NationalWatch

The House of Representatives has passed a bipartisan bill increasing U.S. Secret Service (USSS) protections for major presidential and vice presidential candidates after two foiled assassination attempts against former President Donald Trump.

It passed with an overwhelming unanimous 405 to 0 vote, a rare show of bipartisanship in Congress.

The legislation was introduced by Reps. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., and Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., in response to the July 13 shooting at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

A 20-year-old gunman was able to open fire on the rally from a rooftop just outside the rally perimeter, killing one attendee and injuring Trump and two others.

WATCH ON FOX NATION: THE ATTEMPTED ASSASSINATIONS OF DONALD TRUMP

Former President Donald Trump was injured during an assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024, and a second attempt occurred weeks later. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Weeks later, USSS agents arrested a man near Trump’s West Palm Beach golf course who had been waiting for the ex-president during a game on Sunday with an SKS rifle.

If passed by the Senate and signed into law by President Biden, the bill would mandate a comprehensive review of USSS protective standards and impose uniform standards for the security of presidents, vice presidents and major White House candidates.

“Regardless of how every American feels, regardless of how every American intends to vote, it is the right of the American people to determine the outcome of this election. The idea that our election could be decided by an assassin’s bullet should shake the conscience of our nation, and it requires swift action by the federal government,” Lawler said during debate on the bill Thursday.

TRUMP BLAMES BIDEN-HARRIS ‘RHETORIC’ FOR LATEST ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT, SAYS HE WILL ‘SAVE THE COUNTRY’

Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., is the lead Republican on the bill. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

“It is shocking that it took a second assassination attempt for Donald Trump to get the same level of protective detail from the Secret Service as the president of the United States.”

Progressive Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., said he is backing the bill but argued it would be meaningless without stronger firearm laws.

“I support this legislation because the Secret Service must be able to protect our highest elected officials and candidates. But this legislation will do nothing to make the rest of us any safer, or change the fact that gun violence continues to take the lives of more than 100 Americans every single day,” Nadler said.

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House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, pushed back on Nadler’s comments and accused him of painting the assassination attempts as “Republicans’ fault.”

“Next thing they’re going to say is, oh, some crazy guy on the left tries to assassinate President Trump, and it’s President Trump’s fault. Oh, wait a minute. They said that too. This is ridiculous,” Jordan said.

Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., is leading the bill on the Democratic side. (Getty)

It is not immediately clear how the bill would classify “major” candidates.

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Following the first attempt against Trump, Biden extended heightened USSS protection to the ex-president, who he was still running against at the time before dropping out of the race.

He also granted a request by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., then running as a third-party candidate, for USSS protection.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and other top officials dealing with the crisis at the southern border are worth millions, according to a database collecting federal forms — leading a top Trump ally to accuse them of inflicting mass migration on regular Americans while avoiding the consequences.

“Inside Biden’s Basement,” which lists the OGE Form 278e of government employees showing financial worth, is an organization stemming from the Transparency Action Fund, a 501(c)4.

According to the database, Mayorkas’ estimated net worth is between $3.8 million to $9 million. 

NEW ‘INSIDE BIDEN’S BASEMENT’ PROJECT AIMS TO ‘EXPOSE’ OFFICIALS ‘DRIVING AMERICA INTO A DITCH’

A reporter raises his hand to ask a question to Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas during a press briefing on Monday, July 15, 2024, at the White House in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Previous reporting identified his worth at around $8 million. Mayorkas’ finances, specifically his salary, came into focus this year when Republicans voted to block his salary.

It was an amendment by Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., for the House’s appropriations bill funding the DHS for fiscal year 2025 that would block funds in the bill from being used to pay Mayorkas.

Biggs cited Mayorkas’ impeachment in the House earlier in the year for freezing his salary. Mayorkas was impeached in the GOP-led chamber for his handling of the border crisis, but the Senate did not take up his trial. The DHS had brushed off efforts by Republicans to freeze his salary.

“While the House Majority has wasted months trying to score points with baseless attacks, Secretary Mayorkas has been doing his job and working to keep Americans safe,” a spokesperson said last year. “Instead of continuing their reckless charades and attacks on law enforcement, Congress should work with us to keep our country safe, build on the progress DHS is making, and deliver desperately needed reforms for our broken immigration system that only legislation can fix.” 

Meanwhile, other officials were also valued as having a high net worth by the website.

TOP HOUSE COMMITTEE SHREDS BIDEN-HARRIS ADMIN ON BORDER CRISIS IN NEW REPORT: ‘ASSAULT ON THE RULE OF LAW’ 

Immigrants line up at a remote U.S. Border Patrol processing center after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border on December 07, 2023 in Lukeville, Arizona. Jesus Enrique Ramirez Cabrera, according to federal sources, came into the country illegally in December 2023 through Arizona, was apprehended and released into the U.S. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

Royce Bernstein Murray, assistant secretary for Border and Immigration Policy, has an estimated net worth of $1.7 million to $6.8 million. Michelle Brane, the immigration detention ombudsman and who previously served as executive director for the department’s Family Reunification Task Force, has an estimated net worth of $1.4 million to $3.3 million.

Fox News Digital reached out to DHS for comment on the figures.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS

While the website shows others in the administration have significantly higher net worth, the numbers from the immigration officials brought criticism from former Trump senior White House official Stephen Miller, who told Fox News Digital that it showed how rich officials have the ability to distance themselves from the policies of the administration.

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“Leftist elites force intolerable mass migration on an unwilling populace while using their wealth to remove themselves as far as possible from the catastrophe they have inflicted on everyone else,” Miller, who is also the founder of America First Legal, told Fox News Digital.

Immigration and the ongoing border crisis has been a top issue in the U.S. ahead of the 2024 presidential election. Republicans have placed the blame for the crisis on the Biden administration’s ending of Trump-era policies. The Biden administration has said its strategy of expanding lawful pathways for migration while implementing consequences at the border is working – pointing to a recent drop in encounters by more than 50% since June when President Biden signed an executive order implementing new restrictions.

Since the 1970s, the state of New Jersey has regulated sunblock as an over-the-counter medication, which means it can be prohibited in schools, according to state lawmakers.

State Assemb. Nancy Munoz, R-Union, put forward a bill Wednesday directing schools to allow students to use sunscreen and for faculty to assist in certain situations.

Munoz is a former nurse, who said visiting the Jersey Shore isn’t the only place people are susceptible to the repercussions of sun exposure.

“Children need protection during the entire day, including recess, sports, and outside activities. Sunscreen, along with protective clothing and shade, are the most effective ways to protect children from the risk of getting skin cancer,” she said. 

“However, it is not readily accessible at schools without a doctor’s note because the [FDA] classifies it as an over-the-counter drug.”

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Munoz noted that sunblock is indeed subject to federal regulation and testing as it prevents or treats disease, but that students need access to it.

Dr. Seth Matarasso, president of the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery Association, told Fox News Digital on Thursday that 90% of skin cancer is preventable.

“Helping to reduce our children’s UV ray exposure, while instilling in them lifelong sun-safe habits, is one of the best things we can do to protect them,” he said.

“I’m pleased New Jersey is taking the initiative to protect children from overexposure to the sun.”

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Unprotected ultraviolet light exposure is the most preventable skin cancer risk factor, as Munoz said the disease is the most common form of cancer in the U.S.

Last September, “Margaritaville” scribe and longtime performer Jimmy Buffett passed away after battling an aggressive form of skin cancer called Merkel-cell carcinoma. Nearly 8,000 other Americans died last year from more-common melanoma skin cancer.

“It is up to us as adults to protect the health and wellbeing of New Jersey’s children through reasonable and commonsense legislation,” Munoz said, adding scholastic sports and recess should not come with such risks.

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A notebook and pencil on a desk in a school classroom (iStock)

The bill has also received its first co-sponsor, Assemb. Michele Matsikoudis, R-New Providence, as of Thursday morning.

In Congress, another Garden State lawmaker sounded the alarm on skin cancer risks, launching a “Sunscreen Safety Plan” to streamline the FDA approval process among other goals.

“One in five Americans will develop skin cancer by the age of 70, and more than two people die of skin cancer in our country every hour,” Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., said in a recent statement.

“It’s critical that more Americans wear sunscreen and that we all have access to the absolute best and latest sun-protecting products on the market.”

Gottheimer also said only 35% of U.S.-marketed sunblocks pass what are reportedly more stringent European Union standards.

A new requirement in New York that will take effect this weekend is set to grant Democrat New York Attorney General Letitia James widespread power over the state’s election process, a New York election attorney said. 

“Nobody is really talking about it or what a big effect it’s going to have,” election attorney Joseph T. Burns, partner at the law firm Holtzman Vogel, told Fox News Digital in a phone interview this week. “But it’s interesting because, look, there’s a lot of bad stuff that happens in New York when it comes to the elections and everything else, but this strikes me as being particularly bad. And it’s certainly quite a power grab by the attorney general as well.”

