Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) said on Sunday that he will not seek reelection in 2026 less than 24 hours after President Donald Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-whacks-at-tillis-with-primary-threat-for-voting-against-big-beautiful-bill" target="_blank" rel="noopener">threatened</a> to support a primary challenge against the lawmaker following his vote against the &#8220;One Big, Beautiful Bill.&#8221;
The announcement marks a turnaround as Tillis had <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/congressional/3257243/thom-tillis-begins-rough-path-2026-reelection/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">indicated</a> in December of last year that he was pursuing a third term in the upper chamber.
&#8220;In Washington over the last few years, it&#8217;s become increasingly evident that leaders who are willing to embrace bipartisanship, compromise, and demonstrate independent thinking are becoming an endangered species,&#8221; Tillis said in a <a href="https://x.com/frankthorp/status/1939375244831228256" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>.
He added later, &#8220;As many of my colleagues have noticed over the last year, and at times even joked about, I haven&#8217;t exactly been excited about running for another term. That is true since the choice is between spending another six years navigating political theatre and partisan gridlock in Washington or spending that time with the love of my life Susan, our two children, three beautiful grandchildren, and the rest of our extended family back home. It&#8217;s not a hard choice, and I will not be seeking re-election.&#8221;
Tillis was one of two Republican senators who voted against a motion to proceed with debate on the &#8220;One Big, Beautiful Bill&#8221; on Saturday evening. He did so while raising concerns about the legislation&#8217;s proposed Medicaid cuts. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) was the other GOP lawmaker.
Ultimately the bill <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trumps-big-beautiful-bill-clears-key-senate-hurdle" target="_blank" rel="noopener">passed</a> through the procedural hurdle, but not before Trump took aim at Tillis on his Truth Social account.
&#8220;Numerous people have come forward wanting to run in the Primary against &#8216;Senator Thom&#8217; Tillis,&#8221; Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114764184133829613" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. &#8220;I will be meeting with them over the coming weeks, looking for someone who will properly represent the Great People of North Carolina and, so importantly, the United States of America. Thank you for your attention to this matter!&#8221;
Among other things he said, Trump declared, &#8220;I can’t believe that the Great People of North Carolina, a State that I love and won all three times, and a State that I just brought back with money, blood, sweat, and tears, from the recent tragic floods, when Sleepy Joe Biden let them DROWN, right up until the end of that Administration, without doing anything — I was given an A+ Rating for the job we did in bringing it back, and Tillis, despite being a Republican, was MISSING IN ACTION — North Carolina will not allow one of their Senators to GRANDSTAND in order to get some publicity for himself, for a possible, but very difficult Re-Election.&#8221;
With his statement, Tillis indicated that he plans to finish out the rest of his term before retiring from Congress.
&#8220;I still look forward to continuing to serve North Carolina over the next 18 months,&#8221; Tillis said. &#8220;I look forward to solely focusing on producing meaningful results without the distraction of raising money or campaigning for another election. I look forward to having the pure freedom to call the balls and strikes as I see fit and representing the great people of North Carolina to the best of my ability.&#8221;
Trump has also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/not-maga-trump-vows-to-help-crush-massie-in-primary-after-iran-strike-criticism" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pushed</a> for a primary challenge against Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), who voted against the &#8220;One Big, Beautiful Bill&#8221; and criticized the recent U.S. military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC)

Tillis Buckles To Trump Threat, Won’t Seek Reelection

Congress

Donald Trump

Election

North Carolina

Politics

Thom Tillis

U.S.

U.S. Senate

President Donald Trump threatened on Saturday evening to support a primary challenger to Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) after the lawmaker voted against moving ahead with the &#8220;One Big, Beautiful Bill.&#8221;
The legislation, which is working its way through Congress through the reconciliation process, was stuck in limbo when Trump criticized Tillis. It has since passed that procedural hurdle.
&#8220;Numerous people have come forward wanting to run in the Primary against &#8216;Senator Thom&#8217; Tillis,&#8221; Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114764184133829613" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a post on Truth Social. &#8220;I will be meeting with them over the coming weeks, looking for someone who will properly represent the Great People of North Carolina and, so importantly, the United States of America. Thank you for your attention to this matter!&#8221;
Tillis, who is up for re-election in 2026 midterm elections, announced earlier that he could not support the &#8220;One Big, Beautiful Bill&#8221; in its current form after the Senate made changes to the legislation since it passed through the House a little more than a month ago.
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&#8220;I will always do what is in the best interest of North Carolina, even when that puts me at odds with my own party. When Senate leaders of my party presented this bill, I did what every American should expect from their U.S. Senator: I worked to gather the facts and comprehensively analyze what the impact would be on the people I swore an oath to represent,&#8221; Tillis said a <a href="https://www.tillis.senate.gov/2025/6/tillis-statement-on-senate-reconciliation-vote" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>. &#8220;It would result in tens of billions of dollars in lost funding for North Carolina, including our hospitals and rural communities.&#8221;
&#8220;This will force the state to make painful decisions like eliminating Medicaid coverage for hundreds of thousands in the expansion population, and even reducing critical services for those in the traditional Medicaid population. We can and must do better than this. The Senate should return to the House’s Medicaid approach. That plan includes commonsense reforms to address waste, fraud, and abuse, and implements work requirements for some able-bodied adults to ensure taxpayer-funded benefits are going to our most vulnerable neighbors,&#8221; he added. &#8220;There is a lot for North Carolinians to love about the rest of the One Big Beautiful Bill, including extending the historic Trump Tax Cuts, increasing the child tax credit, providing historic funding for border security, and ending wasteful spending. We can and must accomplish this without hurting our rural communities and hospitals, and without jeopardizing access to care for hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians who need it the most.&#8221;
Although Sens. Rand Paul (R-KY) and Ron Johnson (R-WI) had also opposed proceeding with consideration of the bill along with the Democrats, Trump singled out Tillis liked he <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/not-maga-trump-vows-to-help-crush-massie-in-primary-after-iran-strike-criticism" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recently did</a> with Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) for criticizing the U.S. military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. Johnson eventually came around changed his vote and the Senate was allowed to <a href="https://x.com/CraigCaplan/status/1939159925386510819" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press ahead</a> with the legislation. A final vote could happen in the upper chamber over the next few days.
&#8220;Looks like Senator Thom Tillis, as usual, wants to tell the Nation that he’s giving them a 68% Tax Increase, as opposed to the Biggest Tax Cut in American History! At the same time, he is unable to understand the importance of a Debt Extension, which Republicans gave to the Democrats just prior to the November 5th Election, because of its significance, and how important it was for the future of the U.S.A. Sadly, the Democrat Politicians probably won’t reciprocate on a Debt Extension because they’re nasty people who actually hate our Country. Tillis is also willing to throw the very important Tobacco Industry in North Carolina, &#8216;out the window,&#8217; for reasons nobody seems to understand. He loves China made windmills that will cost a fortune, ruin the landscape, and produce the most expensive Energy on Earth,&#8221; Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114764131885531801" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in another Truth Social post.
&#8220;I can’t believe that the Great People of North Carolina, a State that I love and won all three times, and a State that I just brought back with money, blood, sweat, and tears, from the recent tragic floods, when Sleepy Joe Biden let them DROWN, right up until the end of that Administration, without doing anything — I was given an A+ Rating for the job we did in bringing it back, and Tillis, despite being a Republican, was MISSING IN ACTION — North Carolina will not allow one of their Senators to GRANDSTAND in order to get some publicity for himself, for a possible, but very difficult Re-Election,&#8221; Trump continued. &#8220;America wants Reduced Taxes, including NO TAX ON TIPS, NO TAX ON OVERTIME, AND NO TAX ON SOCIAL SECURITY, Interest Deductions on Cars, Border Security, a Strong Military, and a Bill which is GREAT for our Farmers, Manufacturers and, Employment, in general. Thom Tillis is making a BIG MISTAKE for America, and the Wonderful People of North Carolina!&#8221;

