Behind-the-scenes battles: Legal challenges that could impact the vote before Election Day begins
Battleground states have already seen their share of fights before Election Day as legal challenges centered on voting issues, and while some have already been decided, others remain up in the air just hours before polls open Tuesday morning. From issues including mail-in ballots, drop boxes and concerns about ineligible voters, here are some of the high-profile swing state cases and where they currently stand. Arizona Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes acknowledged in September that 218,000 people in the state were allowed to register to vote without proof of citizenship despite state law that requires it. A state court set a deadline of Monday for production of a full list of affected people so that the recorders of each county can verify the citizenship of voters who had not previously provided proof of citizenship. The Maricopa County Recorder’s Office said in a statement to Fox News Digital on Monday before receiving any list that approximately 2,000 people had tried to submit voter registration updates and subsequently received notices that they had to prove their citizenship. ARIZONA HIGH COURT RULES SECRETARY OF STATE MUST TURN OVER LIST OF NONCITIZENS ON VOTER ROLL “These voters were contacted individually to let them know their registration was incomplete. However, after further consideration, the decision was made to fully restore those voters from the not-registered status, only if they were previously an existing, registered voter,” the statement said. Georgia Georgia has seen multiple lawsuits involving mail-in ballots. In Cobb County, the ACLU sued, claiming that at least 3,000 voters did not receive their ballots on time. In a victory for them, a court ordered new ballots to be sent overnight to the affected voters. Their votes will be counted as long as they are received by Nov. 8 at 5 p.m. Also in Cobb County, as well as in Fulton, Dekalb and Gwinnett Counties, the Republican National Committee sued, claiming that election offices improperly opened over the weekend to allow voters to drop off their mail-in ballots in person. The RNC cited state law that says drop boxes should be closed after the end of the early voting period, which was Friday. A state court said the county elections offices had the discretion to open for additional hours. Another Georgia case involved Fulton County’s offices being open over the weekend for dropping off mail-in ballots. At first, poll observers were barred from entering, with Fulton County elections director Nadine Williams stating that they were not allowed because it was a county office and not a polling site. Just hours later, it was announced that observers would be permitted after all. REPUBLICANS SCORE VICTORY IN GEORGIA FIGHT OVER ELECTION OBSERVERS, RNC CHAIRMAN SAYS Nevada A lawsuit from the Trump campaign, RNC and Nevada Republican Party opposing the potential counting of mail-in ballots that the state receives after Election Day that do not bear a postmark. The state Supreme Court ruled that such ballots can still be counted up to three days after Election Day. There is a similar case in federal court where challengers also lost but are appealing to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The same issue was also brought before the Fifth Circuit after a case was brought in Mississippi, and while the court said such ballots cannot be counted after Election Day, the ruling does not apply to this year’s election. North Carolina The RNC also has a lawsuit in North Carolina, involving 225,000 people it alleges are improperly registered because they had used an old form that did not ask for their driver’s license number or the last four digits of their Social Security number. The RNC claims that this violates the Help America Vote Act (HAVA). “Because of these errors, the North Carolina voter rolls, which both HAVA and state law mandates that Defendants regularly maintain, are potentially replete with ineligible voters – including possible non-citizens – all of whom are now registered to vote,” the RNC and North Carolina GOP said in a court filing. Pennsylvania The Keystone State remains a key battleground, not just on the ballot but in courtrooms, with several lawsuits having been filed over a variety of voting issues, many involving mail-in ballots. Republicans scored a win when they appealed a court ruling that said mail-in ballots without a required handwritten date could still be counted. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court overruled, saying that handwritten dates must be on the ballots. The GOP was not so fortunate in a separate case in which it sought an emergency appeal from the U.S. Supreme Court after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that provisional ballots should be counted if voters’ mail-in ballots were disqualified for technical errors, such as not being in mandatory secrecy envelopes. Republicans cited a state law that they argued prohibited voters from casting provisional ballots if they had already submitted mail-in ballots on time. The U.S. Supreme Court turned away the RNC’s appeal, with Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas issuing a statement that made clear that because the case only involved two votes in a small county, it would not have impacted the results of the election either way. Both parties won legal