List of All Articles with Tag 'epelections'

Gov Ron DeSantis criticised Donald Trump on Tuesday for implying Florida's new six-week abortion ban is “too harsh,” stepping up his attacks on the former president as he prepares to challenge him for the 2024 Republican nomination. Mr DeSantis was responding to a question about Mr Trump's comments in an article published Monday by The Messenger about the six-week ban the Florida governor recently signed into law. “Many people within the pro-life movement feel that that was too harsh,” Trump told the online outlet. Mr DeSantis contended the law has widespread support among opponents of abortion and noted the former president didn't say what limits he would back on the procedure. “Protecting an unborn child when there’s a detectable heartbeat is something that almost 99 per cent of pro-lifers support,” Mr DeSantis said at a news conference in Florida, taking questions after he signed a measure to combat human trafficking. “As a Florida resident, you know, he didn’t give an answer about, ‘Would you have signed the heartbeat bill that Florida did, that had all the exceptions that people talk about?’” Mr DeSantis added. The rivalry between Mr Trump and Mr DeSantis is heating up as the Florida governor nears a decision on a 2024 presidential bid. Mr DeSantis allies believe he will launch his candidacy as soon as this week, although an announcement could come closer to the end of the month. Abortion has been an early flashpoint in the still-forming Republican primary field ahead of the first presidential election since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade. The bickering showcases the GOP's ongoing internal debate over hard-line abortion restrictions, which may be popular in a Republican primary but could create problems in a general election for the party's eventual nominee. The bill signed into law last month by Mr DeSantis would ban abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. It will take effect only if the state’s current 15-week ban is upheld in a legal challenge before the state Supreme Court, which is controlled by conservatives. “Ron DeSantis is flailing in the polls and is closer to the bottom of the pack than he is to President Trump, who is dominating in every single poll,” Trump campaign Steven Cheung said when asked to respond to DeSantis' remarks. Cheung pointed out an anti-abortion group's recent characterization of Trump's presidency as “the most consequential in American history for the pro-life cause.” Mr Trump has referred to himself as “the most pro-life president in American history,” as his three nominations of conservative judges to the Supreme Court paved the way for the end of legalized abortion nationwide. But in the early months of his 2024 bid, Mr Trump has often sidestepped the issue of abortion, even as Republicans across the country celebrate the Supreme Court decision stripping federal constitutional rights to the practice. In Iowa in March, he repeatedly refused to say whether he would support a federal law restricting abortion in every state — a move that anti-abortion activists have been demanding of the GOP’s presidential contenders. “We’re looking at a lot of different things," he said when asked by The Associated Press whether he supports a federal abortion ban. Last week during a primetime CNN town hall in New Hampshire, Mr Trump continued to avoid specifics on a national ban, repeatedly saying he would “do what’s right,” without specifying what that was. As he gets closer to an announcement, Mr DeSantis has been escalating his criticism of Mr Trump, who for months has been attacking him directly and through groups supporting his candidacy. Last week in Iowa, as perilous weather sidelined Mr Trump’s trip to the state, Mr DeSantis highlighted the GOP’s recent string of electoral losses — a clear knock on the former president. “We must reject the culture of losing that has impacted our party in recent years. The time for excuses is over,” Mr DeSantis said at an event in Sioux Center. “If we get distracted, if we focus the election on the past or on other side issues, then I think the Democrats are going to beat us again.” Read More Trump news – live: John Durham’s report on Trump-Russia probe attacks FBI as Giuliani accused of sexual abuse Oral sex on Trump calls and pardons for sale: The most disturbing allegations from the Giuliani lawsuit Disney asks judge to dismiss DeSantis-appointed board's lawsuit in latest tit-for-tat Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide

By Alexandra Valencia QUITO (Reuters) -Ecuador's President Guillermo Lasso dissolved the National Assembly in a decree on Wednesday, bringing forward

By Tim Reid and Nathan Layne Amid the headline-grabbing insults and name-calling, Donald Trump is pursuing a surprisingly

By Sarah Wu and Yimou Lee TAIPEI (Reuters) -Taiwan's main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) party will pick New Taipei City mayor

Thailand’s Move Forward Party, which has staked claim to lead a government after emerging as the single-largest party

Republicans have their candidate in Kentucky, Democrats have their majority in Pennsylvania and the 2024 GOP presidential primary has another clash between former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the books.

A three-day trial is scheduled to begin over the only remaining legal claim in Republican Kari Lake’s challenge of her loss in the Arizona governor’s race to Democrat Katie Hobbs

Tuesday's primary election in Pennsylvania will give Republican voters the opportunity chose either a candidate for the state Supreme Court supported by the GOP establishment or one who briefly halted the certification of the state's 2020 election results and has the backing of a key Donald Trump ally.

Philadelphia Democrats on Tuesday will nominate Cherelle Parker to be the city's next mayor, CNN projects, the 100th in its history and the first Black woman to hold the top job.

Voters in Philadelphia are determining who will likely lead the nation’s sixth-largest city in a crowded field of Democratic candidates

Attorney General Daniel Cameron has won the Republican primary for Kentucky governor and will face Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear in November

Former journalist Donna Deegan will become the first female mayor of Jacksonville, Florida, CNN projects, as Democrats win the office in the state's most populous city for only the second time in 30 years.