President Donald Trump

Trump Whacks At Tillis With Primary Threat For Voting Against ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’

Spending Bill

A Democrat lawmaker in North Carolina is facing blowback over a photo she posted to social media depicting a beheaded President Donald Trump.
State Rep. Julie von Haefen published a video over the weekend showing a number of images from a &#8220;No Kings&#8221; protest in Raleigh, including one of a woman holding up a sign with a guillotine and a message that read, &#8220;In these difficult times some cuts may be necessary.&#8221; On one end hung what appeared to be Trump&#8217;s head with a powdered wig. A man&#8217;s head with a swastika emblazoned on the forehead hung from the other side.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Wow this is sick. North Carolina State Rep Julie von Haefen (D) posted a photo from the “no kings” protest which calls for Trump to be beheaded‼️ <a href="https://twitter.com/FBI?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FBI</a> <a href="https://t.co/ETn7O6e8cu">pic.twitter.com/ETn7O6e8cu</a>
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) <a href="https://twitter.com/libsoftiktok/status/1934099871557976378?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 15, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The Libs of TikTok account on X shared a screen grab of the violent image, calling it <a href="https://x.com/libsoftiktok/status/1934099871557976378" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;sick&#8221;</a> and tagging the FBI. Von Haefen <a href="https://x.com/libsoftiktok/status/1934269780397338734" target="_blank" rel="noopener">deleted</a> her X account and Libs of TikTok noted the lawmaker reposted her video on Facebook, but edited to remove the execution-themed photo.
Von Haefen later released a statement.
&#8220;Yesterday, I posted a video on social media containing crowd photos from the No Kings protest in Raleigh. One of the images of a protestor holding a sign was inappropriate, and I later edited the video to remove the photo,&#8221; she said on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/juliefornc/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Facebook</a>.
Von Haefen also made reference to the shootings in Minnesota in which House Democrat leader Melissa Hortman and her husband were killed and another lawmaker and his wife were injured. A suspect, Vance Boelter, has been <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/authorities-catch-suspected-minnesota-assassin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">apprehended</a> by authorities and could face the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/06/16/us/minnesota-shootings" target="_blank" rel="noopener">death penalty</a> if convicted on murder charges.
&#8220;Let me be clear: I condemn political violence in all forms,&#8221; von Haefen claimed. &#8220;My focus remains on bringing people together and fighting for the values that matter to North Carolinians. Like so many, I was horrified by the violence in Minnesota. There is no place for that kind of extremism in our democracy, no matter the target, no matter the party.&#8221;
Still, a number of Republican lawmakers expressed their disgust with von Haefen.
&#8220;Political violence is not okay — the Left should stop encouraging it,&#8221; <a href="https://x.com/RepMarkHarrisNC/status/1934329543206093034" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Rep. Mark Harris (R-NC).
North Carolina&#8217;s Speaker of the House Destin Hall said in a <a href="https://x.com/libsoftiktok/status/1934371481313808412" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> that he was &#8220;examining next steps with our legislative attorneys to ensure this behavior does not continue&#8221; in response to von Haefen&#8217;s actions.
&#8220;On the same weekend that a gunman in Minnesota targeted state lawmakers in an act of political violence, and after two attempted assassinations of President Trump within the past year, Representative von Haefen (D-Wake) shared an image of a ‘protest sign’ that glorifies violence against her political opponents- including President Donald Trump,&#8221; Hall said. &#8220;Her disgraceful behavior fails to meet the standards expected from House members and sets a dangerous precedent in an already volatile political climate.&#8221;
The North Carolina GOP <a href="https://x.com/libsoftiktok/status/1934643461090627700" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called</a> for von Haefen to <a href="https://x.com/NCGOP/status/1934277389812724165" target="_blank" rel="noopener">resign</a>.
Back in 2017, comedian Kathy Griffin <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/election-night-kathy-griffin-retweets-infamous-pic-of-her-with-trumps-severed-head" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posed</a> for a photo while she held a mock severed Trump head, a move that led to a firestorm of criticism.

State Representative Julie Von Haefen

‘Sick’: Democrat Under Fire Over Beheaded Trump Photo

General

Protests

The crowd of U.S. Army soldiers at North Carolina&#8217;s Fort Bragg roared their response to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as he trashed the &#8220;woke garbage&#8221; that he&#8217;s promised to root out and remove from the American military.
Hegseth, fresh off his testimony before the House Appropriations Committee earlier in the day on Tuesday, joined President Donald Trump at Fort Bragg to honor the U.S. Army&#8217;s 250th birthday. Hegseth repeated some of the same priorities and goals he&#8217;d laid out on Capitol Hill — and the soldiers voiced their apparent approval in loud cheers.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
. <a href="https://twitter.com/SecDef?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecDef</a> &#8220;Standards, accountability, readiness, training, war fighting, lethality.
We’re not a college or university.
We’re not interested in your WOKE GARBAGE or your POLITCIAL CORRECTNESS.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/HHxcwaxm5D">pic.twitter.com/HHxcwaxm5D</a>
— DOD Rapid Response (@DODResponse) <a href="https://twitter.com/DODResponse/status/1932535880113393960?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 10, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;So at the Defense Department, we&#8217;re doing three critical things at [President Trump&#8217;s] direction,&#8221; Hegseth began. &#8220;Number one, we&#8217;re restoring the Warrior Ethos.&#8221;
A few shouts could be heard from the crowd: &#8220;Yeah!!&#8221;
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/gift/?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=wisepops&amp;utm_campaign=dad&amp;utm_content=fathersdaygiftpopups" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gift Dad an All Access Membership. Use code DAD40 at checkout to save 40%!</a>
&#8220;We&#8217;re getting back to basics,&#8221; Hegseth said, laughing a little at the outbursts, and then louder cheers followed.
&#8220;Standards, accountability, readiness, training, war fighting, lethality. We’re not a college or university. We’re not interested in your woke garbage or your political correctness,&#8221; he said &#8212; and the crowd erupted in wild cheers and applause.
President Trump also spoke to the troops — and got a few laughs himself when he mocked former President Joe Biden for changing the name of the base.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
. <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> &#8220;It’s a beautiful sight to be with you in a place called Fort Bragg.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/bf8NgT4MK2">pic.twitter.com/bf8NgT4MK2</a>
— DOD Rapid Response (@DODResponse) <a href="https://twitter.com/DODResponse/status/1932538609636376884?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 10, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;It’s a beautiful sight to be with you in a place called Fort &#8230; Bragg,&#8221; Trump said, his tone dropping as he emphasized the last word, prompting raucous cheers and applause.
&#8220;Can you believe they changed that name in the last administration for a little bit?&#8221; Trump asked when the cheers died down, and loud boos from the crowd quickly followed. &#8220;But we — we&#8217;ll forget all about that, won&#8217;t we? We&#8217;re gonna forget all about it.&#8221;

President Trump Visits Fort Bragg To Honor U.S. Forces

Hegseth Trashes ‘Woke Garbage’ In Fort Bragg Speech, And Soldiers Roar Their Response

