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| North Carolina votes in favour of gay marriage ban – US politics live | North Carolina votes in favour of gay marriage ban – US politics live |
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| 11.20am: Richard Lugar's defeat in Indiana is the high water mark for the Tea Party is 2012, writes the Atlantic's Molly Ball in a very smart piece: | |
| Lugar's defeat is a major victory for the Tea Party and the latest step in the ongoing drubbing of moderates out of an increasingly polarized Senate. But there were plenty of other reasons behind his loss. He didn't live in Indiana anymore, and had to change his official residence to a family farm after he was ruled ineligible to vote from the address on his driver's license. He ran a tepid campaign that was slow to engage. And his challenger, Treasurer Richard Mourdock, is no Christine O'Donnell: He's twice been elected to statewide office, and he spent more than a year assiduously winning over both local Tea Partiers and the state's rank-and-file Republican activists. | |
| Ball notes that there are several other high profile primary races – in Utah, Texas and Florida – where Tea Party-backed candidates are losing to establishment or moderate Republicans, making 2012 very different to the string of victories in 2010. | |
| 11.10am: The RNC thought the West Virginia Democratic primary result was so hilarious that they emailed around clippings under the headline "Obama Loses Large Share Of Vote In West Virginia To A Felon Doing Time In Texas". | |
| Obama got 106,000 votes in the primary while Judd got 72,000. But the RNC somehow neglects to mention that in the Republican primary, one Mitt Romney got a total of 77,000. | |
| 11am: We can assume West Virginia will not be a target swing state for the Democratic party in 2012. | |
| In last night's Democratic primary, Barack Obama was running – if that's the right word – against one other candidate: Keith Judd, a prisoner at the Federal Correctional Institution in Texarkana, Texas. And the result was that Obama got 59% of the vote to Judd's 41%. There's a charming photo of Judd here. | |
| The Associated Press reports from Charleston: | |
| For some West Virginia Democrats, simply running against Obama is enough to get Judd votes. | |
| "I voted against Obama," said Ronnie Brown, a 43-year-old electrician from Cross Lanes who called himself a conservative Democrat. "I don't like him. He didn't carry the state before and I'm not going to let him carry it again." | |
| When asked which presidential candidate he voted for, Brown said, "That guy out of Texas." | |
| Judd got on the state ballot by paying a $2,500 fee and filing a form known as a notarized certification of announcement, said Jake Glance, a spokesman for the Secretary of State's office. | |
| With 41% of the vote, Judd would even qualify for a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in September under party rules. But state Democratic party officials say no one has filed to be a delegate for Judd. | |
| 10.43am: FBI director Robert Mueller is appearing before the House oversight committee right now – live streaming video available here – and Virginia's Bob Goodlatte is asking him about the threat from dangerous "ultra-left" extremists. | |
| Bobby Scott, a Democrat from Virginia, asks what the FBI's use of waterboarding was in interrogation. "None," replies Mueller, but he won't be drawn into describing waterboarding as torture. | |
| 10.30am: On the subject of North Carolina's vote yesterday, Think Progress recalls the last time the Tar Heel state amended its constitution to define marriage.... | 10.30am: On the subject of North Carolina's vote yesterday, Think Progress recalls the last time the Tar Heel state amended its constitution to define marriage.... |
| FACT: Last time North Carolina amended their constitution on marriage it was to ban interracial marriage twitter.com/thinkprogress/… | FACT: Last time North Carolina amended their constitution on marriage it was to ban interracial marriage twitter.com/thinkprogress/… |
| So some things have improved. Since 1875. | So some things have improved. Since 1875. |
| 10.14am: The New York Times is reporting that President Obama "will sit down for an interview with ABC News on Wednesday during which he is likely to be questioned about his 'evolving' views on the issue," with more detail: | 10.14am: The New York Times is reporting that President Obama "will sit down for an interview with ABC News on Wednesday during which he is likely to be questioned about his 'evolving' views on the issue," with more detail: |
| The interview, to be conducted by Robin Roberts, an anchor on ABC's "Good Morning America," is scheduled for 1.30pm and was secured in the wake of a declaration by Mr Obama's vice president, Joseph R. Biden, on Sunday that he was "absolutely comfortable" with same-sex marriages. | The interview, to be conducted by Robin Roberts, an anchor on ABC's "Good Morning America," is scheduled for 1.30pm and was secured in the wake of a declaration by Mr Obama's vice president, Joseph R. Biden, on Sunday that he was "absolutely comfortable" with same-sex marriages. |
| The White House and the president's re-election campaign declined to comment on Wednesday. | The White House and the president's re-election campaign declined to comment on Wednesday. |
| Interesting timing, given the result in North Carolina last night. Portions of the interview will be released later today, with the full interview airing on Good Morning America tomorrow. | Interesting timing, given the result in North Carolina last night. Portions of the interview will be released later today, with the full interview airing on Good Morning America tomorrow. |
