CatholicVote calls out Harris for photo with controversial Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence drag nuns
FIRST ON FOX – A leading conservative Catholic advocacy organization is calling on Vice President Kamala Harris to denounce a controversial drag group whose members dress like nuns and mock Christian symbols. CatholicVote has released a $100,000 targeted ad on Monday that features photos and videos of Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, attending San Francisco Pride in 2019, where she appeared on stage with members of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. The Sisters, a 501(c)3 “Order of queer and trans nuns,” is made up of performers in drag who wear traditional religious habits and advocate for LGBTQ issues. Critics have called them an “anti-Catholic hate group.” The 30-second ad shows clips of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence performing while soundbites accuse the group of dressing “in lewd imitation of Roman Catholic nuns that intentionally mock and degrade Christians.” It concludes by stating, “Kamala Harris stands with they/them, not with you,” echoing a line from one of former President Trump’s attack ads, which hits Harris over her support for transgender athletes playing in women’s sports. CatholicVote says the ad will be texted directly to one million Catholic voters in swing states and sent to 750,000 activist subscribers of its email newsletter, “The Loop.” PRO-LIFE GROUPS SLAM HARRIS FOR UNCOMPROMISING ABORTION POSITION: ‘CHRISTIANS ARE NOT WELCOME’ It’s the latest example of conservatives accusing Harris of a history of anti-Catholic political rhetoric and actions that Republicans hope will sway the critical voting bloc to their cause on Election Day. Harris came under fire from Catholic groups last week after she snubbed the Al Smith dinner, a bipartisan fundraiser for Catholic charities typically attended by both major party candidates. She has also been hammered by pro-life groups for her uncompromising position on abortion rights, telling NBC’s Hallie Jackson in an interview she does not support religious exemptions for faith-based health care providers who do not want to be forced to perform abortions. “Kamala Harris has finally lost the Catholic vote,” Trump asserted Friday on his Truth Social platform. “Her and the Democrat’s persecution of the Catholic Church is unprecedented! Her poll numbers have dropped like a rock, both with Catholics, and otherwise.” The Harris campaign did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. HARRIS’ CATHOLIC DINNER SNUB IS JUST THE LATEST IN CAREER FULL OF SWIPES AT THE FAITHFUL, CRITICS CHARGE The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence was the focus of national controversy last year when the Los Angeles Dodgers chose to honor the LGBTQ charity with an award on the field of Dodger Stadium during Pride Month. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) called the decision “blasphemy” at the time. CatholicVote started a $1 million advertising campaign that urged the faithful to boycott the baseball team over its support for the Sisters. Video from SF Pride Main Stage shows Harris, then California’s junior senator, being introduced on stage at San Francisco Pride 2019 by LGBTQ activist Sister Roma, a gay pornography director who, according to the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence website, has served as Master of Ceremonies on the main stages of SF Pride, Folsom Street Fair, Castro Street Fair and Easter in the Park, “where she hosts the infamous Hunky Jesus Contest.” Dressed in a rainbow outfit, Harris delivered brief remarks at the Pride event, celebrating San Francisco’s prominent role in the movement for LGBTQ rights and her own record supporting same-sex marriage. She reminded the crowd that she officiated the marriage of Kris Perry and Sandy Stier, a lesbian couple, at San Francisco City Hall. Perry and Stier were the original plaintiffs in a lawsuit that successfully overturned California’s Proposition 8, a constitutional amendment that said, “only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.” “We will fight to pass the Equality Act in America,” Harris said, referring to legislation that would ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. “We will fight to end HIV/AIDS in America. We will fight for our transgender brothers, sisters in America. And we will always stand for equality.” CATHOLICVOTE LAUNCHES $1M CAMPAIGN CALLING FOR LA DODGERS TO BOYCOTT OVER ANTI-CATHOLIC DRAG QUEENS A picture of Harris posing with Sister Roma at the event is featured prominently in the CatholicVote ad. CatholicVote President Brian Burch called the Sisters “one of the most vile, bigoted and offensive anti-Catholic organizations in America,” though the group denies that it mocks religious women or is a threat to people of faith. “They’ve used the crucifix as a sex prop, mocked the Virgin Mary and used Christian symbols as sex toys,” Burch told Fox News Digital in an interview. “And yet, Kamala Harris proudly stood with them and their founder. We are calling on Kamala Harris to disavow this highly offensive anti-Catholic hate group.” Roma told Fox News Digital the Sisters are a “peace-loving, inclusive, compassionate, and