NationalWatch

One year ago, Saudi Arabia and Israel were supposedly on the brink of a deal to normalize relations. 

That deal has seemingly evaporated as Iran’s foreign minister visits the kingdom on Tuesday to discuss efforts to halt Israel’s incursions into Gaza and Lebanon. 

“Our dialogue continues regarding the developments in the region to prevent the shameless crimes of the Zionist regime in Lebanon, in continuation of the crimes in Gaza,” Iran Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a video broadcast on state media. 

He added: “Starting today, I’ll begin a trip to the region, to Riyadh and other capitals, and we will strive for a collective movement from the countries of the region… to stop the brutal attacks in Lebanon.”

The Saudis share a longtime strategic partnership with the U.S. and are the largest purchaser of its weapons. But in recent years, they’ve had a political rapprochement with Iran. 

Prospects of a deal between Israel, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Saudi Arabia, led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, have faded. (Getty Images)

9/11 FAMILIES URGE TRUMP, HARRIS TO OPPOSE SAUDI DEAL UNTIL KINGDOM ADMITS INVOLVEMENT IN TERROR ATTACK 

Last week, Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia, reaffirmed their neutrality in the conflict between Israel and Iran. Iran has warned that if “Israel supporters” intervene directly, their interests in the region would be targeted. That could mean missile strikes on their oil facilities. 

Iran rained some 200 missiles down on Israel last week, many of which were intercepted by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) with U.S. assistance. 

“The Gulf states think it’s unlikely that Iran will strike their oil facilities, but the Iranians are dropping hints they might from unofficial sources. It’s a tool the Iranians have against the U.S. and the global economy,” Ali Shihabi, a Saudi commentator close to the royal court, said.

In 2019, drones attacked Saudi Arabia’s key refinery at Abqaiq, briefly shutting down around 5% of the world’s oil supply. Those drones originated in Iran, according to U.S. intelligence.

Prior to Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, the Biden administration considered a proposed deal, akin to the Abraham Accords, a major priority. This deal aimed to normalize relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel, including security guarantees and cooperation on civil nuclear matters. For months, the White House had been saying the deal was nearly done. 

The prospect of a deal was largely blamed as a catalyst for the Hamas attacks. 

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, rained some 200 missiles down toward Tel Aviv last week, many of which were intercepted by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) with U.S. assistance. (Iranian Leader Press Office/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets, as seen from Ashkelon, Israel, Oct. 1, 2024. (Reuters/Amir Cohen)

OPINION: WHY SAUDI ARABIA MATTERS MORE THAN EVER TO THE US

“I don’t think we were ever really that close,” Robert Greenway, former senior director of the National Security Council, told Fox News Digital. 

“We were closest probably in the waning days of the Trump administration, but we knew that that would be a second-term issue if there was to be one, and obviously that didn’t play out. I don’t know that the Biden-Harris administration ever took it that terribly seriously.” 

Just before the Hamas attack, a group of 20 Democratic senators made clear their opposition to the treaty, voicing concerns over Saudi Arabia’s human rights record and that a peaceful nuclear energy program might one day be converted to a military one to produce a nuclear weapon.

And Oct. 7 changed the Saudis’ calculus: they now demand a plan for a Palestinian state. 

“If anyone believes there was a chance of getting the House or Senate in an election year with virtually no majority, getting anything as controversial as a security treaty, with Saudi Arabia – permission for them to enrich with our blessing and support – I don’t know if anyone credibly believes that that was ever possible.”

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Former deputy national security adviser Victoria Coates was optimistic that the Saudis could be brought back into the fold. 

“From what I’m hearing from both sides, it’s when, not if,” she said. “There are various reasons you might want to wait to find out what the makeup of the Congress is going to be… you’re going to need supportive majorities in the Senate to get [a civil nuclear agreement] through.”

A package of crystal meth from Europe shut down a board of elections office in New York for hours this week.

The Dutchess County Board of Elections office shut down for three hours on Monday, when officials discovered a suspicious package from Europe, sparking a Hazmat team to respond to the office and investigate. 

“It came in through UPS from Greece. Prior to Greece, the inner envelope had been around a few other countries as well including France and then UPS’ed to the Dutchess County Board of Elections,” Republican Elections Commissioner Erik Haight told the MidHudson News. “The FBI is involved and I know they will be working with the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office and State Police to determine who sent this to us and why.”

A bipartisan team of BOE employees flagged the suspicious package to commissioners, with the team then donning Personal Protective Equipment to further investigate the package before calling law enforcement. The Dutchess County HAZMAT team ultimately responded to the scene, according to a press release from the county’s board of elections. 

TRUMP’S TOP LEGAL FOE TO BE HANDED ‘UNPRECEDENTED’ ELECTION POWER AHEAD OF NOVEMBER: ELECTION ATTORNEY

A voter arrives at a polling location. (REUTERS/Joel Page)

“Dutchess County HAZMAT personnel, under the observation of the bi-partisan Elections Commissioners, examined the suspicious package. The substance was carefully removed from the envelope and tested with advanced chemical and gaseous identification equipment. HAZMAT personnel determined that the material was methamphetamine or more commonly known as ‘crystal meth,’” the press release explained. 

Staffers who came into contact with the package have not “reported any symptoms,” the press released stated. 

Entrance to office building home to the Dutches County Board of Elections office.  (Google Maps)

The county commissioners celebrated that even though the office shut down for three hours, it did not disrupt “a single voter’s right to vote or harm any of our hardworking staff members.”

NY ELECTION LAW THAT ‘NATIONALIZES’ LOCAL POLITICS FLIES UNDER THE RADAR DESPITE BEING ‘MONUMENTAL’: EXPERT

“The cowards that sent this dangerous chemical to our office failed in disrupting a single voter’s right to vote or harm any of our hardworking staff members. These bad actors may hide in the shadows and endeavor to strike fear, but we will remain vigilant and fulfill our oaths of office by delivering free and fair elections to the good voters of Dutchess County,” Democratic Commissioner Hannah Black said in the press release. 

 People arrive to cast their vote during the early voting.  (Christopher Mark Juhn/Anadolu via Getty Images)

BLUE STATE EFFORT TO UPROOT ELECTION LAW COULD FOREVER CHANGE LOCAL RACES: EXPERT

“I join my colleague Commissioner Black in commending our staff and am deeply appreciative of all law enforcement, the City of Poughkeepsie FD and emergency personnel that were critical in assisting us through this stressful and dangerous ordeal,” Haight added. 

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The sheriff’s office took possession of the package and is working in conjunction with the FBI and State Police to investigate. The sheriff’s office told Fox Digital on Tuesday that there are no updates to share on the investigation at this time. 

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.    

North Carolina election officials are adjusting their voting rules to ensure residents in areas impacted by the recent hurricane damage can vote early in the upcoming election.

Hurricane Helene made a damaging sweep across the southeast, covering swing states that had already started early voting.

But the storm caused severe damage to several predominantly red counties and early voting centers as focus shifted to disaster relief.

On Monday, the North Carolina Elections Board passed a bipartisan emergency resolution that reformed the state’s early voting process in 13 counties. Notably, all except one, Buncombe, voted for former President Donald Trump in 2020.

NORTH CAROLINA GOP FOCUSING ON ‘HAND-TO-HAND POLITICAL COMBAT’ TO RAMP UP GROUND GAME IN BATTLEGROUND STATE

Workers, community members, and business owners clean up debris in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in Marshall, North Carolina on Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

The adjustments include changing or adding voting sites and maintaining their availability, extending the hours when a voting site is open, and adding or reducing days that any site is open within the early voting period, according to the election board.

Voters in these counties will also have more time to request an absentee ballot, with the deadline being Nov. 4. 

RESIDENTS IN KEY NORTH CAROLINA DISTRICT REVEAL HOW THEY THINK THEIR COUNTY WILL VOTE IN NOVEMBER

The state’s elections board identified 13 counties in western North Carolina as the most impacted by the hurricane.

The counties that will see the changes applied to their early voting processes include: Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Haywood, Henderson, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Transylvania, Watauga, and Yancey.

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks outside the Chez What furniture store as he visits Valdosta, Ga., a town impacted by Hurricane Helene, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024.  (Evan Vucci)

Voters in these counties will now have the option of turning in absentee ballots to another county’s election board, rather than following previous protocol that mandated they only submit their ballots to their local counties. 

Trump narrowly won North Carolina in 2020 by roughly 1.4 percentage points, and early voting has since been made a focus of Republican ground game efforts this cycle, the state’s GOP told Fox News Digital in a recent interview. 

The former president, however, told Fox News that he believes despite the storm’s impact, voters will still turn out for the election.

“I believe they’re going to go out and vote if they have to crawl to a voting booth,” Trump told Fox News’ Laura Ingraham in an interview that aired Monday. “And that’s what’s happening.”

Swannanoa residents walk through devastating flood damage from the Swannanoa River in western North Carolina on Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024.  (Travis Long/The News & Observer/Tribune News Service)

The former president added that his daughter-in-law, who co-chairs the Republican National Committee (RNC), is working on helping North Carolinians in impacted areas cast their votes.

“Lara is working on it. Other people are working on it, and we’re trying to make it convenient for them, but they just lost their house,” Trump said.

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In-person early voting in the Old North State begins Thursday, Oct. 17 and ends on Saturday, Nov. 2.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has written to the Biden-Har­ris administration urging it to provide data that would help identify up to half a million people who could be erroneously registered to vote in the state but not be a citizen.

Paxton, a Republican, said that the Biden-Har­ris administration has “legal obligations” to hand over such information so that the Lone Star state can help determine the citizenship status of certain registered voters who do not have a state of Texas-issued driver’s license or identification card since those are only issued after citizen checks. 

Non-U.S. citizens lawfully present cannot legally vote but can lawfully apply for and receive a driver’s license or ID card.

Paxton said he is investigating those registered voters so Texas can be in compliance with federal and state election laws which prohibit non-U.S. citizens from voting. He penned his letter Monday to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Ur Jaddou.