| 9.45am: The fallout from North Carolina's landslide vote to ban gay marriage is dominating the political headlines, with President Obama said to be about to "clarify" his views on the subject of same-sex marriage in an interview with ABC today. | 9.45am: The fallout from North Carolina's landslide vote to ban gay marriage is dominating the political headlines, with President Obama said to be about to "clarify" his views on the subject of same-sex marriage in an interview with ABC today. |
| After a round of primary voting, Indiana's long-time US senator Richard Lugar was ousted by a Tea Party favourite, a man in prison won 41% of the vote in West Virginia's Democratic presidential primary, and Wisconsin prepares for the recall election over controversial governor Scott Walker. | After a round of primary voting, Indiana's long-time US senator Richard Lugar was ousted by a Tea Party favourite, a man in prison won 41% of the vote in West Virginia's Democratic presidential primary, and Wisconsin prepares for the recall election over controversial governor Scott Walker. |
| Here's a summary of where we're at today from Ryan Devereaux. | Here's a summary of where we're at today from Ryan Devereaux. |
| • North Carolinians voted in support of a constitutional ban on any kind of legal same sex union Tuesday. The decision makes North Carolina the 30th state in the union to enshrine a ban on same-sex marriage in its state constitution. While same sex marriage has been illegal in the state for 16 years, conservatives feared growing support for legal equality threatened the existing legislation. Voters turned out in large numbers and the amendment passed by a margin of more than 20 percentage points. | • North Carolinians voted in support of a constitutional ban on any kind of legal same sex union Tuesday. The decision makes North Carolina the 30th state in the union to enshrine a ban on same-sex marriage in its state constitution. While same sex marriage has been illegal in the state for 16 years, conservatives feared growing support for legal equality threatened the existing legislation. Voters turned out in large numbers and the amendment passed by a margin of more than 20 percentage points. |
| • Veteran Republican senator Richard Lugar was defeated by Richard Mourdock in Indiana on Tuesday With a career spanning six terms and half a dozen presidents, Lugar had a reputation for working with Democrats, a quality that has become a liability within the GOP grassroots. Mourdock, Indiana's state treasurer, enjoys strong support from Tea Party groups and presents himself as a man devoted to rejecting bipartisanship. | • Veteran Republican senator Richard Lugar was defeated by Richard Mourdock in Indiana on Tuesday With a career spanning six terms and half a dozen presidents, Lugar had a reputation for working with Democrats, a quality that has become a liability within the GOP grassroots. Mourdock, Indiana's state treasurer, enjoys strong support from Tea Party groups and presents himself as a man devoted to rejecting bipartisanship. |
| • FBI director Robert Mueller will testify at the House judiciary oversight committee today. He's likely to be questioned about alleged FBI entrapment practices. And although the foiled "underwear bomb" plot was a CIA operation, that may come up too. | • FBI director Robert Mueller will testify at the House judiciary oversight committee today. He's likely to be questioned about alleged FBI entrapment practices. And although the foiled "underwear bomb" plot was a CIA operation, that may come up too. |
| • Massachusetts senator Scott Brown has called for a closer look at Elizabeth Warren's applications to law schools and personnel files from the universities where she has taught. Brown believes there are "legitimate questions" surrounding whether or not Warren, his likely Democratic opponent, cited American Indian heritage to advance her career. | • Massachusetts senator Scott Brown has called for a closer look at Elizabeth Warren's applications to law schools and personnel files from the universities where she has taught. Brown believes there are "legitimate questions" surrounding whether or not Warren, his likely Democratic opponent, cited American Indian heritage to advance her career. |
| • ABC News has revealed American taxpayers have dished out $3m to support the living expenses of the last four living presidents. According to ABC: "In 2010, taxpayer-financed expenses included $15,000 for Jimmy Carter's postage, $579,000 for Bill Clinton's rent and a whopping $80,000 for George W Bush's phone bills." | • ABC News has revealed American taxpayers have dished out $3m to support the living expenses of the last four living presidents. According to ABC: "In 2010, taxpayer-financed expenses included $15,000 for Jimmy Carter's postage, $579,000 for Bill Clinton's rent and a whopping $80,000 for George W Bush's phone bills." |
| • Barack Obama, Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton will be meeting Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Nato's secretary-general, in the Oval Office today. The subject will be the Nato summit in Chicago at the end of the month. A meeting of the Group of Eight was scheduled to take place in Chicago at the same time, but the site was moved to Camp David amid anticipation of protests. | • Barack Obama, Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton will be meeting Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Nato's secretary-general, in the Oval Office today. The subject will be the Nato summit in Chicago at the end of the month. A meeting of the Group of Eight was scheduled to take place in Chicago at the same time, but the site was moved to Camp David amid anticipation of protests. |