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Here’s who key lawmakers have already endorsed for president ahead of the Iowa caucuses

Here’s who key lawmakers have already endorsed for president ahead of the Iowa caucuses

In just a week, the 2024 Iowa Caucus will commence, where the first votes for the next potential president will be cast.  Being the first state to cast votes for presidential nominees, Iowa’s caucuses set the stage for the entire primary season. Winning or performing strongly in Iowa can generate crucial momentum for candidates, influencing voter perceptions of their viability. More GOP lawmakers in both chambers are rallying behind former President Donald Trump. The endorsements come as there are only a few major GOP candidates left in the running — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Trump. One hundred House Republicans, seven governors and 19 GOP senators have endorsed Trump as of Friday, including Sens. Tom Cotton of Arkansas; JD Vance of Ohio; Rick Scott of Florida; Josh Hawley and Eric Schmitt of Missouri; Lindsey Graham of South Carolina; Ted Budd of North Carolina; Steve Daines of Montana; Roger Marshall of Kansas; Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma; Mike Braun of Indiana; Katie Britt of Alabama; Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty of Tennessee; John Hoeven of North Dakota; and more. Additionally, the entire Minnesota GOP delegation threw in their support for Trump last week. Trump, who was the first major GOP leader to announce his candidacy for 2024, has also secured backing from every GOP member in Alabama’s congressional delegation. Trump remains the commanding front-runner in the Iowa GOP presidential caucus, with his support at 50% or more in the latest surveys. A FOX Business poll indicated Trump at 52%, far ahead of his two closest rivals — DeSantis at 18% and Haley at 16%. The Trump campaign’s ground operation in Iowa is leagues ahead of his 2016 effort, when he narrowly lost the caucuses that year to Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas.  Meanwhile, some Senate Democrats already voiced their support for President Biden last year, including Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts; John Hickenlooper of Colorado; and Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut.  Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., also endorsed Biden last April. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., who is not running for re-election, is not endorsing Biden.  Meanwhile, 72 Iowa public figures, including former political figures like David Oman, who held the position of chief of staff for former Govs. Robert Ray and Terry Branstad, have endorsed Hailey.  Others who endorsed Haley include Christine Hensley, who held the longest tenure on the Des Moines City Council. Doug Gross, a lawyer and former chief of staff for Branstad, also endorsed her, as has Republican New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu. Ramaswamy received the endorsement of controversial former Republican Iowa Rep. Steve King in a post on X last week.  Salem, New Hampshire, GOP Chairman Steve Goddu also endorsed Ramaswamy last year, along with former New Hampshire GOP Senate candidate Kevin Smith. Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.

Illinois elections board to vote on whether Trump can appear on state GOP’s primary ballot

Illinois elections board to vote on whether Trump can appear on state GOP’s primary ballot