Joe Biden

Military

U.S. Army

Editor’s note: This is the sixth and final installment of a six-part series by pollster Brent Buchanan on the politics of the American South. In the last installment, Buchanan took a close look at Georgia to tell the story of the South’s political crossroads. Today, he offers suggestions for how Republicans can achieve political victory in the South.
We hope you enjoy.
—
It’s easy to oversimplify American politics. But when it comes to our collective understanding of regionality, it really is as simple as North, East, South, and West.
Engrained in the minds across generations, defined by mighty rivers and a brutal Civil War, the South — more than any other region — is more politically consequential than it ever has been. For most of modern American history, the “Solid South” was a real thing that helped Democrats win the White House and the presidency.
Today, it is a myth.
The real story of America’s South, as you’ve been reading in this <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/author/brent-buchanan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">six-part series</a>, is the story of an emerging patchwork of political intricacies and growing political dominance. Our exclusive analysis of the South shows 10 distinct regions transcending state lines and traditional constructs, showing vulnerabilities and opportunities for both parties – but more for Republicans — if they can capitalize before Democrats find a rudder and sales pitch.
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-929707" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/Full-Map-2.jpeg" alt="" width="670" height="407" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/Full-Map-2.jpeg 670w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/Full-Map-2-300x182.jpeg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 670px) 100vw, 670px" /></div>
State lines determine the borders for how we’ll count votes, but voters and their stances on key issues of the day don’t adhere to state lines. How well each party understands and adapts to the South’s regional realities will determine the balance of power for the 2026 midterm elections and the rest of Donald Trump’s presidency.
To culminate this deep analysis of aggregated demographic variables, survey responses, and trends in everything from education, income, gender, age, and partisanship, we offer four things Republicans should focus on to achieve political victory in the South.
<h3>Base Fortress Regions With GOP Ceilings</h3>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-929697" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/DixieBigSkyTrumpianH-mapsx3.png" alt="" width="785" height="409" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/DixieBigSkyTrumpianH-mapsx3.png 785w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/DixieBigSkyTrumpianH-mapsx3-300x156.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/DixieBigSkyTrumpianH-mapsx3-768x400.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 785px) 100vw, 785px" /></div>
Pollsters and political operatives felt the tremors of America’s massive political realignment before most of the mainstream media caught on, but by now it’s common knowledge that Trump’s emergence as the central figure of political life was the catalyst of a growing Diploma Divide.
But Trump reflects an electorate whose political preferences began changing even before he came down that golden escalator.
While this realignment has happened nationally, it’s most prominent and evident in the South. For the Republican Party, three main regions anchor its new political advantage. What we’ve dubbed Dixieland, Big Sky South, and the Trumpian Highlands serve as base fortresses from diploma-divide-driven gains from Democrats — but offer little to no room for growth. In 2024, Trump’s ballot shares were 71% in Dixieland, 70% in the Big Sky South, and 75% in the Trumpian Highlands.
“This is about as good as it’s going to get for the GOP in these New South buttresses,” said Nicholas Valdiviez, Cygnal’s Sampling Lead for this project. “These three strongholds are reliable for Republicans, but it’s unreasonable to expect they can deliver more than they already have.”
So what? As we’ve seen in previous cycles, it can be easy to try and offset lagging performance in harder-to-get voter groups by surging turnout in reliable regions like these. But the GOP’s focus should be on keeping turnout and engagement at these levels — which won’t be easy as these areas aren’t growing as much as other Southern regions less friendly to Republicans. There’s more peril in the ceilings of these fortresses if voters are unenthused and stay home.
<h3>Wild Cards &amp; Volatility: Regions That Could Flip</h3>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-929705" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/TexMexCondoCoal-mapsx2.png" alt="" width="767" height="295" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/TexMexCondoCoal-mapsx2.png 767w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/TexMexCondoCoal-mapsx2-300x115.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 767px) 100vw, 767px" /></div>
If you’ve followed this series, you know the only states we called out as standalone fixtures in the still uncertain political future of the South were <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hold-what-the-peach-states-political-patchworks-mean-for-2026?author=Brent+Buchanan&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=What+The+Peach+State%E2%80%99s+Political+Patchworks+Mean+For+2026%C2%A0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Georgia</a> and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bbq-politics-how-north-carolinas-sauce-divide-mirrors-voting-behavior?author=Brent+Buchanan&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=BBQ+Politics%3F+How+North+Carolina%E2%80%99s+Sauce+Divide+Mirrors+Its+Voting+Behavior%C2%A0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">North Carolina.</a> Beyond the regions we’ve identified as the TexMex Nexus and Coastal Condo Coalition, those are the two states with the highest volatility and uncertainty heading into the midterm elections.
North Carolina’s split personality in politics is mirrored by its split choice in barbeque sauces, while Georgia’s newish designation as a swing state is defined by a seeming disappearance of the traditional Black Belt and regional creep from the stronghold of the Trumpian Highlands. Both states are incredibly consequential to party control in Washington — but they’re not the only volatile areas we’re watching.
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-929699" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/CoastalCondoCoal-map1.png" alt="" width="484" height="383" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/CoastalCondoCoal-map1.png 484w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/CoastalCondoCoal-map1-300x237.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 484px) 100vw, 484px" /></div>
First, let’s look at the Coastal Condo Coalition, centered in Florida&#8217;s densely urbanized southern tip. It is one of the most demographically and economically unique regions in the South. Traditionally a Democratic stronghold (Democrats lead 45% to 32% in registration), this region has seen notable Republican gains since 2016, culminating in a 6.6% swing toward the GOP in 2024. This is its best performance in years, nearly flipping the partisan split to 49-51.
Then, let’s look at the TexMex Nexus. This region spans heavily Hispanic areas along the Texas border, and in scattered urban centers, it has been one of the most politically dynamic zones in our Southern analysis. After holding steady at a near 50-50 partisan split in 2012, this region took a sharp left turn in 2016, moving 10 points toward the Democrats — double the next largest leftward shift in the South. That trend continued into 2020 with another 4-point Democratic gain, making it seem like a prime target for Democrats as their registration advantage grew to 53% over the GOP’s 39%.
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-929701" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/TexMexNexus-map1.png" alt="" width="514" height="383" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/TexMexNexus-map1.png 514w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/TexMexNexus-map1-300x224.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 514px) 100vw, 514px" /></div>
But 2024 brought a dramatic reversal, as the Tex-Mex Nexus saw the second-largest rightward swing of any region, moving 9 points toward Republicans and ending at a D+5 margin — a five-point improvement for the GOP compared to 2016. This shift was powered by significant Republican gains among Latino voters, particularly men, and by a focus on economic and border issues that resonated locally.
So what? With popular Governor Brian Kemp out of contention for the Georgia Senate race, the state remains in flux alongside its northern swing state counterpart, North Carolina. Factor in the fact that neither the Coastal Condo Coalition nor the TexMex Nexus is on lock for the GOP, and you have the four biggest wild cards in the South.
<h3>Stagnation &amp; Gridlock in the “Sweet” Burbs and Faux South</h3>
So, now we’ve got the Republican strongholds identified and the wild cards laid out — but that’s only half the picture. Vast swaths of the South are in political gridlock where even the sheer force of personality from someone like Trump has managed to crack — or break. These are the regions we’ve labeled the Sweet Tea Suburbs and the Faux South. While old voting patterns seem to be fading, these regions remain “stuck zones,” political wastelands where entrenchment and razor-thin margins offer no clear advantage to either party.
“These are not battlegrounds in the traditional sense,” Valdiviez says. “Rather they are stagnant bogs who have more impact on their urban cores and outlying mixing zones of other regions and therefore should be pursued nice-to-have incremental gains rather than outright winnable. The catch is these areas are political fronts that if left unattended could wind up being potential wild cards.”
So what? With so much talk of massive realignments and sweeping partisan shifts, both in strongholds and wild cards, these doldrums are different, and should be approached differently. The GOP’s only hope is to nibble around the edges of these regions with dynamic quality candidates and a message more akin to hometowns than the machinations of Washington, D.C.
<h3>Growth Regions: The GOP’s Next Frontier</h3>
Now for the fun part: the opportunities for Republicans in the South. If you’ve been following along so far, it’s a bit of a rollercoaster to say the least, but here are the three regions we think will comprise the next frontier for Republicans.
The Soulful South stands out among them, but not because of the 58% Republican ballot share or because Georgia’s Black Belt is now less visible in our regional analysis. Rather, the Soulful South stands out because it has been <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-end-of-democratic-assumptions-how-minority-voters-are-reshaping-southern-politics?author=Brent+Buchanan&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=3&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=The+End+of+Democratic+Assumptions%3A+How+Minority+Voters+Are+Reshaping+Southern+Politics" target="_blank" rel="noopener">trending rightward</a> since 2012.
The fact that Democrats take these voters for granted — combined with the connection forged by Trump’s candidacy — has made the Soulful South a budding ground of opportunity for Republicans going forward. Overconfidence here is perilous, but with Democrats without a message or a messenger that resonates with this predominantly black region, our analysis shows more to gain for Republicans than to lose. They should keep their foot on the gas here.
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-929703" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/SoulfulSouth-map1.png" alt="" width="455" height="361" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/SoulfulSouth-map1.png 455w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/SoulfulSouth-map1-300x238.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 455px) 100vw, 455px" /></div>
Our proprietary naming conventions and analysis also identify the Republican Resettlers and Big Hat Bloc regions as prime opportunities. The Republican Resettlers region, fueled by an influx of newcomers from liberal states seeking communities with conservative governance (you heard that right), has shown some of the most consistent rightward movement in the South, swinging eight points further right by 2024 to reach an R+17 margin. As migration trends continue, especially along the Georgia and Florida coasts, this bloc is poised to expand its influence and deliver reliable support for Republican candidates.
Similarly, the Big Hat Bloc, which experienced setbacks during the early Trump years, has rebounded with record Republican margins in 2024. This region’s mix of cultural conservatism and economic focus makes it fertile ground for further Republican consolidation, especially if the party can maintain strong turnout and continue to address local priorities — much like those strongholds we addressed earlier.
With both regions trending right and absorbing new, like-minded residents, the GOP’s prospects for midterm gains are strong, provided they stay focused on localized outreach and avoid complacency in data, spending, and messaging.
So what? This is where Republicans should surge their efforts with non-college educated, non-white voters, and even those <a href="https://cygn.al/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Cygnal-Election-2024-Focus-Group_Analysis.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ticked-off, young, working class, and diverse</a> voters within these regions. These are new constituencies for the GOP, and now is the time to further build out these inroads and lock in the gains for the post-Trump era.
<h3>Conclusion: The States and Their Shapes</h3>
As Americans, we know the regionality of our nation inherently, and we understand that state lines can be pesky and a bit funny. We also know those lines serve a multitude of purposes, chief among them governance and counting votes. With that in mind, it only makes sense to examine the South from our <a href="https://www.cygn.al/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/10-Regions-of-the-American-South-1.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">distinct regional perspective, noting</a> that Texas and Florida alone are projected to gain eight new congressional seats by 2030, with other Southern states like Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina also on the rise.
This shift comes at the expense of traditional blue state strongholds in the Midwest, fundamentally redrawing the map of political opportunity in America. The parties that best understand these new Southern realities — where regional identities like we’ve defined here, not state lines, drive turnout and loyalty — will tip the upper hand for 2026 and the next decade.
But here’s the catch: like the Democrats before them, Republicans can’t afford to treat the South as a monolith or rely on pre-Trump playbooks.
The story of the South today is one of ceilings, wild cards, gridlock, and growth. The lesson for Republican campaigns, operatives, and strategists is as clear as it is urgent: the old assumptions are dead, and the new map of power is regional, dynamic, and deeply local. The party that can surge turnout in fortress regions, lock in gains in growth zones, nibble at the edges of gridlocked suburbs, and win the battle for the wild cards will be the party that defines the next era of American politics.