challenges when voters in multiple counties did not receive mail-in ballots on time. Democrats in Erie County sued when as many as 20,000 voters did not receive their ballots from a third-party vendor on time. A judge ruled that the Erie County Board of Elections had to remain open last Friday and Saturday so voters could fill out ballots. In Bucks County, Republicans sued over voters waiting in line for mail-in ballots being turned away at 5 p.m., even though they had been there waiting. A judge swiftly ruled that voters should get an additional three days to apply for a mail-in ballot. Another Pennsylvania case involves six Republican members of Congress who sued Pennsylvania’s State Department with allegations that overseas voters’ ballots were vulnerable to fraud because those voters were not made to adhere to the same identification
‘Painstaking process’: Pa. county gives update on probe of suspicious batch of voter forms
The chair of a Pennsylvania county election board updated voters Monday on the status of 2,500 voter registration and mail-in ballot applications that had been flagged last month as potentially fraudulent and prompted a county and statewide investigation in the crucial swing state. Speaking at a press conference, Lancaster County Commissioner Ray D’Agostino said that of the 2,500 registration and mail-in ballot applications that had been flagged as suspicious, a 57% majority had been confirmed as valid, and 17% were confirmed to be fraudulent, he said. The remaining 26% of voter registration applications and mail-in ballot applications are either incomplete or unverified, he said, and remain under investigation. “Those other two buckets are going to change, quite frankly, based on the continuing investigation,” D’Agostino said of the remaining applications, noting that the process of vetting the applications is a “painstaking process.” Officials said the applications were marked as suspicious “during the staff’s normal process to review and enter applications into [a Pennsylvania database]” and law enforcement was alerted. They noted that the forms in question either had false names, duplicative handwriting or unverifiable or incorrect identifying information. SUPREME COURT TEMPORARILY HALTS LOWER COURT RULING ORDERING 1,600 VOTERS BACK ON VIRGINIA VOTER ROLLS Both the local District Attorney’s Office and the Lancaster County Board of Elections have since been working to review and vet the applications. County election officials also immediately notified the Pennsylvania Department of State and the state attorney general’s office last month for further investigation. D’Agostino declined to comment further on the status of those investigations Monday, though he told reporters that any individuals whose applications were potentially impacted as a result of the probe have been notified by the county. The applications in question are not limited to a single party, and were collected across various spots across Lancaster County last month. “I can’t give any more information” at this point, D’Agostino said Monday of the investigation, adding that county and state officials are “continuing to investigate” and take the matter “very seriously.” The Pennsylvania Department of State confirmed its involvement in the probe late last month to Fox News Digital. It also applauded Lancaster County “for their diligent work in spotting this potential fraud and bringing it to the attention of law enforcement.” “As the county’s efforts show, multiple safeguards exist to ensure the integrity of our elections, and Pennsylvanians can have confidence that this November’s election will be safe, secure, free, and fair,” the office told Fox News. The update in Lancaster Monday comes just days after officials in Pennsylvania’s Monroe County said they are also investigating a much smaller pool of voter registration and mail-in ballot applications that had been set aside as potentially fraudulent. These applications, believed to total around 30, were spotted by county board of election officials and referred to the district attorney’s office for further investigation. SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS PENNSYLVANIA PROVISIONAL BALLOT RULING, IN A MAJOR LOSS FOR GOP Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry also sought to reassure voters in the Keystone State last week, noting in a press release Thursday that her office has been working with respective counties on the apparent attempts to submit fraudulent ballots and investigate any organizations that may be responsible. “While we will not be divulging sensitive information about these investigations, we want to clarify that the investigations regard voter registration forms, not ballots,” Henry said. “These attempts have been thwarted by the safeguards in place in Pennsylvania.” She added: “The investigations are ongoing, and offenders who perpetrated acts of fraud will be held accountable under the law.” Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
VP Harris ripped by sheriff for refusing to reveal her vote on anti-crime measure in home state
