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GOP prepared for pivotal court battles that could decide 2024 election

GOP prepared for pivotal court battles that could decide 2024 election

The Republican Party is determined not to be outmanned in the courts regarding the 2024 elections, with GOP leaders leaning heavily on a new, litigation-focused “election integrity” effort launched earlier this year in a bid to avoid many of the same pitfalls as 2020. The two-pronged effort seeks to improve the GOP ground game across the country, both by recruiting and training poll observers and by adding more transparency to the voting process, senior Republican Party officials told Fox News Digital in an interview. To date, they have recruited some 230,000 volunteers across the country, RNC officials said, including 5,000 lawyers concentrated primarily in the battleground states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. On the eve of Election Day, it is the lawyers whose talents could be especially useful in the days and weeks to come.  SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS PENNSYLVANIA PROVISIONAL BALLOT RULING, IN A MAJOR LOSS FOR GOP That is because the second half of the election integrity push focuses on litigation. Some of the lawsuits are aimed at ensuring “poll worker parity” and access for Republican observers at many election sites across the country, senior party officials told Fox News Digital. However, they have also filed dozens of lawsuits aimed at cracking down on voter identification laws, tightening citizenship verification standards and adding new requirements for mail-in ballots and provisional ballots accepted by various states.  The Republican Party has been especially aggressive in filing these pre-election lawsuits, which officials describe as helping “set the rules of the road in key swing states.” As of this writing, party officials said they have filed more than 130 lawsuits—the vast majority of the roughly 200 election-related lawsuits in the 2024 election. While the flurry of GOP-led lawsuits have dominated headlines in the final race to Election Day—primarily in the seven swing states considered to hold outsize importance in determining the next president— Republican Party officials pointed to courtroom victories won as early as this summer as some of their biggest achievements. One example was the RNC’s successful lawsuit against the city of Detroit in August.  The RNC had sued to add more Republican election inspectors to the city’s 300-plus voting precincts, citing a “7.5-to-one” ratio of Democrat inspectors to Republican inspectors. Republicans successfully argued that the disparity ran afoul of state law, which requires “an equal number, as nearly as possible” of election officials from both major political parties. More Republican observers were added as a result.  A more recent win occurred last week in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, where a judge sided with the GOP’s request to extend early voting deadlines from Tuesday, Nov. 5, to Friday, Nov. 8. BEHIND-THE-SCENES BATTLES: LEGAL CHALLENGES THAT COULD IMPACT THE VOTE BEFORE ELECTION DAY BEGINS Republican officials have touted success in achieving more transparency in state elections.  “We really view this as making America’s elections run in a transparent and trustworthy way. And that’s a net positive for everyone in this country, regardless of Republican or Democrat [party affiliation],” a senior RNC official told Fox News Digital in an interview. Still, on the eve of Election Day, it remains to be seen whether these efforts will have accomplished their stated goal of establishing more trust in U.S. elections. That is because the concept of “election security” not only requires certain safeguards to be placed around the voter registration and ballot-casting process, but also that the voters themselves then trust the results of the vote as legitimate. A fresh AP-NORC poll found that Democrats are far more likely than their Republican counterparts to express confidence in the outcome of the 2024 presidential election.  The poll found that while 71% of registered Democratic voters said they have “a great deal” of confidence in the national election outcome, just one-third of their Republican counterparts, or 24%, reported the same.  SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS PENNSYLVANIA PROVISIONAL BALLOT RULING, IN A MAJOR LOSS FOR GOP While some of these lawsuits could be used by the RNC as a pretext to challenge the outcome of certain states after Election Day, legal experts said it is unclear what impact any of these legal challenges could have in contesting the results — even if the outcome in certain states is just as close as expected in a neck-and-neck election.  Courts are highly disinclined to take up cases after Election Day, Andrew McCarthy, a former federal prosecutor for the Southern District of New York, told Fox News in an interview.  “We want to have the game be fair, in the sense that there’s bright lines way before you ever get to Election Day,” McCarthy said. “So everybody has their eyes open about what the rules are.” “It’s really hard to get a court to involve itself after an election has taken place and where they’re in a position of potentially changing the outcome of the election,” he added. That is especially true of the nation’s top court, Trey Gowdy, a former federal prosecutor and member of Congress, told Fox News Digital in an interview. “I think the Supreme Court is very wary of being drawn into overtly political fights,” he said.  Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

