NationalWatch

A top federal prosecutor in California said federal investigators have determined that all 20,000 people they flagged on the state’s voter rolls as “likely noncitizens” are not U.S. citizens.

Bill Essayli, the first assistant U.S. attorney for California’s Central District, told Fox News Digital that federal investigators have evidence that these 20,000 individuals received mail ballots this month. His office sued California last week seeking a court order to prevent any ballots they return from being counted.

“We’re not asking California to take any drastic steps other than to sequester the ballots from the suspected noncitizens,” Essayli said in an interview on Wednesday. “We believe it’s at a minimum of 20,000. That’s the floor.”

The potential ceiling, he said, is much larger. Essayli referenced a letter Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin sent to California in July that flagged nearly 200,000 voters as possible noncitizens.

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Since then, federal investigators have been sifting through those records to identify people they believe they can verify as noncitizens.

He said 20,000 is only the current tally and expects thousands more names to be added in the coming days.

Earlier this week, Essayli got into a social media spat with Gov. Gavin Newsom over the state’s safeguards against noncitizen voting.

Essayli argued that California is allowing people without citizenship onto the voter rolls through its supposedly lax verification processes, while Newsom said the state follows all relevant federal law governing the integrity of elections.

In court filings, California election officials have pushed back against the Justice Department’s demands, arguing that county election offices lack both the authority and access to federal records needed to verify voters’ citizenship status.

They have also said that sequestering ballots from people on the DOJ list is impossible in cases where the ballots have already been processed. Once a ballot’s signature is verified, it is removed from its identifying envelope and processed alongside other ballots, meaning it can no longer be traced back to an individual voter.

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“That is true. That’s why we’re getting an emergency court order requiring them to put those ballots aside,” Essayli said. “Ballots have already gone out, people are filling them out and they’re being returned in process as we speak. So, the crime is occurring in real time.”

The DOJ escalated its push for immediate court intervention Wednesday, asking the judge to rule on its emergency request by noon Thursday. In Los Angeles County alone, officials have already processed 331,000 ballots, according to court records.

Essayli’s office filed suit on Oct. 15, roughly two weeks after California sent out mail ballots, including to the possible noncitizens on the DOJ list, according to the federal government.

When asked why the Justice Department didn’t act sooner, Essayli explained that investigators did not know exactly which voters would receive ballots until they were sent.

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He said California should cooperate with the federal government to expedite the process of verifying voters’ citizenship.

That would involve providing additional identifying information, including driver’s license numbers and Social Security numbers when available, that federal investigators could cross-check against government databases.

California and dozens of other states treat this information as confidential and have refused to turn it over to the federal government, prompting the DOJ to take several of them to court.

In a separate lawsuit from Sept. 2025, the DOJ tried to compel California to provide its complete, unredacted voter-registration database, including names, Social Security numbers, home addresses and voting histories.

In January, a district court sided with California and dismissed the case, calling the government’s request “unprecedented and illegal.” The DOJ appealed the ruling and litigation is ongoing.

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“If California will make available or submit its records, we can quickly put them through our established systems to determine who’s a citizen and who’s not,” Essayli told Fox News Digital. “They’re forcing us to do it the hard way, which we’re willing to do because this is very important.”

He said every person on the current 20,000-name list was individually reviewed by a federal employee at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and Homeland Security Investigations.

California officials, however, have questioned the reliability of the DOJ list.

Monica Flores, an assistant registrar-recorder in Los Angeles County, said in a court declaration that her office conducted a preliminary review of a sample of 200 records from the list that were associated with LA County addresses.

Of those, 112 corresponded to canceled or inactive voter registrations, meaning no ballot was mailed to those individuals for the November election, Flores said.

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“I don’t believe that, actually,” Essayli said. “The information we have is that they likely received ballots. So we are asking for the names of people they claim whose registration has been canceled.”

Essayli added LA County did not say when these registrations were canceled. He raised the possibility at least some were canceled after federal officials provided the state with their list.

“If they’re canceling now based on the records we provided, that’s great news,” Essayli said. “But that’s all to be determined.”

In the 200-person sample reviewed by LA County, Flores said that among records where birthplace was “meaningfully reported,” 38.9% indicated the person was born in the United States, which she called “strong evidence of citizenship.”

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Essayli similarly disputed this conclusion, arguing that the birthplace information — much like the citizenship information itself — was provided by the registered voters themselves.

“They’re not independently checking any of this information,” Essayli said. “They’re going off the information that was provided to them by the person who registered to vote.”

The California Secretary of State’s office and the LA County Registrar-Recorder’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.

Essayli said that his office is determined to follow through with its investigation because “one noncitizen voting is too many.”

“One illegal vote cancels out the vote of an American citizen. There are a lot of local elections that are decided on very few votes,” he said. “Noncitizens cannot vote in federal elections, and we intend to enforce that law.”

A Biden-appointed federal judge in California ruled Wednesday that the Department of Homeland Security must halt certain investigations into suspected illegal voting, citing concerns over voter intimidation.

U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín, the jurist in question, was born in Mexico and nominated to the federal bench by President Joe Biden in 2022. Before becoming a federal judge, Martínez-Olguín spent about six years at the American Civil Liberties Union, a progressive civil rights organization, where she worked on women’s and immigrants’ rights issues.

The activist groups suing DHS “demonstrate[d] that they are likely to succeed in their claim that Defendants have run afoul of the Voting Rights Act’s prohibition of intimidating voter assistance and mobilization,” according to Martínez-Olguín.

DOJ OFFICIAL DEFENDS TRUMP’S NONCITIZEN VOTER PROBE ON ’60 MINUTES,’ ACCUSES SHOW OF EDITING OUT HER ANSWERS

The public’s “interests in safe elections, free from interference or intimidation, far exceed (the government’s) purported interest in combating unlawful voting by non-U.S. citizens,” she added.

The Trump administration, meanwhile, maintained that noncitizen voting in federal elections is a crime and that DHS has statutory authority to investigate suspected violations. Martínez-Olguín did not find investigating noncitizen voting as itself unlawful, but instead argued that DHS’ methods likely violate the law as it used unreliable source data and sent armed agents to homes to conduct interviews, which could constitute intimidation.

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Lawyers representing the federal government conceded that some American citizens may have been looked at in connection with DHS’ investigations, but contended that in-person interviews were “expressly designed to resolve the discrepancies.”

Noncitizen voting is rare, but cases of illegal voting have been documented. News broke earlier this year, for example, that New Jersey erroneously placed over 6,000 non-citizens on its voter rolls. The Justice Department announced charges against 16 individuals in September, including noncitizens accused of voting illegally in federal elections, and brought additional election-related charges in October.

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Martínez-Olguín’s order blocks DHS from carrying out certain field investigations into suspected illegal voting involving U.S. citizens in California, Connecticut, Georgia, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington and Wisconsin. Several of those states are led by Democrats who have opposed the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement policies, and some face high-profile elections in November.

Cracking down on illegal voting has been a priority for the second Trump administration, though it has yet to produce evidence of widespread noncitizen voting.

The judge delayed enforcement of her order until Friday, giving the Trump administration time to appeal, and set the restrictions to expire on Election Day unless otherwise ordered.

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“DHS is laser focused on identifying, prosecuting, and removing aliens who vote and dilute the votes of U.S. citizens. ONLY Americans should elect American leaders,” a spokesperson for the department told Fox News Digital. “We have no plans to question or investigate people we believe to be U.S. citizens.”

MANCHESTER, N.H. – Former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt says she is helping President Donald Trump choose his next press secretary after his first pick for the job lasted just five days.

“I’ve offered my help to the president to help him select someone who can serve him and the country well,” Leavitt said Wednesday evening in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital.

Leavitt served as Trump’s press secretary from the start of the president’s second term until Aug. 27, when she stepped down from the demanding role to spend more time with her two young children, including a daughter who was born in May.

Her successor, political commentator Katie Zacharia, took over earlier this month, but lasted just five days in the role, making her the shortest-serving White House press secretary in U.S. history.

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“White House press secretary is a tough job. I know that because I did it, obviously for almost two years, and many people say it’s one of the hardest jobs in politics,” Leavitt emphasized.

She noted that the job “takes a lot of preparation and sometimes you don’t know how someone will perform until they go out there.”

“We wish Katie the best. The job obviously was not for her, but we wish her and her family well,” Leavitt added.

When it comes to whom Trump will choose next for the position, Leavitt said the president “is continuing to look over options. There’s a lot of people who want that job. It’s an amazing job. It provides you with incredible opportunities.”

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Asked what advice she’s offered to Trump, Leavitt said, “I’ll keep my private counsel to the president private, but I do obviously talk to him about what the job entails, and he knows it very well.”

“Nobody understands the press better than Donald Trump. He knows he needs someone who is tough, who is smart, who understands his policies, who is loyal, and who can go out there and put up a fight,” she added.

Leavitt, a New Hampshire native, served as an intern in the Trump White House after graduating from Saint Anselm College in 2019. She later became an assistant White House press secretary at the end of Trump’s first term.

After Trump’s defeat in the 2020 presidential election, Leavitt worked as communications director for Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York. She then served as spokeswoman for the Trump-aligned super PAC MAGA Inc. before taking over as press secretary for Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign.

After being named White House press secretary following the 2024 election, Leavitt made history as the youngest person ever in the role.

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Leavitt also ran for Congress in 2022, winning a heavily contested GOP nomination in New Hampshire’s 1st District before losing the general election to incumbent Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas.

