On Our Virtual Route 66 This Week: On the Week That Was in Our World

It was quite a week in our World that saw Russia continues its war in Ukraine and continued to pound Ukraine into submission.   China told the World that it would not allow an independent Taiwan.    Boris Johnson in the UK survived a no confidence vote--but two by elections will determine his faith on a go-frward basis.     California had a primary as some noted there were some ominious warnings for Democrats.   Inflation continued to rear its' ugly head as some economists predicated a recession.    THe GOP was on the prowl to create a different narrative as the January 6 Committee began the first in a series of hearings over the ensuing weeks.  This is as the Iran nuclear deal appears to be shuttered. 

Our team pulled together a curated snapshot of the week that was featuring commentary from Politico, The Economist of London, Financial Times, Heather Cox Richardson, The Bulwark and other leading thinkers around the World.

The January 6th committee reports Congress’s Capitol-riot hearing confirms Donald Trump’s complicity Mr Trump was even more responsible for the insurrection than you might think June 12, 2022 Heather Cox Richardson Jun 13 Thursday’s presentation by the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol made quite a splash…and the ripples are still spreading. Today in the New York Times, columnist Maureen Dowd reacted to Thursday’s revelations that Trump was “deadly serious about overthrowing the government,” by laying out the main points: Trump knew he had lost the election, and he was willing to see his vice president hanged in order to avoid being labeled a loser. Dowd called former president Trump an “American monster” and compared him unfavorably to Frankenstein’s monster, who at least “has self-awareness, and a reason to wreak havoc…[and] knows how to feel guilty and when to leave the stage.” Our monster, in contrast, is driven only by “pure narcissistic psychopathy—and he refuses to leave the stage or cease his vile mendacity.” Yesterday, Politico’s Betsy Woodruff Swan and Kyle Cheney reported that on January 5, 2021, then–vice president Pence’s attorney Greg Jacob wrote a three-page memo concluding that what the president and his supporters were demanding Pence do the next day would break the 1887 Electoral College Act—that is, the law—in four different ways. The memo responded to John Eastman’s memo laying out the plan for Pence to hand the election to Trump by refusing to count a number of Biden electors. Jacob noted that Eastman himself “acknowledges that his proposal violates several provisions of statutory law.” In addition, both historical court decisions and one as recent as the day before contradicted Eastman’s plan. Jacob’s memo concluded that if Pence did what Trump demanded, the best possible outcome was that “[t]he Vice President would likely find himself in an isolated standoff against both houses of Congress, as well as most or all of the applicable State legislatures….” It is no wonder that Pence declined to participate. Today on CBS’s Face the Nation, Representative Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), who is on the January 6th committee, called out Republicans who have rallied behind the Big Lie, saying: “I don’t really know many people around [Trump] who truly believe the election was stolen,” and if Trump “truly believes the election was stolen, he’s not mentally competent to be President.” After Thursday’s revelation by committee vice-chair Liz Cheney (R-WY) that Representative Scott Perry (R-PA), as well as “multiple other Republican congressmen,” tried to get Trump to pardon them for their participation in his plan to overturn the election, Perry’s spokesperson called the allegation a “laughable, ludicrous, and a thoroughly soulless lie.” But today on ABC News, Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA), who is on the January 6 committee, said the panel has evidence. Schiff said: “We will show the evidence that we have that members of Congress were seeking pardons…. I think that is some of the most compelling evidence of a consciousness of guilt…. Why would members do that if they felt that their involvement in this plot to overturn the election was somehow appropriate?” Asked if the committee had evidence for their statement that congresspeople had asked for pardons, Representative Jamie Raskin (D-MD), also on the panel, and a constitutional lawyer, told CNN’s Dana Bash, “everything we’re doing is documented by evidence, unlike the Big Lie, which is based on nonsense, as former Attorney General Barr said, everything we’re doing is based on facts.” As the atmosphere around Trump gets hotter, there are cracks appearing in the Republican Party’s support for the former president. Today, Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson, a Republican, said on Fox News Sunday that former president Trump is “politically, morally responsible” for the events of January 6, although Hutchinson expressed the opinion that the committee has not yet established that the former president is criminally liable. Hutchinson said, “Republicans need to do a lot of soul searching as to what is the right thing here and what is the right thing for our democracy in the future, and not simply adhere to the basic instincts of some of our base.” It is not clear that his colleagues will heed Hutchinson’s call. Yesterday, demonstrators across the country called for stronger gun safety laws, and the need for them is heightened by the fact that today is the sixth anniversary of the massacre at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, when