In a crowded election, the front-runner typically is whoever the other candidates are targeting. In the Democratic primary for the 8th Congressional District, where incumbent Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi is leaving to run for U.S. Senate, the focus is on former U.S. Rep. Melissa Bean.
Opponents have attacked Bean in commercials, at forums and in private. Having previously held the seat from 2005 to 2011, she has name recognition and legislative experience.
But the political landscape has changed dramatically since Bean held the seat and then lost it to Republican Joe Walsh in a Tea Party upset, a defeat she blames on her vote for the Affordable Care Act, the health care plan known as Obamacare. Since then, Donald Trump has been elected president twice, and immigration and inflation have become critical battlegrounds.
The 8th District itself has changed substantially. When Bean defeated longtime incumbent Republican Phil Crane to take office, the district was farther north, mostly in parts of Lake and McHenry counties that were more conservative at the time. Since redistricting, the district now lies in parts of Cook, DuPage and Kane counties, stretching mainly along I-90 from Des Plaines to rural Gilberts, and along the Fox River from St. Charles to Carpentersville.
The 8th District has grown solidly Democratic and has become much more diverse, with the U.S. Census Bureau reporting that 55% of the population was white, 15% two or more races, 13% Asian, 11% some other race, and 5% Black. In addition, 27% identify as Hispanic, and 28% were born in another country.
That demographic shift is reflected in the eight-candidate field running in the Democratic primary on March 17, which includes white, Asian and Black candidates trying to differentiate themselves. Some have no political experience, like Neil Khot, while others ran for the seat before, like Junaid Ahmed, or are members of the Cook County Board, like Kevin Morrison, or a local municipal office, like Yasmeen Bankole. Others have worked with the federal government, like Dan Tully, Sanjyot Dunung and Ryan Vetticad.
Despite differences in experience and tone, most emphasize similar themes: lowering costs for families, expanding access to health care and abolishing Trump’s U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, which they say repeatedly breaks the law while arresting undocumented immigrants. They differ on the details of how stop Trump.
Bean’s own polling, released in January, showed her in the lead with 10% of the vote, but with other candidates close behind and two-thirds of voters undecided, leaving the race wide open.
The amount of campaign funds raised by the leaders was also similar at the start of 2026. Bean led with $1.3 million, followed closely by Ahmed and Khot, each with about $1.2 million.
Bean — who has been endorsed by U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth and U.S. Reps. Bill Foster, Brad Schneider and Nancy Pelosi, — sounded a common theme in the race: “The American Dream is under assault, as are our American values,” she said. Speaking of Trump’s attacks on immigration, she said, “It’s dangerous and unconstitutional. I’m ready to deliver again and hold him to account.”
Former Rep. Melissa Bean, a Democratic candidate for Illinois’ 8th Congressional District, speaks during a candidate forum at Harper College in Palatine on Feb. 7, 2026. (Talia Sprague/for the Chicago Tribune)
After Bean left office, she worked for JPMorgan Chase and Mesirow Financial. Ahmed, a progressive, has attacked Bean as “Wall Street’s favorite Democrat,” a reference to campaign contributions from the finance industry and to her opposition, while in office, to letting states override federal banking regulations. Bean argued that a national standard was necessary to let banks operate without conflicting laws.
But in responding to the criticism that she’s too tight with the nation’s monied interests, Bean argues that while she was in Congress following the 2008 financial crisis, she helped pass the Dodd-Frank Act, which was signed into law in 2010 and limited risky bank speculation and created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to regulate mortgages and credit cards.
Ahmed, who ran unsuccessfully against Krishnamoorthi in 2022, has countered that Bean is “out of touch.” A tech entrepreneur, Ahmed helped launch the nonprofit Chi-Care to deliver meals to the homeless. He boasts that he doesn’t take any corporate or PAC campaign contributions, and criticizes Bean for doing so.
With endorsements from U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, Ahmed has called for abolishing and replacing ICE as part of a broader immigration reform, supporting Medicare for all, and ending military aid to Israel due to its bombing and blockade of Gaza after the Hamas attack on Israel.
“Americans are realizing, we cannot be on the side of genocide,” he said. “I’ve yet to find someone who says, ‘I want my tax dollars to go to starve children.’”
Khot, who was endorsed by U.S. Rep. Danny Davis, said he’s running to fight for women’s rights, protect seniors and implement insurance reform, noting that his mother was denied coverage.
Born in India, Khot came to the United States 30 years ago with his parents, who emphasized education and respect for elders. Now, because immigration officers are asking people for citizenship identification, he carries a passport to show his identification, saying, “This is what we have come to in this country.”
“I’m looking to give back to the country that has given me everything,” he said.
Morrison, the first openly LGBTQ+ member of the Cook County Board, defeated the then-head of the Illinois Republican Party, Tim Schneider, in 2018. In office, Morrison helped create the county’s first Office of Behavioral Health, and he has called for lowering costs and protecting voting access and reproductive freedom.
He has endorsements from U.S. Reps. Jan Schakowsky and Mike Quigley.
“My generation feels like the American Dream is out of reach,” the 36-year-old said. “I’ll tackle the affordability crisis. I’ll always stand up for Main Street, not Wall Street … so we all have the ability to actually earn the American dream.”
Bankole was the youngest trustee ever elected to the Hanover Park Village Board, and helped create a water bill discount program there.
She cites her experience as an aide in Congress, having previously worked for Krishnamoorthi and U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, who has endorsed her candidacy. She’s calling for universal health care and child care, and abolishing ICE.
“We’re seeing the law broken time and again by ICE,” she said. “I believe in law and order, not violence and chaos.”
Dunung also came to the United States from India at a young age. She has a small education business, and served on the Truman Center for National Policy board. By taking care of her mother, who had muscular dystrophy, Dunung said she came to understand that disability care is a right, not a privilege.
She blamed both parties for failing to pass immigration reform, saying legal immigration must be streamlined and expedited.
“I’m tired of politics as usual, and I know that all of you are too,” she said at a League of Women Voters forum.
Tully was a judge advocate in the U.S. Army Reserve, and worked in the U.S. Department of Commerce, before resigning in protest of Trump, saying the president “betrayed the oath of office and is a danger to our country.”
Tully remains in the Army Reserve and argues that his legal experience makes him well-qualified to fight Trump’s challenge of the separation of powers and to reassert congressional authority. He has a 10-point plan to stop Trump, including reasserting Congress’ constitutional powers, and called for an elected U.S. attorney general to act as an independent check on the president.
“I have the experience to hold this administration accountable,” he said. “The president is acting outside the law.”
Vetticad, the youngest candidate in the race, is too young to serve in Congress, but he will turn 25, the minimum required age, just before the March 17 primary election.
He grew up in an immigrant, Catholic, Indian American family. He taught Sunday school and worked on counterterrorism in the Presidential Management Fellows Program for the U.S. Department of Justice, but resigned in protest of Trump’s policies.
He called for lowering property taxes, making groceries and health care affordable, banning Congress from trading stocks, and enacting gun safety laws.
“We need not just younger, but better voices in Congress,” he said.
Republican candidates for Illinois’ 8th Congressional District Jennifer Davis, from left, Kevin Ake and Mark Rice listen to questions during a candidate forum at Harper College in Palatine on Feb. 7, 2026. (Talia Sprague/for the Chicago Tribune)
The Republican primary features Mark Rice, who challenged Krishnamoorthi in 2024 but lost with 43% of the vote, tech entrepreneur Jennifer Davis, retired Chicago police Officer Herbert Hebein and accountant Kevin Ake, who was convicted of a hate crime in 2002 and previously ran unsuccessfully against Morrison.
New York’s Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio‑Cortez’s highest‑profile outing on the world stage yet at the Munich Security Conference last week has sharpened speculation about her long‑term political ambitions.
Newsweek has reached out to Ocasio‑Cortez via email for comment.
Ocasio‑Cortez’s trip to Germany marked her most prominent international appearance to date, placing the New York congresswoman alongside world leaders and senior policymakers at one of the world’s most closely watched global security forums.
She has defended the purpose of her trip and rejected suggestions that it was about positioning herself for a White House run.
But William Kedjanyi, political betting analyst at Star Sports, told Newsweek the Munich Security Conference represented a significant step in how her political trajectory is now being viewed.
“AOC’s appearance at the Munich Security Conference was a notable step, an outing onto the world stage where she received as much attention as some other heads of state,” Kedjanyi said.
“While it was not all plain sailing, the fact she was there shows an intention and a seriousness to be at the very least heavily involved in any conversation.”
Although Ocasio‑Cortez has built her reputation largely through domestic policy battles, the Munich appearance elevated her international profile and placed her within a broader discussion about future Democratic leadership.
Star Sports currently lists Ocasio‑Cortez at 12/1 to win the 2028 U.S. presidential election, placing her behind Vice President JD Vance and California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, but ahead of a wide field of potential contenders.
Within the Democratic race, she is priced at 7/1 to secure the party’s nomination, second only to Newsom, the 6/4 favorite.
“Newsom is very much dominating the betting from the Democrat side, but Ocasio‑Cortez is the only person to get close,” Kedjanyi said.
“If she were to express a serious interest in running, I’m sure that those odds would go much shorter than they are now.”
Kedjanyi also pointed to shifting dynamics on the Democratic left, where Ocasio‑Cortez is widely seen as a natural heir to the progressive movement once led nationally by Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
“There’s no doubt that there is a lot of youth energy behind Ocasio‑Cortez, particularly with Senator Bernie Sanders on the left of the party, perhaps not as prominent as he once was after his two runs for president,” he said.
“And despite having perhaps the largest international profile of any Democrats at this moment in time, Newsom does have an open exposed flank on his left.”
Prediction Markets
Prediction markets tracking the 2028 Democratic nomination and the presidential race more broadly largely mirror the picture seen in traditional betting, with Newsom consistently positioned as the front-runner and Ocasio‑Cortez grouped among the leading alternatives.
Kalshi and PolyMarket put her chances of securing the Democratic presidential nominee at 11 percent and 10 percent, respectively, at the time of writing, with Kalshi’s figure rising 3 percentage points since her arrival in Germany on February 12 and PolyMarket’s staying relatively flat.
While no sharp post‑Munich surge has been recorded, markets continue to place Ocasio‑Cortez firmly within the top tier of speculative contenders, reflecting her sustained national prominence and the added exposure from her highest‑profile international appearance to date.
Prediction markets tend to move decisively only after candidates signal formal intent, meaning her position could shift quickly if she were to indicate clearer presidential ambitions.
What People Are Saying
William Kedjanyi, political betting analyst at Star Sports, said: “It would be no surprise if Ocasio‑Cortez could mount a challenge from the left of the party using its progressive wing.”