Asked if she might make another run for public office in her home state when Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan is up for re-election in 2028, Leavitt quickly said, “No, I’m all set. I don’t have any plans to run for office in the near future at all, or in the future at all.”

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“I am home with my family, and we’re really excited about that,” she explained. “Right now I’m really focused on being a wife and a mother to my two very young children. That’s why I made the decision to leave Washington. So we’re just happy to be home and enjoying the ride.”

Leavitt officially becomes a Fox News contributor at the start of November.

FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) is facing an ethics complaint filed to the United States Senate over comments she made earlier this month that many characterized as a “threat” to conservatives who are thinking about working for the Trump administration.

During an Oct. 13 University of Chicago event, Slotkin drew criticism after a clip went viral showing her saying she wants to pursue “signature cases” against people who “enabled” President Donald Trump and push a “deterrence message” for young people.

“I want young people coming out of school to say, ‘Should I go work for the Trump administration? Like, that sounds fun, I might get an opportunity.’ I want them to be like, ‘Lord, that might be buying myself a ton of problems that I don’t want, and so let me avoid participating in that,’” she said. “I want that deterrence message sent,” Slotkin said.

Slotkin is now facing an ethics complaint filed Thursday by Michael Bicksel, a University of Chicago student who first reported her remarks. The complaint was submitted to the Senate Select Committee on Ethics and argues that Slotkin proposed using congressional investigations and potential prosecutions to frighten young people away from serving in a Republican administration.

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“Recently at an event at my college, the University of Chicago, Senator Slotkin laid out a legislative-oversight agenda that involved using the legal process to terrorize members of the Trump administration in order to ‘deter’ young people from going to work for it,” Bicksel wrote.

The complaint asks the committee to determine whether Slotkin’s comments amounted to “improper conduct which may reflect upon the Senate,” a standard described in the Senate Ethics Manual as applying to conduct that may be unethical even if it does not violate a specific law or Senate rule.

“As a college student and a conservative, this was a shocking thing to hear,” Bicksel’s complaint reads. “A prominent U.S. Senator came to my college and laid out a goal that I and my peers should be afraid to serve our country in the executive branch. This is well below the standard of conduct expected of a U.S. Senator and deserves investigation by the Senate Select Committee on Ethics and appropriate subsequent disciplinary action.”

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Bicksel argued that Slotkin’s comments were directed at students considering government service, rather than exclusively at people who commit crimes or engage in unethical conduct.

“The substance of the ‘deterrence message’ is clear as day,” Bicksel wrote. “Her target was ‘young people coming out of school’ (like me and my classmates) who are debating whether they should ‘go work for the Trump administration.’”

“We are obviously not debating—as she subsequently tried to clarify—whether to go commit crimes or behave unethically,” he continued. “Those who commit crimes should be punished for doing so. No one disagrees with that. All we are debating is public service, pure and simple, and Senator Slotkin says we should think twice about doing so because it might provoke the full power of the United States Senate.”

Slotkin, when pressed on the response to her comment on CNN, referred to the controversy as “manufactured outrage.”

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“I think the thing that I’ve heard from my own Republican colleagues and peers, including interns and folks who work around the Hill who come to our events, they’ll tell you, ‘I was worried,” Slotkin added. “My parents were worried, you know. It’s really messy. I’m not sure what to get involved in.’ Politics, in general, has become messy.”

The Justice Department is currently facing calls to investigate Slotkin over her remarks, Washington Examiner reported on Wednesday.

Slotkin’s communication director pointed Fox News Digital to a statement made by the senator on Tuesday when reached for comment.

“Now, if you take a breath, this is all pretty crazy. A president from the Oval office is weaponizing our justice system against an American who clearly gets under his skin. And if he can do it to me, he can do it to anyone,” Slotkin said. “His supporters use a coordinated play to threaten, intimidate, and silence anyone who speaks up. It’s a play to distract us from his failed economy, high gas prices, and the disastrous war he started with Iran. But if I’ve learned one thing from this past year, it’s that you have to push back.”

FIRST ON FOX: A federal judge appointed by former President Barack Obama is being accused of “misconduct” in a case involving President Donald Trump.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, is demanding an investigation into U.S. Judge Kathleen Williams of the Southern District of Florida after she sanctioned Trump’s lawyers over his case against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Jordan wrote to the Judicial Conference of the United States that “there is evidence that Judge Williams abused her judicial authority and violated fundamental tenets of judicial impartiality in connection with an unusual and unsupported order that imposed sanctions after the plaintiffs voluntarily had dismissed the underlying action.”

The letter is being co-led by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., chairman of the panel’s subcommittee on courts.

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Trump, his adult sons Eric and Donald Jr., and the Trump Organization filed a lawsuit against the IRS in early 2026 seeking $10 billion in damages after a contractor with the agency leaked the president’s tax returns to the press. The contractor, Charles Littlejohn, was sentenced to five years in federal prison.

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Trump, who filed the lawsuit in his personal capacity, had it voluntarily dismissed in May. Shortly after, however, the administration announced a settlement agreement that included $1.776 billion for an “anti-weaponization fund” for victims of “lawfare” by the Biden administration. Trump himself would receive no compensation, but would get a formal apology from the federal government and bar the IRS from ever auditing Trump or his family.

Williams, however, then accused the plaintiffs of purposely manipulating the courts to achieve the settlement and sanctioned two of the president’s lawyers in a July order. Her order referred lawyer Alejandro Brito to the Florida bar for potential disciplinary action and prevented lawyer Daniel Epstein from practicing under her jurisdiction for at least a year.

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Jordan’s letter called the timing of Williams’ order “suspect” for coming after the case was voluntarily withdrawn.

He also accused Williams of basing the action on an amicus brief submitted by left-wing judicial activist group Democracy Defenders Action. The brief, which the group said was submitted on behalf of 35 former federal judges, called on Williams to reopen the case despite the dismissal by the involved parties and accused both sides of “fraud” over the settlement.

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“Judge Williams issued her July 13 order after the plaintiffs filed a notice of voluntary dismissal of the case, ending the dispute between the parties,” Jordan and Issa wrote. “Although Judge Williams invoked the court’s inherent authority to impose sanctions, the Committee is not aware of Eleventh Circuit precedent applying inherent sanctions authority after a plaintiff has voluntarily dismissed a case based on briefing by partisan nonparties on an unrelated question the court never decided.”

They concluded, “Judge Williams’s conduct risks undermining public confidence in the federal courts. Accordingly, we respectfully ask that the Judicial Conference review this matter, including whether it warrants referral to the Judicial Council of the Eleventh Circuit or other appropriate action, and that you inform the Committee of steps taken no later than 5:00 p.m. on November 5, 2026.”

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Issa told Fox News Digital in his own statement, “The rogue federal judges who make up the Trump Resistance in Robes continue to disappoint but never surprise. Judge Williams hasn’t only shown her liberal contempt for President Trump — but crossed a bright ethical line by going after his attorneys.”

Trump allies, particularly in Congress, have clashed with federal judges on multiple fronts so far this term. Republicans have accused what they call “activist judges” of weaponizing their courts to block Trump’s agenda.

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Democrats, meanwhile, backed up Williams’ skepticism of Trump’s settlement. The anti-weaponization fund proposal, which has since been blocked by other courts, has received bipartisan pushback.

Former Rep. Mike Rogers and his Democratic opponent, Abdul El-Sayed, tore into each other at their second Michigan Senate debate Wednesday evening.

Rogers, a former FBI special agent and the Republican U.S. Senate candidate, clashed with El-Sayed over the personal barbs, accusations and fierce divides that have defined one of the country’s most anticipated Senate elections.

Here are some of the most noteworthy moments from the fiery faceoff.

El-Sayed accuses Rogers of backing Trump’s war with Iran

As evidence of Rogers’ alignment with President Donald Trump, El-Sayed accused him of backing the war in Iran, a conflict El-Sayed himself described as “aimless.”

“He’s got a war for everything, and he won’t back off the war now. He supports this war,” El-Sayed said.

“If you don’t believe me, I want you to pay attention. On Sunday, when Donald Trump comes here at the invitation of Mike Rogers to remind you that, in fact, Donald Trump is on the ballot through Mike Rogers. They are hip to hip on this war, and you are paying the cost,” he added, referring to one of Rogers’ upcoming campaign events.

Rogers quickly fired back, reiterating a moment from their first debate when El-Sayed refused to answer whether Israel or Iran posed a greater threat to the U.S.

“My opponent can’t even condemn the [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps], which is the terrorist enforcement arm of Iran, and doesn’t believe Iran is any more dangerous than Israel. This is an absolute nonstarter,” Rogers said.

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Rogers sparks explosive moment with resurfaced Muslim Brotherhood accusations

At one point during the debate, Rogers accused El-Sayed of deleting social media content about defunding the police, a progressive stance that circulated among far-left Democrats in 2020 after the death of George Floyd.

“I will tell you this: he did call for defunding the police … [and] he deleted all of this material. Why would you do that? Why would you go through and take all of that time to delete all of the material? X videos, comments, podcast. Why? Because he was passionate about defunding the police,” Rogers said.

“As a matter of fact, he asked the Muslim Brotherhood head, Morsi, in Egypt to defund the police there, too,” Rogers added, referring to the former Egyptian president associated with the group.

The last remark triggered a fierce reaction from El-Sayed, who has fended off questions about ties to the Muslim Brotherhood throughout his campaign.

