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Third-Party Candidate Scores 3 High-Profile Endorsements

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Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr just scored three major endorsements.

NBA legend and 1992 “Dream Team” Olympian John Stockton, Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame member Ken Ruettegers and three-time North American Enduro mountain biking champion Kyle Warner are all endorsing Kennedy for president.

The athletes said they like the cut of Kennedy’s personality — all three pointed to what they say are the independent candidate’s genuineness, honesty and openness to conversations about policies as reasons they support him.

Fox News has more:

Stockton said he believes Kennedy “has been put on this planet for just this moment in time” and that there’s “a real need for him and his leadership.”

“There’s a need for very smart people in these positions that have integrity that [is] off the charts, that have the stamina and strength to be able to speak and be a leader 24/7, not just on occasion or on blips,” Stockton said.

Ruettgers said he has met Kennedy “a couple times” and that the independent presidential candidate’s “level of commitment to honesty” that he will “bring to our federal government, to the Oval Office, to the leadership position” is part of why he’s supporting Kennedy for president.

“I love the fact that he loves the Constitution and the Bill of Rights,” the Packers Hall of Fame member said. “Man, that seems to have been eroded in our culture over the last couple decades.”

Warner — who won the 2014, 2015 and 2016 North American Enduro Championships — said that he believes there’s “a level of elitism” currently in American politics, including with President Biden and former President Donald Trump.

“Whereas I think that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. … does a great job of being a populist and … understanding the plight of the common man,” Warner said. “I have had friends that have been in these big meetings at Facebook, at these censorship meetings with Robert, and they’re just normal people, everyday normal people, and he cares about them. He wants them to succeed.”

Trump Holds 39-point Lead Over DeSantis In Florida Poll

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Ron DeSantis via Gage Skidmore Flickr

Trump is still the reigning favorite in the Sunshine State.

The most recent University of North Florida (UNF) poll sided with Trump, compared to just 21 percent for DeSantis and 6 percent for former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley. In a head-to-head poll, Trump leads DeSantis 59-29.

The Hill has more:

“Despite historically high approval in the polls, Governor DeSantis losing steam in his home state doesn’t bode well for his national campaign,” UNF professor Michael Binder said in a statement. “Even if you wipe out the rest of the competition in a head-to-head, Trump leads DeSantis by 20 points.”

DeSantis has struggled in Florida, losing key endorsements to Trump despite his leadershhip. A majority of Florida’s congressional delegation has supported Trump, including Sen. Rick Scott (R), who made his Trump endorsement clear last week.

“I am optimistic that we can return America to its rightful position of economic and military strength and the undisputed moral leader of the free world, but only with strong leadership in the White House,” Scott said in a Newsweek op-ed last week.

“That is why I support my friend President Donald J. Trump to be the 47th President of the United States and encourage every Republican to unite behind his efforts to win back the White House,” he added.

Poll: Third-Party Candidate Leading In 6 Battleground States

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Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

This is unexpected…

The poll from The New York Times and Siena College shows Robert F. Kennedy Jr. beating both Trump and Biden among voters under 45 in six swing states.

Mediaite reports:

The polling shows that in an average of data gathered from Georgia, Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Nevada, and Wisconsin, Kennedy has 34 percent support base with voters aged between 18-29, and he also has 31 percent with 30-44 year old voters. Trump’s numbers stand at 29 percent with 18-29 year olds, and 30 percent with 30-44 year olds. Biden stands at 30 percent in both categories.

And in some states, Kennedy is winning younger voters by enormous margins. In Arizona,  Kennedy has 39 percent of the 18-29-year-old vote to Trump’s 26 — and in Georgia, Kennedy leads Trump 35 to 28 in the same demographic. Biden still has some sway with younger voters in several states — pulling in 37 percent of the 18-29 year old vote in both Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Kennedy originally entered the 2024 contest as a Democratic primary challenger to Biden, but it was about a month ago when he dropped that bid and reinvented his campaign as a third party independent run. Much of the media focus on Kennedy’s run has focused on his numerous bizarre and misinformation statements, though recent polls have shown that his independent bid could be cutting into Trump’s base more than Biden’s.

