Top Texas election official acknowledges threats to ballot secrecy
Rules and practices meant to promote transparency also create vulnerabilities for voters, lawmakers were told.
State Rep. Shelby Slawson says she’s running for House speaker in letter condemning Phelan
The announcement came two days after Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, narrowly survived a runoff challenge from the GOP’s hard right.
2024 Wildcard: Trump criminal trial verdict throws 2024 presidential election into unchartered waters
Former President Donald Trump’s conviction in his historic trial in New York City is thrusting his 2024 election rematch with President Biden into unchartered grounds. Trump, who was the first former or current president to stand trial in a criminal case, has now become the first major party nominee to run for the White House as a convicted felon. And the verdict of guilty on all 34 counts could immediately impact the trajectory of the presidential race, where Trump currently holds the slight edge both in national polling and in public opinion surveys in most of the crucial battleground states that will likely decide the election. “If Donald Trump is a convicted felon going into the November election, that has to mean something to the small number of undecided voters in the six battleground states that will decide the election,” seasoned Democratic strategist Chris Moyer told Fox News. CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS DEVELOPMENTS IN THE TRUMP CRIMINAL TRIAL Moyer, a veteran of a handful of Democratic presidential campaigns, emphasized that “every little development in this race could push voters one way or another. Nobody wants to be a convicted felon when you’re putting your name on the ballot.” Longtime Republican consultant Colin Reed acknowledged that it’s “never a good thing to be convicted, in life or politics, of a crime.” “But the old rules and the old conventional way of thinking have never really applied to Donald Trump throughout his life as a political figure,” Reed, a veteran of multiple GOP presidential campaigns, added. “It remains to be seen if this is a political anvil or if it’s just another chapter in a long saga of ups and downs for a guy who survived seemingly insurmountable political odds before,” Reed said. Trump was charged with falsifying business records in relation to payments during the 2016 election that he made to Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about his alleged affair with the adult film actress. Trump’s former attorney, Michael Cohen, paid Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, $130,000 in return for her silence about allegations of an affair with Trump in 2006. Prosecutors argued that this amounted to illegally seeking to influence the 2016 election. Both Cohen and Daniels testified for the prosecution and were grilled by Trump’s attorneys during cross-examination in a case that has grabbed tons of attention on the cable news networks, online and on social media. The former president repeatedly denied falsifying business records as well as the alleged sexual encounter with Daniels, and he has repeatedly claimed, without providing evidence, that the case was “prosecuted directly from the inner halls of the White House and DOJ.” Trump was also fined a couple of times and threatened with jail by the judge in the case for violating a gag order aimed at protecting witnesses and jurors from the former president’s verbal attacks. Veteran pollster Chris Anderson, a member of the Fox News Election Decision Team and the Democratic partner on the Fox News Poll, said that he did not think “a guilty verdict would fundamentally change the landscape of the race.”Both Cohen and Daniels testified for the prosecution and were grilled by Trump’s attorneys during cross-examination in a case that has grabbed tons of attention on the cable news networks, online and on social media. Daron Shaw, a politics professor and chair at the University of Texas who also serves as a member of the Fox News Decision Team and the Republican partner on the Fox News Poll, noted that “prior to 2020, no one would have thought that a candidate could survive a criminal conviction.” “But times and circumstances have evolved. And while the specific findings of the jury could matter, I think there is a sense that a conviction in this case would not appreciably change the dynamics of the race,” Shaw emphasized. Both pointed to the fact that “attitudes are so set in concrete” regarding both the former Republican president and his Democratic successor in the White House. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Trump guilty on all counts in New York criminal trial