“He keeps raising this question about this association with the organization,” El-Sayed said. “It’s really quite beneath you.”

Although Fox News Digital has not discovered any links between El-Sayed and the Muslim Brotherhood, critics have pointed to El-Sayed’s ties to the Muslim Students Association (MSA), a group listed as part of a strategy memorandum for North America written by one of the Muslim Brotherhood’s members, Mohamed Akram.

El-Sayed served as the vice president of the MSA chapter at the University of Michigan during his time there as a senior in 2007, according to College Fix.

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Rogers blasts hidden costs of expanding government promises

Throughout the night, El-Sayed doubled down on promises to expand government programs like Medicaid and measures to “put money in your pocket,” a refrain that has been a cornerstone of his campaign.

But Rogers made sure to cast doubt on those commitments, arguing that the policies would carry with them a heftier price tag than the Democratic nominee would acknowledge.

“So think of all of the three things he just talked about. Put money in your pockets. It’s a great slogan. There’s nothing behind it. Matter of fact, when his Democratic socialist-aligned policies are engaged, you’ll be lucky to have a damn pair of pants when you’re done,” Rogers said.

“Medicare for All. He doesn’t tell you how much taxes you have to get charged, and you lose your private health insurance. These aren’t real solutions. These are solutions that are going to make your life more miserable. And it’s going to take away your choices in healthcare.”

Rogers claims El-Sayed said ‘quiet part out loud’ on AI regulation

When asked about AI regulation, Abdul El-Sayed briefly mentioned he would support having “democratically appointed folks on the board of these AI corporations,” citing what he described as an existential threat to the workforce.

Rogers seized on the moment, accusing El-Sayed of verbalizing a desire to exercise public control of private companies.

“He said the quiet part out loud,” Rogers said.

“He wants government to go into these businesses. That is the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). [They] come in for your business and your future. And so, you need to really stop for a minute and think about, do you want somebody who wants the government involved in these companies?” Rogers added.

Notably, Abdul El-Sayed has not officially received an endorsement from the DSA, nor has he affirmed the group’s platform. Even so, he has endorsed and received endorsements from a number of candidates who have received the DSA’s backing. Among them, El-Sayed supported New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a self-proclaimed socialist, in his bid for office last year.

ROGERS WARNS MICHIGAN VOTERS AGAINST EL-SAYED’S ‘EXTREME’ AGENDA AHEAD OF ELECTION

El-Sayed gets heat in rapid-fire round over Second Amendment

At the close of the debate, Rogers fired back at El-Sayed when the Democratic candidate needled him for refusing to answer yes or no to a question about implementing universal background checks for gun purchases.

“It all depends. It all depends,” Rogers said.

“It’s not hard. Look at that. So dependable,” El-Sayed quipped.

Rogers fired back, noting that El-Sayed had once called for doing away with the Second Amendment in comments he had made before he launched his Senate bid.

“You want to ban the Second Amendment. Why don’t you talk about that?”

Rogers was alluding to a video published on YouTube in 2023 in which El-Sayed had compared the right to bear arms to a right to healthcare.

“What if we tweaked the Constitution, amended the amendment, and instead of the right to bear arms, we change it to the right to have healthcare?” El-Sayed said.

He claimed altruism in the proposal, saying more people would live and arguing against individuals owning firearms, instead suggesting that only designated community-based groups like police forces should be issued firearms.

The video has since been made private.

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With their second debate now in the rearview mirror, El-Sayed and Rogers have closed out their scheduled debates and are unlikely to meet again until after the election. Having cleared their respective primaries and secured their parties’ nominations, the pair will face off in Michigan’s general election on Nov. 3.

After the debate, MIGOP Chairman Jim Runestad said in a statement to Fox News Digital: “Mike Rogers demonstrated yet again why he is the commonsense, steady hand Michiganders want to see in the U.S. Senate. We cannot afford Abdul El-Sayed’s far-left, big-government policies, and we cannot risk electing a person who campaigns with the likes of Hasan Piker and seemingly justified the horrific terrorist attack targeting children and the Jewish community in Bloomfield Hills.”

As violent riots grip France, British political leader Nigel Farage warned Americans against repeating what he described as Europe’s mass immigration failures, arguing that years of unchecked migration have transformed European cities and fueled unrest that could eventually spread elsewhere.

“People like me who were warning about this years ago have sadly been proven right, but the problems are gonna be here for a very, very long time,” Farage told Fox News Digital in an interview. “Please, please don’t make the same level of mistakes that we have,” he said in his message to Americans.

Violent riots have erupted across parts of Europe in recent weeks, particularly in France, with Farage pointing to years of mass migration and failed political leadership as key factors fueling the unrest. The Reform UK leader singled out Emmanuel Macron, arguing that the French president should have mobilized the military to confront the violence, after education protests spiraled into riots, destruction and theft.

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“Macron was asleep at the wheel, and it isn’t just that he was at a concert,” Farage said. “And whilst the French do have effective police forces, the scale of the uprising, I mean the mass looting, the mass looting and violence that took place in Paris was genuinely horrendous.”

“Meloni’s reaction was swifter and a better sign of leadership,” Farage said, referring to the Italian leader deploying 500 military troops to Milan in response to recent riots. “But the problem is, for people like Macron, who have always said, any criticism of immigration, whether legal or illegal, makes you racist, they psychologically find it hard to face up to their own failures of policy.”

Farage warned that the unrest he described in France and elsewhere in Europe could eventually erupt in Britain, pointing to demonstrations in London and questioning whether British leaders would respond more forcefully than Macron.

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“You know, my real worry is they can happen in this country too,” Farage said. “We’ve got the same hard left here. We’ve the same hate mobs that march, chanting in the streets of London, from the river to the sea.”

“I’m concerned that these things could happen here. And I wonder whether a British prime minister has got any more courage than President Macron in France,” he added.

Farage contrasted Europe’s failure to control its borders with President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown in the United States.

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“Look, whatever you think of President Trump’s current policies, one thing he has done, and he promised he’d do. He’s closed the southern border,” Farage said.

Trump vowed Tuesday to treat potential rioters in the U.S. “very rough,” pointing to the unrest in France, he said at a rally in Greenville, North Carolina, before being interrupted by a protestor in the crowd.

“They’re crazy, these people. Look at that guy. He’s a nutjob,” Trump said, in reference to the protester.

He warned that he would crack down on potential threats, saying he would not allow similar unrest to take hold in the U.S.

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“That’s what you witness over the last three or four days. You watch nutjobs like him in France ruining their country,” Trump said. “We’re not going to put up with it by the way.”

“If a possible threat, which could happen, I hope you won’t get angry if I treat them very, very rough, because that’s what’s going to happen. They’re not going to destroy our country,” he said.

On Tuesday, British counterterrorism police rearrested two men suspected of assisting Iranian intelligence in an alleged plot targeting RAF Fairford, a U.K. base used by U.S. bombers.

Authorities say Iranian state involvement is “highly likely,” though no charges have been filed.

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Farage said he has foreshadowed such criminal acts, alleging that Iran has exploited illegal crossings of the English Channel to move operatives into Britain.

“I’ve called again and again for this to be declared a national security emergency. I have been ignored. If the Americans removing their bombers from RAF Fairford isn’t enough warning. I don’t know what is,” he said.

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“We’ve just become so caught up over here in Europe and Britain with this human rights culture, which puts the interests, frankly, of the bad guys above the interests of the majority.”

House Democrats’ No. 3 leader is under fire for his opposition to voter ID in his home state of California.

House Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., spoke at a press conference earlier this month criticizing a measure on Californians’ ballot this Election Day that, if passed, would mandate that voters show government-issued photo ID at the polls.

He made the comments just weeks before the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a crime bust that saw several U.S. permanent residents accused of registering to vote despite not being citizens.

MAP IT: DOJ ILLEGAL VOTING CRACKDOWN SWEEPS 17 STATES AS RAZOR-THIN ELECTIONS FACE SCRUTINY

Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Calif., hammered Aguilar’s opposition to voter ID and argued the DOJ’s recent actions made it “obvious” that the ballot measure, called Proposition 39, was needed.

“Give me a break,” Calvert told Fox News Digital. “You have to show an ID to board an airplane, cash a paycheck, rent an apartment or even buy cold medicine at the grocery store. Democrats claiming that requiring photo ID before casting a ballot is somehow ‘racist’ or ‘voter suppression’ is complete nonsense and an insult to every voter’s intelligence.”

NEW YORK CITY’S LONE REPUBLICAN IN CONGRESS ACCUSES MAMDANI, SCHUMER OF ‘HYPOCRISY’ IN VOTER ID FIGHT

Rep. Vince Fong, R-Calif., said voter ID “is basic election security that the vast majority of Americans support, and 36 states already require.”

“While opponents are resorting to lies and fearmongering, Proposition 39 is commonsense reform in a world where you need an ID to rent a car, stay at a hotel, open a bank account or board a flight,” Fong told Fox News Digital. “The DOJ’s recent voter fraud bust in California is exactly why these safeguards matter.”

Rep. Young Kim, R-Calif., similarly said showing photo ID is a “simple standard we already require to board a plane, purchase alcohol or pick up a prescription.”

“This isn’t controversial and it shouldn’t be complicated. Our elections deserve at least as much consideration as a beer or a bottle of wine,” Kim told Fox News Digital.

