Category: Elections

Minnesota County Commissioner Candidate Downplays Concerns That Relationship with Moriarty May Pose Conflict of Interest

Admin

Jen Westmoreland, the partner of Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty and newly announced candidate for county commissioner, pledged on Wednesday she would recuse herself from voting on any county board actions that would “personally benefit Mary.”

“My personal relationship does not diminish my dedication to the responsibilities of being your next commissioner,” Westmoreland said. “There are well-established protocols for mitigating conflicts of interest in Hennepin County, and we have already been taking these precautions.”

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Second GOP Presidential Debate Turns Into a Rhetorical Brawl as Candidates Jockey for Position in Trump-Dominated Race

M.D. Kittle

In a second GOP presidential debate that often seemed more like a disorderly reality TV show, the Babylon Bee’s satirical news headline may have best captured the mood of viewers: ‘Mute Button’ Wins GOP Debate.

The seven Republican candidates on stage at Wednesday evening’s gladiator match in Simi Valley’s Ronald Reagan Presidential Library shouted and talked over each other and slung more mud than an Iowa hog farm.

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Shuttered: Democratic Cam-Girl’s Poll Numbers Flatline

Neil W. McCabe

The Democratic House of Delegates candidate and former cam-girl running to represent the 57th District, which includes Henrico County outside of Richmond, facing Republican David Owen, saw her poll numbers collapse after voters learned she posted sex videos online.

“Susanna Gibson is now viewed very unfavorably by voters, 27 percent favorable and 45 percent unfavorable, and is upside down with most demographic groups,” according to the memorandum accompanying the poll of 325 likely general election voters conducted Sept. 19 through Sept. 21 by the polling and predictive analytics firm Cygnal. The poll carries a 5.41 percentage point margin of error.

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Arizona Secretary of State Blames ‘MAGA Fascist Types’ Who ‘Want Our Systems to Crumble’ for High Election Official Turnover

Tom Pappert

Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes (D) blamed “MAGA fascist types” for the high turnover rate of the state’s election officials since 2020, claiming those who support former President Donald Trump “want our systems to crumble” during an interview with KTAR News 92.3 on Wednesday.

Responding to a new report from nonpartisan nonprofit group Issue One, which revealed that 80 percent of Arizona counties have hired new chief election officials since 2020, Fontes blamed Republicans for the high turnover.

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In Disbarment Trial of Trump’s Attorney John Eastman, Berkeley Constitutional Law Professor John Yoo Contradicts California Bar’s Star Witness on the Key Issue

Rachel Alexander

The disbarment trial of Donald Trump’s attorney and constitutional legal scholar John Eastman began its sixth week on Tuesday, featuring more testimony from Berkeley constitutional law professor John Woo. The trial moved into the second half a couple of weeks ago, where Eastman’s team presents his side of the case. His attorney Randy Miller brought Woo back to contradict the testimony of the State Bar of California’s star witness, Matthew Seligman.

California Disciplinary Court Judge Yvette Roland, who donated to Democrats while serving on the bench, appeared to be a bit lost shortly after beginning Tuesday’s proceedings, asking Miller, “We’re in the midst of your case in chief right?” Shortly after that, the California bar’s attorney Duncan Carling told Roland that Yoo never claimed that there were dueling sets of electors in the 2020 election, which she did not remember. 

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Connecticut Lawmakers Press for Absentee Ballot Probe into September Incident

The Center Square

Connecticut lawmakers are calling for an investigation and changes in state election laws following allegations of absentee ballot fraud in a mayoral election.

Following the Sept. 12 primary, John Gomes, a Democrat who challenged incumbent Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim, released video footage showing a woman depositing absentee ballots into a dropbox a week before the election. Gomes lost to Ganim by 251 mail-in or absentee votes despite beating him at the polls, according to the election results.

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Commentary: The Implications of Joe Biden’s Pending Political Demise

Admin

I’ve been saying, at The Spectacle podcast and elsewhere, that I refuse to make any assumptions about the 2024 presidential cycle. And let me offer the further caveat that Republican voters and conservative activists, not to mention current and prospective officeholders who wear that “R” next to their political names, had better pay a whole lot more attention to the structure of next year’s political cycle than to the personalities and candidates involved.

