June 1, 2018
August 27, 2018
Here is what happened this week for DAGA and our Democratic Attorneys General:
#WearOrange: June 1 is National Gun Violence Awareness Day! To show support for a future free from gun violence, Democratic AGs and candidates like District of Columbia AG Karl Racine and California AG Xavier Becerra took to social media to #WearOrange. Maine AG Janet Mills touted her F-rating from the NRA and Nevada AG candidate Aaron Ford rocked his orange polo to spotlight the gun safety effort. The DAGA team (pups included) joined with AG Racine to #wearorange today too!
INJUNCTION JUNCTION: California AG Xavier Becerra announced this week that a diverse group of states, local governments, healthcare providers, and other civil rights groups filed amicus briefs in support of California’s preliminary injunction in State of California, et al v. Alex Azar, II, et al. The preliminary injunction won by California successfully blocked the Trump Administration’s attempt to threaten employee access to cost-free birth control as provided by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). “Millions of women across the country benefit from access to cost-free birth control provided by the Affordable Care Act,” said AG Becerra in a statement. “The federal government should build on this access to healthcare, not diminish it.”
PROTECTING THE ELDERLY: 17 Democratic AGs penned a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services and its Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) condemning actions that would roll back regulations designed to protect patients in skilled nursing facilities from abuse, neglect, and exploitation. The letter reads, “It is our duty to be vigilant of the health and safety of our aging loved ones. America’s seniors who reside in skilled nursing facilities deserve quality care from trained and capable staff.” For more on this effort, check out this article in the Eureka Times-Standard linked here.
HAPPY PRIDE: June 1st also marks the beginning of LGBTQ Pride Month! Democratic AGs will be participating in events all month long.
ELECTIONS UPDATE: 158 days ‘til Election Day 2018!
• In Arizona, January Contreras was endorsed by AFSCME Local Arizona and she officially qualified for the ballot!
• Nevada AG candidate Aaron Ford earned a number of endorsements this week including IBEW Local 396, Las Vegas City Employees’ Association, Plumbers, Pipefitters & Service Technicians Local 525, and Nevada Conservation League’s first-ever endorsement!
• In Ohio, AG Candidate Steve Dettelbach told the Sandusky Register this week “I am a prosecutor, not a career politician.” He added that “My career as a prosecutor has been about making decisions on cases as best I could, not based on who is happy or sad about it.” Dettelbachadded that his GOP opponent, Dave Yost is indeed a career politician who has already served two terms in elected office. Watch the full interview here.
• Wisconsin AG candidate Josh Kaul caught up with WISN this week to talk about why the Wisconsin DOJ needs “new leadership in a host of areas” including incumbent Brad Schimel’s failure to adequately address the backlog of rape kits in the state. Kaul also earned the endorsement of the Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters.
UPCOMING PRIMARY & CONVENTION DATES: Wisconsin Convention – June 1 & 2, Alabama—June 5th, Nevada – June 12th, South Dakota Convention—June 15th, and Colorado—June 26!