Under the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act of New York, which Gov. Kathy Hochul signed into law in 2022, a preclearance requirement in the law is set to take effect on Sept. 22. The new rule requires certain jurisdictions in the Empire State to request preclearance from the attorney general or a designated court to make election-related decisions, which range from changing the hours of early voting to culling deceased residents from a voter list, Burns said. 

Burns published an op-ed in the New York Post this week, warning that the new law hands James “unprecedented power over election processes in some of the most hotly contested congressional districts in the nation, including those on Long Island and in the Hudson Valley.” The upcoming requirement has flown under the radar, Burns said, telling Fox Digital, “Nobody’s talking about. It’s pretty remarkable.”

New York Attorney General Letitia James (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images/File)

“The new rule upends the system of constitutionally mandated, bipartisan election administration that has served New York’s voters ably for generations,” Burns wrote in his op-ed, which was published on Sept. 15. “The law requires certain counties, cities, towns, villages and school districts to get the blessing of the AG or a designated court before making election-related or voting-related changes.”

The new rule covers massive jurisdictions such as New York City and nine counties on Long Island, including America’s largest township of Hempstead, as well as other areas known as “covered entities” under the requirement. 

The jurisdictions are determined by a handful of factors, including arrest rates for residents of “protected classes” and whether a jurisdiction committed civil rights or voting rights violations in the last 25 years, Burns said, citing documents from James’ office last year that detailed the rules. 

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

Burns, who has a background in Republican politics and election legal issues, told Fox Digital there are “four triggers” that label a jurisdiction a “covered entity.”

(Aimee Dilger/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images/File)

“Any political subdivision which, within the previous 25 years, has become subject to a court order or government enforcement action based upon a finding of any violation of this title, the Federal Voting Rights Act, the 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution or a voting-related violation of the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution,” Burns said, reading from the 2023 document published by James’ office.

Burns gave an example of Erie County, which is considered a “covered entity” under the new rules, when the jurisdiction was hit with a court order involving the 14th Amendment about a decade ago.

“You think, ‘Wow, this sounds really sinister,’” he said of the 2014 court order. “‘They’re probably doing something. They’re disenfranchising a minority.’”

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

“No, not at all. What happened was the county executive and the county legislature couldn’t agree on a redistricting plan,” Burns said of the case. “… Something like that would put a local government under preclearance.”

New York Attorney General Letitia James sits in the courtroom during the fraud trial of former President Trump and his children. (Dave Sanders/Pool/Getty Images/File)

“It isn’t just bad policy, because it undermines the bipartisan nature of the boards of elections. Which, again, they’re not perfect, there’s so many inefficiencies. But by and large, in this day and age where people are so concerned about election integrity, what’s better than having both sides have a stake in the outcome, both sides wanting to and needing to make sure that elections are run smoothly and fairly? And now you have a partisan elected official stepping in to essentially have a veto power over our boards of elections,” Burns said. 

Under New York’s Constitution, elections are run by bipartisan boards that equally represent the Republican and Democrat parties. 

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“One side watches the other, and both parties have a stake in ensuring that elections run smoothly – even in jurisdictions heavily dominated by one party or the other, like New York City. It’s not a perfect system, and it certainly has its inefficiencies. But it successfully preserves voter confidence,” Burns wrote in his op-ed. 

“The preclearance rules of the state VRA, however, undermine this constitutionally mandated system of bipartisan election administration,” he added. 

The New York State Capitol (Thomas A. Ferrara/Newsday RM via Getty Images/File)

Burns said it’s possible the new rule, which will go into effect roughly 40 days before the presidential election, could cause some hiccups at the polls this year.

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“It’s certainly possible. I mean, what’s going to happen if, God forbid, an early voting site or an Election Day poll site … and a pipe breaks and it floods and it’s unusable, or there’s a fire in the facility and it burns down. They got to move it.”

Local commissioners would then choose a new poll site before filing an application with the AG’s office. Burns said he’s not arguing that the AG’s office wouldn’t swiftly approve the application but rather it adds additional layers of paperwork and clearance to run an election.

“New Yorkers of all political parties and persuasions want elections to be run fairly, honestly and efficiently – and the state’s system of bipartisan election administration already serves voters well,” Burns wrote in his op-ed. 

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“Our elections – and the public’s faith in them – will not be improved by the AG’s meddling.”

Fox News Digital reached out to James’ office regarding the upcoming requirement and Burns’ concerns in the op-ed but did not receive a response prior to publication.

A new poll has found that former President Trump has higher favorability numbers among likely voters compared to pop superstar Taylor Swift. 

The New York Times, Philadelphia Inquirer and Siena College poll of 2,436 likely voters nationwide revealed that 44% have a favorable opinion of Taylor Swift, compared to 34% who have unfavorable views. 

The same poll found that 47% view Trump favorably, compared to 51% who don’t. Vice President Kamala Harris, meanwhile, was viewed favorably by 48% of the likely voters and unfavorably by 49%, the newspaper says. 

The poll, with a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points, was conducted from Sept. 11 to 16, starting one day after Swift endorsed the Harris-Walz campaign. 

TAYLOR SWIFT’S ENDORSEMENT OF HARRIS DRAWS MIXED REACTION FROM VOTERS 

Taylor Swift, left, and former President Donald Trump. A new poll of likely voters has found they view Trump more favorably. (AP/Chris Pizzello/Evan Vucci)

“I will be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 Presidential Election,” Swift wrote on her Instagram account on Sept. 10, following the presidential debate between the two candidates that day. 

“I’m voting for @kamalaharris because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them. I think she is a steady-handed, gifted leader and I believe we can accomplish so much more in this country if we are led by calm and not chaos,” Swift added. “I was so heartened and impressed by her selection of running mate @timwalz, who has been standing up for LGBTQ+ rights, IVF, and a woman’s right to her own body for decades.” 

WHAT THE TAYLOR SWIFT ENDORSEMENT OF KAMALA HARRIS MEANS FOR THE NOVEMBER ELECTION 

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) Leadership Conference, at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, Sept. 18. Swift has endorsed Harris for president.  (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

The New York Times reports that her endorsement appears to have divided voters along party lines. 

The poll shows that 70% of Democrats have a favorable view of Swift, compared to 41% of independents and just 23% of Republicans.

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks during a rally on Wednesday, Sept. 18, in Uniondale, N.Y.  (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

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A total of 60% of Republicans indicated that they had an unfavorable view of Swift, while only 11% of Democrats felt the same way. 

Supporters of former President Trump in New York pleaded for his return to office, telling Fox News Digital outside his Uniondale, New York, rally that immigration and crime were at the top of their minds before November.  

Former President Trump returned to the deep blue state he long called home Wednesday for a rally on Long Island just days after a second assassination attempt on his life. 

“The main issue for me is illegal immigration. I believe in immigration, but just not illegally,” Mary Beth O’Hare told Fox News Digital outside the Nassau Coliseum. “And I think our city in particular is being overrun with illegals, and we are eventually going to pay the price for that if we’re not already, and we see it in our own communities. 

“And I also think it’s not fair to the migrants as well. I think they’re being told that they’re going to get something fantastic when they get here. And when you actually speak to them, you realize that they’re not happy either. So, all around, it’s just an unfair situation.

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“I do think New York is in need of a revival. And, as a matter of fact, I just sold my home, and we’re thinking about leaving New York as well. And it’s because you just don’t feel safe and secure here,” O’Hare added. “And it’s just gotten so expensive that you can’t see your own family being able to create a family here and continue the legacy that you started.

“I think it’s time that we figure out why it is so expensive to live here and make it more affordable for younger people.”

“First and foremost is the open border. I’ve seen Manhattan especially overcome by the illegal immigrants that have been traveling through the night on large jets and landing in our cities. I really see it in New York. And it’s not good,” Amy Hesse told Fox News Digital. “Trump is a New Yorker. That is his home. And he will turn that city around and turn the state of New York around. Go Trump 2024.” 

Another Trump supporter, Tom, said immigration was one of the major issues facing New York state, where he predicted Trump was rallying not to win for himself but to generate support for GOP congressmen. 

Trump supporters wait outside Nassau Coliseum before the Republican presidential nominee’s rally Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Uniondale, N.Y.  (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)

“It’s important for the sake of Republicans maintaining the House that these moderate districts remain in Republican hands, like the ones on Long Island, the ones in the Hudson River Valley,” he told Fox News Digital. “I think this is an opportunity to get good publicity that even within the heavy blue area of the state of New York, he can still bring out crowds like this peacefully, patriotically and joyfully celebrating the day.

“I am the son of immigrants. I am proud to be the son of immigrants. And I believe that if you come into this country lawfully and want to be a part of the American dream, you are welcome,” Tom added. 

“But that is not what is transpiring right now. And our cities, much less to be said in New York about this. We have had so many illegal immigrants come into this country that the infrastructure is bending. We don’t have the money to school these people properly. We don’t have the money to house these people properly. Right now, 25% of all the hotel rooms occupied in the city of New York are occupied by migrants. 