Vice President Kamala Harris is facing scrutiny from a California sheriff after refusing to say whether she voted for a proposition in her home state aimed at curbing the surging crime and theft in the state. “California’s Democrat leaders have long taken the side of criminals instead of standing up for crime victims and ordinary residents,” Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco told Fox News Digital. “Proposition 36 will roll back some of the most harmful soft-on-crime policies California Democrats have enacted. It is the single most important thing on California’s ballot this year, and will help clean up our streets and keep our neighborhoods safe. “The Vice President’s reluctance to vocally support this critical public safety measure is yet another failure in a long career of failures when it comes to keeping our citizens safe.” Harris, a former San Francisco district attorney, California attorney general and U.S. senator before she was elected vice president in 2020, declined over the weekend to answer about how she voted on Proposition 36. The California ballot measure would reverse criminal justice reforms made in her home state in recent years. CALIFORNIA’S BATTLE OVER CRIME AND HOMELESSNESS IS A WARNING TO THE NATION “I’m not going to talk about the vote on that because honestly it’s the Sunday before the election, and I don’t intend to create an endorsement one way or another around it,” Harris said. “But I did vote.” The initiative, if passed, would make the crime of shoplifting a felony for repeat offenders and increase penalties for some drug charges, including those involving the synthetic opioid fentanyl. It also would give judges the authority to order people with multiple drug charges to get treatment. VOTER FRUSTRATION WITH CRIME, LIBERAL DAS MOUNTING IN CALIFORNIA WHILE HARRIS MUM ON CONTROVERSIAL PROP 47 The ballot measure is an effort to roll back Prop 47, labeled by supporters as the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act, passed by Californians in 2014. Prop. 47 reclassified felonies down to misdemeanors “unless the defendant had prior convictions of murder, rape, certain sex offenses, or certain gun crimes.” But in the last several years, retail chains and mom-and-pop shops have been hit hard by theft, smash-and-grab robberies and organized retail crime gangs. Prop. 36 — titled the Homelessness, Drug Addiction, and Theft Reduction Act — seeks to undo portions of Prop. 47 by boosting penalties for some crimes and could increase depending on each category. Harris was California’s attorney general at the time of Prop. 47’s passage, and while she did not take a public position on it, her office was in charge of writing the title and summary of the measure on the actual ballot, which some residents felt was misleading. “Quite frankly, we were lied to and misled by our state, in that the name and the description on the ballot was not something that we were getting,” Bianco, a prominent Prop 36 supporter, told Fox News Digital earlier this year. “We voted for a proposition that was named the Safe Schools and the Safe Streets Initiative and it contained absolutely nothing to do with safe streets or safe schools, and it was everything that is bad about public safety right now, directly contributing to the increase in homelessness, mental health and drug addiction. Directly resulted in what we see now in our serial theft cases, in our retail theft cases and issues in crime of residential burglaries and those types of things.” Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris campaign but did not receive a response. Fox News Digital’s Danielle Wallace and Jamie Joseph contributed to this report
RFK Jr., on eve of Election Day, tells voters ‘do NOT vote for me’
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is telling Americans “do NOT vote for me” on the eve of Election Day, adding in a video that a vote for Trump is “the only way that we can get me and everything I stand for into Washington, D.C. and fulfill the mission that motivated my campaign.” The fresh plea comes after the Supreme Court last week denied separate appeals by RFK Jr. to remove his name from the ballots in Wisconsin and Michigan. “I’ve asked my voters repeatedly to vote for President Trump, but even a few votes for me in [Michigan] could swing the ballot in a way that the public doesn’t intend and the voters don’t intend,” he told “America’s Newsroom” on Sunday. Kennedy, who once was running as an independent presidential candidate, has been trying to get his name off ballots in key battleground states since he suspended his campaign in August and endorsed Trump. SUPREME COURT DENIES RFK JR EFFORT TO GET HIS NAME REMOVED FROM MICHIGAN AND WISCONSIN BALLOTS “Hey everybody, a lot of people are asking me if they live in a red state or blue state should they still be voting for me? What about swing states? The answer is easy – no,” RFK Jr. then said in a video posted to his X account on Monday. “No matter what state you live in, you should be voting for Donald Trump. And let me tell you why. That’s the only way that we can get me and everything I stand for into Washington, D.C. and fulfill the mission that motivated my campaign,” he continued. RFK JR. SAYS TRUMP WHITE HOUSE WILL GET FLUORIDE OUT OF DRINKING WATER Above the video, RFK Jr. wrote “No matter what state you live in, do NOT vote for me” and “Let’s get President Trump back in the White House and me to Washington so we can Make America Healthy Again, end the forever wars, and protect our civil liberties.” When he suspended his campaign, Kennedy said he planned to keep his name on the ballot in safe Democratic and Republican states, but didn’t want to be a spoiler in battleground states. Fox News’ Stepheny Price contributed to this report.
