HERNANDO COUNTY, Fla. – Republican Ralph Massullo Jr. has captured the State Senate District 11 seat.
Massullo saw resistance from Democrat Ash Marwah, but he ultimately came out on top. District 11 covers Hernando, Sumter, Citrus and a small section of northwest Pasco County.
Massullo, a Lecanto physician who previously served four terms in the Florida House of Representatives since 2016, will replace Blaise Ingoglia in District 11. Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Ingoglia to replace Jimmy Patronis as the state’s Chief Financial Officer, opening the seat.
DeSantis expressed his support for Massullo early in the race.
Massullo stressed during his campaign that his experience made him right for the seat.
He said his platform is highlighted with his work toward protecting families, strengthening Florida’s economy and keeping children safe.
HERNANDO COUNTY, Fla. – Voters are heading to the polls today to decide the Florida Senate District 11 Special Election.
Republican Ralph Massullo Jr. is running against Democrat Ash Marwah for the seat, which became vacant when Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Blaise Ingoglia to replace Jimmy Patronis as the state’s Chief Financial Officer. Patronis vacated that office after his election to Congress.
Special Election Day is Tuesday, Dec. 9 and voting is open to residents in the district, which covers Hernando, Sumter, Citrus and a small section of northwest Pasco County.
Massullo is a Lecanto physician who served four terms in the Florida House of Representatives since 2016. DeSantis has expressed his support for Massullo.
Marwah is a Democrat from The Villages and is originally from India.
He is an engineer by trade, and his background includes being an entrepreneur in the Pittsburgh area.
Marwah and his wife retired to The Villages in 2016. Since moving to the area, he has been affiliated with the Democratic Party of Sumter County, Tutors for Kids, and The Villages Democratic Club.
He previously ran for the Florida House of Representatives District 52 seat in 2024, where he lost to incumbent John Temple, a Republican.
In a recent appearance before the League of Women’s Voters, where he took questions along with Massullo, Marwah reiterated his stances in favor of affordable housing, addressing healthcare and increased funding for education.
Massullo, meanwhile, has stressed during this campaign that his experience makes him right for the seat. He has highlighted his work toward protecting families, strengthening Florida’s economy and keeping children safe.
The Fulton County, Georgia, prosecutor dropped the 2020 election interference case against President Trump and his allies on Wednesday. CBS News Department of Justice reporter Jake Rosen has the latest.
Tarrant County Commissioner Alisa Simmons, an Arlington Democrat, and County Judge Tim O’Hare, a Southlake Republican, listen to public comment during a Commissioners Court meeting May 7, 2024.
FortWorth
The words “preservation, not politics” were heard over and over at Wednesday’s Tarrant County Historical Commission meeting. Yet multiple people said there was something more at play when the proposed slate of executive committee nominees were replaced with a new set of more conservative nominations.
Some people fear the county commissioners got involved in the election of the executive committee in reaction to a proposed LGBTQ+ marker that was rejected in May after County Judge Tim O’Hare, a Southlake Republican, asked the Texas Historical Commission to rescind approval.
The Fort Worth marker, detailing the LGBTQ+ history in the city, was rejected without further investigation by the Texas Historical Commission, but Todd Camp, who helped with the marker application, said he would try again in the spring.
The county historical commission has limited say in what markers get approved and which get rejected. Bill Perdue, the newly-elected chair, said the Tarrant County Historical Commission can give its two cents, but really the Texas Historical Commission makes the decision. The Tarrant County Historical Commission primarily exists to help residents apply for a historical marker.
Tarrant County commissioners appoint three Historical Commission members each and three at-large members. On Tuesday, the Historical Commission members elected their five-person executive committee.
Ahead of the new Historical Commission executive election, Perdue said he had multiple phone calls with O’Hare. Perdue said members of the Commissioners Court had said who they wanted on the executive committee, though he didn’t detail who said what. Perdue did say that not all of those wishes were granted.
The nominating committee made up of Historical Commission members proposed a slate of officers on Oct. 29. Only the treasurer, Preston Patry, and parliamentarian, Floreen Henry, were voted in as proposed. Members who had been appointed by O’Hare and Commissioner Matt Krause, a Republican from Keller, were elected chair, vice chair and secretary.
Tammy Nakamura, a member of the commission who was appointed by Krause, was one of the members who made new nominations to put other Krause appointees on the executive committee.
She said she nominated who she did because she knows their history and the board needed to go in a new direction.
“I just think we needed some new leadership,” said Nakamura, a former Colleyville City Council member and Grapevine-Colleyville school district trustee.
Though Nakamura didn’t specify why or what direction she wanted the commission to go, Perdue said he thinks some of the people on the commission were worried there would be another LGBTQ+ marker issue.
As far as what direction Perdue will take the historical commission in his two-year term, he said: “Really, I want to get this thing back on track again. We had so much distractions last couple of years.”
Democrat Commissioner Alisa Simmons said O’Hare meddled in the nomination process to ensure history he doesn’t agree with is not memorialized.
“I think that he was attempting to manipulate the outcome, because, like he does with everything, he makes it political,” Simmons said.
History should never be controlled by politicians, Simmons said. She thinks the Historical Commission should be reflective of the diversity of the county and the election process should be independent of politics.
“In a Republican county, with a Republican Commissioners Court and every countywide office held by a Republican, Democrats are upset that a Republican is the new Chair of the Historical Commission,” O’Hare said in a statement. “Nothing new under the sun.”
