NationalWatch

Democrats appear to be in panic mode as they scramble to save President Biden’s re-election hopes from the threat of independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s campaign, a call hosted by the Democratic National Committee (DNC) revealed Tuesday afternoon.

The call with members of the press took place immediately after Kennedy announced tech entrepreneur Nicole Shanahan as his vice presidential running mate at a rally in Oakland, California, and included Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., Pennsylvania Lieutenant Gov. Austin Davis, and Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, who all fretted that Kennedy would likely ruin any chance of Biden being re-elected.

“We are doing everything in our power to get President Biden and Vice President Harris reelected. It’s critical that we take seriously every possible obstacle to that goal. And let me be clear, that’s exactly what Robert F. Kennedy is in this election. He’s a spoiler,” Davis said.

WHO IS NICOLE SHANAHAN? MEET THE WEALTHY ENTREPRENEUR RFK JR SELECTED AS HIS VP RUNNING MATE

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., President Biden, and Kennedy’s vice presidential running mate Nicole Shanahan. (Getty Images)

McMorrow agreed, saying it was important for her to be on the call to share “how horrifying this campaign is and what it really means on the ground for Michigan.”

“Him being in the race means that there is a greater likelihood that Donald Trump will become president again,” she said.

Earlier in the call, Garcia railed against Kennedy as “a tin foil hat conspiracy theorist,” referencing his past skepticism toward vaccines, particularly those aimed at combating the COVID-19 pandemic. He also accused Shanahan of holding an “anti-health agenda” despite a large portion of her introduction as Kennedy’s running mate being focused on Americans’ health, especially that of children.

“He’s turning to Trump mega-donors to really support this, really, spoiler campaign. I think he’s likely interested in trying to get Donald Trump elected. Maybe that’s what this is about. And many of us are not sure, but he is someone that should not be taken seriously as a serious person. I mean, certainly his campaign is quite dangerous,” Garcia said, appearing to launch his own conspiracy theory about Kennedy’s candidacy.

His reference to former President Donald Trump’s donors supporting Kennedy was likely referring to Timothy Mellon, the heir to the Mellon banking fortune who has given millions to outside groups supporting Trump’s third run for the presidency. Last year, Mellon donated millions to American Values 2024, a super PAC backing Kennedy.

DEMOCRATS RIPPED FOR TRYING TO ‘KILL DEMOCRACY’ WITH EFFORT TO PROTECT BIDEN, SILENCE THIRD-PARTY CANDIDATES

Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump arrives for an election-night watch party at Mar-a-Lago on March 5, 2024 in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Garcia continued to harp on Kennedy’s past positions on vaccines, referring to his bid for the presidency as “disgusting and shameful,” and calling on him to end his “horrific campaign.”

Davis also focused heavily on Kennedy’s past vaccine rhetoric, but repeated Garcia’s theories on the origination of Kennedy’s campaign.

“The truth is that he was drafted into this race by Donald Trump’s top supporters and is being financed in this race by Trump’s largest donor. That isn’t merely a coincidence,” he said. “He has no realistic path to victory in Pennsylvania. All he can do is take away votes from President Biden and make it easier for Donald Trump to win, and we simply can’t afford to let that happen.”

Davis went on to accuse Kennedy of “deliberately” targeting Black people “with dangerous lies and conspiracy theories” about vaccines, and claimed that any suggestion he was an ally of the Black community was “frankly outrageous, and it’s offensive.”

McMorrow later added, “We cannot afford Donald Trump to be back in the White House, which is what is going to happen if people don’t see RFK for what he actually is, which is Donald Trump with a Kennedy name slapped on him.”

WATCH: DEMOCRAT FRONTRUNNER IN TIGHT SENATE RACE DROPS RACIAL SLUR DURING HOUSE HEARING

People wait for the arrival of Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as he prepares to announce his pick for running mate at the Henry J. Kaiser Event Center on March 26, 2024 in Oakland, California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

She went on to fret that Kennedy — like Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein in 2016 — could spoil a key swing state like Michigan for Biden. 

“You don’t need significant support to throw an election to Donald Trump. We saw this play out in 2016 where Jill Stein got 50,000 votes and Hillary Clinton lost by 10,000 votes in Michigan. So it is this type of a campaign — and Kennedy should be smart enough to know better. But I don’t think he does. I think his ego is in the way,” she said.

Earlier this month, the DNC launched an effort to silence the threat from third-party candidates, namely Kennedy, in the form of a team that is expected to actively combat them with legal challenges and opposition research.

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Robert F. Kennedy Jr., partner with Morgan & Morgan PA and 2024 independent presidential candidate, right, and Nicole Shanahan, 2024 independent vice presidential candidate, during a campaign event in Oakland, California, US, on Tuesday, March 26, 2024. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Democrat strategist Lis Smith, who helped lead Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s 2020 campaign and is consulting for the DNC on the project, set off a storm of X posts and reposts following Kennedy’s Tuesday speech, referring to the candidate as a “spoiler,” and sharing a video where she accused Shanahan of buying her inclusion on the ticket by donating millions to boost Kennedy before she was named his running mate.

The Democrats weren’t the only ones to go after Kennedy on Tuesday. The Trump-aligned super PAC Make America Great Again, Inc. released a statement that read, “Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is a far-left radical that supports reparations, backs the Green New Deal, and wants to ban fracking. It’s no surprise he would pick a Biden donor leftist as his running mate.”

The group slamming Shanahan as a Biden donor was in reference to her backing of the president in his 2020 bid for the White House before flipping to Kennedy this election cycle.

Recent polls have shown Kennedy, Stein and independent candidate Dr. Cornel West would pull significant support from both Biden and Trump, but with Biden appearing to be at risk of losing the most potential votes.

The latest RealClearPolitics average of polls has Kennedy reaching 15% in a three-way race against Biden and Trump. The average shows Trump ahead of Biden by 4 points. 

A five-way race including West and Stein has Kennedy’s support at 11%, with Trump having a 2-point advantage over Biden. 

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Republicans remained relatively quiet on Tuesday as the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a challenge regarding the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) actions to make the abortion pill Mifeprisone easier to access over the course of several years. 

Democratic lawmakers sounded off in apparent unison, contrasting with their partisan counterparts and bashing the arguments against the drug and the FDA’s choice to make it more accessible for women. 

REPUBLICANS SEE EMBATTLED MENENDEZ’S POTENTIAL INDEPENDENT BID AS CHANCE TO FLIP SENATE SEAT

“Judges need to stay out of women’s health care decisions. Getting prescription abortion medication is a personal decision, not the Supreme Court’s or any politician’s. This is another step in Republicans’ fight to ban abortion nationwide and I am having none of it,” wrote Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., on X, formerly known as Twitter. 

Demonstrators for abortion rights take part in a protest outside the U.S. Supreme Court as justices hear oral arguments in a bid by President Joe Biden’s administration to preserve broad access to the abortion pill, in Washington, U.S., March 26, 2024.  (REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein)

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., added, “The case before the Supreme Court today is not about the safety or efficacy of medication abortion. The FDA has already made it clear that mifepristone is safe & effective.”

“This case is about Donald Trump & the Republican Party marching us toward a full-on national abortion ban,” she continued, tying the case to the upcoming general election.

SEN. KENNEDY TORCHES OLYMPIC SKIER’S ‘EXPERT’ CLIMATE CHANGE TESTIMONY: THE ‘KARDASHIAN-ING OF AMERICA’

Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., stressed, “We cannot afford to go back” in reference to the case being considered. 

“Medication abortion is safe, effective & routine healthcare,” said progressive squad-member Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass.

“SCOTUS must protect access to mifepristone & we must affirm abortion care as the human right that it is,” she emphasized. 

PRO-LIFE GROUPS ASSAIL FDA FOR ‘RECKLESS DISREGARD’ IN SUPREME COURT ABORTION PILL CASE

Democratic lawmakers were vocal on social media ahead of and during the arguments, while many GOP representatives and senators focused on other things. The difference between the two parties’ public statements during the case’s arguments comes as abortion is predicted to play a critical role in the 2024 election in November. 

While most GOP senators avoided commentary, some of the particularly devoted Pro-Life politicians sounded off. 

Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., posted several fact checks to X, addressing “abortion industry lies.”

