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Tag: Virginia
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AP Has Declared Winners in Elections for Nearly 180 Years. This Is Why and How Race Calls Are Made
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Those are among the questions The Associated Press will answer when the news organization tabulates votes and declares winners in hundreds of races that are on ballots nationwide Tuesday.
It’s a role the AP has filled for nearly 180 years, since shortly after its founding.
Determining a winner involves a careful and thorough analysis of the latest available vote tallies and a variety of other election data. The ultimate goal is to answer this question: Is there any circumstance in which the trailing candidate can catch up to the candidate who is leading the race. If the answer is no, then the leading candidate has won.
Here’s a look at the AP’s role and its process for determining the outcome of elections, also known as calling a race:
The United States does not have a nationwide body that collects and releases election results. Elections are administered locally, by thousands of offices, following standards set by the states. In many cases, the states themselves do not even offer up-to-date tracking of election results.
The AP fills this gap by compiling vote results and declaring winners in elections, providing critical information in the period between Election Day and the official certification of results, which typically takes weeks.
The AP’s vote count brings together information that otherwise might not be available online for days or weeks after an election or is scattered across hundreds of local websites. Without national standards or consistent expectations across states, it also ensures the data is in a standard format, uses standard terms and undergoes rigorous quality control.
The AP hires vote count reporters who work with local election officials to collect results directly from counties or precincts where votes are first counted. These reporters submit them, by phone or electronically, as soon as the results are available. If any of the results are available from state or county websites, the AP will gather the results from there, too.
In many cases, counties will update vote totals as they count ballots throughout the night. The AP is continuously updating its count as these results are released. In a general election, the AP will make as many as 21,000 vote updates per hour.
As votes are coming in, the AP will analyze races to determine the winners.
One key piece that the AP considers is how many ballots are uncounted and from what areas. In cases where official or exact tallies of the outstanding vote are unavailable, the AP estimates the turnout in every race based on several factors and uses that estimate to track how much of the vote has been counted and how much remains.
The AP also tries to determine how ballots counted so far were cast and the types of vote, such as mail ballots or ballots cast in person on Election Day, that remain.
That is because the method that voters choose can be correlated to the party they voted for. Since voting by mail became highly politicized in the 2020 election, Democrats have been more likely to vote by mail, while Republicans have been more likely to vote in-person on Election Day.
In many states, it is possible to know which votes will be counted first, based on past elections or plans announced by election officials. In others, votes are clearly marked by type when released.
This helps to determine if an early lead is expected to shrink or grow. For example, if a state first counts votes cast in person on Election Day, followed by mail-in votes, that suggests that an early Republican lead may narrow as more mail ballots are tabulated. But if the reverse is true and mail ballots are counted first, an early Republican lead could be the first sign of a comfortable victory.
In almost all cases, races can be called well before all votes have been counted. The AP’s team of election journalists and analysts will call a race as soon as a clear winner can be determined.
In competitive races, AP analysts may need to wait until additional votes are tallied or to confirm specific information about how many ballots are left to count.
Competitive races where votes are actively being tabulated — for example, in states that count a large number of votes after election night — might be considered “too early to call.” A race may be “too close to call” if a race is so close that there is no clear winner even once all ballots except for provisional and late-arriving absentee ballots have been counted.
The AP’s race calls are not predictions and are not based on speculation. They are declarations based on an analysis of vote results and other election data that one candidate has emerged as the winner and that no other candidate in the race will be able to overtake the winner once all the votes have been counted.
Follow along as AP tabulates votes and calls races beginning Tuesday night. Check out results pages and notes from the decision team here.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Photos You Should See – Oct. 2025
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Associated Press
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Abigail Spanberger Thinks That Democrats Need to Listen More
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Every four years, a familiar pattern plays out in Virginia, in which governors are limited to one term at a time and elections are held twelve months after the latest Presidential contest. A semi-substantive campaign breaks out, but the result is driven by the national mood; only once in the past half century has the President’s own party won the governor’s mansion in Richmond. Unlike in New Jersey—where Spanberger’s old congressional roommate, Mikie Sherrill, is running in the other gubernatorial race this fall—in Virginia, the out candidate invariably wins, and whatever that person does is held up as a national model for the Party. So it’s only natural for Spanberger to contend that her case for political moderation deserves a serious look, and perhaps for her to be a little tired of all the attention on Mamdani. As Election Day approaches, Spanberger, who is a warm but assiduous campaigner, is ahead in her race by a wider margin than any candidate in her state’s recent history. Republicans have tried dragging down Spanberger by amplifying the case of Jay Jones, the Democratic candidate for attorney general, who was found to have sent text messages three years ago fantasizing about killing the G.O.P. speaker of the state assembly. Spanberger condemned him but wouldn’t call on him to withdraw from the race. Still, Earle-Sears—a Jamaican immigrant and a social conservative who recently insisted, in a debate, that being against protections for people in same-sex marriages is “not discrimination”—has run a mostly puzzling and underfunded campaign. (Donald Trump only recently, tepidly, backed her.)
Spanberger’s lead has afforded her the chance to run a straightforward Democratic campaign focussed largely on the cost of living in her state. To optimists, that’s a through line connecting candidates as different as Spanberger and Mamdani. Tim Kaine, the Democratic senator from Virginia, pointed out that both are younger than their predecessors and that both stress the issue of affordability. But in the race’s final stretch Spanberger has seemed eager to emphasize what, in her telling, is the realism of her approach. “This is what I’m going to work to do, right? I’m not going to make promises that I can’t keep, but I will work tirelessly to deliver,” she said. “There’s no magic wand to lower housing costs, but it takes intentionality and a plan to work with the General Assembly to change some of our laws to increase housing supply, to have a governor’s office and an administration focussed on making a long-term plan to bring down costs, right? Health care’s the same—you can’t just wave a magic wand and fix the system.”
“If you just speak in bumper-sticker sayings or what fits on a rally sign, you’re actually underestimating voters, or you’re making a promise that you can’t complete,” she continued. “And I think that’s part of why, you know, over time, people’s faith in politics might get degraded.”
Don Beyer, a Democratic congressman from northern Virginia, said that his colleagues in the U.S. House have been watching Spanberger’s campaign as a glimmer of hope since the spring, as Trump’s steamrolling of the capital has intensified. “Everyone’s been pointing to it: ‘We know we can’t pass any legislation, we can only use the courts, we can’t impeach him. But Abigail can win!’ ” Beyer told me. He said he expected that, if she does, it will help Democrats recruit stronger candidates for tough midterm races next year. Kaine said his fellow-senators, too, are monitoring the contest closely. But, in Kaine’s account, they are more cautious: “They view the Virginia result as one that will either be a hope creator nationally, or the one that will pour some cold water on people who are already feeling a little bit down.”
