memeorandum: GOP's Sullivan defeats Gross in Alaska Senate race (Eleanor Mueller/Politico)

12:35 PM ET, November 11, 2020

Top Items:

The Electoral College play — As the weaknesses of President Trump's legal cases to overturn Joe Biden's win become clearer, Republicans are talking more about the Electoral College — hinting at an extreme last-chance way for Trump to cling to power. — What we're watching …

Discussion: Politico, The Intellectualist and Althouse

Howard Kurtz / Fox News:

The endless election: Why both sides keep punching back — Howard Kurtz: No TV network has power to call election for Joe Biden — We are mired in the politics of perpetual payback. — It used to be that presidential elections settled things for awhile, even when power changed hands …

Discussion: Washington Post, alicublog, Mediaite, Raw Story, The Nation, ABC News, The Guardian, Conservative News Today, USA Today, Townhall and The Wrap

Richard L. Hasen / The Atlantic:

Trump Needs Three Consecutive Hail Mary Passes — Despite the clear math showing that Joe Biden has won the election, President Donald Trump has refused to concede. He has directed his legal team to keep on fighting to try to overturn the results of the election, including in a new 105-page federal-court filing in Pennsylvania.

Discussion: Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, electionlawblog.org, The Bulwark, Arizona Republic and Raw Story

WISN:
GOP lawmaker suggests Wisconsin electors choose presidential winner

Discussion: Vox, Pharyngula, Wisconsin Examiner and The Daily Poster

New York Times:

The Times Called Officials in Every State: No Evidence of Voter Fraud — The president and his allies have baselessly claimed that rampant voter fraud stole victory from him. Officials contacted by The Times said that there were no irregularities that affected the outcome.

Timothy Snyder / The Boston Globe:

Trump's big election lie pushes America toward autocracy … When you lose, it is good and healthy to know why. In the First World War, the conflict that defined our modern world, the Germans lost because of the overwhelming force assembled by their enemies on the Western Front.

Discussion: HotAir

Shawn Mulcahy / The Texas Tribune:
There's no evidence of widespread voter fraud, but Dan Patrick is encouraging people to report it with up to a $1 million reward

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Dan Patrick …, USA Today, Off the Kuff, TMZ.com, myfox8.com and ABC13

Washington Post:

Postal worker admits fabricating allegations of ballot tampering, officials say — A Pennsylvania postal worker whose claims have been cited by top Republicans as potential evidence of widespread voting irregularities admitted to U.S. Postal Service investigators that he fabricated the allegations …

Stephen Collinson / CNN:

Alarm grows over Trump's ‘dictator moves’ as he denies election defeat — (CNN)President Donald Trump's administration is taking on the characteristics of a tottering regime — with its loyalty tests, destabilizing attacks on the military chain of command, a deepening bunker mentality …

Discussion: Washington Post, USA Today, NBC News, Real Clear Politics, Washington Examiner, The Guardian, Hoffman Files, Los Angeles Times, DaddyBear's Den, WWTV-TV/WWUP-TV and Digby's Hullabaloo

NBC News:

Pompeo calls for respecting elections abroad while ignoring Biden victory — WASHINGTON — After years of preaching that world leaders must swiftly abide the verdicts of voters, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has settled on the opposite message at home. — Pompeo has called for a peaceful transition …

Discussion: Gingrich 360, Mediaite, Breitbart and Just The News

Greg Bluestein / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

An early poll of Georgia's twin Senate runoffs shows tight races — A poll from a Republican-leaning national firm shows neither political party with a clear advantage in the twin January runoffs that are likely to decide control of the U.S. Senate. — The poll showed Kelly Loeffler at 49% …

Discussion: National Review

The Hill:
Sullivan wins reelection in Alaska, giving Republicans 50 seats in Senate

Discussion: Associated Press and Outside the Beltway

Rebecca Shabad / NBC News:
GOP incumbent Dan Sullivan defeats Democrat Al Gross in Alaska Senate race, NBC projects

Discussion: Washington Examiner

Eleanor Mueller / Politico:
GOP's Sullivan defeats Gross in Alaska Senate race

Discussion: Vox and National Review

95.5 WSB:

Georgia will recount all votes in presidential race by hand, Secretary of State says — ATLANTA — Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger says the state will begin a full audit of election results in Georgia today. It's the first time this has ever happened in our state.

