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As Big Apple voters head to the polls on Tuesday to pick their next mayor, President Donald Trump asserted that any Jewish person who casts a ballot for Democratic socialist candidate Zohran Mamdani is “stupid.”

“Any Jewish person that votes for Zohran Mamdani, a proven and self professed JEW HATER, is a stupid person!!!” the president claimed in a Truth Social post on Tuesday.

Fox News Digital reached out to Mamdani’s campaign for comment.

NYC MAYORAL CANDIDATE ZOHRAN MAMDANI DRAWS CRITICISM FOR HAND-EATING RICE, IGNITING DEBATE

Earlier this year, Mamdani said that “it pains” him “to be called an antisemite.”

Mamdani, who is a Muslim, includes the words “Democratic Socialist” on his X profile.

In part of a post last month on X, Mamdani declared, “As Mayor, I will do everything in my power to protect Jewish New Yorkers, as I will every faith community.”

Mamdani has declined to condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada,” but he has said that it is not language that he employs.

An antisemitism watchdog group issued a scathing “alarm bell” report on Mamdani this week ahead of Election Day. 

The Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP) report warned that Mamdani “has repeatedly declined to condemn the slogan ‘globalize the intifada,’ ignoring the fact that the word ‘intifada’ is synonymous with terror attacks, suicide bombings, and incitement to kill Jews.”

The report also states that Mamdani “downplayed” the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre carried out by Hamas while characterizing Israel’s response as “genocide,” and hits him for introducing a bill to “punish New York charities that support Israel.”

AOC PUSHES BACK AFTER GOP LAWMAKER CALLS MAMDANI’S ARABIC CAMPAIGNING A ‘HUMILIATION’

Trump has urged voters to back former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the contest.

“A vote for Curtis Sliwa (who looks much better without the beret!) is a vote for Mamdani,” Trump declared in a portion of a Monday Truth Social post, delivering a slap in the face to Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa, who had performed poorly in polling.

CURTIS SLIWA COMPARES HIMSELF TO BRAVEHEART, VOWS TO FIGHT NYC’S SOCIALIST MACHINE WIN OR LOSE

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“Whether you personally like Andrew Cuomo or not, you really have no choice. You must vote for him, and hope he does a fantastic job. He is capable of it, Mamdani is not!” the president asserted.

Fox News Digital’s Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.

Senate Democrats blocked Republicans’ attempt to reopen the government for a 14th time, all but ensuring that the government shutdown becomes the longest in U.S. history.

The move to again reject the House-passed continuing resolution (CR) comes as winds of optimism, and exhaustion, have swept through the upper chamber. Lawmakers are engaging in more bipartisan talks, and more believe that an off-ramp is in sight.

Still, Tuesday morning’s vote against the CR came as the shutdown matched the previous 35-day record set in 2019, and it all but ensured that it would surpass that unfortunate milestone later on in the evening.

GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN BECOMING LONGEST IN US HISTORY AS DEMOCRATS DIG IN ON OBAMACARE

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and his Democratic caucus are still largely entrenched in their position that unless an ironclad deal on expiring Obamacare subsidies is struck, they won’t reopen the government.

During a speech on the Senate floor, Schumer squarely placed the blame for the healthcare issue on Republicans and President Donald Trump as Americans got notices of increased premiums over the weekend. 

“The only plan Republicans have for healthcare seems to be to eliminate it, and then to tell working people to go figure it out on their own,” he said. “That’s not a healthcare plan. That’s cruel.” 

However, his caucus’ resolve showed signs of weakening on Monday, when a group of nearly a dozen Senate Democrats met behind closed doors to discuss a way out.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said he was optimistic about the shutdown coming to an end soon, but he wasn’t confident that it would be by the end of this week.

He noted that Republicans have made a plethora of options available to Senate Democrats, including guaranteeing a vote on the expiring subsidies, or “whatever their Obamacare bill is,” after the government reopens. When asked if he believed lawmakers were close to reaching an end, he said, “I hope close.” 

SENATE REPUBLICANS PLOT LONGER-TERM FUNDING BILL AS GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN CONTINUES

“But the pressures, the cross pressures that everybody’s feeling, are great,” Thune said. “But I think there are people who realize this has gone on long enough and that there’s been enough pain inflicted on the American people, and it’s time to end it. So we’ll see whether that’s, you know, sufficient numbers are there.”

Then there’s the reality that the current end date of Nov. 21 for the House-passed CR doesn’t give lawmakers enough time to advance funding bills, which has been a primary objective for Thune and others. And, many don’t want to reopen the government just to see it close back down a few weeks later.

Lawmakers are mulling extending the current CR, either by amending it or with a new bill, which would give them enough time to finish spending bills and avoid a colossal, year-end omnibus spending bill. Some are eyeing January, while others would prefer an extension into December. A trio of spending bills, known as a minibus, could also be tied to the revamped extension.

Those talks are happening parallel to discussions on Obamacare, but neither side has so far made a move to fully construct an off-ramp out of the shutdown.

When asked if he believed that the shutdown could end this week, Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., who has routinely engaged in bipartisan talks since the shutdown began, said, “I don’t know, I hope so.”

“Bottom line is they can stop all this with one vote and get back into it and get back to work on a bipartisan basis,” he said. “Again, that’s what we’re hoping.”

Both sides recognize that changing the subsidies, either through reforms or impacting the rates, will be difficult given that insurers already released rates and guidance over the weekend in line with the start of open enrollment.

SENATE RETURNS TO WORK AS GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN NEARS LONGEST IN US HISTORY OVER OBAMACARE FIGHT

Still, lawmakers are discussing a path forward on the subsidies. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, who has been involved in bipartisan talks, said that her proposal for the subsidies would extend them for two years.

She noted that it would be, “Really, really hard to do any reforms right now,” because the insurance rates had been released, and that her proposal was one of many in the mix.

Ultimately, it’ll come down to the right blend of ideas to build an off-ramp for the subsidies. Murkowski said that changing the income cap, which was eliminated when the subsidies were enhanced under former President Joe Biden, and changes to the low-cost premium contribution were just a couple ideas on the table.

“There’s no highly brand-new thing that anybody’s really talking about,” she said. “It’s just what’s the right concoction?”

But some Senate Democrats are frustrated that Trump has not gotten more involved and argue that unless he gives an explicit greenlight, any deal crafted on the Hill doesn’t matter.

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Trump has agreed to meet with Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., only after the government reopens. And over the weekend, he demanded that Senate Republicans nuke the 60-vote filibuster threshold, something that is unlikely to happen any time soon, if ever.

“At no point since Oct. 1 has Donald Trump agreed to sit down with Democratic leaders,” Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., said. “So, he can talk all he wants about the filibuster, but until he actually puts some skin in the game and sits down and talks to us, like, that is all meaningless to me. And I honestly, like, don’t care about him pontificating this stuff on social media. Like, if he’s got time to tweet, he’s got time to just come and talk to us.”

It’s Election Day in California, where a ballot initiative will make a huge impact on next year’s battle for the U.S. House majority whether it passes or fails.

California voters are deciding whether to pass a ballot proposition which would dramatically alter the state’s congressional districts, putting the left-leaning state front-and-center in the high-stakes political fight over redistricting that pits President Donald Trump and the GOP against the Democrats.

California state lawmakers this summer approved a special proposition on the November ballot to obtain voter approval to temporarily sidetrack the state’s nonpartisan redistricting commission and return the power to draw the congressional maps to the Democrat-dominated legislature. Early voting by mail in the contest has been underway for a month.

The effort in California, which could create five more Democratic-leaning congressional districts, aims to counter the passage in the reliable red state of Texas of a new map that aims to create up to five right-leaning House seats. Failure to approve what’s known as Proposition 50 would be a stinging setback for Democrats.

OBAMA ENDORSES NEWSOM CALIFORNIA REDISTRICTING PROP 50

Two-term Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is seen as a likely 2028 Democratic presidential contender, is spearheading the push to pass the proposition.

“If we lose here, we are going to have total Republican control in the House, the Senate and the White House for at least two more years,” Newsom emphasized in a recent fundraising appeal to supporters. “If we win here, we can put a check on Trump for his final two years.”

HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS REPORTING, ANALYSIS, ON 2025 ELECTIONS

The push by Trump and Republicans for a rare mid-decade redistricting is part of a broad effort by the GOP to pad its razor-thin House majority to keep control of the chamber in the 2026 midterms, when the party in power traditionally faces political headwinds and loses seats.

Trump and his political team are aiming to prevent what happened during his first term in the White House, when Democrats reclaimed the House majority in the 2018 midterm elections.

Missouri last month joined Texas as the second GOP-controlled state to pass congressional redistricting ahead of next year’s elections. The new map in Missouri is likely to give the GOP another right-leaning seat.

And North Carolina’s Republican-controlled legislature also passed a new map, which is likely to score another congressional seat for the GOP. Republican-controlled Indiana is on deck, with a special legislative session getting underway this week.

But unlike those states, California voters need to weigh in before giving redistricting power back to the legislature in Sacramento.

“Heaven help us if we lose,” Newsom said in a fundraising pitch. “This is an all-hands-on-deck moment for Democrats.”

FIVE KEY 2025 RACES TO WATCH

Proponents and opponents of Proposition 50 raised hundreds of millions of dollars in fundraising, with much of the money being dished out to pay for a deluge of ads on both sides.

