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Rick Scott Challenger Calls It Quits

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Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

The Senate primary field is already shrinking…

On Wednesday, Phil Ehr announced his decision to drop out of the Senate primary and instead challenge incumbent Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla.) for Florida’s 28th congressional district.

The move is a stark turnaround after Ehr initially entered the senate race to unseat Republican Senator Rick Scott.

Politico has more:

But Ehr, who once ran against GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz in northwest Florida, said his decision to compete for Gimenez’s House seat was motivated by what he called the “chaos in the nation’s Capitol” due to the Republican infighting over House speaker that has kept that chamber without a leader for more than two weeks.

“We have in the House of Representatives chaos that is damaging America, chaos that is preventing us from being able to respond overseas,” Ehr told Playbook.

Ehr’s decision to mount a congressional campaign in South Florida was, in part, because he believes Gimenez is vulnerable and for the GOP lawmaker’s support of former President Donald Trump and other Republicans like Gaetz. Gimenez is currently one of the holdouts opposed to the speakership bid of Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio).

Ehr also added that he’s been a Florida resident since 1984, and while in the military he did missions in the area, including rescuing Cuban exiles during the Mariel boatlift. “This place is very familiar to me,” Ehr said.

Arizona Republican Launches Campaign For Governor

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By Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America - Karrin Taylor Robson, CC BY-SA 2.0,

On Wednesday, Arizona Republican Karrin Taylor Robson launched her comeback gubernatorial bid.

Robson, a small business owner and lawyer, launched her campaign with a new ad centered on President Donald Trump’s return to the White House and her desire to help take back her state from incumbent Democrat Gov. Katie Hobbs. 

Robson lost her primary bid in 2022 to Trump-backed Republican nominee Kari Lake.

Robson scored early support from Trump less than two months ago during his visit to Arizona as president-elect.

“I thank President Trump for his strong endorsement and look forward to working with him to secure our border and make Arizona safe again,” Robson said in a statement first obtained by Fox News Digital. “Katie Hobbs has made it harder to live, work, and raise a family safely in this state. Like President Trump, I know how to create jobs. And like President Trump, I will not rest until our border is secure and Arizona families are safe,” she continued.

“Katie Hobbs and Joe Biden’s insane agenda has made life more expensive and dangerous,” Robson stated. “I will fight every day alongside President Trump for stronger borders, a stronger economy, and a stronger Arizona.

President Trump said Robson would have his support if she ran for governor while he was delivering remarks at Turning Point Action’s AmericaFest in December.

“Are you running for governor? I think so, Karrin, ’cause if you do you’re gonna have my support, OK?” Trump said at the time.

Cook Political Report ranks the general election race as a “toss-up,” likely making it one of the most competitive races in the upcoming midterms.

The “Building A Better Arizona PAC” launched last month backing Robson, who formerly served on the Arizona Board of Regents. Former Arizona Republican Party Chairman Robert Graham and former Arizona Senate President Karen Fann created the group.

The primary is Aug. 4, 2026. It’s unclear if Hobbs will face a major challenger in the Democratic primary.

Robson will likely face off against another pro-Trump Republican during the primaries. Supporters of Rep. Andy Biggs hope that the president will shift gears and back his campaign instead, given his strong political agreements with him.

The congressman has already gained the endorsements of Reps. Lauren Boebert, Paul Gosar, and Eli Crane.

“Andy Biggs is the greatest thing since sliced bread,” Sen. Mike Lee( R-Utah) said on X. “Arizonans, do yourselves a big favor and elect this man as your next governor!” 

Steve Bannon Responds To Reports He’s Eyeing Presidential Run

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Thor Brødreskift / Nordiske Mediedager, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Not so fast…

Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon is reportedly eyeing a presidential run in 2028 against de facto Trump successor Vice President JD Vance, according to the Daily Mail. However, after the report aired, Bannon wasted no time and responded to the claims on The National Pulse website, simply responding: “Trump 2028.”

Elina Shirazi, a senior political reporter focused on Trump’s foreign policy, wrote in an “exclusive” story on Thursday, “Sources close to Steve Bannon and Trump have told Daily Mail the 71-year-old War Room host has begun soliciting political advice.”