Former President Trump was found guilty on all counts in his historic and unprecedented criminal trial, making him the first former president of the United States to be convicted of a crime. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg charged former President Donald Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. Trump pleaded not guilty to all counts. Jurors found the former president guilty on all counts. Each count carries a maximum prison sentence of 4 years. In total, Trump faces a maximum sentence of 136 years. Judge Juan Merchan invited the jury into the courtroom to read its verdict after two days of deliberations. Sentencing for the former president and presumptive Republican presidential nominee will be July 11 at 1000. Any motions will need to be filed by June 13th. Prosecutors needed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Trump falsified those records to conceal a $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels, a pornographic performer, in the lead-up to the 2016 election to silence her about an alleged affair with Trump in 2006. TRUMP PREVIEWS CLOSING ARGUMENTS IN ‘SHAM TRIAL’: ‘VERY DANGEROUS DAY FOR AMERICA’ During closing arguments, defense attorneys for former President Trump told the jury Tuesday he is innocent, did not commit any crimes and that Bragg “did not meet the burden of proof. Period.” “President Trump is innocent. He did not commit any crimes. The district attorney did not meet the burden of proof. Period,” Blanche said. Blanche added that the case is “simple” and it is “not a guilty verdict.” “This case is about documents; it is a paper case,” Blanche said. “This case is not about an encounter with Stormy Daniels 18 years ago. It is not even about a nondisclosure agreement signed eight years ago.” Blanche said the charges are about whether Trump “had anything” to do with payments to his ex-attorney, Michael Cohen, on his personal accounting ledger. “The answer? The bookings were accurate and there was no intent to defraud and there was no conspiracy to influence the 2016 election,” Blanche said. “The proof doesn’t add up.” NY V TRUMP: PROSECUTION SAYS THEY HAVE PRESENTED ‘POWERFUL EVIDENCE’ AGAINST FORMER PRESIDENT Blanche told the jury they cannot convict Trump based on Cohen’s testimony, recalling how Trump’s ex-attorney “took the stand and then lied.” “The records are not false and there was no intent to defraud,” he said. Blanche said not one single invoice was sent to Trump directly and that Cohen billed Trump “for services rendered.” He also told the jury Cohen rendered services as Trump’s personal attorney in 2017. Blanche noted Cohen had lied to both Houses of Congress, federal judges, state judges and family. “You cannot send someone to prison based upon the words of Michael Cohen,” Blanche said, adding that a verdict needs to be reached based on evidence from documents and witnesses. “If you do that, this is a very quick and easy not-guilty verdict.” Meanwhile, prosecutor Joshua Steinglass delivered his closing argument for more than five hours Tuesday, saying the prosecution has presented “powerful” evidence in their case against Trump. Steinglass said Trump’s intent to defraud “could not be any clearer,” arguing that it would have been far easier for him to pay Stormy Daniels directly. Instead, the prosecutor said, he concocted an elaborate scheme and everything he and his cohorts did was “cloaked in lies.” “The name of the game was concealment and all roads lead inescapably to the man who benefited the most: the defendant, former President Donald Trump,” Steinglass said. Steinglass defended the prosecution’s use of Michael Cohen as a witness, telling the jury: “I’m not asking you to feel bad for Michael Cohen. He made his bed.” “But you can hardly blame him for making money from the one thing he has left, which is his knowledge of the inner workings of the Trump Organization,” he said. “We didn’t choose Michael Cohen to be our witness. We didn’t pick him up at the witness store,” Steinglass said. “The defendant chose Michael Cohen to be his fixer because he was willing to lie and cheat on the defendant’s behalf.” Trump defense attorneys, in their second attempt to dismiss the case earlier this month, said no evidence had been presented by the prosecution to connect the former president to any falsification of business records. Defense attorneys motioned for dismissal after Michael Cohen, Trump’s former attorney and the prosecution’s “star witness,” finished his testimony. He testified that he personally made the $130,000 payment to Daniels using a home equity line of credit in an effort to conceal the payment from his wife. Cohen said he did this because Trump told him to “handle it” and prevent a negative story from coming out ahead of the election. But Trump’s defense attorneys maintained that the president never directed Cohen to do so. Cohen testified that he was “reimbursed $420,000” for the $130,000 he paid to Daniels. Cohen said former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg suggested he “gross up” the payments and that Trump knew the details of the reimbursement. The prosecution presented Cohen with 11 checks totaling $420,000. Cohen confirmed that they were all received and deposited. The checks had a description of a “retainer,” which Cohen said was false. This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Biden is said to be finalizing plans for migrant limits as part of a US-Mexico border clampdown