Perdue said no matter who anyone wanted on the executive committee, the commission will be apolitical and continue preserving history for the entire county.
Perdue said he’s known O’Hare a long time.
“He and I talk a lot,” he said. “In fact, I was on the phone with him before the meeting today, but I will tell you that he understands where I’m from, I understand where he’s from, and he is not going to dictate to me how I’m going to run my job.”
Rachel Royster is a news and government reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, specifically focused on Tarrant County. She joined the newsroom after interning at the Austin American-Statesman, the Waco Tribune-Herald and Capital Community News in DC. A Houston native and Baylor grad, Rachel enjoys traveling, reading and being outside. She welcomes any and all news tips to her email.
A new Marist poll shows Democrats favored over Republicans for the 2026 midterm elections. Meanwhile, a federal judge blocked Texas from using its new congressional map in the 2026 midterms. CBS News’ Fin Gomez has more.
In the days and weeks after the 2020 election, partisans across the country used lies and deceit to try to defraud the American people and steal the White House.
But it’s only old news if you believe that justice and integrity carry an expiration date, wrongdoing is fine with the passage of enough time and the foundational values of our country and its democracy — starting with fair and honest elections — matter only to the extent they help your political side prevail.
It bears repeating: “What we’re talking about here is an attempt to overturn the outcome of a presidential election,” said Sean Morales-Doyle, who heads the Voting Rights and Elections Program at the Brennan Center for Justice, a law and policy think tank at New York University. “If people can engage in that kind of conduct without consequence or accountability, then we have to worry about it happening again.”
Which is why punishment and deterrence are so important.
Last week, the Nevada Supreme Court unanimously reinstated the criminal case against six Republicans who signed certificates falsely claiming Trump had won the state’s electoral votes. Those charged include Nevada’s GOP chairman, Michael McDonald, and the state’s representative on the Republican National Committee, Jim DeGraffenreid.
The ruling focused on a procedural matter: whether the charges should have been brought in Douglas County, where the fake certificates were signed in the state capital — Carson City — or in Clark County, where they were submitted at a courthouse in Las Vegas. A lower court ruled the charges should have been brought in Douglas County and dismissed the case. The high court reversed the decision, allowing the prosecution on forgery charges to proceed.
As well it should. Let a jury decide.
Of course, the Nevada Six and other phony electors are but small fry. The ringleader and attempted-larcenist-in-chief — Donald “Find Me 11,780 Votes” Trump — escaped liability by winning the 2024 election.
But it was further evidence of his abundant contempt for the rule of law. (Just hours after taking office, Trump pardoned nearly 1,600 defendants — including some who brutalized cops with pepper spray and wooden and metal poles — who were involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.)
Efforts around the country to prosecute even those low-level schemers, cheaters and 2020 election miscreants have produced mixed results.
In Michigan, a judge threw out the criminal case against 15 phony electors, ruling the government failed to present sufficient evidence that they intended to commit fraud.
In New Mexico and Pennsylvania, fake electors avoided prosecution because their certification came with a caveat. It said the documentation was submitted in the event they were recognized as legitimate electors. The issue was moot once Trump lost his fight to overturn the election, though some in Trump’s orbit hoped the phony certifications would help pressure Pence.
Derek Muller, a Notre Dame law professor, looks askance at many of the cases that prosecutors have brought, suggesting the ballot box — rather than a courtroom — may be the better venue to litigate the matter.
“There’s a fine line between what’s distasteful conduct and what’s criminal conduct,” Muller said. “I don’t have easy answers about which kinds of things should or shouldn’t be prosecuted in a particular moment, except to say if it’s something novel” — like these 2020 cases — “having a pretty iron-clad legal theory is pretty essential if you’re going to be prosecuting people for engaging in this sort of political protest activity.”
Other cases grind on.
Three fake electors are scheduled for a preliminary hearing on forgery charges next month in Wisconsin. Fourteen defendants — including Giuliani and former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows — face charges in Georgia. In Arizona, the state attorney general must decide this week whether to move forward with a case against 11 people after a judge tossed out an indictment because of how the case was presented to grand jurors.
A demonstration voting machine at the Tarrant County Election Administration displays the screen voters will see after casting their ballot on Wednesday, January 29, 2020, in Fort Worth. The 2025 local runoff election will take place on June 7.
FortWorth
The runoff election to fill North Texas’ Senate District 9 is set for Jan. 31, Gov. Greg Abbott’s office announced Monday.
Democrat Taylor Rehmet and Republican Leigh Wambsganss advanced to the runnoff to fill the North Texas district following a Nov. 4 special election. The seat is vacant after former Sen. Kelly Hancock, a North Richland Hills Republican, left for the Texas Comptroller’s office, where he currently serves as acting comptroller.
Early voting starts Jan. 21 and runs through Jan. 27.
Rehmet, a union leader and aircraft mechanic, was the top vote getter in the first round of voting, winning nearly 48% of the votes in the district, despite its being a historically Republican seat. Wambsganss, Patriot Mobile’s chief communication officer, got the second most votes— about 36%. Former Southlake Mayor John Huffman did not advance to the runoff.
The Tarrant County district includes much of Northwest Tarrant County, including part of Fort Worth and suburban communities like Southlake, Keller and North Richland Hills.
Gelien Perez, 35, former Human Resources director for the city, and William ‘Willy’ Marrero, 22, former council aide, are running for two seats in Dec. 9 runoff election. Both have been endorsed by mayor-elect Bryan Calvo
Hialeah mayor-elect Bryan Calvo, promising unity and a balanced government, has endorsed two candidates for the Dec. 9 city council runoff elections. Calvo is backing Gelien Perez and William “Willy” Marrero, who ran with rival political slates during the mayoral contest but now stand together under his incoming administration.
