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Former Ambassador Nikki Haley is facing criticism from her GOP opponents and some Iowans on the ground over a comment she made to a New Hampshire audience suggesting Iowa “starts” the election process and New Hampshire will “correct it.”

Campaigning in Milford, New Hampshire, Wednesday, Haley told the large crowd listening to her that “we have an opportunity to get this right. And I know we’ll get it right, and I trust you. I trust every single one of you. You know how to do this. You know Iowa starts it. You know that you correct it.”

That comment didn’t sit well with some Iowa caucus-goers leaning toward Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

“Rooted out of our history of hard-working Iowans, Iowa has always been a pulse of the nation, where the term heartland comes from,” Mark Putney of Fayette County, Iowa, said in response to Haley’s remark. 

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“Nikki Haley’s comments are an insult to Iowans like myself who take pride in being the first-in-the-nation caucus. The next president must be someone who appreciates Iowans, not belittles us due to her poor performance in the race.”

Brenda Sandburg of Benton County, Iowa, said, “As an Iowan and a caucus-goer” she is “offended but not surprised.

“Nikki Haley has shown herself to be completely out of touch with rural America, and she has no business being President of the United States.”

“I am sick of elitist politicians who think they know better than the people who they are supposed to serve,” Lori Tiangco of Polk County, Iowa, said. “It’s Ms. Haley who needs to be corrected, not us, and our voices will be heard on Jan. 15.” 

EX-OBAMA CAMPAIGN MANAGER URGES LIBERAL VOTERS TO SUPPORT NIKKI HALEY TO SABOTAGE TRUMP

DeSantis addressed the issue in a radio interview with KFAB Thursday.

“I think it was incredibly disrespectful to Iowans to say somehow their votes need to be, quote, corrected,” DeSantis said. “I think she’s trying to provide an excuse for her not doing well. You know, her allies and her have spent a huge amount of money here. 

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“A lot of this money is coming from liberal donors on Wall Street and California. These are people that have supported Liberal Democrats in the past, and they’re gravitating to Nikki Haley because they know she’s not going to change anything in Washington. 

“She’s been governor for six years. What achievements did she have in South Carolina? Literally nothing. Her main achievement was being the No. 1 Republican governor for bringing Chinese investment into her state. It’s a huge contrast to a leadership of Gov. Reynolds or myself. But I thought what she said to Iowans was very disrespectful.”

In response to a request for comment from Fox News Digital, the Haley campaign pointed to reactions from Iowa caucus-goers supporting Haley who were unfazed by the “lighthearted joke.”

“It was a lighthearted joke playing up the rivalry between Iowa and New Hampshire,” Austin Harris, an Iowa state representative, said. “Her opponents are clearly desperate because she is rising in the polls, and they’re terrified. So, they will grasp at anything.”

“This is what we like about Nikki – she’s a real person, she’s not scripted,” Emily Schmitt, general counsel at Sukup Manufacturing, said. “If her opponents are attacking her based on an offhand remark, that’s more proof of what we already knew, that she’s got the momentum and the support of Iowans.”

“The media outrage on this – like most things – is completely detached from reality on the ground in Iowa,” Iowa state Sen. Chris Cournoyer said. “Nikki Haley continues to win over caucus-goers ahead of Jan. 15.  She’s done over 70 town halls in the state, taking questions directly from folks. The bottom line, Haley is positioned to do very well on caucus day.”

Haley is polling at 16.1% in Iowa with about two weeks before the Iowa Caucus, which puts her in third place behind former President Trump at 51.3% and DeSantis at 18.6%.

Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report

FIRST ON FOX – Republican Utah state Sen. Mike Kennedy is launching a bid for Utah’s 3rd Congressional District to replace GOP incumbent John Curtis, who is running to replace Mitt Romney in the U.S. Senate. 

Utah’s 3rd District covers part of Salt Lake City and includes the cities of Orem and Provo. The seat was previously held by former Congressman Jason Chaffetz until 2017. Later that year, Curtis won the seat in a special election. 

The district is a Republican stronghold. Former President Trump won the district with over 56% of the vote in 2020 and Curtis won by over 45% in 2022.

UTAH REPUBLICAN ANNOUNCES BID TO REPLACE ROMNEY AFTER SAYING HE WOULD NOT ENTER RACE AMID UNFINISHED WORK

“I came from poverty, single-parent home, a free lunch kid in high school and never had anything that wasn’t,” said Kennedy. “For a fellow like me to not only have a chance to get a great education, but also to serve the people of the great state of Utah… I am so impressed with the people in the great state of Utah. They’re outstanding people.”

Kennedy, a family medicine doctor and attorney, ran for the U.S. Senate in 2018 in the Beehive State against Mitt Romney. Kennedy secured the most votes in the Utah State Republican Convention, but ultimately was defeated by Romney in the Republican primary. 

However, Kennedy tells Fox News Digital that there is no bad blood. “Party infighting is more selfish than selfless,” said Kennedy. He also said that he will “work with anybody who’s got a good idea, who’s willing to look to the future and make it better for all of us.”

STATE OF THE RACE: TOP 5 SENATE SEATS HELD BY DEMOCRATS MOST LIKELY TO FLIP IN 2024

During his time in the Utah state Senate, Kennedy helped pass legislation fighting COVID mandates and transgender minor surgeries. At the height of the pandemic in 2020, Kennedy returned to his role as a family doctor, spending months caring for patients and conducting his own research on COVID-19.

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“The COVID crisis – and being a doctor dealing with sickness on a regular basis, it was a very good spot for me to be on,” said Kennedy. “As far as the response that the state of Utah had to go, we’re able to balance the important issues associated with health and preserving life, but not destroying livelihoods at the same time.”

Roosevelt Mayor Rod Bird Jr. is also running for Utah’s 3rd District. Former Utah state Rep. Chris Herrod and state auditor John Dougall are considering running. The primary election will be held June 25 and the general election is Nov. 4. 

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

A group allied with former President Donald Trump has set its sights on fellow Republican presidential contender Nikki Haley as she’s climbed in the polls, most recently hitting her over past comments in which she said people should not call illegal immigrants “criminals.”

On Wednesday night, the MAGA War Room, which is associated with MAGA Inc., posted a video clip of Haley at a 2015 Aspen Institute event where she made the remarks while serving as South Carolina’s governor. 

“I think that what we have to remember, and I have always believed, is that we are a country of laws, that’s what makes us strong,” Haley said during the panel. “We have to always be a country of laws. So it’s incredibly frustrating for a lot of people when they see the illegal immigrants being able to come across. It really is astonishing that after all of these years, D.C. hasn’t figured out how to build a wall. It really is, after all of what they spend.”