One of the two main groups countering Newsom and the Democrats labeled their effort “Stop Sacramento’s Power Grab.”

Getting into the fight was former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was the last Republican governor of California.

During his tenure as governor, Schwarzenegger had a starring role in the passage of constitutional amendments in California in 2008 and 2010 that took the power to draw state legislative and congressional districts away from politicians and placed it in the hands of an independent commission.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA VOTERS WEIGH IN ON PROP 50 REDISTRICTING FIGHT

“That’s what they want to do is take us backwards — this is why it is important for you to vote no on Prop 50,” Schwarzenegger said in an ad against Proposition 50. “Democracy — we’ve got to protect it, and we’ve got to go and fight for it.”

But as Election Day neared in California, the Yes forces had dramatically outraised the No forces, and public opinion polling indicated majority support for the proposition.

Even before Trump initiated his redistricting push, Ohio was under court order to redraw its maps. That could boost Republicans in a one-time battleground state that now leans right.

Republicans in GOP-dominated Florida are also mulling congressional redistricting. And Democrats in heavily blue Maryland are weighing a redistricting push, while the Democrat-controlled legislature in Virginia is already pushing redistricting.

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Other states considering altering their maps are Democrat-dominated Illinois and red states Kansas and Nebraska.

Meanwhile, Democrats could possibly pick up a seat in Republican-dominated Utah, due to a new, more competitive map, mandated by a judge.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests in Virginia have nearly tripled under President Donald Trump’s leadership compared to the previous administration, prompting Homeland Security to call out some of the state’s “worst of the worst” dangerous and violent offenders captured just last week in the state. 

The undocumented immigrant offenders highlighted by DHS came from Central America and the Caribbean, including El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Jamaica, and the Dominican Republic. Meanwhile, their crimes ranged from drug smuggling to domestic violence, rape, “carnal abuse,” making terroristic threats, extortion and more. 

“This past week, ICE took down sexual predators, drug traffickers, rapists, abusers and other violent thugs across the Commonwealth,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “These arrests underscore the reality of open border and sanctuary policies that allowed criminals around the world to come to America and roam free across our country. Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, the U.S. is closed to lawbreakers. We will continue to use every available tool to make America safe again.”

MAJOR BLUE COUNTY IN HOT SEAT AFTER VIOLENT ILLEGAL ALIEN ARRESTED 10 TIMES FINALLY NABBED BY ICE

One of the offenders from Guatemala, Westher Antonio Jacobo Morales, was previously deported in 2016, but committed a felony when he chose to come back and re-enter illegally once again, according to DHS. Arrested last week by ICE officers in Richmond, Morales has a rap sheet that includes rape, extortion and violating a court order. 

A second offender from Guatemala, Daniel Soc-Patzan, entered the country illegally in 2013 and was issued a final order of removal that same year. He was arrested last week by ICE officials in Richmond as well. According to DHS, Soc-Patzan has a rap sheet including multiple infractions for assault and aggravated domestic violence. 

Meanwhile, another illegal immigrant criminal highlighted by DHS had a criminal history involving “carnal abuse” and sexual assault. That individual, Harvin Francisco Rivera-Diaz, was arrested last week in Richmond after illegally crossing the southern border from Nicaragua in 2022 under the former Biden administration. 

Adolfo Flores Ramirez, an illegal immigrant from El Salvador, was arrested the same day, in Northern Virginia’s Loudoun County. His criminal history included charges of driving under the influence, domestic violence and assault.

In addition to undocumented immigrants from Central America, ICE officials in Virginia picked up criminal illegal aliens from the Caribbean as well.

BIDEN-ERA ‘UNVETTED’ IMMIGRANTS NABBED AFTER VIRGINIA HIGHWAY GUNFIRE AS BORDER DEBATE HITS GOVERNOR’S RACE

One from Jamaica, Shannovan Emeil Facey, was issued a final order of removal in 2013 but has managed to stay in the United States until now after his arrest in Richmond. His criminal history includes drug smuggling, drug possession and weapons charges, according to DHS. 

A second criminal illegal alien from the Caribbean included a man from the Dominican Republic who was arrested last week by ICE agents in Norfolk. The man, Elvin Tiburcio Mirambeaux, has a criminal history including making terroristic threats and drug possession.

Past “worst of the worst” roundups include arrests made in Los Angeles of illegal immigrant gang members, murderers and child predators.

For example, Mexican national Juan Carlos Marin-Hipolito was convicted of murder and sentenced to 50 years to life in prison, DHS said. Diego Fernandez-Martinez, also from Mexico, had convictions for carjacking, vehicle theft, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a controlled substance for sales, robbery and prisoner in possession of a weapon, according to DHS, which noted he was also a member of the Surenos gang.

Meanwhile, a “worst of the worst” Halloween weekend roundup included arrests of criminal illegal aliens convicted of intercourse with a minor, sexual abuse, kidnapping, homicide and other serious crimes. DHS highlighted that 70% of ICE arrests are of criminal illegal aliens charged or convicted of a crime in the U.S., according to a statement to Fox News Digital. 

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With multiple important statewide elections in Virginia looming, Fox News Digital reached out to Virginia candidates for governor and attorney general, including Democrat gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger, Republican gubernatorial candidate Winsome Earle-Sears, Democrat Attorney General candidate Jay Jones and Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares, for comment on these recent arrests. 

“Disobedience of the law has no place in Virginia. Attorney General Miyares has proven time and again that violent offenders, including those in our country illegally, will face swift and uncompromising justice when they harm innocent Virginians,” representatives for Miyares said. “Jay Jones, on the other hand, would take our Commonwealth in the opposite direction. He intends to turn Virginia into a sanctuary state, tying the hands of law enforcement and endangering every law-abiding Virginian.”

Jones, Spanberger and Sears didn’t respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.   

Fox News Digital’s Landon Mion and Peter Pinedo contributed to this report.

The 2025 government shutdown is hours away from breaking a record to be the longest-ever in history.

The prior record was held by the 2018-2019 government shutdown during President Donald Trump’s first term. Trump signed legislation ending that shutdown in the 9 p.m. hour on the 35th day.

Tuesday marks the 35th day of the current fiscal standoff. And with no deal reached yet between Democrats and Republicans in Congress, it’s all but certain that the dispute will bleed into day 36.

The previous shutdown occurred over a disagreement on funding Trump’s border wall. But this time, it’s Democrats’ priorities being caught in the middle.

SENATE RETURNS TO WORK AS GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN NEARS LONGEST IN US HISTORY OVER OBAMACARE FIGHT

Republicans have for weeks pushed a short-term extension of fiscal year (FY) 2025 federal funding levels called a continuing resolution (CR), aimed at giving lawmakers until Nov. 21 to strike a deal on FY2026 spending.

The measure is largely free of unrelated policy riders, save for an added $88 million aimed at enhanced security funding for lawmakers, the White House and the Supreme Court. 

But Democrats have said they will reject any federal funding bill that does not also extend enhanced Obamacare subsidies that are set to expire at the end of 2025. The enhanced subsidies were a COVID-19 pandemic-era measure that a majority of Republicans have said is no longer needed.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., have said they are open to discussing a reformed version of those subsidies, but rejected pairing the two issues together.

The House passed the CR on Sept. 19. Johnson has kept his chamber out of session since then in a bid to pressure Senate Democrats to agree to the GOP bill — though they have rejected it 13 times since then.

Senate Republicans have looked for different markers throughout the shutdown as possible exit points for Senate Democrats, like the nationwide “No Kings” protests, federal workers missing paychecks, the opening of open enrollment across the country on Nov. 1 and now the upcoming record-setting shutdown later Tuesday night. 

Sen. Mike Rounds, R- S.D., noted that both the elections on Tuesday, and the record-breaking push “as a protest against the president,” could factor into how much longer Senate Democrats continue to drag the shutdown out. 

TRUMP’S ‘NUCLEAR’ DEMAND NOT LANDING FOR SENATE REPUBLICANS AMID SHUTDOWN

“Here’s the reality, they’re at about 25% approval rating right now, and as one of their colleagues told me, the only way they can really go up is to show their base that they’re fighting with the president, and that’s what they’re doing right now,” Rounds said. 

“So once they get to the point where they think they made their point, then I think there’s a possibility of actually getting something done,” he continued. 

There has been more optimism in the upper chamber over the last several days than the entire shutdown so far, as more and more bipartisan conversations are cropping up. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., believed that lawmakers were close to an off-ramp, but there still hasn’t been a concrete move made toward ending the shutdown yet. 

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Senate Democrats, led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., still want a solid deal on expiring Obamacare subsidies, and want Trump to get more involved. That desire, despite the optimism, will likely see the House-passed CR fail for a 14th time Tuesday morning. 

When asked if breaking the record would add more weight to lawmakers’ ending the shutdown, Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., believed it would take an outside force. 

“I don’t see what it is,” he said. “It’ll take some type of an outside inflection point, or the best negotiator in the world to come in.” 

Meanwhile, funding for critical government programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Women, Infants, and Children program (WIC), as well as national flood insurance are running critically low on funds — potentially ensnaring millions of Americans.