The report made clear, according to a GOP strategist, that Bannon’s planning is purely in the “contemplative stage,” but added that Bannon is concerned about a Vance run. Shirazi wrote:

One source in Bannon’s inner circle told the Daily Mail that the former strategist has privately ridiculed the prospect of Vance at the top of the ticket.

‘Love him… but Vance is not tough enough to run in 2028,’ the source said Bannon has conveyed to multiple people in his circles.

The Daily Mail noted that Bannon did not respond to the report, a claim he pushed back on in his comments to The National Pulse.

“The Daily Mail claims Bannon did not comment on the matter, but The National Pulse can also reveal that, according to Bannon himself, no request for comment was made to Bannon before the story’s publication,” noted the post on Bannon’s response.

It would hardly be Bannon’s first entrance into the world of politics. He initially ran Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign before being replaced by Kellyanne Conway. Since then, Bannon’s War Room show has been a key platform for MAGA Republicans to launch campaigns for office and has hosted countless elected Republicans. 

Earlier this week, President Donald Trump made his clearest endorsement yet for a future Republican presidential candidate, declaring that Vice President JD Vance is “most likely” to carry the MAGA torch after his second term ends.

Speaking on Tuesday, Trump described Vance as “probably the favorite” to lead the Republican Party into the next election cycle.

“He’s most likely the heir,” Trump said, referring to Vance. “He understands the movement, he understands the people, and he’s doing a phenomenal job as Vice President.”

House Overwhelmingly Votes To Sink Trump Impeachment Effort

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Donald Trump via Gage Skidmore Flickr

The House on Tuesday overwhelmingly voted to quash an effort by Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) to impeach President Trump over the U.S. strikes on Iran.

The chamber voted 344-79 to table Green’s resolution, which charges Trump with abuse of power. One hundred-twenty eight Democrats voted with Republicans to table the measure.

Green has sought for months to trigger a vote on impeaching Trump, slamming his handling of foreign and domestic policy issues.

The congressman on Tuesday reupped that effort, filing a resolution accusing Trump of failing to seek authorization from Congress before striking three sites in Iran over the weekend, which Democrats have taken issue with.

“In his conduct of the office of President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, in violation of his constitutional oath faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, abused the powers of the presidency when he disregarded the doctrine of separation of powers by usurping Congress’s power to declare war and ordered the United States military to bomb another country without the constitutionally mandated congressional authorization or notice to Congress — cognizant of the fact that should another country’s military bomb a facility within the United States of America, it would be a de facto declaration of war against the United States of America,” the impeachment resolution reads.

This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.

This Democrat Governor is Planning to Run for President in 2024 Under One Condition

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Casa Rosada (Argentina Presidency of the Nation), CC BY 2.5 AR via Wikimedia Commons

Democrats are chomping at the bit to announce their campaign for president but there seems to be one obstacle, President Joe Biden.

Biden, who is currently the oldest president in history, will be 81 years old when the next election occurs and some Democrats say he isn’t the best candidate to lead the country or stand a chance of defeating Trump who has all-but-confirmed his own 2024 plans. (RELATED: New Report Indicates Trump Will Postpone 2024 Campaign Announcement)

One Democrat desperately vying for the presidency is none other than California Governor Gavin Newsom. According to sources close to the politician, Newsom is “absolutely” planning to run for president in 2024 if Biden opts out.

According to The Washington Examiner:

“After this midterm election is over, he absolutely is going to announce that he is running for the presidency once Biden announces that he is not running,” a top California fundraiser close to the Newsom family told the Wrap. “No ifs, ands or buts. He will run if Biden does not.”

Governor Newsom’s political ambitions have been the subject of scrutiny over the past few months as he has sought to distinguish himself early on as a presidential contender by meeting with prominent donors, sparring with Republican lawmakers, and calling out his party’s inaction on hot-button issues like abortion and climate change.

One of the Wrap’s sources, a Los Angeles philanthropist who backed Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential bid in 2020 and supported her during her time as district attorney in San Francisco, said some in the party have questioned whether she will be the automatic forerunner if Biden chooses to step aside.

“There’s going to be a ton of people coming out against Kamala if Biden doesn’t run,” the source said.