Government, private businesses erect barricades in preparation for Election Day
From government agencies to private citizens – many are planning for Election Day unrest by boarding up their buildings. The Secret Service confirmed that it was erecting barriers around major sites in the nation’s capital, including the White House and the vice president’s residence at the U.S. Naval Observatory. Meanwhile, private businesses in major cities, like New York, Portland and Washington, D.C., have also followed suit by boarding up their storefronts. In a statement to Fox News Digital, the Secret Service said it was “working closely” with federal, state and local partners in both the nation’s capital and Palm Beach County, Florida, in order to implement “heightened levels of safety and security” ahead of Tuesday’s election. In addition to the White House and the Naval Observatory, fencing will also block off the Treasury Department in Washington, D.C., and authorities have used bike-rack barriers to fortify the Capitol, according to The Washington Post. Meanwhile, Howard University, where Harris will be on election night, will also see heightened security measures, local D.C. police indicated. HOW TO WATCH ELECTION DAY COVERAGE ON FOX NEWS DIGITAL Individual states are also ramping up security efforts, including erecting barricades, ahead of Tuesday’s election. In Luzerene County in battleground Pennsylvania, “protective boulders” have been placed around the county’s Bureau of Elections office – just one of several security measures the office has taken, according to The New York Times. Meanwhile, in Massachusetts, additional police are expected to be deployed to polling sites on Election Day and the state is activating a Homeland Security Operations Center at the Massachusetts State Police Headquarters in Farmington, according to a local news report. On Friday, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee activated the National Guard to help respond to potential violence “leading up to, on, and potentially extending beyond Nov. 5.” In addition to the government, images and videos of businesses in D.C., New York City and Portland, Oregon, have begun surfacing on social media ahead of Tuesday’s election. NIKKI HALEY PENS SUPPORTIVE OP-ED IN FAVOR OF TRUMP AHEAD OF ELECTION DAY: ‘EASY CALL’ “It is completely ridiculous that we have to do this,” Ebony Boger, who works in D.C., told ABC 7 News. “It’s very precautionary, and I see why because I was here four years ago, and it was crazy down here. It’s not shocking. I’m kind of used to it. I think they should do it.” “It is sad that it has to come to that,” D.C. resident Lucas Argeles told local news outlet FOX 5. “I understand why store owners, especially local businesses, would want to do that. Even outside of the elections, there have been other instances where they should have boarded and they didn’t. It’s sad. It’s the reality. But I hope that this time it’s just a precautionary measure, nothing happens, and then, yeah.” The precautions come after the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security sent a series of bulletins to state and local election officials between September and October, which warned “election-related grievances” could motivate domestic extremists “to engage in violence.” MAJOR POLLSTER DROPS FINAL BATTLEGROUND POLL NUMBERS “[Domestic Violent Extremists] continue to create, exploit, and promote narratives about the election process or legal decisions involving political figures, and we are concerned that these grievances could motivate some [Domestic Violent Extremists] to engage in violence, as we saw during the 2020 election cycle,” one of the bulletins read. It added that there was also “heightened risk” that some extremists may seek to launch a “civil war.” “Through at least early 2025, there is a heightened risk that [Domestic Violent Extremists] may mobilize against ideological opponents, government officials, and law enforcement in an attempt to initiate a civil war.”
