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Kentucky Senate Democrat Switches Parties To GOP

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Another Democrat is calling it quits…

A Kentucky state Senator Robin Webb, who represents Kentuckyโ€™s rural 18th Senate district, revealed she is switching her party affiliation to Republican.

“First and foremost, Iโ€™m a mother, a rancher and a lawyer with deep personal and professional roots in Kentuckyโ€™s coal country,” Webb said while explaining the switch. “As the Democratic Party continues its lurch to the left and its hyperfocus on policies that hurt workforce and economic development in my region, I no longer feel it represents my values.”

“It has become untenable and counterproductive to the best interests of my constituents for me to remain a Democrat.”

“While itโ€™s clichรฉ, itโ€™s true: I didnโ€™t leave the party โ€” the party left me,” Webb said.

This comes as a major blow to Kentucky Democrats, who have historically held a stronghold in rural regions of the state largely due to union workers and the coal industry. 

“Like countless other Kentuckians, [Webb] has recognized that the policies and objectives of todayโ€™s Democratic Party are simply not what they once were, and do not align with the vast majority of Kentuckians,” Republican Party of Kentucky Chairman Robert Benvenuti added.

“I always respected that [Webb] approached issues in a very thoughtful and commonsense manner, and that she never failed to keenly focus on what was best for her constituents,” Benvenuti added. “It is my pleasure to welcome Sen. Robin Webb to the Republican Party.”

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear told a local Louisville news outlet that he “would consider” a run as the Democrat nominee for president in 2028.

Beshear is among a handful of Democratic governors who have been floated as 2028 White House potentials, which also include Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Gavin Newsom of California, JB Pritzker of Illinois, and Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania.

Key Group of Donors Turn on McDaniel Ahead of Leadership Vote

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A powerful group of Republican donors is calling for a change in leadership at the Republican National Committee (RNC).

On Monday, more than two dozen Republicans wrote in a letter stating their support for former Trump attorney Harmeet Dhillon’s challenge to current RNC chair Ronna McDaniel.

Several of the individuals listed in the letter have donated tens of thousands of dollars to the GOP over the years.

โ€œWe cannot continue on our current trajectory as a Republican Party,โ€ the letter states. โ€œWe must change, in order to fulfill our promise to Republican voters to win elections.โ€

The donors warned the party โ€œis on the verge of permanent irrelevance if we fail to come together to correct course.โ€

“As a nationally-recognized constitutional attorney and activist within the conservative movement for several decades, Harmeet has fought on behalf of Republican Party committees, candidates, and GOP interests, both with the party’s support and beyond it. She has served as a county party committee chairman, run for public office, fought for conservative causes at the Supreme Court, and currently leads the Republican National Lawyers Association at a time when election integrity experience is at a premium as a year-round, not seasonal, mandate. Harmeet is also a successful business owner, and as a nonprofit founder and CEO, understands the ethical duties inherent in raising and spending donor funds.”

McDaniel has served as the RNC’s chair since 2017, however, less-than-desirable midterm wins have caused some to question her leadership.

Other key Republicans have signaled interest in new leadership atop the national party organization.

According to The Hill, the Alabama Republican Party has opted to follow the Texas GOP’s lead and will not support McDaniel’s latest bid to run the RNC.

An endorsement letter circulated last month contained the signatures of 107 RNC members backing her to stay on as chairwoman. It is well more than the 84 members she would need to win reelection.

The party will choose its leader at its winter meetings this month.

This story is breaking. Click refresh for the latest updates.

Poll Reveals Legal Immigrant Voters Shift To Trump

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In a stunning political reversal, new polling shows that naturalized immigrant voters โ€” once seen as a reliable Democratic voting bloc โ€” are now favoring President Donald Trump and his immigration policies, delivering a serious blow to the Democratic Partyโ€™s long-term strategy of winning elections through mass migration and demographic shifts.

CNNโ€™s polling analyst Harry Enten revealed a dramatic change: immigrant voters, who gave Democrats a 32-point advantage in 2020, have swung right by 40 points. Republicans now lead among legal immigrant voters by 8 points โ€” a staggering shift that few analysts saw coming.