ARIZONA LAW REQUIRING PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP TO VOTE SUPPORTED BY 24 STATE AGS IN EMERGENCY STAY WITH SCOTUS

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has identified 454,289 registered voters who have never had their citizenship verified. (Justin Lane/Reuters)

“I demand full cooperation from the federal government to ensure that any noncitizens remaining on Texas’s voter registration rolls are identified,” Paxton said in a statement. “The Biden-Harris Administration is legally obligated to assist States in doing so, and it is imperative that we use every tool available to uphold the integrity of our elections.” 

Paxton said that while it is a crime for noncitizens to register to vote, federal law paradoxically creates opportunities for non-citizens to illegally register to vote while also prohibiting states from requiring voters to have proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections.

He said it is particularly troubling given the current scale of the illegal immigration and that the Senate has not passed the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act (“SAVE Act”), which would allow states to ensure that votes are being cast legally by eligible voters. He said that requiring proof of citizenship is a commonsense measure that helps identify illegal registration.

Paxton has obtained a list of approximately 454,289 Texas registered voters who have never had their citizenship verified. The list is derived from the Texas Secretary of State’s (SOS) computerized list of voters the office is required to maintain.

THOUSANDS OF NONCITIZENS REMOVED FROM VOTER ROLLS, DOZENS OF LAWMAKERS WANT ANSWERS FROM GARLAND

A voter wearing a protective mask and gloves signs a document at a drive-thru mail ballot hand delivery center in Austin, Texas, on Friday, Oct. 2, 2020. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has written to the Biden-Har­ris administration urging it to provide data that would help identify up to half a million people who could be registered to vote in the state but not be a citizen. (Sergio Flores/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“Although I have no doubt the vast majority of the voters on the list are citizens who are eligible to vote, I am equally certain that Texans have no way of knowing whether or not any of the voters on the list are noncitizens who are ineligible to vote,” Paxton wrote in the letter.

“Indeed, a recent SOS audit verified that over 1,300 noncitizens were registered to vote in the four randomly chosen counties that were subject to an election audit—and that is just what was verifiable. That is 1,300 too many when so many of our federal, state, and local election are decided by a handful of votes.”

Paxton has been trying to crack down hard on non-citizens voting. 

In August, his office’s Election Integrity unit executed searches in three South Texas counties as part of his ongoing probe to investigate fraud and ballot harvesting allegations. 

In the same month, Gov. Greg Abbott announced 6,500 potential noncitizens had been removed from the voter rolls since 2021. Approximately 1,930 had a voter history.

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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks with Fox News Digital along the sidelines of the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual leadership meeting, on Sept. 5, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Abbott announced in August that 6,500 potential noncitizens had been removed from the voter rolls since 2021. Approximately 1,930 had a voter history. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)

Republicans have raised concerns about voter integrity issued and non-citizens being registered to vote ahead of the 2024 presidential election. 

Officials in Oregon announced Monday that they have identified an additional 302 people on the state’s voter rolls who didn’t provide proof of citizenship when they were registered to vote. The announcement comes just two weeks after officials in the Beaver State said 1,259 possible noncitizens have been registered to vote since 2021, bringing the total number of mistaken registrations to 1,561. 

Last month, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that nearly 98,000 people whose U.S. citizenship has not been confirmed will be allowed to vote in the upcoming state and local elections.

READ TEXAS AG’s LETTER. APP USERS CLICK HERE.

LAS VEGAS – Hispanic voters at a pro-Trump event in Nevada ripped the Biden-Harris administration on immigration following news that tens of thousands of illegal immigrants charged with rape and murder are in the United States.

“The current administration are very, very responsible,” Demesio Guerrero, a Trump supporter at a GOP Hispanic outreach event in Clark County, Nevada, told Fox News Digital in response to a question about recently released ICE data showing tens of thousands of illegal immigrants with sexual assault and murder convictions are living in the United States. 

“They are like traitors of the United States. Because you know what, all the crimes, all the innocent Americans that are dying every day in many, many, many cities in the United States are the result of those criminals being loose.”

Blanca Fox, a Trump campaign volunteer originally from Guatemala, told Fox News Digital that the Biden administration should have warned the American public about the ICE numbers. 

HARRIS SURROGATES TRY TO EXPLAIN AWAY ‘FLIP-FLOPPING’ IMMIGRATION POLICY

Hispanic Trump supporters speak to Fox News Digital in Las Vegas. (Fox News Digital)

“They’re being like so dishonest right now with the whole country,” Fox said. “Everybody is hurt and they don’t see the reality that Kamala Harris has been for four years in the [vice] presidency and all we have is like problems. We have no solutions with them. We’re not against people to come to the United States, but the legal way, if you come to look for a better future, do it the right way and don’t come and commit crimes and be a problem.”

Lydia Dominguez, a Trump supporter from Clark County who spoke on a panel at the Latinos for Trump event, told Fox News Digital that “there is a crisis occurring at the border.”

HARRIS SUPPORTERS SAY SHE’LL FIX IMMIGRATION, BLAME TRUMP FOR BORDER CRISIS

Border Patrol picks up a group of asylum seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border near Sasabe, Arizona, on March 13, 2024. (Justin Hamel/Getty Images)

“Between the drugs, the human trafficking, and now the millions of illegal immigrants that we have crossing over that we have not vetted or that have actually been charged for murder in other countries,” Dominguez said. “So it’s alarming what’s happening at the border.”

“They say that that’s only a very small group,” RNC Hispanic communications director Jaime Florez told Fox News Digital about criminal illegal aliens in the United States. “You know, try to explain those statistics to the parents of the girl that was killed in the University of Georgia. When 10 million people come into this country without being vetted in any way, it is impossible to think that no criminal is going to come among them.”

A Las Vegas resident called the current status of the southern border “terrible,” pointing out that “anyone can declare” asylum and “they’re just allowed to come in.” Former Texas congressional candidate Rolando Rodriguez told Fox News Digital that he grew up around the border and explained that today it is a “disaster like never before in the history of this nation and probably in the history of the world.”

This week, a pair of Suffolk University/USA Today surveys showed that Harris leads Trump among Hispanic voters in the key swing states of Nevada and Arizona, but also showed Trump has made gains with younger male Hispanic voters compared to four years ago.

LAKE RIPS BIDEN-HARRIS ‘DOUBLE WHAMMY’ POLICIES AFFECTING ARIZONANS : ‘DRIVEN US OVER THE CLIFF’

Vice President Kamala Harris visits the U.S.-Mexico border with Border Patrol Tucson Sector Chief John Modlin, right, in Douglas, Arizona, on Sept. 27, 2024. (Rebecca Noble/AFP via Getty Images)

“So far, Harris is falling short of the 24-26 point advantage that Joe Biden carried with Hispanic voters in Arizona and Nevada in 2020, according to the exit polls from those states,” Suffolk University Political Research Center director David Paleologos highlighted. “This Democratic shortfall is largely due to young Hispanic men.”

The Hispanic voters who spoke to Fox News Digital expressed a similar sentiment to what was highlighted in the polling and said they expect Trump will increase his numbers with Hispanic voters in 2024, in part because of the immigration crisis. 

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“President Reagan used to say Hispanics are Republicans. They just don’t know it yet,” Florez told Fox News Digital. “We’re finding out. I think that many Hispanics that are Democrats found out that the Democratic Party has taken them for granted for way too long. They have made us promises that they never fulfilled, including immigration reform that President Obama promised never happened.”

“We had a great time, it was a very prosperous time for us when President Trump was in the White House,” Florez added, noting that Hispanic household income was up during the Trump presidency.

“I’m sure that Trump is going to win Nevada. Definitely.”

New York City First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright reportedly resigned from her position Tuesday after the FBI raided her home in early September, becoming the latest senior official to depart Mayor Eric Adams’ administration as he faces federal corruption charges. 

Wright’s reported resignation comes just days after her husband, New York City Public Schools Chancellor David Banks, announced that he would resign earlier than expected in October. The New York Times, citing sources, says Wright is expected to be replaced by Maria Torres-Springer, who is the current deputy mayor for housing, economic development and workforce.  

When asked about the matter on Tuesday morning, the mayor’s office told Fox News Digital that “No announcement is final until and if it is made.” 

On Monday, Winnie Greco, the mayor’s director of Asian affairs, also resigned from her role, according to the New York Post. 

Her attorney Steven Brill – who did not immediately respond Tuesday to a request for comment from Fox News Digital – told The City that Greco “officially resigned… on her own volition.” 

ERIC ADAMS CHANNELS TRUMP AS HE RAMPS UP REVENGE ACCUSATIONS AGAINST THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION, EXPERT SAYS 

New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Sheena Wright attend Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest 2023 on Dec. 31, 2022, in New York City.  (Noam Galai/Getty Images for Dick Clark Productions)

The same day, Rena Abbasova, a staffer for Adams who worked in the office of international affairs, was fired from her job, with sources telling Fox News that she was let go because she is the “key cooperating witness” in the federal investigation of Adams. 

Senior New York City Hall official Mohamed Bahi also stepped down on Monday. This morning, federal prosecutors announced they unsealed a complaint charging him “with witness tampering and destruction of evidence in connection with a federal investigation of unlawful contributions to a particular 2021 mayoral campaign.” 

“If there were no vulnerabilities here, nobody would have to resign,” former NYPD inspector and Fox News contributor Paul Mauro told Fox News Digital. “Obviously, a lot of them are trying to make the point ‘oh I was going to leave anyway’ — but these are all the people from [Adams’] tightest inner circle and this is the team he put together to run the city and for them to be leaving prematurely when he would normally be gearing up for re-election, I don’t see how you can argue that this is business as usual. It’s very obvious something heavy is going on.” 

MOST NEW YORK CITY RESIDENTS WANT INDICTED MAYOR ERIC ADAMS TO RESIGN: POLL 

New York City Mayor Eric Adams is flanked by his Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright, left, and adviser Ingrid Lewis-Martin, during his weekly in-person news conference at City Hall Blue Room on March 5, 2024, in New York.  (Luiz C. Ribeiro/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Adams is facing a five-count indictment on fraud, bribery and corruption charges, to which he has pleaded not guilty. 

The mayor, 64, is accused of soliciting illegal campaign donations from foreign entities and falsifying paper trails to cover it up. As part of the plot, he allegedly defrauded taxpayers for $10 million over the past decade and frequently took free or steeply discounted vacations bankrolled by his foreign benefactors. 