“I’m praying for the SCOTUS justices as they hear oral arguments regarding the FDA’s decisions to loosen safety protocols of mifepristone. I hope they will prioritize women’s safety and reconsider the approval of this dangerous drug. #WomensHealthMatters,” wrote the chair of the Senate Pro-Life Caucus, Sen. Cindy Hyde Smith, R-Miss. 

However, the relatively few public Republican remarks on the case on Tuesday doesn’t mean many of the lawmakers aren’t supportive of the challenge. In fact, 145 Republican representatives and senators signed an amicus brief last month in support of the respondents, the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, Et Al.

LETITIA JAMES RALLIES PRO-CHOICE CROWD OUTSIDE SUPREME COURT: ‘MARCH TO THE POLLS’

On the other hand, 50 senators and 207 House members previously signed a separate amicus brief backing up the FDA and the use of Mifepristone. 

Lawyer Erin Hawley of the Alliance Defending Freedom and wife of U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO), speaks with the media outside the U.S. Supreme Court as justices hear oral arguments in a bid by President Joe Biden’s administration to preserve broad access to the abortion pill, outside the court in Washington, U.S., March 26, 2024.  (REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein)

During the oral arguments, the lawyer for challengers to the FDA and abortion medication, Erin Hawley, asked the high court to require the restrictions that were removed surrounding Mifepristone be re-enstated. 

“The lower court’s decision merely restored long-standing and crucial protections under which millions of women used abortion drugs,” she said of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals previous ruling to roll back many of the FDA’s actions starting in 2016 to make it easier to dispense and access the medication. 

Hawley, senior counsel at the Alliance Defending Freedom, is also the wife of Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo. 

Many of the court’s justices appeared skeptical of the case’s trajectory to the Supreme Court, given the small pool of affected parties. “This case seems like a prime example of turning what could be a small lawsuit into a nationwide, legislative assembly on an FDA rule,” said conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch. 

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But fellow conservative justices Samuel Alito, who authored the opinion in Dobbs. V. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturning Roe. V. Wade, and Clarence Thomas criticized the idea that the FDA is immune from challenges. 

Alito claimed during the arguments that the agency is seeking to be “infallible.”

Former President Donald Trump announced on his social media platform, Truth Social, that he is partnering with country musician Lee Greenwood to sell “God Bless the USA” Bibles ahead of Good Friday and Easter Sunday.

“Happy Holy Week! Let’s Make America Pray Again. As we lead into Good Friday and Easter, I encourage you to get a copy of the God Bless The USA Bible,” Trump wrote in a post. 

The former president said every American needs to have a Bible in their home and added that he has many copies himself.

“All Americans need a Bible in their home, and I have many. It’s my favorite book,” Trump said in his video posted on Truth Social. “I’m proud to endorse and encourage you to get this Bible. We must make America pray again.”

LETITIA JAMES RALLIES PRO-CHOICE CROWD OUTSIDE SUPREME COURT: ‘MARCH TO THE POLLS’

In a video shared on his social media platform, Truth Social, former President Donald Trump said ‘Let’s Make America Pray Again.” (Left and Center: Truth Social/ @realDonaldTrump, Right: Getty Images)

The website to purchase the Bibles lists these books as the only Bible inspired by America’s most recognized patriotic anthem, “God Bless The USA.”

This is not the first time Trump has teamed up with the country music star, as he used his patriotic anthem often as his entrance song during his rallies and occasionally during events at the White House during his term as president. 

The Bible will also feature the United States Constitution, Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, The Pledge of Allegiance, as well as a handwritten chorus of “God Bless The USA,” according to the website.  

TRUMP TOPS BIDEN WITH DOUBLE-DIGIT LEAD IN DEEP-RED STATE BEING TARGETED BY DEMOCRATS: POLL

Former President Donald Trump is now selling Bibles as he runs to return to the White House. (Truth Social/ @realDonaldTrump)

The Bible is also described as being easy-to-read with large print, having a slim design, and was designed to deliver an easy reading experience in the trusted King James Version translation. 

“Religion and Christianity are the biggest things missing from this country. And I truly believe that we need to bring them back and have to bring them back fast,” Trump said in a video. “I think it’s one of the biggest problems we have. That’s why our country is going haywire. We’ve lost religion in our country.”

The website also states that GodBlessTheUSABible.com is not political and has nothing to do with any political campaign.

This latest move comes as the former president has faced a serious money crunch amid mounting legal bills while he fights four criminal indictments along with a series of civil charges. 

Trump saw some relief on Monday as the appeals court slashed his bond payment, saying Trump must pay $175 million within the next 10 days.

‘THE VIEW’ CO-HOST SUNNY HOSTIN ADMITS JUDGE SLASHING TRUMP’S BOND WAS ‘VERY APPROPRIATE’

Former President Trump made a pitch Tuesday for “God Bless the USA” Bibles that he is selling in partnership with country musician Lee Greenwood ahead of Good Friday and Easter Sunday. (Truth Social/ @realDonaldTrump)

Trump had previously faced a Monday deadline to pay a $454 million bond payment that came as a result of civil fraud allegations from New York Attorney General Letitia James.

Trump said he will “abide” by the appeals decision and post the $175 million bond. 

If Trump does post the $175 million by the new deadline, it would effectively block James from attempts to seize Trump’s assets as he continues to appeal the judgment by New York Judge Arthur Engoron.

LETITIA JAMES HAD TO ‘EAT EVERY SINGLE TWEET’ AFTER APPEALS COURT SLASHED TRUMP’S BOND, SAYS ALINA HABBA

Trump has partnered with Greenwood in the past. “God Bless the U.S.A.” has become Trump’s signature entrance music during his rallies and played occasionally at the outset of White House events during the Trump administration. (Getty Images)

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The Bible is the latest product Trump has promoted after releasing a line of $400 sneakers earlier this year. 

Fox News Digital reached out to Trump’s team for comment but has not yet heard back.

The Associated Press, Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman and Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report. 

Welcome to Fox News’ Politics newsletter with the latest political news from Washington D.C. and updates from the 2024 campaign trail. 

What’s happening? 

-TRAGEDY IN BALTIMORE: Biden pledges to rebuild Francis Scott Key Bridge after devastating collapse. Read more live updates on Fox News

-RFK selects running mate

-NYC begins handing out prepaid debit cards to illegal immigrants

New trial, new gag order

New York Judge Juan Merchan has imposed a gag order on former President Trump in the hush-money payments case, set for jury selection on April 15, granting Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s request. 

Merchan issued the order against the 2024 GOP presumptive presidential nominee on Tuesday, pointing to his “prior extrajudicial statements,” saying they establish “a sufficient risk to the administration of justice.” 

Merchan ordered that Trump cannot make or direct others to make public statements about witnesses concerning their potential participation, or about counsel in the case — other than Bragg — or about court staff, DA staff or family members of staff.

Merchan also ordered that Trump cannot make or direct others to make public statements about any prospective juror or chosen juror. 

Merchan said in his decision that Trump has made statements in the past during other trials — likely referring to the months-long non-jury civil fraud trial stemming from New York Attorney General Letitia James’ case. 

A spokesperson for Trump’s campaign told  Fox News Digital that “American voters have a fundamental right to hear the uncensored voice of the leading candidate for the highest office in the land.” 

“President Trump will keep fighting for our country and our Constitution,” the spokesperson said. 