“I’m creating a coalition to approve the agenda,” Calvo told the Miami Herald.
Asked about the possibility that either candidate could oppose his agenda once in office, he added: “My support doesn’t mean they will vote with me 100% of the time. We need to refine the balance and votes where we don’t all agree. Just because I supported them doesn’t mean it’s a conditional one.”
Gelien Perez attends a City Council meeting on Tuesday, May 13, 2025, at Hialeah City Hall. D.A. Varela dvarela@miamiherald.com
An unexpected ally
Perez, 35, a former human resources director for the city, ran as part of Council President Jesus Tundidor’s slate, a faction that opposed Calvo in the mayoral race. Her professional background positions her as one of the most qualified candidates for Council Seat 3, according to Calvo.
“She brings the most experience and insight into how Hialeah functions,” he said.
Perez was the subject of a Miami-Dade Ethics Commission investigation covering 2018–2020, which found indications she may have used her city position to benefit her private real-estate business. Despite that, she secured enough votes in the Nov. 4 special election to advance to the runoff. Asked about the investigation, Calvo said it is a question for Perez. The Herald has reached out to Perez several times, but she has not responded.
In the primary, Perez led with 40.5% of the vote, narrowly ahead of Jessica Castillo, who received 36%, while Kassandra Montandon, who ran on the slate of interim Mayor Jackie of Garcia-Roves, with 23.5%.
Jessica Castillo, 37, is running for Hialeah City Council with a platform focused on easing traffic congestion, improving infrastructure, enhancing public safety, and lowering property taxes. Jessica Castillo
Calvo’s endorsement gives Perez fresh momentum as she heads into the competitive runoff against Castillo. Castillo has centered her platform on transparency, accountability and giving residents a stronger voice at City Hall. Her top priorities include improving traffic flow, upgrading infrastructure, enhancing public safety and lowering property taxes. She has said she does not feel represented by the current city leadership, positioning herself as an independent voice in the race.
A bridge between administrations
Marrero, 22, ran as part of Garcia-Roves’s slate, representing a faction that opposed Calvo in the mayoral contest. Garcia-Roves has briefly served as Hialeah’s first woman mayor. Marrero’s first-round performance, capturing 25% of the vote in a field of five candidates, secured him a spot in the runoff, with his message of youth and energy resonating strongly with voters.
William Marrero gives comment during a city council meeting to decide the interim council member replacing now-mayor Jacqueline Garcia-Roves on Tuesday, May 13, 2025, at city hall in Hialeah, Fla. D.A. Varela dvarela@miamiherald.com
Calvo’s endorsement positions Marrero uniquely — supported by both the outgoing acting mayor and the incoming one, creating a rare political bridge between two administrations. Marrero has emphasized working on issues critical to residents, including the high cost of city services, water and sewer affordability, and addressing tax and infrastructure challenges.
“With experience as a council aide, Marrero understands how city bureaucracy functions and aims to take a strong role in delivering robust constituent services to residents,” Calvo said.
Both represent groups that often lack a voice in local government, particularly people in their mid-20s. Calvo has said he does not believe age should be a barrier to leadership, citing his own experience as Hialeah’s youngest councilman at 23 in 2021 and later being elected the youngest mayor at 27.
Marrero said that working with Calvo is about putting residents first: “I do have to work with him. It is about the residents. He is extremely reasonable, understands disagreement, and encourages collaboration,” he said.
Marrero will face Javier Morejon, the former chairman of the Hialeah Beautification Board and vice-chair of the Historic Preservation Board.
Javier Morejon 34, is proposing a better Hialeah with greener Spaces, lower costs, safer streets and stronger infrastructure. He also says he wants to restore transparency and accountability at City Hall. Javier Morejon
Morejon, 34, is running for Council Seat 4 after two previous attempts to become an interim council member. In the primary, he captured 23.3% of the vote. A business developer, land-use specialist and city surveyor based in Miami Gardens, Morejon emphasizes a practical and community-focused agenda. His priorities include creating greener public spaces, reducing costs for essential city services, strengthening public safety resources, restoring transparency and accountability at City Hall, and repairing critical infrastructure such as streets and drainage to address flooding and potholes.
A symbol of unity
By endorsing two candidates who initially ran with his opponents, Calvo appears to be making a strategic and symbolic effort to prioritize residents’ interests over political loyalty. The Dec. 9 runoff comes after a turbulent year in Hialeah, marked by a deadlocked council, an interim mayoral transition, and shifting alliances, and it carries immediate consequences for Calvo’s ability to govern. In January, once he is sworn in, the council must fill the seat vacated by Tundidor, and Calvo will need four votes on the seven-member council to make the new appointment. He currently has two reliable supporters — Carl Zogby, the only councilman elected unopposed after his challenger withdrew, and Luis Rodriguez, who was reelected.
If Perez and Marrero prevail, their victories could give Calvo the majority he needs to control the January appointment and establish momentum for his administration. Beyond the numbers, their elections would reinforce his broader message of unity, integrating former opponents into a coalition focused on collaboration and citywide priorities rather than factional politics.