Biden absent from campaign trail in home state after viral ‘smack’ gaffe
On the eve of Election Day, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is taking center stage as both nominees vie for final votes in the battleground state during a bevy of rallies and campaign stops. President Biden, who was born in the Keystone State, however, has already wrapped up his campaigning for the Harris ticket and will be absent from his vice president’s list of campaign events in his old backyard. Harris’ Monday schedule includes campaign events in Scranton, Allentown and Reading, as well as a rally in Pittsburgh before her last speech to Pennsylvania voters during a rally in Philadelphia Monday evening. Along the campaign trail, the VP will be joined at various times by supporters and surrogates, such as second gentleman Doug Emhoff, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and a long list of celebrities such as Lady Gaga and Oprah Winfrey. Pennsylvania is again a key battleground state this cycle, and is expected to determine the outcome of the overall election. Biden won the Keystone State in his successful 2020 race, after Trump won the state when he squared off against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2016. BIDEN CALLS REPUBLICANS THE ‘GUYS YOU’D LIKE TO SMACK IN THE A–‘: ‘JUST FEEL THE UNITY’ Biden was born in Scranton and lived there until the age of 10, with the Biden family holding deep roots in the area and state overall. Biden’s great-grandfather, for example, Edward Francis Blewitt, was a Scranton fixture at the turn of the century. He served as chairman of the St. Patrick’s Day parade in 1897, was elected to the state Senate in 1906 and co-founded the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick in Scranton in 1908. Fast-forward about 100 years, his great-grandson’s last name is emblazoned on street signs and has become synonymous with the city itself. BILL MAHER WARNS THAT BIDEN’S ‘GARBAGE’ COMMENT IS A ‘BIGGER GAFFE THAN PEOPLE THINK’: ‘DEPLORABLES TIMES 10’ Biden, however, is not scheduled to join Harris during her final pitch to Keystone voters – or elsewhere on the campaign trail – after delivering his final Harris stump speech in Scranton on Saturday. Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and Harris campaign inquiring about Biden’s absence from his home state in the final stretch of the election, but did not receive replies. Biden reflected on his love of Pennsylvania and Scranton during his final remarks supporting Harris’ campaign on Saturday, where he spoke to union workers. “Scranton becomes part of your heart,” Biden said. “It crawls into your heart. It’s real. It’s not hyperbole. It’s not a joke. It’s real.” JONATHAN TURLEY: ANGRY RHETORIC IS ALL THE RAGE, BUT HERE’S TO HOPE The event, however, was underscored by a viral moment about “macho guys” and Biden’s apparent desire to “smack” Republicans. “There’s one more thing Trump and his Republican friends want to do: they want another giant tax cut for the wealthy. Now, I know some of you guys are tempted to think it’s macho guys,” he said Saturday. “But I tell you what, man, when I lived in Scranton, I said, you remember we used to have a little trouble going down to The Plot once in a while? Green Ridge. But I’m serious. These [are] the kind of guys you’d like to smack in the a—,” Biden continued. INDEPENDENTS REACT NEGATIVELY TO BIDEN’S ‘GARBAGE’ COMMENTS IN REAL TIME The comments were ridiculed on social media, as critics argued Biden was intentionally trying to undermine the Harris campaign, comparing it to when Biden suggested Trump supporters were “garbage” last month. “I’m not sure I’d have Joe on the campaign trail right now. The Bidenisms are something I’ll miss,” editor-at-large of the Foundation for Economic Education Jon Miltimore remarked. BIDEN STUMBLES THROUGH EVENT, REFERS TO FORMER REP. GIFFORDS IN PAST TENSE: ‘NOTHING WRONG WITH ME’ “Wonder if @flotus ‘pushed’ an otherwise silent @JoeBiden out front in the closing days of the campaign to talk s— and undermine @TheDemocrats and @KamalaHarris efforts as payback for unceremoniously sacking her man? Nah, it’s all probably just a coincidence,” CNN commentator David Urban joked. Meghan McCain agreed: “He’s intentionally trying to hurt Harris and no one can convince me differently at this point.” Biden will leave office on Jan. 20, after initially kicking off the 2024 election cycle fully committed to running for re-election. That plan began crumbling over the summer as concerns mounted over the president’s mental acuity and age following repeated gaffes on the campaign trail and in his official capacity as commander in chief. Biden’s June presidential debate against Trump officially opened the floodgates to traditional Democratic allies joining a chorus of calls for Biden to drop out of the race and pass the torch to a younger generation. BIDEN UNDER FIRE ONLINE AGAIN FOR TWICE CONFUSING LIVING EUROPEAN LEADERS WITH DEAD PREDECESSORS IN ONE WEEK Biden dropped out in a social media post in July, and shortly after threw his support behind Harris in a follow-up post on X. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP As Harris crisscrosses the Keystone State, former President Trump has also zeroed-in on Pennsylvania. Trump is holding rallies in both Reading and Pittsburgh on Monday, as well as a rally in North Carolina and another in Michigan Monday evening. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Cruz slams outgoing McConnell as ‘one-man dictator’ after leader-aligned Super PAC abandoned him in tight race
Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, who is defending his seat in the upper chamber, slammed outgoing Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell as a “one-man dictator” on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures.” “He’s basically behaved as a one-man dictator. I don’t think we want a leader who does that,” Cruz said of McConnell, the longest-serving GOP leader in Congress. “I think when we win in November, and I believe we’re going to see a really good election, I think Trump’s going to win. I think we’re going to win a Republican Senate and Republican House. When that happens, we’ve got enormous work to do when that happens.” TED CRUZ KNOCKS MCCONNELL-ALIGNED SUPER PAC FOR ‘ZERO SUPPORT’ IN COMPETITIVE RACE Cruz’s comments come after he blasted the Senate Leadership Fund — an independent Super PAC aimed at securing a Republican majority in the Senate — for donating “not one penny” to Cruz’s re-election campaign against Democrat Rep. Colin Allred. “I want to see a majority leader who changes how the Senate operates, who democratizes it more,” Cruz said. “We are getting absolutely zero support from the Senate Leadership Fund (SLF),” the Republican said previously. HARRIS SLAMS ‘OFFENSIVE’ TRUMP REMARK ON PROTECTING WOMEN FROM MIGRANT CRIME Despite the legitimate challenge posed by Allred, Cruz is favored to win the contest. The SLF has notably spent most of its resources in states with key Republican Senate pick-up opportunities, such as Pennsylvania, Montana, Ohio, Wisconsin and Michigan. Cruz has been critical of McConnell’s leadership and called for him to step down earlier this year, as he and a group of Republicans aired their grievances over the failed bipartisan border bill that McConnell was in favor of at the time. HOW GOP, DEM SENATORS ARE USING 2024 CAMPAIGN TRAIL TO LOBBY FOR CONFERENCE INFLUENCE In a recent book on McConnell, titled “The Price of Power,” Michael Tackett, the deputy Washington bureau chief of The Associated Press, detailed how the leader allowed conference members to publicly go against him, to an extent, if it was helpful to them electorally. Cruz said he has also informed the three Republican candidates vying for the position of his desire for a “full and open amendment process” regarding extensive budget packages that are often thousands of pages long. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub. “That would fundamentally change how the Senate operates,” Cruz said. Fox News Digital’s Julia Johnson contributed to this report.
Schumer points to Nebraska Independent candidate as Democrat gain amid dark money scrutiny
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., suggested Democrats were close to picking up a Senate seat in Nebraska, apparently referring to Nebraska Independent Dan Osborn as a likely Democrat caucus member, which the Senate candidate has continuously denied. “We have decent chances of picking up three seats,” Schumer told Democrats during a virtual rally with the Jewish Democratic Council of America in support of Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz’s campaign. “We’re even in Texas. We’re a point or two behind in Nebraska. We’re only three points behind in Florida,” the New York Democrat said in a video obtained by Fox News Digital. I’M DAN OSBORN: THIS IS WHY I WANT NEBRASKA’S VOTE FOR SENATE “So we have – we’re right on the edge of keeping the Senate, of winning the House, keeping the presidency,” Schumer continued. There is no Democratic candidate nominated for the Senate race between