The Department of Justice on Monday urged a federal court to reject former FBI Director James Comey’s bid to dismiss his case, arguing that his claims of selective prosecution are unfounded.

The DOJ, in its 48-page filing, also denied that President Donald Trump’s September Truth Social post calling on U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to prosecute prominent political adversaries, including Comey, Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and New York Attorney General Letitia James, had any influence on the decision to bring charges.

“These posts reflect the President’s view that the defendant has committed crimes that should be met with prosecution. They may even suggest that the President disfavors the defendant. But they are not direct evidence of a vindictive motive,” prosecutors argued.

“The defendant spins a tale that requires leaps of logic and a big dose of cynicism, then he calls the President’s post a direct admission,” they continued. “There is no direct admission of discriminatory purpose. To the contrary, the only direct admission from the President is that DOJ officials decided whether to prosecute, not him.”

COMEY DENIES CHARGES, DECLARES ‘I AM NOT AFRAID’

Trump wrote in a Sept. 20 post on his Truth Social platform that “nothing is being done” to Comey, Schiff or James.

“They’re all guilty as hell,” he said. “They impeached me twice, and indicted me (5 times!), OVER NOTHING. JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!”

The Wall Street Journal reported that the public Truth Social post was intended as a private message to Bondi.

COMEY INDICTMENT SPARKS FIERCE POLITICAL REACTIONS NATIONWIDE

Comey was indicted by a federal grand jury in late September on charges of false statements and obstructing a congressional proceeding. He pleaded not guilty.

His legal team filed a motion on Oct. 20 to dismiss the indictment on grounds of vindictive and selective prosecution. They also argued that Lindsey Halligan, the interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, was unlawfully appointed.

Halligan, Trump’s former personal attorney, was appointed by the president after Erik Siebert, the former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, resigned. Siebert reportedly resigned amid mounting pressure from the White House to bring charges against Comey and James.

“The official who purported to secure and sign the indictment was invalidly appointed to her position as interim U.S. Attorney. Because of that fundamental constitutional and statutory defect, the indictment is a nullity and must be dismissed,” Comey’s legal team wrote.

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The Justice Department maintains that Halligan’s appointment as interim U.S. attorney was lawful, arguing that it was in line with federal statute and the Constitution’s Appointments Clause.

Comey’s trial is scheduled to begin in January 2026.

Travelers who experienced long airport security wait times and flight delays this past weekend have Democrats to thank for their refusal to support reopening the federal government, the White House said Monday.

Half of the airports in the United States saw staffing shortages over the weekend, triggering flight delays and cancellations, the Trump administration said.

“Americans are paying the price for Democrats’ sick political games as air travel grinds to a halt amid the Democrat-driven chaos,” a White House news release said. “With essential workers like air traffic controllers and TSA agents being forced to labor without paychecks, this past weekend saw the worst weekend for staff since the Democrat Shutdown began — and it’s only going to get worse.”

The government shutdown continued Monday as Republicans and Democrats doubled down on their positions. Come late Tuesday night, the shutdown will officially become the longest on record — at 36 days — breaking the previous record set in early 2019.

SEAN DUFFY WARNS OF RECORD STRAIN ON AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS AHEAD OF FIRST MISSED PAYCHECK

The White House said Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoint wait times ballooned over the weekend as essential workers like air traffic controllers and TSA agents were forced to work without pay.

Checkpoint wait times exceeded three hours at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport, with some passengers enduring up to five hours in line, the White House said. At nearby William P. Hobby Airport, security wait times routinely exceeded one hour.

Passengers in the New York City area were warned of schedule changes, gate holds, and missed connections, while major disruptions hammered airports in Chicago, San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Miami, Orlando, Jacksonville, Austin, Cleveland, Seattle, Boston, Indianapolis, Nashville, Phoenix, and Washington, D.C., the administration said.

GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN 101: WE’VE BEEN HERE BEFORE, HERE’S WHAT HAPPENS NEXT

“There’s a reason every major travel stakeholder — from air traffic controllers to pilots to the nation’s largest airlines — is begging Democrats to stop the insanity by passing Republicans’ clean, nonpartisan continuing resolution,” the White House said. “Each week the Democrat Shutdown is prolonged, more than $1 billion in travel-related spending is lost, all while Democrats try to leverage the suffering in their demented political game.”

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Democratic Party.

In addition to the disruptions at America’s airports, funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), meant to be a lifeline for low-income households, was set to expire over the weekend.

“Not a single American should go hungry. Not a single American. And it’s the fault of Republicans that that is happening in this country right now,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said Monday. 

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump said Sunday in an interview that he “won’t be extorted” by Democrats who are demanding negotiations to extend the Affordable Care Act subsidies that expire at the end of the year for millions of Americans.

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Trump said he will only negotiate once the shutdown ends.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., defended Democratic New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani after Republican Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, criticized him for campaigning in Arabic.

“Just a couple decades after 9/11, the leading candidate for NYC mayor is campaigning in Arabic. The humiliation is the point,” Gill wrote in a post on X, sharing a Mamdani campaign video in Arabic.

The Republican made the comments when retweeting a Mamdani post on X written in Arabic, which featured a video of the mayoral candidate speaking the foreign language.

WASHINGTON POST RAILS AGAINST MAMDANI AS RADICAL, INEXPERIENCED AHEAD OF ELECTION

Ocasio-Cortez, who has been backing Mamdani, retweeted Gill’s post and commented, “Over 100 languages are spoken in our great city and it’s actually a pretty amazing part of being an American. If you are humiliated by America and the diversity that powers our nation’s Nobel Prizes, Olympic Gold Medals, and breakthrough innovations and culture, that’s on you.”

Gill’s comments drew broader Republican pushback. GOP Rep. Randy Fine of Florida shared Mamdani’s Arabic-language post and asserted, “If you do not speak English, you should not be able to vote.”

TRUMP BACKS CUOMO AND THREATENS TO CUT FEDERAL FUNDING IF ‘COMMUNIST MAMDANI’ WINS NYC MAYOR RACE

Mamdani, an Empire State assemblymember, describes himself as a “Democratic Socialist” on his X profile.

President Donald Trump has urged Big Apple voters to back former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the mayoral race.

MAMDANI’S GOD SQUAD: THE CLERICS, ACTIVISTS AND POLITICAL OPERATIVES WHO HAVE HIS BACK

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“A vote for Curtis Sliwa (who looks much better without the beret!) is a vote for Mamdani,” the president said of the Republican mayoral candidate in a Truth Social post. 

“Whether you personally like Andrew Cuomo or not, you really have no choice. You must vote for him, and hope he does a fantastic job. He is capable of it, Mamdani is not!” Trump asserted.

Election Day in New York City is Tuesday, Nov. 4.

Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, Capitol Hill and more Fox News politics content. Here’s what’s happening…

-Heres what’s open and what’s closed on Election Day across the country

-Obama, Dems face backlash for sharing stage with Jay Jones at Spanberger rally

-Trump-backed Ciattarelli gets major campaign trail surprise on Election Eve

5 key races to watch on Election Day 2025

With one day until Election Day, and the latest polls pointing to a potential photo finish in the battle for New Jersey governor, the two major party nominees are urging their supporters to get out and vote.

“When we vote, we win,” Democratic nominee Rep. Mikie Sherrill told supporters.

And her Republican rival, Jack Ciattarelli, told his supporters that “championship teams finish strong… let’s win this race.”

New Jersey is just one of two states, along with Virginia, that hold statewide elections for governor this November. And the contests, which traditionally grab outsized national attention, are viewed as crucial early tests of President Donald Trump’s unprecedented and explosive second-term agenda, as well as key barometers ahead of next year’s midterm showdowns for the U.S. House and Senate…READ MORE.

White House

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Trump administration cites widespread misuse of SNAP as funding lapses during shutdown

COURT FORCES HAND: Trump admin to partially resume SNAP benefits as shutdown drags on

SEAL OF APPROVAL: Trump backs Huckabee Sanders and a bunch of House Republicans for re-election with midterms on the horizon

‘SO DIRTY’: Trump pressed on whether he ordered DOJ to target James Comey, John Bolton and Letitia James

‘HELD BACK’: Trump backs ICE raid tactics, says they ‘haven’t gone far enough’

World Stage

NO BOOM POLICY: Energy secretary details how US nuclear tests will work

Capitol Hill

TOO OLD TO SERVE?: While Pelosi mulls her political future, debate heats up on when to step aside

TITAN OF THE LEFT: Pelosi spokesman sidesteps retirement rumors as Dem primary threats wait in wings

Across America 

ODDS ON BLUE: Prediction markets favor Democrats in New York, New Jersey, Virginia Election Day races

DIGITAL PUSH: Cuomo gains ground as viral ‘Would You Hire Zohran?’ video shows NYC businesses rejecting socialist candidate

SOCIALIST SURGE: Moderate Dems in Albany shift further left as Mamdani pushes socialist agenda, assemblyman warns

RISING THREAT: Antisemitism watchdog issues scathing ‘alarm bell’ report on Mamdani as NYC election nears

RIGGED MAPS REVOLT: Lone NYC House Republican pledges to ‘defeat’ effort to redistrict her seat

CLOSING TIME: Winsome Earle-Sears leads GOP ticket in final ‘elevator pitch’ to voters before Election Day

CRIME LOOP: Blue city repeat offender arrested nine times released again despite alleged violent history

Get the latest updates on the Trump administration and Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.