Adams has said in a video statement that any charges filed against him would be “entirely false, based on lies,” and he insinuated that his criticism of the Biden administration’s disastrous border policies made him a target for retaliation. 

ERIC ADAMS IS LIKELY TO FACE MORE CHARGES 

New York City Mayor Eric Adams arrives at federal court after being charged with bribery and illegally soliciting a campaign contribution from a foreign national, in New York City, on Oct. 2. (REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs)

The mayor was quoted by The New York Times as saying in a statement that will be circulated Tuesday that “We are grateful for First Deputy Mayor Wright’s years of service to the city and all she has done to deliver for children, families, and working-class New Yorkers.”  

“She is an exceptional leader who assembled a strong team and constantly demonstrated a bold vision for this city,” he reportedly added. 

The mayor’s office says on its website that Wright served in the administration since January 2022, first as deputy mayor of strategic initiatives and then as first deputy mayor starting in January 2023. 

“During her time in the administration, she helped launch the first phase of the MyCity portal, a one-stop-shop where New Yorkers can easily apply for and track city services and benefits. She has helped the city deliver on key planks of the Blueprint for Child Care & Early Childhood Education in New York City — most notably, clearing a backlogged waitlist for vouchers and allowing families of 36,000 children to apply for low-cost, high-quality child care,” her bio reads. 

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Wright, a graduate of Columbia University and Columbia Law School, also “previously served as the first female president and CEO of United Way of New York City,” it added.

Fox News’ Alexis McAdams, Michael Ruiz and Danielle Wallace contributed to this report. 

A top political handicapper shifted its rating for the Wisconsin Senate race on Tuesday to “Toss Up” with less than a month until Election Day. 

The race in Wisconsin, a pivotal battleground state in both the presidential and Senate matches, was most recently considered “Lean Democrat” by the Cook Political Report.

TRUMP, REPUBLICANS VENTURE TO BLUE AREAS IN WISCONSIN TO BOOST GOP TURNOUT

Tammy Baldwin and Eric Hovde will face off in the election in November. (Getty Images)

The handicapper cited changes in polling in recent days, with Hovde appearing to close the gap with Baldwin. But Cook also referred to private polling from both campaigns, which it said each showed the race within the margins of error. 

A source familiar confirmed to Fox News Digital that Baldwin’s internal polling shows such a race. 

VULNERABLE DEM JON TESTER TURNS ON BIDEN ADMIN OVER DEI AFTER MONTANA UNIVERSITIES STRIPPED OF FEDERAL FUNDS

Baldwin is a two-term senator. (Drew Angerer)

In response to the rating shift, Hovde spokesman Zach Bannon said, “Sen. Baldwin’s radical agenda has sparked record high inflation, created chaos [at] the southern border, and made our communities less safe. Eric Hovde is going to win because the people of Wisconsin are ready for change.”

HERE’S WHAT 2 UNDECIDED WISCONSIN VOTERS ARE HOLDING OUT FOR IN 2024 ELECTION

Hovde has started to close the polling gap with Baldwin. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

“After 25 years in Washington, Tammy Baldwin has become the typical D.C. politician, voting in lockstep with the failed Biden agenda and hiding her Wall Street partner’s stock trades from her constituents. Wisconsinites are ready for change, and Eric Hovde has the momentum,” said National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) spokesman Tate Mitchell in a statement.

SENATE REPUBLICANS MARK OCT 7 ATTACK 1 YEAR OUT AS ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR CONTINUES

A woman dons a cheese hat with an American flag on it in Wisconsin. (Reuters)

The latest Marquette Law School poll showed Baldwin winning the battle, 51% to Hovde’s 45%. The survey interviewed 882 registered voters over Sept. 18-26. The poll’s margin of error was +/-4.4 percentage points. 

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The most recent Fox News Power Rankings from last month had Wisconsin at “Leans Dem.”

With Cook’s ratings change, Wisconsin joins other “Toss Up” Senate races in Ohio and Michigan. 

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

A Democratic win in Indiana. A Republican victory in New Mexico. And an election where Missouri was decided by less than 4,000 votes.

They’ve all happened in the last twenty years.

These results are little more than trivia questions today (the answers are 2008, 2004, and 2008 again). At the time, they raised eyebrows and changed our understanding of the electorate.

Surprises happen on election week. And when the national race looks this close, one unexpected flip can decide who wins the White House.

Harris still closer to 270 than Trump, but it’s anyone’s game

Vice President Harris still has the edge in this week’s forecast. It predicts that Harris will take home at least 241 electoral college votes to Trump’s 219.

Fox News Power Rankings presidential forecast.

Her advantage is no larger than it was in September, and as this column has mentioned, battleground states are usually – and mostly – won and lost together. The six toss-up states in this forecast are worth 78 votes, enough to give either candidate a victory on election night. 

National polls show a tight race: a Quinnipiac survey has Harris and former President Trump tied at 48%-48% with likely voters, while Marist has the candidates at 50%-48%, well within the polls’ margins of sampling error.

FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS: TRUMP MAINTAINS LEAD ON TWO TOP ISSUES

Neither poll shows Trump slipping with the national electorate. Other recent polls showed a point worth of erosion after the September presidential debate.

Fox News Power Rankings presidential map. 

Battleground state polls have been sparse. (Hurricane Helene has devastated communities in Georgia and North Carolina, and Hurricane Milton will soon make landfall in Florida. This will affect the accuracy of polling in these areas.)

Overall, this race is still anyone’s game.

All eyes on an October surprise 

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Ohio Sen. JD Vance debated a week ago in New York City. Vance mostly broke through the character that Democrats had constructed for him, while Walz stumbled out of the gate. 

A flash poll showed neither candidate winning the night. As always, wait for results from multiple polls conducted in the weeks after the debate to properly assess the polling impact.

That was the only scheduled event that could surprise voters this month. (Fox News Media has proposed a second Harris-Trump debate later in October.)

Four weeks until election night.

Of course, it’s the unexpected events in years past that have done more to reshape the race. And events in two categories have already resurfaced. 

• Severe weather: Hurricane Sandy tore through the northeast in late October 2012. President Obama’s cooperation with New Jersey Governor Chris Christie was a landmark moment. This year, Helene and Milton are testing the candidates. Trump made visits to Georgia and North Carolina last week, and Harris was in Asheville over the weekend with Governor Roy Cooper.
• Foreign policy: A video from Osama Bin Laden four days before the 2004 election refocused the race on 9/11, national security and America’s war on terrorism. Yesterday marked a year since Hamas’ terrorist attack in Israel and war rages between Ukraine and Russia; both are reminders of global instability during the Biden Administration.

FOX NEWS POLL: VOTERS CITE HIGH PRICES AS BIGGEST MOTIVATOR TO VOTE

Polarization will limit the impact of these events on the horserace. But watch Harris and Trump’s support with independents over the coming weeks. Those voters made up 5% of the electorate in 2020, and they broke for President Biden by 15 points; recent polls put Harris in that ballpark. Trump likely needs to claw that back to win the race.

Two states that could surprise in November

Fox News Power Rankings Likely D & Likely R races.

There are nine “likely” races on the Power Rankings map. The two that would have the biggest impact on the race are Florida and Virginia.

Former President Trump improved his performance in Florida in the 2020 presidential election, bringing his margin up to about 372,000 votes.

That’s a win of 3.4 points, or his second-closest victory of the cycle. (The closest was North Carolina, a toss-up in the rankings, which he won by 1.3 points.)

Florida is Likely R on the Power Rankings.

Republicans have strong advantages. The state’s White working-class and senior voters lean towards Trump, while its large Hispanic population, particularly the Cuban and Venezuelan communities, has shifted right in recent years.

The GOP won big at every level in the midterms and enjoys a 1 million-plus voter registration advantage, and most tellingly, the Democratic Party is not making significant investments.

Democrats hope that a competitive Senate race, where incumbent Republican Rick Scott has personally spent more than $8 million, means the presidential election is closer than people think. Florida is also one of three competitive states with an abortion measure on the ballot.

It would take a blowout night for Harris to flip the Sunshine State. It would also be the first state after the battlegrounds to go blue.

Florida stays at Likely R in the rankings. 

A win for Trump in Virginia would also be shocking, especially since Biden won this state by more than 10 points in 2020.

Virginia is Likely D on the Power Rankings.

The state has a higher proportion of Black, suburban, and college-educated voters than the rest of the country, and all three groups help Democrats run up the margin. While Republicans talked about Virginia after the June presidential debate, the race has changed, and neither party is making big investments in the state today.

Harris leads in Virginia.

Some polls show a race that isn’t over for the GOP. A survey from Virginia Commonwealth University in September put Harris at 47% with registered voters and Trump at 37%. A poll from the Washington Post earlier in the month had Harris at 50% to Trump’s 42%.

Still, it would take a blowout in the other direction for the Old Dominion to reject Harris. Virginia remains a Likely D race.

Four weeks until election night

1.5 million voters have cast a ballot so far.

More than 1.5 million voters have cast their ballot as the countdown to election night continues. Early voting has now begun in: 

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The Harris ticket continues a media tour this week while Trump will rally in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The GOP has done surprisingly well there in recent years.

Vice President Kamala Harris has taken a slight edge over former President Donald Trump in a new poll released Tuesday that looked into which candidate voters view as the candidate representing change. Trump, however, maintained his lead among male voters and has kept the trust of most voters on economic issues.

The latest New York Times/Sienna College national poll found that if the election were held today, 49% of respondents would vote for Harris while 46% would vote for Trump. It marks the first time Harris has led Trump in the Times/Sienna poll since President Biden dropped out in July.

Harris took a slim lead among respondents who saw the vice president, not Trump, as a break from the status quo, garnering 46% compared with 44% for the former president.

Harris’ lead in this category was greater when broken down into non-White and younger voters, garnering 61% and 58%, respectively, compared to 29% of non-White and 34% of younger voters favoring Trump, according to the poll.

