After several sexual harassment allegations, Representative John Conyers Jr. (D-MI-13) made an announcement that, after nearly 53 years in Congress, he is leaving effective December 5. Though he stepped down from the House Judiciary Committee, his decision to resign was due to what he perceived was a lack of his rights to due process, his health conditions, and to preserve his legacy before the investigation started. The House Ethics investigation on his sexual harassment allegations ended the day of his resignation. He is endorsing his son, John Conyers III to replace him.
Michigan’s 12th district is a safe Democratic seat with many contenders for the primary including State Senator Ian Conyers who is the congressman’s great nephew. State Senator Ian Conyers said he would replace the congressman, putting him at odds with the congressman’s endorsement of his own son. Some other candidates include Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon, former State Representative Rashida Tlaib, and State Representative David Knezek.
With Conyers resignation in motion, multiple Senate Democratic women called for Senator Al Franken to resign in wake of the increasing allegations of inappropriate conduct toward women. Franken announced on the Senate floor that he will resign in the coming weeks. The calls for his resignation came almost all at once, and including Senators such as Patty Murray, Maggie Hassan, Claire McCaskill, Bob Casey, Joe Donnelly, and many more. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer also came out urging him to resign on Wednesday morning.
This means Democratic Governor Mark Dayton will have a chance to appoint an interim replacement. Speculation is he will appoint his Lieutenant Governor Tina Smith to fill the seat the rest of 2018. Smith is expected not to formally seek election in 2018 which will leave it an open seat and a competitive Democratic primary with several rising stars likely to throw their hat in the ring. Whoever wins in 2018 would just be filling out the rest of Franken's term meaning they'd have to run for re-election again in 2020.
Alabama’s special election is this coming Tuesday, December 12, and Republican candidate Roy Moore has been in a heated battle against Democrat Doug Jones. Moore’s allegations of molesting teenage females while in his 30s have put this race in the national spotlight. Democrats had initially stayed out of the special election due to the historically Republican state, but the momentum for Jones increased after the allegations against Moore made the news. On the other hand, President Donald Trump supported Moore throughout his race but became cautious when his allegations surfaced. Yet on Monday, President Trump finally announced he is, without a doubt, endorsing Moore. The Republican National Committee after withdrawing financial support also got back in the race and injected Moore's campaign with cash.
In November, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey said she had “no reason to disbelieve” Moore’s accusers but will still support him in this election. Her support is dependent on the future votes Moore would potentially take in support of Republican Supreme Court justices and judicial nominees in the Senate. The Real Clear Politics polling average has Moore up by just two points.
In other Congressional news, Freshman Democratic Representative Ruben Kihuen from Nevada’s fourth district is being asked to resign, by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chair Ben Ray Lujan, for allegations of repeated sexual advances towards his former campaign finance director. Kihuen so far has declined to resign and has questioned the timing of the calls for his resignation from Pelosi and Ray Lujan. He claims they both knew about the allegations last year during the campaign and continued to support him. Pelosi and Ray Lujan for their part deny the accusation and both claim that they heard about it for the first time last week from the published report by BuzzFeed.
Late Thursday night another Congressman announced his resignation after being informed that the House Ethics Committee had opened an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment from two female former staffers. Republican Trent Franks (AZ-08) announced his resignation and admitted to inappropriate behavior in asking his former staffers to be surrogates of his children. Franks announced today that his resignation will be effective immediately. The seat is consider a safe Republican seat and unlikely to switch parties. Finally in a retirement announcement that does not seem to be motivated by past inappropriate behavior, Longtime Democratic Congressman Sander Levin announced his retirement from Michigan’s ninth district. Possible Democratic candidates include his son Andy Levin, an energy business man, and State Senator Steve Bieda. The only official candidate in the race thus far is Republican Candius Stearns, a health insurance agent and member of NAHU.
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