Late last year, while Kaine was traversing the state to campaign for a third term in the U.S. Senate, he started to notice that something was missing from the messages he saw on his hotel TVs, in media markets that overlapped with West Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Kentucky. “Other Democrats were running ads about preserving democracy, or about choice. Important issues, but they weren’t running ads about the economy, where the Republicans were running ads about inflation,” he told me this fall. Kaine, who was elected Virginia’s governor in 2005, before becoming Barack Obama’s first Democratic National Committee chairman and then Hillary Clinton’s running mate in her bid for the Presidency, had done a straightforward spot about his record building roads, bridges, and ships, and supporting offshore wind power, and voters were responding positively. “It just made me mad, because I thought both Kamala Harris, but also other Democrats, had economic stuff they could have put front and center,” he said. Kaine won reëlection comfortably in an otherwise dark November for Democrats, and, soon after, he spoke with Spanberger about what he’d seen.
She didn’t need much convincing. She had already been on the trail for a year, using a version of the basic economics- and education-first pitch that had served her well in her three congressional races. (The 2020 round of redistricting shifted much of her purview to northern Virginia, meaning she’s already earned votes from a big band of the state.) Virginia’s current governor, the Republican Glenn Youngkin, won his race in 2021 in part by warning of the dangers of “critical race theory.” When Earle-Sears started trying to reignite a culture war against Spanberger, whom she has accused of being a secret hard-core lefty, the Democrat largely shrugged it off and pivoted back to her safe space: protecting paychecks, fighting the effects of tariffs, investing in rural hospitals. In the race’s only debate this fall, Spanberger mostly stared ahead as Earle-Sears sought repeatedly to get her to address the Jones scandal, sometimes pivoting from entirely unrelated topics—like a car tax—to try to force the issue. Spanberger skated past a series of moderator questions about trans rights by mostly demurring and offering that local jurisdictions should make tough calls about who can use what bathroom or play on what team.
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Gabriel Debenedetti
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Obama says it’s ‘like every day is Halloween’ as he blames Republicans for government shutdown
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Former President Barack Obama on Saturday slammed Republicans for the ongoing federal government shutdown.
“The government is shut down and the Republicans who currently are in charge of Congress, they’re not even pretending to solve the problem,” the 64-year-old told a rally crowd while campaigning for former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., turned Democratic gubernatorial candidate in Norfolk, Virginia. “They have not even been showing up to work, not in session. Where are you? What are you doing?”
The government shutdown began a month ago on Oct. 1, after lawmakers failed to pass a spending bill to fund the government, with Democrats concerned expiring Affordable Care Act tax cuts could raise premiums and that Medicaid cuts could leave people without coverage.
Republicans have blamed the shutdown on Democrats, with Trump recently calling them “crazed lunatics.”
JOHNSON WARNS US ‘BARRELING TOWARD ONE OF THE LONGEST SHUTDOWNS’ IN HISTORY
Former President Barack Obama speaks during a campaign event for Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger, Saturday, in Norfolk, Va. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
“The shutdown proceeds because the Democrats just don’t know what they’re doing,” President Donald Trump told reporters this week. I don’t know what’s wrong with them. They’ve never done a thing like this. They’ve become crazed lunatics. All they have to do is say, ‘Let’s go, let’s go. Let’s open up our country.’ And everything snaps back into shape. So there’s something wrong with them.”
Trump has also suggested getting rid of the filibuster.
“Remember, Republicans, regardless of the Schumer Shutdown, the Democrats will terminate the Filibuster the first chance they get,” he wrote on Truth Socila on Saturday. “They will Pack the Supreme Court, pick up two States, and add at least 8 Electoral Votes. Their two objectors are gone!!! Don’t be WEAK AND STUPID. FIGHT,FIGHT, FIGHT! WIN, WIN, WIN! We will immediately END the Extortionist Shutdown, get ALL of our agenda passed, and make life so good for Americans that these DERANGED DEMOCRAT politicians will never again have the chance to DESTROY AMERICA!”
He added, “Republicans, you will rue the day that you didn’t TERMINATE THE FILIBUSTER!!! BE TOUGH, BE SMART, AND WIN!!! This is much bigger than the Shutdown, this is the survival of our Country!”
Obama didn’t mention Democrats’ part in the shutdown when talking about it on Saturday. He did, however, have choice words for Trump and his administration.
“Our country and our politics are in a pretty dark place right now. It’s hard to know where to start, because every day this white House offers up a fresh batch of lawlessness and recklessness and mean-spiritedness and just plain craziness,” he charged.
SHUTDOWN IGNITES STRATEGIST DEBATE: WILL TRUMP AND GOP PAY THE POLITICAL PRICE IN 2026?
Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger joins former President Barack Obama, during a campaign event Saturday, in Norfolk, Va. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
The former president joked: “It’s like every day is Halloween. Except it’s all tricks and no treats. And and here’s the thing, it’s not as if we didn’t see some of this coming. I will admit, it’s worse than even I expected. But I did warn y’all.”
He claimed that while the economy has been good for Trump’s “billionaire pals,” costs haven’t gotten any better for average people.
Obama said “there is absolutely no evidence Republican policies have made life better for you” while claiming that Republicans are more focused on “scapegoat[ing] minorities and DEI for every problem under the sun. You got a flat tire? DEI. wife mad at you? DEI.”
Supporters of Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger cheer during a campaign event with former President Barack Obama, Saturday, in Norfolk, Va. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
“What they have not devoted energy to is helping you,” he told the crowd. “They have not put forward serious proposals to lower housing costs or make groceries more affordable.”
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He urged the crowd to vote for Spanberger who is facing Virginia’s Liutenant Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears for an open seat in the state.
Later Saturday, Obama headed to New Jersey for a rally with Democratic gubernatorial candidate Rep. Mikie Sherrill, who is in a close race against Republican Jack Ciattarelli.
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How Americans are feeling about their chances on the job market, according to an AP-NORC poll
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans are growing increasingly concerned about their ability to find a good job under President Donald Trump, an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll finds, in what is a potential warning sign for Republicans as a promised economic boom has given way to hiring freezes and elevated inflation.
High prices for groceries, housing and health care persist as a fear for many households, while rising electricity bills and the cost of gas at the pump are also sources of anxiety, according to the survey.
Some 47% of U.S. adults are “not very” or “not at all confident” they could find a good job if they wanted to, an increase from 37% when the question was last asked in October 2023.
Electricity bills are a “major” source of stress for 36% of U.S. adults at a time when the expected build-out of data centers for artificial intelligence could further tax the power grid. Just more than one-half said the cost of groceries are a “major” source of financial stress, about 4 in 10 said the cost of housing and health care were a serious strain and about one-third said they were feeling high stress about gasoline prices.