The Illinois State Board of Elections (SBE) will hold a vote this month to decide whether to remove former President Donald Trump from the state’s GOP primary ballot after a handful of voters filed a petition claiming he disqualified himself from holding public office. The petition, similar to those filed in more than a dozen other states, cites the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, which prohibits anyone from holding office who previously has taken an oath to defend the Constitution and then later “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” against the country or given “aid or comfort” to its enemies. The 87-page document was signed by five people from across the state and claims that Trump encouraged and supported those who took part in the Capitol protests on January 6, 2021. The SBE is now forced to decide whether Trump will remain an option for Republican voters during the March 19 primary. TRUMP ASKS SUPREME COURT TO KEEP NAME ON COLORADO BALLOT Matt Dietrich, a spokesperson for the Illinois SBE, told Fox News Digital that the case will be assigned to a hearing officer during a special board meeting on January 17. The hearing officer, Dietrich said, is usually an election lawyer, retired judge or a retired member of the Illinois SBE’s executive staff. The hearing officer will be tasked with scheduling hearings on the objection with both parties and providing a recommendation to the SBE’s general counsel. Dietrich said the general counsel will then, in turn, make a recommendation on the matter to the full board, which will hear the case on January 30. “Ultimately the eight appointed members of the Illinois State Board of Elections – four Democrats and four Republicans – sitting as the State Officers Electoral Board vote on objections,” Dietrich explained. “Five votes are required for a board order to take effect, so in the event of a 4-4 vote, no action is considered taken and the objection fails. However, both the objector and candidate have the right to seek judicial review of an unfavorable ruling, so it is possible that any objection may go before the courts.” The primary ballots will be certified by the Illinois SBE at its next meeting on Jan. 11. “Assuming nothing completely unexpected happens between today and then, Trump (and any other presidential candidate who has an objection filed against them) will be certified to the ballot with ‘objection pending’ next to their name,” Dietrich said. That status, however, could change depending on the board’s Jan. 30 vote, Dietrich noted, adding that if it does, the board will issue an amended certification of the ballot. Reacting to the attempt to bar Trump from appearing on the state’s GOP primary ballot, Illinois Republican Party Chairman Don Tracy told Fox News Digital, “We believe the people, not activist courts, should choose who represents them in the White House.” COLORADO VOTERS SEEKING TRUMP BALLOT BAN FILE RESPONSE IN EFFORT TO SPEED UP SUPREME COURT DECISION Noting that the Illinois GOP is “strictly neutral in the Republican presidential primary,” Tracy said the “attempt to remove President Trump from the ballot without due process is an anti-democracy attempt to limit the voting rights of Illinois citizens and should be dismissed outright.” The Illinois Democratic Party did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on the matter. Dietrich said that objections to presidential candidates who filed for the state’s primary ballot can be filed until 5 p.m. on Jan. 12. Several candidates had petitions filed this week to appear on the state’s Republican and Democrat presidential primary ballots, including incumbent President Biden, Trump, former South Carolina Republican Gov. Nikki Haley, and Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. Candidates who filed first thing Thursday, as reported by the Chicago Tribune, earned a chance for the top ballot spot. Candidates who waited until 4 p.m. Friday to file earned a chance for the bottom spot. Officials in Colorado and Maine have already banned Trump’s name from primary election ballots. Trump asked the Supreme Court on Wednesday to overturn the Colorado Supreme Court ruling from December that stripped his name from the state’s ballot. In a statement to Fox News, Trump’s team said that if he is prevented from being on the Colorado ballot, it would be the first time in history such a thing has happened. “Over 74 million Americans voted for President Trump in the 2020 general election, including more than 1.3 million voters in the State of Colorado,” Trump’s team said. “Yet, on December 19, 2023, the Colorado Supreme Court ordered President Trump removed from the presidential primary ballot — a ruling that, if allowed to stand, will mark the first time in the history of the United States that the judiciary has prevented voters from casting ballots for the leading major-party presidential candidate.” Following the filing of Trump’s appeal, it was revealed Friday evening that the high court would take up the case and set arguments for Feb. 8. On Tuesday, Trump appealed the decision to remove him from Maine’s Republican primary ballot. That appeal now heads to the Supreme Judicial Court of Maine. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub. Fox News’ Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, Louis Casiano, Bill Mears, and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Latino Senate hopeful says Hispanic voters being ‘blindsided’ by Dem policies, aims to flip border seat red

Latino Senate hopeful says Hispanic voters being ‘blindsided’ by Dem policies, aims to flip border seat red