โ€œMore so than any group I can find, the voters whoโ€™ve become more hawkish on immigration are immigrants themselves,โ€ Enten said. โ€œTheyโ€™ve gone from sympathy for illegal immigrants to a clear preference for stronger borders and enforcement โ€” and theyโ€™re aligning with Trump.โ€

In 2016, Trump received just 36% of the vote from naturalized citizens. That number jumped to 47% in 2024, with early 2025 polling suggesting the trend is continuing. Immigrant voters cite economic hardship, crime, and perceived unfairness in the immigration system as key reasons for the shift. Many are frustrated that they followed the legal process only to see unchecked illegal immigration flood the labor market and strain public services.

The frustration is especially acute among working-class immigrants, who face direct competition for jobs, housing, and school resources. Many now feel that the Biden administrationโ€™s immigration policies โ€” spearheaded by DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas โ€” have placed the interests of illegal border crossers ahead of those who played by the rules.

For years, Democrats openly embraced a long-term strategy to shift the electoral balance through high levels of immigration. Influential think tanks like the Progressive Policy Institute argued that growing diversity would create an enduring Democratic majority. But the strategy assumed that legal immigrants would remain politically aligned with newer arrivals โ€” an assumption increasingly proven false.

This polling shift places Democrats in a bind: if they reduce migration, theyโ€™ll lose the influx of potential future voters. But if they continue mass migration, they risk alienating the immigrants already here โ€” many of whom are becoming increasingly aligned with Trumpโ€™s America First policies.

Since returning to office in January, Trump has taken aggressive steps to reverse Biden-era immigration policies. Illegal border crossings have plummeted, and employers are reporting tighter labor markets, especially in the construction and service industries โ€” leading to slow but steady wage increases for lower-income Americans.

The shift among immigrant voters adds to a growing list of Democratic vulnerabilities. Latinos, black voters, and even younger voters have begun drifting away from the party, especially in response to crime, inflation, and identity politics. Trumpโ€™s immigration stance โ€” once demonized as โ€œxenophobicโ€ โ€” now resonates as a defense of legal immigration and national sovereignty.

A recent poll found that 59% of Americans supported Trumpโ€™s crackdown on violent protests in Los Angeles following ICE raids, which saw rioters waving foreign flags and attacking police. Among naturalized citizens, support for the crackdown was even higher.

Woman Arrested After Traveling To D.C. While Threatening To Assassinate Trump

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Gage Skidmore Flickr

An Indiana woman has been arrested after threatening to assassinate President Donald Trump.

On Monday,ย U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro announced Nathalie Jones, 50, of Lafayette, Indiana, was arrested in the District of Columbia on Saturday in connection with making a series of threats on social media in which she threatened to kill President Trump.

โ€œHi everyone, itโ€™s Judge Jeanine. I just wanted to let you know here from the United States Attorneyโ€™s Office in D.C. that an individual by the name ofย Nathalie Rose Jonesย is now in custody, charged with two federal crimes for knowingly and willfully threatening to take the life of the President of the United States,โ€ย Pirroย said in a clip she released on social media.

โ€œShe did come from New York to Washington, D.C. and she has been threatening and calling for the removal of the president and even worse as she got to D.C. Her threats were on Facebook and Instagram and she continued to call the president a terrorist and was working to have him eliminated. She is now in custody. She will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Make no mistake about that,โ€ Pirro said with a hint of a smile.

