U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Friday he would not resign from Downing Street after his Left-wing Labour Party suffered devastating losses in local elections across the country, while the Right-wing party led by Trump ally Nigel Farage made sweeping gains.
Early results suggest British voters up and down the country have delivered a scathing rebuke of Keir Starmer, who led Labour to a landslide general election victory in the summer of 2024.
Starmer’s approval ratings have plunged amid voter anger over mass migration, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/apr/22/uk-inflation-rises-soaring-fuel-prices-iran-war">stubborn inflation</a>, and strains on the National Health Service. Public opinion polls show he&#8217;s the <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/30/uk/keir-starmer-labour-party-conference-intl">least popular</a> Prime Minister in British history. 
Amid the disastrous results, some Labour members have <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/8958faa6-cbde-499b-8016-b89ef857a22b?syn-25a6b1a6=1">called on Starmer to step down</a>.  Starmer said he&#8217;s not going anywhere.
&#8220;Let me be clear, these are really tough results. I&#8217;m not going to sugarcoat it,&#8221; <a href="https://x.com/SkyNews/status/2052659124173709523?s=20">Starmer told reporters</a>. &#8220;The voters have sent a message about the pace of change, how they want their lives improved. Labour was elected to meet those challenges, and I&#8217;m not going to walk away from those challenges and plunge the country into chaos.&#8221; 
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&#8220;I&#8217;m not going to walk away and plunge the country into chaos.&#8221;
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer reflects on &#8220;really tough&#8221; results from the local elections in England, with Labour losing hundreds of council seats.
Latest 🔗 <a href="https://t.co/SZHhkmXZUF">https://t.co/SZHhkmXZUF</a>
📺 Sky 501 <a href="https://t.co/LJVKBhKnVJ">pic.twitter.com/LJVKBhKnVJ</a>
— Sky News (@SkyNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/SkyNews/status/2052659124173709523?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 8, 2026</a></blockquote>
In the United Kingdom, voters elect councillors who oversee services such as schools, housing, road maintenance, waste collection, libraries, policing budgets, and local planning decisions. Thursday&#8217;s vote included roughly <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/world/united-kingdom/starmer-labour-reform-farage-uk-election-rcna344013">5,000 local government contests</a> in England, along with races that will shape control of the Welsh and Scottish parliaments.
Reform U.K., England&#8217;s Right-wing party, has won more than 700 council races across the country, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/live/c1428pev1n0t">according to the BBC.</a> Labour, in distant fourth place, has lost more than 470 races. 
Farage, who has campaigned on restricting immigration and cutting taxes, called the results a &#8220;historic shift in British politics.&#8221; 
“Labour are being wiped out by Reform in many of their most traditional areas, and what you’re going to see later on today is the Conservative Party being wiped out in their heartlands,”<a href="https://x.com/LBC/status/2052731245402964195?s=20"> Mr. Farage said.</a> &#8220;I would honestly say you’re witnessing a historic shift in British politics. This is now the most national of all parties.”
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&#8216;We are the only true national party!&#8217;
Nigel Farage was in jubilant mood after Reform won control of Havering, outlining his hopes for further success as results continue to roll in. <a href="https://t.co/W4rEs6G6lU">pic.twitter.com/W4rEs6G6lU</a>
— LBC (@LBC) <a href="https://twitter.com/LBC/status/2052731245402964195?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 8, 2026</a></blockquote>
President Donald Trump has repeatedly ripped into Keir Starmer over a range of issues, including his plans to cede control of the Chagos Islands and Starmer&#8217;s initial refusal to grant the United States access to UK military bases for operations related to Operation Epic Fury.
In March, Trump expressed disappointment with the United Kingdom and lashed out at the British leader. 
&#8220;This is not Winston Churchill that we&#8217;re dealing with,&#8221; Trump said of Starmer in the Oval Office. 
As results across the pond pour in, the ascendant Right-wing leader predicts the tides will continue to turn.  
&#8220;I suspect when you see the full results in the red wall, there&#8217;ll be a rebellion,&#8221; Farage said. &#8220;Personally, I&#8217;d be very sad to see the Prime Minister go. I would be very, very sad indeed. He&#8217;s the greatest asset we&#8217;ve got.&#8221;
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Reform UK has wiped out the Tories and won Essex County Council.
Kemi Badenoch would not even hold her own seat. <a href="https://t.co/hNOeZ7tM6X">pic.twitter.com/hNOeZ7tM6X</a>
— Reform UK (@reformparty_uk) <a href="https://twitter.com/reformparty_uk/status/2052707168357376209?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 8, 2026</a></blockquote>