‘Very close’: Nevada expert reveals which presidential candidate he predicts will win crucial battleground

‘Very close’: Nevada expert reveals which presidential candidate he predicts will win crucial battleground

A respected election expert in Nevada has released his final analysis for the presidential race in the Silver State and predicted that Vice President Kamala Harris will carry the state by a razor-thin margin over former President Doanld Trump. Jon Ralston, editor and CEO of The Nevada Independent, wrote in a blog post on Monday that he predicts the crucial swing state of Nevada by a margin of 48.5% to 48.2%. “It’s a simple question: Can the Democrats catch up?” Ralston asked, referencing the early voting lead that Republicans have surprisingly amassed in the state along with significantly cutting down the voter registration lead Democrats usually enjoy. “It’s really a coin flip, and I know people on both sides who have analyzed the data who can’t decide. I have gone back and forth in my own head for days, my eyes glazing over with numbers and models and extrapolations. The key to this election has always been which way the non-major-party voters break because they have become the plurality in the state. They are going to make up 30 percent or so of the electorate and if they swing enough towards Harris, she will win Nevada. I think they will, and I’ll tell you why.” BEHIND-THE-SCENES BATTLES: LEGAL CHALLENGES THAT COULD IMPACT THE VOTE BEFORE ELECTION DAY BEGINS Ralston explained that he believes many Harris voters who are registered as “nonpartisan” will get out and vote as part of the “Reid Machine” put in place by the late Democratic Sen. Harry Reid, the U.S. Senate majority leader from 2007 to 2015, to help pool resources to maximize support for candidates up and down the ballot.  “The machine knows who they are and will get them to vote. It will be just enough to overcome the Republican lead – along with women motivated by abortion and crossover votes that issue also will cause.” I’M SAM BROWN: THIS IS WHY I WANT NEVADA’S VOTE FOR SENATE Ralson wrote that his previous analysis “concludes Trump probably has a 30,000 raw vote lead right now,” but he believes there are “a lot of Clark County mail ballots to be counted that favor Democrats” and suggested early GOP turnout is cannibalizing part of its Election Day vote. Ralston added, “I know some may think this reflects my well-known disdain for Trump, heart over data. But that is not so. I have often predicted against my own preferences; history does not lie. I just have a feeling she will catch up here, but I also believe – and please remember this – it will not be clear who won on Election Night here, so block out the nattering nabobs of election denialism. It’s going to be very, very close.” A Trump campaign official told Fox News Digital that Ralston’s “prediction” is “all wishcasting and not based on data.” “The MSNBC contributor hates Trump and admitted as such in his prediction. Republicans are turning out and Democrats aren’t in Nevada. The math is the math.” Ralston, who said he has “never missed a Nevada presidential call,” also predicted that incumbent Dem. Sen. Jacky Rosen would win re-election in Nevada and that Democrats down the ticket would perform well. He did admit he has “botched races down-ballot.” Nevada and its six electoral votes are expected to play a critical role in the presidential election in a state where the Real Clear Politics average of polls shows Trump with a one-point lead. President Biden won Nevada by roughly 34,000 votes in 2020 and Nevada has voted for every Democrat who has run for president since 1992, except the two elections with President George W. Bush on the ballot. However, the average margin across those eight elections is just 4.1 points.