MICHAEL MOORE MOCKS DEMOCRATS PANICKED BY TIGHT 2024 RACE: ‘SHOCKING TO ME’ THEY BELIEVE TRUMP IS GOING TO WIN

Vice President Kamala Harris has edged a lead over former President Donald Trump for the first time in a New York Times/Sienna College national poll. (Getty Images)

Despite the slight change for Harris, the poll found Trump still maintained the majority of voter trust on what they consider their most important issues, such as the economy, with 48% compared to 46% for Harris.

Trump is also leading Harris with male voters by 11 points, a group which also favored Trump over Biden in the 2020 election, according to the poll.

NORTH CAROLINA GOP FOCUSING ON ‘HAND-TO-HAND POLITICAL COMBAT’ TO RAMP UP GROUND GAME IN BATTLEGROUND STATE

While national polls are often a good indicator of the general mood among Americans, they don’t always predict who will win elections, which often come down to important battleground states.

In the latest Fox News survey of registered voters in North Carolina, viewed as one such battleground state, Harris has a 2 percentage-point edge over Trump, 50% to 48%. A month earlier, Trump was ahead by 1 point (50% to 49%), for a 3-point shift in the presidential race.

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Respondents in this poll also found Trump more likely to better handle the economy and also gave him the edge in making the country safe.

Former President Trump and Republicans across the swing state of Wisconsin are ramping up campaign efforts everywhere, including deep blue areas, to close the margins. 

“In a state this tight, we have to get votes in every single corner of the state,” Wisconsin Republican Party Executive Director Andrew Iverson told Fox News Digital.

“Closing the margins just a little bit makes a huge difference,” he said.

HERE’S WHAT 2 UNDECIDED WISCONSIN VOTERS ARE HOLDING OUT FOR IN 2024 ELECTION

Trump rallied in the traditionally blue enclave of Dane County in Wisconsin. (Getty Images)

This is paired with “running up the score in red counties.”

The reason such an approach is necessary, he said, is “this election will likely come down to 20,000-30,000 votes.”

In 2016, Trump defeated Democrat presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in Wisconsin by one point and less than 30,000 votes. When President Biden beat Trump in the state during the next election in 2020, it was similarly by about 20,000 votes. 

Now, Wisconsin is once again expected to be a deciding factor in the presidential election. 

SENATE REPUBLICANS MARK OCT 7 ATTACK 1 YEAR OUT AS ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR CONTINUES

A woman dons a cheese hat with an American flag on it in Wisconsin. (Reuters)

“I would highlight that the Republican Party of Wisconsin and the Republican National Committee (RNC) – we have over 100 staff on the ground in Wisconsin, and we have 40 field offices,” Iverson explained.

“So we have a great presence across the entire state.”

According to him, the path to victory for Republicans relies on pulling “votes in every single corner of the state.”

He pointed to Trump’s decision to hold a rally in Dane County, home to the state capital of Madison, Wisconsin. “Republicans are going where we traditionally may not always go,” he said.  

SOROS-LINKED DARK MONEY GROUP PROPS UP NEBRASKA INDEPENDENT CANDIDATE IN KEY SENATE RACE

Hundreds came out to see Trump in Dane County. (Getty Images)

Iverson described Dane as “the most liberal county in the state of Wisconsin,” and said Trump’s trip there is “because he has to get votes in every single county and turn out Republicans in every part of the state.”

Former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson, a Republican, told reporters earlier this month at a press conference in Milwaukee, “Donald Trump called me and asked me, how do I carry Wisconsin?”

The longest-serving Wisconsin governor, who was in office from 1987 to 2001, said he told Trump to follow his lead, “You got to go into southwestern Wisconsin.”

“I said to the president, you’ve got to come into Dane County. There hasn’t been a presidential candidate in Dane County since 1996, when Bob Dole ran for president. Republicans stay away. I said, we have to go.”

TOP 5 MOMENTS FROM ONLY VP DEBATE BETWEEN VANCE, WALZ BEFORE ELECTION

Thompson revealed his advice to Trump on winning Wisconsin. (Reuters)

Trump’s visit to the blue stronghold that same day drew massive crowds, despite the county’s reputation. Thompson remarked that there was a “huge crowd all the way from the airport to the factory,” where the event was held.

This attention to heavily Democratic-voting areas of the state is a departure from previous Republicans’ strategy, as the former governor noted. 

Iverson told Fox News Digital that while the election cycle is quite polarized and many people are decided on their candidate, “there’s a rather decent segment of voters who are still undecided, and they’ll be making up their decision until the moment they vote.” 

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“That’s why it’s so important that we are out there talking to as many voters as possible, because each conversation that we could have could be the last conversation they have with voters before they go and vote,” he said. 

Wisconsin was rated a “Toss up” by Fox News Power rankings, as of late last month. 

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

EXCLUSIVE: The leading outside group that supports House Republicans is reporting its highest fundraising quarter ever.

The Congressional Leadership Fund (CLF), which is closely aligned with House Speaker Mike Johnson, is announcing that it hauled in $81.4 million during the July-September third quarter of 2024 fundraising. 

With four weeks left until Election Day in November and the GOP aiming to hold onto and expand its fragile House majority, the CLF is also announcing that it is dishing out another $11 million in new ad reservations. Word of both developments was shared first on Tuesday with Fox News.

“We continue to raise at levels that will allow us to be incredibly impactful this cycle. We’re invested deeply and continuing to add more strategically in the must-win races that will determine the Majority,” CLF President Dan Conston said in a statement.

TRUMP UPS THE ANTE WITH HIS SEPTEMBER FUNDRAISING HAUL

The money raised over the past three months by the CLF tops its previous record of $77.4 million in the third quarter of 2020. The group said it is on track with what it raked in during the 2022 midterms, when Republicans flipped the House, and are out-pacing what they raised at this point in 2020, the last presidential cycle.

The CLF also highlighted that it had $152.8 million cash on hand as of the end of September and touted that it slightly outpaced its Democratic rival in total money raised so far this election cycle.

CHECK OUT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS IN THE 2024 ELECTION

House Majority PAC, the main super PAC supporting House Democrats, announced last week that it and its aligned non-profit organization hauled in $69 million in September, part of a $150 million third quarter. However, according to a report, the House Majority PAC alone brought in roughly $100 million in fundraising during the past three months.

Then-Rep. Kevin McCarthy, a Republican from California, speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Monday, Oct. 9, 2023. (Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

After then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy – who was long known for his fundraising prowess – was ousted a year ago in a very messy intra-party battle, expectations for a strong fundraising cycle for House Republicans were lowered. However, the CLF’s fundraising appears to have defied those low expectations.

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The group said Johnson had done well with fundraising and picked up where McCarthy left off. CLF officials also said that they are continuing to haul in “big money” in the week since the end of the third quarter.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., talks with reporters in the U.S. Capitol after the last votes of the week on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

The CLF said the new ad reservations – with the money being spent on top GOP offensive and defensive House races – brings the group’s total reservations this cycle to $190 million. They note that they will likely add more spending ahead of Election Day.

The group is directing some of the new spending to beef up existing ad buys in three Democrat-held districts the GOP’s aiming to flip: Colorado’s 8th Congressional District, New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District and Maine’s 2nd Congressional District.

Additionally, the CLF says it will also use some of the new reservations to “lay down aircover to combat Democrats’ spending” in districts where it’s playing defense, including New York 19, Wisconsin 03, and Arizona 06.

The GOP currently controls the 435-member House by a narrow 220-212 majority. Two Democrat-held and one Republican-held seats are vacant.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Four more states began their early voting processes on Tuesday: Indiana, New Mexico, Wyoming and the major swing state of Ohio.

Here is everything you need to know about casting a ballot in each of the states.

All eyes on the Senate race in Ohio

Ohio is home to one of the most competitive Senate races on the map.

Democrat Sen. Sherrod Brown has won the Midwestern state three times, but with Trump pushing White working-class voters toward the GOP and record spending from both parties, this is set to be a tight race. Brown faces Republican businessman Bernie Moreno.

Republicans have made inroads in the northeastern and heavily industrial areas bordering Pennsylvania. Trumbull County flipped to the GOP in 2016, and Trump increased his margin to 10 points in 2020; Mahoning County flipped in 2020 by almost two points. These counties played a key role in Trump’s statewide wins.

Democrats are performing better than ever in the “three C’s”: Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati. These areas have the highest percentages of college-educated voters. President Biden won the counties home to these cities by double-digit margins in 2020, with roughly 30-point wins in Franklin (Columbus) and Cuyahoga (Cleveland).

Unlike in other competitive states, Republicans still hold up in Ohio’s suburban and exurban areas, particularly those surrounding Cincinnati.

Ohio’s Senate race is a toss-up and the presidential race is ranked Likely R on the Fox News Power Rankings.

Vice President Harris and former President Trump are neck and neck in the polls. (Getty Images)

Meanwhile, New Mexico is also in the “likely” column, both at the presidential and senate level. The state delivered Biden an 11-point win in 2020, but Latino or Hispanic voters made up 35% of the state’s electorate in the 2020 election, and those voters’ support for the Democrat ticket has wavered in recent polls.

Republicans would need to run up their margins with these voters all across the state and keep Harris at bay in places like Doña Ana County, home to Albuquerque and which last voted for Biden by 18 points, to pull off a victory.

Key downballot races in today’s early voting states

Voting also begins today in four House districts ranked Lean or Toss Up on the Fox News Power Rankings. For a full list of competitive races, see the latest Senate and House rankings.

• Indiana’s 1st District: Democrat Rep. Frank Mrvan has held this northwest Indiana district since the last presidential election; he won it by 5.6 points in the midterms. This year, he faces Republican Lake County Councilman Randy Niemeyer. It’s Lean D in the Power Rankings.
• New Mexico’s 2nd District: New Mexico’s 2nd District occupies most of the southwest land area of the state. It includes Las Cruces and parts of Albuquerque, but it also has a chunk of the rural vote. Democrat Rep. Gabe Vasquez won the district by just 1,350 votes in the midterms; this year, he faces the seat’s former Republican occupant, Yvette Herrell. This is a Power Rankings Toss Up.
• Ohio’s 9th District: This northwestern Ohio seat has been held by populist Democrat Rep. Marcy Kaptur since 1983, but her margins have shrunk as Ohio has drifted right. She faces conservative Republican state Rep. Derek Merrin on the ballot this year; it’s another Power Rankings Toss Up.
• Ohio’s 13th District: Finally, the northeastern 13th District includes Youngstown and parts of Akron; it has been represented by Democrat Rep. Emilia Sykes since 2023. Sykes faces Republican former state Sen. Kevin Coughlin this year. It’s also a Toss Up.