Nigel Farage Celebrates With New Reform Councillors In Havering

U.K. Leftists Demolished As Right-Wing Picks Up Big Election Wins

Elections

Keir Starmer

Nigel Farage

United Kingdom

Tennessee Republicans approved new congressional maps Thursday that are expected to eliminate the state’s last Democratic seat, triggering protests from activists and outrage from leftists inside the state capitol. 
Tennessee’s current congressional delegation features eight Republicans and one Democrat, Rep. Steve Cohen of Memphis. The plan restructures Memphis by splitting it into three Republican-leaning districts, a move that would likely unseat Cohen. Republican Gov. Bill Lee signed the map into law shortly after it passed. 
The maps were passed during a special session called by Lee after the Supreme Court ruled that certain majority-black districts put in place by the Voting Rights Act amounted to unconstitutional racial gerrymandering. After that decision, Tennessee joined other Southern states in redrawing maps ahead of the 2026 midterms. 
During the special session, hundreds of leftist activists descended upon the Capitol in Nashville, holding up signs like &#8220;Black Voters Matter,&#8221; &#8220;Say No To Jim Crow 2.0,&#8221; and &#8220;Modern Apartheid.&#8221;
Republicans framed the new maps as a reflection of Tennessee&#8217;s political reality. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) celebrated the move as a step toward advancing President Donald Trump&#8217;s agenda and strengthening conservative leadership in the state.
“It’s a great day for Tennessee! Thank you to President [Donald Trump] for leading the charge, Governor [Bill Lee], and to the legislators who worked quickly and diligently to make this possible,” Blackburn posted on X. “This is how we cement President Trump’s agenda and usher in America’s Golden Age here in Tennessee, and how we become America&#8217;s conservative leader.”
State Rep. Jason Zachary, a Republican, called the maps &#8220;historic,&#8221; noting that they could result in a fully Republican congressional delegation alongside the state&#8217;s two GOP senators.
“For the first time in Tennessee’s history, we will have 9 Republican Congressmen and 2 Republican Senators representing our great state at the nation’s Capitol,” said Zachary. “This represents our state’s strong conservative principles and TN values.”
Rep. Cohen, a white man who has represented Memphis for nearly two decades, called the new map “insane.” 
“The GOP&#8217;s newly proposed TN Congressional maps would have people in Shelby County all the way to Williamson County—200+ miles apart—being &#8220;represented&#8221; by the same Congressman,” he said Wednesday. “It&#8217;s a blatant, corrupt power grab that would destroy the black community&#8217;s and our entire city&#8217;s voice.”

Trump Says Tennessee To Redraw District Maps To Boost GOP

Brutal Blow For Democrats In Red State Sparks Leftist Outrage

Bill Lee

Congress

Tennessee

U.S. Politics

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The search for a missing Oklahoma state Senate candidate came to a tragic conclusion Thursday after authorities <a href="https://www.koco.com/article/barry-christian-missing-state-senate-candidate-erick-oklahoma/71179582">discovered the body</a> of 54-year-old Barry Christian in a remote wildlife management area.
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Christian, a Republican candidate for Senate District 38, had been the subject of an intensive search after failing to appear for a scheduled meeting on Tuesday. According to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI), Christian was last seen in Sayre, Oklahoma, driving a 2024 charcoal gray Ram pickup truck.
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BREAKING: Oklahoma State Senate candidate Barry Christian (R) found dead in his car after being reported missing <a href="https://t.co/Ps6JEbD2O6">pic.twitter.com/Ps6JEbD2O6</a>
&mdash; Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) <a href="https://twitter.com/libsoftiktok/status/2049995455723938059?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 30, 2026</a></blockquote>
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The breakthrough in the case came Thursday morning when a deputy from the Beckham County Sheriff’s Office, patrolling the Sandy Sanders Wildlife Management Area, was flagged down by a hunter. The witness reported seeing a vehicle that had crashed off a high ridge overlooking Fish Creek. Upon reaching the scene, investigators confirmed the vehicle belonged to Christian and discovered his body inside.
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The OSBI has since taken over the investigation, and Christian’s remains have been transported to the medical examiner’s Office to determine the official cause and manner of death.
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Christian, a staunch conservative who launched his bid for the state Senate last year, had built his platform on traditional values, including border security, energy independence, and the protection of constitutional freedoms. His campaign gained attention through his apparent friendship with musician Kid Rock, who appeared in an <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DWzH8FFCV-v/">Instagram</a> video on Christian&#8217;s page, calling him a candidate with &#8220;common sense and a voice for the people.&#8221; Only days before his disappearance, Christian was reportedly <a href="https://x.com/collinrugg/status/2049981227009196380?s=46&amp;t=5nB3R1hthzMlYMrXjZyN8Q">seen</a> at the Mangum Rattlesnake Derby.
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In a heartbreaking statement released to KOCO, Christian’s daughter, Brooklyn, expressed the family’s shock and grief. &#8220;Our world is upside down right now,&#8221; she said. &#8220;We are still not sure of everything that happened, so please act with grace and treat my dad&#8217;s legacy with dignity.&#8221; She also expressed gratitude to the volunteers and media outlets that assisted in the search.
</div>
<div>
His youngest daughter also shared a tribute via <a href="https://www.news9.com/oklahoma-city-news/barry-christian-oklahoma-senate-candidate-found-dead">News 9</a>, describing her father as a man who &#8220;lived only for his kids&#8221; and &#8220;wanted nothing more than to provide and protect his family.&#8221;
</div>
<div>
As the investigation continues, the tight-knit community of Erick and the broader Oklahoma political landscape are left mourning a candidate whose life and campaign were cut short. Authorities have not yet indicated whether foul play is suspected.
</div>