On Facebook between August 6 and August 15,  โ€œNath.Jonesโ€ allegedly continued to post threatening comments about President Trump. In an August 6 post directed at the FBI, Nath.Jones wrote that โ€œI am willing to sacrificially kill this POTUS by disemboweling him and cutting out his trachea with Liz Cheney and all The Affirmation present.โ€

            On August 14, in a post directed to U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Nath Jones allegedly wrote โ€œplease arrange the arrest and removal ceremony of POTUS Trump as a terrorist on the American People from 10-2pm at the White House on Saturday, August 16th, 2025.โ€

            On August 15, the U.S. Secret Service conducted a voluntary interview with Jones, during which she stated the President was a โ€œterroristโ€ and a โ€œnazi,โ€ that if she had the opportunity, she would take the Presidentโ€™s life and would kill him at โ€œthe compoundโ€ if she had to, that she had a โ€œbladed object,โ€ which she said was the weapon she would use to โ€œcarry out her mission of killingโ€ the president, and that she wanted to โ€œavenge all the lives lost during the Covid-19 pandemic,โ€ which she atrributed to President Trumpโ€™s administration and its position on vaccinations.

            On August 16, Jones joined a protest demonstration that started at Dupont Circle, and circumnavigated the White House complex. Following the march, the U.S. Secret Service interviewed Jones for a second time, during which she admitted that she had made threats towards President Trump during her interview the previous day. She denied having any present desire to harm the President of the United States. Law enforcement arrested her and she confirmed that she was the owner of the Facebook user account โ€œNath Jonesโ€ and that she had posted the threatening statements.

Pirro, who was best known in recent years for her hot takes on The Five, is now the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. Her office also put out a statement on the arrest, which read, โ€œNathalie Rose Jones, 50, of Lafayette, Indiana, was arrested in the District of Columbia on Saturday, August 16, and charged in connection with making a series of threats on social media in which she threatened to kill President Trump, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.โ€

โ€œJones was charged in a complaint in U.S. District Court with threatening to take the life of, kidnap, or inflict bodily harm upon the President of the United States, and transmitting in interstate commerce communications containing threats to kidnap any person or any threat to injure the person of another,โ€ added the statement.

VP Vance Predicts โ€˜Dumbestโ€™ Democrat Candidate Will Secure Nomination In 2028

Vice President JD Vance took aim at the Democratic Partyโ€™s likely 2028 presidential contenders during a lighthearted but pointed exchange on Fox News, joking that the partyโ€™s โ€œdumbestโ€ candidate is most likely to emerge from the primary.

In an exclusive interview released Wednesday on Jesse Watters Primetime, Watters raised speculation about California Gov. Gavin Newsomโ€™s national ambitions, noting the governorโ€™s frequent media appearances and rumored White House aspirations.

โ€œGavin Newsom, obviously, is running for president. Have you seen this guy cross his legs? Have you ever seen anyone cross their legs like that?โ€ Watters asked jokingly.

โ€œMy legs donโ€™t cross like that, Jesse,โ€ Vance replied with a laugh. โ€œYou can interpret that however you want to.โ€

Watters went on to frame the looming Democratic contest as a showdown between Newsom and Vice President Kamala Harris.

โ€œGavin and Kamala are on a collision course,โ€ Watters said. โ€œWhoโ€™s gonna win?โ€

โ€œThe dumbest candidate will probably win,โ€ Vance quipped. โ€œThatโ€™s my guess with the Democratic Party.โ€

Vance argued that the current Democratic bench reflects deeper structural problems within the party, particularly its fixation on identity politics over competence.

โ€œI mean, look, the Democrats have a couple of big issues, and one is that they lean so far into wokeism that they canโ€™t see the obviousness of the fact, which is that Kamala Harris is not qualified to be president of the United States,โ€ Vance said.

โ€œThatโ€™s why she got the vice presidential nomination. Thatโ€™s why she got the presidential nomination. This is who Kamala Harris is.โ€

Vance contrasted Harris with Newsom, describing the California governor as emblematic of failed progressive governance.

โ€œNow, the flip side is, I think you have an unbelievably corrupt and incompetent governor in Gavin Newsom,โ€ he said. โ€œThe fact that those are the two frontrunners just suggests how deeply deranged the Democrat Party is. Let them fight it out. Weโ€™ll figure it out.โ€

A Weak Democratic Bench for 2028

While Newsom and Harris dominate early speculation, Democrats face a thin and fractured 2028 field. Other frequently mentioned names include Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortezโ€”each of whom carries significant liabilities with general-election voters. Many Democrats privately acknowledge that the party lacks a unifying figure with broad national appeal, particularly as voters continue to recoil from progressive economic and cultural policies.