How to vote in Indiana

This is a guide to registration and early voting. For comprehensive and up-to-date information on voter eligibility, processes and deadlines, please go to Vote.gov and the election website for Indiana.

Voting by mail

Indiana began absentee voting on Tuesday. Residents do not need to provide an excuse in order to receive a ballot. State officials must receive a ballot request by Oct. 24, and that ballot must be delivered to state officials by Nov. 5.

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Early in-person voting

Indiana offers early in-person voting beginning Oct. 8 and running through Nov. 4.

Voter registration

Indiana residents must have registered to vote by Oct. 7.

A voter arrives at a polling location. Indiana began absentee voting on Tuesday.  (REUTERS/Joel Page)

How to vote in New Mexico

This is a guide to registration and early voting. For comprehensive and up-to-date information on voter eligibility, processes and deadlines, please go to Vote.gov and the election website for New Mexico.

Voting by mail

New Mexico began absentee voting on Tuesday. Residents do not need to provide an excuse in order to receive a ballot. State officials must receive a ballot request by Oct. 22, and that ballot must be delivered to state officials by Nov. 5.

IN BID FOR DISGRUNTLED REPUBLICANS, HARRIS TEAMS UP WITH CHENEY IN GOP BIRTHPLACE

Early in-person voting

New Mexico offers early in-person voting beginning Oct. 8 and running through Nov. 2.

Voter registration

New Mexico residents must register to vote by the end of Tuesday.

How to vote in Ohio

This is a guide to registration and early voting. For comprehensive and up-to-date information on voter eligibility, processes and deadlines, please go to Vote.gov and the election website for Ohio.

Voting by mail

Ohio began absentee voting on Tuesday. Residents do not need to provide an excuse in order to receive a ballot. State officials must receive a ballot request by Oct. 29, and that ballot must be delivered to state officials by Nov. 5.

Early in-person voting

Ohio offers early in-person voting beginning Oct. 8 and running through Nov. 3.

Voter registration

Ohio residents must have registered to vote by Oct. 7.

Republican presidential nominee former President Trump returns to speak at a campaign rally at the site of his July 21 attempted assassination in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

How to vote in Wyoming

This is a guide to registration and early voting. For comprehensive and up-to-date information on voter eligibility, processes and deadlines, please go to Vote.gov and the election website for Wyoming.

Voting by mail

Wyoming began absentee voting on Tuesday. Residents do not need to provide an excuse in order to receive a ballot. State officials must receive a ballot request by Nov. 4, and that ballot must be delivered to state officials by Nov. 5.

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Early in-person voting

Wyoming offers early in-person voting beginning Oct. 8 and running through Nov. 4.

Voter registration

Wyoming residents must register to vote by mail by Oct. 21. They can register to vote in person at any time during early voting or on election day.

As the death toll rises and roughly a quarter of a million people remain without power or running water a week and a half after Hurricane Helen tore a path of destruction through the southeast United States, another powerful storm is bearing down on the region.

Hurricane Milton, now an extremely dangerous Category 5 storm, is on course to slam into Florida Wednesday evening.

With four weeks to go until Election Day in November and Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Trump locked in a bitter margin-of-error showdown in the race to succeed President Biden in the White House, and with two of the hardest-hit states from Helene — North Carolina and Georgia — among the seven key battlegrounds that will likely determine the outcome of the 2024 election – the politics of federal disaster relief are once again front and center on the campaign trail.

Trump has been attacking the vice president and her boss over the federal response to Hurricane Helene for well over a week. Harris, on Monday, fired back, accusing Trump of pushing “a lot of mis and disinformation.” 

HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS WEATHER UPDATES ON HURRICANE MILTON

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks outside the Chez What furniture store as he visits Valdosta, Ga., a town impacted by Hurricane Helene, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024.  (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

The former president has repeatedly charged that Biden and Harris have been incompetant in their handling of rescue and recovery efforts.

“It is going down as the WORST & MOST INCOMPETENTLY MANAGED ‘STORM,’ AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL, EVER SEEN BEFORE,” Trump claimed last week.

On Monday, he argued in a social media post that the administration’s storm response was “the WORST rescue operation in the history of the U.S.”

And Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, charged Monday in a “Fox and Friends” interview that the administration’s efforts were “incompetence of the highest order.”

The Trump campaign, in announcing Vance would hold a town hall Thursday in Greensboro, North Carolina, argued that Harris “completely left North Carolina behind in the wake of devastation post-Hurricane Helene.”

And in a blatant pitch for votes, the former president claimed that “NORTH CAROLINA HAS BEEN VIRTUALLY ABANDONED BY KAMALA!!! DROP HER LIKE SHE DROPPED YOU – VOTE FOR PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP. MAGA2024!”

CLICK HERE FOR UP-TO-DATE FOX NEWS REPORTING ON THE STORMS

Trump’s repeatedly made unsubstantiated claims as he’s targeted Biden and Harris – among them that Republican Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia had been unable to reach Biden when Helene first tore through the Peach State. Kemp later confirmed that he had already been in contact with the president.

Despite the untruths from the former president, he did beat Biden and Harris to the scene, surveying the storm-damaged region two days before they did last week.

The optics put the president and vice president on defense, and they’ve been forced to repeatedly correct the record.

President Joe Biden and Gov. Roy Cooper of North Carolina greet first responders after touring areas impacted by Hurricane Helene, at the ariport in Greenville, S.C., Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024.  (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

The White House has publicized FEMA’s [Federal Emergency Management Agency] efforts in assisting the hard-hit states. Biden made back-to-back trips to the southeast last Wednesday and Thursday, as he stopped in the four hardest hit states, and Harris also made two trips to survey damage.

Huddled with Democratic and Republican politicians from the region last week, Biden emphasized that “in a moment like this, we put politics aside, at least we should put it all aside. We have here — there are no Democrats or Republicans, only Americans — our job is to help as many people as we can, as quickly as we can, and as thoroughly as we can.”

Trump – along with his allies – has repeatedly aimed to tie the storm response to the combustible issue of border security, as he claimed that FEMA funds for the rescue and relief efforts in North Carolina were being diverted to support undocumented migrants.

The Harris campaign, firing back, said that Trump and Vance and their allies have been “pushing debunked lies about Hurricane Helene response.”

A top North Carolina Republican – Sen. Thom Tillis – asked about the charges, said on the Sunday talk shows that “I believe that we have to stay focused on rescue operations, recovery operations, clearing operations, and we don’t need any of these distractions on the ground.”

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris greets people who were impacted by Hurricane Helene in Augusta, Ga., Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, as Augusta Mayor Garnett Johnson watches at right. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Harris, on Monday, called Trump’s actions “extraordinarily irresponsible.”

“It’s about him. It’s not about you. And the reality is that FEMA has so many resources that are available to folks who desperately need them now, and resources that are about helping people get back on their feet and rebuild and have places to go,” Harris emphasized.

But longtime Republican strategist David Kochel noted that Trump had been “very aggressive” with his initial quick trip to the storm-damaged region. 

“I think he put a lot of pressure on them to try to do something,” Kochel, a veteran of numerous GOP presidential campaigns, told Fox News. “He’s out there pushing a line that they don’t care, they’re not doing anything, and I think they’re reacting to it.”

Now, with Hurricane Milton bearing down on Florida, the Biden administration highlighted their efforts in a release headlined “Federal Assistance for Hurricane Helene Exceeds $210 Million, FEMA Prepares for Dual Response with Hurricane Milton Strengthening as it Moves Toward Gulf Coast of Florida.”

As Biden declared a state of emergency in Florida on Monday, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida said during a news conference that 5,000 National Guardsmen had been mobilized in his state, with another 3,000 on the way.

“We have gotten what we need from the feds,” DeSantis said. “The president has approved what we asked for….I’m thankful for that.. Everything we’ve asked for from President Biden, he’s approved.”

This is far from the first time that a tropical storm has impacted a presidential race.

Then-President George H.W. Bush took a political hit over FEMA’s disorganized efforts to provide relief in Florida from Hurricane Andrew, which pounded the then-key battleground state weeks before Election Day.

Fast-forward a decade and his son – then-President George W. Bush – likely enjoyed a political bounce in Florida during his 2004 re-election thanks to his aggressive response to Hurricane Charley, which hit in August of that year.

Bush was narrowly re-elected, thanks in large part to carrying the Sunshine State, but his administration’s image in handling storms took a major hit the next year, over the botched response in Louisiana to Hurricane Katrina.

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As he ran for re-election in 2012, then-President Barack Obama’s aggressive response in dealing with Superstorm Sandy -which slammed into the Eastern Seaboard days before the election – likely boosted him to victory.

Trump, in his first year in office, faced criticism as Puerto Rico struggled to recover from a powerful storm. The president was pilloried for throwing paper towels to the crowd as he stopped by a relief center during a storm-related visit to the island.

But the incident – which took place three years before his re-election effort – was vastly overshadowed by his response to the COVID crisis, the worst pandemic to hit the globe in a century.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

For well over a month, Kamala Harris rode a wave of the most positive press any presidential candidate has gotten in two decades, and her own skills, to turn what had been a lost cause for the Democrats into an extremely tight race.

But does she have a second act?

Kamala 2.0, under constant attack by Donald Trump and the Republicans, doesn’t have much new to say. She is conducting a play-it-safe campaign, like a basketball team sitting on a lead and running out the clock.

But Harris doesn’t have a lead in the three “blue wall” midwestern states she needs to win, and the loss of any one of them could hand Trump the presidency once again.

VANCE-WALZ VP DEBATE ENDED IN A ‘DRAW’: DEMOCRAT REP. DEBBIE DINGELL

For all the focus on Pennsylvania, Harris leads by 0.7 percent in Michigan – a statistical tie, based on the Real Clear Politics average.

On Sunday’s “Media Buzz,” Democratic Rep. Debbie Dingell told me her state could go either way. 