Barry Christian

Missing Oklahoma State Senate Candidate Found Dead

Death

Oklahoma

Politics

Republican Party

On Wednesday, after the Supreme Court ruled that the Fifteenth Amendment’s prohibition on intentional racial discrimination forbids race-based redistricting, former President Barack Obama issued a screed denouncing the decision that was, in turn, harshly criticized on social media.
“Today’s Supreme Court decision effectively guts a key pillar of the Voting Rights Act, freeing state legislatures to gerrymander legislative districts to systematically dilute and weaken the voting power of racial minorities &#8211; so long as they do it under the guise of ‘partisanship’ rather than explicit ‘racial bias,’” Obama wrote on X. “And it serves as just one more example of how a majority of the current Court seems intent on abandoning its vital role in ensuring equal participation in our democracy and protecting the rights of minority groups against majority overreach. The good news is that such setbacks can be overcome. But that will only happen if citizens across the country who cherish our democratic ideals continue to mobilize and vote in record numbers &#8211; not just in the upcoming midterms or in high profile races, but in every election and every level.”
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Today’s Supreme Court decision effectively guts a key pillar of the Voting Rights Act, freeing state legislatures to gerrymander legislative districts to systematically dilute and weaken the voting power of racial minorities &#8211; so long as they do it under the guise of…
&mdash; Barack Obama (@BarackObama) <a href="https://twitter.com/BarackObama/status/2049561079605588184?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 29, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The response came quickly:
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You have absolutely lost your mind.
YOU were the guy who was supposed to get us PAST sorting people by race.
You said judge people by character not color.
Now you&#39;re calling it &quot;voter suppression&quot; when the Court strikes down a district drawn ENTIRELY BY SKIN COLOR??!!
The… <a href="https://t.co/2NQ5Xq8Xmh">pic.twitter.com/2NQ5Xq8Xmh</a>
&mdash; Matt Van Swol (@mattvanswol) <a href="https://twitter.com/mattvanswol/status/2049579727061463538?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 29, 2026</a></blockquote>
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As with tour characterization of Citizens United, not true! Today’s voting-rights blockbuster was the right call and a victory for the colorblind Constitution. The bottom line is that the Voting Rights Act doesn’t require majority-minority districts and states can’t use race to…
&mdash; Ilya Shapiro (@ishapiro) <a href="https://twitter.com/ishapiro/status/2049590119485632845?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 29, 2026</a></blockquote>
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I can’t imagine being a nations first black president and wanting to take them all the way backwards on race but if you like your garbage legacy you can KEEP your garbage legacy.
&mdash; Jimmy Failla (@jimmyfailla) <a href="https://twitter.com/jimmyfailla/status/2049577005146845426?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 29, 2026</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;
It was pointed out that the districts as apportioned in Illinois, Obama’s home state, which is run by Democrats, are crazy:
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lol. This is your home state <a href="https://t.co/95DsjmFZox">pic.twitter.com/95DsjmFZox</a>
&mdash; Megan Basham (@megbasham) <a href="https://twitter.com/megbasham/status/2049628329876009449?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 29, 2026</a></blockquote>
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As well as the current map of Lousiana’s districts, which is well-nigh ridiculous:
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These are the 2 illegal racially gerrymandered districts that the Supreme Court overturned. Any fair map of Louisiana will look nothing like this 👇 <a href="https://t.co/UOzzq2Hus4">pic.twitter.com/UOzzq2Hus4</a>
&mdash; Izengabe (@Izengabe_) <a href="https://twitter.com/Izengabe_/status/2049604602404696464?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 29, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Justice Samuel Alito, writing for the court, stated, “Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was designed to enforce the Constitution — not collide with it. Unfortunately, lower courts have sometimes applied this Court’s precedents in a way that forces States to engage in the very race-based discrimination that the Constitution forbids.”
“Allowing race to play any part in government decision making represents a departure from the constitutional rule that applies in almost every other context,” he continued.
Obama’s denigrative use of the phrase “guise of partisanship” was a deliberate attempt to ignore that the Supreme Court opinion was in strict line with the fact that the United States is a constitutional republic. As Alito explained, “Disapproval of partisan gerrymandering dates back to the founding. But partisan gerrymandering claims are not justiciable in federal court. Thus, in considering the constitutionality of a districting scheme, courts must treat partisan advantage like any other race-neutral aim: a constitutionally permissible criterion that States may rely on as desired. For this reason, as we have repeatedly made clear, when a State defends a districting scheme on the ground that it was drawn for partisan purposes, plaintiffs have a ‘special’ burden to overcome.”

US-POLITICS-RIGHTS-JACKSON

‘Absolutely Lost Your Mind’: Obama Ripped After Criticizing Latest Supreme Court Decision

Barack Obama

gerrymandering

Louisiana

Race

Redistricting

Supreme Court

Last week, Virginia Democrats shepherded into law a paid family and medical leave program whose own fiscal impact statement projects an annual shortfall of more than $500 million, every year, beginning in the second year of operation. The math does not math. And the governor championed it.
The Department of Planning and Budget’s March 17 fiscal impact statement on HB 1207 lays out the program’s economics in plain numbers. In FY2030, the second year benefits are paid, the program is projected to collect $1.51 billion in payroll taxes while spending $2.04 billion on benefits and administration. That is a $528 million annual shortfall, on the program’s own numbers, before it ever reaches steady state. By FY2031, the gap widens to roughly $600 million. The General Fund is also lending $116.5 million up front to stand the program up before a single premium is collected, repayable from future payroll taxes by 2034.
The initial 0.72% payroll tax in the bill is based on utilization assumptions drawn from a Weldon Cooper Center study, which other states have already exceeded in practice. Worse, the bill itself acknowledges that the rate is insufficient. It requires the trust fund to maintain a reserve of at least 40% of expenditures, and authorizes the Virginia Employment Commission Commissioner to set the actual contribution rate annually beginning October 1, 2027. That is not a fixed tax. It is a floor, with the real number to be set by an unelected commissioner one month after the next legislative elections.
Virginians do not have to guess where this leads. Washington State’s paid leave program has been operational since 2020, and the trajectory is documented. In 2023, Washington legislators were forced to inject $200 million from the general fund into the trust fund because premium revenue could not keep up with claims. The program’s own actuary now projects a $350 million deficit by 2029. The state is on track to hit its statutory premium cap of 1.2% in 2027 and stay there, with no remaining headroom to raise rates. Virginia is worse: there is no cap on rates needed to “self-fund” the payroll tax.
This is the part that the governor’s celebration omitted. Virginia workers will not pay once. They will pay twice. First through the new payroll tax. Then again through general fund appropriations as the trust fund runs dry, drawing on the same income taxes that fund schools, roads, and public safety. A program that pays people not to work, supplemented by income taxes the rest of us pay, with the new line item on your checks hitting after the next election, is not landmark legislation. It is a structural deficit dressed up as affordability, with every incentive in place for fraudulent claims and every guarantee that taxes will rise to chase them.
Governor Abigail Spanberger calls this a competitive benefit that helps Virginia&#8217;s small businesses recruit. A benefit is not competitive when every employer with more than 10 people is mandated to offer it. That is not competition. That is a payroll tax. In Patrick County and across Southwest Virginia, the businesses that absorb it are the ones with the least margin to do so.
When voters go to the polls in November, they should remember the half-billion-dollar annual hole Virginia Democrats just signed every Virginian up for, whether they utilize the subsidy or not.
***
Del. Wren Williams represents Virginia&#8217;s 47th House District (Patrick County and the surrounding area). He is an attorney and a member of the House Republican Caucus.