22 toss-up House races to watch on election night

22 toss-up House races to watch on election night

Election Day is here, and tens of millions of Americans are now heading to the polls across the country. Their votes will be the deciding factor in 22 toss-up House races that will determine whether Republicans or Democrats control the chamber for the next two years. Beneath the surface, the battle for the gavel is getting more expensive. House candidates have spent more than $3 billion on their races so far, concentrated in roughly 40 battleground districts. Arizona’s 1st District covers a northeast chunk of Maricopa and is represented by Republican Rep. David Schweikert, who has served Arizona in Congress since 2011. Biden won the area he represents by 1.5 points in the last presidential election (Dave’s Redistricting), making this an ultra-competitive race. Schweikert is up against Democrat and former state Rep. Amish Shah. It’s a Toss-up on the Power Rankings. ‘ADMIRES DICTATORS’: HARRIS CONTINUES COMPARING TRUMP TO HITLER DURING BATTLEGROUND STATE TOWN HALL Arizona’s 6th District is tucked away in the southeast corner of the state. The 6th District is represented by freshman GOP Rep. Juan Ciscomani. Biden won this area by an even thinner margin in 2020 — just 0.1 percentage points — making it another closely watched race. Ciscomani is running against Kirsten Engel, another Democratic former state representative. It’s also a Toss-up. California’s 22nd District is home to Rep. David Valadao, one of two Republicans who voted to impeach Trump in 2021. He kept this district on a three-point margin in the midterms, but Biden won it by 13 points in the last presidential election. Valadao’s strong centrist brand keeps this race, against former assemblyman Rudy Salas, at Toss Up this cycle. California’s 41st District is represented by Republican Ken Calvert, who has served in the House since 1993. He won his most recent race by under five points, and this year, he’ll face the same competitor: former federal prosecutor and Democrat Will Rollins. This race is a Toss Up. California’s 45th District went to President Biden by six points last cycle; its heavy and right-leaning Asian American population makes it highly competitive. Incumbent Rep. Michelle Steel faces Democratic lawyer Derek Tran in this district, which includes parts of Los Angeles. It moved to Toss Up last month. Colorado’s 8th District starts in rural Weld County, where Trump won by 18 points in 2020. But the farther down you go, the more suburban it becomes. Strong Democratic turnout in Adams County, which Biden won by 16 points, gave Democratic Rep. Yadira Caraveo her first win in 2022. This time, the incumbent is up against Republican state politician Gabe Evans. This is a toss-up race. HEAD HERE FOR FOX NEWS UPDATES ON THE 2024 ELECTION Iowa’s 1st District went to second-term GOP Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks by six votes in 2020, and while redistricting gave her a more comfortable win in the midterms, she remains vulnerable in the Davenport and Iowa City district. Former state Rep. Christina Bohannan is the Democrat candidate. It’s a toss-up in the Power Rankings. Maine’s 2nd District sees Incumbent Rep. Jared Golden running as one of five Democrats in districts Trump won in the last presidential election (Golden won by 6 points). The former Marine made headlines this year when he said he “didn’t know” whether he would vote for Biden again and was one of the first Democrats to question Biden’s mental fitness. This time, he’s up against Maine State Representative and former NASCAR driver Austin Theriault, who says he wants “more balance and less extremism” in politics. This race is a Power Rankings toss-up. Michigan’s 7th District sees Democrat Elissa Slotkin vacating this south central Michigan district, which she flipped by a 5.4-point margin in the midterms. This year, it’s a battle between two former state senators — Democrat Curtis Hertel and Republican Tom Barrett. This race is a toss-up on the Fox News Power Rankings. Michigan’s 8th District is also without an incumbent. Rep. Dan Kildee is retiring after 12 years in the House, making this a race between Democratic state Sen. Kristen McDonald Rivet and Republican businessman Paul Junge. The seat includes Flint and the Tri-Cities area, so winning the working-class vote will be critical. It’s also a toss-up on the Power Rankings. North Carolina’s 1st District saw Democratic Rep. Don Davis win this open seat in the midterms by under five points. This year, he’s up against Army veteran Laurie Buckhout for this northeastern district with a high proportion of Black voters. This race is a toss-up on the Fox News Power Rankings. Nebraska’s 2nd District sees incumbent Republican Rep. Don Bacon defending his seat against Nebraska state legislator Tony Vargas. Bacon won his seat from a Democrat in 2016, and he has since won every election by less than 3 points. New Mexico’s 2nd District occupies most of the southwest land area of the state. It includes Las Cruces and parts of Albuquerque, but it also has a chunk of rural votes. Democratic Rep. Gabe Vasquez won the district by just 1,350 votes in the midterms; this year, he faces the seat’s former Republican occupant, Yvette Herrell. This is a Power Rankings toss-up. HARRIS, TRUMP, HOLD ELECTION EVE DUELING RALLIES IN THE BIGGEST OF THE BATTLEGROUNDS New York’s 4th District lies closer to New York City and includes the ultra-competitive Nassau County. The county is comprised of Long Beach, Garden City and Uniondale, where former President Trump held a rally last month. Incumbent Rep. Anthony D’Esposito spoke at that event. He’s up against local Democratic Town Supervisor Laura Gillen. It’s ranked toss-up on the Power Rankings. New York’s 19th District is the third Hudson Valley battleground with a moderate incumbent. The 19th District includes the Catskills and the Finger Lakes. GOP Rep. Marc Molinaro flipped this seat in the midterms with a roughly 5,000-vote margin. This year, he faces Democratic attorney Josh Riley. This race is a toss-up. Ohio’s 9th District lies in northwestern Ohio, and the seat has been held by populist Democrat Rep. Marcy Kaptur since 1983, but

