Texas Weekly Online

Menu
Menu
Facebook Twitter Youtube

Author:

‘Tough call’: Atlanta voters split on who will win Georgia

‘Tough call’: Atlanta voters split on who will win Georgia

ATLANTA – Voters in Georgia’s capital city are split over which presidential candidate has the best chance of winning their pivotal swing state in November. “I see a lot more signs for Kamala than I do for Trump,” Atlanta resident Stephanie Roberts, who works at a financial advisory firm, told Fox News Digital. “However, go to the south, go to the more rural areas, and you will see a lot more Trump signs.” Roberts, a Vice President Kamala Harris supporter herself, added, “I do feel like the energy is more positive for Kamala.” GEORGIA GOP CHAIR SHARES 2-PRONGED ELECTION STRATEGY AS TRUMP WORKS TO WIN BACK PEACH STATE The Peach State could be critical to deciding the winner of the 2024 presidential race between Harris and former President Donald Trump. The traditionally red Georgia has trended more favorably toward Democrats in recent years, particularly since Trump became the face of the GOP. Its pivotal turning point came in 2020, when President Biden won the state by just over 11,000 votes. SPEAKER JOHNSON RIPS ‘LACK OF LEADERSHIP’ IN BIDEN ADMIN’S HELENE RESPONSE: ‘ALARMED AND DISAPPOINTED’ “I think it’s going to be a tough call. I think the current polls are pretty tight,” said Atlanta resident Jose Malabo, who spoke with Fox News Digital in the city’s Piedmont Park. “I think if people show up and vote in numbers, I think Kamala has an edge here.” Another person who only identified himself as Kevin said Harris would “definitely” win Georgia. “She’s the best candidate, in my opinion, from what I’ve read. And I follow it closely,” he said. However, despite Atlanta’s reputation as a blue stronghold, not everyone there agreed Harris would take the state – a testament to Georgia’s purple trends. “Really, we’re a Republican state,” Tramel Simpson, a music producer, told Fox News Digital. “Most people who voted in 2020 were just voting non-Trump…it’s more of a decision now.” FORMER REPUBLICAN US SENATOR ENDORSES KAMALA HARRIS, SAYS ELECTION OFFERS ‘STARK CHOICE’ Atlanta resident Terry Davis also said Trump would “probably” win. “It seems like he has a fair amount of momentum in the state right now, and I think Georgia continues to be a red-leaning state despite its purple status in the last couple of cycles,” Davis said. Another person who did not give their name simply told Fox News Digital, “I don’t know. It’s a close call.”

Trump announces rally in ‘war zone’ Colorado city

Trump announces rally in ‘war zone’ Colorado city

Former President Trump announced a campaign rally in Aurora, Colorado, for Oct. 11 on Tuesday, vowing to highlight the “flood” of migrants in the city. The rally comes after weeks of Trump blasting the migrant situation in Colorado, saying some 43,000 illegal immigrants have made their way into nearby Denver and Aurora. His campaign also highlighted the Tren De Aragua gang’s takeover of multiple apartment buildings. “Aurora, Colorado has become a ‘war zone’ due to the influx of violent Venezuelan prison gang members from Tren de Aragua. With approximately 43,000 migrants flooding the neighboring city of Denver since December 2022, many of these migrants have made their way to Aurora, bringing chaos and fear with them,” the campaign said in a statement. “Local families have been forced to flee their homes as Tren de Aragua members terrorize apartment complexes with guns, theft, and rampant drug activity. Kamala Harris’ open-border policies are turning once-safe communities into nightmares for law-abiding citizens,” the statement continued. AURORA POLICE REACT TO ALLEGED VENEZUELAN GANG PRESENCE AT APARTMENTS: ‘HAVE NOT TAKEN OVER’ “Kamala’s border bloodbath has made every state a border state, leaving Colorado families at the mercy of criminals. The only solution to stop the border crisis is to elect President Trump, who will secure the border, deport dangerous criminals, and Make America Safe Again,” the campaign added. TREN DE ARAGUA GANG MEMBERS ARRESTED IN AURORA, COLORADO IN CONNECTION TO APARTMENT BUILDING TAKEOVER: POLICE Tren de Aragua gang members first took over an apartment complex in Aurora in 2023. The Whispering Pines Apartments suffered violent assaults, murder threats, extortion, child prostitution and strongarm tactics, Denver law firm Perkins Coie wrote to city leaders in a nine-page report obtained by CBS News Colorado. The firm was hired to investigate the alleged gang takeover of the apartment building, the outlet said, and interviewed witnesses and reviewed video footage from the complex prior to issuing its report. TRUMP LAUNCHES GOFUNDME TO HELP HURRICANE HELENE VICTIMS, RAISES MORE THAN $1M “The evidence we have reviewed indicates that gang members are engaging in flagrant trespass violations, assaults and battery, human trafficking and sexual abuse of minors, unlawful firearms possession, extortion, and other criminal activities, often targeting vulnerable Venezuelan and other immigrant populations,” T. Markus Funk, a former U.S. Attorney, wrote in the letter. The firm interviewed the apartment complex’s property manager, who said “he had never seen anything remotely like the Tren De Aragua takeover of Whispering Pines in his entire career.” Fox News Digital’s Jasmine Baehr and Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.

