Democrats try to make gains with governors in 2019 elections

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Democrats try to make gains with governors in 2019 elections

2019-02-22 23:32 Last Updated At：23:40

Though the national political focus has largely turned to the 2020 presidential campaign, three Southern states will see hard-fought governors' races this year, with Democrats trying to show they can compete in Donald Trump territory.

Democrats hope to unseat Kentucky's Republican Gov. Matt Bevin and win an open governorship in Mississippi. In Louisiana, they're working to re-elect John Bel Edwards, the lone Democratic governor in the Deep South.

With their talk of religious values and hunting skills, Democrats in these races don't look like their more liberal national counterparts, who support abortion rights and tout gun control. But following high-profile losses last year in the Georgia and Florida governors' races, the 2019 campaigns could offer clues about the strength of Democrats in the South ahead of the presidential election.

"None of these three states are microcosms of the nation, but that doesn't mean that we won't be able to glean some real evidence of what's happening," said Alabama-based Democratic pollster Zac McCrary, who works on the Edwards campaign in Louisiana and whose company works for one of the Democratic contenders in Kentucky.

Specifically, McCrary said he'll look at the strength of African-American voter turnout, noting Democratic prospects in swing states hinge on robust black participation. He'll want to see whether Democrats in this year's governors' races perform well with independent and younger voters and whether Democratic voter enthusiasm remains high or Republican voter intensity increases.

Trump won each of the states by at least 18 points in 2016 and his approval ratings in all three remain strong. But while Kentucky, Louisiana and Mississippi seem like reliable GOP strongholds, governor's races can be less predictable, with local issues and candidates' pedigrees swaying voters more than party affiliation.

Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley traveled 30 states the past two years working to elect Democrats. He suggested the most effective campaigns for state-level jobs speak to economic realities families face, such as growing health care costs and flat paychecks — and don't bring up Trump.

"Voters are so very exhausted by the 24/7 coverage of this aberrational presidency that they are longing to hear someone speak to them about how we together can make things better in our home state," said O'Malley, a former chairman of the Democratic Governors Association.

Broad takeaways for Democrats nationally could be limited, though, because the successful Democratic candidates often are different than national counterparts on two key issues: abortion and guns. Edwards pushed for abortion restrictions in office. Mississippi gubernatorial candidate Jim Hood, the state's attorney general, is a pistol-toting politician who advocates for gun rights.

Since 2015, eight states that voted for Trump have elected Democratic governors, and Republicans lost six governorships in the 2018 midterm elections. Still, the GOP holds 27 of the nation's governorships, notched wins in Georgia and Florida last year, and party leaders think a sweep in Mississippi, Louisiana and Kentucky is possible — something they've not done since Reconstruction.

"It is certainly a large feat for us, but we're ready to do it," said Jon Thompson, with the Republican Governors Association.

In Kentucky, Bevin is seeking a second term. But his approval ratings have plunged amid an unsuccessful attempt to overhaul Kentucky's public pension systems, which prompted teachers to close schools in protest.

Sensing weakness, Democrats have lined up to challenge him, including Attorney General Andy Beshear, former state Auditor Adam Edelen and state House Democratic leader Rocky Adkins. But the candidates are more interested in the campaign itself than in modeling strategies for national Democrats.

"I am confident we will engender a lot of national attention with the kind of campaign that we are running," Edelen said. "But as far as it being used as a template for the national Democratic Party, I don't have the time for that kind of thing."

In Louisiana, Edwards remains the only Democrat in statewide office, after a 2015 election victory Republicans consider a fluke. His main competitor four years ago, then-U.S. Sen. David Vitter, was damaged by a prostitution scandal, dislike within his own party and a brutal primary battle in which two Republican contenders trash-talked Vitter more than Edwards.

Edwards dismisses suggestions he's more vulnerable without a Vitter-type opponent: "I don't think the dynamics have changed much at all from where they were four years ago."