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Trial Wraps Up in Kari Lake’s Lawsuit to View Ballot Signature Affidavits from Maricopa County, Judge Allows None of Her Witnesses or Exhibits

Rachel Alexander

A lawsuit Kari Lake filed over Maricopa County’s refusal to let her use public records law to inspect ballot affidavits, which are signatures from voters on the mail-in envelopes for their ballots, ended after a two-day trial on Monday. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge John Hannah, who was appointed to the bench by Democratic Governor Janet Napolitano, refused to allow any of Lake’s several proposed witnesses to testify or allow any of her exhibits into evidence.

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GOP Presidential Candidates Prepare for Critical Second Debate Without Trump

M.D. Kittle

If Wednesday’s second GOP presidential primary debate proves to be anything like the first, we’re in for a night of political punches and maybe a rhetorical gang fight or two as the candidates look to score points in another Trump-less bout.

With former President Donald Trump skipping the debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, CA, top tier candidates like Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Ohio entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley will try to tell those watching why they’re a better option than the race’s far and away frontrunner — and the rest of the crowded field of Republican candidates.

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Dem-Aligned ‘States Project’ Drops Millions to Change Laws in Swing States

Admin

The States Project, a Democrat-aligned group, spent $60 million across five swing states last year as part of an effort to proliferate liberal policies, The New York Times reported.

The group focuses on getting Democrats elected to state legislatures and aids them once elected in order to get more liberal policies passed, according to its website. The States Project’s is a joint initiative between PAC For America’s Future, which receives funding from George Soros’ Democracy PAC, and Future Now Action, a 501c4 dark money group that does not disclose its donors, according to the organization’s website.

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Gov. Brian Kemp Will Back Trump if Nominated in 2024: ‘A Lot Better Than Biden’ and ‘Can Win Georgia’

Tom Pappert

Governor Brian Kemp (R) said he believes former President Donald Trump “can win Georgia” during an interview last Friday. Kemp added that he would support Trump, should he become the Republican nominee for president, despite the public feud between the men.

Kemp said he is willing to support the former president during the 2024 general election during an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Kemp described Trump as “a lot better than Biden,” adding that those “serving in the administration would be a lot better” than those tapped by the Biden White House.

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Arizona Political Ads Must Now Disclose Top 3 Sources of Funding: Citizens Clean Elections Commission

Tom Pappert

Political advertisements in Arizona must now disclose their top three funding sources, according to a new rule announced last Friday by the Clean Elections Commission (CEC).

New political advertisements placed in Arizona will be required to disclose the top three funding sources used to place the ads, per the new rule. All forms of political advertising, including TV, radio, and printed mailers sent to homes, are included.

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Kyrsten Sinema Lays Out Unorthodox ‘Path to Victory’ in Swing-State Arizona

Admin

Independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona argued her “path to victory” to reclaim her Senate seat in 2024 would be to garner more support from Republicans than Democrats and win the majority of independent voters, according to a donor memo reported by NBC News on Monday.

Sinema has yet to launch a reelection bid, but could face Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego and former Republican gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake, who is inching toward a campaign, in a general election next year. The senator’s memo argues that if she runs for another term, Sinema could secure the seat with  60 percent to 70 percent support from independents, as well as 25 percent to 35 percent of Republicans and 10 percent to 20 percent of Democrats, according to NBC News.

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Democratic Cam-Girl Candidate Calls Her Stalking Episode ‘Murder in Slow Motion’

Neil W. McCabe

On the Blue Virginia campaign blog, Gibson posted a reminiscence, “Susanna Gibson: Stalking Has Been Referred to as Murder in Slow Motion, Which I Can Personally Attest Is True,” recounting how in 2015, the cam-girl was the victim of a stalker.

I caught the interest of a man who I had never met. He began to watch me. Watching my house and observing my schedule as I worked making house calls as a Nurse Practitioner for VCU.

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Washington Post Disavows Its Own Poll Showing Trump Up by 10 Over Biden

Admin

The Washington Post cast doubt on its own poll with ABC that showed former President Trump up by 10 points over his likely rival President Joe Biden in the 2024 presidential contest.

Trump leads Biden 52 percent to 42 percent in a hypothetical general election matchup, according to the Post. The outlet suggested that, given other polling showing a closer race, its own poll is “probably an outlier” and appeared to cast doubt on the sample.

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Poll Showing Biden Leading Trump by 6 Points – if Former President Is Convicted – Has DeSantis Backers Written All Over It

M.D. Kittle

A recent poll showing President Joe Biden ahead of Donald Trump in a 2024 rematch if the former president is convicted of the indictments he’s facing was conducted by the pollster working with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ super PAC.

