Swing States Hurting from Inflation, Want More from Trump, Harris on Energy Policies

Oil Rig

Swing state voters are feeling the pain of high prices and want to hear more from presidential candidates about their energy policies, newly released polling data shows.

A new Morning Consult/American Petroleum Institute poll obtained exclusively by The Center Square surveyed registered voters in the key swing states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

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Wisconsin Supreme Court Rules Kennedy Will Stay on Ballot

RFK Jr Wisconsin

Former Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has lost the fight to remove his name from Wisconsin’s ballot after the state Supreme Court ruled against him.

In its decision, the Court found that Dane County Circuit Judge Stephen E. Ehlke exercised proper discretion when denying Kennedy’s request for a temporary injunction and keeping the former candidate on the ballot.  

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New Research Shows Students from Schools That Closed During COVID Are Not Returning

Empty Classroom

New research shows that school enrollment has declined in over 5,000 public schools in the U.S., suggesting families are rejecting traditional schools because of the pandemic.

The Fordham Institute’s new study, conducted by researcher Sofoklis Goulas from the Brookings Institution, released Wednesday, found that families were over twice as likely to leave low-performing public schools.

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‘Don’t CA My AZ:’ Arizona Group Warns of a Democratic Majority

As Arizona has the potential to flip to a Democratic majority this election, groups like the Arizona Free Enterprise Club are speaking out against the changes Democratic policies could make to the state, or the “Californization” of Arizona.

The Arizona Free Enterprise Club launched the “Don’t CA my AZ Campaign,” which aims to educate voters on the Democratic policies that have previously been proposed by legislators that mimic legislation currently in action in California.

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Ohio Unemployment Remains Steady in August

Office Work

Ohio continues to buck a national trend of job gains after the latest numbers from the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services showed the state lost jobs in August.

According to figures released from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, the state’s unemployment rate was unchanged from July to August at 4.5%. The labor force participation rate was also steady at 62.3%.

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Poll: Nevada a Virtual Tossup in Presidential Race

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump

Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are virtually tied in Nevada, according to a new poll.

According to the American Greatness/TIPP poll of 736 likely Nevada voters conducted from Sept. 23-25 in conjunction with TechnoMetrica Institute of Policy and Politics, Harris holds a slim 49.2% to 47.9% advantage over Trump in a head-to-head matchup, well within the poll’s 3.7% margin of error.

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Michigan Bills Would Prevent State Funding of Companies Using Slave Labor

Bryan Posthumus

Two identical bills introduced to the Michigan House and Senate would prohibit the state from entering economic development deals with companies tied to forced Chinese labor in the global supply chain.

HB 5959, sponsored by State Rep. Bryan Posthumus, R-Cannon Township, and SB 1015, sponsored by State Sen. Joe Bellino, would forbid the Michigan Strategic fund from subsidizing or providing tax incentives to companies that appear on the national Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List.

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Prop. 312 Would Give Tax Refunds to Property Owners Hit with Homeless Costs

Homeless Person

Arizona voters will have the opportunity to decide if property owners should be allowed to receive a property tax refund to cover “reasonable” costs accrued by unmitigated public nuisances related to homelessness, vandalism, property crime and drug use.

The property owner – either commercial or residential – would need to document the expense and be able to prove that it was a direct result of the government failing to enforce relevant public nuisance laws.

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Virginia Poll Shows Tied Gubernatorial Race, Nearly Tied Presidential Race

VA GA Poll

Virginia’s current political contests could hardly be closer, according to the University of Mary Washington’s Center for Leadership and Media Studies Fall 2024 poll.

A little over a year out, the poll showed Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-07, and Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, the leading candidates for the commonwealth’s 2025 gubernatorial race, in a dead heat. When respondents were asked who they would vote for between the two “if the election were held today,” 39% indicated Spanberger, and 39% indicated Earle-Sears. Twelve percent didn’t know who they’d vote for.