House Ways And Means Committee Holds Markup On Build Back Better Act

Paid Family Leave: The Half-Billion-Dollar Hole Virginia Democrats Just Signed Up For

abigail spanberger

DW Opinion

Paid Family Leave

Virginia Democrats

Former reality star Spencer Pratt, who is running for mayor of Los Angeles against incumbent Karen Bass, is taking a stand for animals that are allegedly being tortured by homeless people in the community.
The mayoral hopeful has been posting about animals being abused on Skid Row and beyond for weeks, sharing graphic videos of dogs overdosing on fentanyl and one presented with his eyes sewn shut.
“As Mayor, I will stand up a dedicated LAPD task force, Tactical PAWS: Policing Animal Welfare &amp; Safety. We will end the horrific atrocities that Karen Basura (his nickname for Bass) and [coucilwoman] Nithya Raman have allowed on our streets. ZERO tolerance for animal abusers,” he wrote in a post on April 20.
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As Mayor, I will stand up a dedicated LAPD task force, Tactical PAWS: Policing Animal Welfare &amp; Safety. We will end the horrific atrocities that Karen Basura and Nithya Raman have allowed on our streets. ZERO tolerance for animal abusers! <a href="https://t.co/QyUPKpdLEB">https://t.co/QyUPKpdLEB</a> <a href="https://t.co/XDnpJk4aba">pic.twitter.com/XDnpJk4aba</a>
— Spencer Pratt (@spencerpratt) <a href="https://twitter.com/spencerpratt/status/2046277962664996895?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 20, 2026</a></blockquote>
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“This is uncaring Karen’s legacy,” he said of Bass in response to a video of a dog with drugs in its system receiving medical care. “Unbelievable levels of evil from the druggies that are left to massacre these poor animals. This ends when I’m mayor.”
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This is uncaring Karen’s legacy. Unbelievable levels of evil from the druggies that are left to massacre these poor animals. This ends when I’m mayor. <a href="https://t.co/jJ64X0sQ5R">https://t.co/jJ64X0sQ5R</a>
— Spencer Pratt (@spencerpratt) <a href="https://twitter.com/spencerpratt/status/2047197321079980376?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 23, 2026</a></blockquote>
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In another video <a href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DXhkUNNAdT9/">shared</a> to Instagram on Friday, he accused Bass and Raman of “facilitating the torture, mutilation, abuse, and murder of thousands of dogs by crazy drug addicts who breed them for money, set them on fire, [and] conduct Nazi-like experiments.”
Pratt says the dogs become drug testers and are frequently overdosing.
The former star of “The Hills” said that Raman allegedly “walked out” of a recent city council meeting after an animal rescue worker begged for help with the problem.
Pratt also said a rally was happening at The Barkery in Encino on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. to raise awareness and “save our pets from the zombies.”
The reality alum announced that he is running for mayor of Los Angeles on the one-year anniversary of the Palisades Fire, which is the event that he says radicalized him to make a change in his community. The Republican and former star of “The Hills” has been critical of local Democrats for their actions before and after the fires. Pratt and his wife, Heidi Montag, and his parents all lost their homes.
“The system in Los Angeles isn’t struggling; it’s fundamentally broken. It is a machine designed to protect the people at the top and the friends they exchange favors with while the rest of us drown in toxic smoke and ash,” Pratt said in part while announcing his campaign.
Pratt is a first-time candidate facing more than a dozen other contenders in the nonpartisan mayoral primary in June, including current Los Angeles Democratic Mayor Bass, who is seeking re-election. Pratt’s campaign website describes him as “Karen Bass’ worst nightmare.”

Spencer Pratt

Reality Star Rips Dem Karen Bass For Allowing Homeless To ‘Conduct Nazi-Like Experiments’ On Dogs

