memeorandum: First openly transgender state legislator elected in Virginia (The Hill)

11:00 PM ET, November 7, 2017

Top Items:

Lisa Hagen / The Hill:

Northam wins big in Virginia, thrilling Democrats — FAIRFAX, Va. — Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam (D) won the Virginia governor's race in a blowout Tuesday, fending off a potential gut punch for his party and giving Democrats a badly needed jolt of momentum ahead of the 2018 midterms.

Discussion: ABC News and Politico

New York Times:

Live Estimates of the Final Vote — Our estimates are based on the results reported so far, the results of the previous election and demographic data. Unlike reported results, they attempt to account for precincts that have not yet reported their votes. The shaded area in the gauge below shows the range of our forecasts.

Discussion: Politicus USA

Gabriel Debenedetti / Politico:

Northam beats Gillespie in Virginia governor's race — Democrat Ralph Northam was elected governor of Virginia on Tuesday in a sweeping victory that defied the conventional wisdom of a tightening race. — The lieutenant governor's victory joins Democrat Phil Murphy's win …

New York Times:

Live Election Results and Estimates: Virginia Governor Race — Dem. — 1,390,597 — Ed Gillespie — Rep. — 1,160,314 — Lib. — 30,020 — 99% reporting (2,561 of 2,566 precincts) — Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat, won a decisive victory in the race for governor of Virginia …

Discussion: Vox, New Republic, Politico, CNN, viraltop1, The Daily Signal and The Gateway Pundit

Eric Bradner / CNN:

Democrats sweep in Virginia, New Jersey — Trump factor looms large in Virginia race — STORY HIGHLIGHTS — Washington (CNN)Democratic Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam has won the Virginia governor's race, CNN projects, defeating Republican Ed Gillespie. — Northam's win is a huge boost …

Discussion: New Jersey Online, Shareblue Media, Mother Jones, The Guardian, IJR, Business Insider, BuzzFeed, Axios, The Nation, KTLA, HuffPost, WTKR-TV, New Republic, Mediaite, The Week and Washington Post

John Verhovek / ABC News:

Transgender Virginia candidate makes history and other races to watch — The first openly transgender person elected and seated in a state legislature defeated her conservative Republican opponent in a closely watched Virginia election. — In a historic bid, Democrat Danica Roem beat …

Discussion: Axios, IJR and Vox

Lisa Hagen / The Hill:
Dem Murphy wins New Jersey governor's race

Discussion: ABC News and RedState

Gary Langer / ABC News:
Voters' concern about health care boost Northam, corruption a top issue for NJ voters: exit polls

Discussion: Vox, Politico and Mother Jones

Gregory S. Schneider / Washington Post:
Democrat Ralph Northam defeats Ed Gillespie in race for Virginia governor closely watched by national parties

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Alex Seitz-Wald / NBC News:
Democrat Ralph Northam Wins Virginia Governor Race

Discussion: New Republic, Washington Post, viraltop1 and The Gateway Pundit

Bloomberg:

Senator Menendez Juror Asks Trial Judge: ‘What Is a Senator?’ — On their first full day of jury deliberations at the bribery trial of Senator Robert Menendez, a juror asked the judge a basic question: What is a senator? — U.S. District Judge William Walls declined to answer the question …

Discussion: Instapundit and twitchy.com

Laura Jarrett / CNN: Menendez jury's first question involves the role of a US senator

Mike Ciandella / NewsBusters:
Study: CNN's Failure to Cover Democrat's Corruption Trial

Discussion: RedState

Antonio Olivo / Washington Post:

Danica Roem is Va.'s first openly transgender elected official, unseating conservative in House race — Democrat Danica Roem ousted longtime incumbent Del. Robert G. Marshall (R) Tuesday, becoming the first openly transgender elected official in Virginia — and one of very few in the nation.

Discussion: The FADER, The Slot, Refinery29, Raw Story, Shareblue Media, The Week, Mother Jones and viraltop1

The Hill:

First openly transgender state legislator elected in Virginia — Virginia House of Delegates candidate Danica Roem (D) has defeated longtime Del. Robert Marshall (R), becoming Virginia's first openly transgender elected official and one of just few in the nation, according to The Washington Post.