Nearly ten months into President Donald Trump’s second term in the White House, voters in contests from coast-to-coast head to the polls on Tuesday in statewide and local elections.

And the key showdowns, including gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia, are viewed, in part, as the first major ballot box test of Trump’s unprecedented and explosive second-term agenda.

“FAILING TO VOTE TOMORROW IS THE SAME AS VOTING FOR A DEMOCRAT,” the president charged in a social media post on Election Eve as he urged Republicans to head to the polls.

Grabbing top billing are New Jersey and Virginia, the only two states to hold contests for governor in the year after a presidential election. Their gubernatorial races typically receive outsized national attention and are seen as a key barometer ahead of next year’s midterms when the GOP will be defending its slim House and Senate majorities.

TRUMP MAKES LAST MINUTE PITCH FOR REPUBLICANS ON EVE OF 2025 ELECTIONS

Also in the political spotlight on Election Day 2025 is New York City’s high-profile mayoral showdown, where 34-year-old democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani is on the verge of making history, the blockbuster ballot box proposition over congressional redistricting in California, the nation’s most populous state and three state Supreme Court contests in battleground Pennsylvania.

Here’s what’s at stake.

New Jersey

Republican Jack Ciattarelli, who’s making his third straight run for Garden State governor and who nearly upset Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy four years ago, is optimistic he can pull off a victory in blue-leaning New Jersey.

In a state where registered Democrats still outnumber Republicans despite a GOP surge in registration this decade, Ciattarelli appeared to be closing the gap in recent weeks with Democratic rival Rep. Mikie Sherrill.

TRUMP-BACKED CIATTARELLI GETS MAJOR SURPRISE ON ELECTION EVE 

While Democrats have long dominated federal and state legislative elections in New Jersey, Republicans are very competitive in gubernatorial contests, winning five out of the past 10 elections.

And Trump made major gains in New Jersey in last year’s presidential election, losing the state by only six percentage points, a major improvement over his 16-point deficit four years earlier.

The president, whose poll numbers are underwater among New Jersey voters, headlined two tele-rallies for Ciattarelli in the final stretch of the campaign in hopes of energizing MAGA supporters, many of whom are low propensity voters who often skip casting ballots in non-presidential election years.

“We appreciate what the president is doing to get the base excited, and remind them that they got to vote, as do all New Jerseyans. The future of our state hangs in the balance. Get out and vote,” Ciattarelli told Fox News Digital on Monday after a campaign stop in this northern New Jersey borough.

TRUMP TAPS MASSIVE WARCHEST TO ENERGIZE MAGA VOTERS IN ELECTION 2025 FINAL PUSH

But in a state where Trump’s poll numbers are underwater, Sherrill has regularly linked Ciattarelli to the president, charging that her GOP rival “has really gone in lockstep with the president, giving him an A.”

The race in New Jersey was rocked earlier this autumn by a report that the National Personnel Records Center, which is a branch of the National Archives and Records Administration, mistakenly released Sherrill’s improperly redacted military personnel files, which included private information like her Social Security number, to a Ciattarelli ally.

But Sherrill’s military records indicated that the United States Naval Academy blocked her from taking part in her 1994 graduation amid a cheating scandal.

Sherrill, who was never accused of cheating in the scandal, went on to serve nearly a decade in the Navy.

The showdown was jolted again during last month’s final debate after Sherrill’s allegations that Ciattarelli was “complicit” with pharmaceutical companies in the opioid deaths of tens of thousands of New Jerseyans, as she pointed to the medical publishing company he owned that pushed content promoting the use of opioids as a low-risk treatment for chronic pain.

Virginia

Explosive revelations in Virginia’s attorney general race that the GOP aimed to leverage up and down the ballot recently shook up the state’s race for governor, forcing Democratic Party nominee, former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, back on defense in a campaign where she was seen as the frontrunner against Republican rival Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears.

Virginia attorney general Democratic nominee Jay Jones was in crisis mode after controversial texts were first reported earlier this fall by the National Review.

Jones acknowledged and apologized for texts he sent in 2022, when he compared then-Virginia House Speaker Todd Gilbert to mass murderers Adolf Hitler and Pol Pot, adding that if he was given two bullets, he would use both against the GOP lawmaker to shoot him in the head.

But he faced a chorus of calls from Republicans to drop out of the race. 

Earle-Sears didn’t waste an opportunity to link Spanberger to Jones. And during last month’s chaotic and only gubernatorial debate, where Earle-Sears repeatedly interrupted Spanberger, the GOP gubernatorial nominee called on her Democratic rival to tell Jones to end his attorney general bid.

FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS REPORTING ON THE VIRGINIA SHOWDOWN, HEAD HERE 

“The comments that Jay Jones made are absolutely abhorrent,” Spanberger said at the debate. But she neither affirmed nor pulled back her support of Jones.

The winner will succeed term-limited GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin.

New York City

The mayoral election in the nation’s most populous city always grabs outsized attention, especially this year as New York City may elect its first Muslim and first millennial mayor.

Mamdani’s victory in June’s Democratic Party mayoral primary in the deep blue city sent political shock waves across the country. And he’s come under attack from Republicans and from his rivals on the ballot over his far-left proposals.

Mamdani is facing off against former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who came in a distant second in the primary and is now running as an independent candidate. Cuomo is aiming for a political comeback after resigning as governor four years ago amid multiple scandals.

THE LATEST FOX NEWS REPORTING ON THE NEW YORK CITY MAYORAL ELECTION IS RIGHT HERE 

Also running is two-time Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa, a co-founder of the Guardian Angels, the non-profit, volunteer-based community safety group.

Embattled Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat who was running for re-election as an independent, dropped out of the race last month. He recently backed Cuomo, but his name remains on the ballot.

California

Voters in heavily blue California will vote in November on whether to set aside their popular nonpartisan redistricting commission for the rest of the decade and allow the Democrat-dominated legislature to determine congressional redistricting for the next three election cycles.

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The vote will be the culmination of an effort by Gov. Gavin Newsom and California Democrats to create up to five left-leaning congressional seats in the Golden State to counter the new maps that conservative Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law a couple of months ago, which will create up to five more right-leaning U.S. House districts in the red state of Texas.

The redistricting in Texas, which came after Trump’s urging, is part of a broader effort by the GOP across the country to pad their razor-thin House majority to keep control of the chamber in the 2026 midterms when the party in power traditionally faces political headwinds and loses seats. 

Trump is aiming to avoid a repeat of the 2018 midterms, during his first term in office, when Republicans lost control of the House.

Pennsylvania

Democrats currently hold a 5-2 majority on the Supreme Court in the northeastern battleground of Pennsylvania.

But three Democrat-leaning justices on the state Supreme Court, following the completion of their 10-year terms, are running this year to keep their seats in “Yes” or “No” retention elections.

The election could upend the court’s composition for the next decade, heavily influence whether Democrats or Republicans have an advantage in the state’s congressional delegation and legislature, and impact crucial cases including voting rights and reproductive rights.

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While state Supreme Court elections typically don’t grab much national attention, contests where the balance of a court in a key battleground state is up for grabs have attracted tons of outside money.

The state Supreme Court showdown this spring in Wisconsin, where the 4-3 liberal majority was maintained, drew nearly $100 million in outside money as both parties poured resources into the election.

FIRST ON FOX: The Trump Department of the Interior is fining a green energy company over $30,000 after their wind turbines knocked two American bald eagles out of the sky, according to a violation notice reviewed by Fox News Digital.

The notice reveals that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing a fine of $32,340 against Ørsted Onshore North America after two bald eagles were discovered dead near wind turbines in Plum Creek, Nebraska, and Lincoln Land, Illinois. The violation notice says the company violated the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act by killing the eagles without what is called an “incidental take permit.”

The first bald eagle was discovered dead in March 2024 near a turbine at Ørsted’s Plum Creek facility in Wayne County, Nebraska. The eagle’s remains were taken to the National Fish and Wildlife Forensics Laboratory for a necropsy, at which it was determined the fatality was caused by a collision with a wind turbine.

A year later, another bald eagle was found dead on April 18, just 200 yards from a turbine in Lincoln Land, Illinois. The necropsy results similarly showed that the eagle’s death was consistent with a wind turbine collision.

FEDERALLY PROTECTED BIRDS FORCE HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL TEAM TO REARRANGE SCHEDULE

Because the Ørsted facilities did not have permits to kill the eagles, the Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing civil penalties of $16,170 per violation, totaling $32,340. The bureau is giving Ørsted 45 days to respond to the notice before sealing the penalties.

A spokesperson for the Plum Creek Wind and Lincoln Land Wind facilities told Fox News Digital that Ørsted received the letter issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on October 29 and the company “will continue to engage and cooperate with USFWS on this matter.”

A subsidiary of Danish clean energy conglomerate Ørsted A/S, Ørsted Onshore operates 13 wind farms across the country. According to its website, Ørsted A/S is a global clean energy leader that develops, constructs, and operates offshore and land-based wind farms, solar farms, energy storage facilities, and bioenergy plants. Ørsted also operates offshore wind farms across the globe, including in the U.S.