Aguilar, meanwhile, criticized Proposition 39 during a press conference with Democratic gubernatorial candidate and former Biden administration Cabinet Secretary Xavier Becerra earlier this month.

“We will not stand for this, because we will not stand for people to lose an opportunity to exercise their ability to vote. In Arizona, they tried this. They wanted folks to put their driver’s license numbers on their ballots. Think about that. What if you miss one digit? Your vote doesn’t count?” Aguilar proposed. “What if you’re married in California? What if you’re married, and you haven’t changed your name and you go to vote? No longer will you be able to vote. That is what is at stake for Californians.”

SCHUMER SAID ‘DEMOCRATS SUPPORT VOTER ID’ – THEN EVERY SENATE DEMOCRAT VOTED AGAINST GOP BILL

He called it a “voter suppression effort” pushed by Republicans.

“Republicans can win only when they suppress the vote. Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans know that they are bankrupt of ideas and solutions, and so they have to change the rules of the game,” Aguilar said.

NEWSOM SPARS WITH TRUMP-APPOINTED PROSECUTOR OVER 20,000 SUSPECTED NONCITIZENS ON VOTER ROLLS

Meanwhile, the California government criticized the DOJ’s operation while pointing to reports that said more of those charged were registered as Republicans rather than Democrats.

“For nearly a decade, Trump has baselessly alleged mass voter fraud rings were employed by Democrats and utilized ‘illegal immigrants’ to sway elections across the country – often pointing to California,” a release on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s state website read. “Courts at all levels have rejected the claims of vast voter fraud or that elections were rigged against the President.”

Voter ID laws currently exist in 36 states and polls have shown they have a majority of Americans’ support.

But in Congress, several efforts to pass federal voter ID legislation have been thwarted by Democrats in recent years.

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Fox News Digital reached out to Aguilar’s campaign for a response to his GOP House colleagues’ comments.

Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., and Democratic challenger Adam Hamilton sparred over President Donald Trump, immigration, Iran, transgender athletes, artificial intelligence and personal controversies during a contentious Kansas Senate debate Wednesday night.

The hour-long showdown came less than two weeks before Election Day as Marshall seeks a second term and Hamilton, a longtime pastor, tries to become the first Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate from Kansas since 1932.

The race has drawn increased national attention as Republicans and Democrats battle for control of the Senate, with Trump traveling to Kansas earlier this week to campaign for Marshall – a topic touched on during the debate.

Here are five moments that stood out from Wednesday night’s debate.

SLEEPER SENATE RACE EMERGES AS UNEXPECTED HEADACHE FOR REPUBLICANS AHEAD OF MIDTERMS

Debate opens with candidates confronted over personal controversies

The debate wasted little time getting contentious, opening with questions about controversies that have fueled attacks against both candidates.

Marshall was confronted with a New York Times review that found his former medical practice sued more than 700 patients over unpaid bills.

“Every year we gave away $3 to $4 million of charity, but we also had a business,” Marshall responded. “We had 300 employees, we had a mortgage payment, we had electric.”

Hamilton, meanwhile, was questioned about his handling of allegations involving a volunteer at his church’s summer camp who was accused of sexual abuse.

Hamilton acknowledged that he should have ensured the individual did not return to the camp following an initial investigation.

FROM ‘THIRD REICH’ TO ‘NOT THAT INFORMED’: SENATE DEBATES DELIVER FIREWORKS BEFORE MIDTERMS

“I should have checked to make sure that he wasn’t going back,” Hamilton said. “That was a mistake on my part.”

Marshall says ‘President Trump is not always right’

Trump became part of the debate after moderators played footage from the president’s campaign appearance for Marshall in Kansas earlier in the week.

“And at this election, I’m asking you to pretend, please, that I’m on the ballot. Just pretend,” Trump told the crowd.

Marshall was then asked whether Trump’s support meant Kansans should expect him to back every part of the president’s agenda.

“No,” Marshall responded, saying there had been “multiple times” when he objected to Trump.

Pressed to identify a specific disagreement, Marshall pointed to recent immigration enforcement in southwest Kansas and Trump’s approach to beef imports.

“Just like with my wife, I can disagree with her. My wife is always right,” Marshall joked. “And President Trump is not always right.”

Marshall nevertheless urged Trump voters to turn out for him, arguing that electing Hamilton could help Democrats capture the Senate.

Both candidates say there are ‘two genders’

The two rivals found themselves in agreement when the moderator asked each candidate how many genders there are.

“There’s two. There’s a boy and there’s a girl,” Marshall said. “I delivered 5,000 of them and almost half were boys and half were girls.”

“There are two genders, male and female,” Hamilton responded.

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The candidates then turned to the debate over transgender participation in women’s sports.

Hamilton said decisions over athletic eligibility should generally be made locally but was unequivocal about whether biological males should compete against females.

“I have a 12-year-old granddaughter. I don’t want biological men or boys competing against her that could harm her,” Hamilton said. “It’s not a fair, fair fight.”

Marshall argued that by high school, “boys need to be in boys sports, girls in girls sports,” while accusing national Democrats of pushing “transgender ideology.”

Hamilton later accused Marshall of using the issue to “pick on” and “bully” people.

Hamilton calls AI an ‘existential threat’ — but can’t name regulations he’d support

Hamilton called for greater federal oversight of artificial intelligence and compared the emerging technology to the development of nuclear power and nuclear weapons.

“We developed a Nuclear Regulatory Commission. We need to do the same thing with AI,” Hamilton said.

But when the moderator pressed him to identify specific federal regulations he would support, Hamilton acknowledged he did not yet have an answer.

“You know what? I’m not sure, to be honest,” Hamilton said, arguing that even experts are struggling to understand the technology’s potential dangers.

Marshall advocated a “light touch” approach focused on national security, transparency, protecting children and privacy, while slamming a one-size-fits-all global order for artificial intelligence advancement.

Hamilton pushed back sharply.

“This is an existential – potential existential threat to the human race,” Hamilton said. “We can’t just go with a light touch and hope everybody does their best.”

BIDEN CONSPICUOUSLY ABSENT FROM CAMPAIGN TRAIL AS OBAMA, HARRIS STEP UP FOR MIDTERM PUSH

Hamilton calls Biden’s border policies a ‘disaster’

Hamilton sought to put distance between himself and former President Joe Biden when moderators challenged the Democrat over his claim that he would “lead from the middle.”

The moderator pointed to Hamilton’s past donations to Democrats, including Biden, former Vice President Kamala Harris and Rep. Sharice Davids, D-Kan., before asking him to identify a progressive policy he opposed.

“The Biden policies when it came to the border were a disaster,” Hamilton responded. “I believe in strong and secure borders.”

“I’m not somebody who favors the Socialist Party,” Hamilton added. “I’m somebody who stands in the middle.”

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Hamilton also reiterated during the debate that he would not support Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer for majority leader if Democrats capture control of the chamber.

WICHITA, Kan. — Voters at President Donald Trump’s Kansas rally said the cost of living remains a major concern, but many feared Democratic control of Congress even more.

This midterm election cycle features six Republican-controlled Senate seats that are considered toss-ups, including Kansas Republican Sen. Roger Marshall’s contest against Democrat Adam Hamilton. That race has become an unexpected challenge for Republicans in their quest to keep control of the Senate.

And voters who lined up to get a chance to see Trump in Wichita told Fox News Digital that they recognized the stakes, particularly the effect Democrats flipping both chambers of Congress could have on the president’s agenda.

SLEEPER SENATE RACE EMERGES AS UNEXPECTED HEADACHE FOR REPUBLICANS AHEAD OF MIDTERMS

“Trump doesn’t get the support that he needs to protect America, and that our country will turn into Paris, France,” Kathy Bond told Fox News Digital of the riots roiling through the French capital. “That’s my biggest concern.”

The race between Marshall and Hamilton, who led the Church of the Resurrection which now boasts a congregation of nearly 23,000, according to the church’s website, before jumping into politics. The Cook Political Report recently shifted the race to a toss-up, sending Republicans scrambling to dump more money into the state.

Trump’s rally in Kansas, the first time a sitting president has visited the Wichita area since former President George W. Bush in 2007, is part of his and Republicans’ broader strategy to motivate Republican voters during a midterm election cycle in which he is not on the ballot.

National Republicans argue that without the loyal MAGA voting bloc, they won’t stand a chance as they face turbulent political headwinds.

THUNE MAKES BOLD PREDICTION ABOUT REPUBLICANS’ SENATE CHANCES AS GOP PULLS MILLIONS FROM KEY RACES

Though voters are unhappy with the economy, the ones waiting in the long, snaking lines to get their seat inside the Heartland Credit Union Arena argued that Democratic control would be worse.

“We’ve got to vote Republican down the ballot this year. It’s a significant point in the Trump administration,” Emily told Fox News Digital. “And it’s just we’ve got to keep the Republican majority. There’s too much at stake.”

Marshall, who is running for a second term in the upper chamber, recognized that the race was neck and neck and told Fox News Digital in an interview before the rally that “it’s the price of gas” that has tightened the race.

“I do feel people’s pain,” Marshall said. “Every year I go to all 105 counties, finish up the 105 counties in June, and as that price of gas went up, I felt more and more frustration. So maybe we’re up 12 points before the Iran War, and as the price went up our poll numbers went down, so I think it’s the price of gas.”

