Congressional & Capitol Hill News

The Daily Signal delivers comprehensive congressional news with reporting and conservative commentary on House and Senate activities, legislative priorities, committee investigations, leadership battles, and the fight for conservative policy in both chambers of Congress.
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    • News

    Poll: More Hispanics Want Republicans to Control Senate than Democrats

    Half of Hispanics don’t think it matters who controls the senate after the November election, according to a new poll. When asked. “If control of the Senate switched from the Democrats to the Republicans after this election, do you think that would be a good thing, a bad thing, or wouldn’t it make any difference?”…
    Kate Scanlon
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    • News

    How a ‘Crazy’ Runoff Vote in Georgia Could Decide Control of the Senate

    The U.S. Senate race in Georgia was supposed to be a gimme for Republicans. After all, it’s a reliably red state in the Deep South. Instead, polling now suggests an extremely tight contest, raising the possibility of a runoff election in January if neither candidate can get 50 percent of the vote a week from today–and…
    Josh Siegel
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    • News

    In New Jersey, an Uphill Race for Senate Resets the Gold Standard

    “Hands Across New Jersey.” That was the name given to the grassroots movement that came together in response to the $2.8 billion tax increase New Jersey Gov. Jim Florio pushed through after taking office in 1990. Florio, a Democrat,  had said throughout the campaign that he saw “no need for new taxes.”  When he went…
    Kevin Mooney
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    • News

    Reporter Covering N.H. Senate Race Ordered to Leave Democrat’s Press Conference

    Breitbart News reporter Matthew Boyle was removed, without explanation, from a campaign event for Sen. Jeanne Shaheen in Exeter, N.H., yesterday despite the event having been advertised as a press conference open to media. According to Boyle’s account, campaign staffers for the Democratic senator checked Boyle in and directed him to the back of the…
    Gabriella Morrongiello
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    • News

    Why One Lawmaker Wants to Rein in Police Seizure of Your Property

    FREDERICKSBURG, Va.—Blasting as “fundamentally un-American” the seizure of assets from citizens, a state lawmaker wants to rein in police powers in Virginia. Virginia law currently allows police to seize property without even a hearing. State Delegate Mark Cole, a Republican from Spotsylvania, has introduced legislation to be taken up in the General Assembly next January that…
    Kenric Ward
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    • Opinion

    This Program Makes Us All Safer. So Why Do Some Lawmakers Want to Change It?

    “We are in a dangerous place in the world, perhaps more dangerous than in the past 10 years.” That’s what former Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff had to say when he visited the Heritage Foundation recently. With reports of terrorist groups such as the Islamic State, often referred to as ISIS, all over the…
    Ed Feulner
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    • News

    Policy Aside, These Senate Hopefuls Get Personal

    In the first debate of their heated U.S. Senate race, the incumbent Democrat’s attacks last night on the policy positions of his Republican challenger took on a personal tone. Rep. Tom Cotton, the challenger, and Sen. Mark Pryor, the incumbent, squared off at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway. Joining them to debate who would serve…
    Melissa Quinn
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    • News

    Senator: Emails Reveal EPA, Green Group in ‘Beyond Cozy’ Relationship

    Republican lawmakers say the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency enjoys a “beyond cozy” relationship with a liberal environmental action group that seeks to reshape national energy policies in a way that would hurt American businesses and families. Sen. David Vitter, R-La., the top Republican on the Environment and Public Works Committee, told The Daily Signal that the…
    Kelsey Bolar
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    • News

    ‘I Won the Debate Big Time’: Libertarian Pizza Driver Says He Delivers Authenticity in Senate Race

    To understand Sean Haugh, know that instead of ending his phone conversation with a Daily Signal reporter by saying “Goodbye,” he implored: “Have fun.” Haugh, who begins conversations with a “Howdy,” appears to be a gentle, non-confrontational type who doesn’t fit the persona of a third-party candidate threatening to unhinge a Senate race. Haugh — pronounced…
    Josh Siegel
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    • News

    This US Senate Race Just Tightened Up. Here’s 4 Things You Need to Know

    A heartland contest between an embattled Republican incumbent and an upstart challenger could decide whether Democrats lose control of the U.S. Senate Republicans need to net six seats to take over the Senate, and in recent days, Kansas appears to have moved from leaning in independent candidate Greg Orman’s favor to a toss-up that could…
    Melissa Quinn
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    • News