Trump, Republicans venture to blue areas in Wisconsin to boost GOP turnout

Trump, Republicans venture to blue areas in Wisconsin to boost GOP turnout

Former President Trump and Republicans across the swing state of Wisconsin are ramping up campaign efforts everywhere, including deep blue areas, to close the margins.  “In a state this tight, we have to get votes in every single corner of the state,” Wisconsin Republican Party Executive Director Andrew Iverson told Fox News Digital. “Closing the margins just a little bit makes a huge difference,” he said. HERE’S WHAT 2 UNDECIDED WISCONSIN VOTERS ARE HOLDING OUT FOR IN 2024 ELECTION This is paired with “running up the score in red counties.” The reason such an approach is necessary, he said, is “this election will likely come down to 20,000-30,000 votes.” In 2016, Trump defeated Democrat presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in Wisconsin by one point and less than 30,000 votes. When President Biden beat Trump in the state during the next election in 2020, it was similarly by about 20,000 votes.  Now, Wisconsin is once again expected to be a deciding factor in the presidential election.  SENATE REPUBLICANS MARK OCT 7 ATTACK 1 YEAR OUT AS ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR CONTINUES “I would highlight that the Republican Party of Wisconsin and the Republican National Committee (RNC) – we have over 100 staff on the ground in Wisconsin, and we have 40 field offices,” Iverson explained. “So we have a great presence across the entire state.” According to him, the path to victory for Republicans relies on pulling “votes in every single corner of the state.” He pointed to Trump’s decision to hold a rally in Dane County, home to the state capital of Madison, Wisconsin. “Republicans are going where we traditionally may not always go,” he said.   SOROS-LINKED DARK MONEY GROUP PROPS UP NEBRASKA INDEPENDENT CANDIDATE IN KEY SENATE RACE Iverson described Dane as “the most liberal county in the state of Wisconsin,” and said Trump’s trip there is “because he has to get votes in every single county and turn out Republicans in every part of the state.” Former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson, a Republican, told reporters earlier this month at a press conference in Milwaukee, “Donald Trump called me and asked me, how do I carry Wisconsin?” The longest-serving Wisconsin governor, who was in office from 1987 to 2001, said he told Trump to follow his lead, “You got to go into southwestern Wisconsin.” “I said to the president, you’ve got to come into Dane County. There hasn’t been a presidential candidate in Dane County since 1996, when Bob Dole ran for president. Republicans stay away. I said, we have to go.” TOP 5 MOMENTS FROM ONLY VP DEBATE BETWEEN VANCE, WALZ BEFORE ELECTION Trump’s visit to the blue stronghold that same day drew massive crowds, despite the county’s reputation. Thompson remarked that there was a “huge crowd all the way from the airport to the factory,” where the event was held. This attention to heavily Democratic-voting areas of the state is a departure from previous Republicans’ strategy, as the former governor noted.  Iverson told Fox News Digital that while the election cycle is quite polarized and many people are decided on their candidate, “there’s a rather decent segment of voters who are still undecided, and they’ll be making up their decision until the moment they vote.”  “That’s why it’s so important that we are out there talking to as many voters as possible, because each conversation that we could have could be the last conversation they have with voters before they go and vote,” he said.  Wisconsin was rated a “Toss up” by Fox News Power rankings, as of late last month.  Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

First on Fox: Top outside group backing House Republicans sets fundraising record

First on Fox: Top outside group backing House Republicans sets fundraising record

