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Ashton Pittman

Stories by Ashton

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McDaniel: Black Mississippians Begged for 'Government Scraps' for 100 Years

The 38 percent of Mississippians who are black voters have been "begging for government scraps" for 100 years, Mississippi State Sen. Chris McDaniel, a Republican U.S. Senate candidate, said Friday morning in a special Mississippi edition of MSNBC's Morning Joe broadcast live from Oxford, Miss.

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Bucking Conventional Wisdom, David Baria Touts Pro-Roe, Liberal Platform

In his first general election campaign ad, Mississippi Democratic House Minority Leader David Baria positioned himself as an unapologetic liberal in his bid for the U.S. Senate seat that Republican U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker currently holds.

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Historic Victory for Espy in Mississippi Is 'Not An Illusion,' George Will Says

Democrat Mike Espy could be the next U.S. senator from Mississippi, renowned conservative columnist George Will wrote in a Sept. 5 piece in the Washington Post.

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Kavanaugh and a Mississippi Judge: Did Nominee Mislead Congress on Pickering?

U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh appears to have been more involved in President George W. Bush's 2003 nomination of then-U.S. District Judge Charles Pickering to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals than he admitted in sworn testimony before Congress in 2006.

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Trump Cancels Mississippi Rally to Boost Cindy Hyde-Smith Campaign

President Donald Trump plans to hold a rally in Mississippi to support incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith as she fights to hold the seat that Gov. Phil Bryant appointed her to in April.

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Gov. Bryant: Transgender People Do Not Deserve Hiring Protections

Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant joined 15 other Republican leaders across the country in signing a brief that asks the U.S. Supreme Court to rule that the 1964 Civil Rights Act does not protect transgender people and that employers have the right to fire them for their gender identity.

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Trump Mocked Sessions as 'Dumb Southerner' and 'Retarded,' Per Woodward

President Donald Trump once described his attorney general, Alabama native Jeff Sessions, as a "dumb Southerner," according to a new book by journalist Bob Woodward.

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McDaniel Cites Kinship with Bernie Sanders, Ronald Reagan at Petal Rally

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey appointed former Sen. Jon Kyl to fill the late John McCain's U.S. Senate seat on Tuesday, but said he has only committed to serve until the end of the year.

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McDaniel Embraces Trump's Trade Agenda, Criticizes 'Free Trade' 'Capitalists'

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Chris McDaniel endorsed President Donald Trump's trade agenda Wednesday, taking aim at opponent Republican U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith and "the capitalists who've been championing so-called 'free trade.'"

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U.S. Senate Hopefuls McDaniel, Baria Explain Votes Against Lottery

Mississippi House of Representatives Minority Leader Rep. David Baria, D-Bay St. Louis, and State Sen. Chris McDaniel, R-Ellisville, both voted against a state lottery bill lawmakers sent to the governor's desk Tuesday.


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Aiming for Alabama-like Victory, Espy Opens ‘Modern’ Campaign Headquarters

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Mike Espy announced what he called “the most modern headquarters that I think any Democrat has had in Mississippi’s history” at a ceremony for the opening of his new Jackson campaign office Saturday, Aug. 25.

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UPDATED: House Passes Lottery Bill, Sends to Governor’s Desk

Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant cast blame on Democrats in the Mississippi House of Representatives on Monday night, Aug. 27, as his bill to create a state lottery appeared on the brink of death after lawmakers, including Republican Speaker Philip Gunn, rejected the proposal in a 60-54 vote.

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John McCain's Evolution on Confederate Flag, Family’s Slavery Legacy

Arizona U.S. Sen. John McCain, who died Saturday, Aug. 25, of brain cancer at age 81, once apologized for lying to voters about his position on the Confederate flag. He also learned that he had, in fact, descended from slave owners in Mississippi.

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More Transparent Lottery Bill Passes Mississippi House, Session Resumes Monday

Two days into a special legislative session, the Mississippi House of Representatives voted 70-43 on Friday to pass a state lottery bill that included significant changes to the version the Senate passed Thursday.