President Donald Trump said of Ocasio‑Cortez following her appearance in Munich: “I watched AOC answering questions in Munich. This was not a good look for the United States.”
He added in remarks to reporters on Air Force One: “She’s just Trump deranged. She was so deranged. She is an angry woman. But I watched the other two speaking and answering basic questions.
“I never heard her speak very much, and they started answering questions. She had no idea what was happening. She had no idea how to answer, you know, very important questions concerning the world, but she can’t answer questions concerning New York City, either, because New York City has got some problems.
Representative Alexandria Ocasio‑Cortez said during a Sunday: “Progressive foreign policy has not been represented internationally in a very long time, if not ever, and I felt that it was very important to start bringing that into spaces of power.”
She added: “I remain ambitious, but my ambitions are in changing our political environment. That’s why I—when I was first elected—my ambition was to change the Democratic Party.”
New York Democratic strategist Jon Reinish previously told The Hill: “She has flubbed on foreign policy before, in speeches, in interviews, in some pretty high‑profile ways. So it was a bit surprising to me that she put herself in a position to do so again, on an even more high‑profile stage.”
What Happens Next
Ocasio‑Cortez has not officially declared any intention to run for president, and the Democratic field remains unsettled with years still to go before formal campaigning begins.
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Bitwise, GraniteShares throw hats into prediction markets ETF ring
Funds appear similar to previously pitched products
SEC hasn’t approved these ETFs
The prediction markets industry is fiercely competitive and the same is true of the race to launch exchange funds (ETFs) tied to political event contracts.
A photograph shows a computer displaying Kalshi odds for the outcome of the 2024 US presidential election on Oct. 13, 2024. Two more ETF issuers filed plans for political prediction market funds. (Image: Getty)
Just days after Roundhill Investments filed plans with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for ETFs that would hold event contracts based on the 2026 midterm and 2028 presidential elections, rivals Bitwise Investments and GraniteShares followed suit with filings for competing products.
Under the PredictionShares brand, Bitwise filed for ETFs based on either potential outcome of the 2028 presidential election — Democrat or Republican — as well as four funds based on which party will control the two houses of Congress following the November midterms. The filing for the PredictionShares presidential derivatives ETFs implies the funds won’t be rolled forward after the 2028 election.
Following the conclusion of the 2028 Presidential Election and the settlement of the Democratic President Contracts pursuant to their terms, the Fund will liquidate its positions, settle any outstanding liabilities and will distribute all remaining assets to holders of Fund Shares,” according to the regulatory document. “To the extent that a member of the Democratic Party is not the winner of the 2028 Presidential Election, the Fund will lose substantially all of its value and such distribution should be expected to be de minimis. Following this distribution, the Fund will wind up its affairs and terminate.”
It’s possible Bitwise will later alter the structure of the PredictionShares ETFs, assuming they’re approved, to efficiently transition to the next election cycles as Roundhill indicated it would do in its filing with the SEC. The commission hasn’t approved any of the political prediction market ETFs.
Examining the GraniteShares Filing
GraniteShares also has its eyes on election-based yes/no event contracts, which are likely to experience surges in volumes as this year’s primary and general election seasons evolve.
That asset manager wants to bring Democrat and Republican presidential and congressional election ETFs to market. Its filing with the SEC indicates that if its ETFs are approved, they won’t terminate after Election Days 2026 and 2028. Rather, the 2026 House and Senate funds will be reconfigured for the 2028 elections and the presidential ETFs will be altered to hold derivatives based on the 2032 election.
Regardless of issuer, all of the proposed political prediction markets ETFs tap into the zero sum nature of politics. Translation: The ETFs tied to the losing party will basically be worthless after Election Day. As just one example…
“The GraniteShares Democratic Senate ETF’s investment objective is to provide capital appreciation to investors in the event that the Democratic Party has won control of the U.S. Senate following the conclusion of the U.S. Senate Elections taking place on November 3, 2026,” according to that issuer’s filing. “IN THE EVENT THAT THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY HAS NOT WON CONTROL OF THE U.S. SENATE FOLLOWING THE ELECTIONS TAKING PLACE ON NOVEMBER 3, 2026, the Fund will lose substantially all of its value.”
No Indications About Contract Sources
As was the case with the Roundhill filing, neither Bitwise nor GraniteShares provided clues as to which exchanges they’ll work with to source political event contracts, though the issuers noted they’ll work with Designated Contract Markets (DCMs).
Kalshi and Polymarket are the dominant prediction market operators, but by way of owning ForecastEx, Interactive Brokers (NASDAQ: IBKR) is a major player in the political derivatives niche.
If the ETFs are approved, it’s possible issuers will partner with multiple yes/no exchanges. More details are likely to emerge as the regulatory process moves forward.
State Rep. James Talarico, left, and U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, Democratic primary candidates for U.S. Senate, shake hands prior to a debate at the Texas AFL-CIO COPE Convention in Georgetown, Texas, on Jan. 24, 2026.
Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune via POOL
This week, Texans have their first chance to cast ballots in what is guaranteed to be a critical midterm election year.
Early voting begins Feb. 17 in primaries across the state, including county offices, courts, the Texas Legislature, Congress and the biggest one of all — the Texas race for U.S. Senate, where incumbent John Cornyn has drawn a slate of Republican primary challengers, and two Democratic candidates are drawing national attention (and dollars).
The primaries will set up November showdowns, when Republicans in Congress hope to cling onto their slim majority. Texas isn’t about to turn blue, but Democrats intend to capitalize on what could be a vulnerable year for the GOP.
Here’s a closer look at who’s on the ballot in challenged races across North Texas and what’s at stake with your vote. Early voting is Feb. 17-27, and primary election day is March 3.
The U.S. Senate race in Texas is arguably the closest-watched this election cycle, as Cornyn hopes to hold onto the seat he’s held since 2003. On the Republican side, candidates are trying to cast themselves as the most conservative pick as they jockey for the backing of President Donald Trump. For the Democrats, it’s a battle of style over substance as the frontrunners make their case for why they’re best positioned to win in November.
Democrats eye a blue flip in November
Democrats haven’t won a statewide office in Texas since 1994, a losing streak they hope to end in November.
Democratic primary voters will pick between leading candidates U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett from Dallas and state Rep. James Talarico from Round Rock. Also in the race is Ahmad Hassan from Katy.
When it comes to policy, there isn’t much that separates Crockett, an attorney and former state lawmaker, and Talarico, a former public school teacher and Presbyterian seminarian.
Crockett told the Star-Telegram her priorities are affordability; fixing the country’s “broken healthcare system”; and establishing comprehensive immigration reform with a pathway to legal status or citizenship, while also investing in border personnel and technology to keep out drug traffickers.
Talarico said he’d prioritize caps on campaign contributions, banning super PACS and partisan gerrymandering, and policies to increase the minimum wage and lower the cost of living for working families. He also proposes universal early childhood education.
But what the Democratic race has really come down to is persona, a contrast that was starkly highlighted during in a January debate between Crockett and Talarico. Many see Talarico as milder-mannered and capable of reaching across party lines, while Crockett is a more flashy fighter, ready to take on the Trump administration and MAGA movement.
“Crockett’s appeal, most simply, is that she speaks the language of Democratic discontent in the moment, and she speaks it very well,” said Joshua Blank, the director of research for the Texas Politics Project at UT Austin.
An argument among Democrats for her candidacy is the that she might better energize and mobilize voters, Blank said.
“The Talarico argument would be … because of the nature of the brand that he’s built, and even, maybe particularly, the role that Christianity plays in it, he presents as a less threatening alternative to independent voters and maybe even some Republicans who traditionally have not voted for a Democratic candidate, but nonetheless find themselves dissatisfied with the direction of the state and, or the country under Republican leadership,” Blank said.
Republicans work to unseat Cornyn
The frontrunners in challenging Cornyn on the Republican side are Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt of Houston.
Paxton, who took office in 2015, pitches himself as a “fearless conservative, a relentless fighter, and a true defender of Texas values” who stood up the Biden administration, corporate overreach and “the corrupt political establishment that’s tried to silence him time and time again.”
The attorney general’s legal troubles, his 2023 impeachment (and acquittal in the Senate) and a pending divorce from Sen. Angela Paxton, a McKinney Republican, have been contention points early in the campaign.
Cornyn touts his years of experience and effectiveness in Washington, as well as his record of “no scandals, just results.” Cornyn says he’s a “reliable ally of President Trump, helping him secure the border, support law enforcement, and unleash our economy.” A win would deliver Cornyn his fifth term in the Senate.
“The conventional wisdom,” Blank said, “has been that John Cornyn is potentially weak amongst a segment of the Republican primary electorate, that Ken Paxton is uniquely positioned to expose that vulnerability, and that, that might be the dynamic that takes down this long term incumbent senator.”
Hunt is a combat veteran in his second term in Congress. He calls himself a next generation of leader who represents changes that Texans are demanding. He told the Star-Telegram he promised to take on the “Washington elite” and carry his “mission of Texas-first policies all the way to Washington and stand for faith, family, and freedom.”
All three Republicans align themselves to Trump at every opportunity, but the president hasn’t endorsed in the race.
“If Trump were to endorse in the U.S. Senate race, it would effectively cause us to throw out every survey we’ve previously done, because it would change the dynamics to such an extent that you’d have to wait and see once the dust cleared what the overall effect was,” said Mark Jones, a political science professor at Rice University.
Redistricting shakeups in Congress
Texas’ mid-decade redistricting, which triggered other states including California to do the same, has injected a new level of uncertainty the future of Republicans’ grip on Washington. At Trump’s urging, the Texas Legislature redrew congressional boundaries, tilting advantage to Republicans to pick up five additional seats in the U.S. House.
Seats in North Texas were among those affected by the reconfiguration, and the maps will be used in the March primaries.
Congressional District 32
Centered in Dallas County, District 32 was redrawn to extend farther east into more rural parts of the state. Its current representative, Democrat Julie Johnson of Farmers Branch, is now running in nearby District 33 (more on that below.)
Two Democrats are competing for District 32: Richardson City Council member Dan Barrios and EMT Anthony Bridges.
Congressional District 33
Perhaps most notably for Tarrant County voters, District 33 (represented by Marc Veasey of Fort Worth) is no longer in Tarrant County, and will not be on the ballot here. The seat does still lean blue.
Veasey, drawn out of the district, didn’t seek reelection, opening up the race in 2026. Johnson, the Farmers Branch Democrat, and former U.S. Rep. Colin Allred are among four Democratic contenders in the primary. The race has also drawn four Republican primary candidates.
Allred challenged Sen. Ted Cruz for U.S. Senate in 2024.
Congressional District 30
Contested congressional races in Tarrant County include the election for District 30, which is currently represented by Jasmine Crockett. A small portion of the North Texas district falls within Tarrant County’s eastern edge.