a gunman murdered 49 people and wounded 53 others. Americans appear to have had enough of the carnage at our schools and supermarkets, nightclubs, and churches: more than 80% of Americans want background checks before gun purchases, and 75% of adults want to limit purchases of AR-15 style weapons to those over 21. Today a bipartisan group of 20 senators announced they had reached an agreement on what they are willing to put into a package of gun safety regulations. If successfully written into a bill and then enacted, this would be the first major federal gun safety legislation in almost 30 years, which is astonishing considering just what weak sauce it is. The agreement calls for stronger red flag laws to help keep guns out of the hands of those a court has determined are a significant danger to themselves or others, “consistent with state and federal due process and constitutional protections”; investment in mental health services; an end to the so-called “boyfriend loophole” that allows unmarried partners with domestic violence records to own guns; more funding for school safety measures; penalties for those who buy guns illegally; and longer reviews for gun buyers who are under 21. It seems likely the Democrats want the deal to establish the principle of federal regulation of guns, and the Republicans want it to say they’re doing something at a time when American voters are demanding action on gun safety. If it does little to change outcomes, Republicans will be able to say that regulations don’t make us safer. Significantly, in his statement announcing the framework, Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), did not mention gun safety or gun control, simply saying that he supports a bipartisan agreement that resolves “key issues like mental health and school safety, respects the Second Amendment, and earns broad support in the Senate.” All of those terms reinforce Republican arguments for solving our epidemic of gun deaths. Meanwhile, what it means to empower Trump’s base became clear yesterday when law enforcement officers in Idaho arrested 31 members of the so-called “Patriot Front” white supremacist hate group. The men intended to disrupt Coeur D’Alene’s “Pride in the Park,” an event advertised as a “family-friendly, community event celebrating diversity and building a stronger and more unified community for ALL.” The Patriot Front rebranded itself from so-called Vanguard America after one of that group's members plowed a car into a crowd in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August 2017, killing counter protester Heather Heyer and wounding many others. Members of the gang arrested yesterday came from 11 different states, and one of those arrested for conspiring to riot—a misdemeanor—was the group’s founder, Thomas Ryan Rousseau. Farther to the south, Brazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro, whom Trump has called a “great friend” and whose reelection he supports, has expanded his claim that the upcoming election in which he is running is being stolen. Bolsonaro is 25 percentage points behind his chief rival in the polls but says he will lose only if the vote is fraudulent. Now he has enlisted the support of the military in his claims. Bolsonaro recently said that election officials had “invited the armed forces to participate in the electoral process,” and reminded an audience that “the supreme chief of the armed forces is named Jair Messias Bolsonaro.” He insists that the military is only trying to keep the vote clean and safe. “For the love of God,” he said recently, “no one is engaging in undemocratic acts.” The January 6 committee will hold its second hearing tomorrow, at 10:00 a.m. Eastern time. — Notes:  https://www.politico.com/news/2022/06/12/senators-strike-bipartisan-gun-safety-agreement-00039019 Jacqui Heinrich @JacquiHeinrich Major: McConnell says he supports gun proposal negotiations after bill proposal announced today June 12th 2022 66 Retweets185 Likes https://thehill.com/news/sunday-talk-shows/3520354-gop-governor-says-trump-is-politically-morally-responsible-for-jan-6/ https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/11/opinion/trump-january-6.html https://www.politico.com/news/2022/06/11/pence-trump-jan-6-lawyer-memo-00038996   Scott MacFarlane @MacFarlaneNews Rep Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) tells Face the Nation … “I don’t really know many people around (Trump) who truly believe the election was stolen.” June 12th 2022 2,285 Retweets16,276 Likes https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/schiff-january-6-committee-republicans-trump-pardons Jake Sherman @JakeSherman NEW — Gun deal is out. June 12th 2022 718 Retweets2,018 Likes https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/06/11/march-for-our-lives-dc-protests/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/06/12/senate-gun-deal-framework/ https://thehill.com/news/state-watch/3517275-overwhelming-majority-backs-age-limit-of-21-years-to-buy-ar-15-style-rifle-poll/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/06/11/patriot-front-arrests-idaho/ https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/12/us/idaho-pride-white-supremacists-arrested.html https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-endorses-bolsonaro-brazilian-president-9-criminal-charges-recommended-2021-10 https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/brazils-lula-reaches-48-voter-support-ahead-election-datafolha-poll-2022-05-26/ https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/12/world/americas/brazil-election-bolsonaro-military.html