incumbent Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., and Osborn, who is a union leader and mechanic. Osborn’s campaign told Fox News Digital that he has never spoken to Schumer before. “I’m a true Independent, and I’ve said over and over again that I do not plan to caucus with either party,” Osborn said in a statement. ‘WHAT A DISGRACE’: TRUMP TAUNTS MCCONNELL’S ENDORSEMENT AS GOP SENATE LEADER RACE LOOMS “I’ve never spoken to Chuck Schumer, and he is going to be in for a rude awakening if he thinks I’m taking orders from him or anyone in DC. My opponent Deb Fischer does whatever Mitch McConnell tells her to. That’s what’s wrong with Washington. We need an independent who will stand up to the party bosses and stop playing politics so we can finally secure the border, pass a farm bill, and serve the country instead of special interests,” he added. While each of the four independents currently in the U.S. Senate caucus with the Democrats, giving the party its current majority, Osborn has reiterated he would not caucus with either party. But this has been complicated by the actions and remarks of Democrats who have signaled they expect him to join them. Apart from Schumer’s suggestion that Nebraska is a likely pickup opportunity for the party, a PAC associated with Democrat Harry Dunn, who is a former Capitol Police officer who previously ran for Congress, recently sent a fundraising text that claimed, “Dan is an independent who will caucus with the Democrats.” REPUBLICANS CALL ON MAYORKAS TO REINSTATE COVID-ERA BORDER POLICY AMID TUBERCULOSIS ‘SURGE’ The campaign disputed the text’s claim and the PAC reportedly said the message was “incorrect” and not coordinated with Osborn’s team. The incidents have also coincided with scrutiny over Osborn’s monetary support from outside groups. Multiple outside groups have poured money into Nebraska as the Independent’s challenge to Fischer has gained momentum, some of which have ties to Democrats and a controversial dark money group linked to billionaire George Soros. HOW GOP, DEM SENATORS ARE USING 2024 CAMPAIGN TRAIL TO LOBBY FOR CONFERENCE INFLUENCE One of the main groups spending on behalf of Osborn is Retire Career Politicians, which has gotten $800,000 from the controversial dark money group, the Sixteen Thirty Fund, in a matter of months. The Sixteen Thirty Fund notoriously keeps its donors’ identities a secret, but it has notably received more than $75 million in grants from Soros’ Open Society Foundations between 2016 and 2022, according to Open Society Foundations’ website. A representative for Schumer did not provide comment to Fox News Digital in time for publication. In a recent New York Times/ Siena College poll, Fischer beat Osborn by only two points, 48% to 46%. The poll surveyed 1,194 voters in Nebraska between Oct. 23 and 26. The margin of error is +/- 3.2 percentage points. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Trump campaign blasts Pelosi as ‘corrupt’ and ‘decrepit’ after she claims Trump’s brain is ‘deteriorating’
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi claimed that former President Donald Trump’s brain is “deteriorating” and he will not be capable of serving out a four-year term as president. During an appearance on MSNBC, Pelosi said that individuals 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.” While speaking in Pennsylvania on Sunday, Trump — who was shot in the ear earlier this year during a speech — made a joke, saying, “to get me somebody would have to shoot through the fake news, and I don’t mind that so much.” TRUMP IN A ‘GREAT POSITION’ TO WIN ON ELECTION DAY, RNC SAYS AFTER EARLY VOTING Pelosi described the former president’s comments as “further indication of his cognitive degeneration.” She then referenced Trump’s prior discussion of whether he would prefer electrocution or getting eaten by sharks. “Something’s very wrong there,” Pelosi said. TRUMP CAMPAIGN ‘EXPANDING THE MAP,’ VANCE SAYS IN NEW HAMPSHIRE Trump has spoken about a hypothetical scenario of being on a sinking electric boat and having to choose death by electrocution or sharks — he notes that he would choose electrocution. “I’ll take electrocution every single time,” Trump has said. In a statement to Fox News Digital, Trump campaign national press secretary Karoline Leavitt slammed Pelosi. PELOSI REPORTEDLY NOT ‘HAPPY THAT THE ONLY BLOODY FINGERPRINTS ON THE KNIFE’ TO OUST BIDEN WERE HERS CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “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.” Pelosi has served in Congress since mid-1987.