WOKE MEGACHURCH PASTOR, DEM NOMINEE CALLED FOR REPENTANCE OVER WHITE PRIVILEGE IN WAKE OF GEORGE FLOYD, BLM

“But I think people are beginning to realize the rest of the story, that if we were to lose this seat and let Democrats control the Senate, they would go back to their policies that drove gas prices up higher,” he continued. “Even today, the price of gas is less on average under President Trump than it was under Joe Biden.”

Some at the rally felt that Marshall should have to answer for his votes in the Senate but believed that his experience as a lawmaker overrode the uncertainty that the political newcomer Hamilton could bring should he win on Nov. 3.

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“I mean, you know, Marshall’s been in it for a while now, so he’s gonna have a lot of people that he has to answer a lot of questions to because he’s the one been doing the job this whole time,” Jenny told Fox News Digital.

“But for me, somebody like Hamilton that hasn’t been in, you know, this game and doesn’t really know exactly what all this entails,” she continued. “I’m sure his intentions are good, but I just don’t think that he has the background to do what’s necessary for our state.”

The Republican and Democratic candidates vying to replace Minnesota’ s outgoing governor Tim Walz sparred in their final debate Wednesday over the massive fraud scandal that has unfolded in the state, health care and rising gas prices.

MASSIVE FRAUD SCANDAL

“A vote for Amy Klobuchar is a vote for a Tim Walz third term,” Republican House Speaker Lisa Demuth said in her opening statement after painting Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar as the “status quo” candidate in a “state in crisis” over the $ 9 billion fraud scandal.

Klobuchar pushed back in her opening statement, saying, “I don’t like the status quo. I hate the status quo.”

WALZ’S ‘EXIT INTERVIEW’ REFLECTING ON HIS TENURE SPARKS LAWMAKER DEBATE ABOUT HIS LEGACY: ‘NEVER SERIOUS’

The first question of the debate focused on fraud, a recurring topic throughout the night, and what each candidate would do to combat it.

“Fraud unchecked here in the state of Minnesota has gone far too long, and it has finally come to the surface,” Demuth said. “The thing that I will do on day one is I am going to be firing all commissioners, choosing new commissioners that are expert in their field, that will carry out the accountability and transparency that is needed in our state. We have to change the culture of fraud.”

Klobuchar attempted to distance herself from Walz when addressing the issue.

“The fraud is simply unacceptable and as a former prosecutor, I’m going to send those fraudsters to jail,” Klobuchar said. “Tim Walz should have caught the fraud earlier and he should have done more. He said it himself. And by the way, when my opponent references Tim Walz, I will say one thing. He is not seeking a third term. I am the one up here.”

Fraud came up again later in the debate, with Demuth criticizing Klobuchar’s close relationship with Walz.

“You have not heard my opponent differ from one policy bill that Tim Walz, who she calls an incredible governor, has allowed to go forward,” Demuth said. “I would love to hear one bill, one area, child care, fraudulent funding. I would love to hear that. If she is separating herself specifically from Tim Walz, Tim Walz allowed the child care fraud and other fraud here in the state of Minnesota to explode to $9 billion, never firing any of his commissioners or agency employees. But yet you have someone standing here tonight that is supporting everything from the incredible governor, as she has said he is.”

Klobuchar responded, “Rewind the tape on this debate please; you will see exactly how I said I differed from Tim Walz.”

RISING GAS PRICES

In another tense moment, the candidates turned to rising gas prices, with Klobuchar attempting to link Demuth to the policies of the Trump administration.

“I can tell you the fastest way to bring down your gas prices, and that is to stop this War in Iran,” Klobuchar said. “That is it, beginning, middle and end. And when you look at what my opponent brings up, when we had a debate earlier this week, she actually brought up and blamed it on the Keystone pipeline. Then she blamed the health care costs on Barack Obama. I don’t know what will be next. Maybe Thomas Jefferson, but what I know is that Minnesotans understand what’s happened at the pump.”

EXPLOSIVE SLEEPER ISSUE COULD FUEL MIDTERM SHAKEUPS, TOP REPUBLICAN PREDICTS: ‘YOU’RE GONNA SEE SURPRISES’

Demuth blamed high costs in Minnesota on the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party’s (DFL) control of state government.

“We can talk about that Keystone pipeline that my opponent has voted against. That would have brought in 830,000 barrels of oil. It would have helped with the supply that we have here, yet she voted against it,” Demuth said. “But you have to ask yourself, why are things so expensive here in Minnesota? They are expensive because of overspending by a one party control in 2023 and 2024, I will bring down prices. I will right-size our state budget and make sure that you can afford your lives, that you can grow, thrive, and businesses will be coming to Minnesota to provide the jobs that are needed. It’s common sense, and that’s the decision that you have to make as you’re looking to this election this year.”

HEALTH CARE COSTS AND INSULIN PRICES

As Minnesotans continue to grapple with rising health care costs, the two candidates sparred over ObamaCare, which Klobuchar voted for in the U.S. Senate.

“It’s important to realize that we’re looking at all of the inputs and all of the reasons why our health care is more expensive,” Demuth said. “Senator Klobuchar supported the Affordable Care Act. She promised that it would bring down our health care. Unfortunately, we have seen anything but all of our health care since the Affordable Care Act has increased the health care cost to all Minnesotans.”

Klobuchar didn’t address ObamaCare in her response, instead pointing to Demuth’s position on abortion and accusing the Republican of being beholden to Big Pharma.

“You’ve heard from my opponent that, I don’t support certain things in health care, she’s talking about issues that are already settled,” Demuth said. “I think it’s quite rich to hear the fact that she is the one that broke the health care system as the deciding vote on the Affordable Care Act.”

During the health care discussion, Klobuchar argued that Demuth has not done enough to lower insulin prices and cited the support she has received from the family of Alex Smith, a 26-year-old Minnesotan who died while struggling to afford his insulin treatments.

“Just to clarify a very incorrect or untruthful lie that you just heard was the fact that I did vote yes for the Alex Smith insulin bill,” Demuth responded. “Back in April of 2020. The governor signed it into law the very next day.”

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Klobuchar, who was first elected to the Senate in 2006, won all four of her Senate elections by healthy margins, including her 2024 reelection by nearly 16 points. Before serving in the Senate, Klobuchar was elected twice as county attorney in Hennepin County, Minnesota’s most populous. She also ran unsuccessfully for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.

Demuth, who was first elected to the Minnesota House in 2018, has served as GOP leader in the chamber since the start of 2023 and as speaker for the past year and a half.

A Minnesota rapper has stood by his social media posts idolizing the increasingly violent protests in France, which resulted in some 2,500 arrests over the weekend.

Tufawon, whose real name is Rafael Gonzalez Jr., made a series of posts on Facebook advocating for White people in the United States to “go outside and raise hell” after he and Greta Thunberg visited Lycée Paul Éluard, the high school in Saint-Denis where many of the student demonstrations kicked off this month.

“Do I think way more people need to become radicalized here? Absolutely, especially white people, and that’s where I think we can take influence from the French.” 

“All Power to the People!” the 40-year-old rapper wrote on Facebook. “Go f— s— up white people. It’s your time.”

In an earlier post, he clarified that when he says White Americans need to “raise hell” or “f— s— up” about supposed fascism and authoritarianism under the Trump administration, he means they need to “take it to next level peacefully and legally.”

RO KHANNA SPARKS BACKLASH OVER FRANCE RIOT COMMENTS AS CRITIC SAYS HE WANTS TO ‘RIDE THE RAGE WAVE’

And in a statement to The New York Post, Tufawon said his Facebook posts “fall under figurative speech and in no way, shape or form did I use them with the intent to incite violence of any kind.”

Tufawon, who is part Native American, also told the Post that his participation in some of the French protests last week was impromptu because he had been on vacation in the country.

In one video, he was in front of a crowd chanting “f— ICE” and “ICE out” before performing his song “No One Is Illegal.”

The protests in France, which began weeks ago as student-led demonstrations against poor classroom conditions and education funding cuts, have now devolved into widespread riots involving a range of political and ideological factions.

VIOLENCE ERUPTS AT FRANCE PROTESTS AS MACRON WARNS UNREST IS BEING EXPLOITED

Images and videos posted to social media on Saturday and Sunday showed groups of men waving foreign flags while engaging in acts of destruction on the streets of France’s major cities.

A Fox News Digital investigation found that communist organizations, Islamic advocacy groups, labor unions and environmental activists were involved in the unrest.

French officials said they have arrested over 2,500 people in connection with the demonstrations, which have drawn participants motivated by a range of issues, including the cost of living and climate change.

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On Saturday, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets across the country, though looting and violence broke out in Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Bordeaux and other cities.

Shops were broken into, vehicles and buildings were set on fire and in Marseille, the city hall building was set ablaze by agitators. Rioters have so far caused about $1 billion in damage.

President Donald Trump has preemptively sought to discourage similar conduct in the U.S., saying Tuesday that federal law enforcement would treat potential rioters “very, very rough.”

More demonstrations are planned across France on Saturday, with French officials planning a massive security deployment ahead of time to deal with expected unrest.

Iran, recognizing surefire defeat in a kinetic war, is leaning in on an information warfare campaign to undermine the United States and Israel from within, according to Yuval David, a strategic U.S.-Israel geopolitical communications advisor.

“You cannot beat Israel or the United States in a physical kinetic war,” David told Fox News Digital from Budapest, where he joined Israeli President Isaac Herzog for high-level diplomatic talks Wednesday, adding the warning of an “information warfare system.”