NIKKI HALEY’S BOOK CONFESSION ABOUT CHANGING HUSBAND’S NAME RESURFACES: ‘HE LOOKS LIKE A MICHAEL’

“Having said that, we are a country of immigrants,” she continued. “I am a proud daughter of Indian parents that reminded us every day how blessed we are to live in this country. They resent when people come here illegally. But let’s keep in mind, these people that are wanting to come here, they want to come here for a better life, too. They have kids, too. They have a heart, too. So, we don’t need to be disrespectful. We don’t need to talk about them as criminals — they’re not. They’re families that want a better life, and they’re desperate to get here. What we need to do is make sure that we have a set of laws that we follow, and that we go through with that.”

AnnMarie Graham-Barnes, a Haley campaign spokesperson, fired back at the pro-Trump group, saying Haley has a history of being tough against illegal immigration.

“She passed one of the toughest anti-illegal immigration bills in the country in 2011 when Trump was still a Democrat,” Graham-Barnes told Fox News Digital. “She has also said she has a different style and approach from Trump and doesn’t always agree with his incendiary language. Trump should spend more time explaining why he never fulfilled his signature promise to build a wall instead of desperately trying to mislead voters with lies.”

FIRST ON FOX: HALEY MORE THAN DOUBLES HER FUNDRAISING WITH A $24 MILLION HAUL THE PAST THREE MONTHS

GOP presidential rival Vivek Ramaswamy took to X on Wednesday to say that he “strongly disagree[s]” with Haley’s position.

Haley signed an immigration law in 2011 requiring police “to check the immigration status of anyone they stop or arrest for another reason and suspect may be in the country illegally,” the Associated Press reported at the time. 

Haley has faced fire from her Republican primary rivals on several issues, including her cozy relationship with China as the governor of South Carolina, and greater scrutiny from individuals in the media as she’s risen in polls in recent weeks. 

Also on Wednesday, an excerpt from her 2012 book “Can’t Is Not an Option” resurfaced in which Haley recounted how she modified how people refer to her now-husband, Michael Haley. The post racked up nearly 7 million views on X.

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Haley has experienced momentum in the polls in recent months on the heels of well-received performances in the first three GOP presidential primary debates. She leapfrogged Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for second place in New Hampshire, which holds the first primary and second overall contest in the Republican nominating calendar.

She also aims to make a fight of it in Iowa, where the latest polls suggest she is pulling even with DeSantis for a distant second place behind Trump, who remains the front-runner in the GOP nomination race as he makes his third straight White House bid.

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

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

Dave McCormick, a Republican candidate vying to oust longtime Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., described to Fox News Digital his visit with IDF forces upon returning from a brief 36-hour trip on the ground in Israel, deeming the experience a testament to the need for “solidarity” after Hamas’ October 7 attack as the conflict poses a serious “test” to American leadership. 

McCormick, a West Point graduate, combat veteran and Bronze star recipient, told Fox News Digital by phone he was still digesting what he deemed an “emotional” day and a half spent visiting an Israeli community along the Gaza border where dozens were killed on October 7, as well as meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana. 

He recounted the “emotionally wrenching” experience of meeting with the families of Israeli hostages alongside his wife Dina Powell McCormick, a former deputy national security adviser in former President Trump’s administration who worked on the Abraham Accords. 

“We have six daughters between us – that, just putting ourselves in their shoes and listening to their stories,” McCormick said. “Today is, I believe, day 90 of the hostages being gone. And these are families that are just still trying to figure out, you know, the possibilities of getting their loved ones home.” 

RUSSIA MOVES FORWARD WITH IRAN DEAL TO PURCHASE BALLISTIC MISSILES, REPORT SAYS

McCormick said they also watched the IDF compilation of the Hamas attack footage, which he says “highlights the incredible evil – evilness and viciousness – of Hamas, and just reinforces the obvious: Hamas has to be eradicated.”

“There’s no living side by side with this kind of evil, genocidal behavior,” he added.

Recounting meetings with IDF officials, he said, “We literally looked over the shoulder and saw how some of those military operations are working and just the level of precision and care going into trying to minimize innocent casualties from innocent civilians.” 

“Seeing it firsthand just absolutely reinforced the need for solidarity on behalf of America, solidarity with the Jewish people in Israel, solidarity with the forces of good versus evil, solidarity and standing against this horrific, horrific genocidal attack. And then also, just the necessity of eradicating Hamas,” McCormick said. “You hear some of the dialogue here in America and you know, there’s no two sides of this story. There’s only pure evil that needs to be eliminated. And then you can’t possibly live side by side with a group of people that orchestrated this kind of horrific attack. So those were the two takeaways – solidarity and the need to support Israel in its steps she’s taking to eliminate Hamas altogether.” 

Also referencing the rise in antisemitism in the United States since October 7, as well as the congressional testimonies of the presidents of Harvard, UPenn and MIT failing to condemn calls for the genocide of Jews on their campuses, McCormick argued that the Israel-Hamas war serves as an “inflection point” and test to the morals of American life. 

“This is a moment. It’s a test. It’s sort of an inflection point in both what’s going on in America, but what’s going on in the world. And it’s a moment where there’s a need for leadership to stand up with complete moral clarity on what’s going on and why America needs to play a very active leadership role in the world,” McCormick told Fox News Digital. 

MCCORMICK LANDS MAJOR ENDORSEMENT THAT COULD PREVENT ANOTHER CHAOTIC SENATE PRIMARY IN PENNSYLVANIA

“We’ve had a progressive ideology that sort of hijacked some of the underlying principles of what makes America special, the notion of meritocracy, the belief that America has been a force for good in the world, and we’ve had very weak leadership that hasn’t been able to step up and call balls and strikes on what’s right and what’s wrong,” McCormick said of the United States. “And my opponent, Bob Casey, has been a very clear example that he hasn’t demonstrated moral clarity. He hasn’t stepped up and been willing to call out members of his own party, people like Summer Lee who he’s endorsed, or CAIR, the organization that he had been very strongly supportive of that has come out with such antisemitic behavior.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Casey’s office for comment, but they did not immediately respond. The senator did issue a statement on Oct. 7 saying that the U.S. “must stand with Israel and its right to self-defense.” He also sent a letter to the leaders of a Senate Appropriations subcommittee in December calling for additional funding for the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights so they can address rising levels of antisemitism.

McCormick, however, charged that Casey “wasn’t quick to call out” the three college presidents who are “educating some of our best and brightest.” He also accused the Democrat of supporting the Obama and Biden administrations’ policies that he said weakened the United States’ position in the Middle East. 

“The original sin as it relates to what’s going on in the Middle East with Israel is the treatment of Iran,” he said. “And this, you know, began under the Obama administration. That sort of weakness and complicity has carried through the Biden administration, and it’s been wholeheartedly supported every step of the way with Bob Casey and three votes, different votes for in support of the Iran deal.”