The survey suggests an ongoing vulnerability for Trump, who returned to the White House in January with claims he could quickly tame the inflation that surged after the pandemic during Democratic President Joe Biden’s term. Instead, Trump’s popularity on the economy has remained low amid a mix of tariffs, federal worker layoffs and partisan sniping that has culminated in a government shutdown.
Linda Weavil, 76, voted for Trump last year because he “seems like a smart businessman.” But she said in an interview that the Republican’s tariffs have worsened inflation, citing the chocolate-covered pecans sold for her church group fundraiser that now cost more.
“I think he’s doing a great job on a lot of things, but I’m afraid our coffee and chocolate prices have gone up because of tariffs,” the retiree from Greensboro, North Carolina, said. “That’s a kick in the back of the American people.”
Voters changed presidents, but they’re not feeling better about Trump’s economy
The poll found that 36% of U.S. adults approve of how Trump is handling the economy, a figure that has held steady this year after he imposed tariffs that caused broad economic uncertainty. Among Republicans, 71% feel positive about his economic leadership. Yet that approval within Trump’s own party is relatively low in ways that could be problematic for Republicans in next month’s races for governor in New Jersey and Virginia, and perhaps even in the 2026 midterm elections.
At roughly the same point in Biden’s term, in October 2021, an AP-NORC poll found that 41% of U.S. adults approved of how he was handling the economy, including about 73% of Democrats. That overall number was a little higher than Trump’s, primarily because of independents — 29% approved of how Biden was handling the economy, compared with the 18% who currently support Trump’s approach.
The job market was meaningfully stronger in terms of hiring during Biden’s presidency as the United States was recovering from pandemic-related lockdowns. But hiring has slowed sharply under Trump with monthly job gains averaging less than 27,000 after the April tariff announcements.
People see that difference.
Four years ago, 36% of those in the survey were “extremely” or “very” confident in their ability to get a good job, but that has fallen to 21% now.
Biden’s approval on the economy steadily deteriorated through the middle of 2022 when inflation hit a four-decade high, creating an opening for Trump’s political comeback.
Electricity costs are an emerging worry
In some ways, Trump has made the inflation problems harder by choosing to cancel funding for renewable energy projects and imposing tariffs on the equipment needed for factories and power plants. Those added costs are coming before the anticipated construction of data centers for AI that could further push up prices without more construction.
Even though 36% see electricity as a major concern, there are some who have yet to feel a serious financial squeeze. In the survey, 40% identified electricity costs as a “minor” stress, while 23% said their utility bills are “not a source” of stress.
Kevin Halsey, 58, of Normal, Illinois, said his monthly electricity bills used to be $90 during the summer because he had solar panels, but have since jumped to $300. Halsey, who works in telecommunications, voted Democratic in last year’s presidential election and described the economy right now as “crap.”
“I’ve got to be pessimistic,” he said. “I don’t see this as getting better.”
At a fundamental level, Trump finds himself in the same economic dilemma that bedeviled Biden. There are signs the economy remains relatively solid with a low unemployment rate, stock market gains and decent economic growth, yet the public continues to be skeptical about the economy’s health.
Some 68% of U.S. adults describe the U.S. economy these days as “poor,” while 32% say it’s “good.” That’s largely consistent with assessments of the economy over the past year.
In addition, 59%, say their family finances are “holding steady.” But only 12% say they’re “getting ahead,” and 28% say they are “falling behind.”
People see plenty of expenses but few opportunities
The sense of economic precarity is coming from many different directions, with indications that many think middle-class stability is falling out of reach.
The vast majority of U.S. adults feel at least “minor” stress about the cost of groceries, health care, housing, the amount they pay in taxes, what they are paid at work and the cost of gas for their cars.
In the survey, 47%, say they are “not very” or “not at all” confident they could pay an unexpected medical expense while 52% have low confidence they will have enough saved for their retirement. Also, 63%, are “not very” or “not at all” confident they could buy a new home if they wanted to.
Young adults are much less confident about their ability to buy a house, though confidence is not especially high across the board. About 8 in 10 U.S. adults under age 30 say they are “not very confident” or “not at all confident” they would be able to buy a house, compared with about 6 in 10 adults 60 and older.
For 54% of U.S. adults, the cost of groceries is a “major source” of stress in their life right now.
Unique Hopkins, 36, of Youngstown, Ohio, said she is now working two jobs after her teenage daughter had a baby, leaving Hopkins with a sense that she can barely tread water as part of the “working poor.” She voted for Trump in 2016, only to switch to Democrats after she felt his ego kept him from uniting the country and solving problems.
“It’s his way or no way,” she said. “Nobody is going to unite with Trump if it’s all about you, you, you.”
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The AP-NORC poll of 1,289 adults was conducted Oct. 9-13, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.
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This story has been corrected to reflect that the name of the NORC Center is NORC Center for Public Research, not Public Affairs.
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Windy, chilly conditions for Halloween trick or treaters in DC region – WTOP News
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If you’re heading outdoors Friday to take part in any Halloween events like trick or treating, make sure to bundle up as the windy and chilly conditions expected across the D.C. region.
If you’re heading outdoors Friday night to take part in any Halloween events à la trick or treating, make sure to bundle up as windy and chilly conditions are in store across the D.C. region.
Friday’s high temperatures are expected to only get into the low 60s as wind gusts of up to 50 mph have the potential to make it feel a bit bone-chilling.
Wind advisories are expected to remain in effect for much of the day for residents in central Maryland and parts of Virginia west of the District, according to the National Weather Service.
While winds are expected to die down by sunset, around 6 p.m., the teeth-chattering conditions won’t necessarily be dying along with it.
“Temperatures will fall out of the 50s into the 40s tonight for the trick or treaters,” said 7New First Alert Senior Meteorologist Eileen Whelan.
So, stay safe, watch out for spooky skeletons and make sure to score some hot chocolate to keep those bones warm.
