchestrated and oversaw a multi-part effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election and to obstruct the peaceful transition of power,” the committee wrote in a letter to Trump on Friday.

Trump, who regularly refers to the panel as the “unselect committee,” has accused it of waging unfair political attacks on him while refusing to investigate his charges of widespread election fraud.

He is not likely to cooperate with the subpoena and could simply try to run out the clock on a committee whose mandate will likely end early next year if Republicans win a majority in the House in November’s midterm elections.

Thousands of Trump supporters attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, after Trump delivered a fiery speech at a rally near the White House featuring false claims that his defeat in the 2020 presidential election by Democrat Joe Biden was the result of fraud.

The assault saw rioters smash through glass and battle police. Five people including a police officer died during or shortly after the riot, more than 140 police officers were injured, the Capitol suffered millions of dollars in damage and Vice President Mike Pence, members of Congress and staff were sent running for their lives.

The committee announcement came just hours after Steve Bannon, an influential far-right figure and a former adviser to Trump, was sentenced by a federal judge to four months in prison for refusing to cooperate with the panel’s investigation. He is free, however, pending his appeal.

CRIMINAL CHARGES?

The House Select committee’s seven Democratic and two Republican members voted unanimously on Oct. 13 in favor of subpoenaing Trump, a move that could lead to criminal charges if he does not comply.

While noting that the Supreme Court has ruled that former presidents retain a limited ability to assert executive privilege in refusing to testify, the committee also said there were limits to that privilege.

It also made clear that congressional testimony by a former or sitting president was not unprecedented. The letter listed seven former presidents — most recently Gerald Ford — having testified after leaving office. “Even sitting presidents, including Abraham Lincoln and Gerald Ford” also appeared while still in the White House, it said.

“In short, you were at the center of the first and only effort by any U.S. president to overturn an election and obstruct the peaceful transition of power, ultimately culminating in a bloody attack on our own Capitol and on the Congress itself,” Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson and Vice Chair Liz Cheney wrote Trump.

Committee members have not said how they will proceed if Trump disregards his subpoena.

Federal law says that failure to comply with a congressional subpoena is a misdemeanor, punishable by one to 12 months imprisonment. If the select committee’s subpoena is ignored, the committee would vote to refer the issue to the full House. The House then would vote on whether to make a referral to the Department of Justice, which has the authority to decide whether to bring charges.

The rioters were attempting to stop Congress’ formal certification of Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election. By day’s end they had only succeeded in delaying that certification.

The House Jan. 6 select committee has been investigating the attack on the Capitol for more than a year.

It has held a series of hearings making its case – via documents, live witness testimony and recorded testimony from interviews conducted behind closed doors – that Trump was largely responsible for the deadly assault on the Capitol.

They argued that the Republican planned in advance to deny his election defeat, failed for hours to call off the thousands of his supporters who stormed the Capitol and followed through with his false claims that the election was stolen even as close advisers told him he had lost.

The former reality television star continues to hold rallies repeating his false allegations of election fraud, hinting that he will seek the presidency again in 2024.

(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle and Doina Chiacu; Editing by Alistair Bell)

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By Luc Cohen

NEW YORK (Reuters) – When jury selection begins next week in the criminal trial of former U.S. President Donald Trump’s company, prosecutors and the defense will likely be on alert for “stealth” jurors seeking to hide political biases in the hopes of being named to the panel, legal experts told Reuters.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office has charged the Trump Organization with nine counts of tax fraud and other crimes for allegedly making “off the books” payments to executives since 2005, allowing employees to understate their taxable income and enabling the company to evade payroll taxes.

The company has pleaded not guilty.

Trump has not been charged in the case, but has called the allegations politically motivated. The trial comes as the former president, a Republican, is weighing another possible bid for the White House in 2024.

“It’s very, very hard, especially with a name this big … for people to be able to separate your organization from the person who it’s named after,” said Melissa Gomez, president of MMG Jury Consulting in Philadelphia.

During jury selection – which begins on Monday – lawyers for both sides will question prospective jurors to select a panel of 12 members and six alternates. While jurors cannot be excluded for simply holding certain political views or expressing disapproval of Trump, experts said the lawyers will aim to remove jurors who cannot be fair and impartial.

Experts said they expect the defense to look out for so-called “stealth jurors” who do not answer questions about their views honestly in the hopes of being chosen. Partisan Democrats who hope that a guilty verdict could hurt Trump’s political prospects may be particularly motivated to hide the intensity of their views to get on the panel, Gomez said.

