In the spotlight: record donations for U.S. Senate candidates

The US Senate.

REUTERS / US Senate TV / Handout via Reuters

Text by: Marie Normand Follow

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In the United States, the race for the November 3 election is turned upside down by the death on Friday September 18 of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

And not just the presidential election.

The Americans will also renew that day a third of the Senate.

This vote has taken on even more importance, because it is these same senators who will have to confirm the person chosen by Donald Trump to replace him.

The

New York Times

takes the example of Al Gross, a candidate for the post of senator in Alaska.

His campaign so far has been rather quiet: he does not present himself " 

even technically as a Democrat, an affiliation which could condemn him in this conservative state

 ", but as independent.

Except that “ 

in the hours following the death of Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Friday, Al Gross's campaign received an influx of donations that could reshape the race

: nearly $ 3 million was poured into its coffers, or about as much money as the campaign had collected in all until the end of July

 ”.

$ 160 million raised in one weekend

This is not an isolated case.

From Alaska to Maine, via North Carolina, this influx of donations to Democratic Senate candidates could give the party some financial advantage down the home stretch, especially where the race is tight.

In all, more than $ 160 million has been raised by ActBlue, " 

the leading digital donation processing site

 " for the Democratic camp, which has broken all records since its inception 16 years ago.

For the newspaper, this phenomenon shows that voters perceive the interest of " 

reconquering the Senate, where the patrimonial battle of confirmation of the one who will replace Judge Ginsburg will take place

 ".

So far, Republicans have not reported

 a similar increase in donations,

 " said the

New York Times

, " 

but they expect that to change when Trump nominates his candidate later this week

 ."

Arizona: battle for Maricopa County district attorney

In Arizona, court buildings closed earlier in downtown Phoenix on Monday over fear of protests and violence,

Arizona Republic said

.

The Maricopa County prosecutor announced that the soldier responsible for the death of African American Dion Johnson in May will not be prosecuted.

The 28-year-old was shot dead on the same day as George Floyd, who died of suffocation by a Minneapolis police officer.

These blunders led to weeks of protests in the United States, especially in the Phoenix area.

The

Arizona Republic

newspaper

made its front page this Tuesday, September 22 and looks back on the despair of Dion Johnson's mother.

The system has let me down

," she said, "

it has let down my son and it is failing us blacks

 ."

In Phoenix, this case also becomes a campaign issue.

Beyond the president and senators, Americans also vote for a whole series of administrative positions at the county level, including the post of Maricopa County District Attorney - who has decided to drop the charges.

The current prosecutor is a Republican.

His Democratic opponent accuses him of

cowardice

.

According to the

Arizona Republic

newspaper

, " 

between January 2011 and August 2020, out of the 470 cases of shootings involving police officers, 90

% were dismissed

 ."

Suspect arrested after sending poisoned letter to Trump

The investigation continues after a letter was sent to US President Donald Trump containing ricin, a very toxic substance.

The main suspect is a 53-year-old French Canadian.

She was arrested Sunday in Buffalo, New York, as she tried to cross the US border from Canada.

She is due to appear this Tuesday afternoon before an American court.

According to the newspaper

La Presse

, she is " 

a mother of a family from Saint-Hubert

 ", a district of Longueil in the Montreal region.

His home was searched, at the request of the United States, by a specialized unit of the Canadian Federal Police.

This created a stir in this rather quiet neighborhood, explains the daily

Le Devoir

, which describes men in white overalls and the evacuation of certain neighbors.

Press

specifies that last year, the suspect had crisscrossed the United States alone in a motorhome.

A dream that " 

turned into a nightmare in the small Texas town of Mission, on the Mexican border

 ."

Arrested " 

for illegal possession of a weapon and use of a forged driver's license, she was thrown in prison

 " where she spent two months before being released.

Five other letters containing ricin were sent to addresses in Texas, including the Hidalgo County Sheriff and members of his staff.

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