Damage control At French elections, Macron’s majority is on the line If he loses, the president will struggle to keep reforming France

Stagnation nation Britain’s productivity problem is long-standing and getting worse Many culprits and few easy answers

Flying start Air travel is taking flight again Headwinds still threaten the recovery

Scapegoating Africans South Africa has taken a dangerously xenophobic turn Politicians blame foreigners for all their problems, making those problems harder to fix

The Case Against Donald J. Trump

It was a criminal conspiracy

Charlie Sykes Jun 10

(Composite

“I say this to my Republican colleagues who are defending the indefensible. There will come a day when Donald Trump is gone, but your dishonor will remain.” — Liz Cheney

Well, that was remarkable. But will it matter?

Morning Shots reached out to our colleagues for their reactions to last night’s prime time hearing by the House January 6 Committee:

Will Saletan

In Thursday’s hearing, the House January 6th committee clarified a shift in the incitement case against former President Trump. The attack on the Capitol wasn’t really provoked by Trump’s speech on Jan. 6. It was provoked by his tweet three weeks earlier.

The committee’s chairman, Bennie Thompson, pointed out that on the morning of Jan. 6, members of the Proud Boys began moving toward the Capitol before Trump began his speech near the White House. Rep. Liz Cheney, the committee’s leading Republican, summarized the evidence: “The attack on our Capitol was not a spontaneous riot. Intelligence available before January 6th identified plans to ‘invade’ the Capitol, ‘occupy’ the Capitol, and take other steps to halt Congress’ count of Electoral Votes.”

Trump’s allies think this evidence undermines the case against him. Minutes after the hearing ended, Sean Hannity boasted that Cheney “admitted tonight ... that the violence on Jan. 6 was not spontaneous. She said it. It was not the result of the president’s speech. Instead, she points out it, was pre-planned.”

But there’s no contradiction between the planning and the incitement. In her opening statement, Cheney traced the planning to a meeting three weeks before the attack:

“On Dec. 18, 2020, a group including Gen. Michael Flynn, Sidney Powell, Rudy Giuliani, and others visited the White House. They stayed late into the evening. We know that the group discussed a number of dramatic steps, including having the military seize voting machines and potentially rerun elections. ... President Trump met with that group alone for a period of time before White House lawyers and other staff discovered the group was there and rushed to intervene.

“A little more than an hour after Ms. Powell, Mr. Giuliani, General Flynn and the others finally left the White House, President Trump sent the tweet on the screen now, telling people to come to Washington on January 6th. “Be there,” he instructed them. “Will be wild!”

“As you will see, this was a pivotal moment. This tweet initiated a chain of events. The tweet led to the planning for what occurred on January 6th, including by the Proud Boys who ultimately led the invasion of the Capitol and the violence that day.”

Thompson said Trump’s tweet, issued early in the morning of Dec. 19, “energized individuals from the Proud Boys and other extremist groups.” In a video presented during the hearing, Marcus Childress, an investigator for the committee, said extremists perceived the tweet as a “call to arms.” He noted that a day after the tweet, the Proud Boys created a “command structure” to plan operations in Washington on Jan. 6. And the committee showed video-recorded statements in which Jan. 6 defendants and convicts credited the former president:

“Trump asked us to come.”

“He asked for us to come to D.C.”

“Trump has only asked me for two things: He asked me for my vote, and he asked me to come on Jan. 6.”

“I know why I was there, and that’s because he called me there.”

“He personally asked for us to come to D.C. that day. And I thought ... if this is the only thing he’s going to ask of me, I’ll do it.”

That’s a direct line from Trump’s words to the ensuing violence, affirmed by the perpetrators themselves.

So, yes, the committee’s evidence undermines the original theory that Trump’s speech on Jan. 6 caused the attack. But it bolsters the case that he’s guilty of incitement.

Politics US oil producers ignore Biden’s rallying call to drill Capital discipline, supply chain woes and soaring input costs keep production far below pre-pandemic peak JUNE 11, 2022 by Myles McCormick in New York

SPECIAL EDITION: UKRAINE Ukraine power operator denies Russian-held nuclear plant shutdown. Ukraine's state-run nuclear power operator, Energoatom, denied it might shut down a major atomic power plant that lies in Russian-occupied territory if Kyiv loses control of operations at the site. Russian ministry website hacked. The website of Russia's Ministry of Construction, Housing and Utilities appeared to have been hacked, with an internet search for the site leading to a "Glory to Ukraine" sign in Ukrainian. President Zelensky on War, Technology, and the Future of Ukraine. The country established an “IT Army” of volunteer hackers to take down Russian websites, using the Starlink satellite internet system to maintain communications as its own infrastructure was being destroyed, and launched a social media blitzkrieg to win support from around the world.

