Republican | featured news

From the Appalachian trail to the campaign trail, former Governor Mark Sanford is back on the grid. After defeating Curtis Bostic in the GOP primary runoff on Tuesday, 57% to 43%, Sanford should be the favorite to win the vacated congressional seat in South Carolina first district. The district has become heavily Republican.

Republican lawmakers in North Carolina have introduced a bill declaring that the state has the power to establish an official religion — a direct challenge to the First Amendment. One professor of politics called the measure “the verge of being neo-secessionist,” and another said it was reminiscent of how Southern states objected to the Supreme Court’s 1954 integration of public schools.

Federal investigators are probing allegations that Rep. Michele Bachmann, or members of her staff, inappropriately used money raised during her presidential campaign, her lawyer and former campaign staffers said today.

Republican Sen. Rand Paul said Tuesday that illegal immigrants should be allowed to become U.S. taxpayers and ultimately get a shot at citizenship, a significant step for the Tea Party favorite amid growing Republican acceptance of the idea.

CPAC stands with Rand. “Torch of liberty” scion Rand Paul was the choice of the plurality of conservatives at the Conservative Political Action Conference, as Paul won the much-hyped straw poll.

House Republicans unanimously voted down a measure Friday that would have raised the federal minimum wage, from its current $7.25 per hour to $10.10 by 2015. Six Democrats joined 227 Republicans in voting it down; 184 Democrats voted yes. The legislation was proposed as a last-minute amendment upon passage of the SKILLS Act, which reauthorizes a jobs training program. The procedural move, known as the motion to recommit, was invoked by Democrats with the instruction that the minimum wage amendment be tacked on to the SKILLS Act, an aide said.

Republican Assemblyman Steve Katz has been charged with marijuana possession after a Thursday morning traffic stop on the Thruway. The 59-year-old was initially stopped at 10 a.m. for allegedly driving 80 mph northbound on the toll road close by the town of Coeymans.

Romney represents the GOP's old guard as younger Republicans such as Marco Rubio and Rand Paul are in spotlight at conservative event... The event known as CPAC often shines the spotlight on the up-and-comers of the Republican Party and is a critical proving ground for presidential hopefuls. More than a dozen potential 2016 presidential candidates — including Sens. Marco Rubio and Rand Paul, Rep. Paul Ryan and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal — are all on this year's program and represent a new generation of Republican leaders.

Republican U.S. Sen. Rob Portman is now supporting gay marriage and says his reversal on the issue began when he learned one of his sons is gay. Ohio's junior senator disclosed his change of heart in interviews with several Ohio newspapers and CNN. In an op-ed published Friday in The Columbus Dispatch, he said the decision came after a lot of thought.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush won’t confirm he’s a candidate for the next presidential race, but he sounded like a White House hopeful Monday, declaring his party in need of leadership.