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    Evangelical Leader Says Iowa Won’t Support Trump

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    8
    Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC via Wikimedia Commons

    Influential Iowa evangelical leader Bob Vander Plaats is making sure his disapproval of Donald Trump is known.

    Less than a week after Vander Plaats officially endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for president, the CEO of the Iowa-based Christian conservative group The Family Leader, told the Blaze’s Steve Deace that he’s never supported Trump.

    “The number one hurdle for Donald Trump is I’ve never met a dad or a mom or a grandpa or a grandma who have told me they want their son or daughter, grandchild to grow up to be like him,” Vander Plaats said. “That’s a big deal.”

    “Iowa will rise up,” he continued. “This is not leadership our country needs.”

    The evangelical leader has not been shy about voicing his disapproval of Trump. He told NewsNation earlier this year that voters were “exhausted and tired” and he felt it was time to “turn the page.”

    Trump recently turned his focus to criticizing Vander Plaats on his Truth Social account.

    “Bob Vander Plaats, the former High School Accountant from Iowa, will do anything to win, something which he hasn’t done in many years,” Trump wrote over the weekend.

    “He’s more known for scamming Candidates than he is for Victory, but now he’s going around using Disinformation from the Champions of that Art, the Democrats,” he added.

    Trump Targets New York AG In Thanksgiving Day Message

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    5
    Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    Former President Donald Trump targeted key figures in his ongoing civil business fraud trial in a series of late-night Thanksgiving Day posts.

    In a post to his Truth Social platform at 2:03 a.m., the former president railed against some of the key figures in his New York fraud civil trial — including state Attorney General Letitia James, presiding Judge Arthur Engoron and his Chief Clerk Alison Greenfield.

    “Happy Thanksgiving to ALL, including the Racist & Incompetent Attorney General of New York State, Letitia “Peekaboo” James, who has let Murder & Violent Crime FLOURISH, & Businesses FLEE; the Radical Left Trump Hating Judge, a “Psycho,” Arthur Engoron, who Criminally Defrauded the State of New York, & ME, by purposely Valuing my Assets at a “tiny” Fraction of what they are really worth in order to convict me of Fraud before even a Trial, or seeing any PROOF, & used his Politically Biased & Corrupt Campaign Finance Violator, Chief Clerk Alison Greenfield, to sit by his side on the “Bench” & tell him what to do,” Trump wrote.

    The gag order against Trump which prohibited him from going after the judge’s staff, including Greenfield, was recently paused. However, prosecutors are arguing the order should be reimposed.

    While the fraud case seems to have much of Trump’s attention these days, he also included his chief political rival in his middle-of-the-night Thanksgiving greeting.

    “[Happy Thanksgiving to] Crooked Joe Biden, who has WEAPONIZED his Department of Injustice against his Political Opponent, & allowed our Country to go to HELL; & all of the other Radical Left Lunatics, Communists, Fascists, Marxists, Democrats, & RINOS, who are seriously looking to DESTROY OUR COUNTRY,” the former president stated.

    New York Attorney General Letitia James’ case accuses Trump, his two adult sons, the Trump Organization, and top executives of falsely inflating the values of Trump’s real estate properties and other assets in order to get tax benefits and better loan terms.

    James seeks around $250 million in damages, and she wants to bar Trump and his co-defendants from running another business in New York.

    Pro-Trump Candidate Beats Moderate Dem in Utah Special Election

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    5
    Ted Eytan from Washington, DC, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

    Republican Celeste Maloy beat state Sen. Kathleen Riebe, a self-described moderate, to win Utah’s special election Tuesday night.

    Maloy, a pro-Trump candidate, filled the last remaining seat in the U.S. House of Representatives with her victory in Utah’s 2nd congressional district.

    Fox News has more:

    As a candidate, Maloy touted her roots growing up in rural southern Utah, of which the district covers a vast portion, and has leaned into her support of former President Donald Trump, arguing the numerous ongoing prosecutions against him are politically motivated.

    “It’s exciting that we’re going to have somebody come out of this primary that represents rural and southern Utah. I think it’s time for that, and everybody’s ready for it,” Maloy said following her primary win.

    However, Riebe has argued the race is a pickup opportunity for Democrats, and has leaned on her experience as a school teacher while making the case that people in the district “are ready for a change.”

    In an interview with Deseret News in August, Riebe expressed concern over the nation’s rising debt, and vowed to join the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition if elected.

    “Coming to a very rational decision and having very moderate ideas, I think that is what serves us best,” she told the outlet.

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

    ‘QAnon Shaman’ Eyes Run For Arizona Congressional Seat

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    4
    Elvert Barnes, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

    Jacob Chansley, the Capitol rioter who came to be known as the “QAnon Shaman,” has reportedly filed paperwork signaling his interest in running for the Arizona congressional seat being vacated by Debbie Lesko (R).

    The Arizona Republic reported that a candidate statement of interest was signed by Jacob Angeli-Chansley and filed with the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office on Thursday, indicating he would seek to run as a Libertarian. He has also been known to go by Jacob Angeli.

    The Hill has more:

    Chansley, 35, gained notoriety for his horned fur hat, bare chest and face paint that made him one of the more recognizable Jan. 6 rioters. He pleaded guilty to a charge of obstructing an official proceeding and sentenced to 41 months in prison. Chansley, who grew up in Phoenix, served 27 of those months before being released to a halfway house this past March.

    The Associated Press reported that while the Constitution does not bar felons from running for Congress, Arizona law prevents them from voting in elections until they complete their sentence and have the right restored.

    Former Republican Arizona Senate candidate Blake Masters has also jumped into the race for Lesko’s seat.

    “I’m running for Congress, to fight for Arizona’s 8th,” Masters said on X, formerly Twitter. “Biden has failed. We need Trump back. We need to stop inflation, Build the Wall, avoid WW3, and secure Arizona’s water future. We need to fight for our families.”

    Third-Party Candidate Scores 3 High-Profile Endorsements

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    2
    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

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    2
    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

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    1
    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

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    2

    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

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    2
    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

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    0
    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. 

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