Stacey Abrams to give Dem. response of the State of the Union

Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said Stacey Abrams, who was narrowly defeated in the 2018 gubernatorial race in Georgia, will give the Democratic response to President Trump's State of the Union address.

The Democratic response will give Abrams a major platform to counter the President following his address to Congress and the nation — and the speech is sure to further elevate her national profile.

"Her electrifying message of courage, perseverance and hope reinvigorated our nation and our politics, and continues to inspire millions of Americans in every part of the country," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement. "Stacey Abrams embodies the American Dream, and her powerful message of progress for all is deeply needed during this time for our country."

"Stacey Abrams offers a welcome, stark contrast to President (Donald) Trump's politics of division and lack of leadership as American families are still feeling the impacts of his self-imposed shutdown," Schumer said in a statement. "Stacey Abrams is a present and future leader in this country. She is a dynamic, moral leader; she delivered results on the issues that matter most to Americans; and she tirelessly pursues fairness and justice for everyone in her state."

Via Twitter Stacey Abrams released the following statement:

At a moment when our nation needs to hear from leaders who can unite for a common purpose, I am honored to be delivering the Democratic State of the Union response.

Kamala Harris gets support from Iowa's Deidre DeJear

California Sen. Kamala Harris is announcing the backing of Iowa Democrat Deidre DeJear as she travels to the early 2020 caucus state Monday.

DeJear was Iowa's first African American to win a primary for statewide office last year, but lost in her attempt to unseat Iowa's Republican secretary of state.

DeJear has since been courted by several Democrats taking steps toward running for president. Harris campaigned with DeJear in Iowa last fall after the two met in Washington, D.C., and California.

Harris is scheduled to travel to Des Moines to participate in a CNN town hall-style event live Monday evening.

Harris announced her candidacy for president Jan. 21. She also announced that Will Dubbs, a former aide to Hillary Clinton in 2016, will direct the California senator's 2020 Iowa campaign.

[SOURCE: YAHOO NEWS]

Dems go all-out to recruiting Stacey Abrams to run for U.S. Senate seat in 2020

Democrats are doing a full-court press to draft Stacey Abrams into Georgia’s 2020 Senate race, a move that would put in play a state that hasn’t gone blue in two decades and could reshape the party’s path to retaking the Senate majority.

The problem is that Abrams still has hopes of becoming governor — it’s where she could have the most direct impact on issues like voting rights — and isn’t sold on the Senate. But the pressure on her to run in 2020, capitalizing on her rise to national prominence last year and her continued popularity in Georgia despite losing the 2018 governor’s race, is only growing.

Abrams is giving serious consideration to a Senate run, and she met with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairwoman Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) in recent weeks. As she deliberates, Abrams also sat down with three of the most prominent African-Americans in the Democratic Party: Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), who has been close with Abrams since they overlapped in law school, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.). Lewis said that he wasn’t urging Abrams to choose a path forward, but that he’d be a “strong supporter” of whatever she does next. Abrams has also been keeping supporters fired up with a statewide tour billed as an opportunity to thank her backers in 2018.

State Rep. Al Williams, a close ally of Abrams’, said Abrams is getting the “hard sell” from national and local Democrats who want her to run in 2020, but that she hasn’t indicated to him whether she’s leaning towards or against a run.

“The Democratic Party certainly needs candidates like Stacey Abrams, so there will be a lot of push for her to run,” Williams said.

The biggest thing in the way of that push is Abrams' ambition to be Georgia's governor. “She's the obvious frontrunner for the race. But I still think she wants to be the governor and she always has, and that's going to weigh on her,” said Jason Carter, Democrats' 2014 gubernatorial nominee and the grandson of former President Jimmy Carter.

Read more: Dems go all-out to land top Senate recruit: Stacey Abrams

Kamala Harris official campaign kickoff speech

Speaking at Oakland's City Hall, Kamala Harris officially launched her 2020 campaign for President of the United States. Watch her speech below:

Ethics complaint against Andrew Gillum will proceed

An ethics complaint against former Florida gubernatorial candidate and Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum will proceed after the state ethics commission found probable cause at a hearing Friday that he had accepted gifts, Gillum's lawyer confirmed.

Gillum faced six counts related to soliciting and accepting gifts -- including rental accommodations in Costa Rica, a boat ride to see the Statue of Liberty and tickets to see the Broadway musical "Hamilton" in 2016 -- Gillum's attorney Barry Richard told CNN.

"There's conflicting testimony as to what happened," he said.

At the hearing, the Florida ethics commission advocate considered the facts of the case and "recommended no probable cause on the account for soliciting gifts, and she recommended probable cause on the remaining counts, which were accepting gifts that exceeded $100," Richard said.

Florida law bans state officials from accepting gifts worth more than $100.

Read more: Ethics complaint against Andrew Gillum will proceed