Showing posts with label black politicians. Show all posts
Showing posts with label black politicians. Show all posts

Saturday, May 23, 2020

The Congressional Black Caucus Welcomes Rep. Kweisi Mfume back to Congress

The Congressional Black Caucus released the following release welcoming Kweisi Mfume back to congress:

Recently, Kweisi Mfume was sworn in as the newest Member of the U.S. House of Representative for Maryland’s 7th congressional district, succeeding Elijah Cummings, who died last October. The return to Congress comes full circle, as Mfume reclaims the same seat that he held for 10 years before stepping down to become the President of the NAACP. During his tenure in Congress, Representative Mfume also served as the Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus from 1993-1995.

Representative Mfume’s return to the Congressional Black Caucus comes at a critical time in our nation during this pandemic. The CBC looks forward to working with Rep. Mfume during this historic moment to identify, fight for, and win the best legislative change to help the Black community not just survive this pandemic but to prepare to thrive in the aftermath.

The Congressional Black Caucus welcomes Representative Kweisi Mfume back to the U.S. House of Representatives and his leadership in Maryland’s 7th district.

Sunday, November 11, 2018

HBCU graduate Mandela Barnes wins Lieutenant Governor seat in Wisconsin

An Alabama A&M University graduate was elected to the Lieutenant Governor seat in Wisconsin Tuesday night.

Democrat Mandela Barnes, who is actually a Milwaukee native, was named Lieutenant Governor after his running mate, Tony Evers, claimed victory in the early morning hours on Wednesday.

Evers was declared the winner of the governor’s race by the Associated Press at 1:24 a.m, defeating Republican incumbent Scott Walker.

Barnes now becomes Wisconsin’s first African-American Lieutenant Governor.

[SOURCE: WAFF]

Tuesday, July 24, 2018

Barbara Lee announces bid for Democratic Caucus chair

The California congresswoman could become the first African-American woman to hold a leadership spot in either major political party.

Rep. Barbara Lee, one of the most outspoken progressive voices in Congress, formally launched her campaign Monday to chair the House Democratic Caucus — a post that would make her the first African-American woman to hold a leadership spot in either major political party.

“When you look at the history of the Democratic Party and the Democratic leadership, African-American women ... we’ve been the backbone of the Democratic Party — we should be in the face of leadership also,’’ Lee told POLITICO in an interview Sunday. Whether it comes to grass-roots issues, or voter mobilization and political activism, she said, black women have long proved they can “lead not only our communities, but lead our country, on the very tough issues facing us.”

Lee, first elected to Congress in 1998 in one of the nation’s most liberal bastions, Oakland and the East Bay’s 13th District, argues she has a long record as a coalition-builder who has dedicated her career to issues of concern to both poor urban and rural voters. As the party prepares for the 2020 election cycle, the California congresswoman said, “these are issues that we can all unify around, like jobs and economic growth,’’ poverty, education and health care.

“The strength of our caucus lies in our diversity of experiences and ideas,’’ Lee said in a letter released Monday to her congressional colleagues announcing her bid. “Whether it’s working across the aisle to enact HIV/AIDS laws, or bringing the Sanders and Clinton campaigns together behind a cohesive and progressive Democratic platform, my career has been dedicated to finding common ground and delivering results.”

Read more: Barbara Lee announces bid for Democratic Caucus chair

Saturday, June 03, 2017

Georgia Democrat aims to be nation’s first female African-American governor

Stacey Abrams, a Georgia politician who embodies what many progressives argue is the future of the Democratic Party, is set to began what she hopes is a history-making campaign Saturday, when she plans to officially announce her candidacy for governor of the Peach State.

The 43-year-old Democratic leader of the Georgia State House, who enters as the front-runner for her party’s nomination, is aiming to become the first African-American woman to be elected governor in U.S. history. Abrams is widely considered to be one of the most skilled and savvy political leaders in the state legislature and aims to replace term-limited Gov. Nathan Deal (R), who has served since 2011. But it won’t be easy: no Democrat has won statewide office in Georgia since 2006, and just 11 black women have ever been elected to statewide positions nationwide.

