Morning Digest: A notorious proto-MAGA crank may have one more comeback left in him

A one-term congressman twice over is reportedly eyeing a third stint

Former Rep. Steve Stockman of Texas (credit: Steve Stockman Facebook)

Leading Off

TX-09

Steve Stockman, a twice-over former congressman, convicted criminal, and proto-MAGA crank, may be contemplating yet another political comeback.

Marc Rod writes in Jewish Insider that Stockman “is rumored to be planning” a new campaign in Texas’ redrawn 9th Congressional District, a possibility first flagged by Quorum Report over the summer. Stockman, whom Rod was unable to contact, does not appear to have said anything publicly about his interest.

Stockman would join several fellow Republicans in the race for the new-look 9th, a dark-red constituency that includes part of the Houston area as well as more rural turf to the east. None of the current or potential candidates, though, knows if they’ll be able to run for this redrawn and open seat.

Last week, a federal court blocked the state’s new congressional map from being used, though Justice Samuel Alito temporarily paused that decision days later. The full Supreme Court has yet to say whether the 2026 elections will be conducted under the new boundaries or using the map that Republicans first put in place for 2022, but either option remains a possibility.

If Stockman, 69, runs for Congress under any map, it will mark the latest chapter in a bizarre career that looked to be dead in the water on more than one occasion.

Stockman, an accountant who unsuccessfully ran for the 9th District many maps ago in both 1990 and 1992, finally got an opening during the national Republican landslide in 1994 that gave the GOP control of the House for the first time in 40 years.

He ultimately scored one of the biggest upsets of the evening when he unseated House Judiciary Chairman Jack Brooks, a 21-term Democrat who had once been a protege of Lyndon Johnson. (Brooks is shown standing behind Jacqueline Kennedy on Air Force One in the famous 1963 photo of Johnson’s swearing in hours after the assassination of John F. Kennedy.)

Stockman soon attracted outsized attention just a few months into his term when media outlets reported that he had received a mysterious fax from a far-right militia member about the Oklahoma City bombing just before the attack and forwarded it to the NRA—but waited two days to send it to the FBI.

Those reports turned out to be incorrect. Stockman got the fax after the attack, not before, and he turned it over to the FBI immediately. He did, however, also share it with the NRA, for reasons that were never clear. The incident, though, was just the first in a long line of bizarre stories that would feature the freshman Republican.

Soon after, Guns & Ammo magazine published a piece authored by the new congressman that was chock full of conspiracy theories claiming that the Clinton administration had set up the 1993 Waco raid on the Branch Davidian cult as a way to justify a ban on assault weapons. Stockman, who had written the essay before the Oklahoma City bombing, would say of its publication afterward, “A few things could have been said a little better.”

The next year, Texas Monthly dubbed him “Congressman Clueless” in a piece detailing how his “harebrained ideas and headline-making gaffes have made him the laughingstock of his own party.” The Republican, though, became yesterday’s news following his decisive loss to Democrat Nick Lampson in 1996, after just a single term in Congress.

Stockman’s attempts to return to office over the ensuing years repeatedly faltered, so when he campaigned for the newly created 36th District in 2012, he initially looked like little more than a curiosity from the past.

But the ex-congressman, whose signs implored voters to “re-elect” him more than a decade after he’d last served, unexpectedly earned himself a spot in the primary runoff. He then secured the nomination after hitting his opponent with fake tabloids bearing headlines like, “Stephen Takach drove family friend into bankruptcy” and “Takach smears Stockman for taking care of his Alzheimer’s-stricken father.”

Stockman easily won the general election and soon picked up where he left off by threatening to impeach Barack Obama and printing bumper stickers declaring, “If babies had guns they wouldn’t be aborted.” He also drew attention for his frequent tweeting, including a missive calling Obamacare “less popular than chlamydia.”

This time around, though, Stockman could have enjoyed a longer career in Congress thanks to the deep red hue of his new district—even after local authorities condemned his campaign headquarters for illegally housing workers and volunteers in appalling conditions.

Instead, though, Stockman stunned everyone when he filed to challenge Sen. John Cornyn in the 2014 primary, even though he’d done just about nothing to prepare for a statewide campaign. He was in for a brief but unhappy campaign.

The congressman’s old mug shot from his 1977 arrest for felony possession of Valium wound up surfacing, which led Stockman to deny he’d ever been arrested—even though he’d spoken at length about the incident in the 1990s. Cornyn went on to crush Stockman, who raised little money and largely disappeared from the campaign trail for long stretches, in a 59-19 landslide.

Stockman reemerged again in 2017 when federal prosecutors charged him with allegedly soliciting money for a bogus charity and misusing the money for, among other things, rides in hot air balloons, a visit to Disneyland, and treatment for alcohol abuse for an associate. Investigators also accused him of enlisting a spy to serve as an intern in the office of a state legislator whom Stockman believed might run against him.

Stockman took to social media to allege that he was the target of the “deep state,” but he was convicted the next year and forced to remain in federal custody ahead of sentencing after the judge deemed him a flight risk. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison in late 2018, but Donald Trump commuted his punishment at the end of his first term.