Crockett’s decision to run for Senate after being drawn out of the district prompted a three-way race in the Democratic primary. Candidates include Frederick D. Haynes III, the senior pastor of Friendship-West Baptist Church in Dallas; Rodney LaBruce, a pastor and financial executive for a real estate lender; and Barbara Mallory Caraway, a former state representative and Dallas council member.
Four candidates are running in the Republican primary: Small business owner and community organizer Everett Jackson; IT project coordinator Nils B. Walker; public interest lawyer Sholdon Daniels; and businessman Gregorio H. Heise.
Familiar faces in statewide races
North Texans will see familiar names on the statewide ballot, which includes elections for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, comptroller and commissioners of the General Land Office, Department of Agriculture and Railroad Commission. The governor’s race has a full slate of candidates on both sides, but Gov. Greg Abbott will likely win his primary and be a tough incumbent to defeat in November.
Texas Attorney General
The attorney general’s race is an interesting one, given the seat hasn’t been open in about a decade.
In the Republican primary are U.S. Rep. Chip Roy from Austin; state Sen. Joan Huffman from Houston; state Rep. Mayes Middleton from Galveston; and Aaron Reitz, who previously worked as a prosecutor for Paxton and as chief of staff for Sen. Ted Cruz before moving to the U.S. Department of Justice. Roy also previously served as Cruz’s chief of staff.
On the Democratic side, the candidates include attorney Anthony “Tony” Box; lawyer and mediator Joe Jaworski; and state Sen. Nathan Johnson from Dallas.
Texas Comptroller
Kelly Hancock of North Richland Hills was appointed in June to serve as acting comptroller, and he wants to keep the job.
The former state senator is among four Republicans seeking a full term leading the comptroller’s office. Joining him is Railroad Commissioner Christi Craddick; former state Sen. Don Huffines, a Dallas Republican; and Michael Berlanga, an accountant, property tax consultant and real estate broker.
Democrats running for the seat include finance professional Michael Lange, educator Savant Moore and state Sen. Sarah Eckhardt from Austin.
Meanwhile, Hancock’s vacated seat in the Texas Senate went to a special election with Democrat Taylor Rehmet winning decisively on Jan. 31. He will face off again with Republican Leigh Wambsganss in November for a chance to serve a full term in Senate District 9.
Railroad Commissioner
Former Tarrant County GOP Chair Bo French is one of five Republicans vying to serve on the Texas Railroad Commission, which – despite what its name suggests – regulates the state’s oil and gas industry.
The race also includes current Commissioner Jim Wright; well control specialist Hawk Dunlap; James ‘Jim’ Matlock, who is retired; and Katherine Culbert, a process safety engineer for an oil and gas company.
Texas Legislature, Tarrant County Commissioners Court
Several state lawmakers aren’t seeking reelection in 2026 or are running for a different office, creating open seats in Tarrant County’s legislative delegation. There’s also an open seat on the commissioners court. These are some of the House and Senate races we’re watching in the primaries:
Senate District 22
Sen. Brian Birdwell, a Granbury Republican, isn’t seeking reelection after being nominated as an assistant secretary of defense in the Trump administration.
The seat, which stretches south into Stephenville, Hillsboro and Waco, has drawn three Republican primary candidates: State Rep. David Cook; former McLennan County District Clerk Jon Gimble; and rancher Rena Schroeder.
Amy Martinez-Salas, a student and mother, is running unopposed in the Democratic primary.
House District 94
Tony Tinderholt, an Arlington Republican, retired from the Texas House in June and is seeking a job on the Tarrant County commissioners court. His House seat includes parts of Bedford, Euless, Hurst, Arlington and other North Texas communities.
Republicans vying to fill the open seat include executive director of Texans for Medical Freedom Jackie Schlegel, accountant Michael Daughenbaugh, mortgage broker Michael Ingraham, registered nurse Susan Valliant and business owner Cheryl Bean.
Katie O’Brien Duzan, who works in marketing, is running unopposed in the Democratic primary.
House District 98
State Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, a Southlake Republican, isn’t seeking reelection. Two Democrats and three Republicans hope to win the seat that spans Colleyville, Grapevine, Keller, Southlake and other North Texas communities.
Cate Brennan and Aaron Hendley are running in the Democratic primary. Republicans Fred Tate, the managing director at CFO Shield; Keller Mayor Armin Mizani; and health and beauty business owner Zdenka ‘Zee’ Wilcox are running in the Republican primary.
Tarrant County Judge
County Judge Tim O’Hare is hoping to win a second term leading, but will first have to defeat fellow Republican Robert Trevor Buker, a behavorial health security officer, in the March primary. Democrats running for the seat include Precinct 2 Commissioner Alisa Simmons and Millennium Anton C. Woods, Jr., a private contractor and consultant.
Tarrant County Commissioner, Pct. 2
Simmons, a Democrat, was reconfigured in a new precinct map that commissioners approved in June. The seat now favors Republicans. Simmons is bidding for Tarrant County Judge rather than seeking reelection.
Tinderholt and Lucila Seri are running in the Republican primary. Political consultant Gabe Rivas, who previously worked as Simmons’ community outreach director, nonprofit executive Amanda Arizola and former Fort Worth council member Jared Williams are running in the Democratic primary.
Tarrant County Commissioner, Pct. 4
Commissioner Manny Ramirez is running unopposed by fellow Republicans, but the seat has drawn three candidates in the Democratic primary. The winner will face Ramirez in November.
The Democrats are business owner Cedric Kanyinda; Nydia Cárdenas, a leadership coach and organizational development consultant; and educator Perla Bojorquez.
Voters could see May runoff elections
Some races may not be finalized in the March 3 election. Seats where a single candidate doesn’t win more than half of the votes head into a runoff between the top-two vote getters.
Runoffs for the Democratic and Republican primaries are set for May 26. Early voting runs from May 18-22.
The general midterm election is on Nov. 3.
Find your sample ballot and polling place
Voters in Tarrant County can find their personalized sample ballot and information about early voting and Election Day polling places and times on the county’s Election Administration website.
Eleanor (Elly) Dearman is a Texas politics and government reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. She’s based in Austin, covering the Legislature and its impact on North Texas. She grew up in Denton and has been a reporter for more than six years. Support my work with a digital subscription
Fund sponsor files for six ETFs that would track domestic political prediction markets
The ETFs haven’t been approved as of yet
Roundhill is the company behind a well-known sports betting ETF
Bettors and traders focusing on political prediction markets could have new tools at their disposal for the 2026 midterm elections if a batch of exchange traded funds (ETFs) proposed by Roundhil Investments are approved.
The US Capitol building. An ETF issuer filed to launch six political prediction markets ETFs. (Image: Getty Images)
In a Feb. 13 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Roundhill disclosed plans for six ETFs that would hold yes/no contracts tied to US electoral outcomes. Those are ETFs are as follows with proposed tickers in parentheses: Roundhill Democratic President ETF (BLUP), Roundhill Republican President ETF (REDP), Roundhill Democratic Senate ETF (BLUS), Roundhill Republican Senate ETF (REDS), Roundhill Democratic House ETF (BLUH), and the Roundhill Republican House ETF (REDH).
If the ETFs are approved, it could amount to good timing for Roundhill, because prior to the industry’s embrace of football derivatives, political event contracts were the major drivers of prediction markets activity. With 2026 being an election year, some operators are expecting more of the same and increases in election-related volume.
The asset manager’s SEC filing doesn’t mention specific prediction markets from which it will source contracts, but it does note it will work with Designated Contract Markets (DCMs), which is the designation necessary for companies to offer exchange-listed derivatives, including yes/no event contracts, in the US.
How Political Prediction Market ETFs Will Work
Examining the plumbing on the BLUP and REDP ETFs, should they come to market, one of those funds will essentially be worthless after the 2028 presidential race is decided, but those ETFs won’t go away after Election Day.
Instead, following a determination that the outcome of the 2028 Presidential Election has been decided, the Fund will recognize the gain or loss associated with its Democratic President Contracts tied to the 2028 Presidential Election and will invest in event contracts that settle to $1.00 in the event that the winner of the U.S. Presidential Election taking place on November 2, 2032, is a member of the Democratic Party,” according to regulatory filing. “The Fund will make the determination that the 2028 Presidential Election has been decided.”
As for the Senate ETFs, BLUS and REDS, those funds will hold event contracts tied to the parties’ odds of controlling the upper chamber after the 2026 midterms. So if the Republicans maintain their current majority, BLUS “will lose substantially all of its value,” according to the Roundhill filing. The same would be true of REDS if the Democrats gain control of the Senate.
The House ETFs, BLUH and REDH, will function in similar fashion and like the presidential ETFs, the House and Senate ETFs won’t fold after the 2026 midterms. Rather, the funds will be reorganized into 2028 election products.
Roundhill Familiar to Bettors, Investors
Plenty of gaming investors are familiar with Roundhill because it’s the issuer of the Roundhill Sports Betting & iGaming ETF (NYSE: BETZ) — the first ETF dedicated to online casino and sportsbook operators.
That fund, which turns six years old in June, tracks the Morningstar Sports Betting & iGaming Select Index and holds shares of well-known gaming companies, including FanDuel owner Flutter Entertainment (NYSE: FLUT) and DraftKings (NASDAQ: DKNG).
TOPSHOT – An aerial view shows a destroyed home in Surfside Beach, Texas, on July 8, 2024, after Hurricane Beryl made landfall. Hurricane Beryl made landfall July 8 in the southern US state of Texas, killing at least two people and causing millions to lose power amid dangerous winds and flooding, as some coastal areas remained under evacuation orders. (Photo by Mark Felix / AFP) (Photo by MARK FELIX/AFP via Getty Images)
MARK FELIX
AFP via Getty Images
Two Democrats are on the primary ballot for commissioner of the Texas General Land Office. The winner will be on the November ballot against Republican Dawn Buckingham.
Here are the Democrats’ responses to a Star-Telegram questionnaire, in the order you’ll see them on the ballot.
Occupation: United Steelworkers Staff Representative District 13
Education: I graduated from a Texas public high school in the Panhandle and went on to serve in the United States Marine Corps, where I gained the leadership and discipline that continue to guide my work.
Have you run for elected office before? I have not
Please list the highlights of your civic involvement/activism in Texas:
1) Union staff representative in Texas, advocating for safer workplaces, fair wages, and worker dignity
2) Represented Texas workers at the bargaining table, holding powerful corporate interests accountable
3) Advocated for refinery, energy, and industrial workers across the state
4) Worked with SLAM Media, supporting youth leadership, storytelling, and civic engagement through media and education
Have you ever been arrested, charged with a crime or otherwise been part of a criminal proceeding? No.