“And that’s what’s going on with social media, with our devices and the people who are on TikTok and Instagram and Facebook and X and YouTube and all of the different social media platforms where the Islamic Republic of Iran is able to affect people’s minds.”

IRAN TARGETS US WITH PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE CAMPAIGN TO MANIPULATE AMERICANS, EMBARRASS TRUMP: EXPERTS

“One of the things that it does is it tries to create a rot from within the societies and, sadly, it’s very much succeeding in doing so,” he added, stating that Iran’s campaign has enjoyed “guidance from Russia and China.”

David’s warning comes as Israel prepares for an election next week that analysts say could change its leadership but is unlikely to produce a fundamental shift in the country’s Iran policy.

NETANYAHU PRAISES TRUMP’S ‘WICKED SENSE OF HUMOR,’ DEFENDS IRONCLAD ALLIANCE AHEAD OF HISTORIC ISRAEL VOTE

A Reuters analysis published Wednesday found that Iran will likely remain Israel’s chief adversary, with military force continuing to serve as the country’s preferred tool against its enemies. The report said Israel’s security doctrine is centered on confronting Iran, maintaining buffer zones beyond its borders and keeping military pressure on to deter threats.

A victory for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, backed by conservative coalition partners, could deepen Israel’s confrontation with Tehran, not bring about appeasement. Even an opposition-led government would likely share the same broad strategic outlook, David said.

TRUMP IS DISMANTLING IRAN’S WAR MACHINE, BUT AMERICA STILL NEEDS AN ENDGAME

“The Islamic Republic of Iran is a massive concern for the world,” David said. “Tehran does not fear another diplomatic statement. It fears an America and an Israel with the intelligence, military capabilities and political will to act together.”

David said the U.S.-Israel alliance should not be judged by whether American leaders support the same Israeli candidate.

TRUMP SAYS NETANYAHU NEEDS TO BE RE-ELECTED, OR ELSE US WILL HAVE TO ‘FINISH THE JOB’ AGAINST IRAN ALONE

“Presidents come and go, prime ministers come and go. America’s and Israel’s enemies do not take election years off,” he said. “America doesn’t need to choose Israel’s prime minister, nor will it, nor can it, nor is it even trying to. America just needs a strong Israeli partner, whoever the Israelis elect.”

Reuters has cited regional analysts who said Netanyahu’s re-election could allow him to pursue a more aggressive campaign against Iran, while Arab states remain wary of his policies but want Tehran’s influence contained.

David said Iran’s hostility toward the United States and Israel extends beyond the current conflict.

IRAN’S PROXY WAR HAS CROSSED OCEANS AND IS NOW KNOCKING ON AMERICA’S DOOR

“The Islamic Republic of Iran has been waging this ideological war against America and also against Israel and also against democracies around the world since 1979,” he said. “The regime never stopped a war.

“Americans thought we have had a war, and then we didn’t have a war. Then we had one. Then we didn’t. Well, the Islamic Republic of Iran never ended that war. They’ve seen this as an ongoing war since 1979.”

FROM INTELLIGENCE SHARING TO MISSILE DEFENSE, HOW ISRAEL’S PARTNERSHIP PROTECTS AMERICAN SECURITY

He also framed U.S. support for Israel as a matter of serving American national security interests.

“America does not support Israel because Israel is helpless. America partners with Israel because Israel is capable,” David said. “Supporting Israel’s security isn’t charity. It’s American strategic self-interest.”

President Donald Trump’s endorsement of Netanyahu, contrasted with Vice President JD Vance’s decision to stay out of the race, reflects differing political approaches rather than a split over Iran or the U.S.-Israel alliance, according to David.

VP JD VANCE ADDRESSES US-ISRAEL RELATIONSHIP, WHETHER IRAN IS TRYING TO ‘PLAY’ THE UNITED STATES

“President Trump is endorsing Prime Minister Netanyahu – Vice President Vance is emphasizing American priorities, but supporting Israel’s security doesn’t require endorsing a particular Israeli politician,” he concluded.

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“Trump is speaking to Israeli voters because that’s what Trump is able to do – Vance is speaking to American voters,” David said. “Far too many Americans don’t realize both Trump and Vance know that Tehran is listening.”

President Donald Trump was the unofficial third person onstage at Wednesday’s Michigan U.S. Senate debate, as Democrat Abdul El-Sayed repeatedly invoked him while seeking to cast Republican Mike Rogers as Trump’s “sock puppet.”

El-Sayed mentioned Trump 18 times during the hour-long debate and repeatedly called Rogers’ responses “MAGA bingo,” accusing the Republican of relying on Trump-aligned talking points. Rogers, however, broke with Trump on a couple of trade issues.

The phrase became a running theme throughout the night, with El-Sayed declaring “MAGA bingo” after Rogers accused him of supporting socialist policies, open borders and defunding the police. Rogers eventually turned the attack back on his opponent, suggesting that the real bingo game was every time El-Sayed included Trump in his answer.

Rogers, however, did not align with Trump on every issue. He split with Trump on trade, calling the president’s tariffs a “mixed bag” and saying tariffs on Canada may have been “not well thought through.”

‘DESTROYING THE AMERICAN WAY OF LIFE’: EL-SAYED’S POLITICAL ORBIT COMPLICATES EFFORT TO MODERATE HIS IMAGE

He also opposed Chinese automakers building vehicles in the United States, saying during the debate that Congress should ban the ability for the Chinese to build cars in the United States. El-Sayed countered by pointing out that Trump has said he would be open to Chinese automakers building vehicles in the United States and questioned whether Rogers would stand up to Trump on the issue.

Wednesday evening marked the second debate between El-Sayed and Rogers, just weeks before Michigan’s midterm election. 

The battle for the swing state’s open Senate seat has drawn national attention not only because it could help determine control of the upper chamber, but because it has emerged as a major test of the Democratic Party’s progressive wing in a key battleground state.

El-Sayed, backed by progressive heavyweights including Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., has campaigned on a progressive agenda that includes Medicare for All, higher taxes on the wealthy, ending U.S. military aid to Israel and abolishing ICE.

While El-Sayed worked to paint Rogers as a Trump-aligned “corporate politician,” Rogers repeatedly branded his Democratic opponent as having a “pattern of deception,” accusing him of misrepresenting his record and shifting his positions.

MICHIGAN SENATE HOPEFUL ABDUL EL-SAYED FIRES BACK AT CNN CHOOSING TO ‘FIXATE’ ON ‘DEFUND THE POLICE’ COMMENTS

Throughout the debate, Rogers cast El-Sayed as being outside the political mainstream, tying the Democrat and his policies to the Democratic Socialists of America and hammering him over his past support for defunding the police.

Rogers also claimed that some of El-Sayed’s donors and supporters were tied to Hamas, Hezbollah and the Muslim Brotherhood. 

At one point, Rogers questioned El-Sayed’s allegiance to the country after accusing El-Sayed of having donors tied to Hamas, asking, “Are you for America or are you for these terrorist groups overseas?” 

The most contentious moment of the debate came during a question on public safety, when Rogers hammered El-Sayed over his past support for defunding the police, accused him of deleting social media posts on the issue and pointed to El-Sayed’s past comments involving former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, who was backed by the Muslim Brotherhood.

El-Sayed fired back that it was “beneath” Rogers to question his commitment to the Constitution, declaring that he was “proud to be an American” and calling Rogers’ line of questioning “shameful.”

ROGERS ARGUES EL-SAYED IS VULNERABLE WITH 2 TRADITIONALLY DEMOCRATIC BLOCS AS OBAMA HEADS TO MICHIGAN

El-Sayed, a Muslim and first-generation American whose parents emigrated from Egypt, has faced scrutiny over his rhetoric on the war in Gaza and his positions on Israel, leading some members of Michigan’s Jewish community to openly disavow the Democratic candidate. During the debate, Rogers said that his campaign was doing well with the Jewish community, which he claimed is fearful of El-Sayed’s rhetoric. 

Rogers said that El-Sayed was too “extreme” for Michigan, pointing to prominent Democrats who said they can’t back the party’s nominee, including the former Michigan Democratic Party chairman and the former finance chair for Sen. Elissa Slotkin’s campaign.

Michigan Republicans echoed that argument following the debate, pointing out that El-Sayed used to campaign with Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, who once said that America deserved the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

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“We cannot afford Abdul El-Sayed’s far-left, big-government policies, and we cannot risk electing a person who campaigns with the likes of Hasan Piker and seemingly justified the horrific terrorist attack targeting children and the Jewish community in Bloomfield Hills,” MIGOP Chairman Jim Runestad said in a statement.

Minnesota’s gubernatorial candidates clashed over the state’s fraud scandals in their second debate of the week, with Republican House Speaker Lisa Demuth pledging to fire all state commissioners on her first day in office and Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar defending her response.

The scandals have rocked the North Star State, raising questions about how large-scale abuse of state programs went undetected and putting government oversight at the center of the governor’s race.

“Fraud unchecked here in the state of Minnesota has gone far too long, and it has finally come to the surface,” Demuth said.

MINNESOTA’S ANTI-FRAUD SPENDING HAS QUIETLY BALLOONED, LEAVING TAXPAYERS TO PAY FOR FAILURE TWICE

“The thing that I will do on day one is I am going to be firing all commissioners, choosing new commissioners that are expert in their field, that will carry out the accountability and transparency that is needed in our state. We have to change the culture of fraud.”

Klobuchar called Demuth’s remarks “absurd” and said she contacted U.S. Attorney Andy Luger after the fraud came to light to ask what prosecutors needed.

