“Utah Supreme Court rejects emergency stay in redistricting case, Utah legislature must draw new maps” – Election Law Blog
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Election Watch
Kirk’s death reinvigorates Republicans’ redistricting race– www.politico.com
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Excerpt:
President Donald Trump’s already brass-knuckled push for red-state redistricting is taking on an increasingly apocalyptic valence among MAGA stalwarts following the killing of Charlie Kirk.
Inside an Embassy Suites ballroom in suburban Indianapolis this weekend, Sen. Jim Banks’ inaugural Hoosier Leadership for America Summit drew hundreds of attendees who came to hear from next-generation MAGA figures ranging from Alex Bruesewitz, a top Trump adviser and longtime friend of Kirk’s, to GOP strategist Alex DeGrasse.
The summit marked the first official MAGA gathering since Kirk’s death and served as both a Kirk memorial and redistricting rally, unfolding amid an increased security footprint and ubiquitous police presence throughout the conference center.
Between musical interludes featuring Jason Aldean’s “Fly over States” and “Try That In a Small Town,” MAGA leaders spoke of “demons” at work behind the shooting of Kirk and the stabbing of Iryna Zarutska and “the righteous versus the wicked.” An attendee who posed a question to Banks wondered whether Kirk’s killing “lifted the veil between good and evil.”
“This isn’t a political battle anymore,” said Bruesewitz, who spoke to the crowd with visible emotion about his friendship with Kirk dating back to their teens, and recalled their last dinner together in South Korea just days ago. “It’s a spiritual battle.”
All of it presaged a coming national political hardening on the right with Kirk’s killing as the raison d’etre. More than any other issue at the conference, Kirk’s death seeped into the rationale for mid-decade redistricting.
Ohio congressional redistricting process begins on heels of Texas battle – Ohio Capital Journal
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Republicans threaten suit over what they call illegal provisions of AZ Elections Procedures Manual – KJZZ
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Democratic prosecutor Scott Colom announces US Senate race in Mississippi – Houston Chronicle
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Despite fiery opposition, Missouri GOP advances gerrymandered map, direct democracy limits – Kansas City Star
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GOP leaders won’t help Massie’s bid for reelection as Trump plots his ouster – WENY
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Missouri lawmakers join Trump’s redistricting effort in GOP push to win more U.S. House seats – PBS
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California GOP governor candidate Steve Hilton files federal lawsuit over congressional redistricting – KCRA
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Report: Michigan projected to be second-highest ad spending state in 2026 midterm election cycle – thelivingstonpost.com
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Meeting with Florida lawmakers, Donald Trump reinforces support for Byron Donalds – Florida Politics
Meeting with Florida lawmakers, Donald Trump reinforces support for Byron Donalds – Florida Politics
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President Trump endorses Ashley Hinson in 2026 US Senate race – weareiowa.com
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Arizona and Nevada Senate Races Face Unsubstantiated Claims of Election Stealing – MSN
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Zohran Mamdani thinks NY voters are stupid with his latest defense of his past, radical, anti-American views– www.louderwithcrowder.com
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Excerpt:
Ever since Kamala Harris lost because voters held her responsible for the words that came out of her mouth, there has been a push on the left to ignore the words that came out of their candidates’ mouths before five minutes ago. Sure, every Democrat holds extremist views and is closed-minded and intolerant toward any opposing viewpoint. But they want you to think they’re not that as they try to get elected today. That’s what The Zohran expects New York City voters to believe.
Ignore everything he has done or said as an elected official in the city he is looking to become Mayor of. He’s evolved from a 29-year-old communist to a 33-year-old socialist.
THE ZOHRAN: My opponents would rather bring up positions I’ve held as an elected official than what I claim my positions are today.
JOURNALISMER: So what you’re saying is you’ve evolved?
THE ZOHRAN: Sure, go with that.
He’s going with the Kathy Hochul defense. Every Democrat said crazy things to pander a few years ago. You can’t hold that against him now that it’s clear all those positions have rendered Democrats toxic to the American people. Thankfully for The Zohran, he’s not running in America, but rather in New York City.
He has evolved from saying “We don’t need an investigation to know that the NYPD is racist, anti-queer & a major threat to public safety.”
The Zohran no longer subscribes to a communist worldview. So when he, as an elected official, said he wants the government to buy up private properties and convert them into communes, we shouldn’t consider that as he runs for a position that would give him the power to do so. Also, according to “independent” “fact” “checkers,” there is no way of knowing what The Zohran means when he says “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.”