As in other polls connected to the DeSantis camp, the latest survey does not include basic topline and demographic information.

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State Election Officials Say They Will Defer to the Courts on Removing Trump from 2024 Ballot

Admin

Top election officials in multiple states have said they would defer to the courts on the question of removing former President Donald Trump from the 2024 ballot.

Lawsuits to remove Trump from the ballot under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which bars certain government officials who took an oath to the Constitution and then “engaged in insurrection” from holding office, have been filed in a number of states, including Colorado, Michigan, and Minnesota. Democratic and Republican secretaries of state in places where lawsuits have been filed say this is a question the courts need to weigh in on, according to multiple reports.

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Trial Begins over Maricopa County’s Refusal to Let Kari Lake Examine Ballot Envelope Signatures

Rachel Alexander

A trial began on Thursday over a lawsuit Kari Lake filed against Maricopa County objecting to its refusal to allow her to use public records law to inspect ballot affidavits, which are signatures from voters on the mail-in envelopes for their ballots. A significant portion of Lake’s ongoing election lawsuit alleges that ballots were counted without adequate signature verification. Much of the testimony consisted of going over other ways signatures are public, such as on recorded deeds. 

Lake posted on X, “This is a big day in our fight to restore transparency to Arizona’s elections. Ballot envelopes are legal affidavits. A judge already informed Maricopa County that he is ‘not convinced that the ballot affidavit is a voter registration record.’ He’s right. They contain the same PUBLIC information that people divulge when they sign petitions. There is no privacy exception applicable here. We The People have EVERY right to evaluate the signatures. We are excited to make our case before the court today.”

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Continetti Says Georgia Could Be ‘Most Important State’ in 2024

The Center Square

Georgia is likely “the most important state in American politics” heading into the 2024 election, a leading intellectual historian said.

Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, narrowly defeated Democrat Stacey Abrams in 2018 and decidedly defeated her in a rematch in November to win a second term. He won despite drawing former President Donald Trump’s ire for his response to the 2020 election.

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Far-Left Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice’s Campaign Accused of ‘Smurfing’, or Money Laundering Donations

M.D. Kittle

The Wisconsin Ethics Commission launched an investigation into newly installed Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Janet Protasiewicz’s campaign on allegations of money laundering and fraud.

The investigation, first reported by conservative talk show host Dan O’Donnell of NewsTalk 1130 WISN in Milwaukee, claims the far left justice’s campaign engaged in “smurfing,” using unwitting small-dollar donors to launder substantial cash donations.

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Haley Lays Out Economic ‘Freedom Plan,’ Packed with Promises of Tax Cuts, Entitlement Reform and Regulatory Relief

M.D. Kittle

Declaring that it’s time for Washington to start working for Americans and not the other way around, GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley laid out her economic “Freedom Plan in a speech Friday in New Hampshire.

The former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador is proposing a litany of middle-class tax cuts, regulatory relief and “third rail” entitlement reforms in a proposal she asserts will check communist China aggression through American prosperity.

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We the People AZ’s Lawsuit Against Runbeck for Video Surveillance Compares Runbeck to Cyber Ninjas Being Held Subject to Public Records Requests

Rachel Alexander

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Brad Astrowsky conducted a hearing Wednesday regarding Maricopa County and Runbeck Election Systems’ motions to dismiss a lawsuit filed by We the People AZ Alliance (WPAA). WPAA requested video surveillance from Runbeck showing ballots being transferred to and from Runbeck on Election Day and the day after the 2022 general election. Runbeck refused to turn them over, claiming it was not subject to public records requests as a private entity, so WPAA sued the company.

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Wisconsin Republican Lawmakers Propose Resolution Seeking to Impeach Fired State Elections Administrator

M.D. Kittle

Five Republican state representatives are seeking co-sponsorship on resolution to impeach embattled Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe, who was recently fired by the GOP-controlled state Senate but refuses to leave the post.

“Administrator Meagan Wolfe’s impeachment is warranted due to her maladministration during her tenure as the Administrator of the Wisconsin Elections Commission, as evidenced by the 15 issues outlined in the attached resolution,” states the co-sponsorship memo sent to Assembly members on Thursday.

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DeSantis’ Energy Plan: Midland over Moscow

The Center Square

On Wednesday, Republican presidential candidate Gov. Ron DeSantis announced his energy plan. It includes reversing all Biden administration policies to get gasoline prices at the pump back to $2 a gallon in 2025. 