“The vice president has a problem with union workers,” Dingell said. “Many of the men, as well as, quite frankly, African-American young men who have said to me, I was with a group with them last week. ‘You know what, Donald Trump talks to us. Democrats take us for granted.’”

The lawmaker recalls how “everybody got mad at me” when she predicted in 2016 that Trump would win Michigan – which he did, along with Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

(Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

A major problem for Harris is that she doesn’t seem to know how to make news. With less than 30 days to go, with many voters understandably believing they don’t know her, or enough about her policies, since she took over for Joe Biden, the VP is stitching together parts of her stump speech and recycling the same anecdotes virtually verbatim.

A presidential candidate has to deliver a few new lines, a new proposal, something to break into the news cycle, which is currently being dominated by Trump. 

So what’s on this week’s agenda? Kamala will sit down with Howard Stern (who is totally against his old pal Donald); “The View,” where the ladies despise Trump, and Stephen Colbert, who hosted fundraisers for Joe Biden in 2020 and this year.

For good measure, she’s also spoken to Alex Cooper, whose podcast, “Call Your Daddy,” is about sex.

WHY VANCE EASILY BEAT WALZ IN DEBATE, SOFTENING HIS IMAGE IN THE PROCESS

I’ll go out on a limb here and say these sessions are designed to be friendly – not unlike the conversation with MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle, who kept agreeing with Harris and had just pronounced Trump a danger to democracy. 

In fairness, Harris also sat for a “60 Minutes” interview, an invitation declined by Trump.

Look, there’s nothing wrong with candidates showing their softer side with unorthodox outlets in our fragmented media universe. We’ve come a long way since critics scoffed at candidate Bill Clinton answering the “boxers or briefs” question on MTV, calling it unpresidential. 

On “Call Your Daddy,” Harris was actually quite thoughtful in responding to Sarah Huckabee Sanders saying that her kids keep her humble and the VP doesn’t have anyone to keep her humble. 

(Rebecca Droke/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Rather than jab at the Arkansas governor, which would have produced a cheap headline, she ruminated that families come in all shapes, bound by blood or love, that she is deeply involved with her stepchildren, and this isn’t the 1950s anymore. They also discussed, uh, tampons.

Still, the party is getting nervous. “Democratic operatives, including some of Kamala Harris’ own staffers,” says Politico, “are growing increasingly concerned about her relatively light campaign schedule, which has her holding fewer events than Donald Trump and avoiding unscripted interactions with voters and the press almost entirely.”

Since the convention, the veep has spent more than a third of days on meeting and briefings, with no public events.

With early voting under way in more than half the states, Politico describes this “a do-no-harm, risk-averse approach to the race.” 

GEORGIA GOP CHAIR SHARES 2-PRONGED ELECTION STRATEGY AS TRUMP WORKS TO WIN BACK PEACH STATE

Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan, who fervently doesn’t want Trump to win, nonetheless is whacks Harris pretty hard:

“She hasn’t fleshed out her political intent — what she stands for, what she won’t abide, what she means to establish, what she won’t let happen.

What is her essential mission? Is it national ‘repair,’ is it to ‘stabilize’ an uncertain country, is it ‘relaunch’?..

“She so far hasn’t conveyed a sense of intellectual grasp. Her campaign has placed too many chips on the idea of the mood, the vibe, the picture.”

And vibes can only take you so far.

But the VP has certain duties, and spent two days visiting hurricane victims and relief workers in North Carolina and Georgia–which also happens to be good politics. She also met with Volodomyr Zelenskyy.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy addresses the 79th United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York, U.S., September 25, 2024.  REUTERS/Mike Segar (REUTERS/Mike Segar)

Harris attended a fundraiser over the weekend. Why bother? Her campaign has already had $400 million roll in. She’s already outspending Trump 2-½ to 1 on ads. She doesn’t need any more money. What’s more, Harris doesn’t make news at these fundraisers, which in any event are off camera. A ground game is great, but it has to be married to a winning message.

Here’s one more: Dan Pfeiffer, a former top Obama White House official, says on Message Box, his Substack column, that “the media — and Politico Playbook in particular — are fuming over the Harris-Walz media strategy.”

Kamala “must be on offense at all times — say new things, be edgy enough to get attention, and dictate the terms, or the campaign could “take on water…In this media world, there is a never-ending, insatiable appetite for content. Either serve lunch or become the menu…

“Dominating attention is Trump’s political superpower…Even when he doesn’t have a big moment, Trump speaks so outrageously that it shifts attention to his issues of choice.”

Now it’s easy to snipe from the sidelines. For Harris to be neck and neck in the core battleground states means she’s obviously done many things right. She had to overhaul the Biden operation and vet a running mate while the campaign was in full swing, like changing the tires on a speeding hot rod. She could still win.

One positive sign: The Harris camp took off the bubble wrap and allowed Tim Walz to appear on “Fox News Sunday.” This was an attempt at damage control, since he lost the debate so badly to JD Vance.

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While Shannon Bream repeatedly pressed the governor on late-term abortions, his Minnesota record and his history of falsehoods and exaggerations, Walz was far more forceful than he’d been in the CBS debate. He ducked certain questions, but an interview format is much better suited to him than friendly exchanges with his opponent.

Walz’s next stop? A man who relishes his feuds with Trump, Jimmy Kimmel.

Vice President Kamala Harris took aim at Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida on Monday for reportedly not taking her calls regarding federal storm relief efforts as a second powerful hurricane bears down on Florida.

“People are in desperate need of support right now and playing political games at this moment in these crisis situations…is just utterly irresponsible, and it is selfish,” Harris charged on Monday. “It is about political gamesmanship, instead of doing the job that you took an oath to do, which is to put the people first.”

The vice president’s comments came a couple of hours after reports from NBC and later ABC News that the Florida governor was not taking calls from Harris regarding storm recovery efforts, citing unnamed aides to the governor who said the calls seemed political in nature.

HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS WEATHER UPDATES ON HURRICANE MILTON

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris arrives at LaGuardia Airport, Monday Oct. 7, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Asked about ther reports at a hurricane news conference, DeSantis said he wasn’t aware Harris was trying to reach him.

“I didn’t know that she had called. I’m not sure who they called. They didn’t call me,” he said. “It wasn’t anything that anybody in my office did, in terms of saying it was political.”

CLICK HERE FOR UP-TO-DATE FOX NEWS REPORTING ON THE STORMS

Asked again about the report, the governor reiterated “I didn’t know that she had called.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis holds multiple storm preparation news conferences on Oct. 7, 2024 as Hurricane Milton bears down on Florida (Office of Florida governor)

The dispute comes as Hurricane Milton, now an extremely dangerous Category 5 storm, is on course to slam into Florida Wednesday evening.

Milton is bearing down on Florida as the death toll rises and roughly a quarter of a million people remain without power or running water a week and a half after Hurricane Helen tore a path of destruction through Florida, Georgia, South and North Carolina, Tennessee, and parts of Virginia.

President Biden made stops last week in the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida to survey storm damage from Hurricane Helene. While Biden was in Florida, DeSantis was holding a separate press event across the state in another area damaged from the storm.

President Joe Biden talks with Deanne Criswell, Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), as he arrives at Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport in Greer, S.C., Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, to survey damage from Hurricane Helene. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) (AP)

“We were in Florida, we invited the governor of Florida to come, it was his decision not to attend,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday. “The president has reached out around Hurricane Helene. He reached out. It is up to the governor, it is really up to the governor.”

The White House said hours later that the president held separate calls with DeSantis and Tampa Mayor Jane Castor “to get a firsthand report on recovery efforts for Hurricane Helene, and to discuss preparations for Hurricane Milton.”

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According to the White House, Biden urged the governor and the mayor to “call him directly if there is anything that can be done to further support the response and recovery efforts.”

Asked about the federal response, DeSantis said during his news conference that “we have gotten what we need from the feds….the president has approved what we asked for….I’m thankful for that.”

“Everything we’ve asked for from President Biden, he’s approved,” DeSantis highlighted.

With four weeks to go until Election Day in November and Harris and former President Trump locked in a bitter margin-of-error showdown in the race to succeed Biden in the White House, and with two of the hardest-hit states from Helene — North Carolina and Georgia — among the seven key battlegrounds that will likely determine the outcome of the 2024 election – the politics of federal disaster relief are once again front and center on the campaign trail.

Trump, for a week and a half, has been repeatedly attacking Biden and Harris over the federal response to Hurricane Helene. Harris, on Monday, clapped back, accusing Trump of pushing “a lot of mis and disinformation.” 

Fox News Nick Rojas contributed to this story.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Vice President Kamala Harris said political candidates should have to “earn” support from voters, despite previous criticism for becoming the Democratic presidential nominee without having to run in any primary election in 2024. 

Harris was asked about why voters still have reservations about her during a “60 Minutes” interview that aired Monday night. 

“A quarter of registered voters still say they don’t know you, they don’t know what makes you tick,” “60 Minutes,” journalist Bill Whitaker asked during a sitdown interview. “Why do you think that is? What’s the disconnect?”

BILL MAHER TRASHES KAMALA HARRIS FOR BEING ‘FULL OF S—‘ ON ISRAEL, MIDDLE EAST: ‘JUST SHUT UP’

Bill Whitaker interviewed Vice President Kamala Harris on an episode of “60 Minutes” that aired Monday night.  (Screenshots/CBS News)

“It’s an election Bill, and I take it seriously that I have to earn everyone’s vote,” Harris replied. “This is an election for President of the United States. No one should be able to take for granted that they can just declare themselves a candidate and automatically receive support.”

“You have to earn it and that’s what I intend to do,” she added. 

The Democratic Party has been accused by critics of anointing Harris as the party’s nominee after Biden abruptly ended his re-election bid following his first debate against former President Trump. 

Many Republicans and groups like Black Lives Matter accused the Democratic Party of installing Harris as its nominee and sidestepping the voting process. The Democratic Party coalesced around her, winning enough delegate support to secure the nomination at the Democratic National Convention in August. 

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In response to the criticism, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the party’s presidential nominating process was “open,” and Harris “won it,” despite the absence of any such contest. 