charitable organization with members who devote their lives to community service, fundraising, and activism.” “While many of our members adopt the iconography of a Nun, we do not mock religious women or advocate or practice hatred, hostility, or violence toward members of any religion,” Roma said. “We are a reflection of the communities we serve, working tirelessly to minister to the sick, feed the hungry, fight for civil rights, raise money for important causes and charities, promulgate universal joy, and expiate stigmatic guilt. “The Sisters’ existence is not a threat to Catholics or any person of faith. The problem arises when people choose to interpret scripture in order to weaponize their religious beliefs and threaten the rights and even the existence of queer and trans people. The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence have always shone a light on the hypocrisy of many people who claim to be Christian but whose actions are anything but ‘Christ-like.” Burch insisted that most Catholics feel differently and demanded that Harris apologize for appearing on stage with Roma. “The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence are this terrible, vile, hateful, anti-Catholic group. And she stood with them. She needs
Why Trump is making last-minute stops ahead of Election Day in two blue-leaning states
During the final week leading up to Election Day on Nov. 5, former President Trump is making two brief detours from campaigning in the crucial seven battleground states that will likely determine if the Republican nominee or Vice President Kamala Harris wins the 2024 election. On Thursday, which is Halloween, the former president will make a campaign stop in New Mexico, and Saturday he’ll visit Virginia. Both states were once key general election battlegrounds that have leaned blue the past two decades. In fact, you’ve got to look back 20 years – to President George W. Bush’s re-election – to find the last GOP presidential nominee to carry both states. So why, with time such a precious commodity for presidential campaigns and the clock quickly ticking toward Election Day, is Trump spending time in New Mexico and Virginia? CHECK OUT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS IN THE 2024 ELECTION Unlike his large rallies on Sunday in New York City and two weeks ago in southern California – deep blue states the Trump campaign has no illusions of flipping – the former president and his team see opportunities in Virginia and New Mexico. “As President Trump has said, he will be a president for all Americans, including those in traditionally blue states that Kamala Harris and the Democrats have left behind. Kamala Harris’ dangerously liberal policies have failed Americans across the country – from the Bronx, to Virginia, and New Mexico – which is why President Trump is bringing his America First message and vision for hardworking families right to their front door,” Republican National Committee spokesperson Anna Kelley argued in a statement to Fox News. WHAT THE MOST RECENT FOX NEWS POLLS SHOW IN THE HARRIS-TRUMP SHOWDOWN There hasn’t been an abundance of polling in New Mexico, but most recent surveys indicate Harris with an upper single digit lead over Trump, although one survey suggests a tighter contest for the state’s five electoral votes. “Trump is wasting his time coming to our state as polling shows New Mexicans are set to reject his MAGA extremism and divisive rhetoric yet again,” Democratic Party of New Mexico spokesperson Daniel Garcia claimed in a statement. And referring to the Oct. 31 stop in Albuquerque by the former president, Garcia took a verbal shot at Trump, saying “a rotund orange mass will be in Albuquerque on Halloween, and we’re not talking about a pumpkin.” Trump hasn’t set foot in New Mexico in five years. It’s a different story in Virginia, where the former president held a large rally in the southeastern corner of the state in June. Trump on Saturday holds a rally in Salem, Virginia, in the conservative southwestern corner of the commonwealth. DEADHEAT BETWEEN HARRIS AND TRUMP WITH ELECTION DAY CLOSING IN Polls in the state indicate the Democratic presidential nominee holding anywhere from a lower double-digit lead to a slight lower single digit edge over the former president. “We have a really good chance to win Virginia – hasn’t been won in decades by a [GOP] presidential candidate,” Trump told Virginia Republicans in a September tele-rally. It’s an argument that Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin of Virginia is also making. But there may be another contributing factor to Trump’s stop in Virginia. Trump on Friday pilloried a federal judge’s ruling that Virginia must restore more than 1,500 people to the state’s voter rolls, with the former president falsely claiming Harris was behind the decision and charging that it amounted to “election interference.” The state of Virginia on Sunday filed an emergency stay application to the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the lower court ruling, which halted the state’s efforts to remove suspected noncitizens from the voter rolls. Veteran Virginia-based political scientist David Richards of the University of Lynchburg told Fox News that “based on all the polling I am seeing, it is not clear that this rally will help Trump win Virginia.” “But I think he has bigger ambitions by coming to central Virginia. I think he wants to capitalize on the judicial decision to reinstate voters who have not met the citizenship requirements or had not checked the correct box, and were picked up by a general sweep of registered voters in Virginia,” Richards said. “This plays into his general story about illegal immigrants trying to vote in the election. I think he is seeking a national audience, not necessarily just a Virginia audience, by coming and doing a rally here.” Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