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Lawmakers Want Answers After Revision to Job Numbers

People Working

Lawmakers are launching an inquiry into the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics after it significantly overestimated the number of jobs created last year, creating a far rosier picture of the U.S. economy than was actually the case.

The federal government announced earlier this year that its previous jobs data had far overestimated how many jobs the U.S. economy created last year. In fact, the federal data was revised down by a third, or roughly 800,000 jobs, the largest revision since 2009.

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Criminal Charges Sought Against Trump, Vance in Springfield

Trump and Vance

Criminal charges are being sought against former President Donald Trump and vice presidential candidate and Ohio U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance in a nonprofit’s court filing.

The two have made comments about Haitian immigrants in Springfield. The Haitian Bridge Alliance made the filing with a supporting affidavit that asks local officials to charge Trump and Vance, according to the Springfield News-Sun.

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Arizona School Choice Lawsuit Alleges Spending Restrictions Are Unlawful

Classroom

The Goldwater Institute is suing Attorney General Kris Mayes over what they believe are overly-stringent restrictions on universal Empowerment Scholarship Account program purchases.

The complaint alleges that there were “legal threats” made by Mayes to Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne asking that purchases by parents made outside of “pre-established curricula” should not be approved.

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It’s Not Just Springfield, Haitians Being Flown to Small Towns Nationwide

Haitian Refugees

Haitians are not just arriving in Springfield, Ohio, but also in small rural towns nationwide as a result of several Biden-Harris administration policies.

Since fiscal 2021, more than 485,000 Haitian illegal border crossers, a record, have been reported by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The overwhelming majority were reported this fiscal year, nearly 216,000, compared to 48,727 in fiscal 2021.

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House Passes Bills to Protect Employee Benefit Plans from Politicization

Office Work

A package of bills to ensure employee benefits plans prioritize financial well-being over “woke” policies has been passed by the U.S. House of Representatives.

Outgoing Virginia Republican Rep. Bob Good sponsored the Protecting Americans’ Investments from Woke Policies Act and the No Discrimination in My Benefits Act, which cleared the House 217-206.

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Top Democrat Donation Processor Act Blue Faces U.S. House Investigation

Act Blue donation platform

A top Democratic donation processor, Act Blue, is facing an investigation over concerns that the donation processing service is being used to circumvent campaign finance laws.

The Republican-led House Oversight Committee launched the investigation, citing “reports of potentially fraudulent and illicit financial activity” in a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.

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App ‘Hots&Cots’ Exposes Shocking Living Conditions at U.S. Military Housing

Hots&Cots app

An app that allows U.S. service members to anonymously post photos of the conditions in military barracks and dining facilities includes images of mold, mice, maggots, cockroaches, brown tap water and broken AC units, among other problems.

The app, called Hots&Cots, allows registered users to post photos and rate facilities with up to five stars. Founder Rob Evans created the app more than a year ago after a Congressional watchdog called attention to longstanding problems with housing for junior enlisted service members. He said the goal is to push the U.S. Department of Defense to improve conditions, something it promised to do after the 2023 report. 

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Commentary: Make America Healthy Again

Salad

Nearly 50 percent of American children and almost three-quarters of adult Americans are obese or overweight. Forty percent of 18-year-olds have a diagnosed mental health issue. Autism incidence has risen from 1 in 150 to 1 in 36 since 2000—in California it is 1 in 22. Americans aren’t just sick. They’re being destroyed.

That’s the conclusion that Calley and Casey Means draw in their #1 New York Times bestselling book, Good Energy. In the book—as well as in a fascinating interview with Tucker Carlson—the Means lay out a case against Big Pharma, Big Agriculture, and Big Government. And their work has caught the ear of both Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr.) and Donald Trump, who are now running on a unity ticket to make America healthy again.

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Poll: Trump, Harris in Virtual Dead Heat in Georgia

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump

Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are virtually tied in a new poll of likely voters in Georgia.