Republicans, by contrast, are positioning themselves as the party of stability, affordability, and public safety heading into the next election cycle.

Cost of Living and Accountability

Watters noted that Democrats are expected to campaign heavily on cost-of-living issues in upcoming elections, a strategy Vance dismissed as deeply hypocritical.

โ€œThatโ€™s a pot-meet-kettle situation,โ€ Vance argued, pointing to Democratic-led policies that fueled inflation, higher energy costs, and housing shortages.

He credited the Trump administration with reversing those trends.

โ€œWe havenโ€™t even been in office for a year, and youโ€™ve already seen prices start to come down. Youโ€™ve seen rents start to come down. Youโ€™ve seen groceries leveling off,โ€ Vance said.

โ€œIs there more work to do? Absolutely. But the people who are going to do that work is the Trump administration, is the president of the United States, who is solving the Democratsโ€™ affordability crisis.โ€

โ€œYou donโ€™t give power back to the very people who set the house on fire,โ€ he added. โ€œYou give more power to the person who put the fire out.โ€

Impeachment Politics

When asked whether Democrats would attempt to impeach President Trump again if they regain control of Congress, Vance said such a move would be predictableโ€”and revealing.

โ€œIโ€™m sure heโ€™ll get impeached,โ€ Vance said. โ€œLook, they have nothing to actually run on or govern on.โ€

โ€œTheir entire obsessive focus of that party is they hate Donald Trump,โ€ he continued. โ€œSo, if they ever get power, are they going to lower Americansโ€™ taxes? No. Are they going to make your life more affordable? No. Are they going to solve the crime crisis? No.โ€

โ€œWhat theyโ€™re going to do is theyโ€™re going to spend all their time and all of your money trying to get Donald Trump.โ€

Vance urged voters to focus on results rather than partisan theatrics.

โ€œI think the American people should vote for the people who want to make their life more affordable, who want to make their neighborhoods safer,โ€ he said. โ€œThatโ€™s what weโ€™re trying to deliver every single day.โ€

Newsom Responds With a Meme

Newsomโ€™s office responded to the interview with a digitally altered image of Vance crossing his legs in an exaggerated pose, captioned: โ€œWe all know JD copies Daddy.โ€

RFK Jr. Switches Affiliation to Independent Party

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Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

On Monday, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced he is switching from Democrat to Independent in a desperate move to breathe new life into a dying campaign.

โ€œIโ€™m here to declare myself an independent candidate,โ€ Kennedy told a crowd of supporters in Philadelphia.

โ€œI must declare my own independence. Independence from the Democratic Party,โ€ he said to loud cheers. โ€œAnd from all other political parties.โ€

Kennedy has formally rivaledย President Bidenย from within the party since the spring, but he has not made a dent against the White House incumbent. His switch theoretically puts him closer to voters who are unhappy with both political parties, hyper-partisan politics, and want an alternative to the expected Biden-Trump options next November.ย 

โ€œPeople suspect that the divisions are deliberately orchestrated,โ€ he said. โ€œTheyโ€™re fed up with being fooled and theyโ€™re ready to take back power.โ€

Kennedy has been a frequent critic of the Democratic National Committee and has regularly lamented its decision not to hold debates with Biden as the presumptive nominee, throwing around claims that the party is โ€œriggingโ€ things in the presidentโ€™s favor.ย 

Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel slammed RFK Jr. over his switch.

โ€œMake no mistake โ€“ a Democrat in Independentโ€™s clothing is still a Democrat,โ€ McDaniel said in a statement. 

โ€œRFK Jr. cannot hide from his record of endorsing Hillary, supporting the Green New Deal, fighting against the Keystone Pipeline, and praising AOCโ€™s tax hikes โ€“ he is your typical elitist liberal and voters wonโ€™t be fooled,โ€ McDaniel said.

