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EXCLUSIVE: Beneath a towering 23-foot bronze figure holding the Declaration of Independence aloft, designer Matthew Taylor stopped beside an equestrian statue that many Americans have likely never seen, or even heard of.

“Most Americans have never heard of Caesar Rodney,” Taylor told Fox News Digital during an exclusive tour of the new Spirit of ’76 exhibition at Freedom Plaza. “But we owe this man an enormous debt of gratitude.”

The temporary installation, unveiled as part of America’s 250th anniversary celebration, transforms Freedom Plaza into an open-air gallery honoring Revolutionary War figures whose names rarely appear in history textbooks.

Commissioned by President Donald Trump, the exhibition features 22 statues and sculptural installations, including a restored equestrian monument of Rodney, a towering “Spirit of Liberty” centerpiece, bronze figures representing Revolutionary soldiers, and an immersive memorial honoring Americans who died aboard British prison ships during the Revolution.

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According to the National Park Service, the exhibit was created to honor the “heroes and martyrs of the Revolution” during America’s semiquincentennial and is intended to celebrate the enduring “Spirit of ’76’ that continues to live on in every American heart.” 

The centerpiece installations include the Caesar Rodney equestrian statue, the “12 Soldiers of the Revolution,” the Prison Ship Martyrs memorial and the 23-foot Spirit of Liberty statue.

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Rather than beginning with George Washington or Thomas Jefferson, however, Taylor chose to introduce visitors to Rodney.

The Delaware statesman, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, is remembered for his legendary overnight ride from Dover to Philadelphia in July 1776. Suffering from severe illness, Rodney rode roughly 80 miles through a storm to cast the vote that broke Delaware’s deadlock in favor of independence.

“Of all the signers of the Declaration of Independence, Caesar Rodney is one of the most exciting,” Taylor said. “When Delaware’s delegation was deadlocked, he rode through the night to cast the vote that helped secure American independence.”

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For decades, the bronze statue stood in Wilmington’s Rodney Square before being removed in 2020. It now occupies one of the most prominent locations in the nation’s capital, just blocks from both the White House and the Capitol.

From Rodney’s ride, Taylor naturally guides visitors into the next chapter of the American story.

Arranged around the plaza are bronze sculptures representing 12 Revolutionary War soldiers. Rather than depicting famous generals, the statues celebrate ordinary Americans whose individual stories reflect the sacrifices of the Revolutionary generation.

“These are ordinary citizens who did extraordinary things,” Taylor said. “Every one of these statues tells the story of someone who answered the call during the Revolution.”

Among them is Samuel Whittemore, who fought British troops at age 78. According to Taylor, Whittemore was bayoneted multiple times, shot in the head and left for dead before surviving and living into his 90s.

Another figure, Simon Knowles, enlisted at just 15 years old and served alongside George Washington throughout much of the Revolutionary War before returning home to live as a farmer.

Taylor said those stories represent the exhibition’s central message.

“Unlike monuments to George Washington or Thomas Jefferson, these statues honor ordinary Americans who did extraordinary things,” he said.

Nearby, another installation tells one of the Revolution’s lesser-known tragedies.

Designed as visitors physically walk through its narrow bronze panels, the Prison Ship Martyrs memorial recreates the outline of a British prison ship. According to the National Park Service, nearly 12,000 Americans died aboard prison ships during the Revolutionary War; even more than were killed in combat during the conflict.

Taylor said the memorial is meant to immerse visitors in that experience.

“As you walk inside, you hear the water from the fountain,” he explained during the tour. “It helps place you inside the story.”

The fountain itself has also become part of the experience. Taylor noted it was recently restored to operation after years of sitting idle, providing the soundscape surrounding the memorial while complementing the plaza’s redesign.

Towering above the entire exhibition stands the Spirit of Liberty, a new bronze figure inspired by iconic American monuments while looking toward the country’s next 250 years.

Standing 23 feet tall, the statue holds an exact bronze replica of the Declaration of Independence in one hand while raising a sword skyward with the other. Around its base are reliefs depicting three defining moments of the Revolution: the signing of the Declaration of Independence, George Washington crossing the Delaware River and the British surrender at Yorktown.

“The Spirit of Liberty represents the sacrifices that gave birth to this nation,” Taylor said.

During Fox News Digital’s visit, visitors gathered around the plaza to photograph the statues against the Washington skyline. Low-angle views of the bronze figures framed them against bright summer skies, while Rodney’s horse appeared frozen mid-stride as though continuing the historic ride that helped shape the nation’s founding.

For Taylor, whose career has largely been spent both behind the camera and behind the scenes designing historical works, the exhibition is about more than commemorating famous names.

Instead, he hopes visitors leave thinking about people they had never encountered before arriving at Freedom Plaza.

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“When visitors leave here,” Taylor said, “I hope they realize they can do extraordinary things themselves. America was built by ordinary citizens who answered extraordinary moments.”

The Spirit of ’76 exhibition is free to the public and is scheduled to remain on display throughout the nation’s 250th anniversary celebration.

Newly released diary entries reveal that as COVID-19 deaths mounted around the world, former White House COVID advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci became increasingly fixated on his newfound celebrity.