Abrams, a Yale-trained lawyer and business executive who writes romance novels on the side, has an army of supporters who are eager to prove that Democrats can win if the party puts its energy into growing its base among the increasingly diverse state population rather than fretting over white swing voters.

Read more: Georgia Democrat aims to be nation’s first female African-American governor

Wednesday, June 08, 2016

Kamala Harris, Loretta Sanchez advance in U.S. Senate race

California’s first open U.S. Senate seat in nearly a quarter-century will remain in Democratic hands, as Kamala Harris and Loretta Sanchez outpaced 32 other candidates Tuesday to deny the state Republican Party a place in the fall runoff.

Harris, the state attorney general, clinched a first-place finish in the contest to succeed U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, more than doubling the percentage of Sanchez, a 10-term congresswoman from Orange County.

As vote-counting continued, Harris led with 39.8 percent of the vote. Sanchez had 17.3 percent, followed by Republican Duf Sundheim at 9 percent.

Read more here: Kamala Harris, Loretta Sanchez advance in U.S. Senate race

NJ Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman wins Democratic Primary


Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D) easily defeated college professor Alexander Kucsma of Somerset in the NJ congressional Democratic Primary. Coleman won U.S. House - District 12 with 94% of the vote.

The final tally was Coleman 66,029 Alexander Kucsma 4,463


Thursday, March 24, 2016

House ethics panel opens probe into Fla. Rep. Corrine Brown

The House Ethics Committee has officially opened an investigation into Florida Democrat Corrine Brown over a number of allegations, including "fraudulent activity" with an unnamed organization.

The committee will defer to the Justice Department and not actively pursue the probe because of the federal investigation.

The panel also is aware of allegations that Brown may have improperly solicited charitable donations, used campaign money for personal use, and failed to comply with tax laws.

Read more: House ethics panel opens probe into Fla. Rep. Corrine Brown

Monday, February 15, 2016

Joseph Hayne Rainey: First African American to serve in the United States House of Representatives

Joseph Hayne Rainey (June 21, 1832 – August 1, 1887) was an American politician. He was the first African American to serve in the United States House of Representatives, the second black person to serve in the United States Congress (U.S. Senator Hiram Revels was the first), and the first black presiding officer of the House of Representatives. Born into slavery in South Carolina, he was freed in the 1840s by his father purchasing the freedom of his entire family and himself. Revels and Rainey were both members of the Republican Party.

In 1870, Rainey was elected to the State Senate of South Carolina and became chair of the Finance Committee. He served only a short time as that year he won a special election as a Republican to fill a vacancy in the Forty-first Congress of the United States. This vacancy had been created when the House refused to seat Benjamin F. Whittemore, the incumbent. He had been censured by the House for corruption but re-elected.

Rainey was seated December 12, 1870 and was re-elected to Congress, serving a total of four terms. Serving until March 3, 1879, he established a record of length of service for a black Congressman that was not surpassed until that of William L. Dawson of Chicago in the 1950s. He supported legislation that became known as the Enforcement Acts, to suppress the violent activities of the Ku Klux Klan.

Sunday, February 08, 2015

Carl Heastie: First African American Assembly Speaker in New York.

Feb. 4, New York Assemblyman Carl Heastie of the Bronx became the first African-American Assembly speaker in the state’s history. While calling for a desire to create a “government as good as its people,” Heastie has a long road ahead to earn the trust of voters who have seen Albany mired in corruption for years.

Heastie told those in attendance in Albany that he hoped to created an office of ethics compliance to clean up the under-the-table dealings that have defined New York government in the recent past. Heastie, after all, is taking over for Sheldon Silver, who’s been charged with taking close to $4 million in kickbacks, and the new speaker was close to the disgraced Silver, who still maintains his Assembly position while dealing with his legal issues.

Read more: Carl Heastie elected new Assembly Speaker