“We are paying for this instead of using this money to educate our own children. Even in the inner cities, where they’re dying for additional funding for education. Instead, we’re welcoming these people in, and we don’t have any place to put them.” 

A man wearing a “Jews For Trump” shirt outside the rally said he wanted to dispel the misconception that most Jews would vote for Kamala Harris, especially after the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks. 

“If you look at everyone around you, the crime has gone up. Our cars are being broken into,” the man said. “The homes are being broken into. People are afraid to buy houses right now just because they’re afraid it’s going to be broken into. It’s not the way it was under Trump. The crime was less. The economy was better. Everything was better. There was no complaints. All the complaints we have is the crime is through the roof. The economy. We’re paying through the roof for everything right now. Vote Trump.” 

Former President Trump rallies Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Uniondale, N.Y.  (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

He said the government has been housing a lot of migrants in his neighborhood in Queens. 

“I get worried about my wife and kids a lot because of that,” he said. “Because there is crime going on. We don’t know who these migrants are. Yes, some of them could be good, but we don’t know. No one’s vetted them. And they just came into the country. We don’t know anything about them.”

“New York needs to change. You know, New York used to be so prosperous. Like, New York was the hub of the entire world in regards to finance. And now it’s just like everybody’s leaving New York. The policies are horrendous,” Nick Passino, part of a group of Trump supporters who call themselves the MAGA Boyz, told Fox News Digital.

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Passino said he and his friend, Devin Dashnaw, were in the front row of Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, when the July 13 assassination attempt unfolded. 

He said their group stood behind Trump at his subsequent rally in Michigan to show support. Trump is keeping up his public rally schedule after another assassination attempt while the former president was golfing in West Palm Beach, Florida, over the weekend. Passino said Trump is making a statement “that he’s willing to do whatever it takes for the American people.” 

“Even though they tried to take him out like — what, a couple of days ago? — now he’s doing a rally here in New York. He’s just, you know, it’s business as usual,” Passino told Fox News Digital. “He’s not scared. He’s going to continue doing it. And, you know, MAGA. MAGA will live on no matter what.” 

People arrive at Nassau Coliseum before the start of a rally featuring former President Trump Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Uniondale, N.Y. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

As for Kamala Harris, Passino said “she has no policies, and she has nothing to speak on. That’s why she always reflects back to the way she used to grow up.”

“Nobody cares how you grew up, Kamala. What are you going to do now?” he said. “I mean, we’ve already seen what you’re doing now because you’re in office, which is, you know, trash the economy, open borders. Like, it’s not going to change. It’s only going to get worse.” 

Another Trump supporter, Matt, told Fox News Digital immigration was the most important issue influencing his vote given he personally knows someone who died of an accidental fentanyl overdose. 

“Not even as a New Yorker, but an American as a whole,” Matt said, specifying that he’s against illegal immigration. “They’re illegal for a reason. I mean, they’re able to take jobs, but are they paying the taxes that everyone else is paying? And there’s even some reports that they’ve been able to vote in some places. So, it’s just America first.” 

As for Trump still rallying, Matt said, “He’s a billionaire. He doesn’t have to be here. He could be out on a yacht wherever he wants, a cruise ship. But he’s here fighting for us. So, it means the world to everyone here.”

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Esther Rivera, who waved a “Latinos For Trump” sign outside the rally, told Fox News Digital “migrants is not a problem. Illegal immigrants is the problem.” 

“Having a wall doesn’t mean don’t come in. It means knock the door first. Enter legally,” she said. 

New legislation signed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom regulating AI-generated “deepfake” election content and requiring the removal of “deceptive content” from social media is now being challenged in court.

The new laws build on legislation passed years earlier regulating campaign ads and communications, according to the governor’s office.

But two of the three new laws are being challenged in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California by a conservative poster – @MrReaganUSA – Fox News Digital has learned. The account had posted an AI-generated parody of a Harris campaign ad that resurfaced and went viral after Newsom signed the bills. 

“This chills free speech, particularly for political commentators like Mr. Reagan, who use satire to critique public figures and rely on social media viewership for their livelihood,” said the Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute, the public interest firm filing the lawsuit on behalf of @MrReaganUSA, in a news release.

WATCH ON FOX NATION: THE ATTEMPTED ASSASSINATIONS OF DONALD TRUMP

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

The legislation, which Newsom’s office says will not ban memes or parodies, will instead require all satire or parody content to either remove their content or display a disclaimer label that the content is digitally altered. One of the laws also exempts “Materially deceptive content that constitutes satire or parody.”

But the attorney for the account holder suing California, Theodore Frank, told Fox News Digital in an interview that there’s a provision in one of the laws that would require social media platforms to have “a large censorship apparatus and respond to complaints within 36 hours.”

“And what’s going to happen is that social media is just going to ban us so that they don’t have to have a big infrastructure to deal with it. They’re not going to look to see whether something counts as parody,” Frank said.

“There’s a provision that allows lawsuits against the makers of the videos, if, unless there are these really burdensome disclosure requirements that basically require you to use the entire screen to have the disclosure and requires them to take down years of videos and spend hours on hours re-cutting them with the disclosure requirements and then having a disclosure that’s louder than the video itself, and that takes away the entire comedic event,” Frank added.

The law makes it illegal to create and publish deepfakes ahead of Election Day and 60 days thereafter. It also allows courts to stop distribution of the materials and impose civil penalties, per the Associated Press.

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A conservative X account that posted an AI-generated parody of a Kamala Harris campaign ad is at the center of a lawsuit challenging new California laws restricting AI “deepfakes” on social media. (Jemal Countess/Getty Images)

X allows parody accounts so long as they distinguish themselves as such “in their account name and in their bio,” per the company’s website. The platform does not have rules around individual posts containing parody and has been known to label deepfakes if the poster does not do so.

There are similar laws already in place in Alabama, and Frank said they’re prepared to file suit against those, too.

“I don’t think Republicans are immune to over-legislating in this area, but there are certainly other states that are doing this. And you know, I think it depends on who’s in power and who’s getting made fun of,” he said.

In a statement provided to Fox News Digital, Newsom spokesperson Izzy Gardon said, “The person who created this misleading deepfake in the middle of an election already labeled the post as a parody on X. Requiring them to use the word ‘parody’ on the actual video avoids further misleading the public as the video is shared across the platform.”

“It’s unclear why this conservative activist is suing California. This new disclosure law for election misinformation isn’t any more onerous than laws already passed in other states, including Alabama,” Gardon said. “We’re proud California did expand the law to also include misinformation about election workers for two months after an election — so that malicious actors don’t attempt to disrupt the democratic process.”

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom has previously condemned such satirical election content generated by AI. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

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Newsom has previously condemned such satirical election content generated by AI. In response to the altered election ad of Harris, which Elon Musk reposted, Newsom said in July. “Manipulating a voice in an ‘ad’ like this one should be illegal. I’ll be signing a bill in a matter of weeks to make sure it is.”

Fox Business’s Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.

The election season is in full swing Friday as Virginia becomes the first state to allow in-person early voting in the 2024 cycle and six other states – Arkansas, Idaho, Minnesota, South Dakota, West Virginia and Wyoming – make absentee ballots available, some with restrictions. 

Minnesota and Virginia lean blue, but have deep red pockets

Two competitive states begin voting today, beginning with Minnesota. 

The midwestern state has voted for Democrats in every election since 1972, but with a higher proportion of White working class voters and deep red rural pockets, the result has remained within competitive margins every cycle. Biden won by about 7 points in 2020.

The president’s weaknesses put this state a touch more in play through the middle of the year; the same time the Trump campaign announced they were opening more field offices there. But with Harris reenergizing Democrats and Minnesota’s Tim Walz as her running mate, this state is likely to stay in Democratic hands.

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It’s a similar story in Virginia, which is home to heavily populated blue areas in the northeast near DC, and ruby red vote in the southwest. That leaves places like Virginia Beach and Chesterfield as the battlegrounds. Biden won the Old Dominion by just over 10 points in the last election, so it would take a very good night for Republicans to pick this off. This state is Likely D on the Power Rankings. 

Key downballot races in today’s early voting states 

Across the seven states that will begin early voting in some form today, there are only three competitive U.S. Senate, House, or Governor races:

• Minnesota’s 2nd district: Democratic Rep. Angie Craig has held this Twin Cities district since 2019. This cycle she will face Marine and former federal prosecutor Joe Teirab. It’s the inclusion of rural areas in southwest Minnesota that make this race competitive. The race is ranked Lean D on the Fox News Power Rankings.
• Virginia’s 2nd district: Virginia’s 2nd district was one of the most closely watched races in 2022 and a Republican flip. Congresswoman Jen Kiggans faces US Navy veteran and small businesswoman Missy Cotter Smasal this time in a military-heavy district that includes Virginia Beach. This is a Lean R race on the Power Rankings.
• Virginia’s 7th district: The north central 7th district stayed in Democratic hands in 2022 thanks to Abigail Spanberger’s strong brand, but she is vacating the seat at the end of this term to run for governor. This will be a face-off between two Army veterans: Democrat Eugene Vindman and Republican Derrick Anderson. It’s Lean D on the Power Rankings.