“Because of the social and societal implications – and particularly because this could be one of the first steps in ensuring that Donald Trump cannot run in the future – there’s a high risk of a stealth juror,” Gomez said.

Similarly, Gomez said the government will look to weed out strongly pro-Trump jurors who are unable to put those views aside. Such prospective jurors are likely to be vastly outnumbered: Democratic President Joe Biden won 86% of the vote in Manhattan in the 2020 election, according to New York State data.

However, a guilty verdict must be unanimous, which means one juror unwilling to convict the Trump Organization would upend the government’s case.

During a discussion about jury selection at a Sept. 12 court hearing before Judge Juan Merchan, Trump Organization lawyer Susan Necheles said she wanted to ensure that any jurors were excused if they said, “I hate former President Trump. I would always vote to convict.”

Joshua Steinglass, an assistant district attorney, said his office shared the same concerns “in terms of who we are trying to prevent from being on the jury.

Neither the district attorney’s office nor the Trump Organization’s lawyers responded to requests for comment.

‘DEEP SCOURS’ OF JURORS’ INTERNET HISTORIES

The trial comes as the former U.S. president’s legal woes are mounting. He faces a civil lawsuit brought by New York State’s attorney general for allegedly overstating his net worth and the value of his real estate assets, a federal probe into the removal of government documents from the White House when he left office and a defamation lawsuit brought by a writer who has accused him of raping her.

Lawyers for the Trump Organization have claimed the Manhattan district attorney’s case is a “selective prosecution” based on animosity toward Trump’s political views, though the judge overseeing it has rejected that argument.

Both Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and his predecessor Cyrus Vance, who began the investigation, are Democrats.

Lawyers for the defense will likely conduct “deep scours of internet research” and review jurors’ social media profiles to make sure jurors who said they could be fair have not expressed a disqualifying level of antipathy to Trump online, said Christina Marinakis, director for jury research at Litigation Insights in Baltimore

“There is some degree of due diligence that needs to be done to look at whether people are posting things online against your client, or that may be not consistent with what they’re saying in court,” Marinakis said.

(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Additional reporting by Karen Freifeld; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Josie Kao)

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is promoting Biden administration policies as the key to advancing the nation’s “long-term economic well being” in the lead-up to the midterm elections.

The former Federal Reserve chair is visiting a Virginia research and development business park with Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine on Friday and talking up administration efforts to revitalize America’s manufacturing capacity, spur computer chip production and upgrade the country’s infrastructure. Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., also will attend.

Yellen’s visit is part of the Treasury leader’s ongoing tour of the U.S., as she and other administration officials try to quell the impact of persistent high inflation.

Voters have made clear that price increases are a top concern. A June Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll showed that 40% of U.S. adults specifically named inflation in an open-ended question as one of up to five priorities for the government to work on in the next year.

Democrats want to retain their control in Congress and will need to convince voters they can wrangle inflation, which accelerated in September. In Virginia, Yellen will talk about how a boost in domestic industrial manufacturing will be one of the solutions.

“Our government’s failure to invest in innovation has had wide-ranging impacts on our long-term economic well being,” Yellen said in prepared remarks. “At the most fundamental level, it impacted our productive capacity.”

She said that over the past year President Joe Biden’s administration “has begun to reverse that trend.”

“We have advanced an economic plan that finally puts innovation and technology at the forefront of our national agenda,” she said.

Yellen planned to attend a roundtable with local entrepreneurs and people representing Virginia colleges who are focused on semiconductors, advanced manufacturing and other emerging technologies.

“Together, our efforts are raising our economy’s aggregate production capacity,” she said. “And in turn, we are raising America’s long-term economic outlook.”

Early voting is underway in many states, including Virginia.

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By Sarah N. Lynch

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Steve Bannon, a prominent figure on the American right who served as a senior strategist for former President Donald Trump, is set to be sentenced on Friday after being convicted in July on two counts of contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from lawmakers investigating last year’s U.S. Capitol attack.

The sentencing hearing before U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. (1300 GMT). Prosecutors on Monday asked the judge to sentence Bannon to six months in prison, while Bannon’s attorneys had sought probation. Each of the two counts is punishable by 30 days to one year in prison and a fine ranging between $100 to $100,000.

Prosecutors also had recommended that Bannon be ordered to pay the maximum possible fine of $200,000 after they said he refused to cooperate with a routine pre-sentencing financial investigation.

A jury of eight men and four women convicted Bannon after just three hours of deliberations for refusing to testify or provide documents subpoenaed by the House of Representatives select committee probing the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack and efforts by Trump’s allies to overturn his 2020 election loss.