Verónica Egui Brito ha profundizado en temas sociales apremiantes y de derechos humanos. Cubre noticias dentro de la vibrante ciudad de Hialeah y sus alrededores para el Nuevo Herald y el Miami Herald. Se unió al Herald en 2022. Verónica Egui Brito has delved into pressing social, and human rights issues. She covers news within the vibrant city of Hialeah, and its surrounding areas for el Nuevo Herald, and the Miami Herald. Joined the Herald in 2022.
Surry County, Virginia — For being just 19 years old, Cameran Drew of Surry County, Virginia, is ambitious — some might say overly ambitious.
In last week’s election, the young liberal took on the establishment when he ran for a seat on the Surry County Board of Supervisors.
“I wanted this job because I knew I could serve the people,” Drew told CBS News. “I knew I could be an advocate for the youth and be an advocate for our county.”
It’s a confidence he credits to his favorite teacher, Kenneth Bell, who teaches civics at Surry County High School.
Bell describes Drew as a “wonderful young man” who he always knew would make a great politician someday. He just didn’t realize that day would come so soon.
“He would have been formidable against any opponent against whom he would have run,” Bell told CBS News.
And Drew says it was Bell’s “guidance” that “helped me and prepared me so much for this moment.”
But there was a catch in Drew’s campaign. To get elected, Drew would have to defeat the incumbent, a beloved lifelong resident and conservative: Bell.
Bell had held the position since this summer in an interim capacity after the former supervisor resigned.
Drew was challenging his own mentor. But both said it didn’t create an uncomfortable situation at all.
“Because he was very receptive,” Drew said. “We were both respectful about it, so it was never an awkward moment.”
In fact, during the campaign, Bell said he found himself defending Drew, especially on the age issue.
“Yes, he’s young, but he’s really invested in trying to make a difference,” Bell said, admitting that he realizes it’s rare for a political candidate to defend his opponent.
“Well, you have to be a teacher, I think, to really know this and to see somebody who you helped shape and mold take this brave step, not knowing what’s going to happen,” Bell said.
In the end, Drew won by just eight votes at last count, according to unofficial state election results — 345 to 337, a margin of just 1.2%.
Bell happily conceded. And what did he say to Drew following his former student’s narrow win?
“Congratulations, and I’m so proud of you,” Bell said. “And I love you.”
Said Drew, “I’m just lost for words because of the fact he’s been so gracious.”
An area trend in party affiliation over the past 14 years shows a dramatic shift in registered voters, including an increase in folks voting independent.
Cherokee County Election Board Secretary Tiffany Rozell shared the data with Tahlequah Daily Press, which shows that over this time span, the number of Republicans increased from 5,833 in 2011 to 12,924 by October 2025. Registered Democrats in 2011 numbered 14,768, and by 2025, the number registered in that party has decreased to 9,313.
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An area trend in party affiliation over the past 14 years shows a dramatic shift in registered voters, including an increase in folks voting independent.
Cherokee County Election Board Secretary Tiffany Rozell shared the data with Tahlequah Daily Press, which shows that over this time span, the number of Republicans increased from 5,833 in 2011 to 12,924 by October 2025. Registered Democrats in 2011 numbered 14,768, and by 2025, the number registered in that party has decreased to 9,313.
This page requires Javascript.
Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.
An area trend in party affiliation over the past 14 years shows a dramatic shift in registered voters, including an increase in folks voting independent.
Cherokee County Election Board Secretary Tiffany Rozell shared the data with Tahlequah Daily Press, which shows that over this time span, the number of Republicans increased from 5,833 in 2011 to 12,924 by October 2025. Registered Democrats in 2011 numbered 14,768, and by 2025, the number registered in that party has decreased to 9,313.
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A Republican gubernatorial candidate is spreading misinformation and stoking anti-Muslim sentiment ahead of a planned march in Dearborn that he’s calling the “American Crusade.”
Anthony Hudson, a truck driver from Grand Blanc Township and self-described “America First” candidate, has used his social media platforms to portray Dearborn as a threat, falsely suggesting the Detroit suburb is facing “Muslim infiltration” and “Sharia law.”
In a series of posts on X, Hudson announced plans for a “peaceful assembly” in Dearborn on Tuesday, calling on “patriots” to join him at Schaefer Road and Michigan Avenue at 4 p.m. He has repeatedly invoked Christian nationalist language, writing, “CHRIST WILL NOT BE MOCKED.” He also vowed to “expose Dearborn for what it is.”
Hudson has also claimed that the National Guard, Marines, and a “Patriot Militia” will attend the march, though no official agencies have confirmed any involvement.
The group plans to pray and sing gospel music before attending a Dearborn City Council meeting at 7 p.m.
“we won’t be leaving until a peace treaty is reached,” Hudson wrote. “Mark my words. The world is watching. We need all patriots there.”
He continued, “No backing down. No surrender. We the people will not be mocked, & neither will Christ.”
In another post, Hudson wrote that “Sharia law will be banned.”
Despite Hudson’s claims, Sharia law has never been practiced in Dearborn, nor would it be legally permissible under the U.S. Constitution. The city’s roughly 106,000 residents include Christians, Muslims, and non-religious people, with about 55% of Arab descent and an estimated 50,000 residents who are not Muslim.
Other X users have mocked Muslims or encouraged bigotry in replies to Hudson’s posts. One suggested, “Bring bacon bits….it’s like sprinkling holy water on a demon.”
Hudson responded, “They are demons lol.”
Another X user suggested bringing dogs, while others used pejoratives to describe Muslims.
The planned march follows the arrest of three young Dearborn men accused of plotting an ISIS-inspired attack on an LGBTQ+-friendly venue in Ferndale. Federal prosecutors say the men discussed the idea online but were stopped before carrying out any violence. Defense attorneys maintain there was no plan and that the defendants were engaging in online bravado.