CONFLICT Armenia police clash with protesters in Yerevan. The clash occurred in Yerevan during the latest in a series of anti-government demonstrations and at least 50 people were hospitalised. More than 50 people reportedly killed in terror attack on Pentecost service in Nigeria. Masked attackers killed dozens of people with guns and bombs at a Catholic Church in Nigeria, which has seen increased violence in recent months. Gun training quadruples in Taiwan as Ukraine war drives home China threat. Since the war in Ukraine started, bookings have nearly quadrupled for lessons in combat skills training in Taiwan. Uganda and Congo extend joint military operation in east Congo. Uganda and the DRC extended a joint military operation launched late last year against Islamist insurgents in east Congo. New Israel-Palestine tensions around East Jerusalem. Thousands of nationalist Jewish groups stormed Damascus Gate for the flag march in the Old City, clashing with Palestinians. The march is symbolic to Israel’s annexation of the city after the 1967 war.

DEVELOPMENT Taliban eradicating Afghanistan's poppy cultivation to wipe out opium and heroin production. Afghanistan is the world's biggest opium producer and a major source of heroin in Europe and Asia. The move comes amid growing poverty in the country. Congo auditor says $400 million went missing from state mining company. More than $400 million in tax advances and loans that DRC's state mining company Gecamines said it paid to the national treasury cannot be found. Machine learning and gravity signals could rapidly detect big earthquakes. Massive earthquakes make speed-of-light adjustments to Earth’s gravitational field. Researchers have used computers to identify these tiny gravitational signals, and the signals can be used to mark the location and size of a strong quake almost instantaneously. Top 10 neglected crises in Africa. The top ten most neglected countries facing crisis such as displacement and conflict are in Africa. The DRC is at the top of the list with 5.5 million internally displaced persons in 2021. Warning system to predict future famine. Forecasters can predict famine and take action before it occurs in vulnerable regions by combining real-time analysis of weather, rain, soil components, and ongoing conflict and humanitarian crises. AU delegation will meet Putin, to discuss freeing cereal stocks. Russia has blocked shipments from Ukraine's Black Sea ports, aggravating food poverty on the continent. The AU delegation will meet with Putin in an attempt to reopen food and fertiliser shipments that are now obstructed, negatively impacting African countries.

ECONOMICS  Thousands of cryptocurrencies could collapse. There are currently over 19,000 cryptocurrencies and dozens of blockchain platforms in existence with global regulators are setting their sights on the cryptocurrency industry. Elon Musk wants to cut 10% of Tesla jobs - because of economy. Elon Musk has a "super bad feeling" about the economy and needs to cut up to 10% of salaried staff at the electric carmaker. Former Mexican governor extradited from US. The US extradited a former Mexican governor after being held for 2 years on charges of embezzlement and criminal association. Russia limits exports of noble gases, a key ingredient for making chips. Russia has limited exports of noble gases such as neon, a key ingredient for making chips, until the end of 2022 to strengthen its market position. Israel and UAE sign historic trade deal. The first free trade deal between Israel and an Arab country was signed with the UAE. It will remove customs and duties, and boost annual bilateral trade to more than $10 billion within five years. Eurozone expected to reach record-high inflation. The Eurozone has seen inflation growing consecutively, with consumer prices reaching their highest since the single currency’s creation. The Ukraine conflict and the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions also had an impact, with a rise in energy and commodity prices, disruptions to global supply chains and boosted demands across the continent.

POLITICS Denmark ends 30-year EU security opt-out. 67% of the country voted in favour of abandoning the opt-out of EU security and defence policies. Denmark is now able to participate in EU defence discussions and EU military operations. It is a significant step for a Eurosceptic country. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has won a no-confidence vote against him. A majority of Tory MPs supported his leadership, but more than 40% of his party voted against him. The Prime Minister had managed to retain the support of most of his colleagues after promising tax cuts in a speech on the economy. Albania to choose Chief of Defence as president. Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said that his party has picked the country's Chief of Defence to be the new president after failing to choose a consensus candidate with the opposition. Tunisian president purges judges after instituting one-man rule. Tunisia's president sacked 57 judges, accusing them of corruption and protecting terrorists in a purge of the judiciary that comes as he seeks to remake the political system after consolidating one-man rule. Turkey becomes Türkiye. In a rebranding move, the Turkish government has changed the country’s name. International bodies will have to address the country by Türkiye from now on. President Erdogan argues that the name change better represents Turkish culture and people.