Gas prices and all other household goods reliant on petroleum have soared to over 40-year highs since President Biden implemented new energy policies in 2021. They include canceling the Keystone Pipeline on his first day in office, halting offshore and onshore lease sales, advancing EPA and other regulatory restrictions solely on U.S. oil and natural gas companies, halting investments in the industry by imposing environmental, social governance policies to restrict lending to U.S. oil and natural gas companies, among other policies. 

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Most Voters Say Virginia Democrat Who Live Streamed Sex Acts for Tips Should Drop Out of Race: Poll

Just the News

Most likely voters say that Susanna Gibson, the Virginia Democrat who live-streamed sex acts with her husband online while asking for tips, should drop out of the House of Delegates race in a highly competitive suburban Richmond district, according to a new survey. 

While 56% likely general election voters say Gibson, a nurse practitioner and mother of two young children, should drop out of the race, just 30% say she should continue and 14% say they are unsure, according to a survey released Wednesday by the political research groups Founders Insight and co/efficient.

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Pennsylvania Special Election Tips State House to the Democrats

Admin

A Democratic candidate has won a special election for a seat in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, retaining the party’s one-seat majority in the chamber.

Lindsay Powell is a Democratic political aide who previously served as an aide to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. On Tuesday, she won a special election to Pennsylvania’s state House District 21, which covers the suburbs of Pittsburgh, by a margin of 29% over Republican candidate Erin Authenreith according to results published by the Pennsylvania Department of State, which gives Democrats 102 seats to the Republicans’ 101.

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Wisconsin Lawmakers Introduce Second Go at Constitutional Amendment to Ban Zuckerbucks in Election Administration

M.D. Kittle

Looking to get around Democrat Governor Tony Evers’ veto pen, Republican lawmakers have introduced the second consideration of a constitutional amendment to bar the use of private funds in election administration.

Passage would send the proposed amendment to referendum, letting voters — not the liberal governor — decide if controversial “Zuckerbucks”-like funding of elections is legal in Wisconsin.

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Trump Plans to Skip Debate and Visit UAW Members in Detroit, Michigan Dems Freak Out

Admin

Say what you will about former President Donald Trump, but he has a knack for ruffling the feathers of the elite while hob-knobbing with the regular folk and making connections.

While the Democrat Party likes to tout itself as the sole savior of the blue-collar worker, it’s the former president who is planning to speak to the rank-and-file in Detroit at an event next week. In fact, Trump plans to skip the second GOP presidential debate on September 27 to do so.

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Arizona Lawsuit to Disqualify Trump from 2024 Ballot Begins October 23

Tom Pappert

A lawsuit aimed at disqualifying former President Donald Trump from the 2024 ballot in Arizona is set to be heard by a federal judge on October 23.

The lawsuit was filed in Arizona federal court by John Anthony Castro, who Arizona’s Family describes as a “long-shot Republican presidential candidate from Texas.” Castro, who claims to be mounting a nationwide write-in campaign, argues that Trump’s alleged role in the civil unrest on January 6, 2021 should preclude him from running for office.

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Burgum Campaign Announces ‘Cutting-Edge’ Voter Contact Effort as the GOP Presidential Long-Shot Looks to Miss Second Debate

M.D. Kittle

The campaign for North Dakota Governor and Republican presidential candidate Doug Burgum said it’s rolling out a “cutting-edge voter contact surge” that will target more “persuadable” voters.

Will it be enough to move the needle for a long-shot candidate on the outside looking in to next week’s second GOP presidential debate?

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Pennsylvania Launches ‘Automatic Voter Registration’ Plan Ahead of 2024

Admin

Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro announced Tuesday that he will implement “automatic voter registration” ahead of the 2024 election.

The governor rolled out his plan on National Voter Registration Day to “streamline” the voter registration process, which he argues will “save taxpayers time and money,” according to an announcement video. Shapiro’s plan will automatically enroll Pennsylvanians in the voting system, unless the individual opts out, when receiving an identification card or driver’s license at the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).

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Kari Lake Files Opening Brief with Arizona Court of Appeals in Election Lawsuit Containing New Evidence and Alleging Crimes

Rachel Alexander

Kari Lake’s appeal of the second dismissal of her lawsuit by the trial court judge is winding its way back up through the courts. Last week, she filed her opening brief with the Arizona Court of Appeals. Much of the brief focused on Maricopa County’s failure to conduct Logic & Accuracy (L&A) testing and the failure to compare voters’ signatures on their mail-in ballot affidavits to the signatures on their voter registrations, both a violation of state law and the state’s Election Procedures Manual (EPM). Violations of the EPM are class 2 misdemeanors.

