Trump endorses Republican Steven Hilton for California governor, reordering wide-open race
LOS ANGELES — President Donald Trump has endorsed Republican Steve Hilton for California governor, reordering a crowded, wide-open race to lead the nation’s most populous state. Trump posted late Sunday on his social media platform Truth Social that he has known Hilton for years and called the conservative commentator “a...
Shapiro’s reelection campaign reports raising over $10M during first quarter
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s reelection campaign said it raised more than $10 million during the first three months of the year — twice as much as the previous record for a gubernatorial campaign in the first quarter of an election year. “This remarkably strong showing underscores the broad support for...
Shapiro holds wide lead over Garrity in race for Pa. governor, poll shows
A new poll shows Gov. Josh Shapiro with a commanding lead over Treasurer Stacy Garrity in his bid for a second term. The Susquehanna Polling and Research poll, released Wednesday, has Shapiro leading Garrity by 22 percentage points (58% to 36%). Just 5% of likely voters remain undecided at this...
Californians say democracy is in peril, state should enact voting rights protections, poll shows
LOS ANGELES — Strong majorities of California voters believe American democracy is under attack and, in the wake of U.S. Supreme Court rulings narrowing federal protections, support enacting a new state Voting Rights Act to prohibit discrimination and efforts to suppress the ability to cast a ballot, a new poll...
Shapiro vows to ‘protect’ voters from Trump order on voting by mail
Gov. Josh Shapiro opposes an executive order by President Donald Trump that attempts to place tighter restrictions on mail-in voting. “President Trump can sign whatever the hell he wants to, but it won’t change the Constitution. The authority to set our election rules belongs to the states — and as...
Trump moves to crack down on mail-in voting with new order
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday intended to make it harder to cast mail-in ballots, escalating his long-running campaign against a practice used by millions of Americans. The order seeks to ensure that state election officials have lists of eligible voters, according to White House staff...
Vance and Rubio’s differing postures on Iran war highlight their challenges ahead of 2028 election
WASHINGTON — As President Donald Trump assembled his Cabinet last week, he asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance to give an update on the Iran war. Rubio, known for his hawkish views, gave an impassioned defense of the war, calling it “a favor” to the...
Georgia’s Fulton County and the Trump administration square off in court over seized 2020 ballots
ATLANTA — Attorneys for Georgia’s Fulton County and President Donald Trump’s administration squared off in court Friday over the county’s demand that the FBI return seized ballots and other materials from the 2020 election. Abbe Lowell, representing Fulton County, noted that the January raid was “unusual” because it involved an...
Susan Wild responds to reports she’s considering Senate run against John Fetterman: ‘Nothing is off the table’
A D.C.-based news outlet reported this week that former Rep. Susan Wild, who represented the Lehigh Valley in Congress before narrowly losing to now Rep. Ryan Mackenzie in 2024, is weighing a primary challenge against Sen. John Fetterman in 2028. Semafor, a political news source, reported this week that Wild...
Fetterman hit with brutal 108-point polling swing among Pennsylvania Democrats
Sen. John Fetterman’s political future is not looking bright if he decides to stay in the Democratic Party. At least that’s what a recent Quinnipiac poll, which was highlighted by CNN data guru Harry Enten during his most recent segment, suggests. The polling showed that Fetterman was at +68 with...
Georgia appeals court rules Fulton County can reject GOP election board picks
ATLANTA — A Georgia appeals court ruled on Friday that the state’s largest county doesn’t have to appoint two Republican nominees to the county election board, a decision that could tamp down GOP challenges to how elections are administered in predominantly Democratic areas. The state Court of Appeals found that...
Missouri judge strikes ballot summary for Trump-backed congressional redistricting plan
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — If Missouri voters get to decide whether to adopt new U.S. House districts backed by President Donald Trump, the ballot proposal presented to them won’t say a word about gerrymandering. A state judge on Friday ordered a new, toned-down description of the redistricting plan after Missouri’s...
