Seth McLaughlin
Articles by Seth McLaughlin
Tea party still has election hopes as chances dwindle
Looking to rebound from a heartbreaking loss in Mississippi's Senate primary, national tea party groups say they still hope to score a few victories to bolster their ranks as they prepare for policy battles on Capitol Hill. Published July 2, 2014
ISIL’s rise forces GOP 2016 hopefuls to weigh in on intervention
The rise of Islamist guerrillas in Iraq is forcing 2016 GOP presidential contenders to pick sides in the ongoing debate over whether the invasion of Iraq was worth it and whether the U.S. should re-engage in the Arab nation's mounting problems. Published July 2, 2014
Chris McDaniel, True the Vote challenge Mississippi primary vote
A conservative group filed a lawsuit in federal court Tuesday challenging the outcome of the bitter Mississippi GOP Senate primary, saying that investigators should take more time to determine whether election laws have been broken and whether illegal ballots were cast. Published July 1, 2014
GOP: GOP homing in on Senate, ready to push policies
Having beaten back all of the tea party challengers so far this year, Senate Republicans have assembled a field of candidates well-poised to hold their own seats and make a run at the at least six Democrat-held seats needed to flip control of the chamber and start calling the shots in the upper chamber. Published June 29, 2014
Huckabee endorses Sen. Lamar Alexander’s re-election bid
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee on Friday endorsed Sen. Lamar Alexander's re-election bid in a new campaign ad, saying he is ready to step into the ring and fight against anyone who challenges the veteran lawmaker's conservative credentials. Published June 27, 2014
Chris McDaniel’s campaign to investigate ‘irregularities’ in Mississippi runoff
State Sen. Chris McDaniel said Wednesday that his campaign team plans to investigate "irregularities" in the primary race, as it considers whether to pursue some sort of legal challenge after his razor-thin loss to incumbent U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran in a Republican runoff a day earlier. Published June 26, 2014
Rep. James Lankford: ‘National tea party’ is oxymoron
Rep. James Lankford said Wednesday that his victory in the Oklahoma Senate primary race should serve as a clear reminder that local tea party activists are not going to take their marching orders from the national groups that claim the mantle of the grassroots movement. Published June 25, 2014
Sen. Ted Cruz: Drug cartels forcing illegal immigrant children to cut off each other’s body parts
Sen. Ted Cruz said Wednesday that the Obama administration's decision to halt the deportations of illegal immigrant children has fostered an environment along the border where human traffickers are forcing little kids to cut off the fingers and ears of other children in an attempt to extort ransom from their families. Published June 25, 2014
Joe Scarborough: GOP establishment’s goal is to knock Harry Reid from power
Former Florida Rep. Joe Scarborough touted Sen. Thad Cochran's win in the Mississippi primary race Wednesday as more proof that the GOP establishment is doing everything it can this primary season to avoid any surprises in the November election that could hurt its chances of knocking Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid from power. Published June 25, 2014
Chris McDaniel defiant, blasts Sen. Cochran for leaning on ‘liberal Democrats’
Tea party-backed Chris McDaniel refused to concede his bitter Mississippi GOP runoff defeat to Sen. Thad Cochran, blaming the loss on "liberal Democrats" for hijacking the desires of Republican primary voters in the bright red Magnolia State. Published June 25, 2014
Tea party leader: Chris McDaniel should run as write-in candidate in November election
The head of tea party group said Wednesday that state Sen. Chris McDaniel should wage a write-in campaign in the November election after losing to Sen. Thad Cochran in a nasty Mississippi primary race. Published June 25, 2014
Haley Barbour: Thad Cochran was GOP’s best bet to keep Senate seat
Former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour said Wednesday that Sen. Thad Cochran's win in the bitter primary race in the Magnolia State strengthens the GOP's chances of keeping the seat in the November election. Published June 25, 2014
Cochran wins Mississippi primary runoff
Sen. Thad Cochran turned back a hard challenge from tea-party-backed state Sen. Chris McDaniel in the Mississippi Senate runoff race Tuesday, handing the party establishment arguably its biggest win of the 2014 primary season and boosting Republican hopes of flipping control of the Senate in the November election. Published June 24, 2014
Tea party has momentum, optimism for another win with Mississippi runoff
Energized by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor's stunning loss in Virginia earlier this month, tea party Republicans hope to finish the job Tuesday in Mississippi by unseating six-term Sen. Thad Cochran in a GOP primary. Published June 23, 2014
N.J. Gov. Chris Christie: Time to rethink war on drugs
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie told a gathering of social conservatives Friday that the nation's decades-long "war on drugs" has failed and that incarceration is not the cure for drug addiction. Published June 20, 2014
Sen. Rand Paul: U.S. foreign policy hurting Christians worldwide
Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky said Friday that some Republicans are too eager to use the nation's military might abroad without thinking through the unintended consequences of those actions. Published June 20, 2014
Ted Cruz’s father: Time to ‘stop electing the village idiot’
Rafael Cruz, the father of Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, has some advice for the American electorate: "Stop electing the village idiot." Published June 20, 2014
Ralph Reed: IRS should be abolished, building fumigated, razed
Ralph Reed, the head of Freedom and Faith Coalition, called on social conservatives Friday to help Republicans take over the Senate in the fall election, saying that it would open the door for Congress to pull the plug on the IRS. Published June 20, 2014
Wisconsin Gov. Walker says illegal fundraising allegations are politically motivated
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker brushed off the allegations Friday that he had a hand in an illegal fundraising scheme, saying they are politically motivated and have already been proven as false. Published June 20, 2014
Perry unfazed by the rise of fellow Texan Cruz
Texas Gov. Rick Perry downplayed the idea Thursday that the window may have closed on his chances of winning the GOP presidential nomination because of the rise of another Lone Star Republican: Sen. Ted Cruz. Published June 19, 2014
