Trump says ‘we are looking into’ other Dan Sullivan on Alaska ballot, warns about governor’s race
President Donald Trump says federal authorities are “looking into” Dan Sullivan, an independent challenger who goes by the same name as the Republican incumbent, Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, in the Alaska Senate race. Trump made the statement in an interview with Fox News after a campaign rally in Alaska on Tuesday night. He suggested the second Sullivan’s presence in the race was a “hoax” by Democrats to siphon voters away from the Republican candidate. “We are looking, I can’t say federal, but we are looking into it. It’s a disgrace. We have, I call him the real Dan Sullivan, a great senator from Alaska. And in the race, they put somebody named Dan Sullivan who knows nothing about politics. His name happens to be Dan Sullivan. They even wanted to change his middle initial, which was different. They wanted to make it an S so that it could be exactly correct. I think it’s just terrible that they did it,” Trump said. SEEING DOUBLE: SECOND DAN SULLIVAN ADVANCES, SETTING UP BIZARRE ALASKA SENATE BALLOT “And actually, he got two points or something in the primary. The real Dan Sullivan won it, but … It’s a terrible thing. It’s another hoax by the Democrats,” he added. Trump also weighed in on the gubernatorial race in Alaska, where he has endorsed GOP candidate Bernadette Wilson. Other GOP candidates have been hangers-on in the race, despite Wilson winning the primary. Trump called on her Republican competitor, Dave Bronson, to drop out of the race. “He doesn’t have to, but he should, because, frankly, he lost in the primary by substantial numbers to Bernadette. And I’m not involved that much in, you know, Alaska politics, other than I want to see Dan and Nick get in. But she won in the primaries, and the others should have dropped out. So now you have three Republicans running against one Democrat. And I don’t like that. I don’t like those odds very much. But there, she’s great, and maybe she’ll get in, but I thought I had an obligation to endorse her,” Trump said. Trump went on to criticize the Democrat in the race, Mary Peltola, following her criticism that Sullivan had voted in favor of the war in Iran. GOP SENATOR, EX-HOUSE DEM EMERGE FROM ALASKA’S ‘JUNGLE PRIMARY’ DESPITE FAR-LEFT MEDDLING The president argued Americans understand that increased prices at the pump are a “small price to pay” to prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. “Can you imagine if they attacked our cities, and they attacked places where we are, including right here in Alaska? You would see turmoil far greater. We have a lot of oil flowing right now in the almost strait, we control it. The war is going to be over very, very soon. We’re going to have a big victory very shortly. Very, very shortly, and oil is going to come way, way down. Gasoline is going to come down to where it was before,” Trump said. “I had it down to $1.85 a gallon in some places like Iowa and a lot of places, actually. And I think we’re going to maybe even top those numbers. So you’re going to see it. But most importantly, Iran, the number-one state sponsor of terror, will never have a nuclear weapon. If they had one, you might not be standing here right now,” he added.
New York governor debate heats up as Blakeman, Hochul spar over Trump, sanctuary status, ICE shooting
The New York gubernatorial race heated up Tuesday as Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman clashed on the debate stage, with the pair trading jabs over President Donald Trump, a recent ICE-involved shooting and inflation. The debate opened with the candidates being asked about the conduct of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which last week drew outrage in New York City following the shooting of a 28-year-old Dominican national whom the Department of Homeland Security said refused to comply with lawful orders during a targeted operation in the Bronx. A 5-year-old boy inside Oscar Bergal’s vehicle was unharmed. “Kathy Hochul appealed to ICE to let this criminal out. The question that New Yorkers have to ask is what was this guy doing in New York in the first place? It’s because Kathy Hochul has made us a sanctuary state,” said Blakeman, a Republican. “Think about it. This guy came into the country illegally. He’s been convicted of a crime. He’s got pending charges for dealing drugs, poison to our children. And he’s a gangbanger. This is who Kathy Hochul is defending?” Blakeman continued. “I have a cooperative agreement with ICE until Kathy Hochul said we could no longer cooperate with ICE. We got over 2,000 illegal migrants out of my county with criminal records ranging from rape, attempted murder, robbery, burglary, drug dealing, carjacking, gang activity. And that’s because we cooperated with ICE, and we didn’t raid one school, one hospital, one daycare center or one church. If you cooperate with federal law enforcement, it makes for a safer community. That’s what I did. Kathy Hochul is taking that ability away from us. That’s why things like this happen.” Hochul called Blakeman’s response a “non-answer,” because “he refused to condemn what ICE did.” “So he basically says in the state of New York, he’d be fine if ICE agents shoot into cars, shoot guns into vehicles, not knowing who’s inside and could have killed a 5-year-old child. If that doesn’t shock the conscience of everybody — and it should shock his conscience as well — that he says, that’s OK, that’s how ICE is supposed to do it,” Hochul added. “I’ll tell you what. I oversee over 500 policing agencies in the state of New York, over half a million arrests every year. That’s not how you conduct yourself. ICE is out of control. It’s out of control in Nassau County.” Blakeman pushed back, saying, “it never would have happened” but for Hochul’s “sanctuary policy.” “You have invited criminals to come into our state and prey on our communities. And now you won’t let local law enforcement cooperate with ICE in an orderly way, like we did in my county,” Blakeman added. “We didn’t have any incidents in my county because we were allowed to