Using the isolated and yet-proven case to justify his divisive rhetoric, Hudson falsely claimed there was Muslim “infiltration everywhere.”
Hudson insisted, “CHRIST WILL PREVAIL. LIGHT WILL WIN.”
“REMEMBER: THIS IS HOW THEY REALLY TREAT CHRISTIANS,” Hudson fumed. “DON’T LET THEM FOOL YOU. THEY HATE YOU. THEY DO NOT WANT PEACE. LIGHT WILL WIN.”
Since the FBI arrests, many right-wingers have been stoking fears with baseless and outrageous claims about Dearborn and Muslims. In a series of videos posted by conspiracy theorist Mellissa Carone, who was parodied on Saturday Night Live for her outlandish testimony as Rudy Giuliani’s “star” witness during a legislative election-fraud hearing, the bombastic Trump supporter alleged Muslims are intolerant and violent. She also inflated the Muslim population in Dearborn.
“A woman cannot walk down the street of east Dearborn and not get harassed in some way or even spit on,” Carone claimed. “I’ve seen friends of mine get spit on for not covering their hair and their face. You will not pass a building that is not written in Arabic. You cannot read anything. It’s like being in a third world country.”
Others mocked Hudson for his absurd, conspiratorial claims.
“Just looks like a fat guy with cardiovascular issues making his beard go grey prematurely,” Anthony Jorah wrote on X. “What’s he protecting us from, dessert?”
Hudson’s remarks have also drawn concern from civil rights advocates who warn that such language can incite harassment and deepen divisions.
“Unfortunately, Mr. Hudson is playing the politics of fear to apparently gain himself publicity,” Dawud Walid, executive director of the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), tells Metro Times. “Every city in Michigan, including Dearborn, is under the jurisdictions of the American and Michigan constitutions. We encourage the citizens of Dearborn not to take the bait of this individual and his acolytes who will attempt to provoke angry responses in order to demonize Muslims.”
Whether Hudson’s vitriolic, inflammatory, and divisive rhetoric can drum him up some votes isn’t yet clear. He has no statewide name recognition, and he’s facing well-known Republicans, including former Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox, U.S. Rep. John James, former Michigan House of Representatives Speaker Tom Leonard, and Michigan Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt. Other GOP candidates are construction manager William Null, Pastor Ralph Rebandt, and political organizer Karla Wagner.
Beyond his odious rhetoric, Hudson is pushing a platform that would gut funding for schools, universities, police, health care, parks, libraries, and infrastructure. He has vowed to eliminate both the state income tax and property taxes, a proposal that economists say would devastate Michigan’s ability to fund essential services. The state income tax, which generates roughly $9 billion a year, accounts for most of the state’s general fund and a significant share of the School Aid Fund, which supports K-12 education. Without that revenue, lawmakers would have to slash spending or find new sources of funding for numerous resources and services.
Property taxes bring in about $18.8 billion annually, according to the Michigan Tax Commission, and serve as the lifeblood of local governments. They fund police and fire departments, libraries, parks, local road repairs, and public schools. Eliminating property taxes would strip cities, counties, and school districts of their primary revenue source and leave them unable to pay for basic operations unless the state imposed new taxes elsewhere.
Combined, property and income taxes make up more than half of Michigan’s total tax revenue. Scrapping both would create a multibillion-dollar hole in the state’s budget and cripple services.
Hudson declined to comment for this story, saying he wasn’t available until Friday.
Neither Dearborn police nor Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud returned calls for comment.
Keep reading to learn more about the tale of four mayors.
The history of Seattle’s 4 mayors in one year
The backstory:
Back in 2017, Seattle actually had four different mayors in office.
The unique circumstances were brought on by a series of decisions at the top of the helm for Washington’s biggest city.
In just three months, Ed Murray, Bruce Harrell, Tim Burgess and Jenny Durkan all held the title of Seattle mayor.
Here’s how it played out:
Ed Murray speaks to his supporters on stage.
Seattle Mayor Ed Murray resigns
Murray served from Jan. 1, 2014, until his resignation took effect on Sept. 13, 2017. The mayor left office in the face of rising allegations of sexual abuse.
“I am announcing my resignation as mayor, effective at 5 p.m. tomorrow,” Murray said in a statement. “While the allegations against me are not true, it is important that my personal issues do not affect the ability of our City government to conduct the public’s business.”
Seattle City Councilman Bruce Harrell listens to comments from residents concerned about violence in south Seattle Wednesday night. (FOX 13 Seattle)
Bruce Harrell’s appointment
Harrell was serving as Seattle council president at the time of Murray’s resignation. Since he held this post, he was automatically appointed mayor when Murray left office.
“First and foremost, my heart goes out to survivors and their families who have been affected by sexual abuse and the re-traumatization these allegations have caused,” Harrell wrote in a statement upon taking office.
“These accusations are unspeakable and require the utmost attention from our legal and social service system no matter how long ago they might have occurred.
The City must focus on governance and day-to-day business without distraction. I have a plan in place for a seamless transition in order for City operations to continue at the highest standard. Seattleites deserve a government that holds their full confidence and trust.”
Harrell was mayor in 2017 from Sept. 13 to Sept. 18. He returned to this position when he was officially elected mayor five years later. Harrell has been serving as mayor since Jan. 1, 2022.
Tim Burgess speaks to the media in Seattle, Wash.