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McCormick added that U.S. leadership must “start with the recognition that Iran is at the core of promoting this dangerous ideology and underwriting terrorist groups around the Middle East.” 

Those groups include Hamas and Hezbollah, who continue to attack Israel, as well as Houthis in Yemen who have attacked vessels in the Red Sea.

“So I think that’s the moment we’re in and that’s the need for leadership, the need for clarity of right versus wrong,” McCormick said. “Of America – what’s special about America with all its dark chapters, what makes America the best, most unique country in the world and the most exceptional country in the world.”

The White House was silent this week when asked about the increasing levels of crude oil production in the U.S. even as President Biden continues to push an aggressive green energy agenda.

Field production of crude oil hit 13.3 million barrels per day in late December, the highest level ever recorded, according to the latest data published by the Energy Information Administration. However, the White House failed to respond to multiple Fox News Digital inquiries and address the figures in light of its climate agenda.

“From day one, my administration has taken unprecedented climate action. We’re working with everyone from mayors to county officials to entrepreneurs to academics; business leaders, labor leaders, Tribal leaders,” Biden remarked in a November speech about climate change. “We’re focused in all parts of America: cities, suburbs, small towns, and rural communities and Tribal Nations.”

“We’re just getting — and we’re just getting started. And we really are. We’re just getting started,” he added. “All told, my Investing in America Agenda and those bold climate laws are the most au—ambitious in American history.”

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Prior to December, the previous oil production of 13.1 million barrels a day was set in March 2020 during the Trump administration and shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic forced drilling to  decline substantially. The Trump administration pushed various policies to encourage fossil fuel development.

However, shortly after taking office, Biden immediately took steps to curb oil and gas production on federal lands, issuing a moratorium on all new fossil fuel leasing, a move he promised as part of his climate-focused campaign platform. But in June 2021, after the administration was sued by a group of state attorneys general, a federal court struck the moratorium down. It was permanently struck down in August 2022.

OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS PERMITTING PLUMMETS TO 2-DECADE LOW UNDER BIDEN

Following the court rulings, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland announced that her agency would again proceed with fossil fuel leasing. The DOI then modified the federal oil and gas leasing program in April 2022 and ultimately held the administration’s first onshore lease sales months later. The agency was subsequently sued by environmental groups for holding the sales in a case that remains ongoing.

But the administration has pursued a pared-back oil and gas leasing program despite a legal requirement to hold quarterly lease sales. DOI was sued by energy industry groups led by the Western Energy Alliance and the Petroleum Association of Wyoming, despite holding the sales in 2022, not regularly holding sales in accordance with the Mineral Leasing Act.

In addition, the administration finalized the most-restrictive offshore oil drilling plan in U.S. history last month. Under the final five-year offshore oil and gas leasing program, the federal government will hold just three Gulf of Mexico lease sales through 2029, marking a stark departure from plans finalized under both Democratic and Republican administrations.

Biden has also signed legislation earmarking billions of dollars for green energy development and issued various goals for replacing fossil fuels with alternatives across sectors as part of his effort to curb global warming.

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“President Biden is working overtime to speed the shift to clean energy,” Josh Axelrod, a senior advocate for the Natural Resources Defense Council’s nature program, told Fox News Digital. “His administration has sparked a heartland manufacturing renaissance with clean energy at its core. It’s creating jobs, making the country more energy secure and strengthening the domestic supply chain for the building blocks of a modern economy.”

“Big Oil, meanwhile, exploits a deck stacked in its favor to bank short-term profits by tying us all to the fuels of the past,” he continued. “That business model has to change. This administration’s focus on clean energy policy can bend the curve in the right direction. There’s obviously a lot of work still to do to make that happen.”

He added that the United Nations recently agreed to phase down fossil fuel production in the coming decades but noted that the U.S., Saudi Arabia, China, Russia and the 16 other top energy-producing nations plan to extract twice as much oil, gas and coal by 2030 “as a climate-safe world can tolerate.” 

Axelrod urged Big Oil to recognize “the sun is setting on fossil fuels and find its place in a clean energy, fossil-free future.”

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“Oil drilling is one of the reasons we lose two football fields worth of wild lands every minute,” Lisa Frank, the executive director of Environment America’s Washington legislative office, told Fox News Digital. “Large swaths of the United States, including the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the Grand Canyon, are too special to drill or mine.”

“Environment America applauds President Biden’s actions to protect these unique places for wildlife and for generations to come,” Frank said. “At the same time, we’re still drilling for more oil on U.S. lands and in our oceans. When we drill, we spill, so the sooner we can switch to clean, renewable energy, the better.”

Former President Trump’s campaign launched an ad in New Hampshire attacking former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley on Thursday.

The ad is the first time Trump has gone after Haley on New Hampshire airwaves, and it comes just weeks ahead of the state’s January 23 primary. The ad largely seeks to connect Haley’s positions with those of President Biden.

It argues that there are “confirmed warnings of terrorists sneaking in through our southern border.”

“Yet Haley joined Biden in opposing Trump’s visitor ban from terrorist nations. Haley’s weakness puts us in grave danger. Trump’s strength protects us,” it continues.

NIKKI HALEY’S BOOK CONFESSION ABOUT CHANGING HUSBAND’S NAME RESURFACES: ‘HE LOOKS LIKE A MICHAEL’

Haley has risen significantly in polls in recent weeks, with several surveys showing her eclipsing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for second place in the race. Trump, however, maintains a commanding lead over the rest of the field.

Haley’s campaign issued an extensive response to Trump’s ad on Thursday, rebutting each point made in the 30-second block. They argued that the two central claims in the ad – that Haley opposed Trump’s border wall and his so-called “Muslim ban” – are lies.

“Haley supported banning travel for people from countries with serious terrorist activity, but opposed religious tests. Trump himself dropped his support for a Muslim ban that was widely panned as unconstitutional in favor of a travel ban from countries posing a national security risk. The Supreme Court upheld the third version of Trump’s ban specifically because “the text says nothing about religion,” Haley’s campaign wrote.

HALEY’S MOMENTUM IN THE REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL RACE APPEARS TO BE PAYING OFF

Haley’s team pointed to her comments on the border wall, saying she never opposed the building of the wall, but she did oppose the wall being the only solution.

“Don’t say you’re just going to build a wall. Because a wall is not going to do it. You’ve got to have commitment of ground troops, equipment, money, all of that to bring it together. Then you’re being serious about tackling illegal immigration,” Haley’s team wrote.

“All the lame nicknames in the world don’t change the fact that Donald Trump is clearly terrified of Nikki Haley’s momentum,” Haley communications director Nachama Soloveichik said in a statement. “Nikki passed one of the toughest anti-illegal immigration bills in the country back when Trump was still a Democrat. Trump should spend more time explaining why he never fulfilled his signature promise to build a wall instead of desperately trying to mislead voters with easily debunked ads.”