“He said, ‘I need more prosecutors’,” Klobuchar said. “I called the highest level of the Justice Department, and I got him those prosecutors.”

TIM WALZ SAYS HE TAKES RESPONSIBILITY FOR MINNESOTA FRAUD BY NOT RUNNING FOR RE-ELECTION

Klobuchar also said she would have caught the fraud earlier, while criticizing Walz’s response. “Tim Walz should have caught the fraud earlier and he should have done more,” she said.

She also sought to distinguish herself from the outgoing governor and criticized Demuth for not clearly separating herself from President Donald Trump. “We don’t need a rubber stamp of Donald Trump in the governor’s office,” Klobuchar said.

Demuth countered that Klobuchar had not identified specific policies on which she would break with Walz, whom Klobuchar has called an “incredible governor.”

‘WE HAVE NOT SLOWED DOWN’: MINNESOTA NOT OUT OF THE WOODS ON MASSIVE FRAUD SCANDAL, EXPERT WARNS

Beyond fraud, Klobuchar and Demuth used the debate to draw broader contrasts over the economy, taxes, public safety and the direction of the state. Both candidates have ruled out tax increases, but Demuth has argued Minnesota needs to rein in spending and regulations, while Klobuchar has emphasized lowering costs for health care, housing and child care.

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Wednesday’s debate in Rochester was the candidates’ second faceoff this week and likely their final debate before Election Day on Nov. 3. Republicans have not won a statewide race in Minnesota since 2006.

The race will also make history regardless of the outcome, producing Minnesota’s first female governor. A Demuth victory would additionally make her the state’s first Black governor.

Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., and Democratic challenger Adam Hamilton repeatedly sought to distance themselves from the most unpopular elements of their respective parties Wednesday night during a contentious Kansas Senate debate.

Both candidates battled over President Donald Trump, immigration, the war in Iran and more in a race that could help determine control of the Senate.

The debate opened on a personal note, with both candidates pressed over controversies that have fueled attack ads in the closing weeks of the campaign.

Marshall was questioned about a New York Times review that found his former medical practice sued more than 700 patients over unpaid bills. The Republican defended the practice while emphasizing the millions of dollars in free care his practice provided.

GOP SENATOR ALLEGES SCHUMER BEHIND ‘HIT JOB’ REPORT ON FORMER PATIENTS

“Every year we gave away $3 to $4 million of charity, but we also had a business,” Marshall said. “We had 300 employees, we had a mortgage payment, we had electric.”

Hamilton, meanwhile, was questioned about his handling of allegations involving a volunteer at his church’s summer camp alleged to have been a sexual predator. Hamilton acknowledged that he should have ensured the individual did not return to the camp after an initial investigation.

“I should have checked to make sure that he wasn’t going back,” Hamilton said. “That was a mistake on my part.”

The candidates spent much of the rest of the debate trying to define each other by their respective national parties.

Marshall repeatedly warned that electing Hamilton would help hand control of the Senate to Democrats and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, while Hamilton sought to portray himself as an independent-minded Democrat willing to break with his party.

THE NINE KEY RACES THAT WILL DECIDE WHO CONTROLS THE SENATE, AND WHERE THEY STAND

That divide came into focus when the moderator played footage of Trump campaigning for Marshall in Kansas earlier this week and telling voters to “pretend, please, that I’m on the ballot.”

Asked whether that meant he would support every part of Trump’s agenda, Marshall said no and pointed to recent disagreements involving immigration enforcement in southwest Kansas and beef imports.

“Just like with my wife, I can disagree with her. My wife is always right,” Marshall joked. “And President Trump is not always right.”

Nevertheless, Marshall emphasized his support for much of Trump’s agenda and urged the president’s supporters to turn out for him.

“We need the Trump voters to come out,” Marshall said. “If you want the Trump agenda to continue, if you want secure borders, if you want a strong military, if you want lower taxes, then you — and you voted for President Trump — you need to come out.”

Hamilton faced a similar challenge when moderators pressed him over his past support for Democrats and his campaign message of “leading from the middle.”

MANCHIN CALLS SCHUMER ‘CRAZY’ FOR TRYING TO OUST GOP SENATOR IN CRUCIAL SENATE SHOWDOWN

The Democratic nominee explicitly broke with former President Joe Biden over immigration.

“The Biden policies when it came to the border were a disaster,” Hamilton said. “I believe in strong and secure borders.”

Hamilton also said he would not support Schumer for majority leader if Democrats win control of the Senate.

The debate did produce an unusual moment of agreement when both candidates were asked how many genders there are.

“There’s two. There’s a boy and there’s a girl,” Marshall said.

“There are two genders, male and female,” Hamilton responded.

SC DEM SENATE CANDIDATE CLAIMS SHE WILL STAND UP TO HER PARTY AS GRAHAM TIES HER TO ‘SOCIALIST DEMOCRATS’

Hamilton later said he did not want biological males competing against his 12-year-old granddaughter in sports, calling it “not a fair fight,” while arguing that decisions over athletic participation should generally be handled locally rather than by the federal government.

The Kansas contest has emerged as an unexpectedly competitive Senate race in the closing weeks of the midterms. Marshall is seeking a second term in a state that has not elected a Democratic U.S. senator since 1932, while Hamilton, a longtime pastor, has campaigned as a moderate Democrat.

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Trump traveled to Kansas Monday to campaign for Marshall as Republicans work to defend the seat with control of the Senate at stake.

Republican Wisconsin gubernatorial nominee Tom Tiffany vowed Wednesday to mandate cooperation between local sheriffs and federal immigration authorities, drawing a sharp contrast with Democrat David Crowley over President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown during their general election debate.

Tiffany said Wisconsin law enforcement agencies should be required to honor federal immigration detainers, arguing that coordination with ICE allows authorities to remove illegal immigrants accused of crimes while they are still being held in county jails.

“I will make sure that local, county and state law enforcement coordinate with federal law enforcement,” Tiffany said in the debate hosted by WISN-TV.

VIRGINIA SANCTUARY COUNTY IGNORES 1,670 DETAINER REQUESTS OVER 2 YEARS, HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE FINDS

Asked directly whether he would mandate that cooperation by law, Tiffany replied: “Yes, I believe we should. They should honor detainers.”

Crowley, the Milwaukee County executive, said he would not support a blanket ban on cooperation with federal immigration authorities and agreed that immigrants convicted of crimes should be deported. But he called for restrictions on ICE operations, including barring contracts between local law enforcement and ICE, requiring judicial warrants for agents to enter jails and prisons and prohibiting agents from wearing masks.

“We need to make sure that we’re protecting people’s civil liberties,” Crowley said.

Immigration enforcement has become an increasingly visible flashpoint in Wisconsin, where ICE arrests surged this summer as the Trump administration expanded its nationwide deportation push.

TRUMP REAFFIRMS ICE ARREST POLICY AFTER CONFUSING GUIDANCE SPARKS ALARM AMONG AGENTS

Trump’s immigration crackdown has increasingly collided with state and local governments, putting sheriffs and police departments at the center of a national fight over how far local authorities should go to help federal agents carry out the president’s mass deportation agenda.

That debate is already playing out across Wisconsin. Twenty county law enforcement agencies in the state participate in ICE’s 287(g) program, which allows designated local officers to perform certain immigration enforcement functions. Cooperation with ICE has also emerged as an issue in sheriff races in Sauk and Winnebago counties ahead of the November election.

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Wisconsin has simultaneously seen a sharp increase in federal immigration enforcement since Trump returned to office. The latest available federal data showed ICE arrests in the state reaching new highs over the summer, with more than 2,100 people detained between January 2025 and the latest reporting period.

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The issue has become a complicated one for both parties heading into the midterms. Republicans have continued to campaign on border security and immigration enforcement, while Democrats have increasingly focused their attacks on the Trump administration’s deportation tactics and the conduct of ICE agents.

During Wednesday night’s Michigan U.S. Senate debate, Democrat Abdul El-Sayed passionately denied ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and admonished Republican Mike Rogers for attempting to link him to the organization.

“[El-Sayed] was passionate about defunding the police,” Rogers said, responding to a question about law enforcement funding. “As a matter of fact, he asked the Muslim Brotherhood, excuse me, head Morsi in Egypt, to defund the police there, too. I mean, it’s unbelievable.”

Rogers was referencing a letter that The Washington Free Beacon reported El-Sayed signed in 2012 calling on the Egyptian president, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, to purge his nation’s police force.

ABDUL EL-SAYED INVOKES JFK TO DISMISS ‘CRAZY’ QUESTIONS OVER FAMILY’S ALLEGED TIES TO MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD

“To bring into question my commitment to the Constitution is really beneath you,” El-Sayed responded. 

“I am proud of America. I’m proud to be an American. I’m proud of our Constitution that guarantees all of us the right to pray as we choose to pray. And the question — that you would ask that — I think is actually really quite shameful. As somebody who’s actually served under that Constitution, it is shameful.”

TRUMP LINKS MICHIGAN SENATE CANDIDATE ABDUL EL-SAYED TO MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD: ‘HE’S A CON MAN’

El-Sayed also caught flak after social media posts from his half-sister alleging that their mother was involved in Muslim Brotherhood activism in the 1970s resurfaced. El-Sayed has denied personal or family ties to the organization and maintained that he was not raised by his biological mother.