Vice President JD Vance Tours Nucor Steel Berkeley In South Carolina

The South’s Next Act: Wild Cards In 2026 And Beyond 

2026 Midterms

Elections

Georgia

Republican Party

Southern States

The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against North Carolina and its elections board on Tuesday over its maintenance of voter rolls.
The Justice Department’s lawsuit says that the North Carolina State Board of Elections violated federal election law and risked the integrity of its voter rolls. Voters in the state were allowed to register without providing identification, such as a driver’s license, in violation of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), according to the suit.
“Defendants have failed to maintain accurate lists in North Carolina’s computerized statewide voter registration in violation of Section 303(a)(5) of HAVA and the sacred trust that the people of the State of North Carolina have put in them to ensure the fairness and integrity of elections for Federal office in the state, necessitating this litigation,” the <a href="https://www.justice.gov/crt/media/1401636/dl" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lawsuit</a> says.
President Donald Trump signed an <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/preserving-and-protecting-the-integrity-of-american-elections/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">executive order</a> in March directing the Justice Department to vigorously enforce federal election laws.
“Above all, elections must be honest and worthy of the public trust. That requires voting methods that produce a voter-verifiable paper record allowing voters to efficiently check their votes to protect against fraud or mistake. Election-integrity standards must be modified accordingly. It is the policy of my Administration to enforce Federal law and to protect the integrity of our election process,” the order states.
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The Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice is responsible for enforcing the president’s directive on election integrity. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, who heads the Civil Rights Division, said in a <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-files-help-america-vote-act-lawsuit-against-north-carolina-inaccurate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>: “Accurate voter registration rolls are critical to ensure that elections in North Carolina are conducted fairly, accurately, and without fraud.”
“The Department of Justice will not hesitate to file suit against jurisdictions that maintain inaccurate voter registration rolls in violation of federal voting laws,” Dhillon added.
Sam Hayes, the executive director of the North Carolina elections board, acknowledged shortcomings in the state’s voter registration process.
“I was only recently notified of this action by the United States Department of Justice. We are still reviewing the complaint, but the failure to collect the information required by HAVA has been well documented. Rest assured that I am committed to bringing North Carolina into compliance with federal law,” Hayes told <a href="https://www.cbs17.com/news/north-carolina-news/department-of-justice-suing-north-carolina-for-inaccurate-voter-list/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CBS17</a>.

Harmeet Dhillon

DOJ: North Carolina Violated ‘Sacred Trust’ With Faulty Election Rolls

Civil Rights Division

Department of Justice

The Department of Education opened up an investigation on Thursday into Western Carolina University over reports that it housed a male alongside a female and retaliated against a student after she complained about the presence of a male in a female locker room.
The Education Department&#8217;s Office of Civil Rights announced that it had initiated a Title IX investigation into Western Carolina University over allegations that the university &#8220;has openly refused to comply with Title IX and to ensure sex-separated intimate spaces in federally funded institutions of higher education.&#8221; The announcement comes one day after the group Speech First <a href="https://speechfirst.org/news/foia-records-show-western-carolina-universitys-defiant-response-to-trump-administration-policies-on-gender/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">published</a> communications from the university showing that it was not planning on making changes in response to President Donald Trump&#8217;s executive order to keep men who identify as women out of female spaces.
“WCU’s reported contempt for federal anti-discrimination laws and indifference to, and retaliation against, girls who have spoken up about males invading their intimate spaces is simply unacceptable,” Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor <a href="https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-educations-office-civil-rights-launches-title-ix-investigation-western-carolina-university">said</a>. “The Trump-McMahon Department of Education will continue to deploy every lawful means to eradicate this wholly unnecessary and egregious violation of women and girls’ civil rights.”
In response to the investigation, the university said that it was compliant with all federal regulations.
&#8220;Western Carolina University is compliant with all current state and federal regulations and will continue to adjust any necessary campus policies and practices to remain in compliance with future changes,&#8221; the university told The Daily Wire. &#8220;At this time, we have no further comment regarding this matter.&#8221;
The probe comes one day after documents posted by Speech First and first <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/news/western-carolina-university-refusing-to-comply-with-trump-order-protecting-womens-spaces-emails-show/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> on by National Review show the school&#8217;s chief compliance officer stating that the university is &#8220;not making changes based&#8221; on Trump&#8217;s executive order called &#8220;Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.&#8221;
Another one of the components of the Education Department&#8217;s investigation is that the university launched a Title IX investigation into former student Payton McNabb after she complained about the presence of a male in a dress in a woman&#8217;s bathroom. While McNabb was later cleared of any wrongdoing, her lawyer <a href="https://www.thecollegefix.com/student-payton-mcnabb-wins-title-ix-case-over-trans-bathroom-dispute/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stated</a> that the university had encouraged the complaint to be filed against her.
&#8220;In addition to my experience discovering a male in the women’s restroom on campus, men who self-identify as transgender are entering other women’s intimate spaces like restrooms, dorm rooms and locker rooms,&#8221; McNabb said Thursday. &#8220;Female college students will not sit idly by as men take over our spaces. I’m thankful to have an administration that will stand up for us.”
The department&#8217;s action was praised by Nicole Neily, the acting executive director of Speech First.
“Actions speak louder than words, and the Department of Education’s commitment to protecting women and girls is second to none,&#8221; Neily said. &#8220;This investigation sends a clear message to colleges and universities across the country: compliance with the law is not voluntary.”

