2020 Dems end 2019 by campaigning
Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren marked one year of running for president Tuesday by slamming billionaires from both parties who she says put corporate interests above the needs of the rest of the country, as many top Democrats looking to unseat President Donald Trump spent the last day of 2019 rallying core supporters.
Ms. Warren addressed a raucous hometown crowd at Boston’s Old South Meeting House, a church famous for being the organizing point for the Boston Tea Party in 1773.
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is holding a “Big New Year’s Bash” featuring “Prince’s longtime backing band” in Des Moines, the capital of Iowa, which holds its leadoff caucuses Feb. 3. Also campaigning in Iowa is New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker.
Businessman Andrew Yang invited supporters to mark midnight at a party in New Hampshire, which is set to hold the first primary on Feb. 11. Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar is also in New Hampshire, while Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet plans to headline a house party in the state timed to begin one minute after midnight and billed as 2020’s first such gathering.
The crush of events reflects how little time there is to spare before voting begins. Even though campaigning ground to a nearhalt for Christmas, candidates are betting voters will be more amenable to their messages on the final day of the year.
Ms. Warren said the coming of a new year is “normally a moment for optimism. But let’s face it: This year in America has been anything but normal.”
Jones must pay $100K
A Texas judge ordered conspiracy theorist Alex Jones to pay $100,000 in another court setback over the Infowars host using his show to promote falsehoods that the 2012 Sandy Hook school massacre was a hoax.
Mr. Jones is being sued for defamation in Austin, Texas, by the parents of a 6year-old who was among the 26 people killed in the Newtown, Conn., attack.
State District Judge Scott Jenkins ruled on Dec. 20 that Mr. Jones and his defense team “intentionally disregarded” an earlier order to provide witnesses to attorneys representing a Sandy Hook father who brought the lawsuit, Neil Heslin. Judge Jenkins also denied Mr. Jones’ request to dismiss the lawsuit.
An attorney for Mr. Jones did not immediately comment Tuesday. Judge Jenkins’ orders were first reported by The Daily Beast.
The Sandy Hook families said they have been subjected to harassment and death threats from Mr. Jones’ followers because of the hoax conspiracy.
Lewandowski won’t run
Corey Lewandowski, Donald Trump’s former campaign manager, said he won’t run for a U.S. Senate seat in his home state of New Hampshire.
Mr. Lewandowski had considered entering the Republican primary to challenge two-term Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, whom GOP leaders considered vulnerable after she narrowly won re-election in 2014. He had received encouragement, though not an endorsement, from Mr. Trump.
An Emerson College poll conducted in September found that Republican primary voters preferred Mr. Lewandowski by a doubledigit margin over two declared candidates, retired Army Gen. Don Bolduc and state legislator Bill O’Brien. But Mr. Lewandowski would have entered the race against Ms. Shaheen facing a 10-point deficit.