FORECAST
FRIDAY: Partly cloudy, windy
Highs: 58-64
Winds: West 15-25, Gusts 30-40 mph
Windy weather will round out the month. High temperatures will climb into the low 60s with westerly winds gusting well over 30 mph for many hours during the afternoon. Wind Advisories are in effect from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. for counties in our north and western zones (including cities such as Frederick, Hagerstown, Martinsburg, Cumberland, and Petersburg) for gusts up to 50 mph. Keep this in mind if you have inflatable Halloween decorations. The wind will ease toward sunset, but it will still be breezy and cool for Trick-Or-Treat time with feels-like temperatures in the 40s.FRIDAY NIGHT: Mainly clear
Lows: 38-47
Winds: Southwest 5-10 mph
Clear skies are likely overnight will cool temperatures. Low temperatures will fall into the 30s in the Shenandoah Valley with temperatures in the 40s for the rest of the area.SATURDAY: Partly cloudy
Highs: 60-65
Winds: Northwest 5-15+ mph
November starts off dry and seasonable. After a cool morning, temperatures will warm nicely into the low and mid 60s with much lighter winds compared to Friday. Overall, really nice weather is in store for your Saturday plans. Sunset is at 6:07 p.m. We ‘fall back’ Sunday morning at 2 a.m., so you may want to turn your clocks back one hour before going to bed Saturday night. We will gain one hour of sleep overnight.SUNDAY: Partly cloudy
Highs: 61-66
Winds: Light & Variable
The sun will rise at 6:38 a.m., so early rises will enjoy brighter skies an hour earlier in the day. Beautiful fall weather is in store with seasonably mild afternoon highs in the 60s. With the return to Standard Time, get ready for the sun to set just after 5 p.m. We will continue to see earlier sunsets through the Winter Solstice on December 21st.CURRENT CONDITIONS
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Gaby Arancibia
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Spanberger Cruising in Virginia, But Scandal Could Take Down AG Candidate
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Abigail Spanberger on the campaign trail.
Photo: Win McNamee/Getty ImagesVirginia’s off-year elections have predictably lined up as a negative referendum on Donald Trump’s fractious second-term agenda. But while the Democrats’ gubernatorial candidate, the centrist congresswoman Abigail Spanberger, looks to be cruising toward a comfortable win over Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears, there’s trouble two spots downballot. A scandal involving newly unearthed 2022 text messages from attorney general nominee Jay Jones has roiled his close race against incumbent Republican Jason Miyares and discomfited his ticket-mates (statewide candidates in Virginia run separately but often campaign together). While Spanberger and the Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor, Ghazala Hamshi, have denounced the texts, which wished terrible deaths for a Republican legislative leader and his family, they haven’t asked Jones to withdraw from the race as the GOP and its allied media have predictably demanded.
So Virginia Democrats have been thrown off-balance, and limited polling shows Jones in serious trouble. Hamshi’s race against Republican John Reid for the LG position is also very close. But Republican hopes that the scandal would derail Spanberger’s campaign don’t look to be realistic at all. For one thing, Jones’s troubles are mostly just convincing voters to skip the AG race rather than voting Republican, which mitigates the damage to his own candidacy and isolates the fallout. For another, Donald Trump is just a lodestone for the GOP that’s too difficult to throw off, as veteran Virginia political reporter Jeff Schapiro recently observed:
The ongoing federal government shutdown, triggered Oct. 1 by a partisan standoff in Congress, and preceded by a wave of DOGE-induced layoffs and retirements of government workers that, starting this past winter, fueled a steady increase in joblessness into the final months of the Virginia campaign. These spikes are most evident in Washington’s Northern Virginia suburbs but they are flaring elsewhere in the state.
Further, Trump’s tariffs are eroding by nearly 10% cargo traffic through the state’s gateway to the world, the Port of Virginia, a pillar of the coastal Virginia economy along with surrounding military bases and related federal civilian employment.
Add in unhappiness with Trump’s mass-deportation overreach among Virginia’s sizable population of immigrant citizens, and it’s clear the usual swing against the party controlling the White House (which gave the commonwealth Republican governor Glenn Youngkin four years ago) has been intensified this year. Spanberger has also run a highly disciplined campaign, fueled by a big funding advantage over Sears-Earle. So while Virginia experienced a significant swing toward the GOP in 2024 (Kamala Harris won it by just under six points; Joe Biden won it by ten in 2020), it’s still a blue state in a blue mood over a Republican presidency.
Aside from the Jones brouhaha, there’s one other late development that some Republicans think might help them: a surprise decision by Democratic legislative leaders to undertake a long-shot effort to get a constitutional amendment enacted so they can draw up a favorable congressional map prior to next year’s midterms. But since over a million Virginians have already voted early, and the gerrymandering process is extremely tentative and complex, it seems unlikely to have an impact other than on the margins.
Gubernatorial polls show no late Republican trend. The most recent publicly released survey, from Roanoke College, showed Spanberger with a ten-point lead over Earle-Sears (51 percent to 41 percent). The RealClearPolitics polling averages have the Democrat leading by 7.2 percent. The only poll indicating a really close race was a mid-October finding from the decidedly pro-GOP combine of Trafalgar and Insider Advantage, and even they gave Spanberger a three-point advantage. Jay Jones may or may not go down, but barring a shocker, Virginia will be governed by Democrats, almost certainly in a trifecta, next year.
One historical note worth mentioning: no matter who wins the race, Spanberger will be the first woman to serve as governor or senator of Virginia. That will leave Pennsylvania as the only state that has never broken the male monopoly on these positions.
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Ed Kilgore
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Abby Zwerner, teacher shot by 6-year-old student at school, testifies about shooting:
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Abby Zwerner, a former Virginia teacher who was shot by a 6-year-old student in her classroom in 2023, testified Thursday that she thought she had died in the shooting.
“I thought I was dying, I thought I had died,” Zwerner said. “I thought I was either on my way to heaven or in heaven, but then it all got black, and so I then thought I wasn’t going there, and then I, my next memory is I see two coworkers around me, and I process that I’m hurt, and they’re putting pressure on where I’m hurt.”
Zwerner also said she held up her hand just before the shooting because she could tell she was about to be shot.
“The moment went by very fast,” she said.
Zwerner was testifying in her $40 million lawsuit filed against a former assistant principal who is accused of ignoring multiple warnings that the student had a gun.
Zwerner was shot in the hand and chest in January 2023 as she sat at a reading table in her first-grade classroom at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News. Zwerner spent nearly two weeks in the hospital, required six surgeries and no longer has the full use of her left hand. A bullet narrowly missed her heart and remains in her chest.
WTKR-TV
The shooting sent shock waves through the military shipbuilding community and the country, with many wondering how a child so young could access a gun and shoot his teacher.
Zwerner no longer works for the school district and has said she has no plans to teach again. It was revealed in court Wednesday that she has become a licensed cosmetologist.
Zwerner answered questions on the stand for more than an hour.
A physician testified Wednesday that Zwerner can’t make a tight fist with her left hand, which has less than half its normal grip strength.
Former assistant principal Ebony Parker is accused of failing to act after several people voiced concerns to her in the hours before the shooting that the student had a gun in his backpack. Parker is the only defendant in the lawsuit. A judge previously dismissed the district’s superintendent and the school principal as defendants.