While the GOP has targeted Edwards as a solid chance for ouster, the major Republican opponents speculated about for months decided to skip the race. Instead, the Democratic incumbent has drawn two Republican challengers with less name recognition: U.S. Rep. Ralph Abraham and businessman Eddie Rispone.

If Republicans don't rally around one contender, they risk infighting until October, when all candidates regardless of party run against each other in Louisiana's open primary.

In Mississippi, Republican Gov. Phil Bryant can't seek a third term. The race could shape up as a battle between Hood and Republican Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves. But both face opponents in August primaries.

Republicans have held the governorship in Mississippi for six of the past seven terms. Democrats hope Hood — who, like Reeves, has been elected four times statewide — could break the streak.

But Reeves starts the governor's race with millions more than any candidate.

The Republican Governors Association is confident enough about Mississippi's gubernatorial seat staying in GOP hands that the organization currently doesn't expect to spend much on the race.

"I think it's going to be very, very difficult for Democrats to be competitive," Thompson said.

On Twitter, follow Melinda Deslatte at http://twitter.com/melindadeslatte , Emily Wagster Pettus at https://twitter.com/EWagsterPettus and Adam Beam at https://twitter.com/adambeam .

Venice launches experiment to charge day-trippers an access fee in bid to combat over-tourism

2024-04-25 12:09 Last Updated At：13:42

VENICE, Italy (AP) — Under the gaze of the world’s media, the fragile lagoon city of Venice launches a pilot program Thursday to charge day-trippers a 5-euro (around $5.35) entry fee that authorities hope will discourage visitors from arriving on peak days and make the city more livable for its dwindling residents.

Signs advising arriving visitors of the new requirement for a test phase of 29 days through July have been erected outside the main train station and other points of arrival.

Some 200 stewards have been trained to politely walk anyone unaware of the fee through the process of downloading a QR code. A kiosk has been set up for those not equipped with a smartphone. Once past designated entry ports, officials will carry out random checks for QR codes that show the day-tripper tax has been paid or that the bearer is exempt.

Transgressors face fines 50 euros to 300 euros. The requirement applies only for people arriving between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. Outside of those hours, access is free.

“We need to find a new balance between the tourists and residents,’’ said the city’s top tourism official, Simone Venturini. “We need to safeguard the spaces of the residents, of course, and we need to discourage the arrival of day-trippers on some particular days.”

Venice has long suffered under the pressure of over-tourism, but officials say that pre-pandemic estimates ranging from 25 million to 30 million visitors a year — including day-trippers — are not reliable and that the pilot project also aims to come up with more exact figures to help better manage the phenomenon.

By contrast, registered visitors spending the night last year numbered 4.6 million, according to city figures, down 16% from pre-pandemic highs.

Venturini said the city is strained when the number of day-trippers reaches 30,000 to 40,000. Its narrow alleyways are clogged with people and water taxis packed, making it difficult for residents to go about their business.

Not all residents, however, are persuaded of the efficacy of the new system in dissuading mass tourism, and say more attention needs to be paid to boosting the resident population and services they need.

Venice last year passed a telling milestone when the number of tourist beds exceeded for the first time the number of official residents, which is now below 50,000 in the historic center with its picturesque canals.

“Putting a ticket to enter a city will not decrease not even by one single unit the number of visitors that are coming,’’ said Tommaso Cacciari, an activist who organized a protest Thursday against the measure.

“You pay a ticket to take the metro, to go to a museum, an amusement park; you don’t pay a ticket to enter a city. This is the last symbolic step of a project of an idea of this municipal administration to kick residents out of Venice,” he said.

Venturini said about 6,000 people had already paid to download the QR code, and officials expect paid day-tripper arrivals Thursday to reach some 10,000.

More than 70,000 others have downloaded a QR code denoting an exemption, including to work in Venice or as a resident of the Veneto region. People staying in hotels in Venice, including in mainland districts like Marghera or Mestre, should also get a QR code attesting to their stay, which includes a hotel tax.

The tourist official says interest in Venice's pilot program has been keen from other places suffering from mass tourism, including other Italian art cities and cities abroad such as Barcelona and Amsterdam.