The newly freed politician once again became an active poster, but he seemed to have finally put his many decades as a candidate behind him. Stockman, though, may have one more comeback left in him.

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Shock TX ruling dashes GOP gerrymander

Redistricting Roundup

IN Redistricting

Indiana’s redistricting saga may not be over just yet. Even though the GOP-dominated state Senate voted last week to adjourn until January after Senate President Rodric Bray said his caucus did not support a remap, Bray now says the chamber will convene on Dec. 8 to “make a final decision that week on any redistricting proposal sent from the House.”

Following the Senate’s vote, at least eight senators were victims of “swatting attempts, threats of violence or intimidation efforts,” CNN reported.

UT Redistricting, UT Ballot

Utah Republicans announced at a Tuesday press conference that they would appeal a recent state court order imposing a new congressional map, despite previously suggesting that they’d run out of time to do so.

To give themselves more runway, GOP lawmakers said they might delay the candidate filing deadline when they convene for a special session on Dec. 9, which they also announced at the same Tuesday event. The filing deadline is currently set for Jan. 8.

During that upcoming session, Republicans said they may also refer a constitutional amendment to voters that would clamp down on ballot initiatives—like the redistricting reform measure that prompted the courts to invalidate the state’s prior map and put a new one in place.

That new map creates a solidly Democratic seat in the Salt Lake City area and all but guarantees a red-to-blue flip.

Senate

AL-Sen

ESPN host Paul Finebaum, who already blew past his mid-November deadline for deciding on a Senate bid, now plans to make up his mind by the first week of December, reports Jewish Insider.

The publication adds that, according to unnamed sources, Finebaum “has privately acknowledged that he is facing growing frustration from some in Alabama’s political class over the prolonged wait.”

Several other high-profile Alabama Republicans are already running for the Senate seat held by Tommy Tuberville, who is seeking the state’s open governorship, while a handful more are also still considering.

Governors

CA-Gov

Wealthy businessman Stephen Cloobeck has dropped his bid for California’s open governorship and endorsed the newest Democrat in the race instead, Rep. Eric Swalwell—but not before spending $3.6 million on ads backing his ill-fated campaign.

Even with Cloobeck’s departure, though, the rich guy lane remains occupied by another Democratic newcomer, billionaire investor Tom Steyer. Steyer recently released his first TV ad of the race (not counting the spots he ran in favor of Proposition 50 that featured himself), which is reportedly backed by a $2 million buy.

RI-Gov

Rhode Island House Speaker Joe Shekarchi is waiting until early next year to decide whether to run for governor because he’s hoping that Democratic incumbent Dan McKee “will realize he has no path to victory and will bow out of the race,” reports the Boston Globe.

McKee has repeatedly insisted he’s still running, but his poll numbers remain abysmal. A survey from the University of New Hampshire released earlier this week found former CVS executive Helena Foulkes leading a hypothetical three-way Democratic primary with 29% of the vote, while Shekarchi was in second with 13 and McKee trailed with just 11.

House

GA-14

Jim Tully, who serves both as a staffer for outgoing Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and as chair of the 14th District Republican Party, announced Monday evening that he would run in the upcoming special election to replace his boss.

Tully, who earned national attention this month when he defended Greene from Donald Trump’s attacks, is the first major candidate to enter the race. Greene, though, says she does not intend to support Tully’s campaign to succeed her—or anyone else’s.

“I will not be endorsing anyone out of respect to my district,” the incumbent wrote on social media just ahead of Tully’s launch. “I truly support the wonderful people of Georgia 14 and want them to pick their Representative. So anyone claiming they have my endorsement would not be telling the truth.”

Many other Republicans could end up competing for this safely red constituency, and the Georgia Recorder adds state Sens. Chuck Payne and Ed Setzler to the roster of potential candidates. Neither lawmaker appears to have said anything about their interest in running, though.

IL-08

Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi has endorsed former Rep. Melissa Bean in her comeback bid for Illinois’ open 8th Congressional District. Bean served with Pelosi when the latter became the first woman speaker in House history following the 2006 midterms, but she lost to then-Republican Joe Walsh in the 2010 GOP wave.

ME-02, ME-Gov

Former state Sen. Troy Jackson indicated in new comments to WTMW News 8 that he’s sticking with his bid for governor, but he doesn’t seem to have entirely ruled out the prospect of switching to the open 2nd District.

“I’m committed to the people of Maine,” Jackson told the station. “And, you know, this governor’s race gives me that opportunity. You know, the second CD is obviously a very important race, but the governor’s race, gives me an opportunity to change people’s lives. And that’s what I’m committed to.”

Jackson is one of several Democrats hoping to succeed term-limited Gov. Janet Mills, who is running for Senate, but he hinted he might instead run for Congress after Democratic Rep. Jared Golden unexpectedly announced his retirement earlier this month.

NJ-12

Plainfield Mayor Adrian Mapp announced Tuesday that he was entering the race to succeed retiring Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, a fellow Democrat, in New Jersey’s reliably blue 12th District.