EXCLUSIVE: TRUMP ADMIN NIXES GIANT WIND FARM APPROVED ‘LAST-MINUTE’ BY BIDEN TEAM

Ørsted was one of the companies touted by the Biden White House as an example of its successful clean energy goals and economic plan. The company’s controversial offshore projects in New Jersey, Ocean Wind 1 and Ocean Wind 2, made headlines in 2023 and were ultimately canceled due to economic factors, delivering a blow to former President Joe Biden’s green energy goals.

The company’s website states that its mission is to “create a world that runs entirely on green energy.”

“We are building and shaping America’s clean energy industry, creating jobs, boosting economies, partnering with local communities, and conserving nature,” a statement on Ørsted’s website says.

The violation notice states that though Ørsted does not have any prior wildlife violations, it says the company continued to not hold an eagle take permit despite realizing the danger its turbines presented to airborne wildlife after the first eagle was killed in 2024. It also notes that Ørsted showed good faith by voluntarily notifying the bureau of the kills and cooperating with instructions to preserve the carcasses. 

SYMBOL OF AMERICAN FREEDOM KNOCKED OUT OF THE SKIES BY GREEN ENERGY TURBINES

Nonetheless, the notice reads that “the gravity of these violations is serious,” noting that “while bald eagle numbers have increased markedly from pre-listing lows, the species still faces myriad threats from humans.”

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“Bald eagles and golden eagles are trust species of the United States and of religious and cultural significance to Native Americans,” the notice continues, adding, “The U.S. government takes its responsibility to protect eagles seriously.”

U.S. Secretary of Interior Doug Burgum has previously criticized solar and wind projects, saying they are “destabilizing our grid and driving up prices.” 

“When you think about the green new scam, it was pro-China and it’s anti-American and it’s also unaffordable and unreliable,” Burgum said on Jesse Watters Primetime in June.

A protester holding a sign with the image of Richard Cox, a man convicted on child sex charges, appeared at Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger’s campaign stop in Annandale on Sunday. The protester sought to criticize Spanberger’s stance on allowing transgender students to use school bathrooms that align with their gender identity.

The issue for which Cox was called the “poster boy” has again roiled the campaign trail in Virginia, as Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears has continued to press Spanberger to state whether biological males should solely use the men’s bathroom.

The protester appeared in front of Spanberger’s parked campaign bus during a Sunday stop in Annandale, an upper-middle-class suburb about halfway between Fairfax and Washington, D.C.

“Abigail supports men in girl’s locker rooms,” the sign read, and the camera remained focused on him for several moments before a Spanberger staffer appeared to engage with members of the press about how the candidate would be exiting the home she was visiting.

PRESSURE MOUNTS ON VIRGINIA DEMS TO CLEARLY STATE VIEW ON TRANS BATHROOMS AFTER BOMBSHELL EMAILS

The staffer mentioned the “narrow streets” the bus would have to navigate upon leaving.

A Fox News journalist onsite recounted that it appeared staff did not want the protesting man to be further recorded.

Cox was scheduled to appear in court in neighboring Arlington County on Monday on more sex-crime-related charges — as Fairfax’s elected Democrat prosecutor has been under fire for declining to pursue Cox as vigorously for similar allegations in his ongoing case.

SEX OFFENDER CALLED ‘POSTER BOY’ FOR GOP’S TRANSGENDER IDEOLOGY CONCERNS FACES COURT HEARING

Cox, born male and holding a sex-crime rap sheet going back more than 30 years, recently began identifying as a female – and complained to Arlington school district officials about being ostracized for his choice of restroom at a school-run aquatic center.

During their only debate in Norfolk in October, Earle-Sears repeatedly pressed Spanberger to take a position on the issue and to explain her refusal to call for scandal-plagued attorney general candidate Jay Jones to withdraw.

“If your little girl comes home and said she was forced to undress in a locker room with a biological boy, what would you say? She’s crying. What would you say?” Earle-Sears said to Spanberger, who ignored the question.

FORMER ROANOKE WOMEN’S SWIMMER RIPS SPANBERGER FOR REFUSING TO COMMIT TO PROTECTING WOMEN’S SPORTS

“Abigail Spanberger voted for the so-called Equality Act. That vote says a grown man can walk naked into your daughter’s locker room and if she’s uncomfortable, she’s the problem,” the Republican said in an October statement citing Spanberger’s congressional record.

“Virginia, our daughters are not the problem, politicians like Abigail are.”

Spanberger said in September that Virginia had a “process in place where, on an individual, one-by-one basis, schools, parents, principals, coaches were making decisions based on fairness, competitiveness, and safety where a child might be able, or might not be able, to play in a particular sport.”

When asked about Cox, Spanberger spokeswoman Libby Wiet told The Federalist that the sex offender is a “predator who should be in jail.”

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“Abigail is a parent of three daughters in Virginia public schools and a former federal law enforcement officer who went after child predators — nothing is more important to her than the safety of Virginia’s kids,” Wiet said.

The election is Tuesday.

TOTOWA, N.J. – Hours before the polls open, President Donald Trump is making a final pitch in Tuesday’s statewide elections in New Jersey and Virginia, in an effort to turn out MAGA voters who often sit out off-year elections when Trump isn’t on the ballot.

The president will headline tele-rallies on Election Eve in both New Jersey and Virginia, which are the only two states that hold races for governor the year after a presidential election.

The New Jersey and Virginia gubernatorial showdowns typically receive outsized national attention and are seen as a key barometer ahead of next year’s midterms, when the GOP will be defending its slim House and Senate majorities. And this year’s elections are also seen as the first major ballot box test of Trump’s unprecedented agenda since his White House return.

“Jack will be a GREAT Governor, and has my Complete and Total Endorsement,” Trump wrote Sunday night in a social media post as he praised New Jersey Republican gubernatorial nominee Jack Ciattarelli. “He will never let you down.”

TRUMP-BACKED CIATTARELLI GETS MAJOR SURPRISE ON ELECTION EVE 

Ciattarelli has narrowed the gap with Democratic rival Rep. Mikie Sherrill in blue-leaning New Jersey, in the race to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy.

“We appreciate what the president is doing to get the base excited, and remind them that they got to vote, as do all New Jerseyans. The future of our state hangs in the balance. Get out and vote,” Ciattarelli told Fox News Digital on Monday, after a campaign stop in this northern New Jersey borough.

While Democrats have long dominated federal and state legislative elections in New Jersey, Republicans have been very competitive in gubernatorial contests, winning five out of the previous ten elections.

FIVE RACES TO WATCH ON ELECTION DAY 2025

While the president’s approval and favorable ratings remain underwater in New Jersey, Trump made major gains in New Jersey in last year’s presidential election. He lost the state by only six percentage points, a huge improvement over his 16-point deficit four years earlier. And while Democrats still outnumber Republicans in the Garden State, the GOP has made significant voter registration gains since Ciattarelli came close to upsetting Murphy four years ago.

The president’s tele-rally for Ciattarelli follows a similar one a week and a half ago, on the eve of early voting. The purpose of the tele-rallies is to help energize MAGA supporters, many of whom are low-propensity voters who often skip casting ballots in non-presidential election years.

Trump’s tele-rally in New Jersey last month included robocalls to over 180,000 people, encouraging them to join the tele-rally and to get out and vote.

TRUMP TAPS MASSIVE WARCHEST TO ENERGIZE MAGA VOTERS IN ELECTION 2025 FINAL PUSH

“Republicans need to maximize all the Trump supporters they can find. It’s been clear the last several election cycles that there’s a bit of a drop-off between supporters of the president and down-ballot Republicans,” veteran GOP strategist Jesse Hunt told Fox News.

Hunt, a former Republican Governors Association communications director, said that “in order to have success in competitive states like New Jersey or Virginia, you have to make sure that every single Trump voter that was there in 2024 shows up to vote.”

Trump endorsed Ciattarelli ahead of the June GOP gubernatorial primary, with his backing helping Ciattarelli to an easy nomination victory.

But Trump has refrained from endorsing the Republican gubernatorial nominee in Virginia, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears.

Earle-Sears is facing off with former Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger in race to succeed term-limited GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin.

HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS REPORTING ON THE 2025 ELECTIONS

Trump and Gov. Glenn Youngkin headlined a Thursday tele-rally for the entire Virginia Republican ticket, which also includes Lt. Gov. nominee John Reid and incumbent Attorney General Jason Miyares.

Similar to New Jersey, Trump also lost Virginia in last year’s presidential elections but made major gains in comparison to his 2020 finish in the state.

“VIRGINIA AND NEW JERSEY, REMEMBER THIS: A VOTE FOR A REPUBLICAN MEANS SUBSTANTIALLY LOWER ENERGY PRICES,” Trump argued in an Election Eve social media post. “FAILING TO VOTE TOMORROW IS THE SAME AS VOTING FOR A DEMOCRAT.”

The Democratic National Committee (DNC), in a statement, argued that Earle-Sears and Ciattarelli, were’ “extreme Trump loyalists.”

“Jack Ciattarelli and Winsome Earle-Sears are so out of touch with voters in New Jersey and Virginia that they’re inviting America’s least-popular President to stump for them just hours before polls open on Election Day,” DNC Communications Director Rosemary Boeglin claimed.

Trump’s Monday evening tele-rallies come as the president is also making a final multimillion-dollar investment in Tuesday’s statewide elections in New Jersey and Virginia.