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The ad buy comes as most eyes remain focused on Iowa, where GOP voters will make their choice on January 15. Fox News will also be hosting town halls on women’s issues with Haley and DeSantis on January 8 and 9.

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Fox will also hold a town hall with Trump on January 10.

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

Former President Trump’s attorneys filed what his campaign called a “powerhouse” motion on Thursday calling for a federal judge to hold Special Counsel Jack Smith in contempt of court for allegedly “repeatedly violating” a stay order in his 2020 election investigation.

Smith’s case against Trump, the 2024 GOP frontrunner, is on pause as Trump’s attorneys appeal the case, and argued that presidential immunity protects him from being prosecuted. The trial had been set to begin on March 4. 

“The Stay Order is clear, straightforward, and unambiguous,” Trump attorney John Lauro wrote in the filing Thursday. “All substantive proceedings in this Court are halted. Despite this clarity, the prosecutors began violating the Stay almost immediately.” 

JACK SMITH DISPUTES TRUMP’S PRESIDENTIAL IMMUNITY CLAIM IN APPEALS COURT

Lauro said within the first five days of the court pausing proceedings, Smith’s team “served thousands of pages of additional discovery, together with a purported draft exhibit list.” 

“Through counsel, President Trump advised that he rejected the prosecutors’ unlawful productions, that their actions violated the Stay Order, and that he would seek relief if their malicious conduct continued.” 

Lauro also said Smith filed an “expansive motion in limine less than 10 days later,” which he said “teems with partisan rhetoric, including false claims that President Trump ‘propagates irrelevant disinformation’ both ‘within the courtroom’ and ‘outside of it.’”

SUPREME COURT DECLINES TO ISSUE EXPEDITED RULING ON TRUMP IMMUNITY CASE

Lauro also said that motion “mirrors the Biden administration’s dishonest talking points, asserting, again falsely, that President Trump was responsible for the events of January 6, 2021, when in truth he called for peaceful and patriotic assembly and protest.” 

“In this manner, the prosecutors seek to weaponize the Stay to spread political propaganda, knowing that President Trump would not fully respond because the Court relieved him of the burdens of litigation during the Stay,” Lauro wrote. “Worse, the prosecutors have announced their intention to continue this partisan-driven misconduct indefinitely, effectively converting this Court’s docket into an arm of the Biden campaign.” 

Lauro argued that Smith and federal prosecutors should be held in contempt of court, be required to “immediately” withdraw their motion in liming and “improper” productions, and be forbidden from submitting further filings during the stay. Lauro also said they should assess “monetary sanctions in the amount of President Trump’s reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses incurred in responding to the prosecutors’ improper productions and filings.”

TRUMP CALLS CLAIMS HE’S A THREAT TO DEMOCRACY A ‘HOAX,’ SAYS BIDEN IS THE REAL THREAT: ‘I WILL SAVE DEMOCRACY’

Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung told Fox News Digital that Trump has “filed a powerhouse motion to hold Crooked Joe Biden’s henchman, Deranged Jack Smith, in contempt of Court for repeatedly violating the stay order in the Washington DC J6 Witch Hunt.”

“Smith was ordered to not take any further action in the trial court until the Presidential Immunity issue is resolved, which should be a full dismissal of this ‘case’ because President Trump was carrying out his duty as President to investigate the Rigged and Stolen 2020 Presidential Election,” Cheung said. “Rather than respect the rule of law, Jack Smith unilaterally decided to disobey the stay order and continue with his harassing litigation, all done in order to keep parroting the pathetic Biden Campaign’s corrupt talking points in the name of election interference.”

Cheung explained that, “as a result, President Trump is seeking to hold Deranged Jack in contempt of Court.”

“No prosecutor is above the law,” Cheung said.

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Trump, in August, pleaded not guilty in federal court to all four federal charges stemming from Smith’s investigation into 2020 election interference and the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.

Trump is charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding and conspiracy against rights.

Smith filed an argument disputing Trump’s claim to presidential immunity in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

The U.S. Supreme Court recently rejected Smith’s appeal to expedite their assessment of the immunity claim before it went fully through a federal appeals court. Trump’s legal team asked the court to deny Smith’s request.

President Biden’s campaign is doubling down on Jan. 6-related attacks against former President Trump in the coming weeks following the poor performance of the White House’s “Bidenomics” messaging.

Biden will launch the new wave of attacks on Friday, framing Trump as a threat to democracy during a speech at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. Senior campaign officials highlighted the location’s connection with George Washington and Trump’s attempts to cling to power, contradicting Washington’s willingness to step down from office, according to Axios.

“Over the last three years, MAGA Republicans haven’t shied away from the Big Lie — they’ve doubled down,” Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez told NBC News.

Biden has given speeches on the anniversary of Jan. 6 in both 2022 and 2023, but he refrained from mentioning Trump either time. He is expected to take a different approach on Friday.

NORTH CAROLINA PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY CANDIDATES HAVE BEEN FINALIZED; A TRUMP CHALLENGE IS ON APPEAL

Biden’s campaign is mirroring the pivot with a new ad focusing on Trump and January 6.

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“All of us are being asked right now: What will we do to maintain our democracy?” Biden says in the ad. “History is watching. The world is watching. And most important, our children and grandchildren will hold us responsible.”

“This ad serves as a very real reminder that this election could very well determine the very fate of American democracy,” Rodriguez told reporters.

The switch in messaging comes after the White House’s “Bidenomics” campaign sputtered with voters amid still-rising inflation.

BIDEN’S HOMETOWN REVEALS HOW IT REALLY FEELS ABOUT ‘BIDENOMICS’

Biden had abandoned using the term in speeches by the end of November, following a chorus of criticism from within his own party.

“Whoever came up with the slogan Bidenomics should be fired,” one anonymous Democratic strategist told NBC at the time. “It’s probably the worst messaging you could ever imagine.”

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Meanwhile, Trump’s campaign is cruising going into the Republican primaries, gaining momentum in large part due to the criminal cases against him and recent state decisions to remove him from primary ballots.

Former President Trump privately met with a top union boss on Wednesday, less than two weeks before the critical Iowa caucus.

Teamsters President Sean O’Brien thanked Trump for the sit-down in a statement the union posted late Wednesday night.

“There are serious issues that need to [be] addressed to improve the lives of working people across the country, and the Teamsters Union is making sure our members’ voices are heard as we head into a critical election year,” O’Brien said. 

“We thank the former President for taking time during this private meeting to listen to the Teamsters’ top priorities.”

NORTH CAROLINA PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY CANDIDATES HAVE BEEN FINALIZED; A TRUMP CHALLENGE IS ON APPEAL

O’Brien said there would be a roundtable with “rank-and-file” union members and the former president later in January.