State officials say lawyers ready to compel county election officials to swiftly certify vote if needed

State officials say lawyers ready to compel county election officials to swiftly certify vote if needed

Officials in battleground states say lawyers are ready on this Election Day to pursue legal action against any counties who try to disrupt or delay the vote certification process.  The warnings come after a few counties in Arizona, Pennsylvania and New Mexico initially did not certify results or did so with incomplete tallies following the 2022 midterm elections, according to Politico.  “If you don’t certify an election at the county level, or certify a canvas, you’re going to get indicted,” Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes told Politico. “We’ve sent, on top of that, some what I would call sternly-worded letters out to folks to let them know.”  Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson also said that lawyers have prepared draft legal filings in order to sue any county that tries to avoid certifying this year’s results.  LIVE UPDATES: AMERICA TO DECIDE THE NEXT PRESIDENT TODAY  “We’ve got great attorneys that we’re working with at the attorney general’s office, who are prepared as well, who were there in 2020 and ready to go,” Benson told Politico. “It’s more about just making sure we’re able to rapidly respond and are prepared to ensure that the law is followed.”  During the last presidential election, former President Trump urged two members of Michigan’s Wayne County Board of Canvassers not to certify the results, according to a report from The Detroit News.  LEGAL CHALLENGES THAT COULD IMPACT THE VOTE BEFORE ELECTION DAY BEGINS  In September, during an event hosted by the nonprofit Center for Election Innovation & Research, Gabriel Sterling, the chief operating officer for the Georgia secretary of state’s office, said, “There are those who think they can magically hold up everything by one county… That is not going to happen, and the courts won’t allow for that,” according to Politico.  “With the system we have in place, with the lawyers we have in place, we have game-planned a lot of this out,” he reportedly added.  State election officials tell Politico that local officials are duty-bound to certify results and the task is not optional. 

Trump slams Pelosi as ‘evil, sick, crazy,’ but stops short of profanity: ‘It starts with a B’

Trump slams Pelosi as ‘evil, sick, crazy,’ but stops short of profanity: ‘It starts with a B’

Former President Donald Trump blasted former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., just stopping short of calling her an obscenity. During remarks at a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the 2024 GOP presidential nominee called Pelosi a “crazy, horrible human being” and a “crooked person.” “She’s an evil, sick, crazy,” Trump said, seemingly sounding out the first letter of the word he had in mind, while stopping just short of uttering the obscenity. “It starts with a B, but I won’t say it. I wanna say it.” TRUMP SAYS GOODBYE TO ‘BIG BEAUTIFUL RALLIES’ IN LAST EVENT BEFORE ELECTION He also referred to Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., as “Adam shifty Schiff” and “pencil neck,” saying that the congressman is “an unattractive guy” on the inside and outside. During a recent appearance on MSNBC, Pelosi claimed that Trump is suffering “cognitive degeneration” and would not be capable of serving a four-year presidential term. She said that those thinking of voting for Trump “have to know that he can’t last as president for four years with his brain deteriorating at the rate that it is … and they may be voting for President Vance, which would be a horrible thing for our country.” HARRIS, TRUMP CONCLUDE CAMPAIGNING — NOW IT’S UP TO THE VOTERS AS ELECTION DAY 2024 GETS UNDERWAY Trump campaign national press secretary Karoline Leavitt blasted Pelosi in a statement to Fox News Digital. “The only thing deteriorating is Nancy Pelosi who is a decrepit washed up corrupt politician who America can no longer stand,” Leavitt said in the statement. “She should go back to the City of San Francisco, which she has totally destroyed, and never return.” TRUMP GETS LAST-MINUTE ROUND OF BIG-NAME ENDORSEMENTS INCLUDING JOE ROGAN, SON OF ROBERTO CLEMENTE CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Pelosi, who is currently seeking re-election, has been serving in Congress for more than three decades. She took office in mid-1987.