How to vote in Arkansas

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 Arkansas.

Voting by mail:

Friday is the deadline for Arkansas county clerks to send absentee ballots to U.S. service members and other citizens living abroad who have already applied. Absentee ballots must be mailed to voters with an excuse for not being able to vote in-person no later than Oct. 11.

Oct. 29 is the deadline for all absentee ballot applications to be received by county clerks. The ballot must be submitted to the state by Nov. 1 if in-person and by Nov. 5 if by mail.

Early in-person voting:

Residents can vote early beginning Oct. 21 at the county clerk’s office. Absentee ballots can be returned in-person through Nov. 1.

Voter registration:

Oct. 7 is the deadline for Arkansans to register to vote. 

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How to vote in Idaho 

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 Idaho.

Voting by mail:

Idaho began absentee voting Friday. Applicants do not need to provide an excuse to receive a ballot. The state must receive a ballot application by Oct. 25, and that ballot must be delivered to state officials by Nov. 5.

Early in-person voting:

Early in-person voting begins October 21. Absentee ballots can also be submitted in-person through Election Day. See your Idaho’s voting website for more information. 

Voter registration:

Idaho allows residents to register to vote in person at early voting or on Election Day. Online voter registration ends 24 days before Election Day.

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump, speaks during a rally, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Uniondale, N.Y.  (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

How to vote in Minnesota

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 Minnesota.

Voting by mail:

Minnesota began absentee voting Friday. Applicants do not need to provide an excuse to receive a ballot. The state must receive a ballot application by Nov. 4, and that ballot must be delivered to state officials by Nov. 5.

Early in-person voting:

Absentee ballots can be returned in-person through Election Day. Early voting policies vary by location. See your Minnesota’s voting website for more information. 

Voter registration:

Minnesota residents may register to vote online, in-person during early voting or in-person on Election Day.

FOX NEWS POLL: VOTERS THINK HARRIS DID BETTER THAN TRUMP IN DEBATE

How to vote in South Dakota

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 South Dakota.

Voting by mail:

South Dakota began absentee voting Friday. Applicants do not need to provide an excuse to receive a ballot. The county must receive a ballot application by Nov. 4, and that ballot must be delivered to county officials by Nov. 5.

Early in-person voting:

Absentee ballots can be returned in-person through Election Day.

Voter registration: 

South Dakota residents need to register to vote by Oct. 21.

(AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

How to vote in Virginia 

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 Virginia.

Voting by mail:

Virginia began absentee voting Friday. Applicants do not need to provide an excuse to receive a ballot. The voter’s county must receive a ballot application by Oct. 25, and that ballot must be submitted by Nov. 5. An emergency absentee ballot may be requested until Nov. 4, but some restrictions apply.

Early in-person voting:

Early in-person voting also began Friday, and will continue through Nov. 2. Absentee ballots can be submitted in-person through Election Day.

Voter registration:

Virginia residents who desire to vote must register by Oct. 15, though they may register until Election Day and vote using a provisional ballot.

How to vote in West Virginia

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 West Virginia.

Voting by mail:

West Virginia began absentee voting Friday. Applicants will need to provide an excuse to receive a ballot. The county must receive a ballot application by Oct. 30, and that ballot must be submitted by Nov. 5.

Early in-person voting:

Early in-person voting begins Oct. 23 and will continue through Nov. 2. Absentee ballots can be submitted in-person through Nov. 4. 

Voter registration:

West Virginians wishing to vote in the general election must register online, by mail or in-person by Oct. 15. 

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 Friday for U.S. service members or citizens abroad. Absentee voting for others begins Oct. 8, and ballots must be submitted by Nov. 5. 

Early in-person voting:

In-person absentee voting begins on Oct. 8 and runs through Nov. 4.

Voter registration: 

Voter registration closes Oct. 21. 

By the end of September, 26 states and Washington, D.C., are expected to have begun some form of voting.

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A new poll suggests that support is dropping among all Americans for Taylor Swift’s efforts to encourage her legions of fans to vote in the upcoming elections.

Fifty-three percent of voters questioned in a Monmouth University national survey released on Thursday said they approved of Swift’s voter encouragement efforts — which she did last week in a social media post following the first and potentially only debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Trump.

Swift, in her social media post, also endorsed Harris in the race to succeed President Biden in the White House.

Support for the pop star’s voter participation efforts is down 15 points from 68% in a Monmouth survey conducted in February, when Swift was in the spotlight for a debunked conspiracy theory surrounding the presidential election and the Super Bowl.

CLICK HERE FOR FOX NEWS’ LATEST REPORTING ON TAYLOR SWIFT

Taylor Swift attends the Kansas City Chiefs’ game against the Baltimore Ravens at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, on Sept. 5. (David Eulitt/Getty Images)

A baseless conspiracy theory at the time suggested that Swift was involved in a covert government plot to help President Biden win re-election. 

Swift endorsed Biden in the 2020 presidential election and for years has encouraged her fans to vote. 

TRUMP MAKES BOLD PREDICTION IN HIS 2024 SHOWDOWN WITH HARRIS

The president suspended his re-election campaign following a disastrous debate performance in late June with Trump, and Harris replaced Biden two months ago atop the Democrats’ 2024 national ticket.

The new poll indicates that while support for Swift’s voter participation efforts remains high among Democrats — 87% in the new survey, unchanged from February — support has, not surprisingly, plunged among Republicans from an already low 41% earlier this year to just 20% now. Support among independents dropped from 73% to 52%, according to the survey.

Former President Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris shake hands at their debate in Philadelphia on Sept. 10. (Doug Mills/The New York Time/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“Republicans were wary of Swift all along. What we don’t know is whether this will have any effect on the part of her fan base who already leans right,” Monmouth University Polling Institute director Patrick Murray highlighted in the poll’s release.

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More than 400,000 people clicked on the vote.gov website in the 24 hours after Swift’s endorsement of Harris in a post that also included a link to the voter registration website. What’s unclear is how many of those people will actually end up voting and whom they’ll support in the presidential election.

Trump initially downplayed Swift’s endorsement of Harris in a “FOX and Friends” interview the morning after the debate. 

Former President Trump raises his fist as he departs a campaign event at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York, on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

But on Sunday, Trump turned up the temperature, writing “I hate Taylor Swift” in a social media post.

The Monmouth University poll was conducted from Sept. 11-15, with 803 registered voters nationwide questioned. The survey’s overall sampling error is plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.

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

Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul’s favorability among likely New York voters has cratered, and former President Trump is viewed more favorably by voters in the historically blue state in a new poll.

Siena College on Thursday released a poll showing that just 34% of voters in the Empire State view Hochul favorably, with 54% viewing her poorly. When asked about their views on Trump, 39% of likely New York voters told pollsters they view the 45th president favorably, and 57% view him poorly, a figure slightly higher than voters’ assessment of Hochul. 

​​”It is also worth noting that Hochul’s favorability rating, 20 points underwater, is worse than Trump’s, 18 points underwater,” Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg said in the poll’s press release. “To repeat, Kathy Hochul has a lower net favorability rating in New York than Donald Trump.”

The poll found that Hochul’s favorability rating dropped from last month’s findings of 39% favorability to 50% disapproval among voters. 

FORMER AIDE TO NEW YORK GOV. HOCHUL, WHO IS ACCUSED OF BEING CHINESE SPY, WENT ON A TOUR OF THE WHITE HOUSE

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and former President Trump, the Republican presidential candidate. (Getty Images)

“While Hochul’s favorability rating has never been outstanding — she’s never been viewed favorably by 50% of voters in a state where 49% of the voters are Democrats — it has now hit an all-time low, 34%-54%,” Greenberg said. “Her job approval rating, 39%-56%, is also a record low.”

Trump traveled to his home state on Wednesday, where he joined thousands of supporters on Long Island at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. He vowed to the crowd he would “win New York” and “save” the longtime blue state. 

FORMER AIDE TO DEMOCRATIC NY GOVERNOR ARRESTED IN FEDERAL CASE 

“The reason I’m here,” Trump told the crowd, is because “we are going to win New York.

“That’s the first time in many, many years that a Republican can honestly say it, and we’re going to do it.” 

“I Voted” stickers on a table at a polling station. (Associated Press)

A Republican presidential candidate has not claimed victory in the Empire State since Ronald Reagan in 1984. 

“We have to do it. We do it, and the election nationwide is over. We take over the White House, and we fix up our country,” he said. 