Have you been involved in a civil lawsuit or bankruptcy proceeding? No.
Who are your top three campaign contributors? Texas Majority PAC, Vote Vets and voter contributions
Why are you seeking this office? I am running for Texas Land Commissioner because working Texans deserve real representation in an office that manages public land, public resources, and public trust. Too often, decisions reflect the priorities of political insiders, billionaires, and millionaires instead of the people who rely on these resources every day.
I grew up in a working-class family and attended Texas public schools. Like many Texans, my family depended on wages, not wealth, and learned the value of hard work, fairness, and accountability. Those experiences shaped my belief that government should serve everyday people, not those with money or influence.
For years, I have worked to give working people a voice—standing with them at the bargaining table, fighting for safer workplaces, fair wages, and dignity on the job, and holding powerful interests accountable.
I am seeking this office to bring transparency and accountability so public resources serve Texans, not special interests.
If elected, what would your top 3 policy priorities be?
If elected, my top priorities as Texas Land Commissioner will be transparency, support for veterans, and effective disaster recovery. The General Land Office manages public land, public school funding, and disaster relief, yet most Texans have little insight into how decisions are made. I will bring transparency and accountability to an office that should operate in the open and serve the public, not political insiders or wealthy interests.
Supporting Texas veterans will be a core priority. As chair of the Texas Veterans Land Board, the Land Commissioner oversees programs that help veterans access home, land, and renovation loans. I will focus on outreach so veterans know these benefits exist, reduce delays, and ensure working-class and rural veterans can access the resources they’ve earned.
Disaster recovery must work for communities, not bureaucracy. I will prioritize clear communication, accountability, and timely delivery of relief so Texans can rebuild and move forward.
How will you measure your success as General Land Office commissioner?
I will measure my success by clear, measurable improvements in how the General Land Office serves Texans. For veterans, success means expanding outreach and increasing the number of veterans who are accessing the benefits they’ve earned. That includes higher participation in home, land, and renovation loan programs and reducing the time it takes for veterans to receive assistance.
For disaster recovery, success means resources are available and deployed faster. I will measure whether communities receive clear information, whether funds are released more quickly, and whether local leaders are involved in the recovery process so rebuilding reflects community needs.
For public education, success means increasing revenue for Texas public schools through the Permanent School Fund by ensuring fair market value for public resources without raising taxes.
Ultimately, success means an office that works better, faster, and more transparently for everyday Texans.
Why should voters choose you over your opponents?
Voters should choose me because I bring lived experience and working-class values to an office that has too often been dominated by political insiders and wealthy interests. I know what it means to depend on public systems, to work for a paycheck, and to fight for fairness because that has been my life.
I grew up in a working-class family, attended Texas public schools, and spent my career standing with working people so they had a voice in decisions that affect their lives. I have represented workers at the bargaining table, held powerful interests accountable, and fought for dignity, safety, and fair pay. That experience matters in an office that manages public land, school funding, disaster recovery, and veteran programs.
I don’t see this office as a stepping stone or political prize. I see it as a public trust. I’m running to bring transparency, accountability, and real representation to the General Land Office, so it works for everyday Texans, not special interests.
What are Texans looking for and wanting most in their General Land Office commissioner?
Most Texans don’t know what the General Land Office does and that’s part of the problem. While the office isn’t always visible, its decisions have a real impact on people’s lives, from disaster recovery and veteran benefits to public school funding and the management of public land.
What Texans want most is an office that works clearly, honestly, and in the open. They want transparency in how decisions are made, faster and more reliable disaster recovery, and veteran programs that are easy to understand and access. Texans also want to know that public land and resources are being managed in a way that benefits schools and communities—not political insiders or special interests.
Above all, Texans are looking for a General Land Office commissioner who treats the job as a public trust, communicates clearly, and puts everyday Texans first.
What’s the biggest challenge the next General Land Office commissioner will face in Texas, and how would you address it if elected?
The biggest challenge facing the next General Land Office commissioner is trust. The GLO manages public land, school funding, disaster recovery, and veteran programs, yet most Texans don’t know how decisions are made or who they serve. That lack of transparency creates confusion and delays.
If elected, I will open up the office by making transparency the standard. That means clear reporting, straightforward communication with communities, and accountability, especially in disaster recovery and veteran services. Success means veterans can access earned benefits, communities know where they stand after disasters, and Texans can see how public resources support public schools.
The General Land Office oversees several programs for veterans. How would you help veterans as commissioner?
As commissioner, I would help veterans by making sure they actually know about and can access the benefits they’ve earned through the General Land Office. Too many veterans are unaware of programs like home, land, and renovation loans, or face unnecessary delays when they try to use them.
I would prioritize proactive outreach so veterans across Texas, especially working-class and rural veterans, understand what resources are available to them. I would also focus on reducing wait times, improving communication, and making the process easier to navigate from start to finish.
Success means more veterans signing up for these programs, fewer barriers to access, and a system that treats veterans with the respect and urgency they deserve.
Please explain your priorities for managing the Permanent School Fund, if elected as commissioner?
My priority in managing the Permanent School Fund will be to protect it, grow it responsibly, and ensure it is managed transparently in the best interest of Texas public school students. The Fund exists to support public education, and every decision should be made with that responsibility in mind.
I will focus on ensuring Texas receives fair market value for the use of public lands and natural resources so the Fund continues to grow without raising taxes. That means holding corporations accountable, avoiding sweetheart deals, and making sure revenues are maximized for schools and classrooms.
I will also prioritize transparency so Texans can clearly see how the Fund is managed, how revenues are generated, and how decisions impact public education. Success means a stronger, more accountable Permanent School Fund that reliably supports Texas schools today and for future generations.
How would you approach disaster response and recovery as commissioner?
As commissioner, my approach to disaster response and recovery would focus on speed, clarity, and accountability. Texans who have been impacted by disasters deserve timely help and clear information, not confusion or long delays.
I would prioritize clear communication so communities know what resources are available, where they are in the recovery process, and what to expect next. I would also focus on reducing delays in releasing funds and ensuring disaster resources are ready to use as quickly as possible.
Just as important, I would work closely with local leaders and communities to make sure recovery efforts reflect real needs on the ground. Success means relief reaches Texans faster, the process is easier to navigate, and communities can rebuild with confidence.
What role, if any, should the General Land Office play in securing the Texas-Mexico border?
The General Land Office should not play a role in securing the Texas/Mexico border. Border security is not the mission of the GLO, and using this office for that purpose distracts from its core responsibilities, managing public land, supporting public education, assisting veterans, and overseeing disaster recovery.
Texans are best served when the GLO office stays focused on the work it is designed to do and carries out those duties transparently, effectively, and in the public interest.
Education: Bachelor in Cybersecurity and Information Assurance, multiple tech and industry related certifications
Have you run for elected office before? Yes. I’m currently serving my third year as Bay City Councilman
Please list the highlights of your civic involvement/activism in Texas:
I serve on the Bay City Development Corporation board and represent our region on the Houston-Galveston Area Council. I completed CERT training and EMT academy before moving to Texas because I believe in being useful when things go wrong. That mindset hasn’t changed. During Hurricane Beryl in 2024, my family and I helped seniors in our neighborhood clear driveways and home entrances. I also run a small heritage pig farm with my family, which has given me firsthand experience with agricultural policy and the Texas Right to Farm Act.
Have you ever been arrested, charged with a crime or otherwise been part of a criminal proceeding? No
Have you been involved in a civil lawsuit or bankruptcy proceeding? Yes. My wife and I are defendants in a civil nuisance lawsuit regarding our heritage pig farm in Matagorda County (130th District Court). The case involves the Texas Right to Farm Act. The lawsuit was filed in April 2024 and is tentatively set for trial in May 2026. We dispute the plaintiffs’ claims and are vigorously defending our agricultural operation. Our story was featured in the April 2025 issue of Texas Monthly.
Who are your top three campaign contributors? After my family, the next top contributors are Domingo Garcia and Liberal Austin Democrats.
Why are you seeking this office?
I’ve spent almost 30 years managing risk for a living. The GLO manages a $50+ billion fund for public schools, runs veterans programs, and handles disaster recovery. These responsibilities require professional stewardship, not political theater. The Permanent School Fund could generate more revenue if we diversified leasing beyond oil and gas. Wind and solar would bring steadier income. That’s money for Texas classrooms left on the table. We’ve seen what happens when the GLO isn’t ready for disasters. After Harvey, communities waited years for recovery funds while the feds flagged problems with how Texas managed the money. Living through Beryl in Matagorda reinforced what local communities actually need when storms hit. I immigrated from Mexico City in 1996, became a citizen, built a career, and now serve as a councilman. My mother taught me “nunca seas agachado” or never bow down, never accept less than you deserve. Texans deserve a Land Commissioner who shows up for the actual job.
If elected, what would your top 3 policy priorities be?
First, bringing more revenue into the Permanent School Fund through lease diversification. State lands currently generate income mostly from oil and gas, but wind and solar leases would provide steadier returns without commodity price swings. Every new dollar goes to Texas classrooms, some help with your property taxes. Second, overhauling how the Veterans Land Board serves our veterans. Too many vets face delays when trying to buy homes or access care they’ve earned. We need faster processing and systems that treat veterans like valued clients. Third, strengthening disaster preparedness. After Harvey, we saw communities wait years for recovery funds. The GLO needs plans and resources ready before storms hit, clear coordination with federal and local partners, and faster reimbursement for communities doing the hard work. Living through Beryl gave me firsthand lessons about what works and what doesn’t.
How will you measure your success as General Land Office commissioner?
Numbers. Numbers. And numbers. They don’t lie. I’ll track new revenue streams coming into the Permanent School Fund from diversified leasing. If we’re leaving money on the table, I want to know why. For veterans programs, I’ll measure processing times for loans and applications. Veterans shouldn’t wait months for answers. On disaster recovery, I’ll track how fast we get federal dollars to local communities after storms. Harvey showed us what happens when that process breaks down. I’ll measure satisfaction from the cities and counties we’re helping. I come from a world where audits and metrics matter. Texans deserve transparency about whether their Land Commissioner is doing the job.
Why should voters choose you over your opponents?
I live in Matagorda County. When Hurricane Beryl hit, I didn’t watch it on TV from Austin. I was there. My family was there. I saw firsthand how disaster response failures hurt real people in real time. That’s the fundamental difference in this race. I’m running to solve problems I’ve lived through. I’ve invested my own savings into this campaign because I believe Texans need independent leadership, not another rubber stamp for special interests. I have skin in the game. As a Bay City Councilman, I know where local systems break down. Whether it’s disaster recovery, funding our schools, or serving our veterans, I have almost 30 years of risk management experience to fix it. I earned my way onto this ballot. I’m not here because a political broker tapped me on the shoulder. I’ll be a Land Commissioner who answers to Texans, not to political sponsors or PAC money.
