Latest news with #SenateElection
ABC News
02-06-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Jacqui Lambie surprised by Labor's campaign turnaround, as final Senate term ambitions revealed
Jacqui Lambie is settling in for a final six years, having successfully seen off a challenge for her federal Senate seat. Senator Lambie faced a nervous three-week wait for the distribution of preferences after the federal election on May 3. "I was more worried about Labor because the numbers, I'm thinking, 'Oh my goodness, they might win that third seat back,'" she told ABC Radio Hobart Mornings. Senator Lambie was eventually elected fifth, after a four-way contest for the final two seats between herself, re-elected Liberal senator Richard Colbeck, Labor, and One Nation's Lee Hanson, daughter of party founder Pauline Hanson. Senator Lambie said her campaign was hampered by a shortage of resources, lamenting a lack of money and volunteers. The Jacqui Lambie Network's 7.92 per cent vote share was down from the party's 2019 result of 8.92 per cent. It was also lower than in the 2022 election, when lead candidate Tammy Tyrell was elected. Senator Lambie put that down to Labor's campaign. "I don't think anything I could have done more or less of would have made any difference for me," she said. "I could see Labor coming home really strong, especially in that last two to two and a half weeks. In recent years, Senator Lambie has weighed in on some divisive Tasmanian issues, voicing strong views in her distinctive colourful way. At a 2023 rally opposing plans for a stadium on Hobart's waterfront, she told Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff to "stick it up your bum". She's also become a vocal opponent of salmon farming in Tasmanian waters. Senator Lambie denied these views have taken a toll on her popularity. She pointed to a majority of Tasmanians "against that stadium with the roof". Senator Lambie also defended her decision to run Jacqui Lambie Network candidates in New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia, saying it wasn't a distraction. Her candidates included former senator Rex Patrick, who joined the JLN as part of his attempt to win back the seat he lost in 2022. "They had to raise their own money … that did not come from me, they had to stand on their own two feet." The Jacqui Lambie Network won three seats at last year's Tasmanian state election, however the party imploded within months, with only one MP remaining. Senator Lambie, a former member of the Australian Army, said she was certain this would be her final Senate term. "We've just had a bit of a change to the doctor with my back and yeah, I am struggling a little bit physically from my time in service and under DVA (Department of Veterans Affairs). "I think it'll be 16 years [I've] done up by then. In her final term, Senator Lambie flagged pushing for Tasmanian issues, including the proposed Macquarie Point stadium and Tasmania's mounting debt, to feature on the national stage. "You can only print so much money, that really bothers me, especially for our children and our grandchildren," she said. She also said royalties earned from Western Australia's mining sector should be shared more evenly around the nation.
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Sen. Lindsey Graham gets a 2026 challenge from Democrat Annie Andrews, who ran against Nancy Mace
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Dr. Annie Andrews, the South Carolina Democrat who unsuccessfully challenged Rep. Nancy Mace in 2022, says she's running against Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham in 2026, challenging the four-term incumbent in part due to what she characterized as his waffling positions over the course of his political career. 'He's changed his position on nearly every issue over that time and that's because, in my view, he doesn't stand for anything or believe in anything other than what it takes to get reelected,' Andrews, a pediatrician in Charleston, told The Associated Press before a campaign rollout Thursday. In her launch video, Andrews says it's 'embarrassing' to see how politicians like Graham — at the moment one of President Donald Trump's top Senate allies — have swung from criticizing Trump to working to gain his favor. The video features archival video of Graham bemoaning critics who called Trump a 'kook' and then, a year earlier, using the same term to describe his former GOP primary foe in the 2016 presidential contest. Andrews also levies criticism at Graham for voting to confirm Trump's Cabinet picks and for his relationship with Elon Musk, describing 'an unelected billionaire ... taking a chainsaw to Social Security, Medicare and veterans' healthcare.' She calls Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth 'a guy who can't even organize a text thread,' a reference to the recent Signal chat scandal in which war plans were discussed. No Democrat has won a U.S. Senate seat in South Carolina in decades, and Republicans in recent history typically take statewide seats by double-digit margins. When he last ran in 2020, Graham defeated his Democratic opponent, Jaime Harrison, by a 10 percentage point margin. That contest turned into South Carolina's most expensive ever, with both candidates posting record fundraising that surpassed $200 million total and continued to grow in the race's closing days. Harrison, who went on to chair the Democratic National Committee, became the first U.S. Senate candidate to amass a war chest of more than $100 million over the course of the race. Andrews was the Democratic nominee who unsuccessfully sought to unseat Mace in 2022, losing to the Republican by 14 percentage points. South Carolina's 1st District, which spans the state's southern coast, is the only one to have flipped from red to blue in decades, when Joe Cunningham won it for Democrats for a single term in the 2018 election. Mace won it in 2020 and has been reelected twice, although in 2026 she is eyeing a race for governor. In the years since her House run, Andrews stepped away from her practice at the Medical University of South Carolina and founded a political organization focused on issues related to children, including climate change, gun violence and childhood poverty. According to federal filings, an affiliated political action committee, Their Future PAC, gave $7,000 to a handful of candidates in the 2024 cycle and had about $5,000 on hand at the end of 2024. Asked about Democrats' lackluster statewide record in the state, Andrews said she felt Harrison's effort was 'hamstrung' by necessary precautions in place during the pandemic. Now, she said, voters feel strained under the effects of the Trump administration's 'chaotic' policies. "Lindsey Graham has had 22 years to make things better for folks here in South Carolina, and I think you'd be hard-pressed to find many voters who could articulate in what way Lindsey has made their life better," Andrews said. Graham, seeking his fifth Senate term, kicked off his reelection campaign in February, announcing that Gov. Henry McMaster and Sen. Tim Scott would chair his effort. Scott, the state's junior senator, is serving as chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the chamber's campaign arm. At least one Republican has announced a primary challenge to Graham. ___ Meg Kinnard can be reached at
Washington Post
29-05-2025
- General
- Washington Post
Sen. Lindsey Graham gets a 2026 challenge from Democrat Annie Andrews, who ran against Nancy Mace
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Dr. Annie Andrews, the South Carolina Democrat who unsuccessfully challenged Rep. Nancy Mace in 2022, says she's running against Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham in 2026, challenging the four-term incumbent in part due to what she characterized as his waffling positions over the course of his political career.