The White House is finalizing plans for a U.S.-Mexico border clampdown that would shut off asylum requests and automatically deny entrance to migrants once the number of people encountered by American border officials exceeded a new daily threshold, with President Joe Biden expected to sign an executive order as early as Tuesday, according to four people familiar with the matter. The president has been weighing additional executive action since the collapse of a bipartisan border bill earlier this year. The number of illegal crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border has declined for months, partly because of a stepped-up effort by Mexico. Still, immigration remains a top concern heading into the U.S. presidential election in November and Republicans are eager to hammer Biden on the issue. WHITE HOUSE WEIGHS IN ON ANTICIPATED TRUMP TRIAL VERDICT: ‘IMPORTANT DAY’ The Democratic administration’s effort would aim to head off any potential spike in crossings that could occur later in the year, as the fall election draws closer, when the weather cools and numbers tend to rise, two of the people. They were not authorized to speak publicly about the ongoing discussions and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. The move would allow Biden, whose administration has taken smaller steps in recent weeks to discourage migration and speed up asylum processing, to say he has done all he can do to control the border numbers without help from Congress. The talks were still fluid and the people stressed that no final decisions had been made. The restrictions being considered are an aggressive attempt to ease the nation’s overwhelmed asylum system, along with a new effort to speed up the cases of migrants already in America and another meant to quicken processing for migrants with criminal records or those who would otherwise be eventually deemed ineligible for asylum in the United States. The people told the AP that the administration was weighing some of the policies directly from a stalled bipartisan Senate border deal, including capping the number of encounters at an average of 4,000 per day over a week and whether that limit would include asylum-seekers coming to the border with appointments through U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s CBP One app. Right now, there are roughly 1,450 such appointments per day. Two of the people said one option is that migrants who arrive after the border reaches a certain threshold could be removed automatically in a process similar to deportation and would not be able to return easily. Migrants were able to more easily return to the border if they were expelled under the pandemic-era policy known as Title 42. Under that arrangement, Mexico agreed to take back some non-Mexican nationalities, including migrants from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. Migrants, especially families, claiming asylum at the southern border are generally released into the U.S. to wait out their cases. But there are more than 2 million pending immigration court cases, and some people wait years for a court date while they live in limbo in the U.S. Anyone can ask for asylum regardless of whether they arrive illegally at the border, but U.S. officials are increasingly pushing migrants to make appointments, use a legal pathway that avoids the costly and dangerous journey, or stay where they are and apply through outposts in Colombia, Guatemala and Costa Rica. The Biden administration has grown ever more conservative on border issues as the president faces ceaseless criticism from Republicans and there are large numbers of migrants crossing into the U.S. from Mexico who are not easily returned, especially as global displacement grows from war, climate change and more. The immigration authority that the administration has been looking to use is outlined in Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. It gives a president broad leeway to block entry of certain immigrants into the U.S. if it would be “detrimental” to the U.S. national interest. Senate Republicans last week again blocked a bill that would have enshrined some of the same efforts into law. The vote was meant to underscore GOP resistance to the proposal even as Republicans have clamored for more restrictions and argued that Biden has not done enough to stem the flow of migrants entering into the U.S. The bipartisan bill had been negotiated for months and appeared, for a moment anyway, to be heading toward passage. It was even endorsed by the National Border Patrol Council and its president Brandon Judd, an avowed supporter of Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. But