A statement from the Teamsters posted on X said the union leader and Trump discussed “an in-depth and productive discussion on worker issues most important to the Teamsters Union.”

People on the left immediately criticized O’Brien for the meeting.

Utah state Senator Nate Blouin posted on X, “I know some Teamsters who probably aren’t real happy about this.”

REPUBLICANS WARN BIDEN ADMIN’S FOREIGN FARM WORKER RULE IS ‘GIVEAWAY TO BIG LABOR’

Green New Deal spokesperson Prerna Jagadeesh said on the social platform, “This is the kind of photo that comes back to bite you. There’s a way to respect that some members support Trump without platforming a union-busting, right-to-work-supporting fraud like him.”

President Biden scored the Teamsters’ endorsement in his 2020 race against Trump, but despite touting himself as the “most pro-union president in American history,” they have made clear they will not just hand it over again.

RFK JR WARNS AGAINST TRUMP BALLOT NIXES, SAYS DEMOCRATS RISK TURNING HIM TO ‘MYTHOLOGICAL FIGURE’

Trump has been courting the union vote in his re-election bid, visiting Detroit late last year to meet with striking autoworkers instead of participating in the second Republican primary debate. 

The Teamsters have been meeting with 2024 presidential candidates on both sides of the aisle, as the massive workers union mulls who to throw its considerable weight behind.

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O’Brien and others met with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, Marianne Williamson, Cornel West and Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., last month.

Fox News Digital reached out to a spokesperson for Trump for more details on the meeting with O’Brien but did not immediately hear back.

EXCLUSIVE: The Republican National Committee this week launched websites in all 50 states and in more than a dozen different languages to encourage and educate GOP voters on how to vote by mail and vote early, Fox News Digital has learned.

Republicans last year launched its “Bank Your Vote” initiative, which focuses on pre-Election Day voting to build on absentee returns and early in-person voting. The effort is expected to “encourage, educate and activate Republican voters on when, where and how to lock in their votes as early as possible” through in-person voting, absentee voting and ballot harvesting where legal.

RNC TO LAUNCH CAMPAIGN PUSHING REPUBLICANS TO VOTE EARLY IN 2024

This week, the RNC rolled out websites in all 50 states and in 16 languages to continue the RNC’s investment and outreach to minority communities. The languages include Arabic, Assyrian, Burmese, Chinese, Chinese (traditional), Hebrew, Hindi, Hmong, Japanese, Korean, Navajo, Portuguese, Spanish, Tagalog, Vietnamese and Yiddish.

RNC officials said the websites would not only inform voters but also help them to request a ballot online or by mail, register to vote, check their registration, find their early voting location or even to find their polling place on Election Day.

Officials said that as the election year progresses, additional features will be added to the websites to “empower” voters to “bank their vote.”

“When Republicans vote early, we win. ‘Bank Your Vote’ will be instrumental in getting Republicans to vote early or by mail to beat Biden and secure Republican victories up and down the ballot,” RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel told Fox News Digital. “Every candidate, campaign and committee now has the ability to educate, empower and turn out Republican voters early to victory.”

Last year, the RNC rolled out a video to promote the “Bank Your Vote” effort, featuring endorsements from some 2024 GOP candidates, including former President Trump, who leads the Republican primary by a massive margin.

RNC LAUNCHES ‘BANK YOUR VOTE’ AD BLITZ AHEAD OF DEBATE TO PUSH REPUBLICANS TO VOTE EARLY IN 2024 ELECTIONS

Meanwhile, Fox News Digital has learned that ahead of the primaries, the RNC has hired political staff in 15 battleground states, including important House and Senate states, which they have identified as New York, California and Montana.

The RNC’s political team is focusing on a “data-driven ground game to grow” the party through voter registration efforts and minority outreach and to turn out Republican voters through door knocks, phone calls and volunteer recruitment.

Additionally, the RNC has Election Integrity directors in 15 states. The RNC established a full-time Election Integrity Department as a permanent part of the RNC’s infrastructure.

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“We will continue to file key lawsuits, hire in-state election integrity directors and counsels in our target states, and continue to recruit and train tens of thousands of poll watchers and poll workers,” an RNC official told Fox News Digital.

The RNC is currently engaged in more than 70 lawsuits in 20 states across the country, with 42 of those lawsuits focusing on safeguarding mail voting.

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

• Georgia State Sen. Mike Dugan, a Republican, has entered the race for the open congressional seat in the 3rd Congressional District.
• The seat became available after four-term incumbent Drew Ferguson announced in December that he would not seek reelection.
• Dugan, who has been in the state Senate since 2012, filed papers with the Federal Election Commission to raise campaign contributions.

A Georgia state senator is joining the race for an open congressional seat.

Mike Dugan, a Carrollton Republican, filed papers with the Federal Election Commission on Wednesday to start raising campaign contributions for the 3rd Congressional District.

The seat is opening up because four-term incumbent Drew Ferguson announced in December that he would not seek reelection. The solidly Republican district hugs the Georgia-Alabama state line as far south as Columbus and includes some areas south of Atlanta as far east as Barnesville and Griffin.

GEORGIA GOP REP. DREW FERGUSON TO DEPART CONGRESS IN 2024, OPTING OUT OF REELECTION BID

Dugan was first elected to the state Senate in 2012 and said he would resign Thursday, which would trigger a special election for his seat.

“It is time to get back to a government that works for the people, and I would be honored to be the voice that represents Georgia’s 3rd Congressional District,” Dugan said in a statement.

Dugan rose to Senate majority leader in 2019, but lost a 2022 bid to become president pro tem, the top post elected by the members. That left his influence downgraded, and Dugan expressed unhappiness with how Carroll County was split in the special redistricting session that ended in December.

Dugan is a former Army Ranger and paratrooper who retired as a lieutenant colonel in 2008 after more than 20 years of service. More recently he has worked as a construction contractor.

GEORGIA PLAINTIFFS CRITICIZE PROPOSED VOTING DISTRICT MAPS AS ‘MOCKERY’ OF FEDERAL LAW

The Republican field in the race already includes state Rep. David Jenkins of Grantville, a farmer and retired Army helicopter pilot; Jim Bennett, a party activist from Carroll County who has criticized Ferguson as insufficiently conservative; and Michael Corbin, who previously ran for Congress in Gwinnett County.

Other Republicans who could run include state Sen. Matt Brass of Newnan; former state Rep. Philip Singleton of Sharpsburg; state Sen. Randy Robertson of Cataula; Brian Jack, a former White House political director for President Donald Trump and former aide to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy; and Chris West, who lost a bid for southwest Georgia’s 2nd Congressional District in 2022 to longtime Democratic incumbent Sanford Bishop. West recently moved from Thomasville to Newnan.