‘Shut it down’: Red state makes massive land buy to ramp up border wall efforts amid migrant surge
FIRST ON FOX: The state of Texas has taken another major step in its efforts to build a wall at its border with Mexico, acquiring a 1,400 acre ranch along the Rio Grande in a key area that officials say has seen human trafficking, as well as weapons and drug smuggling. The Texas General Land Office (GLO) has acquired the ranch in Starr County, in Border Patrol’s Rio Grande Sector, which saw some of the highest levels of migrant traffic. The state will now use that land to build additional border wall. Gov. Greg Abbott announced in 2021 funding for a state project to continue construction of a wall after the Biden administration abruptly ended the Trump-era project. Abbott has also built a floating buoy barrier in the Rio Grande. His administration has linked the barriers, and a broader effort by the state, to a drop in apprehensions. BATTLEGROUND STATE RANCHER ‘OUTRAGED’ BY BIDEN STOPPING WALL CONSTRUCTION AS MIGRANTS POUR INTO US Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham told Fox News Digital that the Texas Facilities Commission, responsible for building the wall, requested the property. It now means that the GLO owns two pieces of land on the border in Starr Country encompassing more than 4,000 acres. “They said, ‘Look, it’s in the main area of where we’re seeing the traffic across the border. We have terrible things happening on this piece of property. The current owner is not only blocking the border wall, but she is blocking law enforcement’s access to that property,’” she said. “‘And to really get complete operational control of the border, we really need to control this piece of ground.’ So we made her an offer. We found a way to purchase her ranch from her.” Buckingham said the state has already been out with bulldozers on the property, and she believes construction will begin quickly. While it is one piece of a broader border security effort, Buckingham said there has been “a massive amount of human traffic” on the property. Her office said the acquisition includes trees that have served as “rape trees,” where migrants would display women’s clothing as trophies after abuse. CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS “It’s at an area of great impact, it’s in an area where we see lots of people coming across all of the time, not only seeing the people coming across, but seeing those women and children who are abused and victimized. We’re seeing drugs. We’re seeing weapons. We’re seeing all kinds of things coming across this particular part of the border,” she said. “In fact, when we were touring it [Thursday], lots of trash everywhere. You can tell there have been a lot of people through there. So we think that this barrier, this wall that the Texas Facilities Commission will build, will help to control that traffic and hopefully shut it down.” Buckingham noted that it’s in addition to other moves made by Texas, including a recent declaration of Fronton Island to be state property, so that the area can be secured from illegal crossings. “But we’re excited to see the progress made on this ranch. We’re excited that it will have a positive impact on the mass migration that’s happening across our border, and that’s what we want,” she said. The move comes at a time when immigration and illegal immigration are top topics for the presidential election. Former President Trump has promised to restart border wall construction if re-elected. Vice President Kamala Harris has put her support behind a Senate border bill introduced this year that would include funding for border agencies, including some limited border wall construction. Fox News’ Emma Woodhead contributed to this report.
Trump supporters outside Madison Square Garden say ‘exhilarating’ rally shows NY is in play
Ardent supporters of former President Trump say Sunday’s campaign rally at Madison Square Garden was a bold statement that their movement is penetrating deep blue areas like New York City. “Donald Trump is in play in every state,” Pennsylvania resident John Nolan told Fox News Digital outside the famed arena ahead of the rally. “The guy pulls numbers no matter where he is. I mean, people drove from all over to get here and his supporters are here.” “Absolutely,” Westchester, New York, native Alexa Brink told Fox Digital when asked if other New Yorkers she knows will vote for Trump. “All day long. Let’s go Trump!” She added that she wasn’t sure if Trump could win New York, but said, “We’ll try!” While New York is home to multiple competitive U.S. House races, Republicans are not widely expected to win