Education Secretary Linda McMahon Visits “Fox & Friends”

Another University Facing Probe Over Defiance Of Trump Executive Orders

Civil Rights

Department of Education

Education

Title IX

Transgender

Editor’s note: This is the fourth installment of a six-part series by pollster Brent Buchanan on the politics of the American South. Last week, Buchanan broke down the unique features and critical importance of the Southern suburbs. Today, he takes a close look at North Carolina.
We hope you enjoy.
It might sound like a stretch to think voting behavior and political divides in one of the South’s most consequential swing states could be explained by barbecue sauce.
But that’s exactly what we found in North Carolina.
In both barbecue sauce and politics, North Carolina’s “split personality” is rooted in centuries-old settlement patterns and evolving demographics. Barbecue here is a source of pride, and, like taste preferences nationally, voters in the Tar Heel State — or, shall we say, the Sauce State — are divided.
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-914211" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Image-4-29-25-at-9.55%E2%80%AFAM.jpeg" alt="" width="658" height="356" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Image-4-29-25-at-9.55%E2%80%AFAM.jpeg 658w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Image-4-29-25-at-9.55%E2%80%AFAM-300x162.jpeg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 658px) 100vw, 658px" /></div>
The so-called &#8220;barbecue boundary&#8221; is more than a culinary cleave; it reflects the state’s foundational divisions. Western North Carolina, settled predominantly by German and Moravian immigrants, developed the Lexington style of barbecue with tomato-based sauces.
Then there’s Eastern North Carolina, settled earlier by English and Scots-Irish immigrants, known for their whole-hog barbecue and vinegar-based sauces. These regional distinctions mirror broader cultural and political divides, with the western &#8220;Trumpian Highlands&#8221; standing apart from the more moderate &#8220;Faux South&#8221; and gridlocked “Sweet Tea Suburbs&#8221; of the east.
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-914209" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/DW-PART-IV-NC-Full-Map-1024x428.png" alt="" width="1024" height="428" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/DW-PART-IV-NC-Full-Map-1024x428.png 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/DW-PART-IV-NC-Full-Map-300x126.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/DW-PART-IV-NC-Full-Map-768x321.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/DW-PART-IV-NC-Full-Map-1536x643.png 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/DW-PART-IV-NC-Full-Map.png 1551w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></div>
Our analysis shows a political patchwork of those Trumpian Highlands in the west reflecting the deep-red, Appalachian-rooted strongholds that have surged rightward in recent years, and the Faux South in the east, which is a concentration of moderate, Mid-Atlantic-influenced counties shaped by trade routes rather than mountain and lowland plantation culture. Mixed in are the modern Sweet Tea Suburbs, encompassing the politically gridlocked, middle-class communities ringing cities like Raleigh and Charlotte.
“The Tar Heel State’s battleground status is primarily driven by their voters in the Trumpian Highlands,” said Nicholas Valdiviez, Cygnal’s Sampling Lead, who spearheaded this project. “The turnout differentials are even more galvanizing where we saw those areas jumping 14% for Republicans from 2012 to 2016, and falling 16% for Democrats in this same time, which is a whopping 31% delta in turnout between parties leading into Trump’s first term.”
By 2024, the Republican margin in the Trumpian Highlands reached 74-26, rivaling the deepest red regions anywhere in the South. However, keep in mind this region was among the hardest hit by Hurricane Helene and while they may have been trending Republican in recent years, President Joe Biden’s woeful (putting it mildly) response could have added fuel to voters’ enthusiasm for Trump.
These numbers still suggest a partisan ceiling in the western part of the state, excluding more liberal pockets like Asheville and Charlotte, meaning the GOP’s continued dominance here will depend on sustaining enthusiasm among rural voters, especially as the state’s population centers continue to grow and attract out-of-state liberals. Without the magnetism of Trump atop the ticket, Republicans can’t bank on the lovers of Lexington BBQ to deliver a statewide win.
Meanwhile, on the eastern side of the barbecue boundary, the Faux South region — with its Mid-Atlantic heritage and more moderate political leanings — tells a different story. The region as a whole saw Republicans peak in 2016, winning 52% of the vote, but then saw the steepest decline of any southern region from 2016 to 2020, with only a mild recovery. North Carolina was a latecomer to the larger trend in 2024, showing a five-point spread favoring Republicans.
Then, from 2020 to 2024, the Faux South shifted three points to the right, signaling that even in historically challenging areas, the GOP is capable of making incremental gains and keeping them. But it is the region’s volatility that makes it a true wild card — one that could swing statewide outcomes if either party finds the highly attractive candidates, compelling messages, and a solid mobilization strategy.
As we <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/beyond-the-swing-why-southern-suburbs-refuse-to-budge?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Brent+Buchanan&amp;category=Original&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=Beyond+The+Swing%3A+Why+Southern+Suburbs+Refuse+To+Budge%C2%A0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">mentioned,</a> the Sweet Tea Suburbs surrounding North Carolina’s major cities are politically gridlocked, with little movement since 2008. Turnout and margins are often determined by local issues and demographic changes from transplant residents.
“Though Republicans don’t control the governor’s mansion, they do hold both Senate seats and a majority of House seats,” said Valdiviez. “But if both sides of the barbecue boundary, Lexington and Eastern-style, continue to grow in population — especially in the ‘burbs — things could make the politics more precarious for Republicans.”
Valdiviez is right: things could get dicey for Republicans, but only if they fail to connect with middle-class voters’ day-to-day concerns in the same way Democrats have.
But things look different if Republicans make those more moderate Democrats in North Carolina distance themselves from or defend the radical voices of Bernie Sanders and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/chris-cuomo-blasts-80-20-loser-ocasio-cortez-warns-dems-not-to-pick-her-in-2028?author=Virginia+Kruta&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=3&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+News&amp;rowType=Vertical+Carousel&amp;title=Chris+Cuomo+Blasts+%E2%80%9980-20+Loser%E2%80%99+Ocasio-Cortez%2C+Warns+Dems+Not+To+Pick+Her+In+2028" target="_blank" rel="noopener">AOC</a>, who now lift the party’s mantle. Just because the suburbs’ inelasticity is inherently left-leaning does not mean those ardent Leftists won’t alienate independent voters in the same way they did in 2024, turning North Carolina to Republicans.
North Carolina’s electoral map is a lot like its barbecue boundary: divided, fiercely proud of its local identity, and resistant to one-size-fits-all solutions. It requires a nuanced understanding of each region’s history, culture, and evolving priorities. And just like BBQ in North Carolina, if you bring the wrong sauce in the wrong region, you’re going to be asked politely to leave.
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-914213" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/DW-Part-IV-BBQ-v2-1024x408.png" alt="" width="1024" height="408" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/DW-Part-IV-BBQ-v2-1024x408.png 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/DW-Part-IV-BBQ-v2-300x120.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/DW-Part-IV-BBQ-v2-768x306.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/DW-Part-IV-BBQ-v2.png 1177w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></div>
COMING UP NEXT: Like North Carolina, all eyes are on Georgia, especially as <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/stacey-abrams-linked-group-received-2b-from-biden-admin-slush-fund-doge-finds?author=Ashe+Schow&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Stacey+Abrams-Linked+Group+Received+%242B+From+Biden+Admin+Slush+Fund%2C+DOGE+Finds" target="_blank" rel="noopener">revelations</a> about Stacey Abrams’ shady political machine during the Biden years and Republicans look to unseat the swing state’s vulnerable Democrat Senator, John Ossoff. 
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-914215" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Full-Map-1.jpeg" alt="" width="670" height="407" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Full-Map-1.jpeg 670w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Full-Map-1-300x182.jpeg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 670px) 100vw, 670px" /></div>
ABOUT THE MAP: Amid America’s massive political realignment, mostly ushered in by President Donald Trump’s MAGA movement, the South is more consequential than anywhere else. It is responsible for more than a third of Senate seats, the equivalent of an entire <a href="https://www.senate.gov/senators/Class_II.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">class</a> of Senators up for reelection in any cycle, and it accounts for 193 electoral votes, more than half the needed amount to win a presidential election.
By breaking the South into distinct regions, we can better understand the layered realities on the ground. We named each of the South’s regions out of necessity, not novelty. This regional lens reveals patterns and divides that state lines alone obscure, allowing for a more accurate and intelligible analysis of the South’s electoral dynamics.
This large-scale project aggregates voter trends in areas like education, income, gender, age, and partisanship – and even some of our own recent polling data. So far, we’ve analyzed everything from the realignment of its <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-end-of-democratic-assumptions-how-minority-voters-are-reshaping-southern-politics?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Brent+Buchanan&amp;category=News+and+Analysis&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=The+End+of+Democratic+Assumptions%3A+How+Minority+Voters+Are+Reshaping+Southern+Politics" target="_blank" rel="noopener">minority voters</a>, the stagnation of its <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/beyond-the-swing-why-southern-suburbs-refuse-to-budge?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Brent+Buchanan&amp;category=Original&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=Beyond+The+Swing%3A+Why+Southern+Suburbs+Refuse+To+Budge%C2%A0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">suburbs</a>, and the necessity to call out its unique regions, which transcend state lines and better <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-rise-of-the-south-is-not-what-you-think-why-it-holds-the-keys-to-political-control" target="_blank" rel="noopener">define</a> its implications on national elections.