Associated Press
29-05-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Sen. Lindsey Graham gets a 2026 challenge from Democrat Annie Andrews, who ran against Nancy Mace
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Dr. Annie Andrews, the South Carolina Democrat who unsuccessfully challenged Rep. Nancy Mace in 2022, says she's running against Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham in 2026, challenging the four-term incumbent in part due to what she characterized as his waffling positions over the course of his political career. 'He's changed his position on nearly every issue over that time and that's because, in my view, he doesn't stand for anything or believe in anything other than what it takes to get reelected,' Andrews, a pediatrician in Charleston, told The Associated Press before a campaign rollout Thursday. In her launch video, Andrews says it's 'embarrassing' to see how politicians like Graham — at the moment one of President Donald Trump's top Senate allies — have swung from criticizing Trump to working to gain his favor. The video features archival video of Graham bemoaning critics who called Trump a 'kook' and then, a year earlier, using the same term to describe his former GOP primary foe in the 2016 presidential contest. Andrews also levies criticism at Graham for voting to confirm Trump's Cabinet picks and for his relationship with Elon Musk, describing 'an unelected billionaire ... taking a chainsaw to Social Security, Medicare and veterans' healthcare.' She calls Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth 'a guy who can't even organize a text thread,' a reference to the recent Signal chat scandal in which war plans were discussed. No Democrat has won a U.S. Senate seat in South Carolina in decades, and Republicans in recent history typically take statewide seats by double-digit margins. When he last ran in 2020, Graham defeated his Democratic opponent, Jaime Harrison, by a 10 percentage point margin. That contest turned into South Carolina's most expensive ever, with both candidates posting record fundraising that surpassed $200 million total and continued to grow in the race's closing days. Harrison, who went on to chair the Democratic National Committee, became the first U.S. Senate candidate to amass a war chest of more than $100 million over the course of the race. Andrews was the Democratic nominee who unsuccessfully sought to unseat Mace in 2022, losing to the Republican by 14 percentage points. South Carolina's 1st District, which spans the state's southern coast, is the only one to have flipped from red to blue in decades, when Joe Cunningham won it for Democrats for a single term in the 2018 election. Mace won it in 2020 and has been reelected twice, although in 2026 she is eyeing a race for governor. In the years since her House run, Andrews stepped away from her practice at the Medical University of South Carolina and founded a political organization focused on issues related to children, including climate change, gun violence and childhood poverty. According to federal filings, an affiliated political action committee, Their Future PAC, gave $7,000 to a handful of candidates in the 2024 cycle and had about $5,000 on hand at the end of 2024. Asked about Democrats' lackluster statewide record in the state, Andrews said she felt Harrison's effort was 'hamstrung' by necessary precautions in place during the pandemic. Now, she said, voters feel strained under the effects of the Trump administration's 'chaotic' policies. 'Lindsey Graham has had 22 years to make things better for folks here in South Carolina, and I think you'd be hard-pressed to find many voters who could articulate in what way Lindsey has made their life better,' Andrews said. Graham, seeking his fifth Senate term, kicked off his reelection campaign in February, announcing that Gov. Henry McMaster and Sen. Tim Scott would chair his effort. Scott, the state's junior senator, is serving as chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the chamber's campaign arm. At least one Republican has announced a primary challenge to Graham. ___ Meg Kinnard can be reached at
News.com.au
29-05-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
One Nation gets one extra seat in the Senate with incoming WA senator Tyron Whitten
One Nation has picked up another Senate seat, with Western Australian candidate Tyron Whitten winning the sixth and final spot at the May 3 election. The Australian Electoral Commission finalised the WA Senate makeup on Thursday, with the businessman winning a seat alongside Labor's Ellie Whiteaker and Varun Ghosh, the Greens' Jordon Steele-John and Liberal senators Slade Brockman and Matt O'Sullivan. Mr Whitten is one of three co-founders of his family civil construction company Whitten, which says it employs 1000 people and has an annual turnover of more than $180m. His win increases One Nation's Senate footprint from two to three senators, including Pauline Hanson, after the AEC confirmed Queensland senator Malcolm Roberts would also be returned. Senator Roberts took to X to thank voters for his re-election, and welcomed the party's gain. 'One Nation is going to increase its Senate representation by 50 per cent with a new Senator from WA also elected after coming agonisingly close in Victoria and South Australia,' he wrote. Senator Roberts beat out LNP defector Gerard Rennick, who quit the party after he was booted from the Senate ticket. Labor also won an extra seat in Queensland, with former casino lobbyist Corrinne Mulholland winning a spot alongside incumbent senator Nita Green. LNP senators Susan McDonald and Paul Scarr were returned, as was new Greens leader Larissa Waters. While the results for the NSW Senate battle have yet to be finalised, Labor is set to increase its numbers to 28, which means it will be able to pass legislation with the support of the 11 Greens senators. As is stands the Coalition are projected to hold 27 Senate spots.