Bannon, 68, was a key adviser to the Republican Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, then served as his chief White House strategist during 2017 before a falling out between them that was later patched up. Bannon helped articulate the “America First” right-wing populism and stout opposition to immigration that helped define Trump’s presidency. Bannon has played an instrumental role in right-wing media and has promoted right-wing causes and candidates in the United States and abroad.

A pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol and attacked police with batons, sledgehammers, flag poles, Taser devices, chemical irritants, metal pipes, rocks, metal guard rails and other weapons in a failed effort to block congressional certification of his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.

According to the committee, Bannon spoke with Trump at least twice on the day before the attack, attended a planning meeting at a Washington hotel and said on his right-wing podcast that “all hell is going to break loose tomorrow.”

In his trial, prosecutors called only two witnesses while Bannon’s defense team called none. Bannon opted not to testify. Bannon’s lawyers have said they will appeal his conviction.

Bannon’s defense was hamstrung by rulings by Nichols including one that barred him from asserting that he relied on claims of executive privilege, a legal doctrine shielding some White House communications, as a basis to refuse to testify. Bannon was also precluded from arguing that he relied on legal advice from his attorney.

The committee’s leaders have called Bannon’s conviction a victory for the rule of law. Bannon had sought to portray the criminal charges as politically motivated, lashing out at Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland, while saying, “They took on the wrong guy his time.”

The Democratic-led committee has sought testimony from dozens of people in Trump’s orbit. In addition to Bannon, prosecutors have charged former Trump White House adviser Peter Navarro with contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from the same committee, with a Nov. 17 trial date set. Navarro has pleaded not guilty.

Friday’s sentencing does not end Bannon’s legal troubles. He was indicted in New York state in September on charges of money laundering and conspiracy, with prosecutors accusing him of deceiving donors giving money to help build Trump’s promised wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Bannon, who pleaded not guilty, could face up to 15 years in prison if convicted on those charges. Trump pardoned Bannon last year on similar federal charges.

Trump and numerous associates like Bannon have been beset with legal issues.

Trump is facing a federal criminal investigation over the removal of sensitive government records from the White House. Trump’s real estate company is set to go on trial in Manhattan on Monday on tax fraud charges. Trump and three of his adult children also face a civil fraud lawsuit by New York state’s attorney general accusing them of overstating asset values and Trump’s net worth to get favorable bank loans and insurance coverage.

Former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani and right-wing lawyers Sidney Powell, John Eastman and Jeffrey Clark, all active in efforts to undo Trump’s 2020 election loss, also are embroiled in legal matters arising from those efforts.

(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Will Dunham)

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ATLANTA (AP) — Oprah Winfrey is again shining her star power on Democrat Stacey Abrams’s bid for governor in Georgia, as Abrams pursues a rematch against incumbent Republican Brian Kemp, who she narrowly lost to in 2018.

Winfrey appeared in a prerecorded chat with Abrams on a campaign website Thursday, saying she believes the candidate has a “calling to want people to be able to do better, to live better and to thrive in their lives.”

“I’m wishing that the people of Georgia come out and make that a reality for you and the state of Georgia,” Winfrey said.

The appearance comes during the first of three weeks of early voting in Georgia, as Democrats in particular seek to drive their voters to cast ballots early. More than 434,000 people had already voted as of Thursday morning.

Winfrey visited Georgia in November 2018 to campaign for Abrams in her previous unsuccessful bid, even knocking on some doors in suburban Atlanta. Since then, Abrams has vaulted to her own national fame as a voting rights activist and Democratic leader, earning millions from books and speeches.

Kemp has attacked Abrams as “Celebrity Stacey,” saying last month that Abrams is “running her campaign to cater to liberal elites” and not to Georgians. Kemp generally leads Abrams in polls.

“While Stacey Abrams continues to solicit the help of out-of-state billionaires,” said Kemp spokesperson Tate Mitchell, “Gov. Kemp will continue to talk to hardworking Georgians about his record of economic success and plan to build a safer, stronger Georgia.”

Abrams used the Thursday event to share her platform, which includes expanding Medicaid health insurance, raising teacher pay, improving affordable housing, and developing small businesses, especially ones owned by nonwhite residents.

“As the governor, my mission is to make sure that everyone can can do well that they have education, health care and housing and the ability to make a good living and take care of themselves,” Abrams said.

