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Articles by Seth McLaughlin

Clinton

Hillary Clinton is winning the name game for the 2016 presidential election

A slow August in political news has created a vacuum that the press and pundits are filling with Clinton-watch: the guessing game as to whether Hillary Rodham Clinton is running for president in 2016, when she might announce and what effect her proto-campaign is having on President Obama's ability to govern.

August 20, 2013
**FILE** Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas Republican, speaks during the family leadership summit in Ames, Iowa, on Aug. 10, 2013. (Associated Press)

Cruz: Thanks but no thanks to Canadian citizenship

While insisting he has no beef with Canada, the land of his birth, Sen. Ted Cruz announced his plans Tuesday to rip up his Canadian citizenship in order to help quell the growing controversy over whether he is eligible to run for president.

August 20, 2013
Reince Priebus, chairman of the Republican National Committee, reacts to a speech during the committee summer meeting on Aug. 15, 2013, in Boston. The RNC formally renewed its minority outreach effort, introducing the first four members of a “Rising Stars” program designed to promote younger and more ethnically diverse Republicans leaders. (Associated Press)

GOP votes to bar CNN, NBC from hosting primary debates

The Republican National Committee voted Friday to bar NBC and CNN from sponsoring GOP primary debates in the 2016 election, ramping up pressure to stop the networks from running programs focused on Hillary Rodham Clinton.

August 16, 2013
Gingrich

Republicans huddle on their ground game

GOP leaders had hoped this week's summer meeting in Boston would focus on preparations for 2016 and efforts to improve the party's ground game — but leaders are finding they can't avoid the thorny policy issues, including immigration, that have deeply divided Republicans in Washington and nationwide.

August 14, 2013
**FILE** Acting IRS commissioner Danny Werfel testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington on June 6, 2013. (Associated Press)

IRS letting questions, tea party applications languish; few fixes after abuses revealed

Three months after it became clear that the IRS started targeting conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status and after President Obama installed new leadership to try to fix the agency, dozens of groups are still awaiting a final decision or, in some cases, have withdrawn their applications out of frustration with the process.

August 13, 2013

N.C. governor signs voter-ID law

North Carolina's Republican governor signed a voter-identification law on Monday in a move that's likely to test the Obama administration's efforts to push back against states after the recent Supreme Court ruling that struck down part of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

August 12, 2013
Associated Press

Rick Santorum tests his mojo in Iowa

Rick Santorum, the runner-up to Mitt Romney in the overall GOP presidential nomination battle, is back in Iowa on a three-day summer tour this week, checking to see whether he still has any of the magic that helped him win the state's caucuses last year.

August 8, 2013
Rep. Darrell Issa, California Republican and chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, discusses a plan July 24, 2013, on Capitol Hill to move mail to cluster box and curbside delivery in a move to cut costs at the cash-strapped Postal Service by up to $4.5 billion a year. With the Postal Service facing billions of dollars in annual losses, the tradition of mail delivery to the door could be virtually phased out by 2022 under a proposal in Congress. At left is the committee's ranking Democrat, Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland. (Associated Press)

House investigating FEC and IRS communications over tax exempt groups

House investigators this week said they want to see communications between the Federal Election Commission and the IRS that could shed light on whether the two agencies colluded to target conservative organizations, as questions about the IRS targeting scandal expanded.

August 8, 2013
Sen. Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, faces a well-funded test from the right. (Associated Press)

Angry bluegrass roots and strong rivals spell trouble for Mitch McConnell in Kentucky

In Washington, Mitch McConnell is the Senate Republicans' floor general and a major power broker. Back home in Kentucky, however, he is possibly the most endangered member of the GOP Senate caucus ahead of next year's midterm elections, as he tries to balance pleasing vociferous right-wing constituents with his role as chief congressional dealmaker.

August 6, 2013
Rep. Tom Cotton (Associated Press)

Cotton running for Senate in Arkansas with Pryor in GOP’s crosshairs

Rep. Tom Cotton officially announced Tuesday that he will challenge Arkansas Sen. Mark L. Pryor for his seat, giving the GOP a prized recruit in the race and raising the party's hopes that his candidacy puts it a step closer to taking over the Senate in the 2014 election.

August 6, 2013