Parker faces a separate criminal trial next month on eight counts of felony child neglect. Each of the counts is punishable by up to five years in prison.
The student’s mother was sentenced to nearly four years in prison for felony child neglect and federal weapons charges. Her son told authorities he got his mother’s handgun by climbing onto a drawer to reach the top of a dresser, where the firearm was in his mom’s purse.
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Nurses, Doctor Sue Montana Recovery Program in Class-Action Lawsuit
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A group of Montana doctors and nurses is suing the national company that runs a rigorous, often mandatory monitoring program for health care providers grappling with addiction. The case is the latest instance of public criticism about how the state-mandated program for more than 60,000 medical licensees operates.
The class-action lawsuit was filed on Tuesday in the Missoula division of Montana’s federal district court on behalf of one doctor and 10 nurses around the state. Those plaintiffs, the filing said, were “subjected to punitive, expensive, and clinically unwarranted monitoring practices” by the Virginia-based contractor Maximus, Inc. The lawsuit said it seeks to represent all “similarly situated” individuals, including all current and past participants of Maximus’ program.
In their initial complaint, attorneys for the plaintiffs accused Maximus of creating arbitrary sanctions for participants, failing to follow clinical recommendations, shielding documents and records from review, and “keeping participants in the program for indefinite periods without clinically-justified extensions of monitoring.”
In the same filing, attorneys for the plaintiffs also said that the drug tests and peer support groups required by Maximus are “exorbitantly expensive” for participants, alleging that the contractor is prioritizing profits over clinical best practices for supporting addiction recovery.
“Maximus runs the program as punitive, invasive, and punishingly expensive, all to the detriment of its participants,” the lawsuit said.
A spokesperson for Maximus, Inc., declined to comment on the lawsuit Wednesday. The company has not filed any legal responses to the initial complaint, according to the federal case records.
Maximus was hired by the Department of Labor and Industry to run the Montana Recovery Program beginning in 2023, after a tumultuous transition between vendors. The Montana Professional Assistance Program, the prior nonprofit that ran the professional support and monitoring program for decades, dissolved after losing the state contract in 2021.
State law directs licensing boards to establish monitoring and assistance programs as part of their oversight of doctors, nurses, pharmacists, dentists and, more recently, chiropractors and veterinarians. Though not treatment providers, professional assistance programs around the country are often tasked with establishing drug testing, peer support and workplace guidelines for medical providers with a history of addiction or mental health issues.
An August audit conducted by nonpartisan legislative staff members found that dozens of Montana participants polled by auditors reported much lower satisfaction with Maximus compared to previous program operators. Several participants contacted auditors directly, the report said, describing Maximus’ program as “punitive rather than supportive.”
The federal lawsuit filed on Tuesday reiterated many of those complaints. In one section of the initial complaint, attorneys said the program arbitrarily marked participants as noncompliant, leading to a loss of participant trust, sanctions and “prolonged monitoring and indefinite retention in the program.”
Another part of the lawsuit alleged that plaintiffs regularly had to pay $300 for one drug test, followed by additional tests in the same week, a practice attorneys said was “not clinically indicated and unnecessary.” The complaint said the frequency and cost of the testing established by Maximus could be “potentially for financial gain.”
Gregory Pinski, the attorney representing the plaintiffs, did not make the nurses or doctor named in the lawsuit available for an interview Wednesday afternoon.
The complaint comes as officials within Gov. Greg Gianforte’s labor department work to review existing state laws about professional assistance programs for medical providers and reconsider the scope of the contract Maximus was hired to execute.
An advisory council tasked with carrying out that assessment met for the first time in early October. The group came away with a recommendation to extend Maximus’ contract for a year while the labor department solicits public comment about the program, researches other models and searches for a suitable vendor to meet the state’s needs. Maximus’ current contract is slated to end in December.
As of Wednesday, the advisory group has not released a public notice about another meeting.
This story was originally published by the Montana Free Press and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Virginia Democrats Advance Plan to Counter Trump-Spawned Redistricting in Red States
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(Reuters) -The Democratic-controlled Virginia House of Delegates voted on Wednesday to amend the state constitution to allow legislators to redraw Virginia’s congressional maps next year, joining a multistate mid-decade restricting war spawned by President Donald Trump.
Passage of the resolution, on a party-line vote of 51-42, sent the measure to the Virginia state Senate, where the Democratic majority in that chamber is expected to approve the measure as well.
(Reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles, Editing by Franklin Paul)
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What to Know as Federal Food Help and Preschool Aid Will Run Dry Saturday if Shutdown Persists
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The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, helps about one in eight Americans buy groceries. A halt to SNAP benefits would leave a gaping hole in the country’s safety net. Vulnerable families could see federal money dry up soon for some other programs, as well.
Aid for mothers to care for their newborns through the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, known as WIC, could run out the following week.
Here’s a look at what would happen.
Tuesday’s legal filing from attorneys general from 22 states and the District of Columbia, plus three governors, focuses on a federal contingency fund with roughly $5 billion in it – enough to pay for the benefits for more than half a month.
President Donald Trump’s Department of Agriculture said in September that its plan for a shutdown included using the money to keep SNAP running. But in a memo last week, it said that it couldn’t legally use that money for such a purpose.
The Democratic officials contend the administration is legally required to keep benefits going as long as it has funding.
The agency said debit cards beneficiaries use as part of SNAP to buy groceries will not be reloaded as of Nov. 1.
With their own coalition, 19 Republican state attorneys general sent Democratic U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer a letter Tuesday urging passage of a “clean continuing resolution” to keep funding SNAP benefits.
SNAP benefits could leave millions without money for food
Most SNAP participants are families with children, more than 1 in 3 include older adults or someone with a disability, and close to 2 in 5 are households where someone is employed. Most have incomes that put them below the poverty line, about $32,000 in income for a family of four, according to an analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
The average monthly benefit is $187 per person.
People who receive the benefits say that without the aid, they’ll be forced to choose between buying food and paying other bills. Food banks are preparing for a spike in demand that they’ll have to navigate with decreased federal aid themselves.
The debit cards are recharged in slightly different ways in each state. Not everyone receives their benefits on the first day of the month, though many beneficiaries get them early in the month.
States expect retailers will be able to accept cards with balances on them, even if they’re not replenished.
Some states seeking to fill void of SNAP benefit cuts
State governments controlled by both Democrats and Republicans are scrambling to help recipients, though several say they don’t have the technical ability to fund the regular benefits.
Officials in Louisiana, Vermont and Virginia have pledged to provide some type of backup food aid for recipients even while the shutdown stalls the federal program, though state-level details haven’t been announced.
More funding for food banks and pantries is planned in states including New Hampshire, Minnesota, California, New Mexico, Connecticut and New York.