HOUSE REPUBLICANS PRESS GOV. HOCHUL ON ALLEGED CHINA COMMUNIST PARTY AGENT’S INFLUENCE IN NEW YORK 

Former President Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York, on Wednesday. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

“I say to the people of New York: With crime at record levels, with terrorists and criminals pouring in and with inflation eating your hearts out, vote for Donald Trump. What the hell do you have to lose?” Trump told the crowd. 

Trump has previously said he has a good shot at winning the traditionally liberal state, including in May as he faced trial in New York City on 34 counts of falsifying business records. 

“I think we have a chance to win in New York. It hasn’t been done in, you know, many, many decades as a Republican,” he told “Fox & Friends” in May. “I think we have a very good chance.”

Supporters of former President Trump are ready and waiting outside the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York, for Trump’s rally on Wednesday. (Fatih Aktas/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Across the Hudson River in New Jersey, Trump has also campaigned on winning the Garden State, another historically blue jurisdiction. 

“We’re going to win New Jersey,” Trump told a massive crowd this spring in Wildwood, sparking exuberant cheers from supporters. 

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The Siena survey found that, in New York, Vice President Kamala Harris still has a lead over Trump, though it appears to not be as “deep blue” compared to previous presidential elections.

“New York remains solidly ‘blue’ but perhaps not as deep blue as it has been in the last several presidential cycles. In the six presidential elections this century, Democrats have carried New York by at least 18 points, and at least 22 points in five of the six. President Biden won here by 23 points in 2020,” Greenberg said. “With less than seven weeks till Election Day, Harris leads Trump head-to-head by 13 points, little changed from 14 points last month, and by 12 points in a multi-candidate race, unchanged from August.”

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

A shadowy group has been recruiting unsuspecting candidates to act as potential spoilers in competitive House races in the latest attempt from far-left groups to tip Republican races.

For the past year, a group known as the Patriots Run Project has recruited Trump supporters to run as independent candidates in key swing districts where they could siphon votes from Republicans in races that will help determine which party controls the House next year, an Associated Press review found. In addition to two races in Iowa, the group recruited candidates in Nebraska, Montana, Virginia and Minnesota. All six recruits described themselves as retired, disabled or both.

The group’s operation provides few clues about its management, financing or motivation. But interviews, text messages, emails, business filings and other documents reviewed by the AP show that a significant sum has been spent — and some of it traces back to Democratic consulting firms.

“At that time, I was thinking, ‘Well, it would be nice to be in Congress and get to work with President Trump,’” Joe Wiederien, 54, reflected in an interview outside the Veterans Affairs hospital in Des Moines, where he was seeking treatment for a leaking incision on his head from previous brain surgery. “It looks like it’s a dirty trick now.”

WISCONSIN KICKS OFF ELECTION SEASON WITH FIRST WIDELY AVAILABLE ABSENTEE BALLOTS

A voter casts a ballot at a polling location in Fairfax, Virginia, on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023.  (Photographer: Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

A fervent supporter of former President Donald Trump, Wiederien was registered as a Republican until months earlier. A debilitating stroke had left him unable to drive. He had never run for office. For a time, he couldn’t vote because of a felony conviction.

But he arrived last month at the Iowa Capitol with well over the 1,726 petition signatures needed to qualify for the ballot as a conservative alternative to first-term Republican Rep. Zach Nunn. After filing the paperwork, he flashed a thumbs-up across the room at an operative he knew only as “Johnny.”

Thomas Bowman, 71 and disabled after a kidney transplant, said he believes he likely was recruited to run against Democratic Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota to split the conservative vote and help Craig win reelection in the suburban Minneapolis district. But the self-described constitutional conservative expressed gratitude for free help getting signatures.

TRUMP MAKES A BOLD PREDICTION ABOUT THE 2024 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

Americans vote at the Olbrich Botanical Gardens polling place on November 8, 2022, in Madison, Wisconsin. After months of candidates campaigning, Americans are voting in the midterm elections to decide close races across the nation. (Jim Vondruska/Getty Images)

“They got me on the ballot,” Bowman said. “If I had to do that all by myself, I couldn’t do it.”

Patriots Run Project’s actions have resulted in an FEC complaint from the conservative group Americans for Public Trust, which alleges that Patriots Run Project’s “major purpose” was “influencing federal elections” and the organization thus violated campaign finance law by failing to register as a political committee.

That would force the group to file reports that would likely reveal who is managing and financing the operation, as well as the motivation behind it.

The only concrete identifying detail listed on the group’s website is a mailbox inside a UPS store in Washington, D.C.

“It’s clear this shady scheme connected to Democrats is a threat to democracy, yet every single Democrat candidate benefiting from the plot refuses to condemn it,” National Republican Congressional Committee spokesperson Mike Marinella told Fox News Digital. “If they truly mean what they say, they can’t remain silent.”

U.S. Capitol dome, Washington, DC (AP)

Patriots Run Project operated a series of pro-Trump pages and ran ads that used apocalyptic rhetoric to attack establishment politicians in both parties while urging conservatives to run in November.

“We need American Patriots like YOU to stand for freedom with President Trump and take back control from the globalist elites by running for office,” one such ad states.

Once recruited, they communicated with a handful of operatives through text messages, emails and phone calls. In-person contact was limited. Patriots Run Project advised them about what forms to fill out and how to file required paperwork.

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In at least three races, petition signatures to qualify for the ballot were circulated by a Nevada company that works closely with the Democratic consulting firm Sole Strategies, according to documents, including text messages and a draft contract, as well as the firm’s co-founder. In Iowa, a different Democratic firm conducted a poll testing attacks on Nunn, while presenting Wiederien as the true conservative.

A spokesperson for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, House Democrats’ campaign arm, said the organization had no knowledge of or involvement in the effort. House Majority PAC, the Democrats’ big spending congressional super PAC, was also not involved, a spokesman said.

Democrats are no strangers to boosting extreme candidates. During the midterms, the Left funded ads for fringe Republican candidates, hoping they would be easier to defeat in a general election.

Associated Press and Fox News Digital’s Rich Edson contributed to this report.

President Biden on Thursday falsely claimed he had never spoken to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell as president, despite having a meeting with him at the White House two years ago.

Biden, during a speech to the Economic Club of Washington, said, “Unlike my predecessor, I respect the Federal Reserve’s independence as they pursued a mandate to bring inflation down.”  

“And that independence has served the country well. And by the way, I’ve never once spoken to the chairman of the Fed since I became president,” Biden added. “We’ll also do enormous damage to our economy if that independence is ever lost.” 

However, in May 2022, Biden met with Powell in the Oval Office in what Bloomberg described in a report as his “third in-person session with Powell” since becoming president. 

FEDERAL RESERVE CUTS RATES FOR FIRST TIME IN FOUR YEARS AHEAD OF PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION 

“My plan is to address inflation. That starts with a simple proposition: respect the Fed, respect the Fed’s independence, which I have done and will continue to do,” Biden said at the time. 

“The president underscored to Chair Powell in the meeting what he has underscored consistently including today — that he respects the independence of the Federal Reserve,” then-White House National Economic Council Director Brian Deese said after the meeting, according to Reuters. 

IRAN TRIED TO INFLUENCE ELECTION BY SENDING STOLEN MATERIAL FROM TRUMP CAMPAIGN TO BIDEN’S CAMP, FBI SAYS 

President Biden met with Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on May 31, 2022. (Reuters/Leah Millis)

Before that, in November 2021, Biden also introduced Powell during a news conference to announce his nominees for chair and vice chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. 

President Biden announced the nomination of Jerome Powell for a second four-year term in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building’s South Court Auditorium at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 22, 2021. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)

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During his time as president, Donald Trump once called Powell “clueless” in a tweet, writing, “We should easily be reaping big Rewards & Gains, but the Fed is holding us back. We will Win!” 

A new statewide poll in California found that nearly three-quarters of Golden State residents support making changes to “Prop 47” – the 2014 public referendum that reduced penalties for larceny, forgery and drug offenses. 

Critics have blamed the current policy – which includes the provision deeming shoplifting under $950 a misdemeanor – for the crime wave gripping urban areas of the state.

In the poll, conducted by the Public Policy Institute of California, 71% of likely voters say they will vote “yes” on “Prop 36” – the ballot initiative that seeks to make such revisions.

The highest support came from residents of the Inland Empire east of San Diego and bordering Arizona – at 79% – with the lowest coming from the Bay Area at 64%.

KAMALA HARRIS PLAYED ‘CRITICAL ROLE’ IN CALIFORNIA CRIME LAW

Sixty-three percent of Democrats and 85% of Republicans support Prop 36, according to the poll, which met Fox News’ polling standards.

Prop 36 will allow felony charges for certain types of drug possession and thefts under $950, if the defendant has two such prior convictions, according to the California Department of State. It will also apply more serious penalties for fentanyl dealers.

The department said approving Prop 36 could also lead to millions of dollars in “state criminal justice costs,” according to its “Fiscal Impact” section.