Nobel Laureate Praises Trumpโ€™s Tough Stance on Maduro

By Kevin Payravi - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=179718533

Nobel Peace Prize winner Marรญa Corina Machado, one of Venezuelaโ€™s most prominent pro-democracy leaders, is strongly backing President Donald Trumpโ€™s hard-line approach toward Nicolรกs Maduroโ€™s authoritarian regime. In a new interview that aired Sunday on CBSโ€™s Face the Nation, Machado said Trumpโ€™s strategy has given hope to millions of Venezuelans suffering under socialist rule.

Asked whether she supports increased U.S. sanctions on Venezuelan officials and further U.S. seizures of illicit oil shipments, Machado was unequivocal.

โ€œLook, I absolutely support President Trumpโ€™s strategy, and we, the Venezuelan people, are very grateful to him and to his administration, because I believe he is a champion of freedom in this hemisphere,โ€ Machado told host Margaret Brennan.

Speaking from Oslo, where she accepted the Nobel Peace Prize after spending nearly a year in hiding, Machado noted that she had dedicated part of the award to Trump.

โ€œI think that he finally has put Venezuela in where it should be, in terms of a priority for the United Statesโ€™ national security.โ€

Machado argued that Maduroโ€™s regime is far more dangerous than a conventional dictatorship.

โ€œThis is a very complex criminal structure that has turned Venezuela into a safe haven of international crime and terrorist activities, starting with Russia, Iran, Cuba, Hezbollah, Hamas, the Colombian guerrilla [groups], [and] the drug cartels operating freely and directed in partnership with Maduro and his regime.โ€

Machado has long been one of Maduroโ€™s most effective opposition figures. After she overwhelmingly won the opposition primary in 2023, the regime barred her from running, then orchestrated an election that independent experts later declared โ€œmathematically and statistically impossible.โ€ Despite that, Maduro claimed victory and refused to relinquish power. Machado endorsed a stand-in candidate but remained the movementโ€™s central figureโ€”until she was forced into hiding for her safety.

Now, speaking publicly for the first time in months, Machado is calling for increased international pressure.

โ€œWe want every legal action through law enforcement โ€ฆ not only from the United States, also from other Caribbean, Latin American and European countries that further block the illegal activities of the regime.โ€

Her argument is straightforward:

โ€œWe need to increase the cost of staying in power by force. Once you arrive to that point in which the cost of staying in power is higher than the cost of leaving power, the regime will fall apart. And itโ€™s the moment where we advance into a negotiated transition.โ€


Additional Context: Trump and the Nobel Peace Prize

Machadoโ€™s praise comes as Trump has repeatedly been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, particularly for:

  • The Abraham Accords, which normalized relations between Israel and several Arab nationsโ€”an achievement some foreign-policy experts called one of the most important diplomatic breakthroughs in decades.
  • His diplomatic efforts in reducing tensions with North Korea, which earned him multiple nominations from European lawmakers.
  • His support for democracy movements in Latin America, including Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua.

House Democrat Says House GOP is Plotting Epstein Revolt Against Trump

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By Ralph Alswang, White House photographer - https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/clinton-epstein-maxwell/, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=143417695

Are the tides turning against Trump?

A House Democrat claims that a large swath of House Republicans are planning to go against President Trump to push a vote on sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein’s files.

Rep.ย Eric Swalwellย (D-Calif.) claimed that multiple House Republican colleagues informed him that theyโ€™re planning a โ€œjail breakโ€ revolt of over 100 lawmakers against Presidentย Donald Trumpย if thereโ€™s a discharge petition to force a vote on theย Jeffrey Epsteinย files release.

The long-awaited vote,ย pushedย by Rep.ย Thomas Massieย (R-KY), has been delayed as the House remains in recess amid a government shutdown, but it reportedly has enough signatures to force action once the chamber reconvenes.

Trump, who urged the release of the Epstein files on the campaign trail, has since dismissed the case as โ€œa hoaxโ€ and told supporters not to โ€œwaste timeโ€ on the matter. This comes amid renewed scrutiny of his association with Epstein after newly released documents included a purported birthday note to the disgraced financier, whichย he denied writing.

