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Louisiana governor's race ignites GOP hopes of reclaiming position as Democrats try to keep it blue_我的网站

A |     BATON ROUGE, La. -- As Louisiana’s gubernatorial election commences Saturday, Republicans are hoping to reclaim the governor’s mansion after an eight-year hiatus while Democrats try to keep the coveted position in a state where Donald Trump garnered a majority of the votes during the last two presidential elections. Six major candidates — four Republicans, one Democrat and one independent — are vying for the seat that is being vacated by Gov. John Bel Edwards, the only Democratic governor in the Deep South. With Edwards unable to run due to consecutive term limits, the election opens a huge opportunity for Republicans to win Louisiana’s top position.Louisiana is one of three states with a gubernatorial election this fall, along with Mississippi and Kentucky.In total, 14 candidates are competing to succeed Edwards under a “ jungle primary " system in which all candidates, regardless of party affiliation, appear together on the same ballot on Saturday. If no candidate tops 50% of the votes, the top two vote-getters will advance to a runoff on Nov. 18. Among the Republican candidates is Attorney General Jeff Landry, who earned the endorsement of high profile Republicans including former President Trump and U.S. Rep Steve Scalise, as well as a controversial early endorsement from the state GOP. Throughout the race, Landry has enjoyed a sizable fundraising advantage over the rest of the field. He has also faced political attacks from opponents on social media and in interviews, calling him a bully and making accusations of backroom deals to gain support.The other major candidates running for governor are GOP state Sen. Sharon Hewitt; Hunter Lundy, a Lake Charles-based attorney running as an independent; Republican state Treasurer John Schroder; Stephen Waguespack, the Republican former head of a powerful business group and former senior aide to then-Gov. Bobby Jindal; and Shawn Wilson, a Democrat and former head of Louisiana’s Transportation and Development Department. State Rep. Richard Nelson withdrew from the race in September and endorsed Landry but will remain on the ballot per state election laws.With four significant GOP candidates vying for the position, Democrats are hopeful that Wilson, their sole major candidate, will succeed. In the past the Democratic Party has coalesced behind one candidate, instead of splitting votes, to push their candidate through to a runoff and hopefully face a Republican who is limping into the general election following scrutiny and targeted political attack ads.Saturday’s election also features a slew of statewide contests, four ballot measures and localized races, including all 39 Senate seats and 105 House seats, although a significant number of incumbents are running unopposed. The governor’s race is not the only statewide office up for grabs without an incumbent on the ballot. There is also the attorney general, secretary of state, treasurer and insurance commissioner. Tim Temple, a former insurance executive vying for insurance commissioner, is running unopposed.One closely watched race is for the job of secretary of state. Republican Kyle Ardoin holds the position but opted not to seek reelection.Whoever is elected will take on the crucial task of replacing Louisiana’s outdated voting machines, which don’t produce the paper ballots critical to ensuring accurate election results.The lengthy and ongoing replacement process was thrust into the national spotlight after allegations of bid-rigging. Voting machine companies claimed favoritism, and conspiracy theorists, who support Trump’s lies that the 2020 presidential election was stolen, inserted themselves into the conversation. Conspiracy theorists urged Ardoin to ditch voting machines altogether and instead rely on hand-counted paper ballots.Among the candidates running for secretary of state are GOP state House Speaker Clay Schexnayder; First Assistant Secretary of State Nancy Landry, a Republican; Mike Francis, a public service commissioner and former chair of the state GOP; and Gwen Collins-Greenup, a Democrat and attorney. All four say they are against hand-counting paper ballots. Also running for the position is grocery store owner Brandon Trosclair, who has aligned himself with a movement of conservative activists who believe there has been widespread fraud in Louisiana’s elections. The Republican supports hand-counted paper ballots, a notion that election clerks have spoken against as it would involve counting tens of thousands of ballots in many parishes.。    "Social media is now the main source of information about the world for 16-24-year-olds, and for all ethnic minorities in the UK," explained Ellis Cashmore, honorary professor of sociology at Aston University in the UK.,"Yet platform moderators have practically unrestricted power to edit, and, if they wish, remove content. This is an unheard-of censorial power. I can't think that, in history, proprietors have ever had such colossal power to control the flow and content of information, not just to one population, but to the world.",The Online Safety Bill was first introduced in the British Parliament in March 2022 with the aim of holding social media platforms, search engines and various websites to account for hosting illegal activities or spreading harmful content.,The newly introduced amendment is "designed to guard against the arbitrary removal of articles from journalists at recognized news outlets when shared on social media platforms," according to the UK government's website. The authors of the amendment draw attention to the fact that half of British adults use social media for news, with Facebook*, Twitter and Instagram* being the most popular platforms. When it comes to 16-24 year-olds, the internet is the most-used platform.,Once the bill comes into force, social media giants would be required "to ensure recognized news publishers’ articles remain viewable and accessible on their sites even if they are under review by moderators.",Facebook Doesn't Know What Happens to Users' Data, How It Spreads as Regulators Tighten Their Grip27 April, 19:01 GMT,The introduction of the new amendment can be explained by the fact that the tech giants have proved themselves impossible to control, the professor explained.,"Tech companies operate in a relatively unrestricted way and governments around the world usually rely on the companies' goodwill," he said.,Still, the new amendment is focused on so-called "category one companies", which include "the largest and most popular social media platforms", and is not designed to shield alternative media sources.,The bill's selective approach has been manifested by its earlier amendment obligating social media platforms "to proactively look for and remove disinformation from foreign state actors which harm the UK." It specifically singles out Russian news, with an obvious reference to Sputnik News and RT - both previously banned by the EU and social media giants after the beginning of the Russian special operation to de-militarize and de-Nazify Ukraine.,"Freedom of speech and expression are highly valued principles in western Europe and North America," says Cashmore. "But it is interesting that, after the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine, there were no protests at the decisions of western governments to prohibit broadcasts and news supplies from RT, Sputnik and maybe a few less important news outlets.",EU Bans Work of Sputnik News Sites, Broadcasting of RT TV Channel in the Community From 2 March2 March, 11:53 GMT,The professor notes that wiping Russian news from the media sphere is senseless given that many westerners are interested in learning Russian perspectives. "This does not mean they would be persuaded or even influenced, but they feel entitled to make up their own minds independently. They have been denied that facility," Cashmore stressed.,"Since February, Russia, its people and its values have been condemned, denounced and stigmatized," said the professor. "Vladimir Putin has been personally vilified. It is difficult to see this ending, at least not for 30 years. Russia has been excluded from many world affairs and many believe Russia and the other BRICS countries may coalesce into an international configuration to rival NATO. This would become a new world order.",Meanwhile, the bill's amendments have raised concerns among British campaigners who are warning the government that in its current form the proposed internet safety laws are “on the verge of being unworkable," according to The Independent.,In particular, campaigners have advocated for a number of measures to strengthen freedom of expression and rights safeguards to better protect people from marginalized backgrounds and expand transparency requirements on firms to boost access to data for researchers and academics.,*Facebook and Instagram are banned in Russia over extremist activities.。

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