Impeachment Republican Launches Longshot Senate Bid

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Former Michigan Congressman Peter Meijer (R) announced his campaign for U.S. Senate on Monday.

“We are in dark and uncertain times, but we have made it through worse,” he said in a statement, posted on X. “The challenges are great, but so is our country. If we are to see another great American century, we need leaders who aren’t afraid to be bold, will do the work, and can’t be bought.”

Meijer lost his House seat last cycle after a Trump-backed candidate defeated him in the Republican primary — a challenge brought on after Meijer joined nine other House Republicans in voting to impeach Trump following the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

The Michigan Republican already faces a challenge to win the seat left open by Se. Debbie Stabenow (D) as former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), who was sought after by the National Republican Senatorial Committee, and former Detroit Police Chief James Craig are among some of the names seeking the GOP endorsement. 

The nonpartisan election prognosticator Cook Political Report rates Stabenow’s seat as “lean Democrat.” 

Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) is the most prominent Democrat running for the position.

GOP Presidential Candidate Drops Out, Makes Key Endorsement

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Larry Elder ,Sgt. Jacob Harrer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Conservative talk show host Larry Elder has suspended his presidential campaign and is throwing his support behind former President Donald Trump.

In a statement Thursday evening, Elder expressed gratitude for his supporters and said he was honored by their enthusiasm and grassroots support. He further explained that after assessing his campaign and the state of the race, he had made the “difficult decision” to suspend his campaign.

“Throughout my campaign, I have been steadfast in my belief that the biggest issues facing our nation are the crisis of fatherlessness, the dangerous lie that America is systemically racist, the need for an amendment to the constitution to set federal spending to a fixed percentage of the GDP — otherwise government gets bigger whether Republicans or Democrats are in charge, and the need to remove the Soros-backed DAs across the country who refuse to enforce the law,” he said in a statement.

“The breakdown of the family structure and the absence of positive father figures in the lives of many children have far-reaching consequences for our society, including the crime wave we are currently seeing in America today,” he continued. “I hope that my campaign has helped shine a light on these critical issues and sparked important conversations about how we can solve them.”

In August, Elder made waves after he threatened to sue the Republican National Committee (RNC) for not including him in the first GOP debate. While the RNC determined Elder had failed to meet the required threshold for number of individual donors and polling, he accused them of purposely silencing him.

“I said from the beginning that it appeared the rules of the game were rigged, little did we know just how rigged it is. For some reason, the establishment leaders at the RNC are afraid of having my voice on the debate stage,” he said in an X post at the time.

In his Thursday statement, Elder encourages Republicans to support Trump for president.

“Now that I am exiting the race, I am proud to announce my endorsement of Donald Trump for President of the United States. His leadership has been instrumental in advancing conservative, America-first principles and policies that have benefited our great nation,” Elder said. “We must unite behind Donald Trump to beat Joe Biden and fight back against Biden’s unprecedented election interference and the left’s destruction of America.

“I want to thank my supporters, volunteers, and donors who invested their time, energy, and resources in this campaign. From Iowa to New Hampshire to Nevada and beyond, I am grateful for the opportunity to have met so many incredible Americans who share our values.”

Report: Trump To File For New Hampshire Primary In Person

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Donald Trump via Gage Skidmore Flickr

Donald Trump is reportedly planning to file for the New Hampshire primary in person this week.

The filing period for New Hampshire’s presidential primary opened earlier this month, and the window closes Oct. 27. 

A spokesperson for Trump’s campaign confirmed reporting from The Associated Press that Trump will visit the Granite State’s secretary of state office to formally file ahead of a campaign rally in Derry. 

Democrat Sen. Maggie Hassan (N.H.) and New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley held a press conference Monday ahead of Trump’s formal filing in the state to talk about the former president’s “failures.”

“As Trump files for the [New Hampshire] primary today, Granite Staters are remembering just how disastrous his presidency was for our state,” Buckley said.