Trump’s trial on hush money charges will begin April 15 (Jefferson Siegel-Pool/Getty Images)

White House

‘TOP SOLDIERS’: Left-wing activist who hired a close ally of notorious antisemite Farrakhan has visited Biden WH 7 times …Read more

LOANS IN PERIL: President Biden’s student loan handout under fire from legal experts …Read more

‘MESSAGE OF WEAKNESS’: Former Navy SEAL, Senate candidate slams Biden’s ‘very poorly’ executed Afghanistan withdrawal …Read more

Capitol Hill

CRIMINAL REFERRALS: Comer dampens prospects of Biden impeachment in new fundraising email …Read more

BORDER ‘REVELATION’: GOP senator outraged by notices of migrant arrivals …Read more

Tales from the Campaign Trail

‘COCKROACHES’: CNN political commentator compares third-party efforts to insects …Read more

VEEP STAKES: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. selects running mate: Report …Read more

SPLIT TICKET: GOP eyes NJ Senate opportunity amid possible Menendez independent bid …Read more

Across America

Former RNC chair Ronna McDaniel had an icy reception in her debut as an NBC political analyst on Sunday’s “Meet the Press.” (Screenshot/NBC)

TRANS VISIBILITY DAY: Virginia County declares Trans Visibility Day on Easter …Read more

MIGRANT MISSION: NYC begins handing out prepaid debit cards to illegal immigrants …Read more

‘FINISH UP’: Trump tells Israel to wrap Gaza offensive because nation is ‘losing a lot of support’ …Read more

‘POLITICALLY MOTIVATED’: Legal experts say U.S. Constitution is on Trump’s side in New York civil fraud case …Read more

FULL REVOLT: MSNBC stars shoot inside the tent, attack NBC for hiring ex-RNC chair Ronna McDaniel …Read more

MSNBC BACKLASH: ‘Truth vs. lies’: Psaki lashes out on-air when compared to Ronna McDaniel …Read more

BORDER BLACKMAIL?: Mexican president warns crisis continues unless US gives $20 billion a year, amnesty for migrant workers …Read more

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New York Judge Juan Merchan has imposed a gag order on former President Trump in the hush-money payments case, granting Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s request. 

Merchan issued the order against the 2024 GOP presumptive presidential nominee on Tuesday, pointing to his “prior extrajudicial statements,” saying they establish “a sufficient risk to the administration of justice.” 

TRUMP HUSH MONEY TRIAL TO BEGIN APRIL 15, JUDGE RULES, DENYING MOTION TO DELAY

Merchan ordered that Trump cannot make or direct others to make public statements about witnesses concerning their potential participation, or about counsel in the case — other than Bragg — or about court staff, DA staff or family members of staff.

Former President Donald Trump waves as he departs The Trump Building, located at 40 Wall Street, in Manhattan, New York on Monday, March 25, 2024. Earlier today, a New York Appeals Court slashed Trump’s bond by more than half in his case regarding alleged falsifying of business records, giving him 10 days to pay $175 million. (Adam Gray for Fox News Digital)

Merchan also ordered that Trump cannot make or direct others to make public statements about any prospective juror or chosen juror. 

Merchan said in his decision that Trump has made statements in the past during other trials — likely referring to the months-long non-jury civil fraud trial stemming from New York Attorney General Letitia James’ case. 

“lndeed, his statements were threatening, inflammatory, denigrating, and the targets of his statements ranged from local and federal officials, court and court sta( prosecutors and staff assigned to the cases, and private individuals including grand jurors performing their civic duty,” Merchan writes. “The consequences of those statements included not only fear on the part of the individual targeted, but also the assignment of increased security resources to investigate threats and protect the individuals and family members thereof.” 

Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg.  (Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)

The order comes after Bragg, last month, requested an order preventing Trump from making statements attacking others involved in his legal cases, sought a protective order to prohibit the names and addresses of jurors from being disclosed to anyone other than attorneys and requested evidence and testimony regarding campaign finance be limited.

Trump had a gag order imposed on him in the James non-jury civil trial as well. 

MANHATTAN DA BRAGG REQUESTS JUDGE IMPOSE GAG ORDER ON TRUMP DURING HUSH MONEY CASE

Merchan announced on Monday that the trial will begin on April 15. 

Bragg indicted Trump on 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Bragg alleged that Trump “repeatedly and fraudulently falsified New York business records to conceal criminal conduct that hid damaging information from the voting public during the 2016 presidential election.”

TRUMP SLAMS BRAGG AFTER PLEADING NOT GUILTY: ‘I NEVER THOUGHT ANYTHING LIKE THIS COULD HAPPEN IN AMERICA’

The charges are related to alleged hush-money payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign.

In 2019, federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York opted not to charge Trump related to the payments made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal.

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The Federal Election Commission also tossed its investigation into the matter in 2021.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Former President Donald Trump leads President Biden in the race for Texas’ 40 electoral votes by double his margin of victory in the Lone Star State four years ago, according to a new poll.

And the survey released Tuesday by Marist College also indicates Republican Sen. Ted Cruz with a six-point advantage over his Democratic challenger, Rep. Colin Allred, in a key Senate showdown as the GOP aims to regain the chamber’s majority in November’s elections.

Trump carried Texas over Biden by roughly 5.5 points in 2020, which was the smallest margin of victory for a GOP presidential nominee in the deep-red state in nearly a quarter-century.

TRUMP HOLDS EDGE OVER BIDEN IN CRUCIAL BATTLEGROUND STATE POLL

Former president Donald Trump speaks during a visit to Eagle Pass, Texas on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024. Trump is joined by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott .  (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

But according to the Marist poll, which was conducted March 18-21, the former president leads his successor in the White House by 11 points (55%-44%) among registered voters. But Trump’s lead narrows to 7 points (53%-46%) among those who say they’ll definitely cast a ballot in the November election.

“Independents, who Biden carried by 6-percentage points in 2020, now break for Trump. Trump receives 56% of Texas independents to 41% for Biden,” the release from Marist highlights.

BIDEN-TRUMP SEQUEL UNDERWAY IN HISTORY MAKING PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION REMATCH

The poll also suggests Biden has lost his advantage among younger voters, and that Trump has made major inroads among Black and Latino voters.

President Joe Biden delivers remarks about immigration and border security at the Brownsville Station on February 29, 2024 in Olmito, Texas. The President visited the border near Brownsville on the same day as a dueling trip made by former President Donald Trump to neighboring Eagle Pass, Texas. (Cheney Orr/Getty Images)

In a possible three-candidate race, which includes Democrat-turned independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the poll indicates Trump at 48%, Biden with 36% and Kennedy at 15%. Kennedy, the environmental activist, high-profile vaccine skeptic and scion of the nation’s most famous political dynasty, has yet to obtain ballot access in Texas.

CRUZ HAULS IN BIG BUCKS AS HE PREPARES FOR ROUGH RE-ELECTION

Cruz, the conservative firebrand who’s running for a third six-year term representing Texas in the Senate, tops Allred 51%-45% among registered voters, according to the poll. Cruz’s margin over Allred, a former professional football player in the NFL and a three-term congressman representing a suburban Dallas district, is roughly the same among likely voters.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, March 12, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

“Among independents, Cruz (50%) is up by eight percentage points against Allred (42%),” a release from Marist spotlights. “There is a wide gender gap. Cruz (59%) carries men by 21 percentage points over Allred (38%). Allred (52%) tops Cruz (44%) among women.”

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While the controversial Cruz holds a 45%-43% favorable/unfavorable rating in the new survey, Allred is not well known. Fifty-three percent of those questioned said they had never heard of Allred, or didn’t know enough about him to answer the question. 

A ‘Welcome to Texas’ sign near Burkeville, Texas, along the border with Louisiana (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)

Immigration, at 27%, was the top issue on the minds of voters in Texas, which shares a 1,254 border with Mexico. According to the survey, inflation (at 26%) was the second most important issue, followed by preserving democracy (at 24%).

The poll had an overall margin of error of plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

EXCLUSIVE: A Tennessee lawmaker is hitting back at the Biden administration, saying the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has failed to be transparent about the release of migrants into the U.S. after the emergence of notices going to cities in his states alerting them to migrants who have said they are heading there. 

Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., is releasing DHS notices received by local officials in the state that show how many migrants are believed to be heading to them on a weekly basis.

Called “Intended Destination of Noncitizens Processed at the Southwest Border,” the notices explain how Customs and Border Protection first vet migrants’ biographic and biometric information against a number of databases before they are released into the interior.

MIGRANT ENCOUNTERS AT SOUTHERN BORDER HIT NEW FEBRUARY RECORD HIGH

Senator Bill Hagerty is calling for local officials to provide notices they have received. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The notices say that arrivals could include migrants who have entered legally via ports of entry using the CBP One app, or entered illegally between ports of entry and who have either passed a “credible fear” screening or who are enrolled in removal proceedings and are released pending their removal hearings. 

While DHS does not transport adult migrants directly within the interior, the notice says that migrants will provide their intended destination to officials before they are released. Once migrants are released, they may be enrolled into Alternatives to Detention but are free to travel as they see fit, and federal authorities have no say over where they go.