cooperate with local law enforcement. But you took that tool away. The reason why that happened is because of you, Kathy Hochul, and your immigration policies, where you actually invite people into our state, give them free everything, and you don’t care whether they’re criminals or not. That’s a bad policy.” As part of her rebuttal, Hochul said, “I have a right to answer this one because this is so absurd. I have said, from the president on down, I said, New York is not a sanctuary for criminals, not a sanctuary for criminals. Full stop.” The two candidates also clashed over Trump and the state of the U.S. economy. “He promised to cut energy costs. He promised to cut down grocery costs. And you know what? Everything has happened under your friend, Donald Trump, who you are the president of the fan club for Donald Trump. It’s absurd how adoring you are of him. My gosh,” Hochul told Blakeman. “Well, what he has done is raise gasoline prices and energy prices and the cost of tariffs have driven up everything in the state. If you bought groceries lately, my God, the people are suffering. And that didn’t have to be the case. Why are we at war with the rest of the world?” “You like to talk about Donald Trump all the time, because you don’t want to talk about your record,” Blakeman responded. “I’m talking about my record right now,” Hochul said. “Because it’s a record of misery and failure,” Blakeman continued. “The highest taxes, utility rates that are 70% higher than the national average. But let me say something about Donald Trump. Donald Trump is my friend. He’s endorsed me. But so is Bonnie Lautenberg, a liberal Democrat whose husband, Frank, served in the United States Senate and was a pillar of the Democratic Party. Actor Debra Messing, who is a liberal Democrat who supports me because she trusts me to make safer communities, improve the quality of life here in New York.” “Alright, you got two votes,” Hochul said. “Good for you.”
Bipartisan senators demand Trump scrap Russia diesel deal, call it ‘betrayal’ of US allies
A bipartisan group of senators is urging Donald Trump to scrap his recently announced diesel deal with Russia, warning it could help President Vladimir Putin finance his war against Ukraine and calling the agreement “a gift to our adversary and a betrayal of our Allies.” “The Treasury Department’s General License No. 135, which lifts sanctions on Russia’s diesel exports, only provides Putin with more fuel to finance his war machine and enables Russia to continue its brutal attacks on Ukrainian civilians. Granting Moscow the ability to sell Russian diesel freely in global markets damages American security interests and is a betrayal of the people of Ukraine, who continue to defend themselves from Putin’s murderous, illegal war. This deal is a gift to our adversary and a betrayal of our Allies; it should be rescinded,” the senators asserted in the missive. The letter, which also includes a note of cc to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, is signed by GOP Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Susan Collins of Maine, Alan Stuart Armstrong of Oklahoma, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and John Cornyn of Texas, as well as Democratic Sens. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Dick Durbin of Illinois, Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, Jack Reed of Rhode Island and Chris Coons of Delaware. REPUBLICAN LAWMAKERS BREAK WITH TRUMP ON DIESEL DEAL WITH RUSSIA “We also recognize the urgent need to lower energy costs for American families and address the disruptions caused by the war with Iran. However, allowing Russian-origin diesel into global markets will offer limited to no relief to Americans. It will have a negligible impact on fuel prices, but the revenues the Kremlin will receive from this agreement will undoubtedly finance its desired war of attrition and advance its security cooperation with China, Iran, and North Korea. It will also endanger servicemembers operating overseas in support of Operation Epic Fury,” the senators declared in their message. “Putin is a tyrant. Withdraw from this agreement, rescind General License No. 135, and execute the authorities provided under the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026. Maintain our legacy – and the duty America holds – as leader of the free world,” they urged. TRUMP RUSSIA DEAL COULD FUEL PUTIN’S WAR, EX-NATO COMMANDER WARNS AS ZELENSKYY SAYS ‘NYET’ When asked during a gaggle on Tuesday whether he had been told that Russia would not utilize diesel money for bombs to use against Ukraine, Trump said no one “told me anything. That’s a diesel deal not for us. That’s being released into the world. That’s not being released to us. That’s a diesel deal that’s gonna be released into the world for the world market, because the world market suffered with high prices,” he said. “But they’re not releasing that to us, they’re releasing it to the entire world.” The senators’ message to the president comes after Trump, in a Truth Social post on Friday, announced, “I have just concluded a highly successful discussion with President Vladimir Putin, of Russia, wherein it was agreed that Russia will immediately supply over 300,000 Tons of Diesel Fuel to the American and Global Marketplace, another 500,000 Tons during the month of November, and 1,000,000 Tons immediately thereafter. Additionally, based on the condition of their Diesel Refineries, Russia will then deliver, within a short period of time, 3,000,000 Tons of Diesel Fuel. TRUMP SAYS RUSSIA HAS AGREED TO DELIVER MILLIONS IN DIESEL FUEL AFTER ‘HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL DISCUSSION’ “Between our TOTAL CONTROL of the Strait of Hormuz, and this great announcement on Russian Energy, Diesel Prices for Americans and, indeed, the World, will be COMING DOWN, IN RECORD NUMBERS, AND FAST! Lower prices for Americans, especially our Great Farmers, Ranchers, and Truckers, is my Greatest Priority. This is a very big and important announcement. Additionally, it must be understood, that Iran will not have a Nuclear Weapon!” the president declared in the post.