Animals

California

Drugs

Homeless

Karen Bass

Los Angeles

Mayor

A Republican candidate for governor in Massachusetts is facing renewed scrutiny over his role in bringing a Chinese state-owned manufacturer into the Boston subway system, a decision that represents both a financial debacle and a potential national security risk.
Brian Shortsleeve, who is running in a three-way GOP campaign ahead of the September 1 primary election, has built much of his campaign around his tenure as chief administrator of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. But newly surfaced research obtained exclusively by The Daily Wire is casting that record in a harsher light, focusing on a $277 million contract awarded during his leadership to China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation, or CRRC.
At the time, Shortsleeve defended the deal as fiscally responsible. “The decision we made today was a good business decision,” he said in December 2016, touting the new Chinese-built subway cars as a cost-saving measure for the struggling transit system. He also appeared at a 2016 ceremony marking construction at CRRC’s Springfield facility, publicly celebrating the partnership.
That relationship has since become a liability, with the project becoming plagued by delays and mechanical issues, and only a fraction of the promised cars delivered years behind schedule. In 2023, CRRC reportedly submitted unfinished cars for inspection, and in August 2025, federal agents detained several new MBTA subway car shells at the Port of Philadelphia amid an investigation into potential forced labor connections.
Security concerns surrounding CRRC have also grown over time. Lawmakers and industry experts have warned for years that Chinese state-owned rail manufacturers could pose a surveillance or sabotage threat to U.S. infrastructure. A <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/14/business/chinese-train-national-security.html?unlocked_article_code=1.cVA.i653.VI8KwYILj5Dk&amp;smid=url-share">2019 report</a> in The New York Times highlighted fears that subway cars built by CRRC might be equipped with technology capable of tracking passengers’ movements or communications.
Those concerns have been echoed at the federal level. In a <a href="https://nypost.com/2019/05/30/marco-rubio-dont-let-chinas-spies-near-the-nyc-subway/">2019 op-ed</a>, then Florida Senator Marco Rubio warned that CRRC is part of a broader effort by the Chinese Communist Party to expand its influence in critical infrastructure sectors, calling it “one tactic China is employing to supplant America.” Federal agencies have since classified CRRC among Chinese military-linked companies, and Congress has moved to restrict federal funding for transit projects involving such firms.
Independent research has reinforced those warnings. A <a href="https://www.rtands.com/passenger/intercity/crrcs-chief-obligation-is-to-the-chinese-state-report/">report</a> published in an industry magazine described CRRC as having “indelible ties to the Chinese Communist Party,” noting that executives often serve dual roles as corporate leaders and party officials. The company, the report found, operates in close alignment with Beijing’s industrial strategy, including efforts to dominate global transportation networks under initiatives like “Made in China 2025.”
Meanwhile, the Rail Security Alliance <a href="https://railsecurity.org/fiasco-mbtas-contract-with-crrc/">has called</a> the MBTA’s contract with CRRC a “fiasco,” citing delays, alleged coverups, and mechanical failures. The group and others have argued that Chinese state-owned enterprises benefit from heavy government subsidies, allowing them to undercut competitors and win contracts that may not serve long-term U.S. interests.
All of that is now intersecting with Shortsleeve’s political ambitions; the 53-year-old Marine veteran and Harvard MBA is positioning himself as a fiscal conservative capable of fixing Massachusetts’ economic challenges.
His business background has been emphasized in <a href="https://www.wbur.org/news/2026/02/19/brian-shortsleeve-governor-massachusetts-gop-baker-romney">local reporting</a>, and he argues that the state needs “a chief executive … that understands how to get costs under control, provide tax and regulatory relief and get jobs growing.”
But his record complicates that message. While he is now campaigning on a more hardline conservative platform—taking tough positions on immigration and energy policy and attacking Democratic Gov. Maura Healey—Shortsleeve’s political history reflects a more moderate, establishment trajectory. He worked closely with former Gov. Mitt Romney, serving as political director for his 2002 gubernatorial campaign and fundraising for both his 2008 and 2012 presidential runs.
Shortsleeve, a self-described “Cape Cod voter” and founder of venture capital firm M33 Growth, has donated to several Democrats in recent years, including members of Congress and state officials.
He has also shifted party affiliations over time, at one point registering as a Democrat before later switching between Independent and Republican. As recently as 2021, he moved to “unenrolled” status following January 6, before rejoining the Republican Party in 2023.
Political strategist Wendy Wakeman noted that Shortsleeve is now running “a little more Republican, a little more right” than in the past, as he competes in a primary shaped by the Trump-era GOP.
That dynamic leaves him in a delicate position. To win the nomination, he must appeal to a conservative base that has grown increasingly skeptical of establishment figures and foreign economic dealings, particularly those involving China. Yet to compete in a general election in deep-blue Massachusetts, he would likely need to regain support from moderates and independents.
The controversy over the MBTA’s CRRC contract underscores the tension at the heart of his candidacy. What was once presented as a pragmatic, cost-saving decision is now being reframed as a cautionary example of the risks tied to foreign state-owned enterprises—and a potential vulnerability for a candidate trying to redefine himself in a changing Republican Party.

mbta-brian-shortsleeve-fb

Three-Way GOP Race Heats Up As China Deal Haunts Hopeful

Communist China

Massachusetts

In November 2020, by a margin of nearly two to one — 66 percent to 34 percent — Virginia voters approved a constitutional amendment creating a bipartisan redistricting commission to draw the state’s legislative maps. The measure carried every county and independent city in the Commonwealth except one. It was a resounding expression of the public will: Virginians wanted politicians out of the mapmaking business.
The result? Virginia has arguably the fairest maps in the entire country.
On April 21, 2026, that reform was undone. A new referendum, jammed through with just 51.5% of the vote, handed the power to draw congressional districts back to the Democrat-controlled General Assembly. A reform that took years of bipartisan coalition-building to enact was reversed in a single special election by a razor-thin margin. What Democrats did to get here was not merely aggressive. It was egregious — a systematic dismantling of Virginia’s constitutional safeguards that exist precisely to prevent this kind of thing.
Start with the money. Total spending on the referendum exceeded $90 million — the most expensive ballot measure in Virginia history. The “yes” side spent roughly $65 to $70 million, much of it through dark-money nonprofits like House Majority Forward. The “no” side raised approximately $23 million — a ratio of roughly 3-to-1. But even that understates the imbalance. The “no” side’s money arrived late. For weeks, Virginia voters were saturated almost exclusively with “yes” messaging. By the time opposing voices reached comparable volume, hundreds of thousands of early votes had been cast. In the critical early phase, the spending disparity was more like 10-to-1.
But the money is only half the story. The deeper scandal is how Democrats manipulated the constitutional amendment process itself — and here, the details matter.
Virginia’s Constitution does not allow the General Assembly to amend the state’s Constitution on a whim. Article XII, Section 1, prescribes a deliberately slow, two-step process. First, both chambers must pass a proposed amendment. Then a new election of the House of Delegates must occur.  And only after that intervening election, and a second passage by the new legislature, may the amendment go to voters — and even then, not sooner than ninety days after final passage. These requirements exist to prevent a single legislative majority from bulldozing a constitutional change through before the public can react.
Democrats violated every one of these constitutional safeguards.
The first passage of the proposed amendment occurred during a resurrected special session called in May 2024 to address a budget dispute. Democrats argue that session was never formally adjourned, and thus they could use it to pass a redistricting amendment that had nothing to do with the budget. Under Virginia law, special sessions are governed by the scope of their call. The governing resolution, HJR 6001, was limited to budget matters. Expanding it to include a constitutional amendment would have required a two-thirds vote — a vote that never occurred. A Tazewell County judge found this violated Article IV, Section 6, and Article V, Section 5 of Virginia’s Constitution, and declared it “void, ab initio” — void from the beginning.
The intervening-election requirement was equally flouted. Because the first passage was engineered on October 31, 2025 – six weeks after voting had begun in Virginia’s 2025 election, rather than before a general election of House of Delegates members, there was no true intervening election between the first and second passages. The voters never had the chance that Article XII guarantees them: to pass judgment on the legislators who would cast the second, decisive vote. Democrats simply skipped that step.
Then there is the 90-day rule. Article XII, Section 1, states plainly that a proposed amendment may not be submitted to voters “sooner than ninety days after final passage by the General Assembly.” This is not ambiguous. It is a bright-line requirement written into the Constitution. On April 22, a Tazewell County Circuit Court judge ruled that this requirement was not met — that the timeline from second passage on January 19, 2026, to the commencement of early voting on March 6, 2026, fell far short of 90 days.
Finally, entirely apart from the procedural violations, the maps themselves are under challenge. Article II, Section 6, of the Virginia Constitution requires that “every electoral district shall be composed of contiguous and compact territory.” A hearing on the proposed maps’ compliance with this requirement was held Monday in Richmond Circuit Court, where a ruling is pending.
All four challenges now converge on the Supreme Court of Virginia, which will render the final judgment. This is not a federal question — the challenges are rooted entirely in the Virginia Constitution, and federal courts have no jurisdiction over how a state interprets its own Constitution.
The courts will determine whether what happened was illegal. But there is no serious question about whether it was wrong. Democrats resurrected a dead special session, bypassed the intervening-election requirement, ignored the 90-day waiting period, and flooded a low-turnout special election with tens of millions in dark money — all to undo a bipartisan reform that Virginians approved by 2-to-1 just six years ago. The Virginia Constitution was written to prevent exactly this. Whether its protections will hold is now in the hands of seven justices in Richmond.
***
Ken Cuccinelli is the former Virginia attorney general and former acting deputy secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