In the notice given to officials in Tennessee, and provided to Fox News Digital, it told officials in Nashville, Davidson, Murfreesboro and Franklin that 573 noncitizens had provided their areas as destinations for the week ending Sept. 16, 2023.

Of those, 200 were from Guatemala, 200 from Venezuela and 100 were from Honduras and Mexico.

Hagerty accused the administration of a lack of transparency toward broader requests for information from members of Congress on how many migrants are going to which areas.

“Americans are well aware that, under President Biden, every town is a border town. Along with many other members of Congress and concerned citizens, I’ve sought transparency for three years from the Biden Administration regarding its resettlement efforts through legislation and oversight inquiries—to no avail,” he said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “With the revelation of letters stating exactly how many migrants are resettling in a particular area for a particular week, it’s now clear that the Biden Administration has this information and has simply been hiding it.” 

BIDEN, TEXAS FEUD OVER ANTI-ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION LAW AS MIGRANTS RUSH BORDER: WHAT TO KNOW

“This begs questions that demand answers: How many migrants has Biden’s Department of Homeland Security knowingly resettled in American towns? How have these migrants been vetted? Do they pose a threat to American citizens? Americans and local governments forced to deal with the impacts of this President’s border crisis and the resettlement in their communities deserve to know what the Biden Administration knows.”

In response, Hagerty is setting up a website via which officials can submit the letter they have received. 

Migrants who crossed the Rio Grande and entered the U.S. from Mexico are lined up for processing by U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Saturday, Sept. 23, 2023 in Eagle Pass, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)

DHS stressed that it does not coordinate the travel of migrants, but that it does coordinate and share information with local officials and NGOs and where they intend to travel. Consequently, the purpose of the notification was to let officials know that noncitizens intended to travel to the area.

“DHS does not transport noncitizens to Tennessee. DHS works in close coordination with local officials, law enforcement, and NGOs to share timely information regarding noncitizens who have been screened, vetted, and conditionally released from custody pending the outcome of their immigration court proceedings,” a spokesperson told Fox News Digital. 

“We will continue to partner with communities hosting recently arrived noncitizens to identify ways we can continue to maximize our support, while enforcing the law and returning or removing those without a legal basis to remain in the country,” they said.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION NEWS COVERAGE 

The agency said that communication can ensure that migrants can connect with humanitarian aid and receive help with transportation while they go through the removal process.

The notices highlight the ongoing issues and tensions connected to the release of migrants into the interior. The Biden administration has said it needs more funding, including for removals and detention space as well as money for cities and NGOs receiving migrants. It has called on Congress to pass immigration reform and approve additional funding — including in a bipartisan Senate border bill and DHS’ most recent budget request.

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However, Republicans claim the border crisis has been caused by the policies of the Biden administration, including its reversal of Trump administration policies. They have called for an end to “catch-and-release,” additional wall construction and stricter interior enforcement.

Last week, Customs and Border Protection announced that the number of migrant encounters had hit a new record for February, with over 189,000 encounters for the month. 

Republicans in New Jersey are welcoming embattled Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez’s potential independent re-election bid in 2024 as they look to break the party’s decadeslong hold over the state’s U.S. Senate delegation. 

After much speculation over whether Menendez would run for re-election — given the various criminal charges he faces of conspiracy, obstruction of justice, bribery, acting as a foreign agent, extortion, and honest services fraud — he revealed that he would not be filing for the Democratic Senate primary. 

LATEST CENSUS DATA REVEALS TROUBLE FOR BIDEN IN CRITICAL SWING STATE

Instead, Menendez proclaimed his desire to run as an independent if he is exonerated by his summer trial. 

Sen. Bob Menendez suggested he may run as an independent. (Getty/iStock)

“Because of Senator Menendez’s never-ending corruption scandal, enabled by New Jersey Democrats, Republicans have the best chance in 50 years to take back this US Senate seat,” hotel entrepreneur Curtis Bashaw, who is running for the Republican nomination for Senate in New Jersey, told Fox News Digital in a statement. 

The other frontrunner for the GOP’s nod, Christine Serrano Glassner, the mayor of the Mendham borough, said in a press release after Menendez’s news, “I welcome ‘Gold Bar Bob’s’ announcement about the Senate race in New Jersey.”

HOUSE DEMS URGE BIDEN TO TARGET ISRAEL MILITARY AID OVER GAZA HUMANITARIAN CONCERNS

“As I’ve said from the beginning, Menendez should have to face the voters and the people of New Jersey should have the opportunity to repudiate him — and the corruption and cronyism of the Democratic Party as a whole – at the ballot box,” she said. Serrano Glassner has billed herself as the only “America-first” candidate in the GOP primary race. 

According to her statement, she is “the best person to take advantage of this opportunity.” 

An evidence photo shows gold bars found in Democratic New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez and Nadine Menendez’s home. (United States District Court )

New Jersey Republican Party Chairman Bob Hugin added in an interview with Fox News Digital that “conventional normal analysis” would suggest “this is a good time for Republicans.”

However, he warned that Republicans still need to select the best candidate and that candidate has to avoid any missteps. 

Further, Hugin explained that “history will not be the indicator necessarily what the future results are going to be,” pointing to a “realignment of the parties.”

Hugin was the last Republican Senate challenger to Menendez in 2018, when the senator had recently seen a different set of corruption charges against him dropped. The senator staved off Hugin’s challenge, defeating him by roughly 350,000 votes, 54% to 42.8%. 

New Jersey Republican Party Chair Bob Hugin, left, said Sen. Bob Menendez does not intend on actually running as an independent. (Julio Cortez/Pool via Reuters)

Menendez’s alleged criminal behavior, partnered with the Democrats no longer retaining the advantage of running an incumbent candidate, has cast a spotlight on New Jersey as a potentially competitive race in 2024. The Cook Political Report lists the contest as “Likely Democrat,” which means it has the ability to become an “engaged” race. 

The Democratic nomination appears poised to go to Rep. Andy Kim, D-N.J. The other high-profile candidate for the Democratic nomination, Tammy Murphy — wife of Gov. Phil Murphy — ended her campaign on Sunday. 

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Reacting to Menendez’s announcement, Kim wrote on X, “I will win in November even if I have to beat Menendez and a Republican simultaneously.”

“The balance of the Senate is on the line, and we need the strongest candidate possible to keep this seat blue and the Senate in Democratic control,” he continued. 

“It’s an opportunity for Republicans on the assumption that a Bob Menendez presence as an independent will peel off some ostensibly Democratic voters who are loyal to Menendez,” New Jersey Republican pollster Adam Geller told Fox News Digital. Geller is currently working as a pollster for Bashaw’s campaign. 

He explained that Menendez might choose to run and he “would do that to punish the Democrats who insisted that he step down. And who he feels, perhaps turned on him or betrayed him.” 

Geller said it represents “an incredible opportunity for Republicans because suddenly you don’t need 50% plus one. You can win with a plurality. You can win with less than 50% when three candidates are on the list.”

While some Republicans have welcomed Menendez’s participation, Hugin is not confident the incumbent will actually mount a third-party bid. He suggested that the Democratic senator was not serious about running, but was rather challenging the party to promise a pardon if he is convicted.

“It’s simply that this is his attempt to tell them, ‘If you don’t want to screw this up, if I get convicted, you’re going to give me a pardon,'” he explained. 

Sen. Bob Menendez, left, facing a federal corruption indictment, is being challenged in the 2024 Democratic primary by Rep. Andy Kim, D-N.J. (Getty Images )

FLORIDA GOV RON DESANTIS SIGNS CONTROVERSIAL BILL TO BAN SOCIAL MEDIA FOR CHILDREN UNDER 14

The Republican chairman suggested GOP candidates for the nomination “should be challenging President Biden to say you promise that you will not give a pardon at any time to Senator Menendez,” adding that it’s a “negotiating game.”

The White House did not provide comment when contacted by Fox News Digital regarding the potential of a pardon for Menendez. 

“I really doubt Menendez would get much support as an independent,” said Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics.

Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., listens during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023 in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)

Menendez was previously successful when facing legal challenges because of the Democratic Party’s support. “But without the party label, I just don’t think he’d get enough support to make the math work for a Republican statewide,” said Kondik.