Republican candidate Hung Cao, running for the Virginia Senate seat currently held by Democrat Sen. Tim Kaine, is confident he can turn Virginia red from purple.

He’s also doubling down on his controversial comments made during last week’s debate about U.S. military personnel “who are going to rip out their own guts, eat them and ask for seconds” in a bid against progressive social training in the military.

Cao, a 25-year Navy veteran endorsed by former President Trump, told Fox News Digital in an interview, “It’s about warriors that are just going to do anything to win, and those are the people we need.”

VIRGINIA SENATE DEBATE: CLINTON’S EX-RUNNING MATE KAINE AND GOP CHALLENGER CAO SPAR ON IMMIGRATION AND DEI IN THE MILITARY

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., left, and Republican challenger Hung Cao (AP Photo/Susan Walsh | J. Scott Applewhite)

“And that’s what I mean by rip out your own guts, eat them and ask for seconds. That’s a true warrior, whether it’s a alpha male or alpha female, but not some cross-dressing … drag queen,” he said. “That’s not what we need in the military. We need strong men and women that are willing to put their lives online to fight for this country.”

During last week’s debate against Kaine, Cao criticized the military’s collective failure to recently meet recruiting goals. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, fewer than 30% of Americans aged 17 to 24 were eligible to serve in the military, and this number has declined even more since then.

“There’s only so many hours in the day, and there’s so much money. And when you’re spending all your money and time to look at all these woke issues, you’re taking away from time to train for war,” Cao said.

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Hung Cao speaks beside former President Trump during a rally in Chesapeake, Va., on June 28, 2024. (Billy Schuerman/The Virginian-Pilot/Tribune News Service)

When it comes to flipping Virginia’s Senate seat, Cao is confident he can achieve it despite the Cook Political Report designating the seat as solid blue.

Cao argued that the Cook report is wrong, noting how he reduced Biden’s 19% margin in Northern Virginia to 6% in 2022. He highlighted that despite Trump losing Virginia by 10 points in 2010, Republicans won all statewide races in 2021 and gained a seat in 2022. In 2023, more Republicans voted than Democrats despite Democrat gerrymandering efforts.

“And so, you know, having moved north Virginia the way I did, and if the south comes out, we’re going to win this race,” he said.

VIRGINIA SCHOOL BOARD TO PAY ‘WRONGFULLY FIRED’ TEACHER WHO REFUSED TO USE STUDENT’S PREFERRED PRONOUNS

Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, left, debates Republican challenger Hung Cao at Norfolk State University on Oct. 2, 2024. (Nextstar/WAVY-TV via AP/Pool)

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Trump has endorsed Cao, and political scientists say his path to victory is narrow, given Virginia’s moderate electorate, aversion to Trump in 2020 and Kaine’s salience with voters, according to the Associated Press.

Kaine won his last race in 2018 by 16 percentage points, although he said he was preparing for a tough race this year. The most recent Republican from Virginia to hold a Senate seat was the late John Warner, a centrist with an independent streak who last won in 2002.

Fox News’ Daniel Wallace and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

Former Wyoming Republican Rep. Liz Cheney officially endorsed Vice President Harris for the Oval Office, breaking from the GOP to hit the campaign trail with the Democrat ticket in the key battleground state of Wisconsin last week. 

Fox News Digital traveled to Casper, Wyoming, over the weekend to speak to voters about their thoughts on the upcoming election and Cheney snubbing the Republican presidential ticket in favor of endorsing Harris this cycle. Voters in the Cowboy State overwhelmingly admonished Cheney for the endorsement, with some slamming her as a “traitor” and “turncoat.”

“I’m not impressed with that at all,” Clark Johnson told Fox News Digital when asked about his thoughts on Cheney campaigning with Harris last week in Wisconsin. 

“I think it’s ridiculous. I think she’s a traitor to the country,” another Wyomingite, Gunner Berg, said of the campaign event.

KAMALA HARRIS TEAMS UP WITH LIZ CHENEY IN BIRTHPLACE OF REPUBLICAN PARTY

Gunner Berg speaks with Fox News Digital about the election. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)

Cheney, who is the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, is a vocal critic of former President Trump, putting her at odds with the Republican Party and her former constituents, who overwhelmingly supported Trump in his 2016 and 2020 elections. Wyoming is again expected to vote red this election.

The vast majority of voters who spoke to Fox Digital from Casper said they are no fan of Cheney’s and that she would unlikely hold another elected office in Wyoming due to her politics.

“I’m definitely not a fan, and it definitely kind of turned some tables there,” Dillon Sigman said, adding that he does not believe Cheney could again successfully run for office in Wyoming.

Wyoming voter “Ralph” speaks with Fox News Digital about the election and former Rep. Liz Cheney. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)

“I think Liz Cheney, who originally was a Wyoming person that moved to Connecticut and then returned to Wyoming wearing cowboy blue jeans and a cowboy rodeo belt buckle and seated herself, completely flipped and became a turncoat. Liz has gone totally Democratic and appears to be down the road of the DEI inclusion and all the other dysfunctional things that are going on in her government,” said a Wyoming resident who identified himself as “Ralph.”

“The View” co-hosts praised former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., for endorsing Democrat presidential nominee Vice President Harris. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

“I support her decision to campaign for whoever she chooses. However, I do not think that she is a voice for the Wyoming people. The majority of people I know do not back Kamala Harris or that campaign,” Alicia Kellch told Fox Digital.

NIKKI HALEY DEFENDS TRUMP SUPPORT AFTER BEING CALLED OUT BY LIZ CHENEY: ‘THIS IS ABOUT AMERICA’

Kellch said it is unlikely Cheney would be re-elected in Wyoming if she were to pursue such an avenue, adding that she believes many people who initially voted for Cheney feel “sold out once they got her in office and realized what her true intentions were.”

Alicia Kellch speaks with Fox News Digital in Casper, Wyoming. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)

Chuck Kucera added in an interview that Cheney is a “backstabber,” quipping that a Harris campaign event is “probably a good place for her.”

John Shelton said Cheney could “never” run for office again in Wyoming and that he wouldn’t vote for her even “if she’s the last one to be voted for.”

One Wyoming resident told Fox Digital that Cheney teaming up with Harris didn’t “bother” him and didn’t view it as an issue, while noting that “most folks in Wyoming don’t agree with” Cheney endorsing Harris.

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Two Wyoming residents told Fox News Digital they support Cheney teaming with Harris, with Jennifer Dillinger saying it was “absolutely amazing.”

Wyoming resident Jennifer Dillinger speaks with Fox News Digital. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)

“It’s amazing how somebody who is extremely conservative, has been Republican her entire life but will support the Constitution and the country and not be specific for the party,” Dillinger said, adding that it’s unlikely Cheney would make a successful return to Wyoming politics as the state is “too conservative.”

TRUMP CALLS LIZ CHENEY A ‘LOW IQ WAR HAWK’ AFTER APPEARANCE IN SUPPORT OF HARRIS

Another woman, Randi Chepke, said she’s “thrilled that Liz Cheney is supporting Kamala Harris,” arguing that Cheney is “putting our country above her party.”

Chepke added that Cheney’s endorsement of Harris will “absolutely” encourage some Republican voters to cast ballots for Harris next month.

“I think that she is a die-hard conservative and that she is stating her case about why she thinks it’s important to put democracy first. And, you know, frankly, democracy is much more important than the cost of a loaf of bread or a gallon of gas at this point in our lives,” Chepke said.

Liz Cheney, R-Wyo. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite/File)

Cheney joined Harris in Ripon, Wisconsin, which bills itself as the birthplace of the GOP, on Thursday, and formally endorsed Harris for president. 

“I have never voted for a Democrat, but this year I am proudly casting my vote for Vice President Kamala Harris,” Cheney told the audience. “As a conservative, as a patriot, as a mother, as someone who reveres our Constitution, I am honored to join her in this urgent cause.”

LIZ CHENEY CALLS SPEAKER JOHNSON ‘DANGEROUS’ FOR HELPING TRUMP ‘UNDERMINE OUR REPUBLIC’

Harris praised Cheney as a leader who “puts country above party and above self, a true patriot.”

Signal Mountain is viewed from the Oxbow Bend Overlook along the Snake River at Jackson Lake, Wyoming. (George Rose/Getty Images/File)

Cheney was the third-most powerful Republican in Congress from 2019 to 2021 but saw her rising star fade in the party as she launched repeated attacks against Trump after the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol.

“What is important is to recognize we just had a violent mob assault the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to prevent us from carrying out our constitutional duty,” Cheney said on Jan. 6 after Trump supporters stormed into the Capitol.

“There is no question that the president formed the mob. The president incited the mob, the president addressed the mob. This is what America is not.”

HOUSE JAN 6 COMMITTEE DELETED MORE THAN 100 ENCRYPTED FILES DAYS BEFORE GOP TOOK MAJORITY: SOURCES

Vice President Harris campaigns with former GOP Rep. Liz Cheney in Ripon, Wis., on Oct. 3, 2024. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)

Cheney went on to vote to impeach Trump on a charge of inciting an insurrection, sat on the House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack to investigate the protest and has continued leveling attacks on Trump this year. 

“I ask you to stand in truth. To reject the depraved cruelty of Donald Trump,” Cheney told the Harris supporters in Wisconsin last week.

Trump has meanwhile slammed Cheney as “a low IQ War Hawk” who suffers “gravely from Trump Derangement Syndrome.” 

Former President Trump addresses the crowd at a rally in Butler, Pa., on Oct. 5, 2024. (Matthew McDermott for Fox News Digital)

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Cheney lost her GOP congressional primary in Wyoming to Harriet Hageman in 2022, a candidate backed by Trump. She has not announced another run for political office, but Cheney has fueled speculation since leaving the House that she could one day run for president.

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

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.    

Welcome to the politics of disaster relief.

Republicans are excoriating the Biden/Harris administration for how it responded to Hurricane Helene in North Carolina, Tennessee and other parts of the South. This is now about to be a double whammy as Hurricane Milton bears down on Florida.

It unfolds amid a tight presidential election. So the disaster response is now infused with politics in swing states like North Carolina and Georgia. There is also a competitive but not top-tier Senate race in Florida.