Democrat Rodney Moore is also running.

The congressional primary is May 21, and a runoff for the Republican nomination would be June 18 if needed. The general election is Nov. 5.

A Republican Senate group weighed in to support former President Trump in his effort to overturn the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision to remove his name from the state’s primary ballot on Wednesday.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee, chaired by Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., argued that the court overstepped its authority in its December ruling. Trump himself has appealed the issue to the Supreme Court of the United States.

“Even if the Colorado Supreme Court were correct that President Trump cannot take office on Inauguration Day, that court had no basis to hold that he cannot run for office,” the committee said in its court filing.

Last month, the Colorado Supreme Court, in a 4-3 vote, overturned a lower court ruling that allowed Trump to appear on the ballot as a presidential candidate. In their opinion, the justices on the state’s high court wrote that Trump “incited and encouraged” the use of violence to prevent the peaceful transfer of power on Jan. 6, 2021, when many of his followers stormed the U.S. Capitol.

GUNMAN ARRESTED AFTER BREACHING COLORADO SUPREME COURT, HOLDING GUARD AT GUNPOINT: COPS

In a Wednesday filing, Trump’s lawyers urged the high court to reverse the Colorado Supreme Court ruling and “return the right to vote for their candidate of choice to the voters.”

POLL SHOWS BIDEN HITTING RECORD LOW APPROVALS, FALLING BEHIND AGAINST TRUMP IN 2024 MATCHUP

The words from Trump’s legal team echoed arguments from Justice Carlos Samour, one of three Democrat-appointed justices on the Colorado court who dissented from the decision.

DEMOCRATS DROP ‘BIDENOMICS’ AS SOME VOTERS COMPLAIN IT’S ‘TONE-DEAF’: REPORT

“The decision to bar former President Donald J. Trump — by all accounts the current leading Republican presidential candidate (and reportedly the current leading overall presidential candidate) — from Colorado’s presidential primary ballot flies in the face of the due process doctrine,” Samour wrote at the time.

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“Even if we are convinced that a candidate committed horrible acts in the past — dare I say, engaged in insurrection — there must be procedural due process before we can declare that individual disqualified from holding public office,” he added.

Trump has also received an endorsement from Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., though Daines is the only member of GOP Senate leadership to endorse the former president.

Fox News’ Louis Casiano, Shannon Bream and Bill Mears contributed to this report

RYE, N.H. – Nikki Haley says derogatory suggestions in recent weeks by two of her top rivals for the Republican presidential nomination that she’s hoping to serve as former President Donald Trump’s 2024 running mate are a clear signal they are “losing.”

But Haley, the former South Carolina governor who later served as ambassador to the United Nations in the Trump administration, once again passed on an opportunity to categorically deny she would join Trump on the Republican ticket should the former president win the party’s nomination.

In a Fox News Digital interview Tuesday ahead of a town hall in New Hampshire, Haley reiterated she is running to win.

“I have said from the very beginning I don’t play for second. It’s offensive for anybody to think that I would do all of this to play for second. And so I have said that. I will continue to say that. If people aren’t satisfied with that, I don’t know what else to say,” Haley said.

FIRST ON FOX: HALEY FUNDRAISING SOARS THE PAST THREE MONTHS

Haley has surged in the polls over the past month in New Hampshire, the state that holds the first primary and second overall contest in the GOP nominating calendar. And in Iowa, whose Jan. 15 caucuses lead off the Republican schedule, Haley’s pulled even with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for a distant second place behind Trump, who remains the frontrunner for the GOP nomination as he makes his third straight White House run.

GOP NOMINATION RACE: WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES FOR DONALD TRUMP

In recent weeks, DeSantis and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who’s in third place in the latest polls in New Hampshire, have taken aim at Haley for not being vocal enough in her criticism of Trump. Both candidates have argued Haley has an ulterior motive.

“She will not answer directly, and she owes you an answer to this: Will she accept a vice presidential nomination from Donald Trump? Yes or no?” DeSantis said at a town hall in New Hampshire last month.

“I can tell you under any circumstance, I will not accept that because that’s not why I’m running,” the Florida governor added. “I’m running for the nomination and to be president.”

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The DeSantis campaign last month launched a website with a URL of trumpnikki2024.com, which included a video suggesting Haley may serve as Trump’s No. 2 in the general election.

Christie, on multiple occasions over the past month, including a town hall in New Hampshire and in a CBS News interview, has emphasized that, “Ron DeSantis and I have both ruled out accepting the vice presidency from Donald Trump. Nikki Haley has not.”

“That’s why she’s not saying strong things against Donald Trump,” Christie argued.

Haley has frequently repeated that she is not running for second place in the GOP 2024 presidential primary.

And early last month, when a voter at a town hall in Iowa pressed Haley on whether she’d settle for the vice presidential nomination, Haley shook her head and made a throat-slashing gesture.

This week, when asked about the attacks from Christie and DeSantis, Haley told Fox News, “They’ve criticized me for everything. Let’s be clear. That’s what happens when you’re losing.

“We’ve got a race to win. We intend to win it. We’re going to do it fair and square and, at the end of the day, we’re going to make sure America is strong.”

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

Concord, N.H. (AP) — New Hampshire lawmakers started the new year with old business Wednesday, taking up hundreds of bills left over from 2023. But they also looked ahead to the rest of 2024, with some Democrats demanding action on gun control and Republicans describing an agenda focused on the economy, public safety and other priorities.

Republicans hold a 14-10 majority in the Senate. But the GOP advantage in the House remains slim enough that like last year, Democrats could outnumber Republicans on any given day depending on attendance. Currently, there are 198 Republicans, 194 Democrats, three independents and four vacancies.

SUNUNU TELLS CHRISTIE HE CAN ‘BE THE HERO,’ HELP NIKKI HALEY BEAT TRUMP IN NEW HAMPSHIRE

Before their sessions began, Democrats from both chambers held an outdoor news conference to outline a package of bills aimed at preventing gun violence. After the fatal shooting of a New Hampshire Hospital security officer in November, Republicans agreed to work with Democrats on a bill that would ensure that those who are involuntarily committed to psychiatric hospitals cannot purchase or possess firearms until it is determined that they are no longer a danger to themselves or others. But Democrats want to go further with legislation related to background checks, extreme risk protection orders, imposing waiting periods before gun sales and establishing a voluntary waiver of the right to purchase weapons.

“There are those in Concord in the building behind us who say that New Hampshire doesn’t have a gun problem, that we’re the safest state in the nation. And even that we’re lucky to live in a state that just happens to have some of the weakest gun laws in the country,” said Rep. David Meuse, D-Portsmouth. “What I say to that is, tell that to the victims and their families. While no series of laws can ever completely stop gun violence and suicides, there are simple, sensible ways we can reduce the level of risk.”