What are Texans looking for and wanting most in their General Land Office commissioner?
Most Texans don’t know who the Land Commissioner is or what the GLO does. They’ve never heard of the Permanent School Fund or the Veterans Land Board. And honestly, that’s fine. Government should work well enough that people don’t have to pay attention to every agency. But when disaster recovery is slow or veterans can’t get help, Texans notice something’s broken even if they don’t know which office to blame. What Texans want is quiet competence. Someone who manages their tax dollars responsibly and treats their fellow Texans with respect. They’re tired of officials who chase headlines instead of doing their homework. The GLO isn’t supposed to be exciting. It’s supposed to be reliable.
What’s the biggest challenge the next General Land Office commissioner will face in Texas, and how would you address it if elected?
Texas weather is getting more extreme, and our coast is getting hit harder. That’s what insurance companies tell us when they raise rates or leave the state entirely. The next commissioner must prepare for more frequent disasters while managing long term coastal erosion. Harvey showed us what happens when disaster recovery fails. Communities waited years for help while federal auditors flagged mismanagement. We can’t repeat those mistakes. I’ll work with coastal communities on realistic planning and coordinate with federal partners before disasters hit. Living through Beryl reinforced these lessons for me personally. I’ll also diversify Permanent School Fund revenue so classrooms benefit from wind and solar leases, not just oil and gas. Smarter management means more money for schools.
The General Land Office oversees several programs for veterans. How would you help veterans as commissioner?
I’ve already been meeting with veterans across Texas, listening to what they actually need. The message is clear: we need a VA hospital in the Valley and a new assisted living home in the Coastal Bend. The Land Commissioner doesn’t control VA hospital funding, but I’ll be a strong advocate. Veterans homes are squarely within the GLO’s responsibilities, and I’ll push for expansion where it’s needed. The Veterans Land Board also runs land loans and home improvement loans. On paper, great benefits. In practice, too many veterans face delays and confusion. I’d fix processing times and staffing so applications don’t sit in queues for months. And I’d improve outreach. Many veterans don’t know these programs exist. That’s on us to fix. These are Texans who served us. They deserve better than bureaucratic runaround.
Please explain your priorities for managing the Permanent School Fund, if elected as commissioner?
The Permanent School Fund is one of the largest education endowments in the country. My priority is bringing in more revenue through smarter land management. State lands currently generate income mostly from oil and gas leases. But wind and solar leases would provide additional, steadier revenue streams. This isn’t about replacing traditional energy. It’s about not leaving money on the table. Every new dollar supports Texas classrooms. I’ll also improve transparency. Texas families should see how their fund is managed through public dashboards and clear reporting. And I’ll seek independent analysis of our investment strategies, not just internal reports. The fund belongs to Texas schoolchildren. Every decision should start with that in mind.
How would you approach disaster response and recovery as commissioner?
The same way I approached it as a Councilman. Shortly after joining the council, I reviewed our incident response plan, found it woefully outdated, and stayed on it until we got it updated. After Beryl hit, I asked for a quick after-action report at our first meeting back and pushed for a formal Lessons Learned review for over a year. That’s how I operate. Preparation before the storm, honest assessment after. It comes from my almost 30 years in cybersecurity incident response and my CERT training. You plan, you drill, you respond, and then you figure out what went wrong so you’re better next time. I’ll build relationships with disaster-prone communities before anything happens. You don’t want the first conversation with a coastal mayor to be during a crisis. I’ll visit these communities, understand their specific vulnerabilities, and make sure they know who to call and what to expect from the GLO. Harvey showed what happens when this breaks down. I won’t let that happen again.
What role, if any, should the General Land Office play in securing the Texas-Mexico border?
Border security already involves multiple agencies at the federal, state, and local level. CBP, Border Patrol, DPS, the National Guard, local sheriffs. Adding the Land Commissioner to that mix doesn’t make Texas safer. It just diverts attention from what the GLO is actually supposed to do. The Permanent School Fund could generate more revenue for classrooms through lease diversification. Veterans are waiting too long for home loans. Coastal communities need better disaster preparation. Those are the GLO’s real responsibilities, and they’re not getting done while the commissioner chases border headlines or talks about building detention camps on state land. I immigrated from Mexico. Border issues aren’t simple. But Texans would benefit more from a Land Commissioner who focuses on delivering results where the agency actually has a job to do.
BOSTON — Doctored photos and video footage coupled with ads twisting candidates’ words have been used for decades in political campaigns, but the rise of artificial intelligence has elevated such deceptive tactics to a new level.
That has prompted a bipartisan push on Beacon Hill for restrictions on the misuse of the technology to sway voters and bash political opponents.
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GREENSBORO, N.C. — The first day of early voting kicked off with a march to the polls from N.C. A&T.
What You Need To Know
N.C. A&T students walked to the polls after the State Board of Elections decided against early voting locations at their campus
All 10 early voting sites around Guilford County opened this week
The two closest to the university’s campus are the Old Guilford Court House and the Guilford AG Center, but both are more than a mile away
The event is the first of many voter turnout events students said they will be holding leading up to the primary election March 3
The event comes after the State Board of Elections decided against adding early voting locations at the university along with UNC Greensboro and Elon University.
Organizers said it is the first of many more voter turnout events they’re planning to help students navigate voting off campus.
“Aggies do what is necessary for our rights, for our survival and for our people,” said N.C. A&T student Jae’lah Monet, who joined more than 60 other students and community members in a walk to the nearest polling site about 1.3 miles away from campus.
She said the event helps students get to the election site safely while demonstrating to the State Board of Elections how important a polling site is on campus.
“We will be there all day, and we will all get a chance to vote. Accessibility is truly, truly so important to all of us Aggies, because we understand not everyone has a car, not every student has money for Uber, so we work together to make sure that everybody has an equal chance, and that is what it means to be an Aggie,” Monet said.
There are 10 early voting sites around Guilford County. The two closest to campus are the Old Guilford Court House and the Guilford AG Center, but both are more than a mile away.
Charlie Collicutt, director of the Guilford County Board of Elections, said this is usual for this election, but the school will remain a voting location on election day.
“There’s never been a midterm election, primary or general election that used any of our college campuses. We’ve only ever used them in presidential elections,” Collicutt said.
“We’re staffed up at all of our polling sites. Any voter going to any site should see a fairly efficient process,” he said as students began lining up in the registration and voting lines.
Monet said they hope this walk changes that.
“There are a lot of things in this country that people have never had, and that doesn’t make them right. That doesn’t mean that it’s always fair, and this country is not known for always being accessible. That is why the future matters so much. The goal is to have polling sites for every election cycle, on our college campuses,” she explained.
Monet serves as a canvasser with the N.C A&T Chapter of the NAACP, where she’s trying to make sure more than 15,000 students are registered to vote.
“Every day, I meet a new Aggie who is doing something in the community to encourage their peers. Campaign trailblazers want people who are out making an impact every single day,” she said while standing in line to vote.
Monet said more than 200 other student organizations are working together to help get students to the polls for the primary election.
In a crowded field, Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth had a very good caucus night; she won the straw poll by about 32%.
Kendall Qualls came in second at 25%, and Mike Lindell finished third with about 17%.
The Republican Party endorsing convention is in May, and Demuth has said that if she doesn’t win the endorsement, she will drop out, but several candidates are expected to continue to the August primary.
“I am committed to both seek and abide by the endorsement. I am hoping we can just narrow that field, send our endorsed candidate ready to defeat whatever Democrat ends up on the ballot in November,” Demuth said.
The winner of the August primary will likely face DFL Sen. Amy Klobuchar. Klobuchar, for years, has been able to win Republican and Independent votes and her last statewide election was no different. She carried 12 Minnesota counties that President Trump won. While she won her Senate reelection by 16 points, Vice President Kamala Harris and Tim Walz only won by four points.
As House speaker, Demuth will be front and center for the next three months during the upcoming legislative session. That will also put her front and center in the debate over the federal and state handling of Operation Metro Surge. Demuth, who is asking for the president’s endorsement, says she supports the administration’s policies, including the current drawdown.
“What I stand by is enforcing federal immigration laws,” Demuth said. “I am pleased to see that Tom Homan is now in the state. You see that there is more cooperation between our county officials and our mayors, probably Gov. Walz too, where there is a pulling back of some of the law enforcement officers.”
WCCO also asked Demuth, who is Black, for her view of the president’s widely criticized social media post depicting Barack Obama and the former first lady Michelle Obama as apes.
“That was horrific. I was incredibly frustrated with that as a person of color myself,” she said.
Demuth will gavel in the start of this year’s legislative session on Feb. 17.
You can watch WCCO Sunday Morning with Esme Murphy and Adam Del Rosso every Sunday at 6 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.
Louisiana Democrat Chasity Verret Martinez defeated her Republican opponent by double digits in the special election Saturday night for a state House seat in a district President Trump won by 13 points in 2024.
Martinez won 62% of the vote compared to 38% for her Republican opponent, Brad Daigle, according to unofficial results from the Louisiana Secretary of State.
The special election was held after its former state representative, a Democrat, was appointed by Republican Gov. Jeff Landry to be a commissioner for the state’s Department of Alcohol & Tobacco.
Martinez’s win is not a flip since Democrats already held the seat, but Republicans had seen it as a prime pickup opportunity since Mr. Trump won the district three times. Her win was a 37-point swing from the 2024 results, although the district has voted for Democrats at the state and local levels previously.
Martinez, a former Iberville Parish councilwoman who focused her campaign on affordability and local issues, was outspent by Republicans 3-to-1.
Her victory comes on the heels of the Texas 9th state Senate special election last week, where Democrat Taylor Rehmet flipped a seat in the largest Republican county in the country — a seat held by the GOP for over 40 years. While Mr. Trump won that Texas district by 17 points in 2024, Rehmet won his race by 14 points.
Republicans have not yet had any special election legislative pickups during Mr. Trump’s second term. Democrats have flipped eight previously GOP-held districts in special elections since Mr. Trump took office.
The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, the campaign arm of Democratic state legislatures, issued a statement on Saturday night saying Republicans “squandered their first flip opportunity in an election they should’ve had in the bag.”
In recent weeks, Marin County Registrar Natalie Adona has been largely focused on the many mundane tasks of local elections administrators in the months before a midterm: finalizing voting locations, ordering supplies, facilitating candidate filings.
But in the wake of unprecedented efforts by the Trump administration to intervene in state-run elections, Adona said she has also been preparing her staff for far less ordinary scenarios — such as federal officials showing up and demanding ballots, as they recently did in Georgia, or immigration agents staging around polling stations on election day, as some in President Trump’s orbit have suggested.