Discussion: Associated Press, Washington Examiner, CNN, CBS News and WSB-TV

CBS News:
Watch Live: Georgia secretary of state gives election update at press conference

Discussion: NBC News, Reuters and Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Melissa Quinn / CBS News:
Georgia secretary of state announces hand recount of presidential race

Discussion: Politico, Fox News, Wall Street Journal, CNBC, Associated Press, RedState, NPR, National Review, New York Post, WPRI-TV, The Daily Caller, Twin Cities, ABC13, Townhall and Atlanta Journal-Constitution

David Ignatius / Washington Post:

A furious behind-the-scenes battle to counter Trump's threat to national security — President Trump's senior military and intelligence officials have been warning him strongly against declassifying information about Russia that his advisers say would compromise sensitive collection methods and anger key allies.

Discussion: Business Insider, New York Times, emptywheel, Talking Points Memo, CNN and Raw Story

Todd J. Gillman / Dallas Morning News:

Dallas' Robert Jeffress, leading pro-Trump evangelical conservative: ‘Biden is president-elect’ — Trump ally concedes that's a ‘bitter pill’ but says ‘Christians are not hypocrites’ and must accept Biden's victory — WASHINGTON — One of President Donald Trump's top evangelical Christian allies …

Maria Polletta / Arizona Republic:

Judge rejects Trump team's request for secret evidence in lawsuit over Maricopa County votes — An attorney representing President Donald Trump's reelection team, in a lawsuit alleging poll workers “incorrectly rejected” Election Day votes, asked a Maricopa County Superior Court judge …

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA and Law & Crime

Adam Payne / Business Insider:

‘These are dictator moves’: Defense officials alarmed as Trump installs more loyalists at the Pentagon … - Trump has filled a series of senior defense positions with loyalists, causing alarm among Pentagon officials. — Four defense officials, including Defense Secretary Mark Esper …

Discussion: Washington Post, The Guardian and Reuters

Shawna Chen / Axios:
Trump administration replaces senior defense officials with White House loyalists

Discussion: ABC News, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE and Defense One

Philip Klein / Washington Examiner:

Donald Trump is acting like a bigger sore loser than Al Gore — Back in 2000, like many on the right, I became exasperated as Al Gore dragged the nation through weeks of recounts and court cases because he refused to acknowledge that he had lost. — I recently found this going through some old things …

Jim Geraghty / National Review:

Where the Post-Election Lawsuits Stand — This is Veterans Day; thank a veteran for all they've done to ensure we live in freedom. On the menu today is a long review of the largely unsuccessful legal efforts of the Trump campaign regarding the ballot counting in Pennsylvania and Michigan …

Discussion: Reuters, Washington Examiner, Raw Story and New York Post

Washington Post:

As states press forward with vote counts, Trump advisers privately express pessimism about heading off Biden's win — Please note: The Washington Post is providing this important election information free to all readers. Get election results and other major news delivered to your inbox by signing up for breaking news email alerts.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Business Insider and Political Wire

Washington Post:

How Biden aims to amp up the government's fight against climate change — A new administration would enlist departments like Transportation, Agriculture and Treasury to advance its climate goals — President-elect Joe Biden is poised to embed action on climate change across the breadth …

Discussion: Bloomberg and Board of Governors …

Matthew Rink / Erie Daily Times-Morning News:

Only 2 ballots that arrived late and had Nov. 3 postmark came from Erie postal facility — A U.S. Postal Service employee in Erie, who made claims last week that his superiors were back-dating ballots that were sent after Election Day, recanted his statements in interviews with investigators, according to reports.

Discussion: The Daily Caller and Washington Examiner

Teo Armus / Washington Post:

Mississippi Republican calls for his state to ‘succeed from the union’ after Biden victory — As the dust settles from the 2020 presidential election, one disappointed Mississippi lawmaker has a proposition for the Magnolia State. Instead of being governed by President-elect Joe Biden …

Discussion: Law & Crime

Gabby Orr / Politico:

How Biden swung the religious vote — It wasn't until Election Day, when returns showed counties across Michigan, Georgia and the industrial Midwest leaning toward Joe Biden due to a groundswell of religious support, that the Trump campaign realized it had a problem.

Discussion: Raw Story and National Review

Ben Sales / Jewish Telegraphic Agency:

Officials predicted violence due to the election. It hasn't happened — yet. — (JTA) — Leading up to Election Day, security specialists feared violence in the streets, car rammings at polling places and perhaps even vigilante killings amid dueling mass protests.