the state in the presidential race. It has gone Democratic each presidential election since Ronald Reagan won it for the GOP in 1984. TRUMP, POWERHOUSE GUESTS ROCK PACKED MSG WITH HISTORIC RALLY The mood outside the famed arena was at fever pitch as droves of supporters descended on the Big Apple’s streets and waited anxiously to see if they would gain entry to the 19,500-seat venue. Police say many were turned away, with Donald Trump Jr. claiming that nearly 200,000 people tried to gain access to the rally, which featured a handful of high-profile speakers ahead of Trump’s remarks, including former first lady Melania Trump, Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) CEO Dana White. Melissa Elsner and Luke Ordino traveled from New Jersey and said they weren’t surprised at the size of the huge crowds that descended on “The Worlds’ Most Famous Arena.” “No, absolutely not, because we are the majority, even though the news often tries to tell us we are not,” Elsner said, adding that the economy, illegal immigration and education are her top three issues going into this election. “Come on, Donald Trump can pull off anything in New York,” Elsner added. One woman, Barabara Walsh, said she even traveled from Ireland to attend the much-anticipated event. A group of young Jewish supporters were in boisterous form in front of the stadium’s main entrance as they waited in line. “USA, USA, USA,” they chanted, jumping up and down and waving an Israeli flag. “We’re here because we got to Make America Great Again, we need Trump back in the house to bring the hostages back… we need a good economy, no more wars… Kamala Harris keeps on flip-flopping,” 17-year-old Tzvi Schoch said. ELON MUSK, DANA WHITE TO APPEAR AT ‘HISTORIC’ TRUMP MSG RALLY “Everybody was better… under Donald J. Trump than they are now, inflation is sky high, under Trump it was 1.9%. We need Trump back in office, we need the wall built, we need the illegal aliens that are taking our taxpayer money out of the country. We need a president that’s strong… and not be like Biden, like Harris. Sometimes peace comes through strength.” “Trump protects the Jews,” yelled fellow 17-year-old Mendel Steigman, who said he and his friends have been victims of antisemitic attacks and insists Trump is a friend of Israel. Another animated rally-goer named Anas Shuaib, a Palestinian Muslim-American who has been living in America for 25 years, said that on Nov. 5 voters will tell Harris, “You’re fired, you’re fired, you’re fired.” “The Arabs are voting for Trump!” Shuaib said. “When Trump becomes president, there’s going to be peace, there’s going to be prosperity and America first! He’s going to end the war in the Middle East and he’s going to throw you out of the White House.” Latin American New Yorker Belio Martinez was holding a poster with Trump’s now infamous mugshot with “Never Surrender” written on it. He said the various court cases against the 45th president “solidified” his support for Trump. The rally ended just after 8:30 p.m. with the crowd treated to a rendition of Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York.” Outside, New York City residents Maria Coletta and Rhonda Gottlieb said the rally was their first and it did not disappoint. TRUMP PREPS FOR MASSIVE CAMPAIGN RALLY SUNDAY AT NEW YORK CITY’S MADISON SQUARE GARDEN “The energy of the crowd, the speakers, the issues that were addressed, it was absolutely exhilarating,” Gottlieb said, proudly holding a “Trump-Vance” poster. “I think the symbolism of it is just fantastic because New York City is a blue city and him coming in and having such a turnout, I mean it was packed, it was filled and there were thousands outside. I think a lot of the blue cities are becoming more and more red because at a certain point the extremism of the Democrats – the defund the police, the transgender[ism] – all of the issues just push normal common sensical people to the right.” Gottlieb said she was once a “left-wing person,” but many years of studying issues like racial and sexual politics moved her to the right. Edward X. Young said he has been to 102 Trump rallies and Sunday’s was very important because Trump was loved by nearly everyone in the city before he got into politics, but the deep blue city turned against him. Young, who lived in the Big Apple from 1983 to 1990 and now resides in New Jersey, said the rally showed that New Yorkers are back in the former president’s corner. “Trump was New York City’s favorite son, he was beloved. In the last election cycle, there was not even a rally in the city… but he came back big time,” said Young, who said he met his fiancé at a Trump rally. “Four or five years ago if I wore MAGA gear around the Bronx I‘d get my butt kicked, but no, the local people love him and it’s obvious why… it’s because the Democrats, they went too far,” Young said, noting that it has become harder for working-class people in the city to survive. J Mellz,
Trump’s message moments before assassination attempt spurred me to action: Butler-area mayor