Manufacturing losses swing voters in 2 N.C. counties

BBQ Politics? How North Carolina’s Sauce Divide Mirrors Its Voting Behavior 

Democratic Party

Voting

North Carolina Congressman Mark Harris is leading a push to protect pastors who make political statements from being punished by the IRS, he told The Daily Wire. 
Harris on Monday will introduce the “Free Speech Fairness Act,” to make it clear in law that religious leaders can make statements about political candidates and not have to worry about their churches losing tax-exempt status. The bill is specifically aimed at countering the 1954 Johnson Amendment, which restricts churches and other non-profits from endorsing or opposing political candidates. 
“The whole idea was in contrast to Americans’ inalienable rights to free speech and the free exercise of religion,” Harris told The Daily Wire. “It currently puts the IRS in a position of judge and jury on comments that are going to be made by ministers from the pulpit and all speech from non-profits.”
Harris, a Baptist minister, said that the Johnson Amendment had been used as a “tool to silence religious leaders and churches.” He said his legislation would restore free speech to religious leaders and non-profits. 
Senator James Lankford (R-OK) will introduce a companion measure co-sponsored by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) in the Senate. 
“The First Amendment protects Americans’ right to freedom of speech and religious freedom without the threat of interference from Congress,&#8221; Lankford told The Daily Wire. &#8220;Fundamental American values must extend to everyone, including pastors, social workers, or non-profit employees and volunteers. Everyone should have their constitutional rights to assembly, free speech, freedom of religion and free press protected.”
The bill would “allow charitable organizations to make statements relating to political campaigns if such statements are made in the ordinary course of carrying out its tax exempt purpose” and if no meaningful expenses are incurred. For example, a pastor could comment on a political candidate during a sermon, or the president of a crisis pregnancy center could point to a candidate&#8217;s record on abortion in a newsletter. 
The legislation would not allow churches or non-profits to become political action committees, Harris said. 
”We’re not looking for churches to become super PACS, that is certainly not the purpose of this,” he told The Daily Wire. “But it is to really restore free speech to the pulpits of America without any threat of our tax code.” 
In the House, the bill has already picked up 14 co-sponsors, including Reps. Michael Guest (MS), Randy Weber (TX), Barry Moore (AL), Clay Higgins (LA), Glenn Grothman (WI), Keith Self (TX), Michael Baumgartner (WA), Mark Messmer (IN), Tim Walberg (MI), Marlin Stutzman (IN), David Rouzer (NC), Doug LaMalfa (CA), Andy Ogles (TN), Abe Hamadeh (AZ), and Mary Miller (IL). 
House Speaker Mike Johnson <a href="https://scalise.house.gov/press-release/scalise-hice-johnson-lankford-reintroduce-free-speech-fairness-act" target="_blank" rel="noopener">introduced</a> similar legislation in 2019 alongside House Majority Leader Steve Scalise.
The proposal is also backed by over a dozen conservative groups including the Alliance Defending Freedom, Focus on the Family, the Family Research Council, Catholic Vote, the America First Policy Institute, and others.
Back in 2017, President Donald Trump promised to &#8220;destroy&#8221; the Johnson Amendment to &#8220;allow our representatives of faith to speak freely and without fear of retribution.&#8221; To that effect, Trump signed an <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2017/05/09/2017-09574/promoting-free-speech-and-religious-liberty" target="_blank" rel="noopener">executive order</a> in May 2017 to explicitly protect religious leaders speaking out on politics.

Mark Harris wont face state charges in N.C. 9th District ballot fraud case

EXCLUSIVE: North Carolina Republican Leads Effort To ‘Restore’ Free Speech For Pastors, Churches

