National: Ryan backs voting rights bill — but tells black caucus it's out of his hands | The Hill

Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) told black lawmakers Wednesday that he supports new voting rights protections they’ve championed, but said he won’t bypass a committee chairman to move legislation, according to a Democrat who attended the gathering. “He said it right in front of everybody — he said he supports the [Jim] Sensenbrenner bill,” Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.), former chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), said after Ryan met with the group on Capitol Hill. “So somebody was saying, ‘Well, why don’t you go tell your committee chair to do it?’ ” Cleaver added. “And he said, … ‘Look, I can’t do that.’ ” Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), a former chairman of the Judiciary panel, has sponsored bipartisan legislation to update the Voting Rights Act (VRA) in response to a 2013 Supreme Court decision that gutted a central provision of the 1965 law.

National: FEC chairman warns book publishers at risk of regulation at heated meeting | Fox News

The Republican chairman of the Federal Election Commission warned Wednesday that his agency colleagues could try to regulate book publishers, during a heated session over a forthcoming book by GOP Rep. Paul Ryan. During the meeting, the FEC declined to definitively spare book publishers from the reach of campaign finance rules. This triggered a clash between Republican and Democratic members, with Chairman Lee Goodman warning that the deadlock could represent a “chill” for constitutional free-press rights. “That is a shame. … We have wounded the free-press clause of the First Amendment,” Goodman told FoxNews.com after the tense meeting. Goodman previously has warned that the commission wants to start regulating media.

Kentucky: Senate passes bill to let Rand Paul run for re-election and president in 2016 | Kentucky.com

The Kentucky Senate passed a bill Tuesday that would make clear U.S. Sen. Rand Paul may run for two federal offices at once. Household political names like Lyndon Johnson, Joe Lieberman, Joe Biden and Paul Ryan were bandied about during a brief debate, the heart of which is whether Paul can run for president and for re-election to his Senate seat on the same Kentucky ballot in 2016. Kentucky’s junior senator has said he is considering a run for the White House, but that he will definitely run for his Senate seat the same year, putting him at odds with a state law banning the same candidate from appearing on a ballot twice.

Kentucky: Bill benefiting Rand Paul passes Senate committee | Associated Press

Republican Senate leaders in Kentucky cheered a bipartisan vote Wednesday that advanced a bill to let Republican U.S. Sen. Rand Paul run for president without automatically giving up his Senate seat – but Democratic leaders in the House warned it was not a sign the bill has enough support to become law. Sen. Morgan McGarvey, D-Louisville, joined seven Republicans in voting to send the bill to the Senate floor. McGarvey told reporters he thinks Paul can run for two offices at once just like former Democratic U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman did in 2000 when he was Al Gore’s running mate. But Greg Stumbo, leader of the Democratic-controlled House, repeated his comments from last week that “a man that can’t make up his mind which office he wants to run for ain’t fit to hold either one.” Asked if that were true of Vice President Joe Biden, a Democrat who ran for re-election to his U.S. Senate seat while Barack Obama’s running mate in 2008, Stumbo said: “That’s exactly right. Quote me on that.”

Kentucky: Rand Paul’s allies say State law can’t stop him from running for senator and president | Kentucky.com

Rand Paul from seeking the presidency and his seat in Congress on the same Kentucky ballot in 2016 is unconstitutional, claim supporters who are girding for a fight over the law. Paul certainly wouldn’t be the first federal politician to run for the presidency and re-election to Congress at the same time. U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., Vice President Joe Biden, D-Del., former U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman and many others have done it. In Kentucky, though, state law says a candidate can’t appear on the same ballot twice. That would presumably be a problem for Paul, who has said he plans to seek re-election in 2016 regardless of what he decides about running for president the same year. Paul’s allies in Frankfort and Washington contend that Kentucky’s law contradicts the U.S. Constitution. They cite a 1995 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that nullified an Arkansas law that set congressional term limits and prevented a candidate from being on the ballot if he or she exceeded those limits.

Wisconsin: Ryan likely to run for both House seat and VP | Human Events

From Washington D.C. to Wisconsin, betting is strong that newly-minted Republican vice presidential hopeful Paul Ryan will run on Mitt Romney’s ticket while simultaneously seeking re-election to Congress. “It is perfectly legal under state law for Paul Ryan to run for the House and vice president concurrently,” veteran Madison (Wisc.) Republican consultant Scott Becher told Human Events shortly after Ryan was formally tapped as Romney’s running mate Saturday morning. Becher noted that the Badger State will hold its primaries next Tuesday (August 14) and Ryan is already on the ballot for renomination to a seventh term as U.S. Representative from the 1st District. Ryan, who has more than $5 million in his congressional campaign committee, appeared headed for another big re-election. Since winning his first term in 1998 with 57 percent of the vote, the Janesville lawmaker has been re-elected with margins ranging from 63 to 68 percent of the vote.

Wisconsin: Ryan can run for House seat, VP at same time under Wisconsin law | The Hill

If Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) doesn’t become vice president of the United States, he has a backup option: his old House seat. Under Wisconsin law, Ryan can run simultaneously for both offices. The lawmaker hasn’t said anything about his House election, which he is strongly favored to win, but he may not have much of a choice. The law specifically states that once a candidate is nominated, his or her name has to remain on the ballot except in the case of death. But if Ryan does make it to the vice presidential mansion, that election would “void the candidate’s election to any other office,” and a special election would be called, according to the law. And names are already being floated in case that comes to pass.

Wisconsin: Ryan would appear on ballot twice in Wisconsin | The Washington Post

Mitt Romney’s decision to select Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) as his vice presidential running mate raises the question of what happens in the Badger State’s 1st District, where Ryan is favored to win reelection in the fall. According to state election law, Ryan would not have to sacrifice his spot on the congressional ballot even though he is also running for vice president. He would appear on the ballot twice. Ryan would appear on the ballot as both a candidate for the House and for vice president. If the Romney-Ryan presidential ticket is not successful, but he wins his congressional race, Ryan can keep his seat. If the national ticket wins the White House and Ryan holds his House seat, a special election would be held to replace him in the House. “If the candidate is elected president or vice president of the United States such election shall void the candidate’s election to any other office. A special election shall be held to fill any office vacated under this subsection,” reads a state statute on multiple nominations.