Battleground Republicans break with Trump on key issues in final midterm sprint
Battleground Republicans are breaking from President Donald Trump with increasing frequency as Election Day draws closer and the party fights to protect its congressional majorities. With just three weeks until voters head to the polls to decide who controls Congress for the latter half of Trump’s term, some Republicans are putting distance between themselves and Trump as the party faces significant political headwinds. Veteran GOP strategist Doug Heye told Fox News Digital that such a strategy at this juncture was “not a surprise.” “It happens in midterms when presidents aren’t popular,” Heye said. “Add to that the more outlandish things he’s done — often on things that have nothing to do with lowering costs, ending the war with Iran, etc. — this was bound to happen.” TRUMP VANISHES FROM GOP SENATOR’S CAMPAIGN WEBSITE AS POLL NUMBERS PLUNGE WEEKS BEFORE ELECTION It’s a similar situation to what’s played out with past presidents during a midterm election year, most recently with former President Joe Biden in 2022. And the Republican National Committee (RNC) is arguing that the party is united behind Trump, while conceding that GOP candidates have individual stakes. “Unlike the Democrats who are in a full-blown civil war with extremists, Republicans remain united behind the president’s agenda of cutting taxes, lowering drug costs and securing our communities. We are laser-focused on winning, and our candidates will run the races necessary to best represent their districts and prevent Democrats from taking control,” RNC spokeswoman Natalie Baldessarre said. And running their own races is what several are notably doing, balancing individuality with their support for Trump and the GOP base. At least two House Republicans, Reps. Jen Kiggans, R-Va., and Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., have touted conflict with Trump in advertisements. TRUMP-LINKED SUPER PAC PULLS FUNDING FROM 2 HOUSE REPUBLICANS AS GOP FIGHTS TO KEEP MAJORITY Kiggans is out with a new ad touting herself as “one of the most bipartisan members of Congress,” who has taken on her “own party to protect jobs, and working with Democrats to save healthcare.” One visual referenced a news article that said, “Kiggans bucks Trump on offshore wind.” Meanwhile, Lawler recently released an advertisement in which he highlighted taking on “the left and the right,” followed by a clip of Trump calling him a “pain in the a–” on state and local tax deduction issues. But for many, like Lawler, it’s a balancing act of trying to keep Trump and the GOP base happy, while courting independent voters. White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said, “No one can dispute the fact that President Trump has created one of the most robust coalitions in political history with the MAGA movement, and the president understands how to communicate with them.” “President Trump is the unequivocal leader, best messenger and unmatched motivator for the Republican Party, and he is committed to maintaining Republican majorities in Congress,” Ingle told Fox News Digital. “The president signed the largest working-class tax cuts in history, lowered the cost of prescription drugs, sealed the border, drove violent crime to the lowest level in nearly a century, unleashed an energy revolution, added more than a million private-sector jobs and sent Americans’ 401(k)s climbing to record highs,” Ingle continued. “The choice has never been more clear: doubling down on President Trump’s winning, commonsense agenda or the Democrats’ extreme liberal policies and obstruction.” Still, the political tightrope was on full display when Lawler appeared on stage at Trump’s midterm convention in September, when he noted he and the president didn’t “always agree.” He told Fox News Digital at the convention, “I fundamentally believe if you want to get things done, you have to be able to work with whoever the president is. And it’s why I’ve consistently been rated among the most bipartisan and effective members of Congress.” Former Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., and Sen. John Husted, R-Ohio, also notably appeared at Trump’s convention in Dallas. They have, however, split from Trump on some key issues in an effort to show daylight between themselves and the president. CAN THE ‘BEST SHOWMAN IN POLITICS’ DELIVER AGAIN? GOP BETS ON TRUMP AT HISTORIC MIDTERM CONVENTION They have called for an end to the Iran war and have diverged from Trump on data centers — the president declared on Truth Social shortly after the midterm convention that “the only reason that communities throughout the U.S.A. should not want Data Centers is if they want to end up being backwards and poor.” But it’s a key sticking point for several Republicans on the trail who recognize the bad optics the hulking, windowless behemoths have with voters. Many, including Husted and Rogers, don’t believe it’s an issue that the federal government should have total dominion over. “What we’ve said is there should be a moratorium until we get all of the voters’ decisions and questions answered,” Rogers told Fox News Digital during the convention. “These are big decisions. I don’t think there should be a federal ban, because if the federal government can ban it, it can also tell you have to have one.” Another vulnerable GOP lawmaker who broke from Trump on the issue of data centers is Rep. Tom Barrett, R-Mich., who has maintained that it should be a decision for local governments whether to allow such facilities in their backyards. “When you have people colluding with these corporations to come in and build a data center, before people in the community even know about it, because of these non-disclosure agreements, I think that violates the trust that people have or don’t have with their local officials right now,” Barrett said on Fox News’ “The Big Weekend Show.” Barrett is also one of a small handful of House Republicans who has consistently voted against the U.S. operation in Iran without congressional approval. The Middle East conflict has gained a steady stream of GOP opposition the longer it’s gone on, as evidenced by the growing number of Republicans voting for Democrats’ war powers resolutions in the House. Among them is Rep.