SHERMAN’S DALE, Pennsylvania— Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania Mayor Jondavid Longo was with former President Donald Trump in his home county of Butler in July just minutes before the GOP nominee was shot by an attempted assassin. Longo, about to begin his eighth year as mayor of the borough just a handful of miles northwest of the rally site, spoke to Fox News Digital as he traveled the commonwealth with the Team Trump bus tour — a week-long trip he embarked on because of what Trump has come to mean for many Pennsylvanians since that tragic day, he said. “You know, I’ve always been a supporter of the president,” Longo said, adding during his public speech that he had backed the mogul since “day one when he came down the golden escalator” in Trump Tower in 2015. Longo said he, like many Republicans in Pennsylvania, was hesitant about transitioning to early voting from the centuries-old custom of waiting until Election Day to go to the polls to cast a ballot. OCTOBER FESTS: POTPOURRI OF LATE ELECTION YEAR SURPRISES SHAKE-UP MOST RACES, HISTORY SHOWS “But… I thought to myself long and hard after that day, after watching that man get shot in the face. And I thought, ‘My goodness, everything that this man has been through — and he’s asking us to go and vote early — the least that we all could do is do what it is that he’s asking us to do in order to make sure that he can get across the finish line so that we can take this country back,’” he said. “Because let’s face it, people are suffering, and we cannot afford another four years of the failed leadership of Kamala Harris.” Longo was with Trump about 20 minutes before he took the stage in Butler in July. Reportedly his normal gregarious self, Trump interacted with several local officials, including the mayor, backstage at the Butler Farm Show grounds. “He asked me, ‘Mayor, how are we doing on the ground — what’s it look like in Butler County?’” VANCE QUESTIONS LEFT’S CACOPHONY AGAINST JILL STEIN WHILE BACKING RFK JR ON THE BALLOT “And I had the pleasure of looking that man in the eye and talking about all of the great things that all of you are doing in places like Butler County and all across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to make sure those 19 important electoral votes belong to him so that we can get them back to the White House.” “We’re going to deliver Pennsylvania for you, Mr. President. We’re going to do it for you,” Longo recalled telling Trump. Moments later, shots rang out, and Trump was dogpiled by Secret Service agents, bleeding from his head. Shooter Thomas Crooks had hit Trump’s right ear in what the president said was a stroke of luck due to his gesturing at that same moment toward a graph of illegal immigration statistics. “I watched that man get shot in the face. How many of you saw that?” Longo later asked the crowd. “Let me ask you something: Do you love President Trump? Are you willing to do whatever it takes to make sure he gets back in Washington to clean up this mess that Kamala Harris and the Democrats have put us in?” “Then I implore you, join me in early voting for President Trump. And that’s my confession here. Ladies and gentlemen, I’ve got to tell you, I wasn’t a giant fan of early voting until this moment. When I looked at President Trump in the eyes, and he said, ‘Don’t let me down.’ And I heard him time and again.” The “don’t let me down” refrain stuck with Longo ever since, as he stepped off the bus for the penultimate time Friday at Republican state Rep. Barb Gleim’s farm near the Perry County line. As he took the stage, the sun was setting over the nearby Appalachian Mountains to the west, and former California Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado, a fellow Trump surrogate on the bus, remarked how much the scene reminded him of home. Standing beside Maldonado and several others, and before rows of supporters seated on haybales and a giant American flag suspended by a crane, Longo said the risks Trump has endured for the U.S. should energize everyone next month. “I thought to myself, this man, the sacrifices he’s made for all of us, him and his family have been raked over the coals for years and have given up everything so that they can fight for us.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Longo said he and his wife are expecting a daughter next year, and that Pennsylvanians should vote early, not just for Trump, but to not “let down” the next generation yet to be born. Back home in Slippery Rock, not far from industrial Youngstown, Ohio, and Erie, Pennsylvania, Longo said his constituents are “feeling… the pressure” of the Biden-Harris economy and decline in public safety. “My family should not feel unsafe going to a town next door like Pittsburgh to go and enjoy a night out. And we just don’t feel safe in our own cities anymore. Businesses are fleeing cities like that as well. I mean, my gosh. Pennsylvania itself is hemorrhaging people,” he said. “We’re losing population because opportunities aren’t here. We’re under heavy Democrat control here in Pennsylvania, I might add, too,” he said. “So these are the things that are very much on the hearts and minds of Pennsylvania’s voters. And for those reasons, we’re going to get out and vote for Donald J. Trump.”
Texas is slashing $607 million in Medicaid funding from program for students with disabilities
School officials say the state decision to cut federal money likely will hurt their ability to recruit and retain critical staff for students with disabilities.