Tim Burgess steps in
After just days in office, Harrell chose to remain in his previous position. City council members then appointed Tim Burgess to serve the remainder of Murray’s intended term.
In his short term, Burgess wasted no time pushing policy. Just a week after taking office, he announced the 2018 city budget, which included a personal push for a city retirement savings program.
Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan speaks at a press conference. (Karen Ducey via Getty Images)
Jenny Durkan elected
In the 2017 election, Seattle voters chose Durkan to end the revolving door and lead the city for a full term. She took office on Nov. 28, 2017. This was earlier than typical because the previously elected mayor, Burgess, had already vacated the office.
At the time of Durkan’s election, she became the first woman to hold the office since 1926. The former U.S. attorney defeated urban planner Cary Moon.
The city of Seattle would eventually pay out $2.3 million to whistleblowers over Durkan’s 2020 deleted texts amid summer protests over George Floyd’s death.
Seattle’s 2022 mayoral election
After one term, voters unseated Durkan with Bruce Harrell. He has served as mayor since Jan 1, 2022.
In the 2025 race, he ran for reelection. However, a progressive challenger, Katie Wilson, has proved to be tough competition.
A week after polls closed, election officials continued to publish results. On Nov. 10, Wilson officially took the lead in the race by a mere 91 votes. Tuesday’s results increased Wilson’s lead by more than 1,300 votes.
When will the next batch of King County election results be released?
By the numbers:
The next major update for King County election results will be released Wednesday afternoon.
King County officials are reminding the public that information on vote margins needed to pass various ballot measures can be found on the county’s November General Election page.
To get the best local news, weather and sports in Seattle for free, sign up for the daily FOX Seattle Newsletter.
Download the free FOX LOCAL app for mobile in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store for live Seattle news, top stories, weather updates and more local and national news.
The Source: Information in this story came from the Seattle Municipal Archives and FOX 13 Seattle original reporting.
WASHINGTON — President Trump made historic gains with Latinos when he won reelection last year, boosting Republicans’ confidence that their economic message was helping them make inroads with a group of voters who had long leaned toward Democrats.
But in this week’s election, Democrats in key states were able to disrupt that rightward shift by gaining back Latino support, exit polls showed.
In New Jersey and Virginia, the Democrats running for governor made gains in counties with large Latino populations, and overall won two-thirds of the Latino vote in their states, according to an NBC News poll.
And in California, a CNN exit poll showed about 70% of Latinos voting in favor of Proposition 50, a Democratic redistricting initiative designed to counter Trump’s plans to reshape congressional maps in an effort to keep GOP control of the House.
The results mark the first concrete example at the ballot box of Latino voters turning away from the GOP — a shiftforeshadowed by recent polling as their concerns about the economy and immigration raids have grown.
Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill celebrates with supporters after being elected New Jersey governor.
(Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
If the trend continues, it could spell trouble for Republicans in next year’s midterm elections, said Gary Segura, a professor of public policy, political science and Chicana/o studies at UCLA. This could be especially true in California and Texas, where both parties are banking on Latino voters to help them pick up seats in the House, Segura said.
“A year is a long time in politics, but certainly the vote on Prop. 50 is a very, very good sign for the Democrats’ ability to pick up the newly drawn congressional districts,” Segura said. “I think Latino voters will be really instrumental in the outcome.”
Democrats, meanwhile, are feeling optimistic that their warnings about Trump’s immigration crackdown and a bad economy are resonating with Latinos.
Republicans are wondering to what degree the party can maintain support among Latinos without Trump on the ticket. In 2024, Trump won roughly 48% of the Latino vote nationally — a record for any Republican presidential candidate.
Some Republicans saw this week’s trends among Latino voters as a “wakeup call.”
“The Hispanic vote is not guaranteed. Hispanics married President Donald Trump but are only dating the GOP,” Republican Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar of Florida said in a social media video the day after the election. “I’ve been warning it: If the GOP does not deliver, we will lose the Hispanic vote all over the country.”
Economic issues a main driver
Last year Trump was able to leverage widespread frustration with the economy to win the support of Latinos. He promised to create jobs and lower the costs of living.
But polling shows that a majority of Latino voters now disapprove of how Trump and the Republicans in control of Congress are handling the economy. Half of Latinos said they expected Trump’s economic policies to leave them worse off a year from now in a Unidos poll released last week.
In New Jersey, that sentiment was exemplified by voters like Rumaldo Gomez. He told MSNBC he voted for Trump last year but this week went for for the Democratic candidate for governor, Rep. Mikie Sherrill.
“Now, I look at Trump different,” Gomez said. “The economy does not look good.”
Gomez added he is “very sad” about immigration raids led by the Trump administration that have split up hardworking families.
While Latino voters fear being affected by immigration enforcement actions, polling suggests they are more concerned about cost of living, jobs and housing. The Unidos poll showed immigration ranking fifth on the list of concerns.
In New Jersey and Virginia, Democrats’ double-digit victories were built on promises to reduce the cost of living, while blaming Trump for their economic pain.
Marcus Robinson, a spokesman for the Democratic National Committee, said Democrats “expanded margins and flipped key counties by earning back Latino voters who know Trump’s economy leaves them behind.”
“These results show that Latino communities want progress, not a return to chaos and broken promises,” he said.
Republicans see a different Trump issue
GOP strategist Matt Terrill, who was chief of staff for then-Sen. Marco Rubio’s 2016 presidential campaign, said the election results are not a referendum on Trump.