EXCLUSIVE: Ben Luna, a conservative Latino activist and Republican candidate running to flip New Mexico’s Democrat-held Senate seat, told Fox News Digital this week that Hispanic voters are being “blindsided” by Democrat policies that don’t align with their values as a community. Luna, a political outsider who has never held elected office, has served for the past year as the state director for the New Mexico LEXIT movement, a faith-based organization aimed at educating and empowering Latino Americans with conservative values to leave the Democrat Party. He believes Latinos are “being awakened” to just how contrasting their values are to the policies being pushed by Democrats, and that such a shift could lead New Mexico, a state with a population made up of nearly 50% Hispanics, to flip red in November. BORDER STATE CANDIDATES ISSUE STARK WARNING TO FELLOW REPUBLICANS ABOUT CEDING TO DEMS ON UKRAINE: ‘BUCKLE UP’ “The big reason is forcing trans ideologies, and forcing it in schools. That is a deal-breaker for every parent, but especially for Latinos and Hispanics throughout the nation,” Luna said when asked why Latinos were abandoning Democrats, who have traditionally been able to depend on getting a large portion of the community’s support. “Once you come in, and you have almost, in a sense, bridged the gap to violate the conscience of our children — once you do that, the only result we will ever live with is that you never have access to our children ever again,” he said. Recent polling suggests Republicans are continuing to gain ground with Latinos, a trend that first gained widespread attention in 2021. One poll even showed President Biden, who won 59% of the Latino vote in 2020, trailing former President Donald Trump in a hypothetical 2024 rematch among the demographic. POLL REVEALS ALARMING LEVEL OF FEAR OF WHETHER 2024 ELECTIONS WILL BE ‘FAIR,’ BALLOT COUNTING ACCURATE According to Luna, Democrats have created what he called a “nonstop movement” that won’t end until those implementing such policies are voted out of office and the education system is fixed. “That’s the dangerous part, and if you kind of look at the parallels of history, that’s what communists did, that’s what socialists did. They got access to the children and forced their ideologies and then produced a generation that they could use in the future. And that’s what we’re seeing in the streets of America,” he said. Luna said one of the movement’s priorities was to reach Democrats in Albuquerque, a stronghold for the party, as well as in the northern parts of the state, and share information about what legislation Democrats are actually supporting, something he says often goes unseen and unheard of. BIDEN CONTINUES BLEEDING SUPPORT FROM KEY VOTER GROUPS AS DEMS SOUND ALARM OVER 2024: POLL “Once they hear about it, they’re like, ‘My party passed that?’ Then they start to distance themselves. We almost have instant volunteers,” he added. Although elections analysts and party pollsters view New Mexico as a safe seat for Democrats, Luna argues results of recent elections in the state show victory well within reach for Republicans. “Something very, very interesting that happened in 2022 is we lost a lot of state House seats by less than 100 votes, and that was because they shut down our economy. [Democrats] stopped everything here. We had some of the worst Draconian policies and mandates being forced on New Mexicans,” he said, referencing the COVID-19 pandemic. Luna claimed such policies drove people to leave New Mexico, and that topping them now with transgender ideology and bypassing parental consent would drive those still in the state toward Republicans. BATTLEGROUND STATE POSES BIDEN’S TOUGHEST 2024 CHALLENGE IN POTENTIAL TRUMP REMATCH “I always say this about Republican states and blue states: We in blue states have a lot to fight for. Like we have a lot. And it’s nobody fighting for us. We have to stand for ourselves,” he said. Luna told Fox that he intends to bring his knowledge of, and high esteem for, America’s founding principles to office if elected, and that he would focus heavily on securing the southern border amid the massive influx of migrants under the Biden administration. “I think the biggest issue is really our border … With Texas fortifying their borders and then Arizona doing their best as well, it makes us wide open, like a funnel. And so we get a lot of the crime that comes along with the drug pushing,” he said.  “If we don’t have borders, then we’re technically not a nation. And from seeing what happened to Israel by just only a thousand that came across their border, a lot of people are actually bracing themselves for something to happen in New Mexico and America,” he said.  Luna currently faces no other major candidates in the race for the Republican Senate nomination, and would likely face incumbent two-term Democrat Sen. Martin Heinrich in the general election. The primary is scheduled for June 4, and the filing deadline for candidates to enter the race is Feb. 6. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Ex-AOC aide lined pockets with nearly $140K from his PAC while spending little on its mission

Ex-AOC aide lined pockets with nearly 0K from his PAC while spending little on its mission

