U.S. Democratic Party
FILE — In this Nov. 3, 2020, file photo a car leaves a drive-thru voting site on Election Day in Houston. As Texas moves ahead with a push to tighten voting laws, Republican lawmakers have zeroed in on Houston and surrounding Harris County. The effort is one of the clearest examples of how the GOP's nationwide campaign to impose new voting restrictions can target Democrats, even as they insist the measures are not partisan. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)
In Texas, GOP voting bills zero in on Democratic Houston

By Paul J. Weber 21 hrs ago

FILE - In this Sept. 12, 2019, file photo, California state Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins, of San Diego, speaks on the floor of the Senate in Sacramento, Calif. On Wednesday, April 14, 2021, Senate Democrats outlined their plan to spend the state's projected multi-billion dollar budget surplus this year. It includes giving government-funded health insurance to low-income adults living in the country illegally and expanding tuition grants to help students pay for college without going into debt. Atkins, a Democrat from San Diego, said the plan was "more ambitious than any legislative budget proposal in memory." (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)
Immigrant health care is on California Senate's wish list

By Adam Beam Apr. 14, 2021 06:49 PM EDT

Democratic pro-abortion rights PAC hopes to oust Gov. Baker

By Steve Leblanc Apr. 14, 2021 04:13 PM EDT
BOSTON (AP) — A national political action committee dedicated to helping elect Democratic woman who support abortion rights say they are targeting a series of...

FILE - In this March 18, 2021 file photo, Gov. J.B. Pritzker adjusts his mask during a press conference at the James R. Thompson Center in Chicago. A recent spike in coronavirus cases in some states has led one of the nation's top health experts to suggest that governors could “close things down” like they did during previous surges. But that doesn't appear likely to happen — not even in states led by Democratic governors who favored greater restrictions in the past. (Pat Nabong/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)
More COVID state shutdowns unlikely, despite CDC suggestion

By David A. Lieb Apr. 14, 2021 03:44 PM EDT

Charley Crabtree holds one of his hats at his home in Lawrence, Kan., Thursday, April 8, 2021. Crabtree was looking to help voters in nursing homes get absentee ballots delivered on time last year, so he picked up about 75 from at least 10 locations in his hometown of Lawrence. Republicans who control the Kansas Legislature want to make what he did a crime punishable by up to six months in jail. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)
Kansas fight shows how election 'reforms' may favor one side

By John Hanna And Andy Tsubasa Field Apr. 14, 2021 03:18 PM EDT

FILE - In this April 13, 2021, file photo, Isis Gardner, center left in yellow, and Esselen Reza, at right, wait in an observation area after receiving a dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at the Banning Recreation Center in Wilmington, Calif. With coronavirus shots now in the arms of nearly half of American adults, the parts of the U.S. that are excelling and those that are struggling with vaccinations are starting to look like the nation’s political map: deeply divided between red and blue states. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File
Red states on U.S. electoral map lagging on vaccinations

By Russ Bynum Apr. 14, 2021 03:00 PM EDT

FILE - In this Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2020, file photo, Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly receives a COVID-19 vaccine injection in Topeka, Kan. In March 2021, Kelly enacted a law giving legislative leaders power to revoke her emergency orders. Top Republican lawmakers immediately used it to scuttle a Kelly order meant to encourage counties to keep mask mandates in place. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)
Lawmakers seek long-term limit on governors' emergency power

By David A. Lieb Apr. 10, 2021 10:34 AM EDT

Gun rights advocates sue lawmakers over virtual meetings

By Randall Chase Apr. 09, 2021 07:00 PM EDT
DOVER, Del. (AP) — Gun rights advocates have filed a federal lawsuit challenging continued virtual meetings of the Delaware General Assembly after Democrats...

Court rules for Democrats in debate over legislative session

By Kathy Mccormack Apr. 09, 2021 09:00 AM EDT
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A federal appeals court has vacated a judge's ruling that upheld the New Hampshire House Speaker's refusal to provide remote access to...