Biden casts vote in Delaware, calls Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally ‘simply embarrassing’
President Biden cast his early-voting ballot in Delaware on Monday and told reporters he was confident that Vice President Kamala Harris would defeat former President Donald Trump, calling Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Sunday an embarrassment. Biden waited in line with other voters outside the state of Delaware Department of Elections and helped push an older woman in a wheelchair ahead of him before casting his ballot. After voting, Biden greeted reporters outside, where he was asked whether it was a bittersweet moment. Biden responded, “No, this is just sweet.” Biden stepped down from his re-election campaign in July following a poor debate performance that stoked concerns about his health and Democrats’ worries about his chances of defeating Trump. LIVE UPDATES: TRUMP RIDES HIGH AFTER MSG RALLY AS HE AND HARRIS NEAR ONE WEEK TO ELECTION DAY Biden was asked what he thought about the massive rally Trump held at Madison Square Garden the previous night. “It’s beneath any president but that’s what we’re used to,” Biden said. “That’s why this election is so important.” Biden added that Trump puts his own character into question “every time he opens his mouth.” Trump took the stage Sunday night in front of a packed house of thousands of supporters, focusing his speech on spiraling immigration, inflation woes and looking toward the future with lower consumer costs and securing the border. When asked about the Israel-Hamas war and a potential cease-fire, Biden responded, “We need a cease-fire, we should end this war.” Regarding another conflict abroad, the Russia-Ukraine war, Biden was asked about North Korea deploying troops to help Russian President Vladimir Putin. TRUMP, HARRIS NEARLY TIED IN BATTLEGROUND WISCONSIN 8 DAYS FROM ELECTION DAY, POLL FINDS “It’s very dangerous,” Biden said, of the apparent escalation. The range of questions included whether he thought Elon Musk’s $1 million offer to swing-state voters who sign his political action committee’s petition backing the Constitution was election interference. Biden called the tech billionaire’s offer “totally inappropriate.” Biden was also asked if he thought Democrats – including Harris – would win. “I think we will,” he said. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Michigan campaign stops from presidential candidates already double that of 2020, 2016
Presidential and vice presidential candidates have already doubled their events in Michigan during the 2024 election cycle compared with the 2016 and 2020 elections. The Harris and Trump campaigns have combined for 46 events in the swing state of Michigan with a week to go before the election, far outpacing the 22 events the state saw in 2016 and 21 it hosted in 2021. The 2024 data, which is continuously updated by the Associated Press, counts events held in the state by both candidates for president, their running mates, and events where the entire ticket is present for the event. Data for the 2016 and 2020 elections was compiled by Fair Vote and also counts events for both presidential candidates and their running mates. CHECK OUT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS IN THE 2024 ELECTION Former President Trump and Ohio Sen. JD Vance have combined for 26 visits to the state, while Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz have combined for 20. The visit count in Michigan comes as the state has emerged as one of the key battlegrounds in what promises to be a tight election. According to the Real Clear Politics polling average as of Monday, Trump holds a narrow 0.1 point lead in the state. The betting odds for Michigan are nearly as close, with ElectionBettingOdds.com showing Trump with a 53% chance to win Michigan, with Harris coming in at a 47% chance. Meanwhile, the Fox News Power rankings continue to rate Michigan as a toss-up. POLITICAL ROCK STARS AND ENTERTAINMENT CELEBRITIES HIT THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL Michigan has been one of the most critical swing states in the last three elections, with Trump narrowly winning the state in 2016 by less than half a percentage point. Trump would then drop the state to President Biden in 2020 by less than three percentage points. The importance of the state and how narrow the margins have been in recent years have shown up in the amount of time the candidates are spending there. Michigan’s 22 total visits came in fifth place in 2016, ranking behind Florida (71), North Carolina (55), Pennsylvania (54) and Ohio (48). A similar story played out in 2021, when Michigan was the fourth most visited state, coming in behind Pennsylvania (47), Florida (31) and North Carolina (25). Only Pennsylvania has received more total visits from the campaigns than Michigan in 2024, coming in at 63 total visits as of Oct. 28, the AP data shows. The five other key battlegrounds in this year’s election have also seen a high amount of attention, with North Carolina (35 events), Wisconsin (33), Arizona (23), Nevada (20), and Georgia (18) rounding out the top states, the AP data shows. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Leaked video exposes Dem staffer admitting ‘quiet part out loud’ in fiery tirade: ‘Open the f—ing border’