“Part of my job is making sure that the plans are developed and then tested and then socialized with the staff so if those situations were to ever come up, we would not be figuring it out right then and there. We would know what to do,” Adona said. “Doing those sort of exercises and that level of planning in a way is kind of grounding, and makes things feel less chaotic.”
Natalie Adona faced harassment from election deniers and COVID anti-maskers when she served as the registrar of voters in Nevada County. She now serves Marin County and is preparing her staff for potential scenarios this upcoming election, including what to do if immigration agents are present.
(Jess Lynn Goss / For The Times)
Across California, local elections administrators say they have been running similar exercises to prepare for once unthinkable threats — not from local rabble-rousers, remote cyberattackers or foreign adversaries, but their own federal government.
State officials, too, are writing new contingency plans for unprecedented intrusions by Trump and other administration officials, who in recent days have repeated baseless 2020 election conspiracies, raided and taken ballots from a local election center in Fulton County, Ga., pushed both litigation and legislation that would radically alter local voting rules, and called for Republicans to seize control of elections nationwide.
California’s local and state officials — many of whom are Democrats — are walking a fine line, telling their constituents that elections remain fair and safe, but also that Trump’s talk of federal intervention must be taken seriously.
Their concerns are vastly different than the concerns voiced by Trump and other Republicans, who for years have alleged without evidence that U.S. elections are compromised by widespread fraud involving noncitizen voters, including in California.
But they have nonetheless added to a long-simmering sense of fear and doubt among voters — who this year have the potential to radically alter the nation’s political trajectory by flipping control of Congress to Democrats.
An election worker moves ballots to be sorted at the Orange County Registrar of Voters in Santa Ana on Nov. 5, 2024.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Trump has said he will accept Republican losses only if the elections are “honest.” A White House spokesperson said Trump is pushing for stricter rules for voting and voter registration because he “cares deeply about the safety and security of our elections.”
Rick Hasen, an election law expert and director of the Safeguarding Democracy Project at UCLA Law, said some of what Trump says about elections “is nonsensical and some is bluster,” but recent actions — especially the election center raid in Georgia — have brought home the reality of his threats.
“Some worry that this is a test run for trying to seize ballot boxes in 2026 and prevent a fair count of the votes, and given Trump’s track record, I don’t think that is something we can dismiss out of hand,” Hasen said. “States need to be making contingency plans to make sure that those kinds of things don’t happen.”
The White House dismissed such concerns, pointing to isolated incidents of noncitizens being charged with illegally voting, and to examples of duplicate registrations, voters remaining on rolls after death and people stealing ballots to vote multiple times.
“These so-called experts are ignoring the plentiful examples of noncitizens charged with voter fraud and of ineligible voters on voter rolls,” said Abigail Jackson, the White House spokesperson.
Experts said fraudulent votes are rare, most registration and roll issues do not translate into fraudulent votes being cast, and there is no evidence such issues swing elections.
A swirl of activity
Early in his term, Trump issued an executive order calling for voters nationwide to be required to show proof of U.S. citizenship, and for states to be required to disregard mail ballots received after election day. California and other states sued, and courts have so far blocked the order.
President Trump walks behind former chairperson of the Republican National Committee Michael Whatley as he prepares to speak during a political rally in Rocky Mount, N.C., on Dec. 19.
(Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP via Getty Images)
Longtime Trump advisor and ally Stephen K. Bannon suggested U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents will be dispatched to polling locations in November, reprising old fears about voter intimidation. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said she couldn’t rule that out, despite it being illegal.
Democrats have raised concerns about the U.S. Postal Service mishandling mail ballots in the upcoming elections, following rule changes for how such mail is processed. Republicans have continued pushing the SAVE America Act, which would create new proof of citizenship requirements for voters. The U.S. Supreme Court is considering multiple voting rights cases, including one out of Louisiana that challenges Voting Rights Act protections for Black representation.
Charles H. Stewart, director of the MIT Election Data + Science Lab, said the series of events has created an “environment where chaos is being threatened,” and where “people who are concerned about the state of democracy are alarmed and very concerned,” and rightfully so.
But he said there are also “a number of guardrails” in place — what he called “the kind of mundane mechanics that are involved in running elections” — that will help prevent harm.
California prepares
California leaders have been vociferous in their defense of state elections, and said they’re prepared to fight any attempted takeover.
“The President regularly spews outright lies when it comes to elections in this country, particularly ones he and his party lose,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement. “We will continue to correct those lies, rebuild much-needed trust in our democratic institutions and civic duties, and defend the U.S. Constitution’s grant to the states authority over elections.”
California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta and Secretary of State Shirley Weber take questions after announcing a lawsuit to protect voter rights in 2024.
(Damian Dovarganes / Associated Press)
California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta said in an interview that his office “would go into court and we would get a restraining order within hours” if the Trump administration tries to intervene in California elections, “because the U.S. Constitution says that states predominantly determine the time, place and manner of elections, not the president.”
Weber told The Times that the state has “a cadre of attorneys” standing by to defend its election system, but also “absolutely amazing” county elections officials who “take their job very seriously” and serve as the first line of defense against any disruptions, from the Trump administration or otherwise.
Dean Logan, Los Angeles County’s chief elections official, said his office has been doing “contingency planning and tabletop exercises” for traditional disruptions, such as wildfires and earthquakes, and novel ones, such as federal immigration agents massing near voting locations and last-minute policy changes by the U.S. Postal Service or the courts.
“Those are the things that keep us up at night,” he said.
Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder Dean Logan said the county no longer has ballots from the 2020 election.
(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
Logan said he is not currently concerned about the FBI raiding L.A. County elections offices because, while Fulton County still had its 2020 ballots on hand due to ongoing litigation, that is not the case for L.A. County, which is “beyond the retention period” for holding, and no longer has, its 2020 ballots.
However, Logan said he does consider what happened in Georgia a warning that the Trump administration “will utilize the federal government to go in and be disruptive in an elections operation.”
“What we don’t know is, would they do that during the conduct of an election, before an election is certified?” Logan said.
Kristin Connelly, chief elections officer for Contra Costa County, said she’s been working hard to make sure voters have confidence in the election process, including by giving speeches to concerned voters, expanding the county’s certified election observer program, and, in the lead-up to the 2024 election, running a grant-funded awareness campaign around election security.
Connelly — who joined local elections officials nationwide in challenging Trump’s executive order on elections in court — said she also has been running tabletop exercises and coordinating with local law enforcement, all with the goal of ensuring her constituents can vote.
“How the federal government is behaving is different from how it used to behave, but at the end of the day, what we have to do is run a mistake-free, perfect election, and to open our offices and operation to everybody — especially the people who ask hard questions,” she said.
Lessons from the past
Several officials in California said that as they prepare, they have been buoyed by lessons from the past.
Before being hired by the deep-blue county of Marin in May, Adona was the elected voting chief in rural Nevada County in the Sierra foothills.
In 2022, Adona affirmed that Trump’s 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden was legitimate and enforced a pandemic mask mandate in her office. That enraged a coalition of anti-mask, anti-vaccine, pro-Trump protesters, who pushed their way into the locked election office.
Protesters confronted Adona and her staffers, with one worker getting pushed down. They stationed themselves in the hallway, leaving Adona’s staff too terrified to leave their office to use the hallway bathroom, as local, state and federal authorities declined to step in.
“At this point, and for months afterwards, I felt isolated and depressed. I had panic attacks every few days. I felt that no one had our back. I focused all my attention on my staff’s safety, because they were clearly nervous about the unknown,” Adona said during subsequent testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
In part because she knows what can go wrong, Adona said her focus now is on preparing her new staff for whatever may come, while following the news out of Georgia and trying to maintain a cool head.
“I would rather have a plan and not use it than need a plan and not have one,” she said.
Clint Curtis, the clerk and registrar of voters in Shasta County — which ditched its voting machines in 2023 amid unfounded fraud allegations by Trump — said his biggest task ahead of the midterms is to increase both ballot security and transparency.
Since being appointed to lead the county office last spring, the conservative Republican from Florida has added more cameras and more space for election observers — which, during the recent special election on Proposition 50, California’s redistricting measure, included observers from Bonta’s and Weber’s offices.
He has also reduced the number of ballot drop boxes in the vast county from more than a dozen to four. Curtis told The Times he did not trust the security of ballots in the hands of “these little old ladies running all over the county” to pick them up, and noted there are dozens of other county locations where they can be dropped off. He said he invited Justice Department officials to observe voting on Proposition 50, though they didn’t show, and welcomes them again for the midterms.
“If they can make voting safer for everybody, I’m perfectly fine with that,” he said. “It always makes me nervous when people don’t want to cooperate. Whatcha hiding? It should be: ‘Come on in.’”
Election workers inspect ballots after extracting them from envelopes on election night at the Los Angeles County Ballot Processing Center on Nov. 5, 2024, in the City of Industry.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Weber, 77 and the daughter of an Arkansas sharecropper whose family fled Southern racism and threats of violence to reach California, said that while many people in the U.S. are confronting intense fear and doubt about the election for the first time, and understandably so, that is simply not the case for her or many other Black people.
“African Americans have always been under attack for voting, and not allowed to vote, and had new rules created for them about literacy and poll taxes and all those other kinds of things, and many folks lost their lives just trying to register to vote,” Weber said.
Weber said she still recalls her mother, who had never voted in Arkansas, setting up a polling location in their home in South L.A. each election when Weber was young, and today draws courage from those memories.
“I tell folks there’s no alternative to it. You have to fight for this right to vote. And you have to be aware of the fact that all these strategies that people are trying to use [to suppress voting] are not new strategies. They’re old strategies,” Weber said. “And we just have to be smarter and fight harder.”
HOCKINSON, Wash. — Voters in the Hockinson School District in Clark County have a decision to make to as the district asks for a $26.2 million dollar levy to extend current funding for the next 4 years in a special election. Superintendent Steve Marshall believes it’s a vote for the future.
Marshall says he is hoping this will pass and they can avoid cuts, but says their main job is simply to make due with what they have – and maximize dollars for every student. He calls that “The Hockinson Way.”
You can listen to Hockinson School District Superintendent Steve Marshall’s extended converstaion with KXL’s Brett Reckamp from Beyond the Headlines by clicking below. https://p.ftur.io/kxl/4348
President Trump posted a video Thursday to his social media site that contains animated images depicting former President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama as apes.
The White House took down the post Friday, and after first calling it nothing more than a meme, they dubbed it a mistake by a staffer. Sure.
But while the justifiable outrage over this overt racism spins itself into a brief media circus (because we all know something else will come along in about three minutes), let’s look a bit deeper into why this video is more than an affront to everything America stands for, or should stand for, anyway.