President Biden recently called his own 2024 campaign into question during an interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes” when he declined to say if he absolutely planned to run for a second term.

“In terms of election laws,” Biden said, “it’s much too early to make that kind of decision.”

“Look, my intention, as I said to begin with, is that I would run again,” Biden responded to CBS anchor Scott Pelley. “But it’s just an intention. But is it a firm decision that I run again? That remains to be seen.”

New York Times Pollster Warns That Shy Trump Voters Could Be Skewing Surveys — Again

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Famartin, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

The silent red tsunami could be on the horizon…

According to The New York Times’ chief political analyst and pollster Nate Cohn silent Trump supporters could skew poll results once again, leaving prognosticators scratching their skulls in the finals hours before Election Day.

The Times reported in Arizona, Donald Trump leads Kamala Harris by four points, and in Michigan, he has a one-point advantage. Harris, on the other hand, is beating Trump by one in Georgia, and three in Nevada, North Carolina, and Wisconsin.

On Sunday, the Times and Siena College released their final poll from the seven battleground states, and the results were inconclusive.

In his write-up of the results, Cohn submitted that they don’t “point toward a relatively clear favorite” for a few reasons, even if Harris was perhaps slightly more pleased by its finding.

“On average, Ms. Harris fared modestly better than our last round of surveys of the same states, but her gains were concentrated in states where she was previously struggling,” he wrote. “Meanwhile, the so-called Blue Wall (Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania) does not look quite as formidable of an obstacle to Mr. Trump as it once did. As a result, Ms Harris’s position in the Electoral College isn’t necessarily improved.”

Cohn also warned that nonresponse bias from Republicans may be continuing to skew the results, just as they did in 2016 and 2020:

It’s hard to measure nonresponse bias — after all, we couldn’t reach these demographically similar voters — but one measure I track from time to time is the proportion of Democrats or Republicans who respond to a survey, after considering other factors.

Across these final polls, white Democrats were 16 percent likelier to respond than white Republicans. That’s a larger disparity than our earlier polls this year, and it’s not much better than our final polls in 2020 — even with the pandemic over.

“It raises the possibility that the polls could underestimate Mr. Trump yet again,” he concluded.

Hillary Clinton Makes Big Reveal Regarding Potential Presidential Bid

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Hillary Clinton via Gage Skidmore Flickr

During an interview with CBS Morning News, Hillary Clinton said she will not be running for president in the future.

“No, no, but I’m going to do everything I can to make sure that we have a president who respects our democracy and the rule of law and upholds our institutions,” Clinton said.

Norah O’Donnell didn’t seem quite pleased with Clinton’s answer and once again pressed the former first lady, this time asking if her answer would change if former President Donald Trump were to run for president.

“He should be soundly defeated,” Clinton said. “It should start in the Republican Party. Grow a backbone. Stand up to this guy.”

Former NATO Commander Goes On CNN To Mock Trump’s Plea To Putin

CNN Headquarters via Wikimedia Commons

Retired U.S. Gen. Wesley Clark, a former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, took a swipe at President Donald Trump’s Truth Social message to Vladimir Putin, calling the public plea unlikely to influence Russian military behavior.

Clark’s comments came during a Thursday appearance on CNN’s “Situation Room,” shortly after Trump had posted:

“I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV. Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying. Let’s get the Peace Deal DONE!”

“Do you think a post from President Trump on social media will actually wind up stopping Putin from launching more attacks on civilians, like in Kyiv, for example, where civilian men, women and children were just killed in big numbers?” asked CNN’s Wolf Blitzer.

Clark replied bluntly: “Well, I think it would be very surprising if President Trump’s tweet would have any real impact on President Putin.”

The retired Army officer argued that Putin sees a strategic opening, particularly as the U.S. appears to be retreating from some of its longstanding commitments in Europe.

Mediaite further reports:

“So this is a moment for Putin, really. It’s what he’s been waiting for,” he continued. “This gives him a clear field to bring pressure to bear against Ukrainian population like this missile strike, and also to go to his allies, China, North Korea, and Iran, and say, ‘Give me more, give me more. This is the moment we can go.”