Abortion ‘on the ballot’ in 10 states this election, but it might not matter

Abortion ‘on the ballot’ in 10 states this election, but it might not matter

Voters in 10 U.S. states will decide on major ballot initiatives this year that either expand or restrict abortion access for women, a highly polarizing issue but one that some advocacy groups do not believe will affect turnout quite as much as some had expected.  It’s unclear to what extent this could impact Vice President Harris, who has focused heavily on abortion access and reproductive rights in her bid for the presidency. In the final race to Election Day, some doubt the issue has lasting power to turn out voters to the same degree it did during the 2022 midterm elections, held just months after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. “I think Democrats are dramatically overestimating the power of abortion,” Shawn Carney, president of the pro-life nonprofit group “40 Days for Life,” told Fox News in an interview.  ‘KAMALA ERA’: DNC LAUNCHES TAYLOR SWIFT-THEMED CAMPAIGN IN PITCH TO YOUNG VOTERS The nonprofit has a grassroots presence in all 50 states and has canvassed heavily in the 10 states that will vote directly on abortion-related measures this year: Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New York, Nevada and South Dakota. The majority of these ballot measures seek to amend efforts passed in Republican-led states, whose leaders moved to restrict abortion in the wake of the Supreme Court’s June 2022 decision on Roe. Notable policies will be on the books in Missouri, where voters will have the option to reverse the state’s near-total ban, and Arizona, where voters can amend the state constitution to allow abortions through the 24-week mark. The most populous state deciding on abortion measures is Florida, home to more than 13 million registered voters. Voters there will decide whether to lift an existing law that bans abortions after six weeks and instead extend it to the point of fetal viability between 23 and 24 weeks. “I think we have the best chance to win in Florida,” Carney said, citing the popularity in the state of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican and staunch advocate of pro-life issues. “We have a great presence in Florida. We have great ‘40 Days’ campaigns throughout that great state.” SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS PENNSYLVANIA PROVISIONAL BALLOT RULING, IN A MAJOR LOSS FOR GOP Harris and other Democrats have worked to highlight the new risks to abortion access women face. But it’s not clear what impact this will have on turnout in a presidential election dominated by economic issues and immigration. Former first lady Michelle Obama dedicated most of her stump speech at a Harris rally last week in Kalamazoo, Mich., to outlining the many ways women could see their reproductive rights diminished further. “Your niece could be the one miscarrying in her bathtub after the hospital turned her away,” Obama told the audience. “Your daughter could be the one terrified to call the doctor if she’s bleeding during an unexpected pregnancy.” Importantly, voters in states where abortion is on the ballot will vote on it independently, meaning it is “decoupled” from their presidential vote and votes for down-ballot leaders. This means that some staunch pro-choice supporters could theoretically vote for Trump and Republicans in their states while also voting to support pro-life procedures.  This “decoupling” effort would indeed reflect public opinion that has shifted to support abortion. A Fox News poll conducted this year found that a record-high number of voters now say they support legalizing abortion in some form, including two-thirds who said they supported a nationwide law that would guarantee abortion access for women. Fifty-nine percent said they believe abortion should be legal in “all or most cases,” up from the previous high of 57% in September 2022.  But how much the issue of abortion will drive voter turnout this year – for those who are either for or against the new ballot measure – is unclear.  National polls have seen abortion ranked consistently by voters as the third-most important issue in the 2024 election cycle, behind immigration and far behind the economy.  Just 15% of voters ranked abortion as their No. 1 priority in 2024, according to a recent Fox News poll, compared to immigration, which 17% of voters said they viewed as the No. 1 issue, and the economy, which a strong 40% of voters ranked as their top priority. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.