The USDA advised Friday that states won’t be reimbursed for funding the benefits.
Early childhood education
More than 130 Head Start preschool programs won’t receive their annual federal grants on Nov. 1 if the government remains shut down, according to the National Head Start Association.
Centers are scrambling to assess how long they can stay open, since nearly all their funding comes from federal taxpayers. Head Start provides education and child care for the nation’s neediest preschoolers. When a center is closed, families may have to miss work or school.
With new grants on hold, a half dozen Head Start programs have already missed federal disbursements they were expecting Oct. 1 but have stayed open with fast-dwindling reserves or with help from local governments. All told, more than 65,000 seats at Head Start programs across the country could be affected.
Food aid for mothers and young children
Another food aid program supporting millions of low-income mothers and young children already received an infusion to keep the program open through the end of October, but even that money is set to run out early next month.
The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children helps more than 6 million low-income mothers, young children and expectant parents purchase nutritious staples such as fruits and vegetables, low-fat milk and infant formula.
The program, known as WIC, was at risk of running out of money in October because of the government shutdown, which occurred right before it was scheduled to receive its annual appropriation. The Trump administration reassigned $300 million in unspent tariff proceeds from the Department of Agriculture to keep the program afloat. But it was only enough for a few weeks.
Now, states say they could run out of WIC money as early as Nov. 8.
Mattise reported from Nashville, Tennessee. Mulvihill reported from Haddonfield, New Jersey.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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I’m Abigail Spanberger. This is why I want Virginia’s vote for governor
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Back in May, I spent a morning at a family-owned pharmacy in Hanover County — a locality that voted for President Donald Trump in 2024 by a margin of more than 25 points.
I was there alongside local pharmacists and students, a Hanover County mother whose daughter is battling cancer, and a crush of reporters to roll out my plan to lower Virginians’ healthcare and prescription drug costs as their next governor. The event caught the attention of some community members who greeted me donning red T-shirts, Make America Great Again hats and Trump campaign buttons.
Among the group was a local Tea Party member. After we briefly joked about our party allegiances, the conversation quickly turned to the issues.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger addresses a get-out-the-vote rally on the first day of early voting outside the Eastern Government Center on Sept. 19, 2025, in Henrico County, Virginia. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
His daughter, who had been battling cancer, had recently lost her healthcare benefits. As her pile of medical bills and worries grew, so had his frustration.
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What started as him leaving home on a rainy Wednesday morning to hold me accountable turned into a meaningful conversation about one of the challenges I hear about most from families, veterans, seniors and young people across our commonwealth — the rising cost of medical care.
But it’s not just high healthcare costs that are keeping Virginians up at night. Everywhere I travel across the commonwealth — since I first launched my campaign to serve as Virginia’s next governor, the No. 1 challenge Virginians share with me is the squeeze of high costs. Rising rent and mortgage payments, energy bills, and prices at the pharmacy counter are stretching Virginians’ paychecks thin. Virginians who are working hard to get by deserve a governor who is laser-focused on doing everything in her power to deliver them real relief.
Right now, as we race toward Election Day, I’m on the road for my 40-plus-stop, 11-day statewide bus tour. We’re going everywhere from “Where Virginia Begins” in Lee County up to Leesburg, from Norfolk to Nelson County to lay out the stakes in this year’s elections — because this year, Virginians have the opportunity to choose leadership that actually puts our commonwealth first.
Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger speaks during an Everytown for Gun Safety rally on April 10, 2025, in Alexandria, Virginia. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Since that rainy morning in May, I’ve also rolled out my plans to lower Virginians’ housing costs and Virginians’ energy bills. I’ve rolled out my plans to grow workforce training opportunities — because a four-year degree isn’t the right path for everyone. And I’ve rolled out my plan to make sure Virginia’s public schools are the best in the nation. My opponent — Winsome Earle-Sears, the current lieutenant governor of Virginia — has not shown an inkling of interest in tackling these challenges. She’s laid out no real plans to make Virginia more affordable or grow our economy.
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Virginians — including the more than 300,000 federal employees who call our commonwealth home — are grappling with the consequences of the Trump administration’s DOGE firings, use of this devastating government shutdown to escalate those firings, and unpredictable tariffs. My opponent dismissed the devastating impacts of these cuts on Virginia’s economy and even mocked Virginians for worrying about losing their jobs. As Virginia’s next governor, I am clear-eyed about threats to our commonwealth — and I will always stand up for Virginians’ jobs and Virginia’s economy.
If you’re a registered voter in Virginia, my name is on your ballot this year. You may still be making your mind up about who to trust with your vote. You might even be reading this right now and thinking, “I’m a Republican, so why would I vote for a Democrat?”
Abigail Spanberger, Virginia Democratic Party nominee for governor, speaks at a campaign event in Richmond on April 8, 2025. (Max Posner/The Washington Post/Getty Images)
I won my first campaign in 2018 — in a district that hadn’t elected a Democrat in 50 years — in part because thousands of Virginians asked themselves that very question. And ultimately, those voters believed in electing a leader who would put the people of Virginia — not a political party, not a group of donors and not a president — first.
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Since I first got into politics, I’ve been focused on addressing some of the most pressing issues facing Virginia’s families and businesses — from protecting Virginians’ access to healthcare coverage to bringing down the cost of living to keeping our communities safe. My focus hasn’t changed — and I’m ready to get to work on day one to deliver for Virginians.
And like I always say: I might be a Democrat, but you don’t have to be one to vote for me. I would be honored to earn your vote and grateful to serve as your governor.
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Democrat Abigail Spanberger Backs Virginia Legislature’s Redistricting Push
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BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) — Abigail Spanberger, the Democratic candidate for Virginia governor, said Monday that she would not oppose a push by the state’s Democratic-controlled legislature to redraw congressional districts ahead of next year’s midterm elections.
Virginia Democrats earlier in the day began taking steps to change the state’s constitution to allow for a new congressional map, a change that must ultimately be approved by voters before it becomes law. The change is designed to counter President Donald Trump’s push to create more partisan districts in several Republican-run states.
In an interview on her campaign bus just eight days before Election Day, Spanberger told The Associated Press that she would not stand in the way of the Democratic leaders in the state General Assembly, although it’s unclear whether congressional districts could be changed in time for the 2026 midterm elections.
“What they are doing at this moment is keeping alive the option of taking action into the future,” said Spanberger, who would become the governor in January if she wins next week. “While I like to plan for everything, on this one, because I’m on the bus tour, because we are eight days away (from Election Day), I’m like, I will let the General Assembly take this step, and then we’ll talk calendar issues later.”