First Amendment

Free Speech

James Lankford

Religious Liberty

Three years ago, during a high school girls’ volleyball match, the future I had envisioned for myself completely fell apart.
I <a href="https://www.iwfeatures.com/documentary/payton-mcnabb/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">suffered a severe head and neck injury</a> after a trans-identifying male athlete on the opposing girls’ team sent a volleyball flying directly at my face. I was left partially paralyzed on the right side of my body. The full extent of my injuries forced me to confront the reality that the collegiate athletic career I had been pursuing was no longer possible, and that even basic tasks, such as driving and taking exams, would be significantly more difficult.
At first, I felt hopeless. But then I realized I could use my tragedy — the permanent consequences I must now live with as a result of an unfair policy forcing girls like me to compete against biological males—for good.
And that’s exactly what has happened.
It was an immense honor to attend President Donald Trump’s joint address to Congress on March 4 as a guest of the president and first lady. All I could think about as I listened to the president share my story is how far I’ve come — and how different things could have been.
I never wanted to be a policy advocate or public figure in the fight against gender ideology. All I wanted was to compete and play softball in college. But as President Trump reminded Americans during his address, gender ideology and the officials who enforce it stole that dream from me. And they have no regrets about doing so.
In fact, as I stood to be recognized by President Trump, not a single Democrat on the left side of the aisle applauded or stood in recognition of the hardship I have experienced. I don’t recall even one Democrat so much as looking in my direction. It was hard not to take this as a personal insult. After all, the policies they support — policies that strip women of their right to sex-based spaces and sports teams — cost me personally.
But the Democrats’ stubborn refusal to recognize the consequences of their policies doesn’t just affect me. Senate Democrats in particular made that quite clear this month when they refused to vote in favor of the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, a bill that would bar male athletes from competing against — and potentially injuring — young women.
These Democrats know they are out of step with the American public on this issue—and they just don’t care. For example, when Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-NH, was asked earlier this month why she voted against the bill when <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/sports/nyt-poll-finds-majority-democrats-oppose-trans-athletes-womens-sports" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the vast majority</a> of her state’s residents support it, she <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/gops-two-top-dem-senate-targets-justify-blocking-bill-bar-men-from-womens-sports" target="_blank" rel="noopener">insisted</a> the legislation wasn’t important because “it only applies to one person.”
To be clear, even a very conservative estimate <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/lgbtq/5046662-ncaa-president-transgender-athletes-college-sports/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">places</a> the total number of trans-identifying male athletes competing in women’s sports at far more than just “one person.” But even if Shaheen were right, I am living proof of what can happen when just “one person” is forced to give up her sex-based right to fair and safe competition. Does my experience not matter to Democrats like Shaheen? Do my rights not count?
The fact is, it doesn’t matter how many trans-identifying athletes there are. The correct number of women who should be forced to compete against them is zero. And if congressional Democrats refuse to take our safety seriously, then state legislatures must pick up the slack for them.
After my injury, I was proud to help pass a bill in my home state of North Carolina, House Bill 574, that bans trans-identifying male athletes from playing in women’s sports at both the K-12 and collegiate levels, and I remain committed to helping other states follow suit. There are still 24 states that refuse to act on this issue. That must change.
Those states should keep in mind that the American public, the Trump administration, and, most importantly, common sense, are all on the same side: the side that values and protects women like me. They can either join the fight or stay seated like the Democrats in Congress this month. For their own sake, I hope they choose the former.
* * *
Payton McNabb is an Independent Women ambassador and former three-sport athlete who was severely injured by a male playing in a women’s volleyball game. McNabb’s story was shared in <a href="https://www.iwfeatures.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">IW Features</a>&#8216; documentary, <a href="https://www.iwfeatures.com/documentary/payton-mcnabb/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;Kill Shot: How Payton McNabb Turned Tragedy into Triumph.&#8221;</a>
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

MixCollage-24-Mar-2025-09-02-AM-4889

I Was Injured By A Trans Athlete. State Legislatures Need To Do More To Protect Women’s Sports

I Was Injured By A Trans Athlete. State Legislatures Need To Do More To Protect Women's Sports

Brain

Democrats

female sports

High School

Opinion

Sports

Transgender Athletes

Volleyball

Women's sports

Erin Derham heard the knocking first.
Another storm was raging over North Carolina, with heavy rain and wind gusts over 40 MPH bringing more damage to an area still suffering from a hurricane last year. The pounding at her door was so loud and so desperate that she thought a tree must have fallen on the house, and someone was coming to check on her family.
She rushed to the door in her pajamas, as her three kids slept upstairs and her husband, social media influencer Matt Van Swol, frantically dressed. When Derham answered the door, she found a police officer with his gun drawn. He asked her if someone inside the home had been shot.
She immediately knew what was going on. Her family was being swatted.
Swatting is a pernicious practice wherein someone calls the police to falsely report a serious crime at an innocent individual’s home, bringing police and SWAT teams to the home. Police arrive to a residence with urgency to stop a serious crime that isn&#8217;t happening, a waste of resources that could potentially cause unnecessary confrontation and even death.
When Derham told the officer what was happening, she says he first seemed to believe she was admitting to perpetrating the hoax herself. She explained to him that someone else had called in the crime, and the officer radioed in to tell the other units en route to stop. Apparently, just about every law enforcement officer in Buncombe County was on their way to the Van Swol household, responding to a call so horrific it necessitated a massive police presence.
That call, according to a police transcript provided to The Daily Wire, came from a person pretending to be Van Swol saying that three masked intruders — two white and one black — broke into his home, shot his wife, and then shot him in the back and leg. The caller claimed he was hiding in the basement and could still hear the intruders rummaging through the house while his son was asleep upstairs.
“They’re going to kill me,” the caller said, begging for police assistance.
The desperation in the caller’s voice and the wild story they strung together could only mean one thing, Van Swol told The Daily Wire: “These people wanted to kill me.”
His family is still living on edge.
“My daughter woke up while the police officers were in the house,” he said. “She&#8217;s 13. It&#8217;s hard to explain to a kid that when a bunch of cops show up to your house with guns drawn that you&#8217;re not the bad guy, somebody else is.”
Van Swol said he believes the situation probably would have been worse if he had answered the door rather than his wife.
“Had I gone to the door, seen a man with a gun with a flashlight with his headlights pointed through the window of my door, I would probably try to kill that person,” he said, adding that he doesn’t think he would have survived the encounter. But because the caller claimed a woman had been shot and male perpetrators were still in the house, a woman answering the door with no injuries immediately defused the situation.
Thankfully for the Van Swol family, they live in a small town where everyone knows everyone, and neighbors have come by to make sure they were okay, while the police have been transparent and helpful.
Van Swol posted about the encounter on X, including door-camera footage of the initial confrontation. He also called the police officer who went to the door alone a “hero,” because, from the officer’s perspective, he was going into a dangerous situation without backup to try and save lives.
Van Swol said he was told by law enforcement that local media outlets were calling and showing up at the police department to ask whether the swatting event was real, but after police confirmed it was, no articles were written.
“They were apparently blowing up the police department to get more information on it,” Van Swol told The Daily Wire. “And you would think one would write a story about it if they were so interested, but they never wrote a story about it and it&#8217;s big news.”
Since the swatting attempt, hoaxsters have ordered numerous pizzas to the Van Swol household late at night. The constant doorbell ringing became so regular that the family now posts a sign on the door warning delivery people they did not order anything and the orders are a hoax.
Van Swol is one of many conservative influencers to be swatted recently. As analyst DataRepublican pointed out on X, nearly all of those who have been swatted since March 10 were popular X accounts who are regularly interacted with by Elon Musk, with many, Van Swol excluded, having ties to InfoWars or War Room.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
🧵 THREAD: Unmasking Swatting Patterns 🧵
Three additional MAGA X influencers got swatted today: <a href="https://twitter.com/Beard_Vet?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Beard_Vet</a> , <a href="https://twitter.com/matt_vanswol?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@matt_vanswol</a> , <a href="https://twitter.com/GrageDustin?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GrageDustin</a> .
I used Grok to compile the following list of swatting victims and then ran it through both Grok and OpenAI’s deep research tools to find… <a href="https://t.co/mpuzUH2npt">https://t.co/mpuzUH2npt</a>
— DataRepublican (small r) (@DataRepublican) <a href="https://twitter.com/DataRepublican/status/1901466684398895135?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 17, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Many of the accounts who were victims of swatting also expressed support for Israel or spoke out against Hamas and were regularly amplified by Utah Senator Mike Lee’s personal account. The accounts also have follower counts in the hundreds of thousands, or even millions.
Van Swol rose to prominence following Hurricane Helene, which struck western North Carolina in September 2024 and became the deadliest hurricane to strike the U.S. mainland since Katrina in 2005. After the storm hit, Van Swol noticed the government and media outlets quickly moved on from reporting on the destruction, and began amplifying the concerns of the people who lost their homes and businesses in the storm. Before Hurricane Helene, Van Swol says he had around 5,000 followers, but as of publication he has more than 200,000.
He at times posts conservative messages to explain why he left the Democratic Party after seeing how the media and government treated western North Carolina, but he doesn’t understand why he is now a target of swatting.
“What could I have possibly said that would have angered someone so badly that they would be on the phone with the police, making up some crazy story to try to get the police to break into the house with a gun in the middle of the night?”
This is not the first wave of swatting. The FBI warned of the dangers of swatting back in 2008, <a href="https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/news/stories/2008/february/swatting020408">calling</a> the attempts “dangerous to first responders and to the victims.” At the time, the FBI referred to a case from 2007 where a married California couple was swatted by a 19-year-old Washington State man who called the police claiming to be the husband and said he had just murdered someone. No one was injured during that incident, and the caller was apprehended.
“Between 2002 and 2006, the five swatters called 9-1-1 lines in more than 60 cities nationwide, impacting more than 100 victims, causing a disruption of services for telecommunications providers and emergency responders, and resulting in up to $250,000 in losses,” the FBI reported in 2008.
In 2012, multiple conservative bloggers — including Erick Erickson of Redstate — were the victims of swatting. Then-Sen. Saxby Chambliss, a Republican from Georgia, was also a victim.
But conservatives aren&#8217;t the only swatting victims. In 2013, Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) and numerous celebrities, including Ashton Kutcher and Tom Cruise, had their homes swatted. That same year, Mir Islam was convicted of doxing and swatting more than 50 public figures. Multiple video game streamers have also been victims.
A swatting incident in Oklahoma in 2015 left Sentinel Police Chief Louis Ross injured after he was shot by a homeowner who had been swatted. The homeowner, Dallas Horton, had no idea Ross was an officer and thought a man with a gun was breaking into his home. Ross was shot multiple times but survived.
In 2017, a Wichita police officer shot and killed Andrew Finch during a swatting attempt after two “Call of Duty” gamers who played with him made the fake call. Tyler Raj Barris was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the crime. Another gamer was sentenced to 15 months in prison for conspiracy.
In 2020, 60-year-old Mark Herring of Bethpage, Tennessee, died of a heart attack after he was swatted by a man who wanted his X handle. Shane Sonderman was sentenced to five years in prison for the crime.
So far, no one has been arrested for the recent string of swattings targeting conservative influencers, and according to Van Swol, his local police currently have no leads. This week, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem vowed to find the people behind the attacks.
“Under President Trump’s leadership, we will not sit idly by as conservative new media and their families are being targeted by false swatting,” Noem wrote on X. “[DHS] has the ability to trace phone numbers and track location information. We will use it to hunt these cowards down.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Under President Trump’s leadership, we will not sit idly by as conservative new media and their families are being targeted by false swatting. <a href="https://twitter.com/DHSgov?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DHSgov</a> has the ability to trace phone numbers and track location information. We will use it to hunt these cowards down.
This is an…
— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) <a href="https://twitter.com/Sec_Noem/status/1902426512579559497?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 19, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
FBI Director Kash Patel also released a statement regarding the attacks.
“I want to address the alarming rise in ‘Swatting’ incidents targeting media figures,” Patel said on X. “The FBI is aware of this dangerous trend, and my team and I are already taking action to investigate and hold those responsible accountable.”
“This isn’t about politics—weaponizing law enforcement against ANY American is not only morally reprehensible but also endangers lives, including those of our officers,” Patel added. “That will not be tolerated. We are fully committed to working with local law enforcement to crack down on these crimes.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
I want to address the alarming rise in ‘Swatting’ incidents targeting media figures. The FBI is aware of this dangerous trend, and my team and I are already taking action to investigate and hold those responsible accountable.
This isn’t about politics—weaponizing law enforcement…
— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) <a href="https://twitter.com/FBIDirectorKash/status/1900536072871768094?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 14, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Van Swol, in addition to wanting the perpetrators brought to justice, said he wants the country to calm down.
“I&#8217;d love to see them found and I would love to see the temperature around Elon and DOGE and Trump drop because we cannot live in a country where someone is swatted in the middle of the night for posting their benign political views on the internet.&#8221;

