A year after disputed ballot, Bolivians return to polls, and ex-President Evo Morales looms large
He is not on the ballot, but former President Evo Morales looms large in Bolivia’s much-anticipated national elections Sunday. AdvertisementA right-wing legislator, Jeanine Añez, succeeded Morales as the country’s interim president, a move that Morales called illegal. But Añez, a stalwart of the country’s economic elite, could never gain electoral traction beyond her right-leaning base. Advertisement“We have to vote responsibly for the most beneficial candidates, the ones who will defeat Evo Morales,” Añez said this week. The current front-running presidential contender, according to polls, is Luis Arce, 57, an ex-banker who served as Morales’ economic minister.
latimes.comUS Senate high stakes spur astronomical spending in Montana
– Political groups fighting for control of the U.S. Senate have poured more than $118 million into the contest between Montana's Democratic Gov. And the Montana political ad spending is almost 10 times as much per voter being spent on ads in Colorado's Senate contest between former Democratic Gov. But the main driver is the race's competitive nature and the high stakes in the Senate. “These groups that are spending, they're spending big," Bullock told The AP. The Annenberg center's Jamieson, whose grandmother homesteaded in Montana, noted that political ads have a long history in the state.
GOP duo reshapes Montana politics to match Trump's vision
It's a shift Montana Democrats argue is out of step with the state’s independent-minded electorate. Steve Bullock, challenging Daines, is one of the Democrats' best hopes to tilt the balance of power in the closely divided Senate. Gianforte, one of the wealthiest members of the U.S. House, has been boosted in his run for Montana governor by Daines’ clout. Democrats as recently as 2014 held both Montana U.S. Senate seats, the governor’s mansion and a bevy of other statewide offices. Daines and Gianforte “fit the party like a glove right now,” University of Montana political analyst Rob Saldin said.
With his sights now on Senate, Bullock still battling Trump
Steve Bullock speaks at an event marking a conservation agreement at a former mining site in Jardine, Mont. Steve Bullock never got to square off directly against President Donald Trump before dropping out of the Democratic presidential primary race last year. But the two-term governor is getting another chance on his home turf by trying to oust a strong Trump ally, first-term Republican Sen. Steve Daines in Montana's U.S. Senate race. Steve Bullock never got to square off against President Donald Trump before dropping out of the Democratic presidential primary last year, but the two-term governor is getting another chance on his home turf by trying to oust a strong Trump ally in Montana's U.S. Senate race. To hear Bullock tell it, he doesn't see the Senate race as an extension of his presidential run or Daines as a proxy of Trump.
Bargains made in Detroit bankruptcy bailout
DETROIT – The budget bailout for Detroit dropped in Lansing Thursday night; a package of 11 bills to send hundreds of millions of dollars to Detroit, but it comes with some very real conditions -- to backfill pensions and save the collection at the Detroit Institution of Arts. But it's no sure thing; if this deal doesn't go, the so-called "grand bargain" falls apart. The bailout includes $194 million as a lump-sum payment to Detroit. The money comes from the state's rainy day fund and includes 20 years of oversight from a seven-member panel. He is working on provisions that would reward Detroit for good financial practices.