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Articles by Seth McLaughlin

In this May 20, 2018, photo, Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams participates in a debate against Stacey Evans in Atlanta. In Georgia, black women will likely factor into one of the country's marquee political contests. The Democratic race for governor features two women, and candidate Abrams is running to become the first black woman ever elected governor in America. (AP Photo/John Amis)

Stacey Abrams wins Democratic Georgia gubernatorial nomination

Stacey Abrams easily won the Democratic gubernatorial nomination Tuesday in Georgia, delivering a victory for liberals both inside and outside of the state and setting the stage for her to test drive a strategy that she hopes will change the way Democrats run in the Deep South.

May 22, 2018
Kentucky 6th Congressional District Democratic candidate Amy McGrath, left, speaks with Vonnie Gesinske at RT Outfitters on Monday, May 21, 2018, in Lexington, Ky. McGrath is one of several candidates seeking the Democratic nomination in Tuesday’s primary election for the chance to challenge likely Republican nominee Andy Barr, a three-term incumbent. (AP Photo/Adam Beam)

Amy McGrath will face Republican Rep. Barr

Democrat Amy McGrath on Tuesday won her party's nomination in the 6th Congressional District in Kentucky -- putting the former Marine fighter pilot and first-time candidate on a crash course with Republican Rep. Andy Barr in the midterm election.

May 22, 2018
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., reacts to a reporters question during a press conference Saturday, Dec. 2, 2017, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley) ** FILE **

Mitch McConnell is the biggest factor in Senate control

Mitch McConnell has been the Senate Republican leader for more than a decade, but never has his influence been more felt than this election year as he tries to defend his party's slim majority against Democrats riding an anti-Trump wave.

May 17, 2018
West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey won the Republican Party's Senate primary against two other candidates. He will face off against Sen. Joe Manchin III. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Republicans confident in candidates ahead of 2018 midterm vote

Republicans say last week's primaries delivered the kind of candidates their party needs to expand its majority in the Senate, though Democrats say they also did what they needed to do to advance toward their goal of netting the two dozen House seats that would flip control of the lower chamber.

May 13, 2018
"Given the CIA's refusal to make your record public, I am very limited in what I can say, and I think you know I like you personally very much. This is probably the most difficult hearing in my more than two decades I have ever sat in," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, California Democrat, (right), to nominee Gina Haspel.
questions Gina Haspel, President Donald Trump's pick to lead the Central Intelligence Agency, as she testifies at her confirmation hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee, on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, May 9, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) (Associated Press)

Gina Haspel grilled by Democrats in hearing

Democrats used Gina Haspel's nomination to lead the CIA to score points with the party's anti-Trump liberal base, as senators and Senate hopefuls competed with each other Wednesday to prove they were taking a tough stance against her.

May 9, 2018
Republican Senate candidate Mike Braun thanks supporters after winning the republican primary in Whitestown, Ind., Tuesday, May 8, 2018. Braun faced Todd Rokita and Luke Messer in the Republican primary race. Braun advances to a November matchup with Democrat Joe Donnelly, who is considered one of the Senate's most vulnerable incumbents. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Mike Braun wins Republican Senate nomination in Indiana

Mike Braun emerged victorious in the GOP Senate primary in Indiana, triumphing over two members of Congress in a bitter contest that turned into a wrestling match over which of them was most committed to President Trump.

May 8, 2018
Rep. Pat Tiberi, Ohio Republican, speaks before Vice President Mike Pence at DynaLab, Inc., in Reynoldsburg, Ohio, on April 1, 2017. (Associated Press) **FILE**

Republicans’ hold on House could rest on critical primaries

Republicans, desperate to hold onto seats of retiring lawmakers, will learn Tuesday who their candidates will be in a handful of critical races across the country that will go a long way toward determining whether the GOP holds on to the House this November.

May 7, 2018
In this Dec. 10, 2017, photo, Doug Jones speaks during a campaign rally in Birmingham, Ala. Jones, a Democrat who once prosecuted two Ku Klux Klansmen in a deadly church bombing and has now broken the Republican lock grip on Alabama, is the state’s new U.S. senator.(AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Doug Jones quietly fulfills campaign promises in Senate

When Doug Jones won his seat in last year's Senate special election in Alabama, fellow Sen. Joe Manchin embraced him as a member of the "radical middle" in Congress, predicting he'd cross party lines to get things done.

May 3, 2018
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., tells reporters that the work of special counsel Robert Mueller must continue as President Donald Trump suggests firing him while investigating potential ties between Russia and Trump's 2016 campaign, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, April 12, 2018. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) ** FILE **

GOP welcomes Nancy Pelosi’s desire to regain House gavel

Republicans are happy to hear that House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi envisions sticking around after the 2018 election, signaling they believe that her hopes of winning back the speakership will help energize GOP voters in the fall.

May 2, 2018