SOCIAL Boeing is ready to launch Starliner, a rival to the SpaceX Dragon. The company’s uncrewed spacecraft will fly to the International Space Station, and if successful, will give NASA astronauts another way to get to orbit. Russian hackers hold Costa Rica to ransom. Costa Rica is now in a state of emergency — the first time a country has done this in response to a string of cyberattacks that had knocked out basic government services including payment systems. Bacteria with antibiotic resistant genes discovered in Antarctica. Bacteria in Antarctica have been discovered with genes that give them natural antibiotic and antimicrobial resistance and have the potential to spread out of the polar regions. 3D-printed ear successfully transplanted. A US biotech company was able to print an ear from the patient's own cells and doctors successfully implanted it. The trial is still ongoing but the results of the first case are promising. It is a significant step in biomedical engineering. Scientists have discovered extremely reactive chemical in the Earth’s atmosphere. Super-reactive chemical compounds discovered in the Earth's atmosphere may have an impact on both human health and global climate. New PAC Backed by Bakari Sellers Plans to Spend $1 Million to Unseat Rep. Rashida Tlaib Akela Lacy With stated aims to support Black communities and narrow the racial wealth gap, the group is financed by a billionaire hedge fund investor who also funds Republicans and AIPAC. READ MORE →   Politics China vows to ‘crush’ any attempt by Taiwan to pursue independence Tensions on display at security forum as Beijing hits back following US accusations of aggression JUNE 12, 2022 by Demetri Sevastopulo and Kathrin Hille in Singapore CHINA RELATIONS Australian deputy PM meets with China defence chief in diplomatic breakthrough Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles has held talks with China’s defence chief at a defence summit, the first face-to-face meeting between ministers from the countries in two years. By Chris Barrett Politics Jeremy Hunt, the Conservative party’s would-be head boy The mild-mannered former health and foreign secretary hopes to pick up the pieces after Boris Johnson JUNE 10, 2022 by George Parker and Sebastian Payne Politics Leftwing alliance makes strong first-round showing in French election Mélenchon’s candidates poll above Macron’s Ensemble but are unlikely to win control of National Assembly JUNE 12, 2022 by Victor Mallet, Sarah White and Akila Quinio in Paris Global Economy West needs to act fast to tackle food crisis — and Moscow’s blame game G7 countries will outline global initiatives this month to help prevent hunger as Russia weighs on grain importers JUNE 8, 2022 by Emiko Terazono New Hampshire GOP Gov. Sununu the anti-DeSantis when it comes to redistricting New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have much in common beyond both being conservative Republicans. But Sununu and DeSantis in recent months took drastically different paths when it comes to redistricting, the once-in-a-decade process of reconfiguring House and state legislative district lines that’s usually a highly partisan endeavor. Read the full story here. Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson: Trump 'politically, morally responsible' for Jan. 6 The Arkansas governor affirmed that former President Donald Trump had a significant role in the events of Jan. 6. Read the full story here. The Chesa Boudin recall will be seen as a major “I told you so” moment for vulnerable Democrats who have been warning their party about left-wing reforms to policing and prosecuting. | Gabrielle Lurie/San Francisco Chronicle via AP Listen to today's Daily Briefing DRIVING THE DAY ONLY IN D.C. — KELLYANNE CONWAY celebrated the publication of her new memoir, “Here’s the Deal” — 4.5 stars on Amazon! — with a book party at Cafe Milano in Georgetown last night. Across town, in the middle of the event, at 8 p.m., GEORGE CONWAY appeared from his study on MSNBC’s “All In with Chris Hayes.” A few minutes later, he was on CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360.” In both appearances, he offered his views on the “criminal conspiracy” on the part of former President DONALD TRUMP, his campaign and administration officials to overturn the 2020 election. We are reliably informed that George booked the appearances as “counterprogramming” to Kellyanne’s event. Regular patrons of Milano will recall that above the bar in the center of the restaurant are two large T.V. screens that are usually tuned to cable news. TOP-ED — “How to Tell the Squad and the MAGA Caucus Apart,” by NYT’s Tom Edsall WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT TUESDAY’S ELECTION RESULTS — Seven states held elections on Tuesday. We stayed up overnight as the returns from California continued to roll in, and we have the key takeaways for you: Another mediocre night for Trump … — Five of the 35 House Republicans who voted to establish