The Iran war’s unexpected impact on US defenses against China threat downplayed by top Army leader
Amid growing concerns that the Iran war is drawing away critical U.S. defenses from China’s doorstep, the Army’s top commander in the Pacific says the forces are using this unexpected opportunity to modernize. Gen. Ronald Clark, commander of U.S. Army Pacific, provided his assessment that diverting Patriot missile defenses to the Iran war has not increased risk to forces in the Indo-Pacific despite concerns about deployments impacting America’s readiness for potential conflict with China. “Actually, it’s given us an opportunity to modernize our systems here,” Clark told Fox News Digital during a small-group interview at the Association of the United States Army’s annual conference in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. Patriot systems have been redeployed from the Indo-Pacific to support operations in the Middle East, while U.S. forces in South Korea have also sent Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptors to the region. An October Congressional Research Service report cited estimates that U.S. forces had expended roughly 1,700 Patriot and 200 THAAD interceptors during the conflict, while the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the military had used between half and two-thirds of certain interceptor inventories. The Pentagon’s inspector general has cited strategic inventory shortfalls and manufacturing bottlenecks stemming from the conflict, raising questions about how quickly the U.S. could replenish its defenses in the event of another major confrontation. Clark said the deployments are giving Patriot crews firsthand experience defending against enemy attacks, while equipment upgrades are expanding what individual batteries can accomplish. He said an upgraded Patriot battery can now provide coverage that previously required an entire battalion, though he did not specify whether he was referring to geographic coverage or the number of threats the system can engage. Asked whether recent diplomatic progress between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping had changed his assessment of the threat from China, Clark said he believes the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is continuing its build-up. “Well, I believe they’re continuing to prepare,” Clark said. XI PREPARES CHINA ‘FOR BATTLE’ AS EXPERT WARNS OF GRAVE DANGER FACING US AHEAD OF DC SUMMIT The assessment comes weeks after Trump welcomed Xi to Washington for a high-profile state visit that produced new trade agreements and commitments to improve military communications. But the diplomatic progress has not resolved tensions over Taiwan and China’s growing military reach across the Indo-Pacific, where American commanders continue preparing for a potential conflict. Clark did not say whether China’s military preparations had accelerated or whether diplomatic outreach had changed Beijing’s intentions. He emphasized that the U.S. military’s responsibility is to remain ready for a potential conflict while working to prevent one. TAIWAN ANALYSTS SAY TRUMP-XI SUMMIT PRODUCED NO POLICY SHIFT BUT REAL TEST LIES AHEAD “Hopefully my legacy in this job is that when we walk away from command of USARPAC, that the deterrent posture of our command is such that we have not just prevented war, but we’re preventing war in the future,” Clark said. Clark said Adm. Samuel Paparo, commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, recently discussed reviving disaster-management exchanges between the U.S. Army and China’s PLA during talks with his Chinese counterpart. The exchanges would provide an opportunity for American and Chinese military personnel to work together on disaster response, restoring a channel of direct engagement that Clark said he hoped to see revived. “If you’re able to have a conversation with your adversaries, you’re able to share information with them in a way that makes them not want to fight,” Clark said. He said U.S. Army Pacific would be responsible for coordinating the exchanges with its Chinese counterparts if the effort moves forward. He did not announce a date or say that Beijing had formally agreed to resume the program. The U.S. and Chinese militaries have periodically conducted disaster-management exchanges in the past, including an event hosted by the Army at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state in 2017. “The cost of going to war is just so high that it’s our duty to, one, be absolutely prepared for that eventuality, but two, to prevent that from happening,” Clark said. The diplomatic outreach comes amid continued confrontations between Chinese and Philippine forces in the South China Sea. As Fox News Digital previously reported, the Philippines tracked 101 Chinese navy and coast guard vessels around disputed waters in September, nearly double the number recorded in August. More recently, Philippine authorities accused Chinese forces of obstructing maritime operations and carrying out dangerous maneuvers near Philippine aircraft. CHINESE MILITARY ACTIVITY NEARLY DOUBLES AROUND KEY US ALLY IN DISPUTED WATERS Meanwhile, the Army has been expanding its capabilities across the Indo-Pacific, positioning additional forces and equipment closer to potential flashpoints as part of its effort to deter Chinese aggression. Clark said the Army now has more resources committed to the region than at any previous point in his career, including additional divisions, a corps headquarters and specialized formations designed to conduct long-range strikes and operations across multiple domains. “The Army is now better resourced in the Pacific than I’ve ever seen it,” he said. He pointed to the Army’s growing ability to support naval and air operations, including land-based weapons capable of striking targets at sea. Clark said recent military war games have demonstrated the importance of those capabilities, including one maritime scenario in which the addition of Army forces changed an unfavorable outcome. “It’s really tied to existing capabilities we have,” Clark said, citing the Army’s ability to detect targets, conduct strikes, protect military assets and sustain operations from land.