VP Harris’ radical mentor could be key player in reparations push if she becomes president
Vice President Kamala Harris’ longtime pastor and mentor could be a key player in the reparations push on the federal level if she wins the presidential election on Tuesday. Rev. Amos Brown, who has made several controversial comments, including blaming the United States for the 9/11 terrorist attacks, was appointed by California’s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom to serve as the vice chair of the state’s reparations task force in 2021 and has called for a reparations push on the federal level. In 2022, Brown hosted an event at his church called “Solidarity for Reparations,” which included the controversial Rev. Frederick Douglass Haynes III. Brown, who Harris previously said has “been on this journey with me every step of the way, from when I first thought about running for public office almost two decades ago” and has traveled with her to different events, introduced Haynes as a “son of Third Baptist” and the “right man to come and to inspire us, inform us, and make sure that we have the map to implement in all that we might make reparations a reality not in the sweet by-and-by, but right down here in the here and now.” HARRIS CAMPAIGN DISHES OUT SIX-FIGURE DONATIONS TO GROUPS WHO SUPPORT DEFUNDING POLICE, REPARATIONS “America, you owe us. What you done to us has been immoral. It’s been evil. It’s been unjust. It’s been downright wrong and the only way to bring salvation to America – you gotta pay us what you owe us,” Haynes said at Brown’s church. “I’ve come by to say San Francisco, California, Texas, United States of America, if you want salvation to come to this house, you’ve got to engage in reparations.” Haynes’ comments received high praise from Brown, who told the congregation “What a wonder. What a word. What a challenge.” He then told all the members of the San Francisco reparations task force in the crowd to “implement what our preacher has so eloquently stated in undescribable words. I told you you would receive information. You got all the inspiration you need. Now it’s time for implementation.” During an event last year, Brown said those opposed to reparations are “heartless.” “If anyone says ‘Y’all don’t deserve nothing. Stop complaining. Pull yourself up by your bootstraps,’” he said. “I contend they are heartless, and they don’t know anything about that dictum that’s found in all of the world religions. What is that dictum?: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” ‘WE JUST TELL THE TRUTH’: VP HARRIS’ LONGTIME MENTOR REPEATEDLY DEFENDED CONTROVERSIAL OBAMA PASTOR While Brown has warned activists about putting a monetary value on reparations, saying some of the numbers he has seen are “not rational” or “practical” and could lead to them being “stuck in quagmire and a skunk fight,” Brown said that if other groups are getting taxpayers’ money from the government, “What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.” “You cannot put a dollar sign on what has been done to Black people,” Brown told Fox News Digital last year. “Our sin bill in this nation has been so high, and because of the long years of doing nothing, the interest has grown.” Harris has been pressed on reparations multiple times this year but has stopped short of fully endorsing reparations and instead has said she thinks the issue should be “studied.” “I am running to be a president for all Americans. That being said, I do have clear eyes about the disparities that exist and the context in which they exist, meaning history, to your point. So my agenda, well, first of all, on the point of reparations, it has to be studied,” Harris said last month during a high-profile interview with Charlamagne Tha God. “There’s no question about that. And I’ve been very clear about that position in terms of my immediate plan,” During a conversation with members of the National Association of Black Journalists in September, she was asked whether she would establish a commission to study reparations, but she deflected and instead suggested that “Congress ultimately will have the ability to do this work.” However, during her failed 2019 presidential campaign, Harris told The Root that she believes “there has to be some form of reparations” for Black Americans. In a follow-up question about whether she would be willing to lead a national conversation on what reparations look like for Black people, she said, “Yeah, including things like what we should be doing to take very seriously undiagnosed and untreated trauma.” She also said she would sign now-deceased Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee’s H.R. 40 bill, which would form a commission to study reparations for descendants of slaves, if it passed and came across her desk. In addition to Harris’ pastor, several Black activists and advocacy groups supporting her presidential campaign have openly called for reparations and would likely play a role in a national push. Ron Busby, the longtime president of the U.S. Black Chambers and a powerful ally of Harris, has repeatedly called for reparations. In 2020, Busby fumed, “If you can write a $2 trillion check to small business suffering from a pandemic, you can damn sure have a conversation about reparations.” “It’s on the table now. It’s a real conversation,” added Busby, who Harris has praised as an “extraordinary leader” who exhibits “courageous leadership.” UNEARTHED REPORT REVEALS POWERFUL HARRIS ALLY ‘WILLING TO SHARE’ RESOURCES FROM BLACK BUSINESSES WITH CCP Busby, who has visited the Biden-Harris White House dozens of times, has also advocated for reparations through his Black Chambers organization. The group’s 2023 “BLACKprint” called for providing “reparations through investment and demonstrate a commitment to uplift Black enterprises.” “As seen throughout the last several years, the growing discussion around reparations signals a renewed commitment to enter a new chapter in race relations. It comes, however, at a time when rhetoric and action threaten to deepen division,” the group’s annual report said. “We believe the concept of reparations is less a