Utah gerrymander struck down by judge in a win for voters– www.latimes.com
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Excerpt:
It’s been more than 60 years since Utah backed a Democrat for president. The state’s last Democratic U.S. senator left office nearly half a century ago and the last Utah Democrat to serve in the House lost his seat in 2020.
But, improbably enough, Utah has suddenly emerged as a rare Democratic bright spot in the red-vs.-blue redistricting wars.
Late last month, a judge tossed out the state’s slanted congressional lines and ordered Utah’s GOP-run Legislature to draw a new political map, ruling that lawmakers improperly thumbed their noses and overrode voters who created an independent redistricting commission to end gerrymandering.
It’s a welcome pushback against the growing pattern of lawmakers arrogantly ignoring voters and pursuing their preferred agenda. You don’t have to be a partisan to think that elections should matter and when voters express their will it should be honored.
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Utah 3rd District Judge Dianna Gibson told Utah to redraw its congressional district map before the 2026 midterms.
The new map must “align with what voters approved in 2018.”
Utah has 30 days to submit four new maps that match Proposition 4.
Gibson will hold a conference with parties on Friday to discuss the next steps. A hearing on the proposed maps is scheduled for October.
Republicans could appeal Gibson’s decision, which would likely keep the current map until 2028.
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The redistricting war is officially on.
After weeks of bluster from dueling governors and state lawmakers, California and Texas raced forward with parallel action this week to draw new congressional maps, setting into motion a national redistricting fight that could upend the midterms and determine control of the House.
Texas Republicans on Saturday passed a new map that will help the GOP flip as many as five House seats — a partisan play at the hand of President Donald Trump. On Thursday, California Democratic lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom preemptively agreed to send a retaliatory ballot measure to voters — the first step in potentially offsetting Texas’ maneuver by creating new Democratic-leaning seats.
GOP Rep. Under Fire After Doubling Down On MAGA Betrayal: ‘We Need Action’– trendingpoliticsnews.com
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U.S. Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-CA) is doubling down on his calls to axe Republican-led redistricting efforts after California Governor Gavin Newsom announced a plan to draw out five Republican-controlled districts in his state, which is already among the most gerrymandered in the nation. Rep. Kiley’s seat is in danger of being drawn out if Newsom’s plan succeeds.
Earlier this month, the California lawmaker introduced a bill that, if passed, would prevent states from redrawing their respective congressional maps before the 2030 census. The bill was introduced as Texas Republicans moved forward with a plan that would create five additional districts that Trump won by 10 or more points last year.
A number of additional Republican-controlled states, including Missouri, Ohio, in addition to potential plans from Indiana and Florida, are considering redistricting themselves. Republicans have argued that the move is necessary due to extreme gerrymanders in Democrat-controlled states like California, Illinois and Maryland.
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The California Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected a petition filed by state Republican legislators seeking to halt Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) plan to redistrict California’s congressional map.
“Petitioners have failed to meet their burden of establishing a basis for relief at this time under California Constitution article IV, section 8,” reads a brief order posted to the docket.
Newsom has hit back at Republican redistricting efforts in Texas by pushing for a special election this November to get voters’ approval on a more favorable House map for Democrats in California in time for the 2026 midterms.
The ruling paves the way for the California legislature to proceed with voting as soon as Thursday on a package that would set up the special election.
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As if Republicans didn’t have enough problems trying to hold on to the House majority, along comes Utah to give them a whole new problem.
Republicans once again tried to ignore the will of the people and the state’s constitution, and the matter went to court.
The Campaign Legal Center explained what happened:
The court determined that the Utah state legislature violated the people’s right to alter or reform their government when they repealed Proposition 4, or Prop 4 – a ballot initiative that aimed to prohibit partisan gerrymandering by establishing the Utah Independent Redistricting Commission and creating fair, neutral criteria and procedures for adopting district maps.
Prop 4, which was passed by Utah voters and unconstitutionally repealed by the legislature, is now the law again. The current gerrymandered congressional map passed by the legislature may not be used in future elections. The Utah state legislature now has a chance to pass a new, fair map that complies with Prop 4, and if it does not, the court will order a new map, which will be used for the 2026 election.