Trump’s political team made a withdrawal from the president’s massive political war chest, with New Jersey and Virginia each receiving roughly $1 million for get-out-the-vote microtargeting efforts, Fox News confirmed this weekend.

“What you’ve seen just in the last couple of days is the president and all of our Republican forces have put even more money behind our efforts to turn out our votes because that’s what it’s gonna come down to,” Joe Gruters, chairman of the Trump-aligned Republican National Committee (RNC), said Saturday on Fox News’ “The Big Weekend Show.”

Meanwhile, the DNC has dished out over $7 million – a party record – for get-out-the-vote and organizing efforts this summer and autumn in New Jersey, Virginia and Pennsylvania, where Democrats are fighting to retain three state supreme court seats. 

“I’ve always taken the position that every election matters, whether it’s an on year off year, whether it’s a local election, a federal election, every inch of ground that we gain here adds up,” DNC chair Ken Martin told Fox News Digital last week.

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And Martin is confident his party’s investment in 2025’s most consequential elections will pay off.

“I do expect that we’ll win those elections in New Jersey and Virginia,” he said. “We feel pretty bullish about our chances.”

It is said that everyone’s a critic.

But when it comes to the government shutdown, everyone’s an oracle.

Especially when trying to determine when it might end.

“[Democrats] are waiting to elect [Zohran] Mamdani, the communist, soon-to-be mayor of New York. And then I believe things will go back into business as normal,” said Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., on FOX Business. “If we don’t reopen this week, then I believe it’ll happen at some time shortly before Thanksgiving.”

GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN KNOWLEDGE: GAMING OUT ITS POTENTIAL END

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., also offered her own prediction.

“I believe that this week could be the week,” said Capito on FOX Business.

But Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, wasn’t so sure.

“I don’t know what the predictions are based on,” said Cornyn on Fox. “We keep looking for some rational behavior on the part of the Democrats who shut down the government. But it was a dumb idea to start with. And it hasn’t gotten any better since.”

Everyone is now searching for a flicker of hope. A glimmer of reason as to why the government shutdown won’t deepen.

But all this week represents is another opportunity. There have been multiple inflection points along the way, but nothing has quite yielded the same opportunity to end the shutdown as this week.

Yes, emergency food aid for the nation’s neediest expired on Saturday. Air traffic is growing worse by the hour. Healthcare premiums formally spiked on Saturday – which is why Democrats balked at funding the government in the first place.

But none of those developments have truly forced the sides back to the negotiating table. That’s why some have settled on Tuesday’s elections as a potential turning point.

SHUTDOWN SEEN FROM THE PULPIT: INCHING ALONG ON A WING AND A PRAYER

Mamdani is the odds-on favorite to become the next mayor of New York City. Republicans are now projecting that the election is why the Democrats haven’t folded on government funding. They believe that certain election results – a win by the progressive Mamdani in New York coupled with what Republicans hope are losses by the moderate former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., running for Virginia governor and Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J., running for New Jersey governor – will prod Democrats into action. Republicans believe such results will compel Democrats to see their party as out of touch.

“I hope the election tomorrow is a change. A sea change in all this,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. “I hope that after everybody votes and they go in their room and they make the calculation that, well, ‘maybe, maybe we won’t have to hold that line anymore.’”

Republicans know the shutdown will end eventually. But if it ends soon, they want to shape the narrative that “Democrats caved because of the election results.”

Consider that Republicans have been forecasting the shutdown’s end for five weeks now.

“The cracks started to appear in the Democrat base,” proclaimed Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., on October 1.

Republicans believed Democrats would cave in a matter of days once the shutdown started.

It never happened.

SENATE REPUBLICANS PLOT LONGER-TERM FUNDING BILL AS GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN CONTINUES

The GOP then argued that Democrats were merely holding out until the “No Kings” rallies on October 19 concluded — that Democrats would have “shown they were fighting” by then.

“They won’t be able to reopen the government until after that rally,” forecast Johnson on Fox on October 10.

There was nothing of the sort.

Then the GOP amended its argument that Democrats were on the verge of giving in because federal workers were missing paychecks. Especially air traffic controllers.

“We’re getting to where the consequences of this are very real,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., on Fox on October 23.

That theory also fizzled.

Republicans then pinned their hopes on the next missed paycheck, coupled with flight delays, expiring SNAP benefits, and spiking health premiums on November 1.

“The Democrats will collapse entirely,” predicted Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, on Fox over the weekend.

But nothing changed.

“We will not support a partisan, Republican spending bill that continues to gut the healthcare of the American people,” proclaimed House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. “That’s been our position. Week after week after week – and it will continue to be our position.” 

Say what you will about the Democrats’ strategy. But they haven’t folded.

TRUMP’S ‘NUCLEAR’ DEMAND NOT LANDING FOR SENATE REPUBLICANS AMID SHUTDOWN

Keep in mind that Republicans have tried in vain to convince Senate Democrats since mid-September to accept a GOP spending plan which would only fund the government through November 21.

“It is now becoming close to a moot issue,” said Cornyn. “What are they going to do after, I don’t know.”

Thune proclaimed that the 21st is now a date which is “lost.”

Yours truly asked House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., what was the “drop-dead date” for Republicans to make another play call.

“With November 21st out there, it’s not a lot [of] time to resolve differences,” replied Scalise.

There’s now chatter about Republicans crafting another short-term spending bill through January.

“The longer sort of runway, the better,” said Thune. “I’m certainly listening to our colleagues and trying to figure out kind of where that landing spot would be.”

But there’s no guarantee either chamber could pass such a measure — especially if Democrats’ core demands remain unaddressed.

In his daily prayer to open the Senate session, Senate Chaplain Barry Black implied that the lawmakers needed help solving the crisis – simply because they were no closer to a resolution than they were in late September.

“Inspire our lawmakers to unite in putting out the fire of this government shutdown that has already burned far more than anticipated,” prayed Black.

It’s too unpredictable to make a sound prediction about when the shutdown will end. But if you predict enough things, you’ll eventually get something right.

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So how about this prediction:

The shutdown will end.

Eventually.

And that’s truly the only safe prediction anyone can make right now.

Freshman Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., was targeted with death threats and other extreme insults by a left-wing city commissioner candidate from Montana’s capital city of Helena, who called his office several weeks ago to leave her thoughts about the Republican senator over a voicemail.  

The voicemail came in July, shortly after Sheehy voted with his Republican colleagues to pass the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a sweeping tax and spending package from Republicans that angered many Democrats, including Helena city commissioner candidate Haley McKnight, following its passage. 

“Hi, this is Haley McKnight. I’m a constituent in Helena, Montana,” McKnight started off in her voicemail, a recording of which was obtained and verified by Fox News Digital. “I just wanted to let you know that you are the most insufferable kind of coward and thief. You just stripped away healthcare for 17 million Americans, and I hope you’re really proud of that. I hope that one day you get pancreatic cancer, and it spreads throughout your body so fast that they can’t even treat you for it.”

But the anger didn’t stop there. During the roughly minute-long voicemail that phone logs reportedly show came in on the afternoon of July 1, McKnight launches into insults about Sheehy’s fertility and his children, before warning the senator not to “meet me on the streets.”

LAWMAKER TARGETED WITH DEATH THREAT AFTER CONDEMNING RACIST SIGN AIMED AT WINSOME SEARS

“I hope you die in the street like a dog,” McKnight continued. “One day, you’re going to live to regret this. I hope that your children never forgive you. I hope that you are infertile. I hope that you manage to never get a boner ever again. You are the worst piece of sh– I have ever, ever, ever had the misfortune of looking at … God forbid that you ever meet me on the streets because I will make you regret it. F— you. I hope you die.” 

McKnight added that Sheehy doesn’t “serve Montanans,” but rather just his “own private interests.” 

“All that you have done since you have gotten into power is do sh– for yourself.”

SENATORS MAKE BIPARTISAN CALL TO ‘TURN DOWN THE HEAT’ ON POLITICAL VIOLENCE, RHETORIC     

McKnight, originally from North Carolina but now living and working in Montana, owns a small business called Sage & Oats Trading Post, which McKnight describes as “a successful Native American-owned gift store” on her campaign website. She also runs a consulting and design business called Morningstar Design Ltd Co, and is the president and a board member of the Helena Young Professionals group. She touts being the recipient of the Helena Chamber’s 20 under 40 award. 

“I am always ready to stand up for what I believe and challenge the status quo,” McKnight’s “About” web page on her campaign website reads, which lists priorities like housing for all, better governmental transparency, increased funding for public art and music, and more accessible streets and downtown living.

In an interview with a local news outlet, McKnight touts her past volunteer work for the Obama campaign and more recently working on Democrat candidate Steve Held’s campaign for Congress. Held did not make it out of the primary.

Meanwhile, public campaign donation records reportedly show McKnight has donated to multiple Democratic candidates, according to records reviewed by Fox News Digital.

The Helena city commissioner race, which is traditionally nonpartisan, is her first time running for any sort of political office. McKnight was originally one of five declared nonpartisan candidates before she advanced to the November general election after finishing third in a nonpartisan primary in September. 

