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Republican allies boost longshot candidate Jill Stein as Democrats try to remove her from ballots in battleground states
Jill Stein, now on her third run for president with the Green Party, is seen as a longshot for the White House and often called a spoiler candidate who pulls votes from the Democratic side.
Though Stein claims her candidacy has a legitimate path to victory without relying on what she calls “war machine” dollars, her campaign has accepted support from Republican allies as she works to secure ballot access in multiple states, including key battleground states like Nevada and Wisconsin, where CBS News polling shows a close race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.
In Nevada, where the Green Party was removed from the ballot earlier this month because of incorrect petition forms, according to the Nevada Supreme Court, the party is seeking reinstatement and is being represented by Jay Sekulow, an attorney who represented Trump during his impeachment trials.
“In case you missed it, the @NVSOS gave the campaign the wrong forms to use to get on the ballot. Then the dirty Dems used that technicality to sue us off the ballot – we won in lower courts, only to lose in the NV Supreme Court,” Stein wrote on X last week. “Our lawyers have said that we have a case that the US Supreme Court may take which will make ripples nationwide.”
On Friday, the Nevada Green Party asked for emergency intervention from the U.S. Supreme Court to review the Nevada Supreme Court’s ruling under the pro bono guidance of Sekulow, the Stein campaign told CBS News.
In Wisconsin, where the state Supreme Court ruled to keep Stein on the ballot after declining to hear a Democratic National Committee challenge, Stein accepted legal representation from Michael D. Dean, a Wisconsin lawyer involved in lawsuits attempting to overturn the 2020 election results on behalf of Trump, according to an ethics complaint filed by the bipartisan group The 65 Project.
While Democratic allies claim that Stein’s collaboration with Trump-affiliated lawyers is disqualifying, her campaign argues that it’s simply responding to efforts to keep them off the ballot, leaving them no choice but to accept support wherever it comes from — even if it’s from Trump allies.
“When the Democrats put us in a position of having to respond to a legal challenge, we’re going to take the help that’s available to us,” said Jason Call, Jill Stein’s campaign manager. “And so the fault begins and ends with the Democratic Party on this. We understand that Republicans are going to want to help us for their own reasons, but our reasons are for democracy.”
The Stein campaign learned over the weekend that yet another lawsuit had been filed against the third-party candidate in New Hampshire. In response, the campaign stated it is ready to accept assistance from partisan lawyers if it has to in order to secure ballot access.
While there are no laws barring a third-party candidate from accepting pro bono support from another major party in any state, Democratic allies are pushing back on Stein’s ballot access efforts.
“These third-party candidates are being presented to voters without a full picture of their views, their financial backers, and the impact they would have on the election,” said Joel Payne, chief communications officer for MoveOn, a left-leaning political action committee. “They also need to be held accountable in good faith or within the bounds of the law—no differently than major party candidates.”
The tug-of-war between Republican and Democratic Party allies to influence the outcome of the election extends to other third-party candidates as well. Recent Associated Press reporting shows that Cornel West has a network of GOP operatives supporting his campaign, while Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who suspended his presidential bid last month and endorsed Trump, is now working to remove himself from ballots in states where he believes his candidacy could siphon votes away from Trump.
“It seems unity is only convenient for some people when it aligns perfectly with their agenda,” said Edwin DeJesus, spokesperson for the West campaign. “Yet, when lawyers with certain political leanings support Dr. Cornel West, who has consistently spoken out about genocide, it’s suddenly a problem.”
Both Stein and West have faced numerous legal challenges from Democratic Party allies aimed at removing them from ballots in various states.
“Jill Stein has no path to win the presidency, but just like she did in 2016, she can help Trump win,” said Democratic National Committee spokesperson Matt Corridoni. “That’s why the GOP is doing everything in their power to get third-party candidates on the ballot as spoilers in key swing states. Voters should see this cynical effort for what it is. The fact remains: only two candidates have a path to 270 and the only way to stop Donald Trump is by voting for VP Harris.”
Both parties working to influence the ballot outcome in multiple states through third-party candidates isn’t new, experts say.
“It’s smart politics, on the Trump end, to try to siphon votes off from Harris,” said John Geer, political science professor at Vanderbilt University. “Politics is not for the faint of heart, and you’ve got to be ready for a lot of ‘unfair’ things to happen because it’s war, it’s a winner takes all contest, and finishing second place is no consolation.”
Trump, who has embraced Kennedy as an ally, has previously spoken fondly of both Stein and West.