Her position marks a shift of sorts from this summer when she said she had “no plans to redistrict Virginia.”
Virginia Republicans, including Spanberger’s Republican opponent, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, blasted the move in a news conference outside the statehouse.
“This, my friends, is not about party, it’s about principle,” Earle-Sears said, standing in front of a podium marked with the words, “Spanberger’s sideshow session.” “The voters created an independent redistricting commission. Only the voters have the right to decide a future, not gerrymandering Democrats.”
The Democratic-led legislature’s push to enter Virginia into a redistricting battle comes after California made a similar move earlier this year.
If Democrats gain just three more seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, they would take control of the House and with it, the power to impede Trump’s agenda. But Republicans in other states, at Trump’s urging, are working aggressively to extend their advantage in redistricting moves of their own.
In Virginia on Monday, the House amended its agenda to allow a redistricting constitutional amendment to be put forward, with details to come later. The state senate is expected to follow suit this week.
Democratic state Sen. Schuyler VanValkenburg, who has championed Virginia’s current redistricting law, said he still supports the concept of a bipartisan redistricting commission, “but I’m also not going to let Donald Trump go around to states that have the majorities that he likes and try to make it so that he can’t lose.”
Because Virginia’s redistricting commission was created by a voter-approved constitutional amendment, voters must sign off on any changes to the redistricting process. A proposed constitutional amendment would have to pass the General Assembly in two separate sessions and then be placed on the statewide ballot.
Democrats are scrambling to hold that first legislative vote this year in order to take a second vote after a new legislative session begins Jan. 14.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Trump Urged GOP-Led States to Redraw US House Districts. Now Other States Also Are Gerrymandering
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President Donald Trump’s call for Republicans to redraw U.S. House districts ahead of next year’s election has triggered an unusual outbreak of mid-decade gerrymandering among both Republican- and Democratic-led state legislatures.
Democrats need to gain just three seats to wrest control of the House away from Republicans. And Trump hopes redistricting can help stave off historical trends, in which the president’s party typically loses seats in midterm elections.
Here’s what states are doing:
States that passed new US House maps
Texas — The first state to take up congressional redistricting at Trump’s prodding. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed a new U.S. House map into law on Aug. 29 that could help Republicans win five additional seats in next year’s election. Republican currently hold 25 of the 38 seats. The new map faces a legal challenge.
California — The first Democratic-led state to counter Trump’s redistricting push. A new U.S. House map passed by the state Legislature would circumvent districts adopted by an independent citizens commission after the 2020 census and replace them with districts that could help Democrats win five additional seats. Democrats currently hold 43 of the 52 seats. The plan needs voter approval in a Nov. 4 election.
Missouri — The second Republican-led state to approve new House districts sought by Trump. Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe signed a new map into law Sept. 28 that could help Republicans win an additional seat by reshaping a Democratic-held district in Kansas City. Republicans currently hold six of the eight seats. Opponents are pursuing an initiative petition that could force a statewide referendum on the map and also have filed several lawsuits.
North Carolina — The third Republican-led state to approve new House districts sought by Trump. The Republican-led General Assembly gave final approval Wednesday to district changes that could help Republicans win an additional seat by reshaping a Democratic-held district in eastern North Carolina. No gubernatorial approval is needed. Republicans currently hold 10 of the 14 seats. The revised map faces a legal challenge.
Utah — The Republican-led Legislature approved revised House districts Oct. 6 after a judge struck down the districts adopted after the 2020 census because lawmakers had circumvented an independent redistricting commission established by voters. The revised map, which still needs court approval, could make some seats more competitive for Democrats. Republicans currently hold all four seats.
States taking steps toward congressional redistricting
Virginia — The Democratic-led General Assembly is meeting in a special session as a first step toward redrawing U.S. House districts. Democrats currently hold six of the 11 districts under a map imposed by a court in 2021 after a bipartisan commission failed to agree on a plan. A proposed constitutional amendment would need to be approved by lawmakers in two separate sessions and then placed on the statewide ballot.
Louisiana — The Republican-led Legislature is meeting in a special session to push back next year’s primary election by a month. The change would give lawmakers extra time to redraw U.S. House districts in case the Supreme Court overturns the state’s current congressional map. Republicans currently hold four of the six seats.
Ohio — Officials in the Republican-led state are meeting to redraw House districts before next year’s election. They are required to do so by the state constitution because Republicans adopted districts without sufficient bipartisan support after the 2020 census. Republicans currently hold 10 of the 15 seats.
Kansas — Republican lawmakers are gathering petition signatures from colleagues to try to call themselves into special session on congressional redistricting. Republicans currently hold three of the four seats.
States considering mid-decade redistricting
Colorado — Democratic Attorney General Phil Weiser, a gubernatorial candidate, has expressed support for a constitutional amendment to allow mid-decade redistricting in response to Republican efforts elsewhere. The measure would need to go on a statewide ballot. Democrats and Republicans each currently hold four seats.
Florida — Republican state House Speaker Daniel Perez has created a special committee on congressional redistricting. Republicans currently hold 20 of the state’s 28 seats.
Illinois — U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has urged Democratic state lawmakers to redraw Illinois’ congressional districts. Democrats currently hold 14 of the 17 seats.
Maryland — Democratic state lawmakers have proposed congressional redistricting legislation for next year’s session. Democrats currently hold seven of the eight seats.
New York — Democratic state lawmakers have filed a proposed constitutional amendment to allow mid-decade redistricting. The measure would need to be approved by the Legislature in two separate sessions and then placed on the statewide ballot. Democrats currently hold 19 of the 26 seats.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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One week to go in NYC mayoral race, gubernatorial races in New Jersey and Virginia
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CBS News political director Fin Gómez breaks down the key races in New York City, New Jersey and Virginia with just a week to go before Election Day.
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Trump’s Redistricting Push Hits Roadblocks in Indiana and Kansas as Republican Lawmakers Resist
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For most of President Donald Trump’s second term, Republicans have bent to his will. But in two Midwestern states, Trump’s plan to maintain control of the U.S. House in next year’s election by having Republicans redraw congressional districts has hit a roadblock.
Despite weeks of campaigning by the White House, Republicans in Indiana and Kansas say their party doesn’t have enough votes to pass new, more GOP-friendly maps. It’s made the two states outliers in the rush to redistrict — places where Republican-majority legislatures are unwilling or unable to heed Trump’s call and help preserve the party’s control on Capitol Hill.
Lawmakers in the two states still may be persuaded, and the White House push, which has included an Oval Office meeting for Indiana lawmakers and two trips to Indianapolis by Vice President JD Vance, is expected to continue. But for now, it’s a rare setback for the president and his efforts to maintain a compliant GOP-held Congress after the 2026 midterms.