Mapp, whom the local news site TapInto says would be the first member of Congress born in Barbados, was elected mayor of heavily Democratic Plainfield in 2013, a few months after he defeated the incumbent in a primary.

Mapp went on to secure an unprecedented fourth term earlier this year after securing renomination 52-48 against a challenger who argued the city wasn’t faring well under his leadership.

Mapp joins East Brunswick Mayor Brad Cohen, Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson, and Somerset County Commissioner Shanel Robinson in the June 2 primary. Several other Democrats are also considering, including attorney Squire Servance, who said Tuesday that he would spend the “coming weeks” talking to voters.

NY-21

Wealthy sticker magnate Anthony Constantino, a Republican who made a long list of enemies during his campaign in the aborted special election for New York’s 21st District, announced Monday evening that he would enter the June 23 primary to succeed GOP Rep. Elise Stefanik in next year’s regularly scheduled contest.

Constantino was one of several Republicans who said they’d run last year when Donald Trump tapped Stefanik as his ambassador to the United Nations. But while Constantino threw down $2.6 million of his own money for that effort, his show of force did not impress the local party chairs who would have been tasked with choosing the nominee for the special election.

Constantino responded to their opposition by warning GOP leaders in January that if they didn’t nominate him, he would simply run in the following year’s primary for a full term.

“I’m either going to get it now or I’m going to get it later,” he told the Times Union. “Even the [chairs] that don’t like me are going to have to vote for me because I’m just going to come back and get it in 2026. That would really be tragic for everybody involved, including me, because I would have to waste my money fighting Republicans.”

The matter became moot two months later after Trump withdrew Stefanik’s nomination, but Constantino wasn’t ready to stop airing his grievances. He claimed in June that the leader of the state Conservative Party “called me to say, ‘We intend to kill you.’”

“Was it hyperbole? I don’t know,” Constantino said, claiming that a staffer’s “brake lines were subsequently cut.” Conservative Party head Gerard Kassar, whose group often backs GOP candidates, subsequently filed a defamation lawsuit against Constantino.

Constantino, who says he’ll also self-fund his new campaign, joins Assemblymember Robert Smullen in seeking the GOP nomination, though this time, it would be up to primary voters to pick their standard-bearer.

PA-07

Gov. Josh Shapiro is headlining a fundraiser next month for Bob Brooks, a firefighters union chief who is hoping to take on Republican Rep. Ryan Mackenzie in Pennsylvania’s swingy 7th District. Brooks is one of several candidates seeking the Democratic nod.

WI-07

Former Marathon County GOP chair Kevin Hermening, who’d been considering a bid for Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District, tells State Affairs that he’s decided to join the race.

Hermening, an investment advisor, was a 20-year-old member of the Marine Corps when he was assigned to protect the U.S. embassy in Tehran in 1979. He was the youngest of the 52 Americans held hostage for 444 days until their release early in 1981.

Hermening joins several other notable Republicans hoping to replace Rep. Tom Tiffany, who’s running for governor.

Mayors & County Leaders

Washington, D.C. Mayor

Mayor Muriel Bowser announced Tuesday that she would not seek a fourth term next year as leader of Washington, D.C., setting off the first open race to run the nation’s capital in 20 years.

The winner of the June 16 Democratic primary is all but assured to win the general election in this bluest of cities. But while candidates previously needed just a simple plurality to win the all-important Democratic nomination—Bowser herself unseated Mayor Vincent Gray 43-33 in 2014—next year’s race is set to operate using ranked-choice voting for the first time.

This change came about because voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot measure last year called Initiative 83 to introduce this system for both primaries and general elections. After a long delay, the D.C. Council finally agreed to provide the necessary funding for it this summer, and a deadline for Congress to potentially override the law passed without any action last month.

Election officials recently confirmed that they were working to implement ranked-choice voting in time for the June primary, though they acknowledged that it would require further work to prepare. DC News Now reports that some councilmembers talked about delaying the implementation, though they have not taken any action to amend Initiative 83.

The Council, though, declined to fund a separate provision that would have allowed independents to participate in party primaries, so the contest will remain open only to registered Democrats.

Bowser, for her part, is the first mayor to retire since Anthony Williams opted not to seek a third term in 2006. Adrian Fenty won the race to replace Williams, only to lose renomination four years later against Gray.

The process repeated itself in 2014, when Bowser won a promotion from the Council after toppling Gray, who was under federal investigation for allegedly running an illegal shadow campaign to defeat Fenty. (Prosecutors later ended the probe without charging Gray, and the former mayor went on to revive his political career by winning a seat on the Council in 2016.)

Bowser finally broke the string of incumbent defeats in 2018, when she secured renomination handily. But in 2022, she survived her primary with a relatively close 49-41 victory over Councilmember Robert White.

Bowser found herself at the center of a crisis this summer when the Trump administration deployed the National Guard and seized control of the district’s police force. In August, the mayor said she would work with Trump on their “shared priorities” to make the city safe even as she pushed back on insinuations that crime was out of control.

“We’re going to keep talking to the president, working with his people on the issues that are high priority for him,” she said. “Now, if the priority is to show force in an American city, we know he can do that here. But it won’t be because there’s a spike in crime.”