A former top aide to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, D-N.Y., funneled six figures in donor funds from his political action committee into his own pockets for reported consulting work, all while spending minimal amounts on the PAC’s actual mission. Corbin Trent, who previously acted as a top aide to Ocasio-Cortez and helped propel her into office, formed the No Excuses PAC after his departure as her communications director in 2019 and exiting her campaign in 2020.  Trent launched No Excuses in 2021 with the goal of nuking the Senate filibuster by targeting senators Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Kirsten Sinema, I-Ariz. But a recent report shows that No Excuses barely spent money on its stated endeavors. AOC’S PAC FUNNELED THOUSANDS TO ORG FINANCING DISRUPTIVE CLIMATE PROTEST GROUPS Instead, Trent paid himself nearly $140,000 for reported communication and management consulting between February 2021 and September 2023, which is shown in Federal Election Commission filings.  During this time, Trent’s group spent just $14,831 on radio ad buys targeting Manchin and Sinema, meaning his PAC had paid him ten times more for reported consulting services than it spent on its stated goals, the publication noted. Trent, who did not respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment, told the Daily Beast he earned the money from television appearances, which he said furthered the PAC’s mission. However, the publication noted that he had made consistent payments to himself even when he did not appear on television.  Before acting as an adviser to Ocasio-Cortez and later forming No Excuses, Trent co-founded Justice Democrats, which was instrumental in pushing her into power.  AOC’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. FORMER AOC AIDE: ‘OLD AS S–T, INEFFECTIVE’ BIDEN COULD LEAD DEMS TOWARD 1992-STYLE ELECTION TURMOIL No Excuses has pivoted away from the filibuster to what appears to be persuading President Biden not to run for a second term and is asking for donations to do so. “President Biden, you’ve accomplished more in three years than most two-term presidents,” No Excuses says in the ad it posted to X. “But battleground state voters say they’ll vote for Trump if you’re the Democratic nominee. “If you attempt to cling to power, your legacy will be Donald Trump’s final destruction of our democracy,” the ad continues. “If you step aside, however, you’ll be remembered as one of the greatest presidents in history. Thank you, Joe. But now it’s time to go.” No Excuses reported just over $1,500 in the bank in its most recent filings and would not tell the Daily Beast how much it has raised to this day. 

Illinois gun groups report confusion, ‘civil disobedience’ after deadline passes to register ‘assault’ weapons

Illinois gun groups report confusion, ‘civil disobedience’ after deadline passes to register ‘assault’ weapons