In a post to X on Wednesday, Swalwell gleefully shared that โ€œTrumpโ€™s movement/support is fadingโ€ among Republicans and that one GOP lawmaker told him โ€œno [one] wants to defend a pedo-protector.โ€

House Speakerย Mike Johnsonย (R-LA) is facing growing bipartisan criticism for the voting delay, with critics accusing him of extending the recess to avoid the politically explosive issue.

โ€œJohnson and the House Republicans care more about protecting the Epstein files than protecting the American people,โ€ said Senate Majority Leaderย Chuck Schumerย (D-NY).

Johnson dismissed the charge as โ€œtotally absurd,โ€ telling NBCโ€™s Meet the Press on Monday that he supports full transparency: โ€œI want every page of this out.โ€

Massie lashed out at the recess on Sunday, warning he had โ€œ218 votes for the discharge petition.โ€

Kamala Harris Blames Trump For Border Crisis In First Solo Interview

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Kamala Harris via Wikimedia Commons

Kamala Harris, who has been a key figure in the Biden administrationโ€™s handling of immigration, discussed the ongoing border crisis during a taped interview with MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle. In the interview, which aired Wednesday, Harris acknowledged that the immigration system is broken but expressed confidence in her vague plan to fix it. She once again reiterated her support for a โ€œpathway to citizenship.โ€

โ€œWhen Iโ€™m elected president, if the American people give me the opportunity, I will bring back the bill and sign it into law,โ€ Harris told Ruhle. She emphasized the need for a comprehensive plan, not only to strengthen border security but also to provide avenues for immigrants to gain citizenship.

However, Harrisโ€™s remarks continue faced criticism. Mediaite’s Colby Hall pointed out that simply repeating clichรฉ talking points in a sit-down interview with a friendly host is unlikely to change public perception that Harris tends to avoid difficult press engagements like the plague:

Hall noted in aย column published Wednesday morningย that Ruhle announced her interview just days after appearing on Real Time with Bill Maher and openly advocating on behalf of Kamala Harris, or more to the point, against Donald Trump.

In another part of the interview, Harris seemed to struggle when asked about the economic concerns of middle-class Americans, yet again referencing her own middle-class upbringing. She also appeared uncertain when questioned about her plan to raise corporate tax rates, especially if Republicans take control of the Senate โ€“ a detail that would greatly affect her ability to push forward left-wing economic policies.

Harrisโ€™ performance in the interview left many wondering whether her administrationโ€™s immigration and economic agendas have been fully thought out.

READ NEXT: Prominent Dem Hits Back Hard: Delivers Fiery Response To Major Legal Development

New York Gubernatorial Candidate Under Investigation

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Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

New York Republican gubernatorial nominee Lee Zeldin has been targeted in a new investigation less than two weeks before the midterm elections.

Zeldin is under investigation by the State Board of Elections over allegations that he coordinated with two super PACs supporting his campaign, according to The Hill.

Michael Johnson, the chief enforcement counsel of the New York State Board of Elections, opened a preliminary investigation into Zeldinโ€™s campaign after the allegations emerged.

Johnson is now seeking subpoena authority from the State Board of Elections to compel cooperation with his investigation, according to the Times.ย 

However, he was stymied when two Republican members of the board unexpectedly missed a business meeting on Tuesday, preventing the board from reaching a quorum to vote on the subpoena issue and likely delaying the issue until after the election, per the Times.

Theย Albany Times-Unionย first reported in mid-October that there were several overlaps between Zeldinโ€™s campaign and two super PACs supporting him โ€” Safe Together New York and Save Our State New York.

Days later, the New York State Democratic Party filed a complaint against Zeldinโ€™s campaign over the alleged super PAC. Super PACs are legally allowed to raise and spend unlimited amounts of money to advocate for or against candidates but are barred from coordinating with the candidates they benefit.

Zeldin has been rapidly closing the gap against New York Gov. Kathy Hochul in recent weeks.