Prime supporters include Crime Victims United and the California District Attorney’s Association, while opponents include Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton, according to CDOS.

CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATS ‘PLAYING DIRTY TRICKS’ TO KEEP PROP 47 REFORM OFF BALLOT, GOP LEADER SAYS

California Gov. Gavin Newsom talks to journalists in the media center before the debate in Philadelphia between former President Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The poll surveyed more than 1,000 likely voters and was conducted from Aug. 29 to Sept. 9.

Prop 36 was originally introduced in part by two Democrats, Gov. Gavin Newsom and Senate President Pro Tempore Mike McGuire, in July, according to reports.

“Californians want safer, stronger communities, and we’re delivering exactly that with this commonsense approach,” McGuire said in a statement.

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A Southwest Airlines plane approaches San Diego International Airport over traffic on Interstate 5 on June 28, 2024. (Kevin Carter/Getty Images)

“These are a methodical set of measures that will crack down on retail theft and hold offenders accountable for hardcore drug crimes, without enacting the Draconian policies of the ‘80s and ‘90s that devastated communities of color and cost taxpayers billions of dollars.”

In response, the California legislature’s two Republican leaders called the poll results a sign of pushback against the Democratic majorities’ policies:

“Gavin Newsom and his Democratic politicians tried to stop Prop 36, but regular Californians – even Democrats – are revolting against the far left’s pro-criminal policies and demanding real reform. People are fed up with the lawlessness and poverty that have become California’s trademarks and want accountability to turn things around,” said Assembly Minority Leader James Gallagher, R-Yuba City.

“Governor Newsom and Democrat leadership in the Legislature spent this year working overtime to block desperately needed Prop 47 reforms. The latest poll proves just how out of touch they are – over 70% of Californians disagree with them,” added Senate Minority Leader Brian W. Jones, R-San Diego.

“This is not a partisan issue. People are fed up with the rampant crime, homelessness, and lawlessness. In November, Californians will have a real chance to turn things around and fix our state,” he said.

The PPIC’s survey director told the Sacramento Bee that of the 10 ballot initiatives primed for November, Prop 36 is getting the most attention:

“Proposition 36 on crime sentences currently leads in support, interest, and importance among the 10 state propositions,” Mark Baldassare said.

Warning: Graphic Materials

Republican North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson denied involvement in an alleged pornography scandal that surfaced Thursday, vowing to remain in the race to become the Old North State’s next governor. 

CNN published a report Thursday afternoon alleging Robinson’s previous use of a pornography site, called “Nude Africa,” where he allegedly messaged with fellow users regarding peeping on women in locker rooms as a teenager, describing himself as a “black NAZI” and declaring a fondness for transgender pornography. 

Just before the report was published, Robinson posted a video to his X account vowing to stay in the race while calling the then-anticipated report “tabloid trash.” 

“Let me reassure you, the things that you will see in that story, those are not the words of Mark Robinson. You know my words, you know my character, and you know that I have been completely transparent in this race and before. Folks, this race right now, our opponents are desperate to shift the focus here from the substantive issues and focus on what you are concerned with to salacious trap, tabloid trash,” he said in the X video. 

NC GOP GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE MARK ROBINSON FACING CALLS TO DROP OUT AMID RUMORS OF LOOMING BOMBSHELL

Mark Robinson, lieutenant governor of North Carolina, arrives during a “Get Out The Vote” rally with former President Trump in Greensboro, on March 2, 2024. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

CNN’s report alleged that Robinson used a pseudonym on the porn site, “minisoldr,” to discuss how he enjoys watching transgender pornography, as well as recounting how he allegedly peeped on women in a locker room as a 14-year-old.

“I came to a spot that was a dead end but had two big vent covers over it! It just so happened it overlooked the showers! I sat there for about an hour and watched as several girls came in and showered,” Robinson allegedly wrote on Nude Africa of peeping on women as a teenager.

In another post in 2010, CNN reported Robinson allegedly stated, “I’m a Black Nazi!” while discussing Black Republicans. 

The alleged use of the chat forums played out between 2008 and 2012, according to CNN, well before Robinson entered the political arena in 2019, when he announced his run for lieutenant governor. 

REPUBLICAN MARK ROBINSON ON HISTORIC LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR WIN: ‘THIS PARTY IS OPEN TO EVERYBODY’

Robinson pinned blame on his Democratic opponent, North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein, for leaking the allegations to the media. 

“North Carolinians already know Mark Robinson is completely unfit to be Governor. Josh remains focused on winning this campaign so that together we can build a safer, stronger North Carolina for everyone,” Stein’s campaign told Fox News Digital. 

In comments to CNN, Robinson again denied the report. 

“This is not us. These are not our words. And this is not anything that is characteristic of me,” Robinson said. “I’m not going to get into the minutia of how somebody manufactured this, these salacious tabloid lies.”

Reports mounted early Thursday that Robinson was allegedly facing pressure from Republican allies to drop out of the race after word spread that he was facing a damning news article related to his alleged use of adult websites in the 2000s.

Before the CNN report was published, Robinson’s campaign communications director patently said the reports were false. 

“Whomever your sources are here, it is complete fiction,” comms director Michael Lonergan told the Carolina Journal earlier Thursday. 

Fox News Digital reached out to Robinson on Thursday, but did not immediately receive a reply. 

NRA SUPPORTS GOP CANDIDATE FOR GOVERNOR WHO WENT VIRAL FOR PRO-GUN SPEECH: ‘I’M THE MAJORITY’

North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson speaks at the Faith and Freedom Road to Majority conference at the Washington Hilton on June 21, 2024, in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

The Democratic Governors Association (DGA) released a statement following CNN’s report, arguing it is the “latest proof that Mark Robinson is unhinged, dangerous, and completely unfit to be governor.”

“Now, as many Republicans warn against the damage Robinson would do as governor, it’s clear that the stakes have never been higher and we must keep our foot on the gas to defeat him in November,” DGA deputy communications director Izzi Levy said. 

North Carolina Republican Rep. Richard Hudson told Fox News that the “the allegations are very concerning,” but that he is not calling on Robinson to drop out of the race, as he needs to “have the opportunity to explain to the people in North Carolina exactly how these allegations aren’t true.”

“My hope is that the governor can reassure the people of North Carolina that the allegations aren’t true,” Hudson said. 

Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson speaks at a campaign event at Harrah’s Cherokee Center on Aug. 14, 2024, in Asheville, North Carolina. (Grant Baldwin/Getty Images)

North Carolina outlet The Assembly published a separate and lengthy report on Sept. 3 alleging Robinson routinely visited porn shops, viewing materials in a private booth, according to former employees and customers. Robinson’s alleged visits to adult stores unfolded in the 1990s and 2000s, before his transition into the political sphere, according to the report. 

Lonergan denied the findings in The Assembly’s report, calling it “complete and total fiction.”

“This false and personal attack on my boss is complete fiction,” Lonergan told the outlet. 

Robinson assumed office as North Carolina lieutenant governor in 2021, becoming the first African American to hold the office. He announced last April he would run for governor. 

NORTH CAROLINA’S REPUBLICAN LT GOV MARK ROBINSON LAUNCHES CAMPAIGN TO REPLACE DEMOCRAT GOV ROY COOPER

Robinson went viral in 2018 when he delivered an impassioned speech regarding gun laws during a city council meeting in Greensboro, before he was elected to political office. His speech came in response to local leaders debating whether to cancel a gun show following the Parkland school shooting in Florida that same year. 

‘I Voted’ stickers sit on a table at a polling station. 

“I’m a law-abiding citizen who’s never shot anybody,” Robinson said at the meeting, which was viewed 200 million times. “Every time we have one of these shootings, nobody wants to put the blame where it goes, which is at the shooter’s feet. You want to put it at my feet. You want to turn around and restrict my right.”

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He previously worked as a furniture factory employee in North Carolina and is an Army veteran, before climbing the GOP’s political ladder, including earning endorsements from former President Trump and the NRA. 

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

A former Border Patrol sector chief told lawmakers that he was blocked from informing the public about migrants who may be potential terror threats, as he says the Biden administration wanted to downplay the threat.

“In San Diego, we had an exponential increase in Significant Interest Aliens [SIAs]. These are aliens with significant ties to terrorism,” former San Diego Sector Chief Patrol official Aaron Heitke told lawmakers on the House Homeland Security Committee.

“Prior to this administration, the San Diego sector averaged 10-15 SIAs per year. Once word was out that the border was far easier to cross, San Diego went to over 100 SIAs in 2022, way over 100 SIAs in 2023 and more than that this year,” he warned. “These are only the ones we caught.”

‘OUR PEOPLE ARE DYING’: RACHEL MORIN’S MOM SOUNDS ALARM ABOUT ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION AFTER DAUGHTER’S MURDER

Immigrants line up at a remote U.S. Border Patrol processing center after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in Lukeville, Arizona, on Dec. 7, 2023. (John Moore/Getty Images)

Heitke says he was told he couldn’t release information about that increase.