Police on the move aiming rifles

What It’s Like To Be Swatted

Crime

Swatting

Turns out that it’s easy to make people move out of your state: Just raise taxes.
Recently, residents of high-tax states such as California, New York, Illinois, and New Jersey have been on the move. Specifically, they’ve been flocking to low-tax destinations such as Florida, Texas, North Carolina, Arizona, and Tennessee.
Between April 1, 2020, and June 30, 2023, high-tax states lost net 2.8 million residents to low-tax states. That’s more people than could be seated in all 30 NFL stadiums and 29 NBA arenas combined.
Zero-income tax Florida and Texas were the top two destinations for interstate movers, gaining 819,000 and 656,000 net residents respectively. Americans in the northeastern U.S. and the upper Midwest poured into Florida, while Texas was the destination of choice for many people living west of the Mississippi.
North Carolina (310,000), South Carolina (248,000), Arizona (218,000), and Tennessee (207,000) ranked third through sixth in net population gain from interstate migration. Each of them is a low-tax state (except South Carolina, which stands in the middle of the pack). Tennessee, like Florida and Texas, is one of the seven states with zero income tax.
It’s no coincidence that former Californians led the exodus out of high-tax states. California has the highest state income tax rate in the country at 13.3%, and it lost 1.2 million residents to interstate migration in a little more than three years.
Incredibly, California was the leading source of net domestic migration into every state within 1,000 miles of either Los Angeles or San Francisco.
The most popular destinations for Californians were Texas, Arizona, and Nevada. Texas and Nevada have no income tax, and Arizona has the lowest non-zero income tax rate.
New York state has the second highest income tax rate at 10.9%, and it had the second highest level of net outmigration during the roughly three-year period – a net loss of about 883,000 people. Counting both local and state taxes, nobody faces higher tax rates than do New York City residents.
Frank Sinatra once sang that if you could make it in New York, you could make it anywhere. These days, more and more people have been trying to make it somewhere else.
New Yorkers have been gravitating to greener pastures in Florida, Texas, and North Carolina. Low overall taxes and non-existent income tax play an important role in attracting New Yorkers to Florida and Texas (North Carolina is also among the lowest-tax states in the country).
Other New Yorkers fled to neighboring states like Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and New Jersey – states which have lower taxes than New York, but which certainly can’t be considered low-tax states.
Each of these states lost population to interstate migration overall, despite all the people flowing in from New York. In fact, New Jersey had the fourth highest population loss from interstate migration – about 153,000, behind only California, New York, and Illinois (364,000).
Other factors besides taxes also contribute to population flows. But the pattern of high-tax states losing residents to low-tax states is too strong to chalk up as a coincidence. The pattern holds year after year, between neighboring states, and across regions.
The pattern also holds across the income spectrum. Even low-income Americans (who may themselves pay a small amount of taxes) tend to move from high-tax states to low-tax states. If high taxes are supposed to pay for government services that improve the lives of low- and middle-income residents, well, it’s not working. 
The highest-income residents are especially sensitive to differences in tax rates, but that just shows why it’s so counterproductive for state lawmakers to try to soak the rich. Driving up tax rates drives out the people who pay the most in taxes.
State lawmakers eager to harvest more tax revenues must be careful lest they cause the geese with the golden eggs to fly away to somewhere they’re appreciated more and taxed less: states like Florida, Texas, North Carolina, Arizona, and Tennessee.
* * *
Preston Brashers is a Research Fellow for <a href="https://www.heritage.org/taxes/report/if-you-tax-them-they-will-run-millions-americans-flee-california-and-new-york" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tax policy</a> in The Heritage Foundation’s Grover M. Hermann Center for the Federal Budget. Read his new report: <a href="https://www.heritage.org/sites/default/files/2025-03/BG3896.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;If You Tax Them, They Will Run: Millions of Americans Flee California And New York.&#8221;</a>
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

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