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Lottery Bill Passes Mississippi Senate with Public-Records Exemption

Mississippi senators passed a bill that would establish a state lottery at a special session of the Legislature Thursday evening.

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McDaniel Rages Against the GOP After Trump Endorses Hyde-Smith

JACKSON — Republican Mississippi State Sen. Chris McDaniel raged at his own party on Thursday after President Donald Trump endorsed his opponent, incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, in the special election for her U.S. Senate seat.

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In Session, Gov. Bryant Pushes Mississippi Lottery to Pay for Infrastructure

Mississippi lawmakers have debated whether or not to establish a state lottery for decades, but Gov. Phil Bryant called it a necessary move to fix Mississippi’s crumbling roads and bridges.

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Improved LGBT Health Access in the South Goal of New Survey

The Campaign for Southern Equality launched a survey on Wednesday, Aug. 22, that aims to help improve health-care access for LGBT southerners.

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Karl Rove Helps Sen. Wicker Raise $5,000 Per Couple at Private Jackson Dinner

Karl Rove, the political strategist and senior adviser to President George W. Bush, helped raise campaign funds for Republican U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker at the home of Cissye and Billy Mounger in north Jackson on Aug. 18.

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Busting Chris McDaniel’s Confederate Myths

Mississippi State Sen. Chris McDaniel, R-Ellisville, spent the early months of his 2014 Republican primary bid for U.S. Senate downplaying his ties to neo-Confederate groups.

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Sen. Chris McDaniel Blasts 'Snowflake Stalkers' After Lee Poll Backfires

Mississippi State Sen. Chris McDaniel derided critics as "snowflake stalkers" Sunday after his tweet about Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee and a follow-up poll went awry.

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Signs of Danger for GOP in Polls of Mississippi's U.S. Senate Race

The race in Mississippi for the seat that U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran vacated in April is functionally tied between Republican U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith and Democrat Mike Espy, a leaked GOP poll from Hyde-Smith's campaign found.

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Baria: 'My Son Will Feel Pain' When He Looks At Mississippi's Flag

The people of Mississippi have "a duty to acknowledge that hatred and racism remain alive and well in America today," Mississippi State Rep. David Baria, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, wrote in a Facebook post on Sunday.

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'Don't Let Anybody Take Our Flag From Us,' Kamala Harris Tells Netroots

"Don't let anybody take our flag from us," Democratic U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris urged an audience in New Orleans on Friday, Aug. 3. The California senator was pushing back against what she sees as a tendency on the left to cede patriotism to opponents on the right.

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Intra-GOP Squabbling Dominates Senate Speeches at Neshoba Fair

"Tough crowd," Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant muttered to himself, just before taking the stage at the Neshoba County Fair in Philadelphia, Miss., on Thursday.

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Delbert Hosemann Will Seek Higher Office; Not Running for Re-election

Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann drew boos from a crowd of supporters on Wednesday at the Neshoba County Fair in Philadelphia, Miss., when he announced he would not run for for re-election, but he quickly calmed them by teasing another possibility.

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ABC News: Race to Replace Sen. Thad Cochran 'Could Reshape Washington'

The race to decide who will win Mississippi's U.S. Senate seat that Thad Cochran vacated is one of the "races that could reshape Washington and the country," ABC News said Monday.

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Espy: Trump Tariffs Hurt Mississippi Farmers; Opponents Dodge Issue

President Donald Trump's tariffs on China are hurting Mississippi farmers, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Mike Espy said in a press conference at the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum on Friday.

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Cory Booker: U.S. Senate Hopeful Mike Espy Is South's Rising Star

"That is the star that I see rising in the South," U.S. Sen. Cory Booker said of former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Espy. "That is the hope that this nation must have in Washington, D.C. And God willing, the people of Mississippi willing, we will have Mike Espy as the next United States senator."

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Sherman Alleges Dirty Politics, As Baria Claims Solid Victory in Senate Bid

With his family by his side, Rep. David Baria, leader of the Mississippi House Democratic Caucus, declared victory in his bid for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate, at Murky Waters in Gulfport, on Tuesday night after the announcement of the results of the primary run-off.

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