Trump’s Redistricting Bids Near End With Virginia, Florida Moves

Virginia’s Redistricting Vote: Where Money Talks And Fairness Walks?

Democrats

Virginia

The fate of Virginia’s redistricting referendum hinges on the state Supreme Court, after voters narrowly decided to redraw the maps 10-1 in favor of Democrats on Tuesday.
The Tazewell County Circuit Court ordered a pause on the election results from going into effect on Wednesday. The judge in the case also ruled against the vote multiple times prior to the election, arguing that it is unconstitutional, according to <a href="https://wjla.com/news/local/virginia-congressional-map-redistricting-referendum-vote-attorney-general-tazewell-county-court-republicans-enjoins-injuctive-relief-voters-election-democrats-house-representatives" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WJLA</a>.
Former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli told The Daily Wire that he’s optimistic that the state Supreme Court will ultimately strike down the referendum.
“Hang in there. This isn&#8217;t over in Virginia, and that&#8217;s just the Virginia chapter. I think there&#8217;s a lot of regret across the country about the redistricting play in Virginia,” he said.
The former state attorney general, who’s the national chairman of the Election Transparency Initiative, added that the effort kicked the bipartisan redistricting commission to the curb, as the maps do not expire until after the 2030 census.
“We have pretty good maps. That system is better than the alternatives we&#8217;ve ever had. And to have that thrown away with a three-to-one spending deluge from outside the state as just part of some Hakeem Jeffries political hackery is pretty painful,” he said.
“But the Virginia Supreme Court doesn&#8217;t care about any of that. What they care about is the Virginia Constitution, and was the law followed. And as long as they keep just that focus, I am confident that this referendum is gonna be thrown out,” Cuccinelli continued.
Circuit Court Judge Jack Hurley’s order noted that the <a href="https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20242/HJ6007" target="_blank" rel="noopener">House Joint Resolution 6007</a>, which was the bill to open the door for the mid-decade redistricting vote, is unconstitutional because “there has not been an ensuing general election of the House of Delegates, and such ensuing general election cannot occur until 2027.”
He also wrote that the “ballot language” on the proposed amendment gave “voters a flagrantly misleading question” and it “did not accurately describe” what the actual proposal would do, according to <a href="https://x.com/TylerEnglander/status/2047054339894632701?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">8 News</a>.
However, Democrats plan to keep up their fight in court for the gerrymandered map.
“My office will immediately file an appeal in the Court of Appeals. As I said last night, Virginia voters have spoken, and an activist judge should not have veto power over the People’s vote,” Attorney General Jay Jones said in a statement on the case.
“We look forward to defending the outcome of last night&#8217;s election in court,” Jones continued.
The mid-decade redistricting effort drew millions in spending from proponents, including the backing of Gov. Abigail Spanberger and former President Barack Obama. Republicans also hit the campaign trail, hoping that turnout from rural, redder counties would overcome the deep blue suburbs of Washington, D.C.