Trump, concerned about handing Democrats an election-year win, called on Republicans to tank it, and they did. White House officials did not confirm the expected executive order. White House spokesman Angelo Fernández Hernández said the administration “continues to explore a series of policy options and we remain committed to taking action to address our broken immigration system.” “While congressional Republicans chose to stand in the way of additional border enforcement, President Biden will not stop fighting to deliver the resources that border and immigration personnel need to secure our border,” he said. Congress this year approved funding for a total of 41,500 detention beds and increased money for immigration enforcement and removal operations by $1.2 billion over what the White House had initially requested. That included $106 million in more funding for programs that monitor immigrants in the asylum system through phone apps and ankle bracelets, rather than through detention. Those increases, negotiated after the collapse of the bipartisan deal, could pave the way for the administration to ratchet up immigration enforcement. Yet unlike legislative action that is binding, anything Biden does through executive action can be challenged in the courts, and will almost certainly be, so it not clear whether — or if — the clampdown on asylum would begin. The administration was weighing other actions too, including faster and tougher enforcement of the asylum process. The administration has generally paired proposed crackdowns with an expansion of legal paths elsewhere and was also planning to do so
Jury reaches verdict in NY v. Trump trial
The New York jury empaneled in the NY v. Trump case has reached a verdict. The jury will soon enter the courtroom and announce what it has decided.Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg charged former President Donald Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. Trump pleaded not guilty to all counts. Judge Juan Merchan will invite the jury in to read its verdict.Prior to receiving the jury’s note around 4:20 p.m., Merchan had indicated he would excuse the jury for the day at 4:30. Prosecutors needed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Trump falsified business records to conceal a $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels, a pornographic performer, in the lead-up to the 2016 election to silence her about an alleged affair with Trump in 2006. Michael Cohen, Trump’s former attorney, was the prosecution’s “star witness.”He testified that he personally made the $130,000 payment to Daniels using a home equity line of credit in an effort to conceal the payment from his wife. Cohen said he did this because Trump told him to “handle it” and prevent a negative story from coming out ahead of the election. But Trump’s defense attorneys maintained that the president never directed Cohen to do so.
Ohio AG ordered to stop blocking proposed qualified immunity ban
Federal judges ordered Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost to stop blocking a measure that asks voters to ban qualified immunity for police and other government employees, but he plans to appeal, he said Thursday. Yost said he’d seek a review by the full U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati after a divided panel issued its decision Wednesday, reversing a lower federal court ruling. The constitutional amendment would end qualified immunity, allowing people to sue over claims that police or government workers violated their constitutional rights. NO CHARGES FOR FORMER OHIO HOUSE SPEAKER IN FEDERAL PROBE The panel ordered the Republican attorney general to forward the proposal to the GOP-majority Ohio Ballot Board, which would decide if it represents one or more constitutional amendments. Once that’s determined, organizers could start gathering about 413,000 valid signatures of registered voters needed to qualify for the ballot. They face a July 3 deadline to file their petitions to get the question on the Nov. 5 ballot. Yost has repeatedly rejected the petitions’ proposed summary language as not being a fair and accurate representation of what the measure would do. The panel found his actions constituted a “severe burden” on organizers when it comes to communicating with voters and meeting the filing deadline. They also rejected Yost’s argument that the case belongs to the Ohio Supreme Court. Yost’s office issued a statement Thursday noting that the appeals court panel didn’t decide whether his decision on the summary language was correct. They said the request for a full court review would likely be filed Friday. “If Attorney General Yost’s decision was correct, then the panel’s order is sending an unfair, untruthful summary out to present to voters,” said Bethany McCorkle, the office’s communications director. “Ohio has a compelling interest in a fair and truthful process.”
