Author

Jennifer Shutt

Jennifer Shutt

Jennifer covers the nation’s capital as a senior reporter for States Newsroom. Her coverage areas include congressional policy, politics and legal challenges with a focus on health care, unemployment, housing and aid to families.

Record-setting number of women elected as governors in midterms

By: - November 10, 2022

WASHINGTON —  The United States’ ceiling for female governors was shattered this week, with voters in 12 states electing women to the role, breaking the prior record of nine set for the first time back in 2004.  While not all of the gubernatorial campaigns have been called as of Thursday afternoon, Arizona and Oregon voters […]

Which party controls Congress? It could be days or weeks before we know

By: and - November 9, 2022

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and Democrats exulted Wednesday in outperforming expectations in the midterm elections, even as vote-counting was still in progress and control of both chambers of Congress remained unknown. The U.S. Senate will go to the winner of two of the last three races where party control is still in doubt in […]

Even red-state voters back abortion rights via ballot questions, rejecting court ruling

By: - November 9, 2022

WASHINGTON — Voters in five states — including GOP-dominated Kentucky — backed abortion rights Tuesday, signaling that while the U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative majority no longer believes the procedure is protected within the U.S. Constitution, many Americans want their states to do just that. California, Kentucky, Michigan , Montana and Vermont residents voted to support […]

No GOP ‘wave,’ but Republicans could still gain control of U.S. House

By: , and - November 9, 2022

WASHINGTON — Republicans fell short of their greatest ambitions for major gains in the U.S. House, with control of the chamber still in doubt early Wednesday. Republicans are still likely to narrowly win control of the U.S. House, based on expert projections. But of 20 races rated by elections forecaster Inside Elections as true toss-ups, […]

U.S. Senate control too close to call as multiple states grapple with tight vote counts

By: , and - November 9, 2022

WASHINGTON —  Control of the U.S. Senate remained unclear early Wednesday as races in a handful of swing states in the midterm elections were still too close to call, and it appeared it might be days — or even weeks — before a final result was known. But Democrats flipped the open Pennsylvania Senate seat, which Republicans have held […]

More than 42 million Americans already have voted in the midterms

By: - November 7, 2022

WASHINGTON — More than 42 million Americans by midafternoon on Monday had gotten a jump start on Tuesday’s midterm elections, casting their votes through mail-in ballots or by heading to in-person early voting centers. The United States Election Project’s data showed a significant number of voters continue to prefer voting ahead of Election Day, possibly continuing a […]

Mitch McConnell-aligned super PAC pours record advertising cash into U.S. Senate races

By: - November 4, 2022

WASHINGTON — The super PAC aligned with U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, has spent a record amount advertising for GOP Senate candidates this cycle, according to AdImpact. The Senate Leadership Fund has “become the highest-spending advertiser” AdImpact, started in 2014, has ever reported on, according to data it released Thursday. The numbers […]

American flag flying with U.S. Capitol in the background.

Control of U.S. Senate still a guess ahead of midterm elections

By: - November 1, 2022

WASHINGTON — Democrats and Republicans have just a handful of frantic days left to convince voters who should control Congress before voting in the Nov. 8 midterm elections ends. The two political parties are spending millions on campaign ads and mailers in the dozens of toss-up races that will determine control of Congress, while President […]

Man who attacked Speaker Pelosi’s husband wanted to break ‘her kneecaps,’ DOJ says

By: - October 31, 2022

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Justice on Monday announced federal charges against the man who allegedly broke into U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco home and attacked her 82-year-old husband with a hammer. If convicted, David DePape could receive up to 50 years in prison. The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s complaint and affidavit into […]

How claims about a federal abortion ban are roiling one state as the midterms near

By: - October 28, 2022

WILMOT, New Hampshire — Voters in this swing state are among the relatively few Americans who will decide control of Congress during November’s midterm elections, shaping domestic and foreign policy for the next two years and delivering a verdict on Joe Biden’s presidency. Granite Staters interviewed by States Newsroom, during a mid-October week trailing U.S. […]

Paul Pelosi, U.S. House speaker’s husband, attacked inside their San Francisco home

By: - October 28, 2022

WASHINGTON — U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul Pelosi, was recovering in the hospital Friday after a man in his 40s broke into their San Francisco home in the early morning and “violently assaulted” the 82-year-old, according to a statement from spokesman Drew Hammill. Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat who has a U.S. Capitol […]

A GOP showdown over the debt limit could grip Congress and the nation next year

By: - October 27, 2022

WASHINGTON — Republicans are eyeing the debt limit and government funding deadlines as a way to force Democrats to the negotiating table for spending cuts, should the GOP regain control of Congress following the midterm elections. Republicans unhappy about government spending could move to shut down the government, a tactic unsuccessful for the GOP in […]