“At the time, I was told I could not release any information on this increase in SIAs or mention any of the arrests. The administration was trying to convince the public that there was no threat at the border,” he said.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment on Heitke’s remarks.

EX-BORDER CHIEF WARNS OF ‘SIGNIFICANT THREAT’ AFTER MIGRANT NUMBERS SKYROCKETED UNDER BIDEN-HARRIS ADMIN

The remarks came as part of a House Homeland Security Committee hearing called “A Country Without Borders: How Biden-Harris’ Open-Borders Policies Have Undermined Our Safety and Security.” 

Immigration is a top 2024 election issue, and Republicans have blamed Biden administration policies and the rolling back of Trump-era policies for the crisis.

“As we continue to witness Biden and Harris’ resistance to doing anything meaningful about this disaster, we have to ask — why? Why did they let this crisis take place and why have they let it continue,” Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., told the committee.

Heitke also told the committee that he would release illegal aliens “by the hundreds” each day, and flights were provided to send migrants from San Diego to Texas, at approximately $150,000 per flight. He also testified that he had to shut down San Diego traffic checkpoints to divert resources to the border, and that those checkpoints are crucial for the interdiction of drugs like fentanyl.

TOP HOUSE COMMITTEE SHREDS BIDEN-HARRIS ADMIN ON BORDER CRISIS IN NEW REPORT: ‘ASSAULT ON THE RULE OF LAW’ 

Migrants walk along the highway through Suchiate, Chiapas state in southern Mexico, on July 21 during their journey north toward the U.S. border. (AP Photo/Edgar H. Clemente)

Democrats and the administration have accused Republicans of failing to back funding and reform bills — including a bipartisan Senate bill released this year — and say that recent moves by the administration are working to bring down border encounters and secure the border.

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“While you probably won’t hear it from those on the other side, border encounters are at their lowest level in years since the president’s proclamation on June 4, and encounters along the border and ports of entry have decreased by 55%, with Border Patrol recording the lowest number of border encounters since September 2020,” ranking member Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said at the hearing.

NEWFIELDS, N.H. — A new poll in New Hampshire, home to the only competitive gubernatorial election this year, indicates a close race in the battle to succeed popular Republican Gov. Chris Sununu.

And the results of the survey and another poll released in the Granite State earlier in the week suggest former President Trump’s standing in New Hampshire in the White House race may be a drag on down-ballot Republicans.

According to a University of New Hampshire Survey Center poll released Thursday, Democratic gubernatorial nominee and former Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig holds a razor-thin 47%-46% edge over former U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte, the Republican nominee.

A poll released earlier this week from the Saint Anselm College Survey Center also indicated a coin-flip race, with Ayotte holding a slight edge.

NEW HAMPSHIRE MAKES PRIMARY PICKS IN 2024 ELECTION 

Former U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte, the Republican gubernatorial nominee in New Hampshire, speaks with voters at the Hampton Beach Seafood Festival Sept. 7, 2024. (Kelly Ayotte campaign)

Ayotte, thanks to her six years in the Senate and her tenure as a state attorney general before her service on Capitol Hill, has far greater name identification than Craig and has a sizable campaign cash advantage over her rival.

But the new polls suggest Trump may be doing Ayotte no favors.

WHAT AYOTTE TOLD FOX NEWS ALONG THE NEW HAMPSHIRE CAMPAIGN TRAIL

“Kelly’s very popular, but I do think Trump’s a burden,” longtime Granite State-based GOP consultant and former state attorney general Tom Rath told Fox News.

Trump came within roughly 3,000 votes of carrying New Hampshire in his 2016 presidential election victory. But four years ago, President Biden topped Trump by over seven points in New Hampshire.

Former President Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, delivers remarks alongside supporters, campaign staff and family members during his primary night rally at the Sheraton Jan. 23, 2024, in Nashua, N.H. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

The UNH poll indicates Trump is down by 11 points to Vice President Kamala Harris. And the Saint Anselm College survey points to an upper single-digit lead for Harris in New Hampshire.

CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS 2024 ELECTION POLLING 

“If this were a straight-up election without the presidential race on it, I think Kelly would have a lead outside the margin of error,” argued Rath, who stayed unaffiliated in the 2024 Republican presidential primary race and served as a top adviser to Trump rival and then-Ohio Gov. John Kasich in the 2016 GOP nomination battle.

A New Hampshire-based Republican strategist told Fox News “Trump is definitely an anchor on Kelly and her campaign right now, and she’s the flagship.”

Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, arrives to speak during a campaign stop at the Throwback Brewery in North Hampton, N.H., Sept. 4, 2024.  (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

The strategist, who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely, noted that Ayotte’s “status as a flagship means everybody’s taking shots at her. There’s not a lot of evidence of activity in New Hampshire by the Trump campaign, so it’s really Kelly versus the world right now.”

And another Granite State-based Republican consultant also pointed to meager involvement and resources in New Hampshire coming from the Republican National Committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee.

“Kelly’s out fighting this thing all by herself. That’s not a good place to be. You need other people drawing fire,” said the consultant, who also asked for anonymity. “[Trump’s] not focusing on New Hampshire. His bad poll numbers and lack of enthusiasm is dragging the whole ticket down.”

Craig, who served three two-year terms steering the Granite State’s largest city, narrowly topped Cinde Warmington, the only Democrat on the state’s five-member Executive Council, to capture their party’s nomination in last week’s state primary.

Ayotte, a former state attorney general before winning election to the Senate in 2010, soundly defeated former New Hampshire Senate President Chuck Morse to win the GOP gubernatorial nomination. 

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Sununu, who decided against running for re-election this year after winning four straight two-year terms as New Hampshire governor (New Hampshire and neighboring Vermont are the only states in the nation that elect governors every two years) endorsed Ayotte this summer in her primary race.

And Ayotte pledges to continue the Sununu agenda if elected to succeed the popular GOP governor.

Republican Gov. Chris Sununu of New Hampshire is interviewed by Fox News Digital July 11, 2024, in Newfields, N.H.  (Fox News/Paul Steinhauser)

Ayotte was a rising star in the Republican Party in 2016 with a burgeoning profile on national security as she was running for re-election.

But just ahead of the 2016 election, she withdrew her support for Trump over the “Access Hollywood” controversy, when Trump made crude comments about grabbing women without their consent.

“I cannot and will not support a candidate for president who brags about degrading and assaulting women,” Ayotte said at the time. 

Ayotte lost re-election by a razor-thin margin of just over 1,000 votes to then-Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan.

Ayotte stayed neutral in New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation presidential primary, but she endorsed Trump in early March, right after he clinched the GOP nomination.

Rath, pointing to Ayotte’s backing of Trump, said “her position, which was to embrace him and not create space, I understand why she’s made it, and you take the consequences of it … if that’s the top of the ticket, and you’re the next level down, it’s really hard to get around that problem in a race.”

Also working against Ayotte is an avalanche of negative ads that have been running against her all summer, courtesy of national Democratic groups.

The attacks have helped to raise Ayotte’s negative ratings in both the UNH Survey Center and Saint Anselm College polls.

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

It was a “show vote” of a different kind in the House of Representatives Wednesday night. 

The vote showed which Republicans opposed a combination bill to avoid a government shutdown and require that people prove they are citizens to vote. It’s known as the SAVE Act.

“You’ve got to own your votes,” said Rep. Chip Roy, R-Tex., who advocated the two-step strategy to House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. “I have no problem with my votes or what I’m standing up on or trying to accomplish for the American people.” 

The vote also showed that Republicans can’t advance any semblance of a spending bill on their own. The vote showed long-standing divisions in the House Republican Conference. Some GOPers voted no for a panoply of reasons. Some oppose interim spending bills – known as “Continuing Resolutions” or “CR’s – to start with. Others opposed attaching the citizenship/voting mandate to a bill like this. Some didn’t think there was any way to implement the citizenship requirement for voting before the election.

THE SPEAKER’S LOBBY: THE SAME QUESTIONS ARISE AFTER SECOND ATTEMPT TO ASSASSINATE TRUMP

It’s about the math. And the vote tally revealed that Johnson had little to show for his work.

Johnson’s plan crashed to defeat, 220-202. 14 Republicans voted no. Two Republicans voted present. Two Democrats voted aye. 

And the vote showed that the only way to avoid a government shutdown on October 1 is for Republicans to team up with Democrats. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is prepping an interim spending bill which will command bipartisan support. It’s likely the Senate adopts that measure, presenting the House with a take it or leave it proposition.

Wednesday night’s vote also showed that former President Trump is intent on forcing a government shutdown. He posted the following on Truth Social: “If Republicans don’t get the Save Act, and every ounce of it, they should not agree to a Continuing Resolution in any way, shape or form.” Mr. Trump accused Democrats of “registering Illegal Voters by the TENS OF THOUSANDS.” The former President then warned that Republicans have “BEEN PUSHED AROUND LONG ENOUGH BY THE DEMOCRATS.” 