Republican mega-donor to bankroll pro-Trump super PAC in 2024 rematch with Biden
Former President Donald Trump is getting a major assist from a top Republican mega-donor as he works to close his fundraising deficit with President Biden in their 2024 election rematch. Multi-billionaire Miriam Adelson, the controlling shareholder of the Las Vegas Sands gambling empire, plans to bankroll a pro-Trump super PAC called Preserve America, a source with knowledge of her plans confirmed to Fox News. The super PAC was set up during Trump’s unsuccessful 2020 re-election bid and is being re-launched to help the former president try to win back the White House in 2024. Adelson and her late husband, casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, shelled out roughly $90 million to Preserve America four years ago. The source confirmed that the super PAC plans to increase its expenditures from what it spent in 2020 on behalf of Trump. 2024 SHOWDOWN: TRUMP TOPS BIDEN IN APRIL CAMPAIGN CASH DASH Adelson, who is the largest single owner of Las Vegas Sands and a majority stakeholder in the Dallas Mavericks professional basketball team, is also a physician and philanthropist. She has a net worth of $33.3 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, or $29.5 billion, according to Forbes. Trump has been working for months to win over Adelson, who remained neutral during the 2024 GOP presidential primaries. He met with her twice last year at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, and in Las Vegas, Nevada, as he attended the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual leadership conference. Trump also dined with her in March at Mar-a-Lago and has spoken with her by phone a handful of times, sources confirm. Adelson becomes the latest Republican mega-donor to financially support Trump. Last week, Blackstone CEO Steve Schwarzman said he would back the former president after previously calling for a “new generation of leaders” for the GOP. ONE OF TRUMP’S MOST CONTROVERSIAL CAMPAIGN MANAGERS IS BACK Trump has been aiming to close his fundraising gap with Biden, and in April his campaign and the Republican National Committee for the first time outraised the Biden campaign and the Democratic National Committee. While Trump has stepped up his fundraising, the Biden campaign still enjoyed an $84 million-to-$49 million cash-on-hand advantage at the end of April. Preserve America will be steered by longtime Republican consultant Dave Carney. The hard-charging New Hampshire-based strategist has worked on numerous GOP presidential campaigns over the past four decades and for years has served as a top adviser to three-term Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. “Joe Biden is ruining our country with high prices, open borders and weakness abroad,” Carney argued in a statement. “We’re going to do everything we can to stop him and return President Trump to the White House to put America First once again.” During the 2020 cycle, the super PAC was run by Chris LaCivita, another veteran Republican strategist who currently serves as a top adviser on Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign. Preserve America will become one of a handful of pro-Trump super PACs. The main super PAC has been MAGA Inc., which is being overseen by Trump ally and former adviser Taylor Budowich. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Voters predict outcome of Trump trial on day 2 of deliberations
Bystanders gathered outside the New York City courthouse where former President Trump is facing criminal charges gave their predictions on the trial’s outcome as the jury continued its second day of deliberations. “Trump is 100% not guilty,” said one woman who traveled from Delaware to support Trump, saying it was “so sad” the country had to endure a case like this and referring to presiding Judge Juan Merchan as “evil” and “stupid.” “I pray God will bless Trump. If Trump wins, America wins because these people are very evil. I can’t believe this is happening in America,” she told Fox News Digital. “I pray God will bless Trump. We love Trump. I love God, I love Trump.” WATCH: PROTESTERS CLASH OUTSIDE TRUMP TRIAL COURT. POLICE FORCED TO INTERVENE Another woman who traveled from Florida to show her support for Trump didn’t share what she thought the verdict would ultimately be but was certain, either way, it was making Democrats “look very bad.” “They’re making our country look like a freak show. This is not what our judiciary branch is supposed to be doing. This is ridiculous,” she said. JURY RESUMES DELIBERATIONS IN NY V. TRUMP TRIAL “These charges should never have been brought. Alvin Bragg is a New York attorney. This is supposedly a federal crime. This is out of his wheelhouse. He has no right to bring this case seven years later or whatever it is. They’re laughing at us all across the world. They’re saying this is not America, this isn’t justice. This is a freak show. This is a circus.” She added that the trial was neither hurting nor helping Trump’s campaign because people’s minds “are already made up.” “I hear and see a lot of people that are supporting him. People that you would not think by looking at them that they would be supporting him, but they are. Maybe they’re afraid to come out and say it in public, but I think you can turn New York red,” she said. “Good luck. You look like morons. You’re making us look stupid around the world,” she said of President Biden and Democrats, whom she suggested were, at least partially, behind the prosecution against Trump. “God bless you President Trump. You’ll always be our president. Felon or not, we love you.” One man told Fox he foresaw a hung jury but that it would be a guilty verdict if not. “If there is one person holding out, they’re going to dox the crap out of that person, and they’ll lose their life … not physically, just financially,” he said. “In this case, the crime is so complex because there’s no crime there. They just threw a whole bunch of crap in there, so they had to go over and read all these pages … and it doesn’t go anywhere. So, their decision is going to be based on, like, a coin toss, I guess.” The man said he “100%” believed there would be grounds for an appeal should Trump be convicted. Not all bystanders were there to support Trump, including one native New Yorker who described herself as a “life-long Democrat” and Biden supporter. “I think there is a tremendous amount of evidence that shows there was a crime. The only questionable evidence was Michael Cohen because he has a history of not telling the truth,” the woman told Fox, saying that if she were a member of the jury she would support a conviction. “I would be very disappointed and surprised if there was an acquittal,” she said, adding she was “very concerned” about the possibility of Trump getting re-elected. Jurors were released at 4:30 p.m. Thursday. Earlier in the day, they had Judge Juan Merchan reread the deliberation instructions and listened again to testimony from Michael Cohen and David Pecker. Fox News’ Matteo Cina contributed to this report.