Storms can disrupt the typical electorate. The usual people who vote might not make it to the polls. It’s hard to care about voting if you’re low on food, lack electricity and can’t even make it out of the holler in western North Carolina because Helene wrecked the road.

‘IMMEDIATELY RECONVENE’: SCOTT URGES SCHUMER TO RECALL SENATE AMID HELENE’S DEVASTATION

Pray tell, where should you vote in Tampa or Sarasota if your basement is swamped by Milton – after getting drenched when Helene spun through a few weeks ago? You were going to vote at the school down the street. But now it lacks power. You’re now living at your sister’s house inland. But you’re not registered to vote there …

You see what we’re getting at.

Republicans are hammering the Biden/Harris administration for its response to the storm.

“It’s like the DMV at industrial scale,” said Republican vice presidential nominee and Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, on Fox. “It is incompetence of the highest order.”

“At the federal level, this has been a massive failure,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. “When you talk to the people who are directly affected, they will tell you that this has been an abject failure. FEMA has lost sight of its core mission. The administration has not shown that they were prepared for this eventuality in this terrible disaster.”

With the South reeling from Hurricane Helene’s path of devastation and Hurricane Milton on the way, the politics of disaster relief are, yet again, becoming all too apparent. (AP Photo/Mike Carlson)

“Kamala Harris has left them stranded. This is the worst response to a storm or a catastrophe or a hurricane that we’ve ever seen. Probably worse than Katrina. And that’s hard to beat, right?” asked former President Trump.

Storm responses are challenging. Hurricane Andrew was a powerful Category 5 storm that swept through Florida in August 1992. Former President George H.W. Bush’s tepid response to Andrew slashed his support in Florida. “Bush 41” wound up narrowly winning Florida, besting former President Clinton by less than 2%. Bush won Florida by 22 points four years earlier. Moreover, the response to Hurricane Andrew raised questions about the competence of the administration weeks before the election. It’s believed that cost Bush a few points nationwide.

When Clinton took office, he immediately beefed up FEMA to prepare and respond to other natural disasters.

BIDEN GETS DEFENSIVE WHEN PUSHED ON WHO’S COMMANDING’ HURRICANE HELENE RESPONSE

So, part of this tactic is the natural extension of Republicans to undercut the Biden/Harris administration at nearly every turn. This is another component of the GOP narrative that the administration can’t handle the economy. Can’t handle foreign policy. Can’t handle the border.

Did someone say the border?

“We give $20 billion a year to FEMA. And unfortunately, they have drained everything dry,” said Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., on Fox Business. “We spent $200 billion in Ukraine. We spent $220-$500 a month on our illegal aliens.”

“We give $20 billion a year to FEMA. And unfortunately, they have drained everything dry,” Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., said as he castigated the Biden administration for its alleged prioritization of illegal immigrants over hurricane relief efforts. (Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

This is where things get tricky.

FEMA is under the aegis of the Department of Homeland Security. DHS runs a program that sends money to cities besieged by the illegal migrant crisis. Some of the money goes for food and shelter for those in the country illegally. But it also helps those towns cope by addressing strains on their medical systems and other services.

Money for disaster recovery and migrant assistance constitute two separate line items in the DHS budget. Congress approved money for both these programs. In fact, some Republicans would prefer to spend more to help their communities grapple with an infusion of illegal immigration.

SPEAKER JOHNSON ADDRESSES CLAIMS FEMA DIVERTED FUNDS TO IMMIGRATION EFFORTS: ‘AMERICAN PEOPLE ARE DISGUSTED’

About $640 million currently goes to assist these towns beset by an influx of illegal migrants. But some lawmakers would like that to spike to as much as $3 billion next year.

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., introduced legislation to halt the migrant assistance program. And Johnson blurred the line between FEMA disaster aid and migrants and the border.

“FEMA should be involved and the Federal Emergency Management Association. Their mission is to help people in times like this of natural disaster. Not to be engaged in using any pool of funding from any account for resettling illegal aliens who have come across the border,” said Johnson on Fox.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., called the response to Hurricane Helene a “massive failure” at the federal level. (Getty Images)

Other Republicans believe this may be an opportunity to recalibrate spending overall. Keep in mind that many Republicans look askance at foreign aid to Ukraine.

“As an elected official, it’s our responsibility to put Americans first. Whether you’re in Florida, in my district or you’re anywhere in the union, I think that it’s important for us to prioritize Americans and restore hope and let them know they’re not forgotten,” said Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla., on Fox.

But some Republicans compared issues with FEMA’s response to how the administration addresses other subjects.

KJP SLAMMED AFTER HURRICANE HELENE OVER MIXED MESSAGES ON WHETHER FEMA RESOURCES USED FOR MIGRANTS

“This administration seems to have no problem finding money when they want to spend it on their priorities. When they need hundreds of billions of dollars to pay off student loans for graduate students and gender studies programs, they somehow find it. When it’s trying to get helicopters to deliver food and water and cellular service and lifesaving medicine into these mountain valleys, they somehow can’t seem to find the money,” declared Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., on NBC.

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell castigated Republicans for suggesting FEMA was focused on other issues rather than the storms.

“It’s frankly ridiculous and just plain false. This kind of rhetoric is not helpful to people,” said Criswell on ABC.

Hurricanes Helene and Milton are likely to leave both meteorological and electoral scars in their wake. (Travis Long/The News & Observer/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Before leaving Washington, Congress green-lighted $20 billion for FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) as part of the interim spending plan to avoid a government shutdown. But Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas muddled matters when he said FEMA had enough funds to respond to Helene for “immediate needs” but not enough to get through “the season.”

The “season” to which Mayorkas refers is the annual hurricane “season.” It stretches through Nov. 30. Note that Mayorkas made this remark when there was the potential for another storm, but Milton hadn’t yet formed in the Gulf of Mexico.

Some Republicans pounced on Mayorkas. But after considering the severity of Helene, it will likely draw down the DRF for “immediate needs.” The key phrase here is “immediate needs.” Milton will probably do the same. That’s why Congress must likely tackle disaster relief in at least two tranches when it returns to session in November. Lawmakers will need to refill the DRF. And the price tags will start to roll in for Helene and Milton. That’s to say nothing of outstanding disasters like Hurricane Beryl in Texas, tornadoes in Iowa, a typhoon on Guam and wildfires in Hawaii.

FEMA HAS FUNDS NEEDED FOR ‘IMMEDIATE RESPONSE AND RECOVERY,’ DESPITE MAYORKAS’ WARNING

However, Johnson is unwilling to summon lawmakers back to Washington to grapple with disasters.

“You don’t just send estimates to the federal government. You send specific needs and requests based upon the actual damages. And that takes some time, especially with storms of this magnitude. So Congress will do its job,” said Johnson on Fox.

So, lawmakers must first reload the DRF for future immediate needs, then mete out bigger chunks of change for Americans to cope with the impacts of Helene and Milton. The government funding deadline is Dec. 20. It’s possible that the latter chunk of funding is folded into spending measures around Christmas.

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But as for the politics? The election is fast approaching. The storms could impact voting this fall. And while Helene and Milton will certainly leave a mark meteorologically, they will probably leave a mark electorally, too.

Former President Trump on Monday described illegal immigrant murderers as having “bad genes” and warned that there are “a lot of bad genes in our country” as illegal immigrant crime remains a top issue for voters ahead of the November election.

“How about allowing people to come to an open border, 13,000 of which were murderers, many of them murdered far more than one person, and they’re now happily living in the United States,” the 2024 Republican presidential nominee told radio host Hugh Hewitt.

Trump appeared to be referring to the more than 13,000 illegal immigrants in the U.S. who are on Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s non-detained docket with a conviction for homicide. The data was revealed in a letter to lawmakers last month. Some of those, although it is unclear how many, will be in federal or state prisons, and some came into the U.S. in prior administrations. The data says that, among those not in detention, there are 425,431 convicted criminals and 222,141 with pending criminal charges.

NEW POLL REVEALS TRUMP HAS SIGNIFICANT LEAD ON IMMIGRATION, BORDER SECURITY IN KEY BATTLEGROUND STATE

Republican presidential nominee and former President Trump has promised to finish construction of the southern border wall if elected. (Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)

The data revelation has again fired up the issue of illegal immigrant crime, which has been a top concern for many voters amid a massive border security crisis in which record numbers were seen at the border and a number of high-profile crimes committed allegedly by illegal immigrants.

“You know, now a murderer, I believe this, it’s in their genes. And we got a lot of bad genes in our country right now,” he said.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS

Trump appeared to be referring only to murderers, but some media outlets quickly pounced on Trump’s words and accused him of referring to immigrants more broadly. An NBC News headline described it as the “latest disparagement of migrants” from the former president.

The Washington Post, Politico and other mainstream media outlets also echoed this same narrative. Mediaite described Trump’s comment as “chilling” and White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, “That type of language is hateful, it’s disgusting, it’s inappropriate. It has no place in our country.”

This split shows DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and migrants surging across the border. (Getty Images)

Trump has promised to take a tougher line on illegal immigration as well as some forms of legal immigration. He has promised to launch a massive deportation campaign if elected. He has also promised to finish the border wall that he started in his first administration and end Biden-era parole programs that have brought hundreds of thousands of migrants into the U.S.

Polls generally show that Trump is leading his Democrat opponent, Vice President Harris, on the issues of immigration and border security. Republicans have said that the Biden administration encouraged and fueled the border crisis by rolling back Trump-era policies and expanding catch-and-release.

VANCE, WALZ SPAR ON IMMIGRATION DURING VP DEBATE: BEEN TO THE BORDER ‘MORE THAN OUR BORDER CZAR’

Harris has sought to position herself as the candidate better suited to handle border security, pointing to her past as a prosecutor who went after transnational criminal organizations. She has also backed a bipartisan border security bill unveiled this year that would surge funding for the border and also limit some asylum entries.

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Harris and the Biden administration have accused Trump of opposing that bill for political purposes, but conservatives have said the bill would only codify high levels of illegal immigration.

Meanwhile, border encounters are down sharply at the border, with a drop of more than 50% since the summer. The administration puts that down in part to an executive order signed by President Biden that limits asylum entries into the U.S. Harris recently supported a move to toughen up that order further.