It’s no accident that the images of the Obamas are embedded deep inside a video about voter fraud conspiracies from the 2020 election (which are untrue, if I need to say it again). This video is an escalation in the assault that is likely to come on voting rights and voting access in the midterms.
“Absolutely, there’s a connection to the vote,” Melina Abdullah told me Friday. She’s a professor at Cal State Los Angeles and co-founder of Black Lives Matter Los Angeles.
“This is about more than just about the Obamas,” added Brian Levin, a professor emeritus at Cal State San Bernardino and founder of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism. “It’s about people that are [perceived as] undermining our elections and our democracy.”
I caught Levin the day after he turned in a chapter about authoritarianism for a new book, which happens to look at how discrimination and the imposition of social hierarchies ties in with power.
Let me summarize. Vulnerable groups are smashed down as dangerous and not fit to be full citizens, so a smaller group of elites can justify power by any means to protect society from these lowly and nasty influences.
Let me make that messaging even simpler: Black and brown people are bad and shouldn’t be allowed to participate in democracy because they don’t deserve the right.
How does that play out at the ballot box?
All that talk about voter identification and election integrity is really about stopping people from voting — people who legally have the right to vote. Those who are least likely to be able to obtain proof of citizenship — which might require a passport or birth certificate, along with the money and know-how to get such documents — are often Black or brown people. They are often also poor, or poorer, and therefore have less time and money to put into obtaining documents, and also live in urban areas where they share polling places.
Is it such a stretch to imagine some kind of federal oversight at those types of polling places, turning away — or simply intimidating away — legal voters who have long made up a strong block of the Democratic base?
Let’s hope that never happens. But the current undermining of the legitimacy of Black and brown voters is, said both Levin and Abdullah, systemic and concerning.
Trump’s latest video is “part of a floodgate of bigotry and conspiracy that relates to elections and immigrants and Black people and it’s important to condemn the manner in which these puzzle pieces are put together to label African Americans and immigrants as a threat to democracy with respect to the vote,” Levin said.
The premise of the video in question is that Democrats have engaged in a complicated and decades-long scheme to steal elections. It’s presented as a documentary, and the images of the Obamas have been weirdly inserted as almost a subliminal flash near the end.
If you’ve missed the white supremacist postings that have now become commonplace on official government communications such as those from the Departments of Labor and Homeland Security, let me assure you that Levin is right and this primate video is indeed part of a “firehose” of white nationalist rhetoric coming not just from Trump, but from the federal government as a whole.
The Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, for example, has turned its focus toward punishing diversity, equity and inclusion. Just this week, another federal agency, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, began a probe against Nike for allegedly discriminating against white people in hiring.
“It has been not even a dog-whistling, but a Xeroxing of the exact kind of terms that I’ve been looking at on white supremacists’ and neo-Nazi websites for decades,” Levin said.
It’s not my place or intent to warn Black people about racism, because that would be ludicrous and insulting, but I’ll warn the rest of us because in the end, authoritarianism targets everyone. This video is a clear statement that Trump’s vision of America is one in which every non-white group, every vulnerable group really, is a second-class citizen.
“He’s enabling an entire group of people who want to take this country back to a time when rampant violent white supremacy was enabled in the law,” Abdullah said. “What they mean is recapturing an old-school, oppressive racism that is pre-1965, pre-Voting Rights Act.”
That message, Levin said, has “a resonance with a decent part of his base,” and when fed ceaselessly into the system, can have violent outcomes.
Levin uses the example of when Trump tweeted during the 2020 protests over the killing of George Floyd: “When the looting starts, the shooting starts,” a phrase with a violent and racist history.
Levin said Black people have always been the primary targets of hate crimes in the United States, but after that tweet, it was some of the “worst days” for violence aimed by race.
“When a high transmitter, like a president, circulates imagery with regard to prejudice, it creates these stereotypes and conspiracy theories, which then are the groundwork for further conspiracy theories and aggression,” he added.
Abdullah said she worries that even if the voter crackdown isn’t officially sanctioned, those empowered conspiracy theorists will take action anyway.
“So the people who are so-called ‘monitoring,’ self-appointed monitors … this is who’s going to be pulling people out of voter lines, and so this is what he’s whipping up intentionally,” she said.
Keep your eye on the ball, folks, because the far-right Republicans running the show are laser-focused on it. The midterm elections have to go their way for them to remain in power.
The easiest way to ensure that outcome is to only allow voters who see things their way.
Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon calls for ICE to “surround the polls” in November – CBS News
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Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon has called on President Trump to deploy ICE agents to voting sites during the midterm elections. CBS News White House reporter Aaron Navarro has more.
A little less than six weeks before the March 17 primary election, Democratic Cook County Clerk Monica Gordon urged mail-in voters on Wednesday to return their ballots early amid a change in federal government procedures that she warned could make it harder to vote.
Gordon tied her concerns to the United States Postal Service’s recent decision, effective Jan. 1, to alter postmarking processes. While postmarks in the past were typically applied on the day an item was mailed, they are now listed as the day an item was processed at a USPS facility.
While the change might appear small, it could mean the difference of a day or more between ballots dropped in the mail and being postmarked, resulting in those mailed near the March 17 deadline not being postmarked by Election Day and therefore deemed invalid, even if a voter does “everything right,” Gordon said during a news conference.
“While this change has been described as minor, its impact on elections could be anything,” she said. “Do not wait until the final days or Election Day to mail your ballot.”
The USPS change comes after Republican President Donald Trump said last year he might take control of the postal service, which operates as an independent agency with leaders appointed by presidents, most recently Trump.
It also follows numerous false, misleading and unsupported claims by Trump that mail-in voting is prone to rampant fraud, even calling it “a whole big scam” in 2020 before he later lost his presidential reelection bid. In addition, Republicans, led by U.S. Rep. Mike Bost of downstate Murphysboro, have challenged Illinois’ law allowing mail-in ballots postmarked by Election Day to be counted 14 days later, a case that the U.S. Supreme Court recently said could move forward.
Still, even as the president and Republicans have generally argued against mail-in balloting, the Republican National Committee and the Illinois Republican Party have ramped up efforts to encourage GOP voters to cast ballots by mail.
Asked if she viewed the policy shift as a voting suppression effort, Gordon said she thought “it is possible.”
“I am trying to be as objective as possible here, but across the country, historically, we have seen efforts of sophisticated voter suppression,” she said. “We will not allow our votes to be suppressed. We will not allow our voters’ voices not to be heard.”
But Gordon had little to say when asked about Trump’s calls during a Monday podcast appearance to “nationalize the voting,” which would be a violation of the U.S. Constitution. Trump told his former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino that he wants Republicans to “take over the voting” in “at least many — 15 places” while making vague, unsubstantiated claims of voting fraud.
“I have not had communication with the federal government,” Gordon said. “I’m never concerned about voter fraud here in Illinois.”
The county clerk urged voters returning mail-in ballots close to the March 17 election to instead take them directly to a post office and request that it be postmarked at the counter. And beginning March 2, voters can return ballots at 55 drop boxes across suburban Cook County, she said. The Cook County clerk’s office oversees elections for suburban Cook County communities. The Chicago Board of Elections oversees elections in the city.
Gordon’s office plans to send advisories to mail-ballot voters to reinforce the warning, she added.
USPS has pushed back against such concerns, calling it a “myth” that the postmarking process is changing in a statement on its website. The postal service said instead that transportation changes are occurring “that will result in some mail pieces not arriving at our originating processing facilities on the same day that they are mailed.”
USPS spokesperson Timothy Norman said in a statement to the Tribune that the agency has long recommended voters drop off ballots before Election Day. He encouraged voters to visit a post office and request a manual postmark if needed.
“We employ a long-standing, robust and proven process to ensure proper handling and delivery of all Election Mail, including ballots,” Norman said.
Gordon’s election deputy, Edmond Michalowski, said mail dropped off at boxes in the past was postmarked at local post centers.
“Now it has to go to a distribution center before it is routed,” he told reporters. “We’re not sure how this is going to affect those voters.”
Gordon said she did not know why the USPS change had been made. “But what I do know is that it’s ill timing. We got to do what we can to make sure that we get those ballots in on time,” she said.
Gordon declined to estimate how many ballots could be affected by the postmarking change.
Around 170,000 mail ballots will be sent to suburban voters for the 2026 primary, Michalowski said. Most of the returned ballots typically come “in a wave up front,” “and then they taper off closer to Election Day,” he added.
Gordon said more ballots typically come in as media coverage of elections ramps up. She called the rules change “unprecedented” and conceded she did not know what to expect from it.
“Every vote matters, and no voters should lose their voice because of confusion or delay,” she said. “We urge all voters to make a voting plan.”
Details on Fulton County motion for FBI to return all 2020 ballots seized in raid – CBS News
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Officials in Fulton County, Georgia, have asked a federal court to order the FBI to return all the 2020 election ballots and documents it seized in a raid last week. CBS News legal contributor Rebecca Roiphe has more.
WASHINGTON — President Trump’s repeated calls to “nationalize” elections drew swift resistance from California officials this week, who said they are ready to fight should the federal government attempt to assert control over the state’s voting system.
“We would win that on Day One,” California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta told The Times. “We would go into court and we would get a restraining order within hours, because the U.S. Constitution says that states predominantly determine the time, place and manner of elections, not the president.”
“We’re prepared to do whatever we have to do in California,” said California Secretary of State Shirley Weber, whose office recently fought off a Justice Department lawsuit demanding California’s voter rolls and other sensitive voter information.
Both Bonta and Weber said their offices are closely watching for any federal action that could affect voting in California, including efforts to seize election records, as the FBI recently did in Georgia, or target the counting of mailed ballots, which Trump has baselessly alleged are a major source of fraud.
Weber said California plays an outsized role in the nation and is “the place that people want to beat,” including through illegitimate court challenges to undermine the state’s vote after elections, but California has fought off such challenges in the past and is ready to do it again.
“There’s a cadre of attorneys that are already, that are always prepared during our elections to hit the courts to defend anything that we’re doing,” she said. “Our election teams, they do cross the T’s, dot the I’s. They are on it.”
“We have attorneys ready to be deployed wherever there’s an issue,” Bonta said, noting that his office is in touch with local election officials to ensure a rapid response if necessary.
The standoff reflects an extraordinary deterioration of trust and cooperation in elections that has existed between state and federal officials for generations — and follows a remarkable doubling down by Trump after his initial remarks about taking over the elections raised alarm.
Trump has long alleged, without evidence and despite multiple independent reviews concluding the opposite, that the 2020 election was stolen from him. He has alleged, again without evidence, that millions of fraudulent votes were cast, including by non-citizen voters, and that blue states looked the other way to gain political advantage.