Typically, states redraw the boundaries of their congressional districts every 10 years, based on census data. But because midterm elections typically tend to favor the party not in power, Trump is pressuring Republicans to devise new maps that favor the GOP.
Democrats only need to gain three seats to flip House control, and the fight has become a bruising back-and-forth.
With new maps of their own, multiple Democratic states are moving to counter any gains made by Republicans. The latest, Virginia, is expected to take up the issue in a special session starting Monday.
Indiana, whose House delegation has seven Republicans and two Democrats, was one of the first states on which the Trump administration focused its redistricting efforts this summer.
But a spokesperson for state Senate Leader Rodric Bray’s office said Thursday that the chamber lacks the votes to redistrict. With only 10 Democrats in the 50-member Senate, that means more than a dozen of the 40 Republicans oppose the idea.
Bray’s office did not respond to multiple requests for an interview.
The holdouts may come from a few schools of thought. New political lines, if poorly executed, could make solidly Republican districts more competitive. Others believe it is simply wrong to stack the deck.
“We are being asked to create a new culture in which it would be normal for a political party to select new voters, not once a decade — but any time it fears the consequences of an approaching election,” state Sen. Spencer Deery, a Republican, said in a statement in August.
Deery’s office did not respond to a request for an interview and said the statement stands.
A common argument in favor of new maps is that Democratic-run states such as Massachusetts have no Republican representatives while Illinois has used redistricting for partisan advantage — a process known as gerrymandering.
“For decades, Democrat states have gerrymandered in the dark of the night,” Republican state Sen. Chris Garten said on social media. “We can no longer sit idly by as our country is stolen from us.”
Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith, who would vote to break a tie in the state Senate if needed, recently called on lawmakers to forge ahead with redistricting and criticized then for not being sufficiently conservative.
“For years, it has been said accurately that the Indiana Senate is where conservative ideas from the House go to die,” Beckwith said in a social media post.
Indiana is staunchly conservative, but its Republicans tend to foster a deliberate temperance.
“Hoosiers, it’s very tough to to predict us, other than to say we’re very cautious,” former GOP state lawmaker Mike Murphy said. “We’re not into trends.”
The squeamishness reflects a certain independent streak held by voters in both states and a willingness by some to push back.
Writing in The Washington Post last week, former Gov. Mitch Daniels, a Republican, urged Indiana lawmakers to resist the push to redistrict. “Someone has to lead in climbing out of the mudhole,” he said.
“Hoosiers, like most Americans, place a high value on fairness and react badly to its naked violation,” he wrote.
In Kansas, Republicans also struggle to find votes
In Kansas, Republican legislative leaders are trying to bypass the Democratic governor and force a special session for only the second time in the state’s 164-year history. Gov. Laura Kelly opposes mid-decade redistricting and has suggested it could be unconstitutional.
The Kansas Constitution allows GOP lawmakers to force a special session with a petition signed by two-thirds of both chambers — also the supermajorities needed to override Kelly’s expected veto of a new map. Republicans hold four more seats than the two-thirds majority in both the state Senate and House. In either, a defection of five Republicans would sink the effort.
Weeks after state Senate President Ty Masterson announced the push for a special session, GOP leaders were struggling to get the last few signatures needed.
Among the holdouts is Rep. Mark Schreiber, who represents a district southwest of Topeka,. He told The Associated Press that “did not sign a petition to call a special session, and I have no plans to sign one.” Schreiber said he believes redistricting should be used only to reflect shifts in population after the once-every-10-year census.
“Redistricting by either party in midcycle should not be done,” he said.
Republicans would likely target U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, the Democrat representing the mostly Kansas City area 3rd Congressional District, which includes Johnson County, the state’s most populous. The suburban county accounts for more than 85% of the vote and has trended to the left since 2016.
Kansas has a sizable number of moderate Republicans, and 29% of the state’s 2 million voters are registered as politically unaffiliated. Both groups are prominent in Johnson County.
Republican legislators previously tried to hurt Davids’ chances of reelection when redrawing the district, but she won in 2022 and 2024 by more than 10 percentage points.
“They tried it once and couldn’t get it done,” said Jack Shearer, an 82-year-old registered Republican from suburban Kansas City.
But a mid-decade redistricting has support among some Republicans in the county. State Sen. Doug Shane, whose district includes part of the county, said he believes his constituents would be amenable to splitting it.
“Splitting counties is not unprecedented and occurs in a number of congressional districts around the country,” he said in an email.
Volmert reported from Lansing, Mich., and Hanna from Topeka, Kan. Associated Press writer Heather Hollingsworth in Lenexa, Kan., contributed to this report.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Honduran man killed on Virginia highway as he tried to escape ICE agents
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A 24-year old Honduran national was struck and killed on a highway as he tried to escape ICE agents who stopped his vehicle, officials said.
Jose Castro-Rivera was in a vehicle that was stopped on I-264 eastbound in Virginia around 11 a.m. local time on Thursday, according to Virginia State Police, who were responding to a report of a vehicle-pedestrian crash at the Military Highway interchange.
When they arrived, troopers found an adult male who had been hit by a 2002 Ford pickup truck. The man was identified as Rivera, and was pronounced dead at the scene.
A preliminary investigation by VSP found that he was “fleeing from a pursuit initiated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement when he exited his vehicle and attempted to cross the interstate.”
Officials from VSP were not involved in the pursuit but are investigating the pedestrian crash, which remains under investigation.
A spokesperson from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said ICE stopped the vehicle in which the Honduran national was traveling as “part of a targeted, intelligence-based immigration enforcement operation.”
“Upon determining that the occupants were in the United States illegally, officers began detaining the occupants of the targeted vehicle. However, one of the vehicle’s occupants, Jose Castro-Rivera, resisted heavily and fled the scene onto a busy highway, creating a significant safety risk to himself and the general public,” the agency said. “Unfortunately, a passing vehicle struck Castro-Rivera.”
One of the ICE officers gave Castro-Rivera CPR before he died, the DHS spokesperson said.
“The officer then informed the three detained aliens that their friend had deceased,” the DHS spokesperson said.
Federal crackdowns have been occurring nationwide in recent weeks.
Earlier this week, nine immigrants from Africa suspected of being in the country illegally were taken into custody by Immigration and Custom Enforcement agents during what DHS called a “targeted, intelligence-driven enforcement operation on Canal Street in New York City focused on criminal activity relating to selling counterfeit goods.”
ICE deported about 140 individuals back to Venezuela in its latest removal flight on Oct. 15.
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Photos: North Carolina battles Virginia in ACC college football action
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The UNC Tar Heels under Bill Belichick face the UVA Cavaliers in Chapel Hill
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