Illinois gun groups are reporting confusion from gun owners as the state pushes for them to register “assault” weapons under the state’s new ban. Jan. 1 marked the deadline for Illinoisans to register their assault weapons with the state before the ban signed by Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker takes effect on Jan. 10. However, of the over 2.4 million Firearm Owner Identification (FOID) cardholders, there have only been 112,350 disclosures filed as of Dec. 31, 2023, according to state police data. Another 29,357 disclosures were in the process of being completed.  ILLINOIS ENACTS 320 NEW STATE LAWS, INCLUDING BAN ON SEMI-AUTOMATIC WEAPONS AND INDOOR VAPING Second Amendment advocacy groups told Fox News Digital that there is “confusion” among gun owners in the state due to the vagueness of the new law. Dan Eldridge, president of the Federal Firearms Licensees of Illinois lobby group, told Fox News Digital that “one of the aspects” of the noncompliance is simply “ignorance of the law.” Eldridge said “the confusion is that nobody can tell you what’s covered by this act.” For example, one county prosecutor posted a notice that by Jan. 1, everyone must register their assault weapon and high capacity magazines — but Eldridge noted that magazines “aren’t required to be registered.” “Nor could they be,” Eldridge said. “They have no serial number.” “Then more recently, you had this governor stating on camera that automatic and semi-automatic firearms and high capacity magazines must be registered,” he said. “Well, automatic is not mentioned once in the act, and as we talked about just a second ago, magazines aren’t covered, so, well, one out of three is pretty good for this governor on anything gun related.” Eldridge also said “civil disobedience” is another factor at play with the low registration numbers. “Almost every sheriff and most of the county state’s attorneys have stated they will not enforce this act,” he said. “So residents of those counties had very little incentive to register.” A spokesperson for the Illinois State Police (ISP) told Fox News Digital that “not every FOID cardholder owns a gun,” which Eldridge disputed. “The state police don’t know how many FOID cardholders are firearms owners, but I think it’s safe to say that most individuals are not going to go through the time, expense and invasive background check to get a FOID card if they don’t intend to purchase a firearm,” he said. “So I would reject that and say that the 2.4 million is a pretty good proxy for how many firearms owners there are in the state. That 112,000 number is also incorrect, and what you have to look at is how many individuals are disclosing. And in that case, you’re talking about 29,357 people.” “This thing is a dog’s breakfast of a public act,” Eldridge added. “It was a late-night gut-and-replace text of an insurance bill that violated all the public notice provisions of the state constitution.” John Boch, executive director of the Illinois Second Amendment advocacy group Guns Save Life, told Fox News Digital that while “thousands have registered their self-defense firearms…. MILLIONS have not.” “The 98.8% non-compliance speaks volumes for what the average gun owner thinks about gun registration schemes,” Boch said. “Why the low compliance?” he continued. “We all know that confiscation follows registration.” Boch said that “there is confusion” with the ban and that plenty of gun owners “remain completely unaware that they own guns that are supposed to be registered.” “The State Police didn’t mail out anything to FOID cardholders, nor did they even email everyone to let them know about their obligations to remain completely legal,” Boch said. “Due to the vagueness in both the law and the ISP’s rules that don’t follow the language in the law, many people aren’t sure what they need to do,” he continued. “We suspect that many people have registered guns that didn’t need to be registered, for instance a Glock pistol that comes with standard capacity magazines over 15 rounds,” he added. Ted Riva, president of the Dewitt County Sportsman’s Club in Illinois, told Fox News Digital the group’s opinion is that the lack of compliance is “a glaring slap in the face to the governor and his traitorous cronies.” “The compliance numbers are low because law-abiding gun owners are sick and tired of being blamed and punished for the actions of criminals,” Riva said. “We have reached a point where we are no longer willing to accept our constitutionally guaranteed rights being trampled on by politicians that swore an oath to uphold that same constitution.” “‘Shall not be infringed’ [is] pretty plain and simple wording,” he added. Riva said there “have been several people that have asked questions about the law itself” and that the “[state’s] rush to implement this illegal piece of trash has left too many questions to answer and continues to confuse law-abiding citizens all across the state.” Gun Owners of America senior vice president Erich Pratt told Fox News Digital, “There’s no doubt a portion of Illinois gun owners are completely unaware they are about to be in violation of this new law.” “However, what stands out even more is the significant likelihood of blatant civil disobedience,” he continued. “To draw inspiration from the wise words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., we recognize a moral obligation to challenge laws that are deemed unconstitutional.” Gun Owners of America is the lead on one of the lawsuits challenging the ban. Fox News Digital reached out to Pritzker’s office for comment. Illinois state police said Wednesday that they would not bring charges to state residents who register their property after the deadline.

State of the race: Are Iowa expectations too high for Trump and DeSantis?

State of the race: Are Iowa expectations too high for Trump and DeSantis?