However, Bashaw telegraphed confidence to Fox News Digital even in the case that Menendez sits out of the race. “It’s Senator Menendez’s prerogative to run for re-election as an independent,” he explained, adding he believes New Jersey voters “are ready to make a change from the corruption and machine politics that have defined New Jersey Democrat politics for far too long.”

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Menendez’s campaign did not provide comment when contacted by Fox News Digital.

The Republican and Democratic Senate primaries will take place on June 4. 

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is expected to announce his presidential running mate on Tuesday.

According to several reports, Kennedy intends to name attorney and entrepreneur Nicole Shanahan as his vice presidential candidate in an announcement scheduled for Tuesday at 2 p.m. ET in Oakland, California. The New York Times and NBC News reported that Kennedy selected Shanahan after considering several possible candidates, citing sources close to Kennedy’s campaign.

Kennedy, a longtime environmental activist and high-profile vaccine skeptic who is a scion of one of the nation’s most storied political dynasties, is trying to convince voters across the nation to forgo support for either of the two major political parties, and elect the first independent presidential candidate since George Washington.

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Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. hosts a fireside chat with rapper and producer Eric B. at The Gentleman’s Factory on February 18, 2024 in New York City. (John Nacion/Getty Images)

It was rumored prior to the announcement that Kennedy was also considering New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers, and former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura — who was elected as a third-party candidate — and “Dirty Jobs” star Mike Rowe.

Choosing a vice president candidate could add a boost in support for Kennedy, though many within the Democratic establishment anticipated his campaign to wane early on. 

Kennedy initially launched his presidential bid as a Democrat last April, but he later announced an independent run in October after the Democratic National Committee (DNC) said it would not hold primary debates and was standing behind incumbent President Biden.

WATCH: DEMOCRAT FRONTRUNNER IN TIGHT SENATE RACE DROPS RACIAL SLUR DURING HOUSE HEARING

Democrats are worried Kennedy’s candidacy hurts Biden’s chances at being re-elected, leading the DNC to launch a team earlier this month solely dedicated to combating his presidential bid, as well as those of independent presidential candidate Dr. Cornel West, and Green Party candidate Dr. Jill Stein.

From left to right: Dr. Cornel West, Dr. Jill Stein, President Joe Biden and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. (Fox News)

The naming of a running mate will likely boost Kennedy in his goal to get on the presidential ballot in all 50 states, as he needs a running mate to qualify in numerous states.

With a little over seven months to go until the presidential election, Utah is the only state where Kennedy’s name is confirmed. His campaign says he has secured enough signatures to land on the ballot in New Hampshire and Hawaii.

But on the eve of the running mate announcement, Kennedy ran into a major snag in Nevada, after state election officials said that the signatures his campaign gathered may be invalid due to a lack of a running mate. The campaign fired back, claiming that Democrats were trying to keep him off the ballot in the key western battleground state.

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The latest RealClearPolitics average of polls has Kennedy reaching 15% in a three-way race against Biden and former President Donald Trump. The average shows Trump ahead of Biden by 4 points. 

A five-way race including West and Stein has Kennedy’s support at 11%, with Trump having a 2-point advantage over Biden. 

Fox News’ Danielle Wallace, Timothy H. J. Nerozzi, Joseph A. Wulfsohn and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer appears to be pouring cold water on the prospects of impeaching President Biden in a new fundraising email sent to voters on Monday evening.

Comer said “criminal referrals” would be the “culmination” of his ongoing impeachment inquiry.

In the message sent to supporters, the Kentucky Republican blamed Democrats and cited the left’s uniform opposition to impeaching Biden’s Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. 

“I’ve presented mountains of evidence confirming Joe Biden’s involvement in his family’s influence peddling scheme, and I just had a group of the Biden family’s business confidants publicly testify about the first family’s criminal activity,” Comer’s email read. “At any other time in history, that would have been the final nail in the coffin of the Biden Crime Family’s reign of corruption.”

AOC TAKES HEAT OVER ‘RICO IS NOT A CRIME’ COMMENT IN BIDEN IMPEACHMENT PROBE HEARING

Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer’s campaign sent a fundraising email to supporters stating that impeaching President Biden will likely not be the “culmination” of his probe. (Getty Images)

“But we are not in a normal time in history… As it stands right now, the deranged Democrats are refusing to take up the Impeachment Trial of Alejandro Mayorkas and threatening to dismiss it within minutes when it finally is brought up. Even ‘centrist’ Democrats called the Mayorkas Impeachment Trial ‘ridiculous’ just days after a criminal illegal brutally murdered Laken Riley in cold blood.”

House Republicans voted to impeach Mayorkas over the border crisis last month, but the impeachment articles have not yet been sent over to the Senate. Once they are, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., must act on them swiftly – though the Democratic majority is likely to scuttle them as soon as possible.

Comer’s email then asked, “What do you think they would do if we Impeached Biden?”

HOUSE HOLDS PUBLIC HEARING ON BIDEN FAMILY ‘INFLUENCE PEDDLING’ WITH EX-HUNTER BIDEN ASSOCIATES

“It’s clear that Democrats will choose their party over their country and the truth at every turn. They should be ashamed of themselves. That’s why I am preparing criminal referrals as the culmination of my investigation,” he wrote.

“When President Trump returns to the White House, it’s critical the new leadership at the DOJ have everything they need to prosecute the Biden Crime Family and deliver swift justice.”

Comer’s email said, “When President Trump returns to the White House, it’s critical the new leadership at the DOJ have everything they need to prosecute the Biden Crime Family and deliver swift justice.” (Adam Gray for Fox News Digital)

Comer said criminal referrals are “the best way” to hold the Bidens accountable, “as it’s now clear the Democrats will do anything to hold onto power.”

He made similar comments during a Newsmax interview last week after the House held its second impeachment inquiry hearing. Hunter Biden, whose foreign business dealings are a central focus of investigators looking into whether then-Vice President Biden used his position to enrich his family, turned down an invitation to appear at that event.

FBI INFORMANT CHARGED WITH GIVING FALSE INFORMATION ABOUT HUNTER BIDEN IN 2020

Earlier this month, Fox News Digital heard from several GOP lawmakers who, while maintaining they believe the president is guilty of at least acting improperly, admitted current conditions in the House make it unlikely the chamber will actually impeach him. 

Those prospects will get trickier after April 19 when Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., leaves early, leaving House Republicans with just a one-vote majority. 

Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, is a main focus of House impeachment investigators. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., a member of the Oversight Committee, told Fox News Digital last week that it’s “very possible” there will be a full House vote, but said impeaching Biden “has never been the purpose” of the inquiry.

“The purpose is doing these investigations. We have a formalized impeachment inquiry because some of the initial information we’ve uncovered has led us to the current information now,” Donalds said.

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When asked whether he meant the impeachment inquiry’s goal was not an impeachment vote, Donalds challenged, “That’s not what I’m saying.”

“It was about doing our investigation into the allegations of public corruption by the Biden family. We have now proven that yes, there was public corruption going on… The question now becomes, does all the evidence we have take us to high crimes and misdemeanors? But you have to have an impeachment inquiry in order to assess and gain all that information,” he said. “Unlike the Democrats, we didn’t walk in just promising impeachment on day one.”

For years, pinning down the source of a bill in the Kansas Legislature could be a chore for lawmakers’ constituents. Committees sponsor almost 85% of the proposals, so finding the group or lobbyist responsible could require questioning multiple lawmakers or, in recent years, reviewing YouTube videos of meetings.

But this year, the Kansas House is making it a little easier for the state’s residents to find out who wants what from its members. Besides a number and official sponsor, each bill now lists who asked for it, be it a lawmaker at someone else’s request or an individual lobbyist for a specific client. The change started in January.

It’s an unusual move for any state legislature. While at least a handful of states require lobbyists to list specific bills of interest to them in reports open for public inspection, the Council of State Governments knows of no other state legislative chamber that’s actually listing lobbyists and groups on its bills — not even the Kansas Senate.

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“I’m thrilled to see it,” said Heather Ferguson, a Kansan who is director of operations for the government transparency group Common Cause. “It helps to rebuild some of the trust with the public in their elected officials and in their institutions and in the legislative process in general.”