“Cornel West, he’s one of my favorite candidates,” Trump said during a campaign rally in Philadelphia in June. “I like her also, Jill Stein, I like her very much. You know why? She takes 100% from them. He takes 100%.”
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Israeli strike kills Lebanese soldier as Hezbollah fires at least 185 rockets at Israel
Hezbollah fired at least 185 rockets and other projectiles into Israel on Sunday, wounding seven people in the militant group’s heaviest barrage in several days, in response to deadly Israeli strikes in Beirut while negotiators pressed on with cease-fire efforts to halt the war.
Meanwhile, an Israeli strike on a Lebanese army center killed one soldier and wounded 18 others on the southwestern coastal road between Tyre and Naqoura, Lebanon’s military said. Israel’s military expressed regret and said the strike occurred in an area of combat against Hezbollah, adding that its operations are directed solely against the militants. The strike was under review.
Israeli strikes have killed over 40 Lebanese troops since the start of the war between Israel and Hezbollah, even as Lebanon’s military has largely kept to the sidelines.
Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, condemned it as an assault on U.S.-led cease-fire efforts, calling it a “direct, bloody message rejecting all efforts and ongoing contacts” to end the war.
“(Israel is) again writing in Lebanese blood a brazen rejection of the solution that is being discussed,” a statement from his office read.
The strike occurred in southwestern Lebanon on the coastal road between Tyre and Naqoura, where there has been heavy fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.
Hezbollah began firing rockets, missiles and drones into Israel after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack out of the Gaza Strip ignited the war there. Hezbollah has portrayed the attacks as an act of solidarity with the Palestinians and Hamas. Iran supports both armed groups.
Israel has launched retaliatory airstrikes since the rocket fire began, and in September the low-level conflict erupted into all-out war, as Israel launched waves of airstrikes across large parts of Lebanon and killed Hezbollah’s top leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and several of his top commanders.
Hezbollah fired a total of around 160 rockets and other projectiles into Israel on Sunday, some of which were intercepted, the Israeli military said.
Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service said it was treating two people in the central city of Petah Tikva, a 23-year-old man who was lightly wounded by a blast and a 70-year-old woman suffering from smoke inhalation from a car that caught fire. The first responders said they treated three other people in northern Israel, closer to the border, including a 60-year-old man in serious condition.
It was unclear whether the injuries and damage were caused by the rockets or interceptors.
Israeli airstrikes early Saturday pounded central Beirut, killing at least 20 people and wounding 66, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.
Israeli attacks have killed more than 3,500 people in Lebanon, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry. The fighting has displaced about 1.2 million people, or a quarter of Lebanon’s population.
On the Israeli side, about 90 soldiers and nearly 50 civilians have been killed by bombardments in northern Israel and in battle following Israel’s ground invasion in early October. Around 60,000 Israelis have been displaced from the country’s north.
The Biden administration has spent months trying to broker a cease-fire, and U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein was back in the region last week.
The European Union’s top diplomat called for more pressure on both Israel and Hezbollah to reach a deal, saying one was “pending with a final agreement from the Israeli government.”
Josep Borrell spoke Sunday after meeting with Mikati and Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally who has been mediating with the group.
Borrell said the EU is ready to allocate 200 million euros ($208m) to assist the Lebanese military, which would deploy additional forces to the south.
The emerging agreement would pave the way for the withdrawal of Hezbollah militants and Israeli troops from southern Lebanon below the Litani River in accordance with the U.N. Security Council resolution that ended the 2006 war. Lebanese troops would patrol the area, with the presence of U.N. peacekeepers.
Lebanon’s army reflects the religious diversity of the country and is respected as a national institution, but it does not have the military capability to impose its will on Hezbollah or resist Israel’s invasion.
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Sen. Rand Paul says he “will not support” use of military in Trump’s planned deportations
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Transcript: Rep.-elect Sarah McBride on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” Nov. 24, 2024
The following is a transcript of an interview with Rep.-elect Sarah McBride, Democrat of Delaware, on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” that aired on Nov. 24, 2024.
MARGARET BRENNAN: The 2024 election was historic for several reasons. Among them, the first openly transgender person was elected to the United States Congress. She joins us now from the state she will be representing, Delaware. Democratic Representative-elect Sarah McBride. Welcome to Face the Nation.
REP.-ELECT SARAH MCBRIDE: Thank you for having me, Margaret.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You know, it’s interesting, given how polarized, how angry and divided this country is that people choose to serve and to run. You told my colleague Scott MacFarlane that it was your personal experience as a caregiver for your husband during his bout with terminal cancer that inspired you to run. Do you expect that health care policy will be the focus of your work here?