Discussion: ABC News, Axios, Business Insider, KTLA, Mashable, The Daily Caller and Rewire

Josh Dawsey / Politico:

Omarosa's West Wing bridal adventure highlights broader dysfunction — One Saturday in early April, Omarosa Manigault caused a stir in the White House. — The “Apprentice” villain turned senior White House official brought members of her 39-person bridal party to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue …

Discussion: Axios, The Atlantic, The Root, The Slot, Raw Story, AOL, Business Insider, Mediaite and Joe.My.God.

Annie Karni / Politico:
Trump's ‘loyal lieutenant’ to testify on 2013 Russia visit

Discussion: The Hill, Mediaite, Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, Mashable, Business Insider, Axios and The Week

Aaron Wische / Click2Houston.com:

Sutherland Springs church shooter escaped mental health facility months after attack on wife, child — Police report shows Kelley made death threats against military superiors — HOUSTON - Channel 2 Investigates uncovered law enforcement documents showing Devin Kelley escaped …

Discussion: Washington Post, Shareblue Media, Business Insider, KRON4.com, VICE, New Republic, KXAN-TV, RedState, AOL, Talking Points Memo, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, National Review, The Root, USA Today, Denver Post and The Week

Richard Pérez-Peña / New York Times:
Texas Gunman Once Escaped From Mental Health Facility

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, Axios, The Root and The Week

Ryan Struyk / CNN:

Poll: Views of Democratic Party hit lowest mark in 25 years — STORY HIGHLIGHTS — Washington (CNN)Favorable views of the Democratic Party have dropped to their lowest mark in more than a quarter century of polling, according to new numbers from a CNN poll conducted by SSRS.

Discussion: RedState, IJR, TheBlaze, The Daily Caller and Washington Times

Sean McElwee / The Nation:
Pandering to Racists Won't Get Democrats Anywhere

Discussion: Hullabaloo

Rachael Bade / Politico:

Congresswoman tolerated abusive behavior by top aide, female ex-staffers say — A lawmaker pushing for a more aggressive response to sexual harassment on Capitol Hill has kept her chief of staff on payroll despite receiving multiple complaints by women in her office about his behavior toward them, according to several former aides.

Discussion: The Root, IJR, The Daily Caller and Talking Points Memo

Heather Caygle / Politico:
Congresswoman's top aide suspended after harassment claims

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon

Sam Stein / The Daily Beast:
Chuck Schumer Wants Mandatory Sexual Harassment Training on Capitol Hill

Discussion: Axios

Brian Faler / Politico:

Tax hike reports throw Republicans on political defensive — House Republicans are on the defensive after a new analysis, the latest in a string, shows that some middle-income people would see tax increases under their plan to rewrite the tax code. — While most taxpayers — 61 percent …

Discussion: bradford-delong.com

Cristina Marcos / The Hill:
GOP lawmaker: Donors are pushing me to get tax reform done

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Mediaite, Shareblue Media, Axios and Vox

Damian Paletta / Washington Post:
Senate GOP tax bill could delay corporate tax cut and make other major changes that break sharply with House plan

Discussion: Axios and Business Insider

New York Times:

Maine Ballot Question 2: Expand Medicaid Eligibility — Voters in Maine will decide on Tuesday whether to expand access to Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, making the state the first in the nation to settle the issue by referendum. — Maine is one of 19 states whose Republican governors …

Discussion: Rewire and Balloon Juice

Sarah Kliff / Vox:
Maine just became the 33rd state to expand Medicaid

Discussion: Axios and Mother Jones

Dan Alexander / Forbes:

The Case Of Wilbur Ross' Phantom $2 Billion — Fresh off a tour through Thailand, Laos and China, United States Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross Jr. picked up the phone on a Sunday afternoon in October to discuss something deeply personal: how much money he has.