American-made goods also got more expensive under Trump tariffs, new research finds
Americans aren’t just seeing the price tag increase for imported goods. Thanks to President Donald Trump’s tariffs, they are now paying more for products made in the U.S.A., according to new research from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. In fact, the research finds that prices for many everyday goods would have fallen last year and into early 2026 without Trump’s tariffs. The findings offer new evidence of how the sweeping tariff policy, a centerpiece of the president’s economic agenda during his second term, have affected Americans’ wallets — and it’s only getting worse with just one month until the midterm elections. TRUMP BET TARIFFS WOULD BRING BACK AMERICAN FACTORY JOBS. NEW REPORT SAYS IT DIDN’T WORK Economists had long warned that tariffs would drive up consumer prices, but measuring their precise impact has been difficult as trade policies shifted and companies made decisions about whether to absorb higher costs or pass them along to shoppers. Put simply, the New York Fed found that tariffs kept prices higher on many of the goods Americans buy every day. Without the tariffs, prices across the consumer goods examined for this study would have fallen by early 2026. Instead, they rose. The researchers estimated that tariffs added about 2.9 percentage points to prices across the goods they studied. And the impact, notably, was not limited to imported products facing the most fallout from tariffs. The New York Fed found that Trump’s policies pushed up prices on American-made goods. Researchers estimated that about two-thirds of the tariff-related price increase came from imports, while roughly one-third came from products made in the United States. The White House pushed back, arguing that tariffs will ultimately benefit U.S. workers and be paid by foreign exporters. “President Trump’s America First trade agenda is reshaping the international economic order to reduce our trade deficit, revitalize American manufacturing, and deliver lasting benefits to our workers, farmers and producers,” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told Fox News Digital. The administration has maintained that foreign exporters reliant on access to the U.S. market will ultimately bear the cost of tariffs, Rogers added. A MUST-WIN MIDTERM STATE IS THE REAL LOSER OF TRUMP’S CANADA TRADE WAR Scott Lincicome, vice president of general economics at the Cato Institute, told Fox News Digital that consumers may not see significant relief as long as tariffs remain in place. “What we know is that the tariffs have increased prices a bit,” Lincicome said. “What we don’t know is whether the prices will stay where they are or go up even a little bit more as companies finally cave and start passing on more of the tariff costs onto consumers.” “As long as the tariffs remain in place, it’s unlikely we’re going to see price declines,” he added. The research also found that tariff-related price increases can take up to a year to fully reach consumers, particularly when American manufacturers face higher costs for imported materials and components. Although the researchers estimate that the inflationary impact of existing tariffs has largely peaked, they expect consumer goods prices to remain higher than they otherwise would have been. 5 STATES COULD BE THE BIGGEST LOSERS IN TRUMP’S TRADE WAR WITH CANADA, EXPERT WARNS The findings could carry political implications as Trump and Republicans face voters in November after campaigning on lowering the cost of living. “When you campaign on lowering prices, and then you actually actively increase prices, it’s probably gonna hurt when voters go back to the polls and are mad about prices still being too high,” Lincicome said. Meanwhile, higher energy costs are adding another layer of pressure on American households. “It’s really a double whammy for American consumers because first you had the tariffs which increased the prices of a lot of products. And then you had energy prices spike because of the Iran war,” Lincicome said. He warned that rising diesel costs could push prices higher beyond the gas pump, increasing transportation expenses for businesses that rely on trucks, trains and agricultural equipment. “Those things are going to act as kind of another tariff because they’re gonna increase the cost of getting that product to you,” he said.
Schumer warns of Republican advantage that could change the battle for Senate control
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer sees a path to victory for Democrats in November — but one major Republican advantage has him worried. In a letter to his Democratic colleagues, Schumer, D-N.Y., argued that his crop of candidates and Democrats running across the country are winning the messaging battle against the GOP, but asked, “Can Republicans buy the Senate?” “With just three weeks until Election Day, the battle for control of the Senate comes down to one defining question: Will the unprecedented tsunami of Republican money defeat the massive Democratic advantage in candidates, policies, and political climate,” Schumer wrote. DEMOCRATS SEE NEW CHANCES TO FLIP RED STATES — BUT A $400M GOP SPENDING ADVANTAGE COULD DERAIL THEIR PLANS “There are 22 days until Election Day, and two enormous forces are on a collision course: deep voter dissatisfaction with Republicans and an unprecedented flood of money aimed at overcoming their political liabilities,” he continued. “Which force prevails could determine control of the United States Senate.” Republicans do have a distinct money advantage and have seen outside groups and President Donald Trump’s MAGA Inc. spending at eye-popping levels across the Senate map. MAGA Inc., for example, has over $400 million at its disposal, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings, and reportedly has plans to spend in key Senate races like Iowa, Ohio and Alaska in the waning weeks of the midterms. SUPREME COURT STRIKES DOWN LIMIT ON PARTY CAMPAIGN SPENDING IN COORDINATION WITH CANDIDATES Then there’s tech billionaire Elon Musk, who has contributed roughly $276 million to Republican-aligned political action committees (PACs) this cycle. Notably, he contributed $158 million to the Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC closely aligned with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. Schumer lamented the funding, arguing that it was coming from a small field of deep-pocketed donors “looking to buy a pardon, curry favor, and move the needle in favor of their personal interests.” He also charged that the influx of cash was thanks in part to the Supreme Court’s decision in June to eliminate federal limits on how much political parties can spend on candidates. DEMOCRATS THINK A BLUE WAVE IS BUILDING. HERE ARE 3 FORCES THAT COULD STOP IT “None of us are naïve; we’ve known this day would come ever since Justices Kennedy, Roberts, Scalia, Alito, and Thomas decided to give their billionaire and corporate friends permission to buy elections,” Schumer said. But Democrats’ own super PAC, the Senate Majority PAC, which is closely aligned with Schumer, broke its own fundraising records in the third quarter of this year, raking in $151 million. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) announced shortly after the court’s decision that it would be pumping in $40 million in a slew of battleground states. And the Senate GOP’s campaign arm, the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), also teed up over $46 million in battleground races. “This pity pitch from Chuck Schumer is a testament to the enthusiasm of Republican grassroots donors who are re-engaging in full force to stop Democrats’ socialist march,” NRSC spokeswoman Bernadette Breslin told Fox News Digital. “Unfortunately for Schumer, the DNC’s debt crisis is symptomatic of a dying Democratic brand, with approval ratings in the toilet and donors doubting their own chances of flipping the Senate.”