At a separate news conference, Senate Republicans said their focus is maintaining the “New Hampshire advantage,” GOP shorthand for low taxes and a prosperous economy.

“It is vitally important, in my opinion and in all of our opinion, that we protect hard-working men and women from higher taxes, allow small businesses to thrive and maintain our really – compared to other states – good economic status,” said Senate President Jeb Bradley.

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Beyond that, Republicans will focus on public safety – including bail reform, protecting the northern border and increasing penalties for drug trafficking and other crimes, said Sen. Sharon Carson. “Empowering parents,” expanding school choice, improving access to mental health treatment and protecting New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation presidential primary also will be priorities, she said.

The House, meanwhile, voted Wednesday to move the state primary from September to August to lengthen what is one of the nation’s shortest general election windows. Gov. Chris Sununu vetoed a similar bill in 2021.

The Biden administration spared no time in attempting to shift blame toward Republicans over America’s national debt reaching a historic high of $34 trillion this week despite President Biden having been in office for nearly three full years.

“If you look at that data, there’s a trickle down debt. If you think about it, Republican tax cuts are responsible for about 90% of it — of the increase in the debt as a share of the economy over the last two decades, excluding emergency spending,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre claimed during Wednesday’s press briefing. 

Despite the new record high, Jean-Pierre argued Biden had taken action to lower the debt, including signing the Inflation Reduction Act, which some experts predicted would actually cost the U.S. more than originally projected, and “cracking down on wealthy tax cheats” through actions like growing the IRS.

BIDEN CONTINUES BLEEDING SUPPORT FROM KEY VOTER GROUPS AS DEMS SOUND ALARM OVER 2024: POLL

“His agenda would cut the deficit another $2.5 trillion by making the wealthy pay their fair share. So that is what the president has done. What we’ve seen on the other side is the complete opposite. What they’ve tried to do is continue to give a tax break to the millionaires and billionaires, and what they have actually put forward would add more than $3 trillion to the debt,” she added.

FOX Business reporter Edward Lawrence pressed Jean-Pierre on her claims, noting the length of time Biden had already been in office, as well as that the U.S. had added $10 billion per day to the national debt without a reduction. But she doubled down.

“Republican tax cuts are responsible for 90%, 90% of the increase in the debt. 90%. That is something that Republicans are responsible for,” Jean-Pierre responded. “[The president] put forth legislation like lowering the deficit by $1 trillion, and that’s part of lowering prescription drug costs and cracking down on the wealthy tax cheats. That’s what he’s done,” she said. 

BATTLEGROUND STATE POSES BIDEN’S TOUGHEST 2024 CHALLENGE IN POTENTIAL TRUMP REMATCH

“And meanwhile, yeah, you know what? The GOP, congressional Republicans, what they want to do is they want to continue with their ‘MAGAnomics.’ What they’ve proposed will add $3 trillion to the debt,” she added.

Last year, President Biden was scrutinized by several liberal fact-checkers for claiming his administration had reduced the budget deficit by $1.7 billion, a critical step in lowering the national debt. Some called the claim “misleading” and “lacking context.”

Although Biden was correct at the time that the annual federal deficit decreased from $3.1 trillion in fiscal year 2020 to $1.4 trillion in fiscal year 2022, translating to a $1.7 trillion drop, the fact-checkers noted Biden’s fiscal policies were hardly the lone or leading factor in driving down the deficit.

RFK JR. MEETS REQUIREMENTS TO APPEAR ON FIRST 2024 GENERAL ELECTION BALLOT AS CAMPAIGN SEASON HEATS UP

Biden repeated the same claim on numerous other occasions throughout 2023.

In May, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office revealed that the federal government under President Biden had run a near-$1 trillion federal deficit in the “first seven months of fiscal year 2023.” It found that in those months alone, the federal government had racked up $928,000,000,000.

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According to The Associated Press, the ballooning of the national debt in recent years was accelerated by heavy borrowing under both Biden’s administration and former President Donald Trump’s, followed by the surge of inflation that pushed up interest rates after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Over a dozen of President Biden’s campaign staffers, hired to re-elect the president, issued an anonymous letter Wednesday, protesting Biden’s approach to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

In a letter shared on Medium, 17 current Biden for President staffers called for Biden to advocate for an immediate cease-fire in the war started by the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas’ surprise attack on innocent Israelis.

“As your staff, we believe it is both a moral and electoral imperative for you to publicly call for a cessation of violence,” the staffers wrote in the letter.

The anonymous letter argued that the deaths of Palestinians “cannot be justified.”

BIDEN TAKES GROWING HEAT FROM DEMOCRAT ALLIES, FAR-LEFT ‘SQUAD’ ON ISRAEL DECISION

“Complicity in the death of over 20,000 Palestinians, 8,200 of whom are children, simply cannot be justified.”

The staffers said that Israel’s “indiscriminate” bombings in Gaza are “fundamentally antithetical” to Biden’s belief in justice, empathy and the dignity of human life.

“We joined this campaign because the values that you — and we — share are ones worth fighting for. Justice, empathy, and our belief in the dignity of human life is the backbone of not only the Democratic Party, but of the country,” the letter said. “However, your administration’s response to Israel’s indiscriminate bombing in Gaza has been fundamentally antithetical to those values — and we believe it could cost you the 2024 election.”

In addition to calling for an immediate cease-fire, the 17 individuals urged Biden’s administration to end unconditional military aid to Israel and advocated for a deescalation in the region, including the release of hostages.

MOST ISRAELIS OPPOSE US PUSH FOR ISRAEL TO SCALE BACK HAMAS WAR: POLL

The letter also urged the Democratic president to investigate whether Israel’s actions in Gaza violate the Leahy Law, which prohibits the U.S. military from funding foreign military forces implicated in gross violations of human rights.

The aides argued that a majority of Democrats support an end to Israel’s bombings in Gaza.

BIDEN OFFICIAL GETS HEATED IN CLASH WITH REPORTER WHO ASKS IF US HAS ESCALATED GAZA WAR WITH RED SEA PRESENCE

“Americans, especially young Americans, feel extraordinarily passionate about this issue. In fact, 72% of voters under 30 — a key Democratic voting bloc — disapprove of your handling of the conflict in Gaza,” the letter said.

The staffers argued that it is not “merely enough to be an alternative to Donald Trump,” but Biden needs to support a cease-fire.

“It is not enough to merely be the alternative to Donald Trump,” the letter said. “The campaign has to shift the feeling in the pits of voters’ stomachs, the same feeling that weighs on us every day as we fight for your reelection. The only way to do that is to call for a cease-fire.”

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Earlier in Dec, dozens of staffers protested their boss’s Israel policy.

“Ceasefire” was spelled out with lit candles in front of the protesters with a sign behind them reading, “President Biden, your staff demands a cease-fire.”