Betsy Klein / CNN:

Trump's public schedules show little interest in work as he protests Biden's legitimate election — (CNN)The President of the United States is absent without leave. President Donald Trump is set to make his first public appearance in six days Wednesday when he visits Arlington National Cemetery …

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Newsmax and Raw Story

Andrea Salcedo / Washington Post:

Sioux Falls mayor votes down mask mandate as South Dakota's covid-19 numbers rise — By 10 p.m. on Tuesday, the city council in Sioux Falls, S.D., had heard from more than a dozen residents passionately arguing over a mask mandate in the largest city of a state where novel coronavirus infections have been rising at a devastating rate.

James Hohmann / Washington Post:

The Daily 202: Biden won with the weakest coattails in 60 years. That could make him dependent on GOP senators. — WILMINGTON, Del. - President-elect Joe Biden said Tuesday that he hopes to name a couple of Cabinet secretaries before Thanksgiving, but first he wants to talk with Mitch McConnell …

Discussion: USA Today, CNBC, NBC News, Washington Times, Washington Free Beacon, Townhall, Novara Media, Common Dreams, The Guardian and New York Times

Amber Phillips / Washington Post:

Where Democrats will be locked out of power in redistricting battles next year — They'll still have a foothold in some swing states such as Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. But less than they'd like. — Democrats failed to pick up any state legislative chambers this November …

Discussion: HotAir, The Texas Tribune and The Garden Island

Politico:

Team Biden sees Trump's post-election fight as comedy of errors — Joe Biden's campaign strategy just crashed into Washington's alternate reality. — In his public appearances and statements since media outlets confirmed his victory on Saturday, the president-elect has kept the temperature low …

Discussion: The Bulwark, CBS News, Fox News, New York Times, The Hill, Raw Story, IJR, Bloomberg and littlegreenfootballs.com

Rob Crilly / Washington Examiner:

Boris Johnson refers to Trump as ‘previous president’ as most of the world moves on — They were the twin faces of populist uprisings against the old elite, but on Wednesday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson made the clearest statement yet that he was moving on from President Trump after his election defeat.

Discussion: Associated Press, Business Insider and Alternet.org

Politico:

Tlaib lashes out at centrist Dems over election debacle: 'I can't be silent' — Rashida Tlaib isn't apologizing for wanting to yank money away from bad police departments. She has no second thoughts about her embrace of the Black Lives Matter movement, or for wanting to aggressively fight climate change.

Discussion: Fox News, The Hill, LaCorte News, National Review, Louder With Crowder, Townhall and The Daily Caller

Politico:

Georgia Dems clamor for Obama — not Biden — to help win Senate seats — ATLANTA — Georgia Democrats want Joe Biden's campaign and donors to do everything they can to help win a pair of Senate races that could shape the success of his presidency. — But there's one thing they're not clamoring for: the president-elect himself.

Discussion: Reuters, Tallahassee Democrat, The Daily Beast and Mediaite

Jaclyn Peiser / Washington Post:

Ex-Louisville detective charged in Breonna Taylor shooting sexually assaulted women, lawsuit claims — When a police officer working security at a Louisville bar offered Margo Borders a ride home in April 2018, she accepted. The 22-year-old law student was drunk that night but said she felt safe …

Discussion: CNN, Courier-Journal, The Root and New York Post

Salena Zito / Washington Examiner:

Joe Manchin digs in: ‘Under no circumstances’ would break tie to nuke filibuster and pack court — Joe Manchin said on Tuesday he is committed to voting against packing the courts or ending the legislative filibuster no matter what situation arises. — “Under no circumstances …

Discussion: HotAir

Washington Post:

With coronavirus cases spiking nationwide, all signs point to a harrowing autumn — This is the dismal reality America faces as the coronavirus continues its unchecked surge around the country: In North Dakota, health-care workers with asymptomatic cases of the coronavirus will be allowed …

Discussion: HotAir

Megan Henney / Fox News:

California governor quiet on Kamala Harris replacement: ‘No timeline has been established’ — Pressure mounting on Newsom to name Harris' Senate replacement — Newsom's guidelines make it ‘next to impossible’ for Disneyland to reopen: former Disney employee

Discussion: Associated Press and Los Angeles Times

New York Times:

Who Are Contenders for Biden's Cabinet? — As Joseph R. Biden Jr. begins his presidential transition, here are some of the names that have emerged for top jobs in his administration. — President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. has signaled his intention to draw from a diverse cross section of America in building his cabinet.