: Well, I certainly am glad to be back here in Delaware after two weeks of orientation and to have the privilege of serving this state that I love in Congress. I ran to bring down costs facing workers, retirees and their families. That means bringing down the cost of health care, but also housing and child care and everyday expenses like gas and groceries. I did run for office after my experience as a caregiver to my husband, Andy, during his battle with cancer. And throughout that experience, while Andy ultimately lost his life, we both knew how lucky we were. We knew how lucky Andy was to have health insurance that would allow him to get care that would hopefully save his life. And we both knew how lucky we were to have flexibility with our employers. That allowed Andy to focus on the full time job of getting care, and me to focus on the full time job of being there by his side to care for him, to love him, to marry him, and to walk him to his passing. And I ran for office because I do not believe that in the wealthiest, most developed nation on earth, that that time and that ability to get care should be a matter of luck. I believe it should be the law of the land. And it’s why during my time in the Delaware General Assembly, I passed paid family and medical leave and secured the largest investment in our state’s Medicaid program. And I want to do that work in Congress on health care, but also on housing and child care.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Paid leave is something that Mr. Trump has paid lip service to, we’ll see in the new Congress if it comes up. We see in our CBS polling that 86% of voters feel congressional Democrats should find common ground with Mr. Trump and Republicans. Do you feel you can?
: Well, I said throughout this campaign that I will work with anyone who’s willing to work with me to help Delawareans, to lower costs facing my constituents. There are opportunities for us to find common ground. But it’s also clear that this administration, as it begins to fill its appointments with Project 2025 authors, that a lot of the policies that this president will pursue will likely hurt my constituents and raise prices. And so where I need to fight back, I will. But where I can find common ground, I will certainly seek it. That’s what I’ve done during my time in the General Assembly, where nearly every bill I passed passed with bipartisan support.
MARGARET BRENNAN: As you mentioned, you were here for orientation. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson was asked about you coming to work and some objections by a female South Carolina Republican representative regarding what bathroom you’d be able to use. Here’s what the speaker said.
SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON (ON TAPE): A man is a man, and a woman is a woman, and a man cannot become a woman. That said, I also believe- that’s what Scripture teaches, what I just said. But I also believe that we treat everybody with dignity.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Do you believe that you are being treated with dignity by your colleagues?
: I didn’t run for the United States House of Representatives to talk about what bathroom I use. I didn’t run to talk about myself. I ran to deliver for Delawareans. And while Republicans in Congress seem focused on bathrooms and trans people, and specifically me, I’m focused on rolling up my sleeves, diving into the details, setting up my office, and beginning the hard work of delivering for Delawareans on the issues that I know keep them up at night. And I look forward to working with any colleague who’s ready to work and ready to be serious about the issues that matter because at the end of the day, how I’m being treated does not matter. What matters is how the American people are being treated and whether we’re actually focused on the issues that matter to them.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, some of your fellow congressional Democrats, including Tom Suozzi and Seth Moulton, have also recently spoken about their feelings, looking back at the last election, and said Democrats should be more open about saying whether they object to transgender athletes playing in girls sports. Those were the specific examples they brought up. How would you respond to your soon to be Democratic colleagues on those? Do you understand why some parents, for example, feel uncomfortable or frustrated?
: Look, I think this country is still entering into a conversation about who trans people are, the full diversity of the community. And I’ve had conversations with colleagues in the Democratic caucus already that- that span diversity of thought about how the party should engage on a whole host of issues. But I think we are all united that every single American deserves equal rights. I think we are all united that attempts to attack a vulnerable community are not only mean spirited, but really an attempt to misdirect. Because every single time we hear the incoming administration or Republicans in Congress talk about any vulnerable group in this country, we have to be clear that it is an attempt to distract. It is an attempt to distract from what they are actually doing. Every single time, every single time we hear them say the word trans, look what they’re doing with their right hand. Look at what they’re doing to pick the pocket of American workers, to fleece seniors by privatizing Social Security and Medicare. Look what they’re doing undermining workers. And here’s also what we have to be clear about, because I think the last week has been a prime example of this. Every bit of time and energy that is used to divert the attention of federal government to go after trans people is time and energy that is not focused on addressing the cost of living for our constituents. And we have to be clear that there is a real cost for the American worker every time they focus on this.
MARGARET BRENNAN: All right. Congresswoman elect, I’m sure we’ll be seeing you here in Washington. We’ll be right back.