In Kansas, House Bill 2527, which would rewrite laws on how the state sets electric rates, was requested by a lobbyist for Evergy, the state’s largest electricity company. A Kansas Farm Bureau lobbyist proposed HB 2691, which would require utilities seeking to use eminent domain to obtain an entire tract of private land for transmission lines and other projects to pay the owners 50% more than fair market value.

In some offices and hallways under the Kansas Statehouse’s copper dome, the response to the new practice has been less enthusiastic than Ferguson’s reaction, though lobbyists won’t publicly criticize it. Eric Stafford, who lobbies for the Kansas Chamber of Commerce, said he doesn’t care, “as long as it’s consistent.”

Two of the dozens of Kansas House bills that now list the names of groups and lobbyists who asked lawmakers or committees to introduce them are seen on March 25, 2024, at the Statehouse in Topeka, Kansas. (AP Photo/John Hanna)

Because the extra disclosure is spelled out in the House Rules — it’s No. 7.01 — the Kansas Senate isn’t required to follow it.

In fact, Senate President Ty Masterson, a Wichita-area Republican, said he hadn’t really thought about the idea, “but it doesn’t scare me.” However, he also asserted that when it comes to who is behind a bill, “People tend to know that anyway.”

At least seven states — Colorado, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio and Utah — have disclosure rules requiring lobbyists to provide information about specific measures their clients are watching, according to Common Cause. Kansas requires lobbyists to file reports on their spending six times a year, but they don’t have to list individual measures.

In 2015, a California businessman who was later was a Republican nominee for governor, John Cox, proposed a ballot initiative to require the state’s elected officials to wear stickers or badges “displaying the names of their 10 highest campaign contributors” during public legislative meetings. The drive to get it on the ballot failed.

Some members like the House’s greater transparency and appear willing to go even further with it.

For example, Rep. Stephanie Sawyer Clayton, a Kansas City-area Democrat, responded with “bring it on” when she learned of the 2015 initiative in California, though, she said, lawmakers might end up looking like servers at TGI Fridays restaurants.

“I will wear those pieces of flair all day because most of my top donors are awesome groups and even awesomer people,” she said. “I’d gladly do that.”

The Kansas House actually changed its rules to require more information on its bills in 2021, but House leaders and staff said it took the Legislature’s technology staff three years to work out the details. The House Rules Committee member who pushed for the change, Democratic state Rep. Boog Highberger, considers it a meaningful — but small — step toward improving government transparency.

Rep. Adam Thomas, a Kansas City-area Republican, said that increased transparency is good, and lawmakers can expect plenty of questions if their name is attached to a bill, whether or not an interest group also is listed.

“Now we’ve got to really know what a bill does and what it means and the implications of it,” Thomas said. The change was adopted without discussion, and the rules had broad, bipartisan support.

In many states, most measures are sponsored by individual lawmakers, and that was the traditional practice for the Kansas Legislature. Fifty years ago, nearly 70% of bills and resolutions in Kansas were sponsored by individual lawmakers. This year, the figure was a little more than 15%, after decades of committees sponsoring an increasing percentage of bills.

Allowing such so-called “anonymous” bills was among the practices that led The Kansas City Star to declare in a 2017 series on Kansas state government that the process of passing laws in its Republican-controlled Legislature was “among the least transparent in the country.” Critics still say the public often has trouble finding out the status of bills on major issues until it is too late to stop them from passing.

But David Adkins, a former Kansas legislator who is now executive director and CEO of the Council on State Governments, said lawmakers may have moved to having committees sponsoring bills because it seemed to give them the same kind of credibility as a large, bipartisan group of individual sponsors. It might have been a way to help them cull bills more easily during their annual 90-day session.

And, he said, listing the group or lobbyist who requested a bill might serve the same purpose, allowing lawmakers to decide how to vote without reading the text.

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“At the top of the funnel, time is your worst enemy,” said Adkins, who served in the Legislature from 1993 through 2004.

But Adkins also worried that the House’s practice, meant to restore trust, could lead the public to view legislating as “transactional.”

“In some ways, one might argue it makes legislation resemble a NASCAR vehicle, with prominent sponsorship stickers placed on a car,” he said.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will be under the bright lights of the national campaign spotlight on Tuesday, as the Democrat turned independent presidential candidate is scheduled to announce his running mate.

The highly touted move will grab tons of media attention for Kennedy, the longtime environmental activist and high-profile vaccine skeptic who is the scion of the nation’s most storied political dynasty.

However, it will also likely boost Kennedy in his goal to get on the presidential ballot in all 50 states, as he needs a running mate to qualify in numerous states.

HOW ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR.’S RUNNING MATE PICK CAN BOOST HIS CAMPAIGN

Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. speaks during a campaign event at Independence Mall on Monday, Oct. 9, 2023, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

With a little over seven months to go until the presidential election, Utah is the only state where Kennedy’s name is confirmed. His campaign says he has secured enough signatures to land on the ballot in New Hampshire and Hawaii.

The campaign tells Fox News they plan announcements each week going forward regarding their ballot access efforts.

While Kennedy is confident he will reach his ballot access goal, attaining it is a costly and time-consuming venture for any candidate not tied to a major political party.

WHO IS ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR. AND WHY IS HE RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT?

However, another move could quickly land Kennedy on the ballot from coast to coast. 

Kennedy, who is polling in the low double-digits in potential 2024 showdowns with President Biden, former President Trump and other third-party or independent contenders, has held occasional talks since last summer with leaders of the Libertarian Party, to possibly run on their ticket in November.

“The Kennedy campaign is keeping all its options open,” campaign spokesperson Stefanie Spear reiterated to Fox News in a statement.

That is the same line that Kennedy told reporters when he raised eyebrows by speaking at the Libertarian Party of California’s annual convention in late February. His appearance helped the state party draw a record-breaking crowd.

Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spoke at the libertarian FreedomFest conference in Memphis, Tennessee, on Saturday, July 15, 2023. (Joseph A. Wulfsohn/Fox News Digital)

The Libertarian Party, which in the last couple of presidential elections has secured ballot access in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, will choose its presidential ticket when its unbound delegates gather for their annual convention this year in late May in Washington, D.C.

Libertarian Party Chair Angela McArdle has held a handful of conversations with Kennedy about obtaining the party’s nomination. Their most recent discussion came at the California convention in late February.

McArdle emphasized to Fox News that for candidates seeking the Libertarian Party presidential nomination, “it’s important to show up to state conventions” to seek delegate support. 

While Kennedy has not appeared in person at any other Libertarian gatherings, his campaign did have a table earlier this month at the New York convention.

Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. hikes in the Santa Monica Mountains in Los Angeles on March 18, 2024. (REUTERS/Mike Blake)

Kennedy appeals to many Libertarians, in part due to his repeated criticism of vaccine mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, Kennedy’s policy differences with the Libertarians, including his strong support for Israel in its war in Gaza with Hamas, could be major sticking points for delegates attending the national convention later this spring. 

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There are plenty of Libertarians opposed to allowing on their ballot a candidate who is not 100% in-line with their anti-war and non-interventionist positions.

While Kennedy is grabbing plenty of media attention, there are more than a dozen announced candidates already vying for the Libertarian Party nomination.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Former President Donald Trump is urging Israeli authorities to “finish up” their offensive into the Gaza region, saying that the world is turning against their campaign.

Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president in 2024, sat down for an interview with Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom about the ongoing military invasion — and warned that the world was growing tired of the conflict.

“You have to finish up your war. You have to finish it up. You’ve got to get it done,” he told the newspaper. 

HOUSE DEMS URGE BIDEN TO TARGET ISRAEL MILITARY AID OVER GAZA HUMANITARIAN CONCERNS

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Rome, Georgia. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

He continued, “We’ve got to get to peace. You can’t have this going on, and I will say Israel has to be very careful because you are losing a lot of the world. You are losing a lot of support.”

Israel has been waging an offensive in the Gaza region since the days following the Oct. 7 massacre — the massive terrorist attack launched by Hamas that killed over 1,200 Israelis citizens.

Meanwhile, relations between President Biden’s administration and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government continue to fray.