a Jan. 6 Commission faced primaries on Tuesday. Trump vowed to exact revenge on all of them. How’d they fare? In Iowa, Rep. MARIANNETTE MILLER-MEEKS ran uncontested. In South Dakota, Rep. DUSTY JOHNSON won with almost 59% of the vote. In New Jersey, Rep. CHRIS SMITH won with 58% of the vote. In Mississippi, a 50% threshold state, Rep. MICHAEL GUEST was forced into a runoff against a MAGA opponent who attacked his vote for the commission. Trump did not endorse in the race. Will he enter the fray before the June 28 runoff? In California, where all candidates regardless of party run in the same primary, Rep. DAVID VALADAO, who also voted to impeach Trump, looks likely to advance to the general election, though there are still a lot of votes left to count. (The Democrats’ strategy of spending money on ads to boost a more Trump-aligned Republican who they thought would be easier to beat seems to have come up short.) — Still another test of the Trump brand came in Montana, where the Trump-endorsed RYAN ZINKE, who resigned as Trump’s Interior secretary amid scandals, was hanging onto a three-point lead with 41% of the vote counted this morning. A bad night for progressives in two big California cities facing upticks in crime… — San Franciscans voted overwhelmingly (60%-40%) to recall district attorney CHESA BOUDIN, who had implemented sweeping reforms. The NYT noted voters put “an end to one of the country’s most pioneering experiments in criminal justice reform, ousting a district attorney who eliminated cash bail, vowed to hold police accountable and worked to reduce the number of people sent to prison.” Earlier this year, the city recalled three school board members who many voters thought had gone too far left. The Boudin recall will be seen as a major “I told you so” moment for vulnerable Democrats who have been warning their party about left-wing reforms to policing and prosecuting. It was also the election that Fox News personalities were the most excited to discuss Tuesday night. More from S.F. Chronicle — In Los Angeles’s special election for mayor, billionaire developer — and recent Republican — RICK CARUSO won a plurality over progressive favorite Rep. KAREN BASS . They will fight it out in a runoff this fall. Caruso has nearly unlimited funds so the city just might get its version of Michael Bloomberg. More from L.A. Times Gov. GAVIN NEWSOM makes some presidential noises … — Our Lara Korte noted that the resurgent California governor’s “victory statement has a… national flavor.” Said Newsom: “Across the country, Republicans are attacking our fundamental rights as Americans. Destroying democracy, stripping a woman of the right to choose, and standing idly by as gun violence claims too many lives. California is the antidote to their cynicism — leading with compassion, common-sense and science. Treasuring diversity, defending democracy, and protecting our planet. Here’s to continuing that fight.” A Republican has a shot at winning statewide in California… — It hasn’t happened since 2006, but former MITT ROMNEY policy adviser LANHEE CHEN had a plurality of the vote in the jungle primary for state controller, and looks likely to advance to the general election. Political dynasties are alive and well in New Jersey… — ROBERT MENENDEZ JR., Rep. DONALD PAYNE JR., and TOM KEAN JR. all won their congressional primaries in New Jersey. Menendez, the son of the Democratic senator with the same name, and Payne, who took over his father’s seat after he died in 2012, are shoo-ins for the general election. Kean, the former Republican governor’s son, has a good shot at defeating Democratic Rep. TOM MALINOWSKI in the 7th district.   A weatherman who might know which way the wind blows in New Mexico… — Albuquerque TV weatherman MARK RONCHETTI, who has made a crime a major focus of his campaign, will be the Republican nominee for governor. Republicans are bullish on his chances of taking out Democratic Gov. MICHELLE LUJAN GRISHAM. New Mexico has the highest percentage of Hispanics in the country, and the race will be a test of whether the GOP can continue to attract more Hispanic support in the southwest and perhaps return New Mexico to its prior role as a presidential swing state. A-democracy-not-a-republic vibes in South Dakota… — Republicans in the state legislature who feared a fall ballot initiative to expand Medicaid asked voters to raise the threshold to pass voter referendums from a simple majority to 60%. Sixty-seven percent of voters said no to that idea, a fairly stinging rebuke to one of the many GOP proposals in the last two years to limit direct democracy. See all the results: California statewide and California congressional districts … Iowa statewide and Iowa congressional districts … Mississippi congressional districts … Montana congressional districts … New Jersey congressional districts … New Mexico statewide and New Mexico congressional districts … South Dakota statewide and South Dakota congressional districts