“I’m a constituent, and I was responding to some horrible policy with some justified rage,” McKnight told Fox News Digital about the voicemail when reached for comment. “I would hope that if Sheehy was so rattled by my voicemail, he would have contacted me instead of leaking my information to conservative news media the night before an election. It feels like a cheap shot. I’m one of his constituents, and you know, this message is nothing that I’d say to my grandmother or in front of any children, it was meant for Senator Sheehy alone.”

McKnight said it was “laughable” that this is how Sheehy responds to constituent voicemails.

ANTISEMITISM WATCHDOG ISSUES SCATHING ‘ALARM BELL’ REPORT ON MAMDANI AS NYC ELECTION NEARS

“I also would have thought that somebody from the armed forces could have handled some tough language,” McKnight added. Sheehy is a former Navy SEAL who was shot while deployed in Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, McKnight went on to say she was simply trying to “convey the gravity of the situation” with her voicemail. She added that she was not intending to threaten Sheehy with her voicemail. McKnight also reportedly told the National Review she “obviously” had no intent of hurting Sheehy, reportedly telling the outlet: “I couldn’t, I’m a woman.”

“I wanted to drive home the struggles that people that I know are going through because of his policies. I think people were kind of shocked at my specificity, but these are things that are affecting people in my community,” McKnight told Fox News Digital, adding that Sheehy was spending too much time blocking the release of “the Epstein files” as opposed to understanding the struggles Montanans are going through. 

But, when pressed on whether McKnight stood by her rhetoric from the voicemail, particularly after public officials from both sides of the aisle have called for folks to turn down the heat in light of the spate of political violence that the United States has faced recently, she simply responded: “No comment on that.” 

“I have received numerous death and rape threats since this story has been published,” McKnight said when pressed even further. “My business is being threatened at the moment because of the actions of the senator,” she added, in reference to Sheehy publicly sharing her voicemail with the media.

ACQUITTAL OF MAN WHO URGED VIOLENCE AGAINST TRUMP PUTS FIRST AMENDMENT IN SPOTLIGHT

“It’s completely politically motivated,” McKnight concluded. “It’s a cheap shot the night before an election … the only thing left I have to say is release the Epstein files.” 

Montana has no major statewide elections this year. 

In comments to the National Review, McKnight added that, “to see [Sheehy] throw away what Montanans need and want for his own betterment is enough to make me, yeah, want to fight him on site.” 

“I’ll gladly say that, because I think in the time of rising fascism, we shouldn’t be afraid to say these things,” she added.

Meanwhile, when pressed by the outlet over whether she thought her voicemail went too far, McKnight reportedly said she didn’t think so, adding that she has had friends die of pancreatic cancer because of an inability to access care they required. “This is a man who’s so rich that he’s never, ever going to have to deal with that problem,” McKnight reportedly said.

In her comments to Fox News Digital, McKnight also recalled having a friend die from pancreatic cancer “because he couldn’t afford to treat it.”

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McKnight, much like Democrat Attorney General candidate in Virginia, Jay Jones, who has been in hot water for comments about wanting to murder his political rival and his family, is an example of heightened political rhetoric that members of Congress and other public officials have expressed concern over.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s coming from one side or the other, directed at one party or another, or one person or another. It is all wrong – and it makes us all less safe,” Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, said of political violence in September following the assassination of Charlie Kirk. Shapiro has been joined by members from both parties calling on others to turn down the heat amid a spate of political violence the country has seen.   

When reached for comment about the voicemail, Sheehy spokesman Tate Mitchell said, “We hope Ms. McKnight gets the help she clearly needs and wish her well.”

President Barack Obama‘s campaign efforts in New Jersey to support Rep. Mikie Sherrill’s race to serve as the Garden State’s governor was a “Hail Mary” pass from Democrats that generated “fake excitement,” conservative voters told Fox News Digital during a Turning Point Action rally in South Jersey Monday afternoon. 

“I’ll say this as an African-American, we’re done hearing Barack Obama try to tell us how we’re supposed to vote,” New Jersey voter Shawn Crump told Fox News Digital Monday afternoon. “Because, full disclosure, I was a Democrat. I worked on his campaign in 2008, and he just let us down. He let this country down, but he especially let down a lot of African-Americans. So we really don’t want to hear him tell us how we were supposed to go.”

Crump was among a group of Republican voters who traveled to Medford, New Jersey, Monday afternoon for a Turning Point Action rally to mobilize further support for Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli in the final hours before Election Day. The rally was billed as a “Super Chase” event, where community members then head out to remind voters to submit their ballots. Ciattarelli did not attend this specific rally. 

Attendees heard from local conservative leaders before hitting the road to knock on doors and remind people to get out and vote in the final hours of the election. 

OBAMA’S PRESENCE AND TRUMP’S POLICIES CONSUME 11TH HOUR RALLY TO KEEP NJ BLUE

Obama traveled to Newark, New Jersey, Saturday evening, where he held a rally with Democrat candidate Sherrill. New Jersey is a historically deep blue state that previously voted to elect a Republican governor in 2013, when former Gov. Chris Christie was elected, and previously voted to elect a Republican president in 1988, when George H.W. Bush defeated Michael Dukakis. 

“Let’s face it, our country and our politics are in a pretty dark place right now,” Obama told the audience Saturday, taking a shot at President Donald Trump and his administration. “It’s hard to know where to start, because every day this White House offers up a fresh batch of lawlessness and carelessness and mean-spiritedness. And just plain old craziness.”

SHERRILL INSISTS NJ A DEM STRONGHOLD AHEAD OF OBAMA VISIT, REJECTING GOP MOMENTUM: ‘NOT A PURPLE STATE’

Republicans are on a mission to flip the state red and are motivated by Trump’s inroads with Jersey voters in 2024. Trump cut his 2020 loss from 16 points in the state down to six points in 2024, and flipped five counties to the GOP. 

Joe Sereday, chairman of the Burlington County Young Republicans, reported to Fox Digital that enthusiasm is high among voters casting ballots for Ciattarelli and added that Obama’s campaigning in the state signaled desperation for the party in a state that is historically blue. 

“I think it’s kind of old news now,” Sereday said, adding that Obama deserves respect as a former president, but that he sees issues with the campaigning efforts. “Usually when the Democrats roll in these big names — Obama, who else was here, Andy Kim, Cory Booker — usually that means they’re in trouble.”

WITH LEGACY ON THE LINE, OBAMA HITTING CAMPAIGN TRAIL TO BOOST DEMOCRATS IN KEY GOVERNOR ELECTIONS

He added: “Usually when they bring in Obama and the wash-ups, hate to say some of the wash-ups, usually that means they’re desperate.”

Cliff Maloney, CEO of Citizens Alliance and the founder of campaign efforts PA Chase and NJ Chase, told Fox Digital that Obama’s presence in New Jersey was a “Hail Mary” pass from Democrats. 

“I just think it’s all AstroTurf. I think it is fake excitement,” Maloney, who attended the rally as a speaker to mobilize New Jersey voters. “They’re kind of just hyping things and trying to sensationalize it. Nobody’s excited about (Sherrill). And that’s something that you can’t fix that.”

“You can bring an Obama. You can bring in whoever. At the end of the day, New Jersey has an 800,000 registration advantage to Democrats and we’re here in the state telling you it’s competitive,” Maloney added. “So win or lose, the fact that this is a place that Democrats have to spend resources, time, energy, and money, this is not even supposed to be a competitive race. We’re in a dead heat right now. We are in the game. This is a competitive grace. And if Jack pulls this off, it will be an earth-shattering moment in the political world.” 

New Jersey’s notoriously high taxes and spiraling energy costs are top concerns for voters, with locals telling Fox Digital that protecting Christianity and “truth” is also on the ballot in 2025. 

SHERRILL PULLS OUT ALL STOPS WITH OBAMA ENDORSEMENT, STAR-STUDDED NEW JERSEY CAMPAIGN PUSH AS RACE TIGHTENS

“My concerns are actually Christianity, people not being told the truth, obviously abortion and our children in schools, they need to learn things that are really truthful,” local South Jersey voter Valerie told Fox News Digital. 

“I do feel like we are going to flip the state,” she added. “I’m hoping that a lot of Republican voters come out and they don’t stay home, because if they do come out, I think we’ll win.”

Local voter and pastor Jeff Kliewer told Fox Digital that pro-life and homeschooling issues are also factoring into voting decisions. 

“The pro-life issue is still huge,” Kliewer said. “It’s one of the biggest. And for us, in New Jersey, a number of the pregnancy centers have been under attack by the Democratic machine under Phil Murphy, and it’s only gonna get worse if they hold power. So I know a lot of the leaders of those pregnancy centers are trying to help girls, but they’re constantly under pressure. So there’s that issue.”

“Secondly, the homeschool families, there’s a lot red tape that’s being introduced against homeschooling. Although New Jersey has been one of the freest states for homeschooling, that might change if we don’t keep good people in office here,” he continued, adding taxes are at the top of most voters’ minds as they head to the polls. 

Turning Point Action field representative Noah Formica, who is from Pennsylvania and made the trek down to New Jersey to bolster mobilization efforts, explained that the “Super Chase” event is designed to spur locals to motivate their neighbors to vote.

“It’s a group of people getting together. They listen to a few speakers talking about action, and then we get directly involved in our communities,” he said. 