Latino voters swung left because Trump wasn’t on the ballot, he said.
Last year “it wasn’t Latino voters turning out for the Republican party, it was Latino voters turning out for President Trump,” he said. “Like him or not, he’s able to fire up voters that the Republican party traditionally does not get.”
With Trump barred by the Constitution from running for a third term, Republicans are left to wonder if they can get the Latino vote back when he is not on the ballot. Terrill believes Republicans need to hammer on the issue of affordability as a top priority.
Mike Madrid, a “never Trump” Republican and former political director of the California Republican Party, has a different theory.
“They’re abandoning both parties,” Madrid said of Latinos. “They abandoned the Republican party for the same reasons they abandoned the Democratic party in November: not addressing economic concerns.”
The economy has long been the top concern for Latinos, Madrid said, yet both parties continue to frame the Latino political agenda around immigration.
“Latinos aren’t voting for Democrats or Republicans — they’re voting against Democrats and against Republicans,” Madrid said. “It’s a very big difference. The partisans are all looking at us as if we’re this peculiar exotic little creature.”
The work ahead
Democrat Abigail Spanberger was elected governor in Virginia in part because of big gains in Latino-heavy communities. One of the biggest gains was in Manassas Park, where more than 40% of residents are Latino. She won the city by 42 points, doubling the Democrats’ performance there in last year’s election.
The shift toward Democrats happened because Latinos believed Trump when he promised to bring down high costs of living and that he would only go after violent criminals in immigration raids, said Democratic strategist Maria Cardona, who worked with Spanberger’s campaign on outreach to Spanish-language media.
Instead, she argued, Trump betrayed them.
Cardona said Medicaid cuts under Trump’s massive spending package this year, along with the reduction of supplemental nutrition assistance amid the government shutdown, have Latinos families panicking.
“What Republicans misguidedly and mistakenly thought was a realignment of Latino voters just turned out to be a blip,” she said. “Latinos should never be considered a base vote.”
Political scientists caution that the election outcomes this week are not necessarily indicative of how races will play out a year from now.
“It’s just one election, but certainly the seeds have been planted for strong Latino Democratic turnouts in 2026,” said Brad Jones, a political science professor at UC Davis.
Now, both parties need to explain how they expect to carry out their promises if elected.
“They can’t sit on their laurels and say, ‘well surely the Latinos are coming back because the economy is bad and immigration enforcement is bad,’” Jones said. “The job of the Democratic party is now to reach out to Latino voters in ways that are more than just symbolic.”
On Tuesday, Democrats Abigail Spanberger and Mikie Sherrill won their gubernatorial races and exceeded pollsters’ expectations. Political strategists Alex Conant and Ofirah Yheskel, along with CBS News political director Fin Gómez, join with analysis.
SEATTLE – Bruce Harrell has retained his lead ahead of Katie Wilson as of Wednesday afternoon in the race to be Seattle’s next mayor.
The second update of election results from King County Elections showed Harrell with 52.64% of the vote while Wilson had 46.93% of the vote — around 5.71% — with 34.77% turnout so far.
On election night, the incumbent Harrell led Wilson by around 7.14% with 23.36% of the vote counted so far.
Harrell is looking to keep his seat as Mayor of Seattle, following a second-place finish in the August primary behind Wilson.
While Harrell has the early lead, FOX 13 political analyst Sandeep Kaushik notes that last-minute voters skew progressive, and the majority of the Seattle ballots left to be counted are expected to favor Wilson.
Who is Bruce Harrell?
Harrell ran in 2021 on a platform of public safety and boosting police funding, following the 2020 George Floyd protests in Seattle. He also ran on addressing homelessness, though the Wilson campaign has accused him of grossly inflating the numbers of affordable housing units built under his watch.
Harrell helped Seattle navigate out of the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw an influx of jobs and federal dollars return to the city, as well as the sunsetting of pandemic-era policies like the eviction moratorium and mask mandates.
Before he was mayor, Harrell served as Seattle City Council President from 2016–2020, and before that as a Seattle City Councilmember from 2008–2016. He previously ran for mayor in 2013 against incumbent Mike McGinn, then dropped out to endorse Ed Murray. In 2017, in the wake of several child sex abuse allegations, Murray resigned and Harrell served as acting mayor for five days.
Harrell has been endorsed by key Democrat politicians in Washington, including Gov. Bob Ferguson, Attorney General Nick Brown, U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, former King County Executive Dow Constantine, former mayors Jenny Durkan, Greg Nickels, Norm Rice and Wes Uhlman, and former governors Jay Inslee, Gary Locke, Christine Gregoire, as well as several labor unions.
Election Day marks only the first ballot drop of many, and county elections offices will be tabulating thousands more votes in the coming weeks.
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The Source: Information in this story comes from numbers provided by the Washington Secretary of State’s Office, the campaigns of Bruce Harrell and Katie Wilson, and previous coverage by FOX 13 Seattle.
Republican infighting crescendoed in the aftermath of California voters overwhelmingly approving a Democratic-friendly redistricting plan this week that may undercut the GOP’s control of Congress and derail President Trump’s polarizing agenda.
The state GOP chairwoman was urged to resign and former Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who championed the creation of the state’s independent redistricting commission, was called “cowardly” by one top GOP leader for not being more involved in the campaign.
Leaders of the Republican-backed committees opposing the ballot measure, known as Proposition 50, were questioned about how they spent nearly $58 million in the special election after such a dismal outcome.
Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield, the once-prodigious Republican fundraiser, reportedly had vowed that he could raise $100 million for the opposition but ended up delivering a small fraction of that amount.