“We know there are exercises being prepared for this summer in Belarus. Rumors of brigades being ready to attack from Belarus into Kaliningrad to open that gate. This is a really perilous time for Europe. And it’s the opposite time to be pulling back,” he said.

“What President Trump should be saying is, ‘Since you did this, I’m reinforcing U.S. Military assistance to Kyiv, and you can forget about it. We’re going to stay with it until you realize you’re not going to win militarily,’” Clark advised Trump. That’s what it’s going to take to bring peace to Ukraine.”

Trump had pledged to end the Russian invasion of Ukraine within 24 hours of being elected, but he and his diplomatic team have thus far found it difficult to broker a peace agreement with Russia and Ukraine, going so far as to suggest they will give up any efforts recently.

READ NEXT: Trump Pushes To Revive Sweeping Ban – Supreme Court Now Involved

News Anchor Fired After Sharing Message To Trump-haters

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Should his private opinions affect this professional work?

Local Biloxi news anchor David “Dave” Elliott has reported he was fired after speaking about politics on social media in his free time. 

Elliot worked for South Mississippi-based news station WLOX for nearly 4 decades and, according to the Biloxi Sun Herald, once joked that he planned to die of old age in his anchor chair. As of Friday, however, the anchor appeared to be out of a job. 

“I’m no longer at Wlox as of 10-25-24. The corporation doesn’t like my political views,” Elliot wrote on Facebook. 

The news anchor had recently posted a video where he suggested people shouldn’t vote if they are just doing so out of hatred for former President Trump.

“This is so unlike me because I’m usually a ‘vote, vote, vote!’ guy. I’d like to see 100% voter turnout, whether it’s for your local sheriff or President of the United States, but if your hatred for Donald Trump is so strong — that’s kind of a sickness, by the way — but if it’s so strong that you’re planning to go in that voting booth and vote for Kamala Harris, do you listen to her? Do you know anything about her?” he asked in a video he posted to X Wednesday. “Anyway, do yourself, do the country, do the world a favor and just sit it out. Stay home, don’t vote. This has been a public service announcement.”

Elliott told the Sun Herald that general manager Rick Williams told him he was fired and that “X was brought up in the conversation, which lasted only about 30 seconds, because I left, I was like, ‘OK, see ya.”

Elliott also told the Sun Herald that his social media videos are satire, arguing that there is a distinction between his paid work for the news station versus his social media posts.

“I don’t consider social media journalism,” he said. “Social media is a toy. I have fun. I play. I look at it as satire.” 

“I get paid for doing television,” he said. 

Ukranian President Accuses Ex-Fox News Personality Of Colluding With Russia

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Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused conservative commentator Tucker Carlson of working with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.

Responding to Carlson’s own appearance on Piers Morgan Uncensored – during which he criticized Zelensky for his persecution of political opponents and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – the Ukrainian president claimed, “Regrettably, this blogger or journalist, whatever he wants to call him, he unfortunately fully repeats words of the Putin.”

“It seems to me that to this journalist, I do not remember his surname. Excuse me, Tucker. Yes, Tucker, his name, but it seems to me he needs to more deeply understand what’s happening in Ukraine,” Zelensky said during an appearance on pundit Piers Morgan’s program. “Just stop working for [Russian President Vladimir] Putin.”

Carlson, Zelensky said, knows better.

“When he simply says something, you know, just throwing the words,” the Ukrainian leader said. “Has he for one time in his lifetime lost his close ones? I wish to his family, I do not know his family, I wish them peace and no losses, but one must have his own opinion and understand that he probably influences many people. He’s simply disinforming them, misinforming the people.”

Watch:

Carlson, a former Fox News host, recently launched his own media company and used an interview and commentary style internet show to feature conversations with newsmakers and other public figures.

Last year, Carlson published an extensive interview with Putin, during which the Russian leader defended his invasion of Ukraine. (RELATED: Tucker Carlson Confirms Vladimir Putin Interview)

During his appearance on Piers Morgan Uncensored, Zelensky also claimed he had been invited to President Donald Trump’s inauguration but decided not to go.

“President Trump invited me to his inauguration, but he invited me in very general terms, as maybe other leaders,” he said. “I think that it was simply not very appropriate for me to come. He wouldn’t have time for [a] personal meeting.”