Last week, the Justice Department acted on those claims by raiding the Fulton County, Ga., elections hub and seizing 2020 ballots. The department also has sued states, including California, for their voter rolls, and is defending a Trump executive order seeking to end mail voting and add new proof of citizenship requirements for registering to vote, which California and other states have sued to block.
On Monday, Trump further escalated his pressure campaign by saying on former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino’s podcast that Republicans should “take over the voting in at least 15 places,” alleging that voting irregularities in what he called “crooked states” are hurting his party. “The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting.”
On Tuesday morning, Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, appeared to try to walk back Trump’s comments, saying he had been referring to the Save Act, a measure being pushed by Republicans in Congress to codify Trump’s proof-of-citizenship requirements. However, Trump doubled down later that day, telling reporters that if states “can’t count the votes legally and honestly, then somebody else should take over.”
Bonta said Trump’s comments were a serious escalation, not just bluster: “We always knew they were going to come after us on something, so this is just an affirmation of that — and maybe they are getting a step closer.”
Bonta said he will especially be monitoring races in the state’s swing congressional districts, which could play a role in determining control of Congress and therefore be a target of legal challenges.
“The strategy of going after California isn’t rational unless you’re going after a couple of congressional seats that you think will make a difference in the balance of power in the House,” Bonta said.
California Democrats in Congress have stressed that the state’s elections are safe and reliable, but also started to express unease about upcoming election interference by the administration.
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Fremont) said on “Meet the Press” last week that he believes the administration will try to use “every tool in their toolbox to try and interfere,” but that the American people will “overcome it by having a battalion of lawyers at the polls.”
California Sen. Adam Schiff this week said recent actions by the Trump administration — including the Fulton County raid, where Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard put Trump on the phone with agents — were “wrong” and set off “alarm bells about their willingness to interfere in the next election.”
Democrats have called on their Republican colleagues to help push back against such interference.
“When he says that we should nationalize the elections and Republicans should take over, and you don’t make a peep? What is going on here?” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Tuesday. “This is the path that has ruined many a democracy, and our democracy is deep and strong, but it requires — and allows — resistance to these things. Verbal resistance, electoral resistance. Where are you?”
Some Republicans have voiced their disagreement with Trump. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said Tuesday that he is “supportive of only citizens voting and showing ID at polling places,” but is “not in favor of federalizing elections,” which he called “a constitutional issue.”
“I’m a big believer in decentralized and distributed power. And I think it’s harder to hack 50 election systems than it is to hack one,” he said.
However, other Republican leaders have commiserated with Trump over his qualms with state-run elections. House Majority Leader Mike Johnson (R-La.), for example, took aim at California’s system for counting mail-in ballots in the days following elections, questioning why such counting led to Republican leads in House races being “magically whittled away until their leads were lost.”
“It looks on its face to be fraudulent. Can I prove that? No, because it happened so far upstream,” Johnson said. “But we need more confidence in the American people in the election system.”
Elections experts expressed dismay over Johnson’s comments, calling them baseless and illogical. The fact that candidates who are leading in votes can fall behind as more votes are counted is not magic but math, they said — with Democrats agreeing.
“Speaker Johnson seems to be confused, so let me break it down. California’s elections are safe and secure. The point of an election is to make sure *every* eligible vote cast is counted, not to count fast,” Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) wrote on X. “We don’t just quit while we’re ahead. It’s called a democracy.”
Democrats have also expressed concern that the administration could use the U.S. Postal Service to interfere with counting mail-in ballots. They have specifically raised questions about a rule issued by the postal service last December that deems mail postmarked on the day it is processed by USPS, rather than the day it is received — which would impact mail-in ballots in places such as California, where ballots must be postmarked by election day to be counted.
“Election officials are already concerned and warning that this change could ultimately lead to higher mailed ballots being rejected,” Senate Democrats wrote to U.S. Postal Service Postmaster General David Steiner last month.
Some experts and state officials said voters should make a plan to vote early, and consider dropping their ballots in state ballot drop boxes or delivering them directly to voting centers.
The first major televised debate among leading candidates for California governor Tuesday saw the race’s newest entrant — San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan — draw fire from both ends of the political spectrum.
For most of the two-hour debate aired on KTVU in the Bay Area and KTTV in Los Angeles featuring a half dozen Democrats and one Republican, the candidates stuck to their campaign talking points with little acknowledgement of their rivals. Mahan was singled out by name by two of his rivals on the stage.
But afterward, Melissa Michelson, a political science professor at Menlo College, told TV interviewers she felt “Matt Mahan did very well in the debate.”
Steve Hilton, the Republican in the debate, said he was amazed that Mahan, who has often criticized current Gov. Gavin Newsom, gave him credit in recent remarks for his effort in dealing with homelessness.
The mayor noted in response that Hilton had visited him in San Jose last month “to see what’s working” and said, “I don’t know what changed in the last week, but it seems (to be) the fact that I jumped into this race. Frankly, that’s exactly what’s wrong with our politics.”
The mayor also fended off criticism from billionaire entrepreneur and Democratic environmental activist Tom Steyer who has been vocal about other billionaires and corporations needing to pay their fair share in taxes. Mahan, who comes from the tech sector, has been critical about a proposed tax on the state’s billionaires that he says would drive high-paying jobs out of California.
“Right now the big tech CEOs are terrified about the idea of paying their fair share. Right now they’re supporting Matt, that’s where they are,” Steyer said. “Who have I got? I’ve got the nurses, I’ve got the bus drivers, I’ve got the cafeteria workers, I’ve got the custodians.”
Mahan responded that he supports closing tax loopholes on the wealthy but that the proposed wealth tax would hurt the state and said “our politics has been oversimplified” by “populists on both sides and you deserve real answers not easy answers.”
Some of the biggest names in the race weren’t on the debate stage: Republican Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, Democratic former Rep. Katie Porter, and Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell. Organizers said all three cited schedule conflicts. Swalwell’s campaign said he chose to stay in Washington, D.C. to vote against Immigration and Customs Enforcement funding.
Hilton called Bianco a “RINO” — it stands for “Republican In Name Only” — and criticized him for not showing up to the debate “to face these Democrats or his record.”
“Chad Bianco has more baggage than LAX,” Hilton said.
Experts interviewed afterward by the moderators differed on how much the candidates who didn’t participate would be hurt by it. Jasmyne Cannick, a Democratic Party delegate in Los Angeles, said it would have some impact. Michelson however noted that those candidates all are leading in polls and could afford to skip.
Democrats are heavily favored in California where they outnumber Republicans 2 to 1 in voter registration. But some of the six Democrats on stage struggled to separate themselves from the pack as they denounced the Trump administration and pledged to make California more affordable.
“The assignment for all of them was to distinguish themselves,” Michelson said after the debate. “At the end they were trying to answer that question…and many of them talked about being ready to go on day one, this is no place for job training, you’ve got to be a fighter, but if you all say the same thing, you’re not distinguishing yourselves.”
Other Democrats in the debate were former health secretary and Attorney General Xavier Becerra, former state Controller Betty Yee and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
Michelson said that Mahan, who jumped into the race less than a week ago, had the most “unique vision” among Democrats, presenting a message that appeared to resonate with viewers.
“He absolutely has a shot,” Michelson said of the mayor who will need to build his name recognition in a state where half of all voters live hundreds of miles from the city he leads.
The debate came as the candidates reported their latest campaign fundraising hauls. Steyer, who spent $27 million in the race last year, aired several ads leading up to and during the televised debate.
The debate remained civil throughout with little mud-slinging in a race that has seen few attack ads. Yee closed by calling herself “the adult in the room.” Villaraigosa said he’s “a proven problem solver.” Thurmond talked about his struggles with poverty in his youth. Becerra talked about his experience as attorney general taking on the Trump administration and saying the governor’s office is a “place where you have to fight.”
WASHINGTON — President Trump said Monday that the federal government should “nationalize” elections, repeating — without evidence — his long-running claim that U.S. elections are beset by widespread fraud.
Speaking on a podcast hosted by former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino, Trump said Republicans should “take over the voting in at least 15 places,” alleging that voting irregularities in what he called “crooked states” are hurting the GOP.
“The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting,” Trump said.
The proposal would clash with the Constitution’s long-standing framework that grants states primary authority over election administration, and underscored Trump’s continued efforts to upend voting rules ahead of this year’s midterm elections.
Trump, for example, lamented that Republicans have not been “tougher” on the issue, again asserting without evidence that he lost the 2020 election because undocumented immigrants voted illegally for Democrats.
“If we don’t get them out, Republicans will never win another election,” Trump said. “These people were brought to our country to vote and they vote illegally, and it is amazing that the Republicans are not tougher on it.”
In his remarks, the president suggested that “some interesting things” may come out of Georgia in the near future. Trump did not divulge more details, but was probably teasing what may come after the FBI served a search warrant at the election headquarters of Fulton County, Ga.
Days after FBI agents descended on the election center, the New York Times reported that Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard was with agents at the scene when she called Trump on her cellphone. Trump thanked them for their work, according to the report, an unusual interaction between the president and investigators tied to a politically sensitive inquiry.
In the days leading up to the Georgia search, Trump suggested in a speech during the World Economic Summit in Davos, Switzerland, that criminal charges were imminent in connection to what he called a “rigged” 2020 election.
Georgia has been central to Trump’s 2020 claims. That’s where Trump called Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on January 2021, asking him to “find” 11,780 votes to overturn the state’s results. Raffensperger refused, affirming that a series of reviews confirmed that Democrat Joe Biden had won the state.
Since returning to office a year ago, Trump has continued to aggressively pushed changes to election rules.
“Because our Constitution assigns responsibility for election regulation to the States and to Congress, this Court holds that the President lacks the authority to direct such changes,” Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly of the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia wrote in October.
In Congress, several Republican lawmakers have backed legislation to require people provide proof of citizenship before they register to vote.
Some conservatives are using the elections bill as bargaining chip amid negotiations over a spending package that would end a partial government shutdown that began early Saturday.
“ONLY AMERICAN CITIZENS SHOULD BE VOTING IN AMERICAN ELECTIONS. This is common sense not rocket science,” Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) wrote on X on Monday as negotiations were continuing.
Democrat Taylor Rehmet flipped a historically Republican district of Texas during a special election on Saturday to claim a closely watched state Senate seat.
The military veteran and union leader comfortably won the race for Texas Senate District 9, which includes the Fort Worth area, beating the Republican candidate, conservative activist Leigh Wambsganss.
Rehmet had a lead of more than 14 percentage points after almost every vote was counted, the Associated Press reported.
President Donald Trump had won the district by 17 points back in 2024.
“This victory is a warning sign to Republicans across the country,” Democratic National Committee chair Ken Martin said in a statement late on Saturday. “Tonight’s results prove that no Republican seat is safe.”