Late NY budget could leave state workers awaiting paychecks

By Marina Villeneuve Apr. 06, 2021 05:20 PM EDT
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York will boost spending by billions over the next year in a bid to revitalize the state's hard-hit economy under a late spending plan...

Minnesota House Democrats unveil package of budget bills

By Mohamed Ibrahim Apr. 05, 2021 07:13 PM EDT
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota House Democrats unveiled legislation on Monday that calls for more spending on education and recovery for those most affected by...

FILE - This April 2, 2021, file photo shows bridges spanning the Allegheny River in downtown Pittsburgh. Republicans in Congress are making the politically brazen bet that it’s more advantageous to oppose President Joe Biden’s ambitious rebuild America agenda than to lend support for the costly $2.3 trillion undertaking for roads, bridges and other infrastructure investments. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
Biden's big infrastructure plan hits McConnell-GOP blockade

By Lisa Mascaro Apr. 05, 2021 12:07 AM EDT

Editorial Roundup: New England

By The Associated Press Apr. 02, 2021 03:33 PM EDT
The Hartford Courant. April 1, 2021. Editorial: COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations are climbing in Connecticut, despite the vaccine....

Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., arrives on Capitol Hill in Washington, Saturday, Feb. 13, 2021, on the fifth day of the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Big effort aims to elect candidates with science backgrounds

By Bryan Anderson Apr. 02, 2021 02:38 PM EDT

Washington Senate passes first draft of budget plan

By Rachel La Corte Apr. 01, 2021 04:48 PM EDT
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — The Washington Senate on Thursday passed its two-year budget spending proposal that lawmakers said focuses on helping those hit hardest...

President Joe Biden delivers a speech on infrastructure spending at Carpenters Pittsburgh Training Center, Wednesday, March 31, 2021, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
AP-NORC poll: US economic outlook rises after relief law

By Josh Boak And Hannah Fingerhut Apr. 01, 2021 02:00 PM EDT

FILE - In this June 29, 2019, file photo, children play in fountains at the Oregon State Capitol in Salem, Ore. Oregon's House of Representatives returned to the Capitol this week after floor sessions had been cancelled due to multiple COVID-19 cases, but Republicans continue to use a stalling tactic that Democrats say are putting lawmakers' health at risk. (AP Photo/Andrew Selsky, File)
Oregon Democrats decry legislative slowdown during COVID

By Sara Cline Mar. 31, 2021 05:11 PM EDT

FILE - In this May 30, 2017, file photo, the SGR cargo train rides from the port containers depot on a Chinese-backed railway costing nearly $3.3 billion, opened by Kenya's president as one of the country's largest infrastructure project since independence, in Mombasa, Kenya. China's loans to poor countries in Africa and Asia impose unusual secrecy and repayment terms that are hurting their ability to renegotiate debts after the coronavirus pandemic, a group of U.S. and German researchers said in a report Wednesday, March 31, 2021. (AP Photo/Khalil Senosi, File)
Biden announces huge infrastructure plan to 'win the future'

By Jonathan Lemire, Kevin Freking And Zeke Miller Mar. 31, 2021 05:21 AM EDT

Oregon House of Reps. return to long floor session day

By Sara Cline Mar. 30, 2021 05:59 PM EDT
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Oregon's House of Representatives returned to action on Tuesday after a week of cancelled floor sessions due to multiple confirmed COVID...

FILE - Attorney General Josh Stein speaks about the creation and goals of The North Carolina Task Force for Racial Equity in Criminal Justice during a news conference on Tuesday, June 9, 2020, in Raleigh, N.C. An organization committed to ending mass incarceration in North Carolina and demanding racial equity in criminal justice has called out Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein. Emancipate NC held a news conference Tuesday, March 30, 2021 to release a letter that rebuked the Democrat and accused him of falling short in protecting civil rights of wrongly accused defendants and those on death row. (Julia Wall/The News & Observer via AP, file)
Liberal group criticizes N. Carolina Democratic AG

By Gary D. Robertson Mar. 30, 2021 01:35 PM EDT