Abigail Spanberger Is Sworn In As First Female Virginia Governor

Virginia Dem Power Grab Faces Courtroom Showdown

America is watching Michigan.
Extreme far-Left organizations are embracing and influencing Democrat candidates across our ticket. U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed is attending rallies with Hasan Piker. Current secretary of state and gubernatorial candidate Jocelyn Benson is the star operative of a group indicted by the Department of Justice for funding extreme, neo-Nazi organizations.
I’m running for governor of Michigan because the state that has decided the last four presidential elections is about to face the most consequential gubernatorial race in the country.
Jocelyn Benson has already manipulated Michigan’s elections twice. At 19 years old, she <a href="https://19thnews.org/2026/03/jocelyn-benson-michigan-viola-liuzzo-civil-rights/">interned</a> for the Southern Poverty Law Center&#8217;s (SPLC) Intelligence Project, supposedly learning how to <a href="https://enjoyer.com/jocelyn-benson-splc-journalist-neo-nazi/">infiltrate</a> neo-Nazi organizations. Yesterday, that organization was indicted.
In 2020, Benson mailed absentee ballot applications to every registered voter in Michigan, not every active voter, but every registered voter, whether or not they still lived there. She instructed election clerks statewide to presume the validity of every mail-in ballot without verifying signatures. A nonprofit she founded received a $12 million <a href="https://enjoyer.com/jocelyn-benson-center-for-election-law/">Zuckerbucks</a> grant on the eve of that election and funneled it to Democrat-aligned political operatives whose sole job was turning out Democrat voters. Her order instructing clerks to stop verifying signatures was found illegal in 2021. Rather than face consequences, she was rewarded with a Presidential Citizens Medal from President Joe Biden.
She issued the same order in 2024. Federal courts struck it down again. She then <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2024/09/09/rfk-jr-loses-attempt-to-withdraw-from-michigan-ballot-00178095">deliberately</a> kept Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. on the Michigan ballot after he had formally withdrawn and endorsed President Trump, a calculated attempt to split the conservative vote and hand Michigan to Kamala Harris. Judge David McKeague of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals did not mince words: &#8220;In defiance of the U.S. Constitution and state election law, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson <a href="https://enjoyer.com/judge-jocelyn-benson-manipulated-the-presidential-ballot-in-michigan/">manipulated</a> the presidential ballot in Michigan.&#8221; A second Sixth Circuit judge agreed her actions had already cast doubt over the integrity of Michigan&#8217;s electoral process.
Millions of patriots in Michigan turned out to vote and made the 2026 too big to rig, and President Trump went on to carry Michigan. Now, Benson wants a promotion. And she is still serving as secretary of state, overseeing the very election in which she is running. That alone should disqualify her.
To understand Jocelyn Benson, you have to understand the organization that built her.
The SPLC is not a civil rights organization. It was a machine built to manufacture division, fundraise off fear, and deploy operatives to use racial chaos as a path to institutional power. Its co-founder admitted that the organization&#8217;s overriding purpose was making money. The DOJ just confirmed the method: manufacture the hatred, point at it publicly, collect the donations, and cut checks to the people doing the hating.
Benson started with SPLC at 19 and became a <a href="https://legalnews.com/Home/Articles?DataId=1396214">board</a> member in 2014. She did not stumble into this organization; she was built by it. And she carried everything it taught her directly into Michigan&#8217;s secretary of state office.
Just this week, the DOJ indicted the SPLC on 11 federal counts for secretly paying at least $3 million to members of the Ku Klux Klan, the National Socialist Party of America, the United Klans of America, and the Aryan Nations — some payments which began the same year Benson joined their board. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche was direct: &#8220;The SPLC was not dismantling these groups. It was instead manufacturing the extremism it purports to oppose by paying sources to stoke racial hatred.&#8221;
Not fighting it. Manufacturing it.
They labeled Moms for Liberty an extremist group. They put the Family Research Council, a mainstream Christian policy organization, on their hate map. They designated Turning Point USA alongside the KKK in their public database before Charlie Kirk was shot and killed.
That is the machine that built Jocelyn Benson.
The Trump DOJ has sued Benson for refusing to hand over voter registration records required by federal law, including those for over 17,000 registered voters age 100 or older. Michigan has registered 105 percent of its adult population to vote. She was held in contempt by the Michigan House for refusing to turn over basic election training manuals that would reveal how clerks were instructed to process ballots.
The state that decides presidential elections cannot have its ballots managed by someone federal judges have already called a manipulator. We cannot let her Spanberger our Michigan. We have too much at stake from the top to the bottom of the ticket
Jocelyn Benson is not an outlier. She is the next generation of Democrat operatives, trained to divide, manufacture threats, suppress opposition, and acquire power.
Michigan gave my family a shot at the American dream. By the grace of God, I am running for governor to make sure that promise is real again for every family in this state, not just the ones with the right political connections. My purpose has always been to use my blessings to be a blessing to others. That is what took me to Baghdad. That is what brought me home to build. That is what sent me to Congress. And that is what is calling me to Lansing.
Jocelyn Benson was built by a machine that profits from division. I was built by Michigan and called by God to serve it. My loyalty is to my Creator, my country, and the families of this great state. Not to a machine. Not to a party. To the people.
Michigan, America is watching.
***
John James is a West Point graduate, Ranger qualified Apache combat pilot, Iraq War veteran, Michigan job creator, and U.S. Congressman from Michigan&#8217;s 10th District. He is a candidate for governor of Michigan.

Voters Cast Their Ballot In The Michigan Presidential Primary Election

The SPLC’s Star Operative Wants To Run Michigan — The State That Decides Presidential Elections

Michigan

Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC)