Illinois voters set to pick a new generation of Democrats for House, Senate after near-record retirements
CHICAGO — Illinois voters are deciding primaries Tuesday for six open U.S. House and Senate seats that will spur a new generation of leadership in the state’s heavily Democratic congressional delegation. The retirement of longtime Sen. Dick Durbin, a Democrat, has triggered a competitive campaign, drawing as candidates two sitting...
Allegheny County sets dates for mail-in voting and certifies Feb. 24 special election
While certifying the results of Feb. 24’s special election in the South Hills, the Allegheny County Board of Elections approved plans for the upcoming midterms. Voters can expect much the same process that has been followed in recent years. This includes the option to request a mail-in ballot and return...
Will independents ever get to vote in Pa. primaries? Advocates hope a lawsuit moves the needle.
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — Supporters of opening Pennsylvania’s primaries to more than 1 million unaffiliated voters hope the courts will accomplish...
Western Pa. primary races shaping up as candidates file nomination petitions
The May 19 primary could feature more than a dozen contested races across Southwestern Pennsylvania for state House and Senate, the U.S. House and lieutenant governor, according to a state database of candidates who filed nomination paperwork to run for office. The field of candidates isn’t set yet, though. Signatures...
An Arkansas man accused of killing his daughter’s alleged abuser wins GOP sheriff’s nomination
An Arkansas man accused of killing his teenage daughter’s alleged abuser won the Republican nomination for local sheriff while waiting to stand trial for murder in his rural county, where he ran on a message of seeing the failures of law enforcement. Aaron Spencer defeated Lonoke County Sheriff John Staley...
Republicans brace for an ugly fight in the Texas Senate runoff between Cornyn and Paxton
DALLAS — The mess in Texas may be just beginning. Four-term Sen. John Cornyn and his allies spent nearly $70 million to survive the first round of the party’s nomination fight on Tuesday. He was slightly ahead of conservative firebrand Ken Paxton, the state attorney general, with more votes still...
Talarico wins Texas Senate Democratic nomination while Cornyn, Paxton head to Republican runoffVideo
State Rep. James Talarico topped Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett in an expensive and fiercely contested Texas Senate Democratic primary that once again has the party dreaming of a big upset in November. Who Talarico will face depends on a May runoff between longtime Republican Sen. John Cornyn and MAGA favorite Ken...
John Cornyn, Ken Paxton advance to runoff in Republican primary for Texas U.S. Senate seat
DALLAS — Longtime Sen. John Cornyn and MAGA favorite Ken Paxton are heading to a May runoff in Texas’ Republican Senate primary, setting up what’s expected to be a nasty and expensive second round and a renewed push to win the endorsement of President Donald Trump. On the Democratic side,...
Change in primary voting rules leads to confusion in 2 Texas counties as voters are turned awayVideo
Voters in two major Texas counties were turned away at polling locations and directed to different precincts Tuesday, after a recent change in how the primary is conducted created confusion and frustration. In Dallas County, a judge ordered polls to remain open for two hours past the scheduled 7 p.m....
Challengers test Summer Lee’s grip on congressional seat in Trump-era midterms
A popular and polarizing Democratic congresswoman is staking her reelection bid on her record in a midterm election seen by many as a referendum on President Donald Trump. While Beltway experts say this year’s race in Pennsylvania’s 12th District is Rep. Summer Lee’s to lose, the progressive firebrand from Swissvale...
Democrat a landslide winner in special election for South Hills seat in state House
A Dormont Democrat was the landslide winner in a special election Tuesday to fill a state House seat in the South Hills that was vacated after the former incumbent was elected to be an Allegheny County Common Pleas judge. According to unofficial results from the Allegheny County Election Bureau, Jen...
Mazzocco, Leckenby to square off in state House special election in South Hills
A special election is being held Tuesday in the South Hills to fill a vacant state House seat. The seat had been occupied by former state Rep. Dan Miller, D-Mt. Lebanon, for more than 12 years. He stepped down after being elected in November to serve as an Allegheny County...
Federal court rejects GOP-led Utah Legislature’s latest try to block House map that helps Democrats
New Utah voting districts that give Democrats an improved shot at winning a U.S. House seat can be used in this year’s election, a federal court ruled Monday while turning aside a Republican request to block the new map. The ruling marked the second setback in recent days for Republicans,...