Former President Donald Trump asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday to put his name back on the Republican 2024 primary ballot in Colorado.

The appeal has been filed, but the case has not yet been officially docketed by the court. The next step would be for the high court to decide whether to expedite review, and whether to hear the case on the merits. 

The justices could vote privately in the next few days on whether to fast-track consideration.

Earlier this month, the Colorado Supreme Court, in a 4-3 vote, overturned a lower court ruling that allowed Trump to appear on the ballot as a presidential candidate. In their opinion, the justices on the state’s high court wrote that Trump “incited and encouraged” the use of violence to prevent the peaceful transfer of power on Jan. 6, 2021, when many of his followers stormed the U.S. Capitol.

GUNMAN ARRESTED AFTER BREACHING COLORADO SUPREME COURT, HOLDING GUARD AT GUNPOINT: COPS

In Wednesday’s filing, Trump’s lawyers urged the high court to reverse the Colorado Supreme Court ruling and “return the right to vote for their candidate of choice to the voters.”

The case is being appealed based on several arguments, including whether the president is among those officials subject to disqualification by Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, the so-called insurrection clause; and whether Section 3 is “self-executing,” meaning that it allows states to remove candidates from a ballot in the absence of any congressional action. 

Trump’s lawyers have said individual states don’t have the authority to enforce Section 3 and would cause confusion for voters. 

On Tuesday, Trump appealed the decision to remove him from Maine’s Republican primary ballot for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. That appeal heads to Maine’s Supreme Court. 

Several states have issued challenges to Trump’s eligibility to run for a second presidential term over his efforts to overturn President Biden’s 2020 presidential win. 

The U.S. Supreme Court has not said whether it will take on Trump’s case. 

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Former Colorado state Rep. Dave Willaims, chair of the state Republican Party, called the effort to ban Trump from the ballot a “constitutional crisis.”

“The need for the United States Supreme Court to step in is paramount to protecting everyone’s right to vote for the candidate that they think is best,” Williams told Fox News Digital. “The more likely the Supreme Court waits to take up this case, the more likely you’re going to see other states like Maine follow Colorado’s lead and that’s something we shouldn’t tolerate.”

Former Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron has been hired to help lead a group pushing back against what it sees as “woke ideology” in the corporate sector, marking the Republican’s next chapter since losing his bid for governor in one of the nation’s most closely watched elections in 2023.

Cameron accepted the job as CEO of 1792 Exchange, a role that will include trying to thwart investing that considers environmental, social and governance factors. It was an issue Cameron dealt with as attorney general and frequently talked about during his unsuccessful attempt to unseat Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, who notched a convincing victory for a second term last November.

Cameron, 38, who was pegged as a rising Republican star with ties to U.S. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and former President Donald Trump, didn’t rule out another run for elected office but said he’s looking forward to delving into his new role in the meantime.

RUBY-RED KENTUCKY BEGINS NEW LEGISLATIVE SESSION WITH BUDGET TALKS, POLICY CLASHES ON HORIZON

“We will shine a bright light on those whose ideological agendas seek to dismantle American freedom and prosperity,” Cameron said in a news release. “We will stop investment management firms, elected officials and corporate interests from using other people’s money to advance their radical political agendas.”

The 1792 Exchange says its mission is to steer public companies to a neutral stance on divisive, ideological issues. In announcing Cameron’s hiring, its founder, Nathan Estruth, said: “I simply cannot imagine a more capable and qualified chief executive to help us safeguard free exercise, free speech and free enterprise.”

Cameron’s four-year term as Kentucky’s attorney general ended Monday when his successor, former federal prosecutor Russell Coleman, also a Republican, was sworn in. Cameron broke barriers as Kentucky’s first Black attorney general and the state’s first major-party Black nominee for governor.

Cameron, a staunch conservative, is a former legal counsel to McConnell and won Trump’s endorsement early in the crowded GOP primary for governor, navigating the feud between the GOP heavyweights.

DEMOCRAT ANDY BESHEAR WINS GOVERNOR RACE IN DEEP-RED KENTUCKY, A MAJOR BLOW TO REPUBLICAN HOPES AHEAD OF 2024

Cameron said Wednesday that his family will continue living in Kentucky. He and his wife, Makenze, are expecting their second child in the spring. They have a 2-year-old son.

He pointedly didn’t rule out another run for elected office at some point in the future.

“We’ll continue to be engaged and continue to work to make sure that this commonwealth and our country are the best possible version of themselves,” Cameron said in a phone interview.

Cameron’s term as attorney general was marked by a series of legal challenges against state and national Democratic policies. Known for his disciplined style, he didn’t offer any post-mortems Wednesday on his unsuccessful campaign for governor.

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“We worked really hard and met a lot of people and had a lot of rewarding experiences, and certainly grateful to have served as the AG and then to have been the Republican nominee for governor in Kentucky,” he said in a phone interview. “Never in my wildest dreams growing up did I think that would occur in terms of a sequence of events in my life.”

Nearly 12 years ago, now-Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley wrote about how she renamed her husband, which resurfaced amid the Republican primary.

A senior politics correspondent for Vox took to social media on Wednesday and posted an excerpt from her 2012 book “Can’t Is Not an Option” in which Haley recounted how she modified how people refer to her now-husband, Michael Haley.

“You may be wondering how ‘Bill’ became South Carolina First Gentleman Michael Haley,” Haley wrote in her book. “After we started dating, I looked at him one day and said, ‘What’s your name?'” 

FIRST ON FOX: HALEY MORE THAN DOUBLES HER FUNDRAISING WITH A $24 MILLION HAUL THE PAST THREE MONTHS

“‘You know it’s Bill,’ he said, puzzled.”

“‘You just don’t look like a Bill. What’s your whole name?'”

“‘William Michael.'”

“From that point on, I started calling him Michael, and all my friends did the same. When he transferred to Clemson his sophomore year, my friends became his friends, and before we knew it, he was universally known as Michael. Everyone who knew him before I did knows him as Bill, and everyone who met him after I did knows him as Michael.”

“He looks like a Michael,” she wrote.

HALEY’S MOMENTUM IN THE REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL RACE APPEARS TO BE PAYING OFF

Haley’s ‘renaming’ of her husband appears to have been first reported in 2012 but is widely unknown today. The X post racked up over 1 million views.

Haley has experienced momentum in the polls in recent months on the heels of well-received performances in the first three GOP presidential primary debates. She leapfrogged Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for second place in New Hampshire, which holds the first primary and second overall contest in the Republican nominating calendar.

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She also aims to make a fight of it in Iowa, where the latest polls suggest she is pulling even with DeSantis for a distant second place behind Trump, who remains the front-runner in the GOP nomination race as he makes his third straight White House bid.

Haley’s campaign did not provide a comment.

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

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