A Democrat staffer who has worked on campaigns for two vulnerable Ohio candidates was captured on video calling for open borders and labeling those wanting to secure the border as “racist.” “Open the f—ing border, I don’t give a s— who comes in here,” the staffer, identified and first reported by Ohio.news as Kevin Oyakawa, said on a video during a conversation with a volunteer earlier this month. “We don’t need border patrol but, [the] issue with even talking about immigration here in Ohio is that it’s a losing issue for Democrats here, for like no f—ing reason other than people’s pure racism,” added Oyakawa, who posted on Facebook that he was hired by the Ohio Coordinated Campaign to “re-elect Sherrod Brown, Congresswoman Emilia Sykes, and other down ballot Democratic candidates.” “That’s why,” Oyakawa explains, “It’s probably hard to find anything about like where she [Sykes] stands on it.” VOTERS SPEAK OUT IN KEY SWING DISTRICT THAT COULD DETERMINE CONTROL OF HOUSE: ‘KICKED’ TO THE ‘CURB’ “In terms of the way that she talks with the public, if she has to start talking about immigration, she starts losing.” Oyakawa’s LinkedIn page, before it was deleted on Thursday, listed him as a regional organizing director in Ohio for the Ohio Democratic Party. Photos on social media show him canvassing for Sykes and Brown and in a now-deleted Facebook post he wrote that he is “responsible for leading a team of field organizers on day to day operations of the campaign” in Summit and Stark counties. “Just another guy who is active in the Resistance,” Oyakawa’s Facebook page says along with a photo of him standing with an Emilia Sykes sign with various other volunteers. In a statement to Fox News Digital, the Sykes campaign said, “Congresswoman Emilia Sykes has worked to deliver increased funding to help secure our border and stop the flow of illegal drugs like fentanyl. She also cosponsored the bipartisan Dignity Act that would address border security and infrastructure, all while her opponent Kevin Coughlin uses the border to play politics.” OHIO GRAND JURIES INDICT SIX NON-CITIZENS FOR ALLEGEDLY ILLEGALLY VOTING IN PAST ELECTIONS Matt Keyes, Brown’s campaign spokesperson, told Fox News Digital, “While Sherrod supports the bipartisan border security bill backed by border patrol agents and has worked with both parties to secure our southern border and keep Ohioans safe from fentanyl by cracking down on the chemical suppliers in China and drug cartels in Mexico, Bernie Moreno opposes these efforts because he isn’t looking out for Ohioans.” Brown and Sykes’ Republican opponents are blasting Oyakawa’s comments. VULNERABLE HOUSE DEM DODGES QUESTION ON VP HARRIS’ RECORD AS ‘BORDER CZAR’: ‘DON’T KNOW WHO KAMALA HARRIS IS’ “Sherrod Brown’s staff is saying the quiet part out loud: Ohio Democrats would rather keep the border open and continue to allow millions of illegals to enter our nation rather than secure the border and protect our communities,” Reagan McCarthy, communications director for Brown’s GOP challenger, Bernie Moreno, told Fox News Digital. Former Ohio state Sen. Kevin Coughlin, running against Sykes in Ohio’s 13th Congressional District, told Fox News Digital, “Ohioans are already aware of Emilia Sykes’ dangerous open border policies, and now we see what she and her team support behind closed doors. It’s bad enough that Ohio communities are suffering from fentanyl and crime flowing over our borders, but her team has no remorse. And she calls anyone who disagrees with her ‘racist.’” “It’s disgusting, and Emilia Sykes should condemn this immediately.” NRCC spokesperson Mike Marinella told Fox News Digital that Sykes “has gone to great lengths to lie to voters about her dangerous open border record, but her staff just said the quiet part out loud.” “Sykes should be ashamed of her team and apologize immediately.” Fox News Digital reached out to the Ohio Democratic Party for comment but did not receive a response. Both Sykes and Brown have faced criticism from their Republican opponents for not being strong enough on illegal immigration. In Brown’s case, his campaign has blanketed radio and television with ads touting his border record. Sykes, a first-term Democrat who won in 2022 by five points, is defending her seat in a district that includes parts of two counties that former President Trump comfortably won in 2020. The Cook Political Report ranks the race as a “Lean Democrat.” The race between Moreno and Brown is expected to be a close one as Republicans view it as one of their strongest opportunities to take back control of the Senate in November. The Cook Political report ranks the race as a “toss-up” and recent polling shows the race within the margin of error.