Democrats have ‘dirty hands’ over complaints about Omar raid weeks before election, ex-prosecutor says
Former federal prosecutors are pushing back on Democrats’ accusations that the Trump administration violated Justice Department policy by searching the home of Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., just weeks before an election. “It’s difficult to not point out the dirty hands of the people that might complain about election interference,” Jim Trusty, a former federal prosecutor, said, pointing to former special counsel Jack Smith’s prosecution of President Donald Trump ahead of the 2024 election. “Democrats definitely can’t contend that it’s a politicized investigation after everything that happened in the Trump era,” Abhishek Kambil, a former federal prosecutor, told Fox News Digital. Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, released a lengthy statement alleging that the Justice Department violated protocol by conducting “overt actions in politically-sensitive matters in the 60 days before an election.” HOMAN CONFIRMS ‘CRIMINAL’ INVESTIGATION INVOLVING ILHAN OMAR, SAYS HE KNOWS ‘THINGS ARE GOING ON’ “Just 22 days before the elections, this is blatant political intimidation and an attempt to interfere with the Congresswoman’s reelection,” Raskin wrote in his press release. But Kambil pointed out that the U.S. Department of Justice Manual, which outlines procedures for federal criminal investigations, does not explicitly impose a 60-day period before elections in which investigative actions can’t be conducted. “The 60-day requirement is not something that’s in the justice manual,” Kambil told Fox News Digital. “That’s basically an unwritten practice of what DOJ typically does, and the justice manual itself does not have the time frame on that.” Kambil said that any actions which could be perceived as influencing an election will require prior approval from either the attorney general or the deputy attorney general. The Justice Department has long followed an unwritten practice known as the “60-day rule,” which discourages politically sensitive investigative actions close to an election. The practice came under scrutiny in a 2018 DOJ inspector general report examining former FBI Director James Comey’s decision to notify Congress of new developments in the Hillary Clinton email investigation just 11 days before the 2016 presidential election. The watchdog concluded that Comey had disregarded longstanding department policy and practice, calling his decision a “serious error of judgment.” “It doesn’t create a ban; it just creates effectively a consultation requirement to higher level leadership before it can happen, but there is no statute or anything else preventing this,” Kambil told Fox News Digital. The Justice Department also was accused by President Donald Trump of ignoring its “60-day rule” when special counsel Jack Smith filed a revised indictment against Trump just 70 days before the 2024 presidential election. Weeks later, Smith submitted a 165-page brief outlining evidence against Trump in the federal election interference case, which was made public just 34 days before the election. Trump and Republican lawmakers accused Smith of attempting to influence the election, but Smith maintained that his office followed DOJ policy and complied with a court-ordered filing schedule. “For 60 days prior to an election, the Department of Injustice is supposed to do absolutely nothing that would taint or interfere with a case,” Trump posted in all capital letters to his Truth Social. “They disobeyed their own rule in favor of complete and total election interference.” BIDEN-ERA FBI’S ‘NIXONIAN’ TRUMP FAMILY SURVEILLANCE DRAWS SCRUTINY FROM UNLIKELY CORNER “Going back to Jack Smith, obviously trying to get a case tried — the January 6th case before the election — to affect the electorate,” Trusty said. Trusty pointed out that the Justice Department needed approval from a magistrate judge in Washington, D.C., before executing its search warrant. “There’s at least probable cause,” Trusty said. “It’s a long way off from proving a case at trial.” “But keep in mind, in D.C. President Trump and his administration don’t always have friendly treatment from the judges there,” Trusty continued. “So this was a magistrate judge who looked at the sworn statement, said there’s enough to justify a raid, and now we’ve had a raid.” A judge can reject a search warrant application if investigators fail to establish probable cause. But approving a warrant does not necessarily resolve questions about whether the search complied with the Justice Department’s election-year policies. TRUMP DOJ UNLEASHES LARGEST DENATURALIZATION EFFORT IN DEPARTMENT HISTORY — AND SAYS IT’S ‘ONLY THE BEGINNING’ “When you see Democrats challenging the warrant or what happened, they’re not really going after the merits,” Kambil said. “They’re challenging the timing.” The Homeland Security Investigations raid stems from an investigation into immigration paperwork Omar’s father completed when she was a child. Omar, who fled Somalia’s civil war, immigrated to the United States with her family in 1995 at age 12 and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2000. In response to the raid on her home, Omar accused Trump of engaging in “political intimidation” against her. SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER “This raid by Trump’s DHS is an outrageous abuse of power and an unprecedented escalation in the weaponization of federal law enforcement to target political enemies,” Omar posted on X. “For a decade, Donald Trump has relentlessly targeted Congresswoman Ilhan Omar with inflammatory rhetoric, repeatedly putting a target on her back.” Fox News Digital reached out to the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security for comment.