MIKE ROGERS PRESSES CNN’S DANA BASH ON WHY THE PRESS IS ‘EAGER’ TO DEFEND ABDUL EL-SAYED

“He keeps raising this question about this association with the organization,” El-Sayed said at the debate. “I’ve never been a part because my mom, who’s a nurse in Missouri, it doesn’t make any sense. And it’s actually really quite beneath you, Mike. It’s really quite beneath you.”

There is no evidence to suggest that El-Sayed has any affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood.

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“I know you want to make this about you being a victim,” Rogers said. “This is about an ideology. An ideology that’s banned in five Muslim countries, an ideology that’s banned in another six different countries.

“An ideology that is very concerning to law enforcement in the United States because they use it for funding overseas operations.”

Texas hasn’t gone blue in a statewide race in more than 30 years, but that streak could face a serious test this year. A new Fox News poll finds that while Texas likely voters favor Republicans retaining control of the U.S. Senate and give incumbent Republican Gov. Greg Abbott an edge in his re-election bid, the Senate race remains deadlocked.

The survey, released Wednesday, finds Democrat James Talarico and Republican Ken Paxton tied at 49% each among Texas likely voters in the race to replace Sen. John Cornyn, who lost the GOP primary to President Trump-backed Paxton.

Last month, Talarico was up by 2 points among likely voters (51%-49%). The shift to a tie reflects Paxton consolidating support among conservatives, rural voters, suburban women and voters who backed Cornyn in the primary.

FOX NEWS POLL: TUREK, HINSON IN CLOSE IOWA SENATE RACE

Although Paxton is falling short of Trump’s 2024 margins, he has strengthened his support a tad among both men (+1) and women (+1) since September, while Talarico slightly lost support (-1 and -2, respectively).

Talarico leads by wide margins among Black voters (+65 points), urban voters (+29), those under age 30 (+28), and women with a college degree (+23). Paxton’s strongest groups include White evangelical Christians (+52), White men without a college degree (+32), rural voters (+21) and those age 65 and up (+18).

The survey finds Hispanic voters swinging back toward the Democrats. After backing former President Joe Biden by 25 points in 2020, they favored Trump by 1 point in 2024, according to the Texas Fox News Voter Analysis. This key voting bloc now favors Talarico by 30 points (64%-34%) and prefers Democratic control of the U.S. Senate by 29 points.

Overall, when it comes to Senate control, Texans choose Republicans by 4 points (51% to 47%), up from +1 point in September.

Talarico’s stronger party loyalty is another reason the race is close: 98% of Democrats support him, compared with 90% of Republicans supporting Paxton. Nearly 3 in 10 non-MAGA Republicans cross party lines to back Talarico.

FOX NEWS POLL: COST-OF-LIVING CONCERNS WEIGH ON GOP IN MIDTERMS

Democrats also retain an enthusiasm edge: 69% are extremely interested in this year’s election, compared with 61% of Republicans. Extremely interested voters back Talarico by 7 points.

“The race is going to come down to two basic questions,” says Republican pollster Daron Shaw, who helps conduct the Fox News Poll with Democrat Chris Anderson. “Do disaffected Republicans show up and, if so, do they grit their teeth and vote for a candidate who they have serious reservations about?”

Views of Talarico are net positive, albeit by just 1 point (49% favorable, 48% unfavorable), while Paxton’s ratings are underwater by 17 (41% favorable, 58% unfavorable). Among “double haters,” voters who view both candidates negatively, Paxton leads by 50 points.

Voters express similar levels of concern about both candidates: 53% worry Talarico’s positions are too liberal, while 50% are concerned Paxton is too close to Trump. The intensity of these concerns is nearly identical, with 36% extremely concerned about Talarico and 37% about Paxton.

In 2024, Trump won the Lone Star State by nearly 14 points, but his job rating is currently underwater by 9 points (45% approve, 54% disapprove). Still, Paxton draws support from 13% of voters who disapprove of Trump, while 6% of Trump approvers back Talarico.

When it comes to their personal finances, more than twice as many voters say they are worse off (43%) than better off (20%) compared with two years ago; 36% say they are about the same.

Voters who are worse off back Talarico by 45 points, while those who are better off (+49) or about the same (+26) favor Paxton.

The governor’s race gives Republicans more breathing room: Abbott edges his Democratic challenger, Gina Hinojosa, by 5 points (52% to 47%), unchanged since September.

Abbott has a positive job rating (50% approve, 48% disapprove), and nearly all who approve support him in the race, as do 9% of those who disapprove.

CLICK HERE FOR CROSSTABS AND TOPLINE

Abbott also benefits from slightly stronger party loyalty and more ticket-splitting among Talarico supporters: 7% support Abbott, compared with 2% of Paxton supporters who back Hinojosa.

Conducted October 15-19, 2026, under the joint direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), this Fox News Poll includes interviews with a sample of 2,011 Texas registered voters randomly selected from a statewide voter file. Respondents spoke with live interviewers on landlines (205) and cellphones (1,303) or completed the survey online after receiving a text message (503). Results based on the registered voter sample have a margin of sampling error of ±2 percentage points, and for the subsample of 1,398 likely voters it is ±2.5 percentage points. Sampling error for results among subgroups is higher. In addition to sampling errors, question wording and order can influence results. Sources for developing weight targets include the most recent American Community Survey, Fox News Voter Analysis and voter file data. Weights are generally applied to age, race, education and area variables to ensure the demographics of respondents are representative of the registered voter population. Likely voters are based on a probabilistic statistical model that relies on past vote history, interest in the current election, intention to vote, age, education, race, ethnicity and marital status. Results among subgroups are only shown when the sample size is at least N=100.

Powered by a clear favorability advantage, a large gender gap and voter discontent with both household finances and President Donald Trump, former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown has the edge over appointed Republican Sen. Jon Husted in the Ohio Senate race.

A Fox News survey of likely Ohio voters finds Brown leads Husted, 52% to 47%.

Brown’s advantage is anchored by his stronger personal standing, with his favorability rating 2 points above water (50% favorable, 48% unfavorable), while Husted’s rating sits 13 points underwater (42% favorable, 55% unfavorable).

FOX NEWS POLL: COST-OF-LIVING CONCERNS WEIGH ON GOP IN MIDTERMS

More Brown supporters (88%) than Husted backers (83%) say they’re certain of their vote.

FOX NEWS POLL: IT’S A LONE STAR SENATE SHOWDOWN BETWEEN TALARICO AND PAXTON

Economic unease creates another headwind for Husted because about 2½ times as many voters say their financial situation is worse than two years ago rather than better (46% vs. 19%). Those who say things are worse favor Brown by 49 points, while those who say their finances are better or the same favor Husted by 51 and 24 points, respectively.

The president’s standing in Ohio adds to Husted’s difficulties. Trump won the Buckeye State with 55% of the vote in 2024, but just 43% now approve of his job performance. A 57% majority disapproves, with 46% saying they “strongly” disapprove.

Meanwhile, 52% express concern that Husted is too close to Trump, including 38% who are extremely concerned. Brown faces similar concerns about being too liberal, as 50% are worried, though fewer, 30%, are extremely concerned.

In the matchup, women favor Brown by 14 points, while men support Husted by 4, an 18-point gender gap. Brown also has advantages among voters under 35, voters with a college degree, union voters and those living in urban and suburban areas. Husted relies on rural communities, non-college White men and married voters and has a narrow edge among those ages 65 and up.

Partisan crossovers further tilt the field toward the challenger. While Husted receives 90% of Republicans, 9% cross over to back Brown. Some 97% of Democrats support Brown, while just 2% choose Husted, and Brown carries independents by nearly two to one.

Voters who view both Senate candidates unfavorably prefer Husted by nearly 20 points.

Brown is up by 9 points among those who are extremely interested in the election and leads by 29 points among the 15% of Ohioans who say they have already voted.

Legislative preference tilts toward the Democrats, with Ohioans dividing 50% for Democratic control of the U.S. Senate and 48% for Republican control.

In the governor’s contest, likely voters favor Democrat Amy Acton over Republican Vivek Ramaswamy by 50% to 48%. Women favor Acton by 10 points, while men back Ramaswamy by 7, a nearly identical gender gap to the Senate race.

CLICK HERE FOR CROSSTABS AND TOPLINE

Ticket splitting goes in both directions: 8% of Brown supporters cross over to Ramaswamy, while 6% of Husted supporters back Acton.

The survey was completed before a negative television ad from Ramaswamy’s campaign featuring Acton’s estranged mother became public.

Conducted October 15-19, 2026, under the joint direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), this Fox News Poll includes interviews with a sample of 2,005 Ohio registered voters randomly selected from a statewide voter file. Respondents spoke with live interviewers on landlines (219) and cellphones (1,306) or completed the survey online after receiving a text message (480). Results based on the registered voter sample have a margin of sampling error of ±2 percentage points, and, for the subsample of 1,592 likely voters, it is ±2 percentage points. 

Sampling error for results among subgroups is higher. In addition to sampling error, question wording and order can influence results. Sources for developing weight targets include the most recent American Community Survey, Fox News Voter Analysis and voter file data. Weights are generally applied to age, race, education and area variables to ensure the demographics of respondents are representative of the registered voter population. Likely voters are based on a probabilistic statistical model that relies on past vote history, interest in the current election, intention to vote, age, education, race, ethnicity, and marital status. Results among subgroups are only shown when the sample size is at least N=100. 

Fox News’ Victoria Balara contributed to this report.