ISRAEL LAUDS CONGRESS’ BLOW TO UN AGENCY WITH ALLEGED HAMAS TIES AS INVESTIGATIONS CONTINUE

An Israeli soldier on top a tank on the border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel. (AP)

Netanyahu has vowed that an invasion into the city of Rafah is imminent, with or without U.S. approval.

“That’s a terrible portrait. It’s a very bad picture for the world,” Trump told the newspaper about Israel’s ground offensive. “I think Israel wanted to show that it’s tough, but sometimes you shouldn’t be doing that.”

Palestinian casualties in the conflict following Oct. 7 have passed 30,000, according to the Hamas-run Palestinian Ministry of Health.

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Palestinians gather to perform the first Friday noon prayer of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan in front of the ruins of Al-Farouq Mosque, which was destroyed in an Israeli bombardment in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. (MOHAMMED ABED/AFP via Getty Images)

Trump was also sharply critical of the Biden administration’s handling of the conflict during the interview, claiming Hamas would not have committed the Oct. 7 massacre if he had been in office.

“He can’t talk. He’s a very dumb person. He’s a dumb person. His foreign policy throughout 50 years has been horrible,” he told Israel Hayom. “If you look at people that were in other administrations with him, they saw him as a weak, ineffective president, they [Hamas] would have never done that attack if I were there.”

Fox News Digital’s Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.

To say that Ronna McDaniel has gotten a frosty reception as a new NBC contributor would be a grand understatement.

The former chairwoman of the RNC has had the door slammed in her face, with planks nailed to keep it tightly sealed, then slathered in cement.

It is a staff revolt of the kind that once played out in whispers and leaks, but now takes the form of on-air denunciations.

McDaniel, of course, has been a close Donald Trump ally, and that makes her radioactive for the liberal nation-state of MSNBC.

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That became acutely clear when the Wall Street Journal reported that Rashida Jones, the MSNBC president, told her staff that McDaniel would not be appearing on the cable network. It was simply unacceptable.

Just yesterday, Joe Scarborough said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe”:

“We weren’t asked our opinion of the hiring, but if we were, we would have strongly objected to it for several reasons including, but not limited to, as lawyers might say, Miss McDaniel’s role in Donald Trump’s fake elector scheme and her pressuring election officials to not certify election results while Donald Trump was on the phone.”

His wife and co-host, Mika Brzezinski, added: “To be clear, we believe NBC News should seek out conservative Republican voices to provide balance in their election coverage. But it should be conservative Republicans, not a person who used her position of power to be an anti-democracy election denier. And we hope NBC will reconsider its decision. It goes without saying that she will not be a guest on ‘Morning Joe’ in her capacity as a paid contributor.”

The moment that went viral was on Sunday’s “Meet the Press,” where McDaniel had been booked before she was hired as a contributor. NBC is reported to be paying her about $300,000.

McDaniel, who was finally pushed out of the RNC when Trump soured on her, said there had been problems with the 2020 elections but did not deny that Joe Biden was legitimately elected. In the past she referred to MSNBC journalists as “primetime propagandists.”

Chuck Todd, the program’s former moderator and now chief political analyst, was brought on as a guest, and told his successor, Kristen Welker, that “our bosses owe you an apology for putting you in this situation…

“Look, there’s a reason why there’s a lot of journalists at NBC News uncomfortable with this because many of our professional dealings with the RNC over the six years have been met with gaslighting, have been met with character assassination…She has credibility issues that she still has to deal with.”

AOC MOCKED FOR WARNING ABOUT ‘RISK’ OF NOT SEIZING TRUMP’S ASSETS: ‘JUST PLAIN IGNORANT’

Now you might reasonably ask: Why can’t NBC executives just tell their cable unit to stop airing its dirty laundry in public?

MSNBC has always enjoyed plenty of autonomy, and, like most news outlets, it plays to its audience. And its left-leaning viewers basically don’t want to hear from pro-Trump voices.

Now it’s true that MSNBC employs a number of Republicans and former Republicans: Scarborough, Nicolle Wallace and Michael Steele among them. But with perhaps a couple of exceptions, they’re anti-Trump Republicans. NBC may have blindsided its cable outlet by hiring McDaniel, but the audience is on the side of MSNBC.

The flip side of the argument is this: What exactly is MSNBC accomplishing by shielding those who tune in from a dissenting opinion or two? Given the stance of nearly everyone on the channel that Trump is a danger to democracy who must be stopped, wouldn’t someone like McDaniel be all but drowned out?

Ronna McDaniel and Chuck Todd. (Getty Images)

Certainly no one bats an eyelash when such former top Biden aides as Jen Psaki and Symone Sanders-Townsend are given MSNBC shows and largely defend the president for whom they had just worked. (I’m not comparing their records to what McDaniel did in 2020, but the revolving door is well established at all the networks, including CNN and FOX)

MSNBC’s approach to the former president was on display on the night of the Iowa caucuses, when uber-liberal host Rachel Maddow refused to air Trump’s victory speech, proclaiming that “there is a cost to us as a news organization of knowingly broadcasting untrue things.”

When Trump won New Hampshire a week later, it seemed clear that Maddow had been overruled by NBC in the wake of fierce criticism. She did air Trump’s victory speech – saying “this is a decision that is one that we consider to be an open-ended, live decision” – but later cut away (as did CNN) to start fact-checking him.

The two important legal decisions involving Trump yesterday underscore the point.

WHY THE TRUMP BOND CRISIS LOOKS LIKE A CONCERTED EFFORT TO RUIN HIM

On the deadline day when the ex-president was in danger of having his assets seized by New York Attorney General Letitia James, a federal appeals court unexpectedly reduced the draconian bond demand of nearly half a billion dollars to $175 million, giving him 10 days to pay it.

And on the hush money charges brought by Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg, which Trump was trying to delay or get tossed, the judge set a trial date of April 15.

Former President Donald Trump waves as he departs The Trump Building, located at 40 Wall Street, in Manhattan, New York on Monday, March 25, 2024. Earlier today, a New York Appeals Court slashed Trump’s bond by more than half in his case regarding alleged falsifying of business records, giving him 10 days to pay $175 million. (Adam Gray for Fox News Digital)

MSNBC, which like the other networks had camped out at the Manhattan hearing that Trump was attending, was covering it virtually nonstop. Anything that Trump said would be news.

But when Trump began to speak for about two minutes, talking about election interference, Andrea Mitchell (or whoever made the decision) immediately cut away, with the host saying his claim of election meddling was not true. That rebuttal couldn’t have waited a couple of minutes?

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Later, when Trump held a news conference at 40 Wall Street – one of his iconic properties that James could have seized without the appeals court ruling – MSNBC did air it, but soon broke away again and went back to its legal commentators.

I always argue that if you’re going to cover Trump around the clock, let him have his say and you can resume ripping him for the next 23-½ hours. In this environment, it’s little wonder that MSNBC is refusing to put Ronna McDaniel on the air and jeopardizing her newly minted contract.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Imprisoned ex-Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder was indicted Monday on 10 new felony counts, including one that would ban him from ever holding public office in the state again.

The fresh indictments brought by the state extend action in what was already the largest corruption case in state history.

OHIO DAD COULD STILL FACE DEATH PENALTY IN MASSACRE OF 3 SONS AFTER JUDGE TOSSES CONFESSION

The 64-year-old Householder was convicted of racketeering in June for his role orchestrating a $60 million bribery scheme funded by Akron-based FirstEnergy Corp. in exchange for passage of a $1 billion bailout of two nuclear plants owned by one of its subsidiaries. He was sentenced to 20 years, which he’s serving at Elkton Federal Correctional Institution near Youngstown, and has appealed.

Larry Householder, the imprisoned ex-Ohio House Speaker, has been indicted on 10 new felony counts. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

On Monday, a Cuyahoga County grand jury indicted Householder on the additional charges, which include alleged misuse of campaign funds, ethics violations and a theft in office charge that would block him from working for the government.

“This case seeks to hold Mr. Householder accountable for his actions under state law, and I expect that the results will permanently bar him from public service in Ohio,” Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said in announcing the indictments. “State crimes have state penalties, and a conviction will ensure that there will be no more comebacks from the ‘Comeback Kid.’”

Householder served two separate terms as speaker, in addition to holding county office. A message was left with his attorney seeking comment.