EXCLUSIVE: The leading outside group that supports House Republicans is reporting its highest fundraising quarter ever. The Congressional Leadership Fund (CLF), which is closely aligned with House Speaker Mike Johnson, is announcing that it hauled in $81.4 million during the July-September third quarter of 2024 fundraising.  With four weeks left until Election Day in November and the GOP aiming to hold onto and expand its fragile House majority, the CLF is also announcing that it is dishing out another $11 million in new ad reservations. Word of both developments was shared first on Tuesday with Fox News. “We continue to raise at levels that will allow us to be incredibly impactful this cycle. We’re invested deeply and continuing to add more strategically in the must-win races that will determine the Majority,” CLF President Dan Conston said in a statement. TRUMP UPS THE ANTE WITH HIS SEPTEMBER FUNDRAISING HAUL The money raised over the past three months by the CLF tops its previous record of $77.4 million in the third quarter of 2020. The group said it is on track with what it raked in during the 2022 midterms, when Republicans flipped the House, and are out-pacing what they raised at this point in 2020, the last presidential cycle. The CLF also highlighted that it had $152.8 million cash on hand as of the end of September and touted that it slightly outpaced its Democratic rival in total money raised so far this election cycle. CHECK OUT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS IN THE 2024 ELECTION House Majority PAC, the main super PAC supporting House Democrats, announced last week that it and its aligned non-profit organization hauled in $69 million in September, part of a $150 million third quarter. However, according to a report, the House Majority PAC alone brought in roughly $100 million in fundraising during the past three months. After then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy – who was long known for his fundraising prowess – was ousted a year ago in a very messy intra-party battle, expectations for a strong fundraising cycle for House Republicans were lowered. However, the CLF’s fundraising appears to have defied those low expectations. The group said Johnson had done well with fundraising and picked up where McCarthy left off. CLF officials also said that they are continuing to haul in “big money” in the week since the end of the third quarter. The CLF said the new ad reservations – with the money being spent on top GOP offensive and defensive House races – brings the group’s total reservations this cycle to $190 million. They note that they will likely add more spending ahead of Election Day. The group is directing some of the new spending to beef up existing ad buys in three Democrat-held districts the GOP’s aiming to flip: Colorado’s 8th Congressional District, New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District and Maine’s 2nd Congressional District. Additionally, the CLF says it will also use some of the new reservations to “lay down aircover to combat Democrats’ spending” in districts where it’s playing defense, including New York 19, Wisconsin 03, and Arizona 06. The GOP currently controls the 435-member House by a narrow 220-212 majority. Two Democrat-held and one Republican-held seats are vacant. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Vulnerable Dem Jon Tester turns on Biden admin over DEI after Montana universities stripped of federal funds

Vulnerable Dem Jon Tester turns on Biden admin over DEI after Montana universities stripped of federal funds

FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., is calling on President Biden and his administration’s Department of Education to promptly reverse a grant rejection for Montana universities because of a failure to meet certain diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) hiring standards.  In a statement exclusively to Fox News Digital, the senator said, “The Biden Administration’s decision to strip critical funding from local schools is just another example of one-size-fits-all policies from Washington bureaucrats who don’t understand Montana.” “I’m calling on the Biden Administration and the Department of Education to immediately reverse this decision, because Montana’s students are more important than [made-up] D.C. hiring practices.” SENATE REPUBLICANS MARK OCT 7 ATTACK 1 YEAR OUT AS ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR CONTINUES Tester, who is fighting for his political life in a competitive re-election match in a traditionally Republican state, first voiced his concerns about the grant rejection due to insufficiently diverse hiring practices in a letter to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona last month. “I am deeply troubled by indications that the Department rejected Montana’s application based primarily on an unfair scoring decision related to subjective diversity hiring requirements that failed to recognize the work already being done on this front,” he wrote. HERE’S WHAT 2 UNDECIDED WISCONSIN VOTERS ARE HOLDING OUT FOR IN 2024 ELECTION The senator’s office revealed that after 25 years of receiving the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) grant, Biden’s DOE rejected the Montana university systems’ federal funding because Montana supposedly did not include sufficient details about its hiring practices for “a diverse group of individuals.” According to Tester, the denial was “embarrassing” for the DOE.  The DOE told Fox News Digital it had received the letter and was in the process of reviewing it. Tester’s office confirmed that it had yet to receive a response despite reaching out on Sept. 9.  The pointed criticism of the Biden administration’s implementation of DEI standards sets him apart from his party, which has been generally supportive of the initiatives. On the other hand, Republicans have criticized the continued efforts to prioritize diversity over merit in hiring.  In less than a month, the Montana Democrat will face off in one of the most competitive races in the country against Republican candidate Tim Sheehy, a former Navy SEAL. Recently, several political handicappers have indicated Sheehy has the advantage going into the election.  SOROS-LINKED DARK MONEY GROUP PROPS UP NEBRASKA INDEPENDENT CANDIDATE IN KEY SENATE RACE A spokesperson for Sheehy’s campaign criticized Tester’s stance against the Biden administration on DEI, telling Fox News Digital, “Jon Tester loved the radical Left’s Woke agenda when he voted to exclude white farmers from getting assistance just because they were white, supported AOC’s Green New Deal moving forward, and blamed Biden’s border crisis on Climate Change.” “After voting 95% of the time with Biden and Harris, Two-Faced Tester is doing the Tester Two-Step just ahead of an election because he’s a desperate career politician making an all-out effort to save his political career that made him rich in Washington.” TOP 5 MOMENTS FROM ONLY VP DEBATE BETWEEN VANCE, WALZ BEFORE ELECTION Tester voted in line with Biden 90% of the time in the last Congress, according to FiveThirtyEight. In the first half of the 118th Congress, he voted with the president roughly 95%.  The three-term senator has held off explicitly endorsing Vice President Harris in the presidential election, repeatedly telling reporters he is focused on Montana and his own race.  However, critics have pushed back at this, pointing to reports that the senator was responsible for recruiting Harris to run for Senate in 2015 when he served as chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Tester’s campaign did not provide comment to Fox News Digital in time for publication. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.