Discussion: Center for Public Integrity, Washington Examiner, Associated Press, The Daily Caller, Washington Post, Shareblue Media, RedState, AOL, IJR, Raw Story, Mediaite, rbc.ru, The Week, Talking Points Memo, The Mahablog, New York Magazine, CNBC and Bloomberg

The Intercept:

CIA Director Met Advocate of Disputed DNC Hack Theory — at Trump's Request — CIA Director Mike Pompeo met late last month with a former U.S. intelligence official who has become an advocate for a disputed theory that the theft of the Democratic National Committee's emails during …

Discussion: Politico, emptywheel, NBC News, IJR, Business Insider, The Week, The Daily Caller, Shareblue Media, Daily Kos, Mother Jones, Talking Points Memo, New Republic, Media Matters for America, RedState, Mediaite and Raw Story

Carrie Dann / NBC News:

NBC/WSJ Poll: In ‘Trump Counties,’ More Say U.S. Is Worse Off Than Better Off — WASHINGTON — One year after Donald Trump's shocking election upset, many Americans who live in the key counties that propelled him to victory remain unconvinced that the country is better off now that he's in the White House …

Discussion: The Hill, Shareblue Media and Daily Kos

Patty Santos / KSAT-TV:

Singing and praise. Then gunfire. Couple shares story of surviving Texas church shooting — Joaquin Ramirez, Roseanne Solis survived mass shooting — SUTHERLAND SPRINGS, Texas - A couple who survived the deadliest mass shooting in Texas history shared their story of survival and the horror …

Discussion: The Guardian, Washington Post, National Review, Business Insider, FOX2now.com, TheBlaze, AOL and Faithwire

David Harsanyi / The Federalist:
Why Bringing A Gun To Church Is A Pretty Good Idea

Discussion: Mediaite, The Last Tradition, alicublog, The Daily Caller, 105.9 FM and AM 630, New York Magazine and New York Times

Ryan J. Reilly / HuffPost:

Jeff Sessions' DOJ Drops Prosecution Of Woman Who Laughed At Jeff Sessions — Desiree Fairooz was set to face her second trial in connection with her arrest for laughing during Sessions' confirmation hearing for attorney general. — WASHINGTON Justice Department prosecutors have dropped …

Discussion: Politico, New York Times, IJR, ThinkProgress, New York Magazine, Axios and Balloon Juice

Olivia Solon / The Guardian:

Facebook asks users for nude photos in project to combat revenge porn — In Australia pilot effort, company will ‘hash’ images, converting them into digital fingerprints that prevent any other attempts to upload the same pictures … Facebook is asking users to send the company their nude photos …

Discussion: The Verge and The Daily Caller, more at Mediagazer »

Jane Wakefield / BBC:

Facebook's fake news experiment backfires — A Facebook test that promoted comments containing the word fake to the top of news feeds has been criticised by users. — The trial, which Facebook says has now concluded, aimed to prioritise “comments that indicate disbelief”.

Discussion: New York Magazine, The Daily Caller, The Verge and Boing Boing, more at Techmeme »

New York Times:

Disney Ends Ban on Los Angeles Times Amid Fierce Backlash — Amid a growing backlash, the Walt Disney Company on Tuesday reversed its decision to bar The Los Angeles Times from press screenings of its movies following an investigation by the newspaper into the media giant's business dealings in Anaheim.

Discussion: Politico, AOL, Deadline, The Atlantic, CBS13, Mediaite, NewsBusters, ThinkProgress, The Verge, The Ringer, The Week, Jezebel, IJR and Washington Post, more at Mediagazer »

James Bridle:

Something is wrong on the internet — I'm James Bridle. I'm a writer and artist concerned with technology and culture. I usually write on my own blog, but frankly I don't want what I'm talking about here anywhere near my own site. Please be advised: this essay describes disturbing things …

Discussion: The Guardian, Boing Boing and Crooked Timber

NBC News:

Carter Page Coordinated Russia Trip With Top Trump Campaign Officials — WASHINGTON — Former Trump campaign volunteer Carter Page, who has come under scrutiny in the investigation of Russian election interference, told a House committee that he sought permission for a July 2016 trip to Moscow …