‘Election interference’ claims muddy battleground state politics amid competitive races
FIRST ON FOX: Michigan Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers is firing back at Democrats after they accused him and other Republicans of committing fraud to obtain ballot access. In a letter to the Michigan Board of State Canvassers, a lawyer for Rogers slammed the state Democratic Party and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) over what he said were “reckless and unsubstantiated claims.” Earlier this month, the Democratic Party entities urged the board to investigate potential fraud in the nominating petitions of several Republican Senate primary candidates, including Rogers, who once represented Michigan in the U.S. House. The groups called for “an immediate investigation of the petition sheets submitted by candidates Rogers, [Justin] Amash, [Sandy] Pensler, and [Peter] Meijer, and to invalidate all petition signatures appearing on petition sheets signed by circulators who are found to have engaged in fraud.” SPEAKER JOHNSON PLANS TO INVITE ISRAEL’S NETANYAHU TO MEET WITH CONGRESS SOONER RATHER THAN LATER In calling for the investigations, Michigan Democratic Party Chair Lavora Barnes said in a statement at the time, “The new indications of apparent fraud are deeply concerning and demand immediate action.” “Given that Michigan voters have now submitted declarations stating they did not sign the petitions, the Bureau of Elections and Board of Canvassers must uphold their responsibility to protect the integrity of Michigan’s elections and conduct a full, thorough investigation. The Board of State Canvassers must conclusively determine that the Republican Senate candidates have each submitted 15,000 valid signatures before taking any vote to certify them to appear on the ballot,” she continued. ANTISEMITISM AT YALE, UNIV. OF MICHIGAN TO FACE CONGRESSIONAL SCRUTINY A spokesperson for Rogers claimed in a statement to Fox News Digital that the party entities were engaging in “election interference.” Rogers’ lawyer, Eric E. Doster, urged the board not to accept the petition deniers’ invitation to “engage in voter disenfranchisement,” he wrote in the letter. GOP SEN CALLS FOR CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION INTO TRUMP TRIAL JUDGE OVER GAG ORDERS The Michigan Board of State Canvassers did not provide comment to Fox News Digital in time for publication. “This blatant attempt at election interference is just the latest example of the disdain Democrats hold for Michigan voters and democracy at large,” said Rogers spokesperson Chris Gustafson. The Republican candidate has been endorsed by former President Trump in his primary race, and the campaign has come to his defense in public settings. According to a statement from Trump campaign Michigan spokesperson Victoria LaCivita, “Michigan Democrats have a long track record of election interference and creating systems open to fraud.” BIDEN ADMIN QUESTIONED OVER ABORTION PILL PUSH WITHOUT PROPER ENVIRONMENTAL STUDY “This latest scheme is based on fear of losing to President Trump and his Michigan GOP ticket in November. Using radical liberal lawyer Marc Elias underscores the truth: this is just a sad PR stunt to distract Michigan voters from the real issues at stake this November. Michiganders care about being able to afford gas and groceries and feeling safe in their homes and will see through this smokescreen,” she added. The legal ballot feud comes as Michigan is again poised to be a big battleground state in the upcoming November election. In an April Fox News poll, Trump was up by three points over President Biden in the state, or 49% to 46% among registered voters. Further, with the exit of top incumbent Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., the race for the next Michigan senator is considered competitive, rated as “Lean Democratic” by nonpartisan political handicapper the Cook Political Report. The Republican and Democratic Senate primaries will be held on Aug. 6.