‘Scared’ and ‘traumatized’: Walz’s support for trans women in Minnesota women’s prison ‘endangering’ inmates
Inmates in Minnesota’s sole women’s prison report feeling “scared” and “traumatized” by the presence of transgender women in their living quarters – a situation that arose after Gov. Tim Walz’s endorsement of a controversial “sue and settlement” arrangement with a left-wing organization last year. Rebeca Warmbo, a former inmate at the Women’s Correctional Facility in Shakopee, who spent more than a decade in and out of prison on drug and robbery charges, now considers herself an advocate for her friends still behind bars. Warmbo, 50, keeps in regular contact with several women, who’ve written to her about their experiences ever since the trans inmates were transferred in. “They’re in fear, and they’re scared all the time, and they feel traumatized,” Warmbo told Fox News Digital. “Because [some of] these men are sex offenders, and a lot of the women in there have been abused or had sex offenses done against them.” She added: “They do sexually suggestive things to them, and it’s making them all very uncomfortable.” WALZ ADMINISTRATION SETTLES LEFT-WING GROUP’S TRANS INMATE LAWSUIT, COSTING MINNESOTA TAXPAYERS NEARLY $500K There are 48 transgender people reported across all Department of Corrections (DOC) facilities, according to a release last year from the Minnesota DOC. Fox News Digital identified at least four transgender inmates in the women’s prison. The state’s total incarcerated population is just under 10,000. Nathan Charles Johnson, Bradley Richard Sirvio, Sean Windingland and Elijah Thomas Berryman are currently serving sentences in the women’s facility for felony charges. According to DOC records, Sirvio is serving a life sentence for homicide, Windingland is serving 24 years for criminal sexual conduct, Berryman is serving a 26-year sentence also for criminal sexual conduct, and Johnson, charged with aiding and abetting a burglary, is set to be released in February 2025. Warmbo – a self-professed Christian who says she is now sober and studying to be a psychologist – said she has written several letters to her local representatives in Congress and to the Biden-Harris administration about the added “endangerment” incarcerated women now face living in close quarters with biological males. TRANS INMATE WHO KILLED BABY AND IDENTIFIES AS MUSLIM WOMAN SUES CHAPLAIN FOR ALLEGEDLY NOT ALLOWING HIJAB In addition to Warmbo, Fox News Digital spoke with an inmate currently in prison who spoke on condition that her name be withheld from publication. The inmate detailed how the prisoners are often too intimidated to speak out about encounters with the trans women, fearing administrative repercussions and having their privileges revoked. She also told Fox News Digital the trans women get their own rooms, while the other prisoners are placed two to a cell. All the prisoners virtually share the same open living spaces, including the showers. The inmate told Fox News Digital in a phone call that graphic instances of sexual harassment occur in the facility, though Fox News Digital could not independently confirm. “It’s just going to be a huge mess I see for Minnesota because of Tim Walz and his agenda on this,” Warmbo said. Last week, a longtime teacher at the Minnesota women’s facility, Alicia Beckmann, resigned out of protest at the new policy, the Independent Women’s Forum reported. Beckmann was reportedly “blindsided” leading up to her 10th anniversary working at the facility, when inmate Sirvio and Craig Lusk – who goes by the name Christina – arrived. “The women are scared to speak up. Many women are incarcerated because of the men they spend their time with, and we all have freedom of choice, but I guarantee that probably 75% of our population committed a crime because there was violence against them by a man, or they felt coerced into doing something for that man,” Beckmann told the organization. According to the DOC’s policy guidance issued to staff in April, trans inmates are granted certain privileges. “Incarcerated people who are transgender, gender diverse, intersex, or nonbinary may request a single-cell assignment,” and they must be “given the opportunity to shower separately in a manner so as to prevent viewing by other incarcerated people.” “Facility staff must provide incarcerated people who are transgender, gender diverse, intersex, or nonbinary state-issued undergarments consistent with their gender identity including any combination of those items up to the allowable limit if requested,” the document also states. When it comes to security checks, “pat and unclothed body searches of incarcerated people who are transgender, gender diverse, intersex, or nonbinary must be done in accordance with the gender of the facility in which they are assigned,” meaning if a trans inmate is housed in a male facility, the search should be conducted by male staff. If they are in a female facility, the search should be conducted by female staff. VIOLENT CONVICT’S TAXPAYER-FUNDED SEX CHANGE CHALLENGED BY STATE AG AFTER JUDGE’S APPROVAL “The department provides incarcerated people who are transgender, gender diverse, intersex, or nonbinary with appropriate gender-related mental health and medical services throughout their incarceration. The DOC provides medical care in accordance with WPATH standards of care,” the memo noted. Nearly $500,000 in taxpayer money was paid last year by Walz’s administration in what effectively was a “sue and settlement” scheme by a left-wing interest group, Gender Justice, which represented Craig “Christina” Lusk one year after the organization filed a sex discrimination complaint against the Minnesota DOC. As of Jan. 31, Lusk was released from state custody and placed under supervision. The settlement reached in this case involved a total of $495,000 distributed among three parties. Lusk received $245,903.72, Gender Justice was allocated $198,000 and Robins Kaplan LLP received $51,096.28 for legal fees. In 2023, records provided by OpenTheBooks indicate that Gender Justice received $448,904, which includes payments from the DOC and the $5,000 from the Minnesota Department of Education, though further details about the latter amount were not explored. The complaint alleged the DOC discriminated against a Lusk for not placing the inmate in a women’s prison and rejecting requests for sex-change surgeries. Prior to an arrest in December 2018 after being charged with