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Pence Vows to Block Federal Funds for Sex Changes on Children

M.D. Kittle

Former Vice President Mike Pence says if elected president he would block federal funding to healthcare providers who perform and promote surgical or chemical gender reassignments on children.

Pence over the weekend laid out his Putting America’s Families and Values Plan that endorses passage of a 15-week federal limit on abortions, advancing universal school choice, and “ending the war on traditional family values.”

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Commentary: Voter Registration ‘Charities’ Are a Massive, Overlooked Scandal

RealClearWire

“Nonprofit voter registration” doesn’t sound interesting. Yet nonprofit voter registration, or the use of tax-exempt charitable organizations to conduct and fund voter registration drives, is one of the most important and underreported political scandals of our time.

Nonprofit voter registration, and the get-out-the-vote (GOTV) activities that usually accompany it, have become the heart of a billion-dollar industry in America. According to Candid’s Foundation Funding for U.S. Democracy database, since 2011 nearly 60,000 grants have been made for “Voter Education, Registration, and Turnout” and “Civic Participation,” benefitting 15,000 different organizations to the tune of $5.9 billion dollars.

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Arizona Expected to Receive Over $800 Million in 2024 Political Advertising, Most of Any Battleground State

Tom Pappert

Arizona is projected to be the recipient of nearly $1 billion in political advertising during the 2024 cycle, meaning the Grand Canyon State will receive the highest share of spending of any battleground state, and the second highest of any state in the union, should the projections be correct.

The state is expected to see about $821 million in advertising over the 2024 political cycle, according to a new report published by AdImpact. Arizona will receive almost $100 million more than the second highest battleground state, Pennsylvania, which is estimated to receive $725 million.

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Virginia U.S. Rep. Wexton Won’t Seek Reelection Due to Health Battle

The Center Square

Virginia Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton said Monday she will not be seeking reelection, citing health concerns. 

The third-term Democrat previously announced she was battling Parkinson’s Disease and receiving treatments. After further testing amid unresponsive treatment, Wexton disclosed she had been diagnosed with Progressive Supra-nuclear Palsy, type-p. The congresswoman said the disease is characterized as “’Parkinson’s on steroids.’”

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Commentary: Will a Three-Way Race in Arizona Deliver the U.S. Senate to Republicans?

Admin

Of all the low-hanging senatorial fruit in 2024 — see red states with blue senators in West Virginia, Montana, and Ohio, to name three — if not the ripest for conservative pickup, then at least the juiciest might be the three-way contest that is liable to heat up in the Arizona desert.

There, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, Democrat-turned-independent incumbent, if she decides to defend her seat, will face an extreme progressive challenger on the left and, possibly, one of the Trumpiest of Trumpists on the right, Kari Lake, who may find herself in a primary battle with a slightly lesser Trumpist in Blake Masters, who lost the other Senate seat in 2022 to Mark Kelly.

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A Closer Look at Vivek Ramaswamy’s Bold Plan to Take Down the Administrative State

M.D. Kittle

President Calvin Coolidge once said, “unless bureaucracy is constantly resisted it breaks down representative government and overwhelms democracy.”

GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy wants to pick up where old Silent Cal, Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump left off, proposing a plan to halve the size of the federal administrative state in his first year in office — should he be elected.

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Kinder, Gentler Iowa Cattle Call of GOP Presidential Hopefuls Sees Ramaswamy, DeSantis, Haley Generate Most Buzz

M.D. Kittle

The latest cattle call of GOP presidential contestants — sans former President Donald Trump — mainly maintained Iowa nice, a departure from last month’s first fiery primary debate and a similar Christian conservative event in July hosted by conservative talk show host lightning rod Tucker Carlson.

The 10 presidential candidates who appeared at Saturday’s Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition’s Annual Fall Banquet and Presidential Town Hall took relatively few direct shots at their rivals.

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Swing State Poll Results Could Spell Big Trouble for Joe Biden

Admin

Former President Donald Trump appears to have an advantage against President Joe Biden in 2024 among key battleground states in the 2020 election, according to a Friday poll.

The states that had the narrowest margin of victory for either candidate last cycle were Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, with Biden winning all but North Carolina. Across those key swing states, Trump is ahead of Biden 41% to 35%, and 24% of voters remain undecided, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.

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