“Trump has proven over and over that we cannot trust him with New Hampshire’s economy or important crises — at home or on the world stage.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who have polled as some of Trump’s top challengers in the GOP primary, have already filed, according to the latest posting from the New Hampshire secretary of state. 

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Vice President Mike Pence, Trump’s ex-running mate, are also among the GOP White House hopefuls who have already signed up. 

New Polls Show Trump’s Competitive Edge In Most Swing States

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Donald Trump via Gage Skidmore Flickr

Democrats are freaking out but the numbers don’t lie…

Multiple new polls show that former President Donald Trump is currently leading President Joe Biden in many of the most critical swing states.

The polls, conducted by Bloomberg News & Morning Consult, were taken in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — seven key battlegrounds. And the returns don’t for Biden — specifically when it comes to the economy.

Mediaite has more:

“Swing state voters trust Trump significantly more than Biden on the economy (49% to 35%), with independents holding even less trust in Biden on this key issue (47% to 25%),” Morning Consult reported. “Among the 1,323 self-identified independents across the seven states, Biden is 10 points behind Trump on the ballot that includes third-party candidates, and he is 8 points behind Trump in a direct head-to-head.”

As for the state-by-state results, in Arizona, Biden is polling at 43 percent while Trump has 47 percent. Biden is also trailing Georgia (Trump 48-Biden 43), North Carolina (Trump 47-Biden 43), Pennsylvania (Trump 46-Biden 45) and Wisconsin (Trump 46-Biden 44)

The Michigan poll shows Trump and Biden in a 44 percent deadlock, and Nevada is the only battleground where Biden is shown to be leading — with 46 percent to Trump’s 43. The poll determined in a closed matchup between Biden and Trump, the former president leads his successor by 4 points overall.

Biden defeated Trump in all but one of these battleground states during the 2020 election.

Report: Sidney Powell Pleads Guilty In Georgia Election Interference Case

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Tom Williams, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Pro-Trump attorney Sidney Powell pled guilty in the Georgia election subversion case brought forward by Fulton County DA Fani Willis.

Per reports from The Hill, Powell appeared before Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee on Thursday to enter her plea, just days before her trial was scheduled to begin next week.

“How do you plead to the six counts of conspiracy to commit intentional interference with performance of election duties?” asked Daysha Young, a Fulton County prosecutor. 

“Guilty,” Powell said. 

McAfee accepted Powell’s plea and said that she could not withdraw it. Powell was sentenced to six years’ probation, a $6,000 fine and $2,700 restitution. She will also be required to “testify truthfully” in future proceedings and must turn over any documents requested by the district attorney’s office.  

CNN’s Marshall Cohen reports that as part of her guilty plea, Powell will be required to testify at future trials and write an apology letter to the citizens of Georgia, prosecutors said at a hearing Thursday.”

Powell is the second of 19 co-defendants in the case to plead guilty. 

Powell was indicted on seven charges in August, accusing her and the others of violating Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act statute by entering a months-long conspiracy to try to keep Donald Trump in the White House following the 2020 election. 

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

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.

Trump Scores Endorsement From Iowa Attorney General

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Donald Trump via Gage Skidmore Flickr

Former President Donald Trump scored a significant endorsement on Monday as he seeks to shore up support in the Hawkeye State.

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird (R) endorsed former President Trump during a campaign rally in Adel, Iowa.

“We need a new president in the White House. I am so glad to get to be here today to introduce Donald Trump, ’cause he will secure our border, who supports that?” she said to a crowd of Trump supporters.

“He will fight the terrorists. He will fix the economy. He will stand up for agriculture, and he will uphold our Constitution and our way of life,” she added.

Trump continues to lead in national and local polling, with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis placing second in the RealClearPolitics polling index of Iowa surveys.

However, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds (R) has yet to make a public endorsement in the GOP presidential primaries but has frequently campaigned alongside DeSantis.

The former president criticized her approach to the primary in July, writing in a post on his Truth Social platform, “I opened up the Governor position for Kim Reynolds, & when she fell behind, I ENDORSED her, did big Rallies, & she won. Now, she wants to remain ‘NEUTRAL.’ I don’t invite her to events! DeSanctus down 45 points!”