Republicans in historically critical battleground county pull no punches in midterm homestretch: ‘Lot of hope’
HAMILTON, OH – Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, is fighting for his political future in a tight race in reliably red Ohio, and he spoke to Fox News Digital along with other local Republicans about what to expect in the few weeks before the critical midterm election. “Look, he’s been there for 50 years and everywhere I go, no one can name a single thing that he ever did for them,” Husted said about his Democratic opponent Sherrod Brown, who is attempting to return to the U.S. Senate after being defeated by Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, in 2024. “And think about this, you can’t keep sending the same old Sherrod Brown back to Washington and expect different results. The place is broken. He’s the one that broke it. He created the system. If you wanna see a better, brighter future, you can’t send the same ol’ Sherrod Brown back.” Husted, speaking to Fox News Digital at a Butler County GOP event on Saturday, pointed to the recent Ohio visits from President Trump, Vice President Vance, and Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., as a sign the momentum is on his side in a race some polls show him trailing. TRUMP TOUTS ‘GOLDEN AGE’ AT OHIO RALLY, URGES VOTERS TO DELIVER GOP MIDTERM WINS “We’re seeing a ton of energy and literally in the last month, you can just feel it change…we’re just seeing people all around the state just rallying and the crowds have been larger and more enthusiastic than I expected in a midterm. So it gives us a lot of hope.” Despite Ohio’s Republican lean, Husted faces an uphill battle in a race that has tightened considerably and Republicans are also contending with the traditional midterm headwinds facing the party in power, making turnout and voter enthusiasm especially critical in the weeks ahead. Republicans are also facing concerns over gas prices and affordability, with voters focused on the cost of everyday essentials ahead of the midterm elections. Fox News Digital asked Husted about those concerns and whether part of his message to voters is that the Democratic Party being put back in power won’t fix those issues. SCHUMER PREACHES AFFORDABILITY IN DEM MIDTERM PITCH WHILE SABOTAGING GOP FIXES FOR SOARING COSTS “Yeah, look, it’s common sense versus crazy,” Husted explained. “Look, we’ve done some good things. We have more jobs in Ohio than we’ve ever had in our history, the lowest unemployment rate. Now we just got to fight to get prices down. The Democrats block us at every turn trying to do that.” Democrats in the Senate recently blocked Husted’s legislation aimed at requiring large data centers to pay for the power generation and infrastructure needed to serve their facilities rather than shifting that burden onto taxpayers as the data center issue becomes a top issue on the Ohio campaign trail. “They blocked my ratepayer protection pledge, which would have forced data centers to pay their own way. Why? Because they just wanted to use it as a political issue rather than actually solving problems for people,” Husted said. Husted continued, “We’re the party of drill, baby drill. They’re the part of closing down pipelines and refineries and power plants. We are going to create the energy supply to meet the demand and help lower prices. The Democrats, they don’t believe in any of it. They believe in command and control of the government. They want to take more of your money out of your paycheck, send it to Washington. If you want your freedom and your fortune, then you need to vote for Republicans.” If Husted is going to be successful in November, Ohio attorney and political strategist Mehek Cooke says the key will be pushing back hard on the affordability issue. “I think Senator Houston every single day needs to close that deal by talking about his ratepayer protection data plan, where he promised to cut costs for every single American by saying data centers will not take our resources, taxpayers will not pay for those bills, data centers will and every Democrat voted against that,” Cooke said, adding that the vote against Husted’s bill shows Democrats “don’t care about data centers.” “You know what they care about? The money that data centers give them,” Cooke said, referencing Fox News Digital reporting that Brown has taken money from companies that operate data centers. “Jekyll and Hyde, I’ve said this about Sherrod,” Cooke said. “He’s a different man in Ohio. He’s the aw shucks, I’m disheveled, I don’t know where I am, what day is it? You love me, I love you. And then he gets to Washington and he turns his back on us. So we care about datacenters. We don’t wanna pay their bills. And guess what? John Husted will make sure we never do. He’s pushing affordability that Sherrod Brown could never dream of while pocketing their money.” Brown campaign spokesperson Lauren Chou pushed back in a statement to Fox News Digital, accusing Husted of supporting the war in Iran that “sent the costs of gas and diesel to record highs” and saying he “led the charge to bring 226 data centers to Ohio.” “Jon Husted puts corporations and billionaires first every time, and we all pay for it,” Chou said. Butler, Clermont and Warren counties form a critical Republican vote reservoir in southwestern Ohio, collectively producing hundreds of thousands of votes and some of the state’s largest GOP margins. Their importance was underscored in 2004, when George W. Bush’s combined margin in the three counties exceeded his statewide margin of victory. RAMASWAMY OUTLINES KEY CONTRASTS WITH DEM OPPONENT LESS THAN 100 DAYS OUT FROM KEY GUBERNATORIAL ELECTION Several Republican candidates on stage Saturday night pointed to the importance of those counties and Art Sauerwein, Butler County GOP Executive Committee Chairman, told Fox News Digital the “biggest concern” he’s hearing from Republicans is that if Democrats win the governorship, Senate seat, and contested House races “our state’s going to be in huge trouble.” “The wokeness