Assemblyman Carl DeMaio (R-San Diego), a conservative firebrand, called on state GOP Chair Corrin Rankin to step down and faulted other Republican leaders and longtime party operatives for their failure to defeat the measure, calling them “derelict of duty and untrustworthy and incompetent.”
“Unless serious changes are made at the party, the midterms are going to be a complete disaster,” DeMaio said, also faulting the other groups opposing the effort. “We need accountability. There needs to be a reckoning because otherwise the lessons won’t be learned. The old guard needs to go. The old guard has failed us too many times. This is the latest failure.”
Rankin pushed back against the criticism, saying the state party was the most active GOP force in the final stretch of the election. Raising $11 million during the final three weeks of the campaign, the party spent it on mailers, digital ads and text messages, as well as organizing phone banks and precinct walking, she said.
Former Speaker of the House and California Republican Kevin McCarthy speaks to the press at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 19, 2023.
(Samuel Corum / AFP via Getty Images)
“We left it all on the field,” Rankin said Wednesday morning at a Sacramento news conference about a federal lawsuit California Republicans filed arguing that Proposition 50 is unconstitutional. “We were the last man standing … to reach out to Republicans and make sure they turned out.”
Responding to criticism that their effort was disorganized, including opposition campaign mailers being sent to voters who had already cast ballots, Rankin said the party would conduct a review of its efforts. But she added that she was extremely proud of the work her team did in the “rushed special election.”
Barring successful legal challenges, the new California congressional districts enacted under Proposition 50 will go into effect before the 2026 election. The new district maps favor Democratic candidates and were crafted to unseat five Republican incumbents, which could erase Republicans’ narrow edge in the the U.S. House of Representatives.
If Democrats win control of the body, Trump’s policy agenda will probably be stymied and the president and members of his administration could face multiple congressional investigations.
Gov. Gavin Newsom and other California Democrats proposed Proposition 50 in response to Trump urging elected officials in Texas and other GOP-led states to redraw their congressional districts to increase the number of Republicans elected to the House next year.
The new California congressional boundaries voters approved Tuesday could give Democrats the opportunity to pick up five seats in the state’s 52-member congressional delegation.
Proposition 50 will change how California determines the boundaries of congressional districts. The measure asked voters to approve congressional district lines designed to favor Democrats for the 2026, 2028 and 2030 elections, overriding the map drawn by the state’s independent redistricting commission.
Some Republicans lamented that Schwarzenegger was not more involved in the election. The movie star championed the creation of the independent commission in 2010, his final year in office. He campaigned for the creation of similar bodies to fight partisan drawing of district lines across the nation after leaving office.
Shawn Steel, one of California’s three representatives on the Republican National Committee, called Schwarzenegger “a cowardly politician.”
“Arnold decided to sit it out,” Steel said. “Arnold just kind of raised the flag and immediately went under the desk.”
Steel said that the former governor failed to follow through on the messages he repeatedly delivered about the importance of independent redistricting.
“He could have had his name on the ballot as a ballot opponent,” Steel said. “He turned it down. So I’d say, with Arnold, just disappointing but not surprised. That’s his political legacy.”
Schwarzenegger’s team pushed back at this criticism as misinformed.
“We were clear from the beginning that he was not going to be a part of the campaign and was going to speak his mind,” said Daniel Ketchell, a spokesman for the former governor. “His message was very clear and nonpartisan. When one campaign couldn’t even criticize gerrymandering in Texas, it was probably hard for voters to believe they actually cared about fairness.”
Schwarzenegger spoke out against Proposition 50 a handful of times, including at an appearance at USC that was turned into a television ad by one of the anti-Proposition 50 committees that appeared to go dark before election day.
On election day, he emailed followers about gut health, electrolytes, protein bars, fitness and conversations to increase happiness. There was no apparent mention of the Tuesday election.
The Democratic-led California Legislature in August voted to place Proposition 50 on the November ballot, costing nearly $300 million, and setting off a sprint to Tuesday’s special election.
The opponents were vastly outspent by the ballot measure’s supporters, who contributed nearly $136 million to various efforts. That financial advantage, combined with Democrats’ overwhelming edge in voter registration in California, were main contributors to the ballot measure’s success. When introduced in August, Proposition 50 had tepid support and its prospects appeared uncertain.
Nearly 64% of the nearly 8.3 million voters who cast ballots supported Proposition 50, while 36% opposed it as of Wednesday night, according to the California secretary of state’s office.
In addition to the state Republican Party, two main campaign committees opposed Proposition 50, including the one backed by McCarthy. A separate group was funded by more than $32 million from major GOP donor Charles Munger Jr., the son of a billionaire who was Warren Buffet’s right-hand man; he bankrolled the creation of the independent congressional redistricting commission in 2010.
Representatives of the two committees — who defended their work Tuesday night after the election was called moments after the polls closed, saying that they could not overcome the vast financial disadvantage and that the proposition’s supporters must be held to their promises to voters such as pushing for national redistricting reform — did not respond to repeated requests for comment on Wednesday.
Newsom’s committee supporting Proposition 50 had prominent Democrats stumping for the effort, including former President Obama starring in ads.
That’s in stark contrast to the opposition efforts. Trump was largely absent, possibly because he is deeply unpopular among Californians and the president does not like to be associated with losing causes.
On the day after election night, Democrats are celebrating major victories in Virginia, New Jersey, California and New York City. Ed O’Keefe breaks it down.