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At the end of June, the DNC had just $15 million on hand compared to the Republican National Committee’s $80 million, according to Politico. The DNC has less cash on hand at this point than at any point in the last five years. The DNC has reportedly spent this year helping to pay off $15.8 million in coordinated expenses with former Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign. Harris spent over $1 billion in a futile effort to beat President Donald Trump.
One critical aspect of Democratic fundraising woes is the lack of support from large donors, who have shied away from giving the maximum amount. Forty-seven donors, about a third of the number who gave in the same period in 2021, gave the maximum amount.
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Democrats released a congressional map for California Friday that could give them five more districts more favorable to Democrats.
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) has been pushing to redistrict California as President Donald Trump demanded Texas Republicans redraw the state’s map mid-decade in an effort to create a cushion to retain the GOP’s razor-thin House majority.
California, as the most populous state, has the largest congressional delegation. Democrats currently hold 43 of the state’s 52 House seats, and the new map could give Democrats a 48-4 advantage.
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The far-left failure Governor Newsom is forcing a special election in an already very gerrymandered state into a utterly one party state. Newsom is a threat to democracy. Newsom claims gerrymandering is evil so he is going to super-gerrymander California’s existing gerrymandered congressional districts. Think about that.
Newsom wants to increase Democrat representation by five more, which would give Democrats 92% representation, while 40% of California votes Republican.
BREAKING 🚨 Voters in California overwhelmingly oppose Gov Gavin Newsom’s plan to gerrymander the State 64%-36%
Gavin Newsom is a L0SER pic.twitter.com/JvCjsrAyFH
— MAGA Voice (@MAGAVoice) August 17, 2025
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Former President Barack Obama is supporting California’s mid-cycle redistricting effort as a “responsible approach” to Republicans drawing new maps in Texas.
Obama praised California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s ballot measure proposal to redraw congressional districts and tilt at least five congressional districts in the state towards Democrats at a fundraiser on Tuesday for the National Democratic Redistricting Committee.
“I believe that Governor Newsom’s approach is a responsible approach,” he said, according to excerpts obtained by POLITICO. “I think that approach is a smart, measured approach, designed to address a very particular problem in a very particular moment in time.”
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Former NBC/MSNBC political director Chuck Todd sounded a lot like CNN’s Jake Tapper on Tuesday’s edition of The Arena on CNN. In a poor attempt to deflect attention away from Democratic Party gerrymandering in states like California and Illinois, by falsely suggesting that Republican-controlled Florida was the “worst” state when it came to redistricting practices. He also argued that the way to solve a lot of those issues was to actively gerrymander.
What caused Todd to snap at his home state of Florida was CNN Republican commentator Scott Jennings calling out far-left states like California and Illinois for their wildly gerrymandered districts. “I mean, when I look at the states like Illinois and New York and even California with the supposed independent commission where Republicans get 40 percent of the vote and only have 17 percent of the seats,” he proclaimed.
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California Democrats never miss a chance to lecture the rest of the country about “protecting democracy.” But when it comes to their own backyard, they can’t even answer the most basic question:
Who drew the newly proposed California congressional maps?
That’s exactly what Sacramento reporter Ashley Zavala asked Assembly Elections Chair Gail Pellerin and Senate Elections Chair Sabrina Cervantes yesterday. What followed wasn’t transparency. It was a master class in political dodge, deflection, and double-speak.
“Meet the C
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Conservative activists are taking a core election-integrity initiative on the road in a rallying attempt to save the SAVE Act.
On Monday, Tea Party Patriots Action will roll out its inaugural Only Citizens Vote Bus Tour, a trek covering more than a dozen states — from California to Maryland — to champion the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act. The bill amends the flawed National Voter Registration Act to require individuals registering to vote to provide documentary proof of citizenship before casting ballots in federal elections.
Proponents say the SAVE Act is an additional layer of election security that does not currently exist in current law. Opponents, including the vast majority of Democrats in Congress, insist there are already protections in federal law that make falsely claiming U.S. citizenship on voter registration forms a felony.
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Democratic presidential hopefuls might be wise to keep their heads down and their mouths shut. Whenever one voices an opinion that aligns with the broad American mainstream, his own base punishes him for it. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump keeps laying political traps to ensure that those intraparty attacks continue.
The latest target is former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. During an episode of “Pod Save America,” co-host Jon Favreau pressed him on a Senate vote to halt weapons shipments to Israel and on how future U.S. administrations should handle relations with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
On each and every issue, Trump has stood by the water and tried to lead Democrats toward the desert.