Former President Donald Trump is back in Iowa this weekend, picking up his pace on the campaign trail with just over a week to go until the state’s Jan. 15 caucuses kick off the Republican presidential nominating calendar. His message to his supporters: “We don’t want to sit back and rely on the polls.” The former president’s the frontrunner for the GOP nomination as he makes his third straight White House run. Trump made history earlier this year as the first former or current president to be indicted for a crime, but his four indictments, including charges he tried to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss, have only fueled his support among Republican voters. FIRST ON FOX: INFLUENTIAL CONSERVATIVE GROUP LAUNCHES MASSIVE AD BLITZ ON BEHALF OF HALEY In the latest polls in Iowa, he stands at or above 50% support, miles ahead of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former United Nations Ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who are battling for a distant second place. “We’re leading by 30 to 40 points,” Trump has told supporters. But Trump, who skipped out on the first four GOP presidential primary debates and who until recently kept a light schedule on the campaign trail in Iowa and the early voting states, isn’t sitting back on his large lead. “The poll numbers are scary because we’re leading by so much,” Trump told supporters at a rally in Waterloo, Iowa, just before Christmas. “We can put this to bed after Iowa. We’ve got to be sure that we put this thing away. … You gotta show up. Even if you think we’re going to win by a lot. You gotta show up.” The Trump campaign shifted into higher gear a few weeks ago, training close to 2,000 caucus captains in precincts across the state.  “Their sole job is to run each individual caucus that takes place and making sure that the list of the targeted voters supporting President Trump show up,” Trump campaign senior adviser Chris LaCivita told Fox News last month. GOP NOMINATION RACE: WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES FOR DONALD TRUMP The Trump campaign’s ground game operation in Iowa is leagues ahead of his 2016 effort, when he narrowly lost the caucuses to Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas.  “Ted Cruz won in 2016 because his ground game was fantastic,” Iowa GOP Chair Jeff Kaufmann, who remains neutral in the Republican nomination race, told Fox News. And pointing to the 2024 Trump campaign, Kaufmann emphasized “their ground game has increased immensely.” Trump and his campaign team are aiming for an overwhelming victory in Iowa as part of their plan to wrap up the nomination race as quickly as possible and pivot to a general election rematch with President Biden. Their major concern is complacency. Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird, a top Trump surrogate, told Fox News that she is a “caucus captain myself in Guthrie County. I will be there at the caucus helping rally votes for President Trump on caucus night. We have to stay focused, and our people have to show up. The support is strong, it’s there, but we have to show up.” Another concern for Trump and his campaign is making sure they match or beat expectations, which may be inflated due to his commanding lead in the polls in Iowa and in national surveys. Trump, aware of the expectations he faces, took aim at a familiar target — the media. “If we win in a massive number, but if it’s a little bit less than that, they’ll say, ‘Oh, he didn’t beat expectations,’” Trump told his supporters. Longtime Republican strategist David Kochel told Fox News last month Trump is “driving his own expectations up. … It’s all expectations, and Trump’s are sky-high.” “If he’s under 50%, it’s a problem for him given his poll average now is well over 50,” argued Kochel, a veteran of numerous GOP presidential campaigns nationally and in Iowa. WAR OF WORDS BETWEEN HALEY AND DESANTIS REACHES FEVER PITCH Seasoned Iowa-based Republican strategist Jimmy Centers said if Trump “wins by more than 20 points, and he’s over 50%, my goodness, this thing is over before it even begun.” “But if it’s under 15 points, then I think we have a race if the field consolidates,” added Centers, a veteran of multiple presidential campaigns and gubernatorial and congressional campaigns. He served as communications director for former Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad and current Gov. Kim Reynolds. Trump isn’t the only candidate battling expectations. DeSantis, who’s staked his shot at the nomination on a strong showing in Iowa, has predicted a victory in the Hawkeye State. “We’re going to win here in Iowa,” he told Fox News Digital on the campaign trail in the eastern part of the state the week before Christmas. And he predicted the caucuses “will be very clarifying in terms of who is a real deal and who’s not. So, we look forward to that.” Asked if he’ll move on to New Hampshire, which votes second in the GOP calendar, regardless of his finish in Iowa, DeSantis quickly said, “Of course. Yeah, absolutely. Of course.” Centers told Fox News that “to march on to New Hampshire and make a strong case, Gov. DeSantis needs to finish in second place.” Haley, who has enjoyed plenty of momentum in recent weeks, catching up to DeSantis in Iowa and in national polls and narrowing the gap with Trump in New Hampshire, has been careful to temper expectations. Asked where she needs to finish in Iowa and New Hampshire, Haley reiterated in a Fox News Digital interview this week that “I need to be strong in Iowa, strong in New Hampshire, strong in South Carolina. That’s what I intend to do.” But Republican Gov. Chris Sununu of New Hampshire, Haley’s top surrogate, the next day appeared to raise expectations. “We know Trump is going to win the caucus in Iowa,” Sununu said at a Haley campaign event in Londonderry, New Hampshire. “But, again, Nikki coming