She also argued that people should vote for her as protection against U.S. Supreme Court decisions that might erode minority voting rights, protections for LGBTQ people, and safeguards against stolen presidential elections.

“And so if you want opportunity, freedom, and the ability to control your future, you need me as governor, because Brian Kemp’s proven he doesn’t care and he won’t help,” Abrams said.

“That is a lot on the line,” Winfrey said. “That’s enough to get rid of your lethargy and get you up and out.”

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — In their quest to win back statewide office in deep-blue California, Republicans have set their sights — and money — on controller candidate Lanhee Chen.

The race usually attracts little attention compared to other statewide offices, but this year, without an incumbent in the running, contributions to Chen and Democratic candidate Malia Cohen have far outpaced the last election cycle.

Chen, a former policy adviser to Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign, has crafted himself as an independent manager who can bring order to the state’s finances. Cohen, who serves on a state tax board, says her past role leading the San Francisco Board of Supervisors’ budget and finance committee makes her uniquely qualified for the job.

Chen has defied the path of recent Republican candidates in the heavily Democratic state. He’s raised more money than Cohen and his fellow Republicans seeking state office. He won the June primary against four Democrats who split their party’s vote.

That’s led to optimism he could help his party break its California drought, but Chen faces strong headwinds. California hasn’t elected a Republican statewide since 2006 and there are nearly twice as many registered Democrats.

“It’s an uphill battle, no matter what,” said Pete Peterson, who ran as a Republican for secretary of state in 2014 and now serves as dean of Pepperdine University’s School of Public Policy. He won 46% of the vote that year, the closest Republicans have come to victory in 16 years.

The controller serves as California’s fiscal watchdog, with the power to disburse state funds and audit government agencies. They also serve on more than 70 boards and commissions, including one that incentivizes renewable energy production and another that gives bonds to nonprofit colleges.

The candidates are vying to succeed Democrat Betty Yee, who’s been in the job since 2015 and previously served on the state Board of Equalization, which administers tax and fee programs. Cohen, the board’s chair, hopes to follow that same path to the job.

Chen has never held elected office, something he says makes him less beholden to any particular party, though he’s advised multiple GOP campaigns. He was appointed by former Democratic President Barack Obama to a board overseeing social security and is a public policy fellow, now on leave, at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution.

California’s high cost of living, public education, homelessness, public safety, gas taxes and fraud at the state’s unemployment agency are all within the realm of issues a controller could address, Chen said.

“All of these challenges in some ways can be affected positively by a controller who will focus on bringing greater transparency, greater accountability to how our state spends taxpayer dollars,” Chen said.

Cohen, meanwhile, sees an opportunity to expand the role of controller by looking for patterns revealed in agency audits and pushing for solutions to prevent problems from happening again.

Cohen said she wants to be “on the team that is going to be solving the gaps.”

Both pointed to the more than $20 billion of fraudulent unemployment benefits California gave to criminals as evidence of how the state’s money could be better managed.

Chen came out on top in the June primary, though the Democrats collectively won more votes. Republicans tend to do better in primary races compared to the general election, said Mindy Romero, director of the University of Southern California’s Center for Inclusive Democracy. Winning the primary in a divided field still has its benefits.

“It gives more attention to the Republican candidate, raises his profile, and maybe he might have a role in the party going forward,” she said.

By the end of the September deadline to report campaign contributions, Chen had raised nearly $1.4 million more than Cohen for the year.

Chen, who must try to keep supporters of former President Donald Trump on his side while broadening his appeal, waited until after the primary to say he never voted for Trump.

In an ad, Cohen links Chen to “Trump Republicans” pushing to restrict abortion access. Cohen campaign spokesman Joe Armenta suggested a Republican controller could “misappropriate funds dedicated to reproductive health services.”

But Chen said he supports abortion access, and campaign manager Matt Ciepielowski said Chen would not have the power or inclination to restrict abortion access.

Chen’s campaign, meanwhile, has released an online ad calling into question Cohen’s financial management skills. It references reporting by the Los Angeles Times that found a condo Cohen purchased in 2006 was foreclosed on and her social media consulting firm had its license suspended for tax issues.

Cohen defended herself against the Chen campaign’s criticism of her financial background, saying the business license issue was tied to a change of address and was resolved.

“Some may try to exploit my experience with foreclosure during the financial crisis for political gain, but as I said in 2010, it’s why I ran for office,” she tweeted after the Times article published. “I understand the pain that millions of Californians underwent and I have dedicated my career to ensuring it never happens again.”

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Sophie Austin is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow her on Twitter.

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