When I texted my grandmother in southern Virginia last week to make sure she got out and voted &#8220;No&#8221; on the state&#8217;s redistricting referendum, and implored her to get her nursing home friends to do the same, I joked with some colleagues that I was whipping more votes than the RNC.
It turns out, I was basically right. From top to bottom, the entire Republican apparatus was too inept to even flail as Democrats gerrymandered themselves 91% of the Congressional seats in a 55-45 state, at best. It was entirely asleep at the wheel. There are nights when the electorate fails the country, certainly, but last night the movement failed the voters.
Let&#8217;s start with the RNC, which I&#8217;ll use as a stand-in for the national Republican apparatus writ-large, including the D.C. power-levers and donor class. National Republicans simply did not put anything into this race. They reached a consensus early on that this battle would be lost after Abigail Spanberger beat Winsome Sears by 15 points, so they didn&#8217;t bother trying.
Almost no money was spent by national Republicans — a reality made worse by the fact that flacks for the RNC and NRCC <a href="https://x.com/jackpandol/status/2046301815315251662">were fellating themselves the day before</a> for how much more money they were raising than Democrats.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
FEC: CASH ON HAND
🔴 MAGA Inc — $312M 
—— 
🔴 SLF — $166.4M 
🔴 RNC — $116.8M 
🔴 CLF — $91.4M 
🔴 NRCC — $78.2M 
🔴 NRSC — $43M 
—— 
🔵 SMP — $74.8M 
🔵 DCCC — $70M 
🔵 HMP — $63.9M 
🔵 DSCC — $36.5M 
🔵 DNC — $13.9M ($18.4M debt) 
—— 
Total 
🟥 GOP/Trump: — $807.8 
🟦 Democrats — $259.1M
— InteractivePolls (@IAPolls2022) <a href="https://twitter.com/IAPolls2022/status/2046433242828374349?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 21, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Source: @IAPolls2022/X.com
As one Republican operative put it to me Tuesday night, imagine how much money will be spent on individual &#8220;debatably competitive&#8221; races in November versus how much it would&#8217;ve taken to potentially save 3-5 seats at once in April.
What stings the most about national Republicans writing this contest off is that conservative Virginians didn&#8217;t, which makes it a missed opportunity. That is one silver lining for the long-term.
&#8220;Actually, I&#8217;m quite proud of the commonwealth. Virginians know right from wrong. I&#8217;d venture to guess the majority of &#8220;NO&#8221; voters never heard from the &#8220;NO&#8221; side, never saw an ad on TV. It was a massive spending disadvantage,&#8221; one Virginia-based Republican consultant told me Wednesday morning. &#8220;Democrats had every wind at their back &#8230; but look at the public polling. The governor&#8217;s approval has cratered. And this is a theme we will see repeated: the second Democrats show voters what they actually want to do with power, the bottom falls out.&#8221;
His point about TV ads is especially true — this Arlington resident saw one single &#8220;NO&#8221; ad in the entire lead-up to the elections, compared to hundreds for &#8220;YES.&#8221;
Now let&#8217;s talk about the media. People who build large platforms have the right to use them how they wish. But couldn&#8217;t some of them have used their time on this? We&#8217;ve sure spent a lot of time arguing about who has higher podcast ratings, micro-penises, war in the Middle East, and which influencers are undercover gays. Perhaps going forward we can do a little mobilization for actually seizing political power.
Finally, the activist class. We know what it looks like when the activists give a sh*t about something. We saw it with the Indiana redistricting push, and we saw it just a couple of weeks ago over an amnesty bill pushed by some Republicans in the House. The fact we saw only a fraction of it for this election tells me they simply didn&#8217;t care about it.
That amnesty bill was going nowhere, by the way — it was introduced a year ago and had seen no meaningful action lately. But as one Congressional staffer put it to me, a random X influencer decided to tweet about it one afternoon and that sparked a weeks-long meltdown.
Imagine if the activists and outrage mongers had applied the same level of pressure to conservatives in Virginia in what was an existential fight for their survival?
Even if everyone had brought their A-game, this referendum still might&#8217;ve been lost. Virginia is a blue, albeit light blue, state. It&#8217;s a rough environment for Republicans. The failure to even put up a meaningful fight was completely inexcusable. It might have been a useful lesson for November had November not been effectively decided last night.

US-POLITICS-REPUBLICAN

Republicans Hang Their Voters Out To Dry In Virginia

NRCC

Republican National Committee (RNC)

Virginia voters on Tuesday approved a sweeping redistricting referendum that paves the way for a new congressional map that could give state Democrats a 10–1 advantage in Congressional representation. 
With 82% of the vote counted, the ‘YES’ side is leading with 50.30% of the vote, <a href="https://apnews.com/projects/elections-2026/virginia-special-general-results-question-1/">according to the Associated Press</a>, delivering a significant win for Governor Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), who previously said she had &#8220;<a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/5469556-governor-spanberger-redistricting-plans/">no plans</a>&#8221; to pursue redistricting. The AP called the race at 8:49 pm local time.
If fully implemented, the plan could help to reshape the balance of power in Washington. Right now, Democrats control six of Virginia’s 11 congressional seats. Under the new maps, Democrats could take over 10 of the 11 districts, boosting their party going into the November midterm elections. 
With voter approval, the ballot measure amends Virginia’s constitution to temporarily hand over redistricting powers from a bipartisan commission to the state’s Democratic-majority General Assembly. 
David Richards, chair of the political science department at the University of Lynchburg, said the new districts will extend into urban areas while diluting the political influence of the state&#8217;s rural communities. 
“I think at the end of the day, the result is, of course, that for the South side, Central Virginia and the West part of Virginia, they are kind of losing their representation in the House because they&#8217;re all being packed into this new district, and that&#8217;s going to kind of reduce the amount of influence that part of the state has on the national level,” Richards said in an interview with The Daily Wire. 
Tuesday&#8217;s vote may not be the final word. A legal challenge is currently pending before the Virginia State Supreme Court.
Political leaders across the aisle rallied their voters ahead of Tuesday&#8217;s election, including President Trump, who participated in a tele-rally with Speaker Mike Johnson Monday night. 
Former President Barack Obama filmed television advertisements for the “YES” campaign, framing the vote as a way to repudiate the White House and Congressional Republicans. 
&#8220;By voting yes, you can push back against the Republicans trying to give themselves an unfair advantage in the midterms,&#8221;<a href="https://x.com/BarackObama/status/2045138583934447660?s=20"> Obama said in the video.</a> &#8220;By voting yes, you can take a temporary step to level the playing field. And we&#8217;re counting on you.&#8221;
Virginia is the latest state to act amid an escalating redistricting race that began when Texas passed new maps favoring Republicans. California voters, at the urging of Gov. Newsom, passed a similar ballot referendum to gain five blue seats. North Carolina and Missouri have also redrawn maps for partisan purposes. 
Last week, Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis delayed his plans to call a special legislative session to redraw the state’s congressional maps.
A case currently before the U.S. Supreme Court could weaken or outright eliminate Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which would allow red states in the South to potentially <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/15/upshot/supreme-court-voting-rights-gerrymander.html">redistrict dozens of Democrats out of office. </a> A ruling in that case is expected by the end of June.

Richmond Prepares To Host Gubernatorial Inauguration Of Abigail Spanberger

Virginia Dems Pull Off Massive Power Grab, Win Vote To Redraw Political Map

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