    What These 7 Charts Tell Us About the Most-Watched Senate Races

    What can a Google search or Twitter mention tell us about a political race? Search interest and social media mentions can tell a story beyond the toplines of a poll. It’s a question the team at Echelon Insights wants to answer. Over the next several weeks, founders Patrick Ruffini and Kristen Soltis Anderson will produce…
    Robert B. Bluey
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    • News

    Take 5: Debate Attacks Scored by the Numbers in This Senate Race

    Unable to break free from each other in the polls, North Carolina’s Senate candidates played offense Tuesday in their second debate. Incumbent Democrat Kay Hagan and her Republican challenger, North Carolina House Speaker Thom Tillis, both used a specific weapon — numbers — to make their attacks clear. With time running out before the Nov….
    Josh Siegel
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    • News

    Awkward: Candidates Struggle to Reply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ in Senate Debate

    Answering a simple “yes or no” question at last night’s debate in Colorado’s U.S. Senate wasn’t easy for either the incumbent Democrat, Sen. Mark Udall, or his Republican challenger, Rep. Cory Gardner. “I don’t think we should shortchange serious issues with yes or no answers without being able to talk about them now,” Gardner said…
    Kelsey Bolar
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    • News

    Senate Armed Services Democrat, Republican Differ on Boots on the Ground in Iraq

    With airstrikes continuing in Iraq and Syria as part of the campaign to “degrade and destroy” ISIS, a Democrat and a Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee today expressed differing opinions on whether there should be American boots on the ground in Iraq. Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Jack Reed, D-R.I., discussed the United…
    Melissa Quinn
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    • News

    Hawaii Will Go Bust By 2016, Senate Minority Leader Says

    HONOLULU — Hawaii Senate Minority Leader Sam Slom is warning fellow lawmakers he has serious concerns about the state’s economic future. Slom, the only Republican in the 25-member Senate, cites the Council on Revenues’ recent downgraded economic forecast indicating Hawaii is in much worse financial position than anticipated. “Hawaii is set to go bust in 2016…
    Malia Zimmerman
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    • News

    War Over Women: Colorado Senate Candidates Fight for Female Vote

    Health care and women’s reproductive rights are stealing the spotlight in Colorado’s 2014 Senate race. The two candidates, incumbent Democratic Sen. Mark Udall and Republican Rep. Cory Gardner, are battling over issues of abortion, personhood and birth control pills. As a result, citizens of the Rocky Mountain State are being bombarded with political ads targeting…
    Kelsey Bolar
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    • News

    Kentucky Senate Candidates Want You to Know They Care

    Kentucky’s U.S. Senate candidates have stopped the mudslinging–for now–and are tugging on the Bluegrass State’s heartstrings with ads aimed to show Kentuckians they care. Incumbent Mitch McConnell, the Senate Republican leader, released an ad yesterday telling the story of Noelle Hunter, a Morehead, Ky., woman whose daughter, Muna, was abducted and taken to Mali in…
    Melissa Quinn
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    • News

    Fowl Fight: Could 4 Chickens Sway Iowa Senate Race?

    Four pet chickens are causing Rep. Bruce Braley, a Democrat running for U.S. Senate in Iowa, a major headache. In his first official faceoff with Republican Joni Ernst last night, Braley found himself in an uncomfortable situation when asked about reports that he threatened to sue his neighbor over chickens that had wandered onto his…
    Kelsey Bolar
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    • News

    9 Senate Races That Could Tip the Balance of Power

    With Congress officially in recess until November, campaign season is in full swing and this fall brings no shortage of competition for control of the U.S. Senate. Since Republicans need to net just six seats to regain the majority in the upper chamber, Senate races from Alaska to Colorado to New Hampshire command the attention…
    Kelsey Bolar
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    • News

    Washington Considers Legislation That Would Let You Only Buy One Cable Channel

    WASHINGTON — Concerns about higher consumer prices if cable and satellite customers could unsubscribe from local channels stalled a move on Capitol Hill to create a la carte local TV. But the proposal’s champions are fighting to keep the idea alive. In August, Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., and Ranking Member John Thune,…
    Josh Peterson
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