According to the American Greatness/TIPP poll of 835 likely voters conducted from Sept. 16-18 in conjunction with TechnoMetrica Institute of Policy and Politics, Trump holds the slightest of leads, 47.9% to 47.6%, over Harris, well within the poll’s ±3.5% margin of error. An additional 3.6% of respondents said they were unsure and 0.8% said another candidate.

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Poll: Harris, Trump Tied in Virginia

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump

As early voting gets underway Friday in Virginia, a new poll shows Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump in a dead heat in the commonwealth.

A poll conducted by the Center for Leadership and Media Studies at the University of Mary Washington shows Harris leads Trump by 1%, with the vice president at 47% and the former president at 46%. The poll was conducted among 1,000 Virginians on Sept. 3-9, before the first and what appears to be the only debate between Harris and Trump.

The result is a statistical tie, given the margin of error is +/- 3.0%.

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Florida Prepaid College Tuition Program Providing Refunds to Parents

College Students

Florida’s prepaid college tuition plan is generating enough revenue to provide refunds to parents in part because of strong earnings on the plan’s investments and low tuition statewide.

Gov. Ron DeSantis said this week part of those savings is how the state has held down tuition and other costs at the state’s colleges and universities. The plan factors in future tuition costs and when those costs don’t reach predictions, families can receive a refund.

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Loudoun County Guaranteed Income Pilot Program Voted Down

Counting Money

After months of discussion and the adoption of similar programs by some of its neighbors, Loudoun County leadership voted down a guaranteed income pilot program.

In a surprising turn of events, Loudoun County’s Board of Supervisors abandoned the pursuit of a new economic mobility pilot in a 3-5-1 vote. Months earlier, in May, the board had voted 6-2-1 in favor of appropriating $2 million of county fund balance dollars to the program’s development.

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RNC Sues Wisconsin City for Not Hiring Enough GOP Election Inspectors

The Republican National Committee has sued the city of Racine for failing to hire more Republican citizens as election inspectors during the partisan primaries and instead mostly selected volunteers unaffiliated with either of the two major political parties.

RNC Chairman Michael Whatley called the lawsuit a response to “Democrat interference” in a Tuesday press release. The release incorrectly claims the city of Racine “hir[ed] disproportionately more Democrats in the primary election” than Republicans.

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Judge Rules It’s Too Late to Challenge Arizona Open Primary Proposition

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Frank Moskowitz ruled today that a proposition that would establish open primaries in Arizona will have the opportunity to be voted into law by Arizonans, even though almost 40,000 voter signatures have been invalidated.

Even though ballots have already been printed with the proposition on it, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that the superior court look at the evidence of duplicated signatures provided by the Arizona Free Enterprise Club. Special Master Christopher Skelly submitted his report yesterday, showing that 35,478 of the submitted signatures were indeed duplicates.

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158 House Democrats Vote Against Deporting Illegal Immigrant Sex Offenders

The U.S. House passed a bill to deport illegal foreign nationals convicted of domestic violence and sex-related offenses, including sex crimes against children, but not without controversy.

Nearly all Democrats voted against the bill filed by U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, R-SC, the Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act, on Thursday. They attacked the bill before they voted on it; Mace said their remarks were “shameful.”

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Arizona City Scraps Legally Dubious Public Comment Policy

Surprise City Council

The Surprise City Council unanimously scrapped its public comment policy as it faces a lawsuit from a local activist’s removal from a recent meeting.

The rule limited the ability to “lodge charges or complaints against any employee of the City or members of the body” during council meetings public comment period and instead required people to refer their issues to the city manager instead. The motion was introduced by Councilman Jack Hastings, who said on Friday that “people should be able to voice their concerns and criticize their government and elected officials” in an announcement to X on Friday.

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Wisconsin Leaders Push to Prevent Noncitizens from Registering to Vote

Eric Toney

Fond du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney said Wisconsin needs a proper process to check its voter rolls for noncitizens and remove them, ensuring election integrity in the state.

Currently, election commissions cannot check their rolls with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation to ensure an estimated 90,000 individuals who are currently legally in the state, who can get a drivers license, do not register to vote.

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