The state indictment alleges that Householder misused campaign funds to pay for his criminal defense in his federal case and failed to disclose fiduciary relationships, creditors and gifts on required ethics filings, including in relation to the bailout bill, known as House Bill 6. Specifically, Householder faces one count of theft in office, two counts of aggravated theft, one count of telecommunications fraud, one count of money laundering, and five counts of tampering with records.

Two fired FirstEnergy executives — ex-CEO Chuck Jones and Senior Vice President Michael Dowling — and Ohio’s former top utility regulator Sam Randazzo were indicted last month on a combined 27 counts as part of the state’s investigation, led by the Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission. All three pleaded not guilty.

Householder, lobbyist and former Ohio Republican Party chairman Matt Borges, and three others were indicted on racketeering charges in July 2020. Borges was convicted alongside Householder last summer and sentenced to five years. He has also appealed.

Lobbyist Juan Cespedes and Jeffrey Longstreth, a top Householder political strategist, pleaded guilty in October 2020 and cooperated with the the government in its prosecution. The third person arrested, longtime Ohio Statehouse lobbyist Neil Clark, pleaded not guilty before dying by suicide in March 2021.

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The dark money group used to funnel FirstEnergy money, Generation Now, also pleaded guilty to a racketeering charge in February 2021.

All were accused of using the $60 million in secretly funded FirstEnergy cash to get Householder’s chosen Republican candidates elected to the House in 2018 and then to help him get elected speaker in January 2019. The money was then used to win passage of the tainted energy bill and to conduct a dirty-tricks campaign to prevent a repeal referendum from reaching the ballot.

EXCLUSIVE: The White House is blasting House Republicans and accusing them of taking steps to defund the police, while claiming President Biden will protect law enforcement and support crime-reducing programs. 

The comments come after the House Republican Study Committee released its Fiscal Year 2025 budget proposal, titled “Fiscal Sanity to Save America.”

President Biden speaks at a campaign event at Pullman Yards on March 9, 2024, in Atlanta. (Megan Varner/Getty Images)

The White House is blasting the RSC for its proposal to reduce funding for Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), a program created in the 1990s as a means to support state and local law enforcement agencies with expenses like salaries, court programs and juvenile justice programs. 

HOUSE GOP LEADERS TEAR UP BIDEN’S NEW $7.3T BUDGET PROPOSAL

“Conservatives support our men and women in blue but should question whether the government should involve itself in state and local law enforcement, even if it is only a matter of funding,” the budget proposal states. 

The White House is also hitting Republicans on the proposal to defend what the GOP calls the “constitutionally dubious red flag provisions in the so-called Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.” 

The White House is also accusing House Republicans of taking steps to support “abolishing the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).” 

“Violent crime surged under President Biden’s predecessor, but this president immediately fought back and has now reversed that trend with a historic reduction in crime,” White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates told Fox News Digital. 

Bates said Biden took “unprecedented action to hire waves of police officers, invest in crime effective crime reduction strategies, and mental health services.” 

A spokesperson for House Speaker Mike Johnson told Fox News Digital that House Republicans “oppose President Biden’s disastrous budget, which would raise taxes by $5 trillion and create the largest debt-to-GDP ratio in history.” (AP/J. Scott Applewhite)

“Joe Biden won’t let Congressional Republicans defund the police, abolish law enforcement agencies like the FBI, gut crime prevention, or rollback landmark legislation critical to the fight against gun crime,” Bates told Fox News Digital. 

The White House touted Biden’s American Rescue Plan, saying communities across the country have been able to invest more than $15 billion “to keep their communities safe and prevent crime.” 

SOARING DEFICITS TO PUSH PUBLICLY HELD DEBT TO RECORD LEVEL IN 4 YEARS

“These include investments to avoid cuts to police budgets, hire more police officers for safe, effective, and accountable community policing, ensure first responders have the equipment they need to do their jobs, and expand community violence intervention and prevention programs,” the White House said. 

The White House said Biden’s budget also includes $1.2 billion over five years to launch a new “Violent Crime Reduction and Prevention Fund.” 

“The President’s budget also funds his Safer American Plan, including providing for hiring 100,000 additional police officers for effective, accountable community policing,” the White House said, adding that Biden “wants to deploy $17.7 billion for DOJ law enforcement, including $2.0 billion, an increase of over 30 percent since 2021, for the ATF.” 

But the RSC is now calling out the White House, saying their budget proposal points out that COPS funding has drastically increased since the Trump administration as a result of Democrat-led cities “needing bailouts” after “defunding their own police departments.” 

The RSC told Fox News Digital that the White House is now latching onto an argument that actually “highlights how Democrats really are defunding the police around the country.” 

“Conservatives versus Biden on crime – the record couldn’t be more different,” RSC Executive Director Joe Barry told Fox News Digital. “RSC’s budget doesn’t subsidize sanctuary cities or local entities who have embraced the defund the police movement.” 

Barry added: “We are committed to upholding the rule of law.” 

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And a spokesperson for House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told Fox News Digital that House Republicans “oppose President Biden’s disastrous budget, which would raise taxes by $5 trillion and create the largest debt-to-GDP ratio in history.”

“In contrast, the House GOP budget would reduce deficits by trillions and balance the budget over the next decade, while protecting Social Security and Medicare,” the Johnson spokesperson told Fox News Digital. 

Recent migration out of Pennsylvania and between its counties could present an even closer 2024 matchup between President Biden and former President Trump in the critical battleground state than in 2020, an analysis of new census data shows. 

“Uneven patterns of in-and out-migration could work to make what was a closely contested 2020 presidential campaign even closer in 2024,” penned Berwood Yost, director of Floyd Institute’s Center for Opinion Research at Franklin & Marshall College.

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In the 2020 presidential election, Biden defeated Trump by under 100,000 votes, winning the state 50% to 48.8%. 

President Biden and former President Trump (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)

Going into 2024, the Keystone State is expected to play a similarly pivotal role, especially given its high percentage of manufacturing workers – a demographic that both campaigns have made a point of lobbying in the early months of the election year. 

Since 2020, when the last census was taken, Yost noted that census data released earlier this month showed counties won by Trump had a net gain in populace of about 4,500 people. As for Biden-won counties, they posted a combined loss of more than 45,000 people.

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Overall, Pennsylvania saw its population decline since 2020, with a Census Bureau press release even highlighting Philadelphia County as one of the largest declining counties in the U.S. 

The Philadelphia skyline on Jan. 28, 2023. (Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)

“The biggest losses at the county level were in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County and Philadelphia. And those are two of the big centers of Biden’s support,” Yost told Fox News Digital in an interview.  

“And so does that affect his ability to win by large margins in those counties? That’s a real issue,” he said. 

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In an exclusive statement to Fox News Digital, Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said, “With just 35 percent job approval, Joe Biden is floundering in his home state of Pennsylvania. Between higher gas prices, surging crime, and failed Democrat policies crushing families at every corner, it’s no wonder that Pennsylvanians across the Commonwealth are increasingly rejecting the failed Biden agenda and supporting President Trump.”

Former President Trump enters Erie Insurance Arena for a political rally on July 29, 2023, in Erie, Pennsylvania. (Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)

Yost stressed he can’t say for sure whether the migration patterns both in and out of state will be detrimental for Biden, but he explained that there’s certainly the potential that it could be, especially with the competition expected to be close. 

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The director pointed out that those leaving the Philadelphia area are “most likely to end up in the suburbs around Philly,” which are similarly Democratic-leaning. However, those leaving Pittsburgh’s Allegheny County are “moving out into places that voted heavily for Trump.”

“Do they take their voting habits with them?” he posed. 

In new polling this month, Biden’s approval rating fell to 36%, while 61% disapproved of his job as president. (Hannah Beier/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“Was it for jobs? Was it for cheaper housing? Who knows?” Yost continued. 

He further referenced Biden’s near-record low approval rating, which “alone” could present an obstacle to re-election, per Yost. “The population changes that have happened in the state since 2020 do nothing to make this challenge less difficult,” he wrote. 

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In new polling this month, Biden’s approval rating fell to 36%, while 61% disapproved of his job as president. 

According to the latest Fox News poll, Trump and Biden are in a practical dead heat in Pennsylvania. Among all votes, 49% opted for Trump and 47% for Biden, which is notably within the survey’s margin of error. 

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.