“Every single door that we knock, right here in New Jersey, makes all the difference. Just voter contacts. And we have almost 60 people here, so if each person here knocks 15 doors, imagine the impact that’ll make on a local race,” he said. 

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The New Jersey election will be held Tuesday, with polls opening at 6 a.m. Eastern Standard Time and closing at 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. 

Fox News Digital reached out to the Sherrill campaign regarding the voters’ comments but did not immediately receive a response. 

The Small Business Administration (SBA) said Monday that it has canceled this year’s National Veterans Small Business Week (NVSBW) because of the ongoing federal government shutdown.

The 12th annual NVSBW was scheduled to run from Monday through Friday and would have honored America’s 1.6 million veteran-owned small businesses.

“By refusing to support a clean funding bill to reopen the government, Senate Democrats have frozen the majority of SBA’s services, including our small business lending programs and public events like National Veterans Small Business Week,” said SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler.

Loeffler blamed Senate Democrats, who have repeatedly blocked bills to fund the government since the shutdown began on Oct. 1.

SENATE RETURNS TO WORK AS GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN NEARS LONGEST IN US HISTORY OVER OBAMACARE FIGHT

She said Democrats “continue to block pay for more than 1 million active-duty military members,” adding that the Trump administration is “pursuing every option” to support the military during the shutdown.

The theme for this year’s NVSBW — “Veteran-Owned, American Made” — was intended to highlight how veteran-owned small businesses drive U.S. manufacturing, strengthen national security and contribute more than $1 trillion in annual sales to the economy.

TRUMP’S ‘NUCLEAR’ DEMAND NOT LANDING FOR SENATE REPUBLICANS AMID SHUTDOWN

In a statement, the SBA said that all related events — including in-person and virtual training sessions, capital access workshops, and government contracting resources — have been suspended.

“The cancellation underscores how widely the shutdown has disrupted services and opportunities for those who have already sacrificed so much,” the agency said.

Democratic leaders have urged Republicans to begin negotiating an extension of expiring health insurance subsidies as part of efforts to reopen the government.

Senate Democrats, led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., have blocked the GOP’s plan to reopen the government at least 13 times since the shutdown began, according to the White House.

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Meanwhile, President Donald Trump said Sunday he will only negotiate once the government is reopened.

FIRST ON FOX: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) continued its crackdown on the “worst of the worst” dangerous illegal immigrants over Halloween weekend, arresting criminals convicted of intercourse with minor, sexual abuse, kidnapping, homicide and other serious crimes.

The Department of Homeland Security highlighted that 70 percent of ICE arrests are of criminal illegal aliens charged or convicted of a crime in the U.S., according to a statement to Fox News Digital.

One criminal illegal, Sisawang Khambounheuang, from Laos, was arrested by ICE after being convicted of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor in San Diego. Just to the north, another criminal illegal alien, Milton Rene Mendez-Arevalo, from Guatemala, was arrested after a conviction for kidnapping in Los Angeles.

In Houston, where ICE arrested over 120 illegal immigrants over the weekend, the agency nabbed Honduran criminal illegal Hector Eugenio Ramirez-Martinez, who was convicted for indecency with child sexual contact in Harris County. Another, Francisco Nava-Garcia, from Mexico, was arrested in Houston after being convicted of assault on a family/household member.

CALIFORNIA ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT WITH 49 PRIOR ARRESTS TOPS ICE’S LATEST ‘WORST-OF-THE-WORST’ LIST

Elsewhere in Texas, ICE arrested Kunal Chhetri, an illegal alien from India, who was convicted for alien smuggling in the United States District Court, Western District of Texas.

ICE also continued its crackdown in Florida, arresting Lazaro Mateo Ruiz, from Cuba, who was convicted for homicide, weapon offense and robbery in Miami-Dade County. Over in Florida’s gulf coast, ICE arrested Juan Gomez-Gutierrez, from Colombia, who was convicted for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms of cocaine while aboard a vessel in Tampa.

Another drug distributor, Juan Brito-Rios, from Mexico, was arrested by ICE following his conviction for possession with the intent to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin, five kilograms or more of cocaine and money laundering in the U.S. Middle District Court of Tennessee.

CONVICTED ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CHILD KILLER WHO MURDERED INFANT SON ARRESTED IN TWIN CITIES ICE SWEEP

In Illinois, a sanctuary state that has been resisting the Trump administration’s crackdown, ICE arrested Brigidio Ovido Gomez Garcia, from Guatemala, who was convicted of aggravated domestic battery/strangle, domestic battery, and driving under the influence in Wheaton, a Chicago suburb.

Commenting on the arrests, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin pointed out that amidst pushback from pro-sanctuary politicians, 70 percent of all ICE arrests are of illegal aliens charged or convicted of a crime in the U.S.

“President Trump and Secretary Noem unleashed ICE to remove the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens from American communities,” McLaughlin told Fox News Digital.

TRUMP BACKS ICE RAID TACTICS, SAYS THEY ‘HAVEN’T GONE FAR ENOUGH’

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“Despite the Democrats’ government shutdown, ICE is continuing to arrest criminal illegal aliens across the country,” she continued. “While Americans enjoyed their weekends, ICE was hard at work getting the worst of the worst off our streets—including pedophiles, murderers, and kidnappers.”

Former New Jersey Gov. Thomas Kean, a Republican who has largely avoided politics for years, has endorsed Jack Ciattarelli for governor, saying New Jersey “needs a change” and describing the GOP nominee as a “compassionate” and “decent” leader he’s known for decades.

Kean served as New Jersey’s 48th governor from 1982 to 1990 and came from a family that produced generations of American political leaders, including William Livingston, the state’s first constitutional governor, according to the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University.

Kean announced his endorsement Monday on social media, urging voters to back Ciattarelli in Tuesday’s election.

“I haven’t been involved in partisan politics for a number of years, but this year is different,” Kean said in a video shared by Ciattarelli on X. “New Jersey needs a change and needs a change badly. Jack Ciattarelli is that change.”

TRUMP-BACKED CIATTARELLI GETS MAJOR CAMPAIGN TRAIL SURPRISE ON ELECTION EVE

In the video, Kean praised Ciattarelli’s character and work ethic.

“We’ve got a lot to do in New Jersey,” he continued. “I’ve known Jack for 25 years. He’s compassionate, he’s decent, he works hard, and he’d be a great Governor for New Jersey.”

The GOP nominee has narrowed the gap with Democratic rival Rep. Mikie Sherrill in a highly competitive race to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy.

MAGA STAR JOINS CIATTARELLI ON CAMPAIGN TRAIL IN NEW JERSEY AS REPUBLICANS AIM TO FLIP GOVERNOR’S OFFICE

In his post Monday, Ciattarelli said Kean set the standard for effective leadership.

“Now it’s our turn to bring that kind of government back,” he said. “Let’s get out and vote for real change, real results, and a brighter future for New Jersey.”

Before becoming governor, Kean served in the New Jersey Assembly, where he became the youngest speaker in state history. As governor, he pushed major education reforms, strengthened environmental protections, and promoted the slogan “New Jersey and You: Perfect Together.”

TRUMP JUMPS INTO NEW JERSEY RACE AS GOP CHASES RARE FLIP OF GOVERNOR’S SEAT

He won re-election in 1985 with nearly 70% of the vote, one of the largest margins in state history. After leaving office, he became president of Drew University, where he oversaw significant growth in funding and facilities.

Later in his career, then-President George W. Bush appointed Kean in 2002 to chair the 9/11 Commission. His bipartisan leadership on the panel elevated him to national prominence and cemented his reputation as one of New Jersey’s most respected public figures.

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New Jersey and Virginia are the only states that hold gubernatorial elections the year after a presidential race, contests that often draw national attention as early tests of voter sentiment ahead of the midterms.

Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump publicly endorsed Andrew Cuomo on Monday while threatening to withhold federal funding from New York City if Zohran Mamdani, who he labeled a “Communist”, wins the mayoral election.

In a lengthy post on Truth Social, he warned that the city would face “total economic and social disaster” under Mamdani’s leadership.

“If Communist Candidate Zohran Mamdani wins the Election for Mayor of New York City, it is highly unlikely that I will be contributing Federal Funds, other than the very minimum as required, to my beloved first home, because of the fact that, as a Communist, this once great City has ZERO chance of success, or even survival!” he wrote in the lengthy post.

CUOMO SAYS TRUMP WILL DEPLOY NATIONAL GUARD, SLASH NYC FUNDS IF MAMDANI WINS MAYOR’S RACE

“It can only get worse with a Communist at the helm, and I don’t want to send, as President, good money after bad. It is my obligation to run the Nation, and it is my strong conviction that New York City will be a Complete and Total Economic and Social Disaster should Mamdani win.” he added before claiming a win for Mamdani would be a “Complete and Total Economic and Social Disaster.”

The president’s post also marked his latest attempt to guide New Yorkers.

“A vote for Curtis Sliwa (who looks much better without the beret!) is a vote for Mamdani,” Trump added.

ANDREW CUOMO WARNS TRUMP WILL ‘TAKE OVER’ NEW YORK CITY IF MAMDANI WINS

“Whether you personally like Andrew Cuomo or not, you really have no choice. You must vote for him, and hope he does a fantastic job. He is capable of it, Mamdani is not!”

This is a developing story. Check back for more details.