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump, speaks during a rally, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Uniondale, N.Y.  (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla., wants to trim spending. But this bill failed to do that, simply renewing all existing funding through late March. He also doubted it was feasible to put the citizenship provision into effect before November 5. Yours truly asked Mills if it was a “mistake” for Johnson to forge ahead with this vote.

“I think it is. I think that what we should be doing right now is that we’ve seen where these policy riders, this attempt to quote, unquote ‘jam the Senate,’ has continued to fail,” said Mills. “I’m disappointed with the way the 118th Congress has handled this entire session.”

Roy wasn’t in much of a better place than Mills – even though he supported the Speaker’s maneuver.

“We’re going to end up with a CR into December because certain people wanted to force this and be able to go out on Twitter and go down to the floor and pound their chest, that somehow, they’ve got the magic solution. But they’ve literally proposed no solution,” said Roy.

TOP REPUBLICAN DETAILS LEVEL OF SECRET SERVICE ‘LACK OF COOPERATION’

This was a “show” vote of another form for Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga. Greene was one of the two GOP members to vote “present” on the bill. To her, the vote was Johnson showing what he might to do next – even though Johnson had a pretty good idea the bill would implode. Greene opposes Johnson’s probable next move: avoiding a government shutdown with the assistance of Democrats.

“I think many of us have expected him to do that the entire time. You set up your expectations based on history of action. And that’s what his history of action is,” said Greene.

Greene knows of what she speaks.

Congress voted on six CRs or “omnibus” spending bills since September 30 last year. Most of those were under the stewardship of Johnson. That’s why some like Greene aren’t impressed with Johnson. This is the same playbook that former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., ran last year.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene listens as former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo testifies before the House Oversight Select Subcommittee’s hearing on the Coronavirus Pandemic, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024.  (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

Perhaps voting to avoid a government shutdown last fall was the ultimate “show” vote. Shortly after that tally, House Republicans “showed” McCarthy the door.

Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, has criticized Johnson’s Speakership. But Davidson characterized Johnson’s decision to forge ahead with the vote on this CR as “smart.” However, Davidson lamented fellow Republicans who wouldn’t go to the mat on this issue. Davidson suggested that other members were involved in “showing” where they stand on the issue. 

“I’m disappointed that you’ve got what I sort of informally call the surrender caucus. There’s no formal designation of who that is. But it’s a combination of bedwetters who won’t fight for anything. And purists who won’t fight for anything unless it’s perfect,” said Davidson. “What ends up happening is deals keep getting cut with Democrats and everything that gets funded by Congress turns left. I think we’re likely to see another surrender now with a hollow promise to fight later.”

“This is a complete failure of the Speaker’s strategy. Again, we weren’t here in the entire month of August. We could have finished our 12 separate appropriation bills,” piled on Greene. 

VULNERABLE DEM SENATOR’S CLAIMS ABOUT ‘FIGHTING’ LOBBYISTS COME BACK TO HAUNT HIM IN NEW REPORT

But House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., said Johnson’s actions since last fall showed him something. Just as Greene observed, Cole noted Johnson’s past performance. And that track record showed that Johnson isn’t interested in government shutdowns.

“If he ever wanted to shut down the government, he’s had a lot of opportunities to do that since he’s been Speaker. He’s never let it happen. I don’t think he ever will,” said Cole. 

“We ran the play. It was the best play. It was the right one. So now we go back to the playbook, drop another play and we’ll come up with a solution,” said Johnson after the failed vote Wednesday.

So there’s an impasse. But Johnson must show that he has a really good new play. But if his members didn’t bite on the first play, why is the second one going to be much better? There are the beginning stages of a short-term bill which would run through mid-December. 

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., was the other GOP member who voted “present” on Johnson’s original bill. Massie believed it was a “show vote” from the start.

“It’s a fake bar fight with balsa wood chairs and sugar bottles,” said Massie. “I was in the bar and I saw theater on both sides.”

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At some point next week, the Senate will skip through the parliamentary mechanics of an interim spending bill which runs through late fall or early winter. The provision about voting requirements drops by the wayside. The Senate will likely show the House that, despite reservations from some Republicans, it can pass a spending bill. It will then be up to the House to accept that bill or shut down the government just before the election.

That will likely be the last vote in Congress before the election. The shutdown is averted. And despite all the political gymnastics, the House will have little to show for it.

Several newly released polls have illustrated a tightening Senate race in Wisconsin, where Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., is fighting for her seat in a state that could very likely swing for former President Donald Trump in the presidential race. 

Likely voters in Wisconsin split 51% for Baldwin and 48% for Republican Senate candidate Eric Hovde in a new Marist poll on Thursday. A new Quinnipiac poll similarly showed the Democrat leading Hovde by only a few points, 51% to 47%, and an AARP poll showed Baldwin at 50% and the Republican candidate at 47%, with 3% undecided.

In the AARP’s survey of voters over 50, Hovde managed to take the lead from Baldwin, beating her 50% to 49%. 

SCHUMER COINS ‘TRUMP SHUTDOWN,’ SLAMMING GOP AMID SPENDING FIGHT

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

As days dwindle down to the general election, with less than seven weeks to go, Hovde has continued to increase his name identification, and voters have increasingly started to lock in on their chosen candidates. The latest polls have subsequently demonstrated a close race for Baldwin’s Senate seat, despite her status as an incumbent. 

In prior polling from May by Quinnipiac, Hovde posted 42% to Baldwin’s 54%, with a double-digit gap between the two. By early August, he had climbed to 44% to the incumbent Democrat’s 51%, per a New York Times/ Siena College poll. The latest data continue this trend as Hovde appears to gain ground among Wisconsin voters. 

The Senate race is considered “lean Democrat” by top political handicapper the Cook Political Report, despite the shrinking gap. 

The close polling from three different organizations also comes as Baldwin faces increased scrutiny over her years-long relationship with private wealth adviser at Morgan Stanley, Maria Brisbane. She isn’t bound by Senate rules to disclose any information regarding Brisbane’s clients or finances because the two are not married. 

Hovde and groups backing the Republican have pointed to her partner’s position as a potential conflict of interest and called for it to be investigated. Baldwin was prompted to release her own ad, slamming the charges as “complete lie(s).” 

Notably, Wisconsin is a toss-up state in the Fox News Power Rankings forecast of the presidential election, giving neither Trump nor Vice President Kamala Harris a particular edge in the battle. This holds weight in the Senate race, too, as split-ticket voting becomes increasingly rare. 

RICK SCOTT LEADS EFFORT TO UP SECRET SERVICE PROTECTIONS AFTER 2ND ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT ON TRUMP

Hovde is backed by Trump.  (John Hart/Wisconsin State Journal via AP, file)

“Wisconsin is often a pivotal state in the Electoral College count,” said Lee M. Miringoff, director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion, whose new poll showed Harris at 50% and Trump at 49%. “2024 is no exception and is shaping up to be a tight contest.”

‘I’VE NEVER SEEN THIS’: TOP REPUBLICAN DETAILS LEVEL OF SECRET SERVICE ‘LACK OF COOPERATION’

Baldwin has lost some ground in recent polls. (Drew Angerer)

During the 2016 election, every single Senate race went in the same direction as their state voted in the presidential contest. In 2020, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, was the only occurrence of a Senate race diverging from the state’s presidential choice. Collins has established herself in the upper chamber as a bona fide moderate, to which many attribute her victory. 

HARRIS AND TRUMP DEADLOCKED IN PENNSYLVANIA AS FORMER PRESIDENT TRAILS IN OTHER ‘BLUE WALL’ STATES: POLL

Trump and Harris are both vying to win toss-up Wisconsin.  (Brandon Bell/Getty Images.)

HARRIS AND TRUMP DEADLOCKED IN PENNSYLVANIA AS FORMER PRESIDENT TRAILS IN OTHER ‘BLUE WALL’ STATES: POLL

In Baldwin’s case, she voted with President Biden more than 99% of the time in the beginning of the 118th Congress, according to FiveThirtyEight. Collins’ separation from her Republican Party colleagues was far more prominent than Baldwin’s from the Democrats, which was virtually nonexistent. 

Hovde also boasts the backing of Trump, who could boost the Republican Senate candidate’s campaign if he manages to beat Harris in Wisconsin.

The latest Quinnipiac poll was conducted over Sept. 12-16 using randomized phone calls with live interviewers of 1,075 likely voters in Wisconsin. It had a margin of error of +/- 3.0 percentage points. The AARP poll was taken over Sept. 11–14, with live interviewers speaking to 1,052 likely voters. The margins of error for the poll of Wisconsin voters was ±4.0% and ±3.5% for the sample of voters over 50 years old. The Marist poll surveyed 1,431 likely voters in the state during Sept. 12-17 over the phone, by text, and online. The margin of error was +/- 3.6%. 

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