Omar raid draws ominous warning from Vance as he blasts progressive rep’s ‘rage’ toward America
EXCLUSIVE: TYLER, Texas — Vice President JD Vance told Fox News Digital on Tuesday that the Trump administration has no plans to “butt in” on a Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation into Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., after the raid on her Washington, D.C., home the day prior. Vance, however, insisted that the law will be enforced if immigration fraud is uncovered. “We don’t want to be like the Biden administration. We never want to be like that — where they would allow the law to go after their political opponents,” the vice president said in an exclusive interview following a midterm campaign rally in the Lone Star State on Tuesday. “We really want to let the law, the facts drive this,” he continued. “And if justice requires something else be done, then, of course, we’ll take a step when we have to.” Omar’s Washington, D.C., home was subject to a predawn raid on Monday conducted by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the principal investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), as first reported by Fox News Digital. DEMOCRATS’ FURY OVER ILHAN OMAR RAID DRAWS STINGING GOP REMINDER ABOUT RAID FROM THE PAST: ‘SET THE PRECEDENT’ Conservatives repeatedly accused then-President Joe Biden’s DOJ of politically persecuting President Donald Trump and his allies after his first term in office ended. Most notably for critics, Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home was infamously raised by the FBI as part of an investigation into alleged mishandling of classified documents. That case was closed when Trump again won the presidency in 2024. “In the Trump administration, unlike the previous administration, we let the facts and the law drive this stuff — so the president and I really don’t butt ourselves in the DOJ investigations,” Vance said. “We’re not trying to micromanage this. We’re not trying to tell [Attorney General] Todd Blanche to do one thing or another. We try to let the facts drive this thing.” “So we’re gonna let the investigation unfold,” he went on before warning: “If, of course, criminal wrongdoing is discovered or potentially fraudulent immigration is uncovered, then obviously there will be legal proceedings to follow that.” While an investigation into potential immigration fraud related to a sitting member of Congress is unprecedented, Vance reiterated that authorities will go where the facts take them — no matter the circumstances of the case. “I think we have to let the facts and the law drive this, right? So I don’t think you can say because politics might be difficult or politics might be easy, you can’t follow the law. You have to actually enforce the law as it exists,” he said. COULD TRUMP REVOKE ILHAN OMAR’S CITIZENSHIP FOR ALLEGED BROTHER MARRIAGE? EX FEDERAL PROSECUTOR BREAKS IT DOWN Additionally, the vice president slammed Omar for what he views as a negative attitude towards the United States despite it being the country where her family fled to escape civil war in Somalia in 1991. “And to the question of it being unprecedented, I mean, what I’d say is that Ilhan Omar herself is a very unprecedented person,” he said. “We have very rarely had a person in Congress who seems to have such disdain and such rage at the country that gave her a better life,” Vance said. “Now, that’s not a crime.” “But we’re going to see whether she did commit a crime. And if she did, we’re obviously going to follow the law,” he reiterated. Vance made the comments after rallying on behalf of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton at the Tyler Pounds Regional Airport in Tyler, Texas, a city about 100 miles east of Dallas. Paxton is running in a neck-and-neck race with Democratic state Rep. James Talarico just three weeks before Election Day, as Republicans fight desperately to hold control of Congress. ILHAN OMAR’S WEALTH SCANDAL TAKES A TURN JUST ONE DAY AFTER RAID OF HER DC HOME Omar responded to the raid on social media Monday afternoon, both from her personal and government X accounts. “I’m ok,” Omar wrote on her own X account hours after the search. “Make no mistake: this is an attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement.” “For ten years, Trump has targeted me with baseless lies and smear campaigns,” she continued. “This is just the latest escalation in his campaign of political intimidation. I will not be silenced.” TRUMP RALLY CROWD CHANTS ‘DEPORT’ AS PRESIDENT RIPS ILHAN OMAR AFTER FEDERAL RAID In a post from her official government X account from just after 1:30 p.m., Omar elaborated further. “This raid by Trump’s DHS is an outrageous abuse of power and an unprecedented escalation in the weaponization of federal law enforcement to target political enemies. For a decade, Donald Trump has relentlessly targeted Congresswoman Ilhan Omar with inflammatory rhetoric, repeatedly putting a target on her back,” she said. “Now, those attacks have escalated to a pointless federal raid. The Congresswoman has done nothing wrong. No president should be able to use the power of the federal government to intimidate his political enemies.” Fox News Digital reached out to Omar’s office for comment, but did not hear back before publication.