Released by Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Rand Paul, R-Ky., the journals chronicle Fauci’s day-to-day role during the COVID-19 crisis through conversations with President Donald Trump, governors and world leaders, media appearances, and his personal observations as the pandemic unfolded.

Paul, a longtime Fauci critic who frequently clashed with Fauci over the federal response and the origins of the virus, made the diaries public as part of the committee’s ongoing oversight investigation. The release comes days before Fauci is scheduled to testify before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee after being subpoenaed by Paul.

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A surprising recurring theme throughout the diaries is Fauci’s growing awareness of his own public profile during the most intense months of the pandemic, which ultimately claimed more than 7 million officially reported lives worldwide, including roughly 1.2 million in the United States.

On April 7, 2020, after recording the latest pandemic developments, Fauci wrote: “Press still hot and heavy about me. Multiple stories per day directly or indirectly involving me.”

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By May 21, after recording the latest pandemic figures — nearly 98,000 global deaths and more than 27,000 U.S. deaths — and documenting the day’s White House coronavirus task force meetings, Fauci wrote that his “national and international fame is explosive and really unimaginable” and that it was “not hyperbole” to say he was “the most famous and talked about person in the country.”

He added that Trump “seems to be enamored of me even though I am taking the spotlight away from him,” writing that the two were developing “a very unique and interesting relationship.” Fauci also noted that Secret Service agents had become so familiar with him they often waved him through White House security without checking his identification.

As the attention continued to grow, the diary increasingly documented how Fauci’s prominence had expanded beyond public health. A month later, as the United States recorded what Fauci described as a record 40,000 new COVID-19 cases in a single day, he wrote that he had been invited to appear on “Dancing with the Stars.”

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The diaries also document Fauci’s growing frustration with the Trump White House. On July 2, 2020, after warning that the country could be entering an “exponential” increase in COVID-19 cases heading into the Fourth of July weekend, Fauci wrote, “POTUS and his people have essentially dropped out and do not even recognize that an outbreak is ongoing.”

He also complained that the White House was denying requests for him to appear on major television programs. Across multiple entries, Fauci criticized White House communications officials for restricting his television appearances, questioned the administration’s public messaging and expressed frustration that media coverage increasingly portrayed him as being at odds with Trump.

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Fauci also repeatedly defended himself against what he described as the “countless” profiles written about him. He wrote that White House officials were upset because the coverage made it appear he was becoming “a star that outshines” the president.

He also insisted several of the profiles had been written without interviewing him and wrote that he had “no desire to conflict with, embarrass or show up the POTUS,” later deciding to stop participating in profile interviews altogether.

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Taken together, the entries offer an unusually personal account of Fauci’s role during one of the most consequential public health crises in modern U.S. history, capturing not only the government’s internal deliberations but also his private concerns about the pandemic, his increasingly complicated relationship with the Trump White House and the extraordinary public attention that followed.

President Donald Trump’s address to the nation alleging Chinese interference in American elections last week has renewed interest in Beijing’s broader influence efforts in the United States. 

Federal records show that a number of Chinese government entities, state-controlled media organizations and China-based companies have registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) to disclose operations with political implications carried out in the United States on their behalf. Lobbying Disclosure Act filings submitted to Congress by other Chinese entities, meanwhile, cover lobbying activity by companies pursuing what they say are purely commercial interests.

Those filings provide a partial public record of how Chinese interests seek to shape U.S. policy, public opinion and commercial decisions, though they do not establish the full scope of Beijing’s activity or prove Trump’s election claims.

Private entities based in China and Hong Kong, many of which have significant ties to the Chinese Communist Party, spend significant amounts of money attempting to influence America. The DOJ recorded over $20 million in FARA expenditures from these entities in 2025, with millions of dollars more being recorded in lobbying disclosures filed with Congress. Chinese government sources, over the same period, spent close to $80 million on FARA expenses.

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Not every Chinese influence operation happens on the books, however.

Campus groups that the State Department has linked to the Chinese government, such as the Chinese Students and Scholars Association, do not file paperwork with the DOJ, leaving Americans in the dark regarding their operations. Additionally, any groups that fall under China’s United Front Work Department — a global network of CCP loyalists that work to advance Beijing’s interests abroad — don’t file disclosures owing to their clandestine nature.

China hawks have also argued that some powerful domestic nonprofits have significant links to the CCP, giving it yet another mechanism it can use to influence the United States.

“China is committed to promoting mutual understanding and friendship between the Chinese and American peoples and advancing exchanges and cooperation between the two countries in areas including trade, education and culture,” a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy told Fox News Digital. “China’s international exchanges and cooperation are open and transparent, with the aim of enhancing mutual understanding and achieving mutual benefit.”

“Portraying China’s normal international exchanges and cooperation as so-called ‘influence operations’ distorts facts and stigmatizes legitimate engagement,” they added.

While the true extent of China’s influence in the United States is unknown, the evidence that is available to the public paints a picture of a broad, multi-front effort to shape how Americans live and think.

‘Propaganda’

Among China’s most prevalent levers of influence is its state-run media apparatus, which academic sources and the federal government often describe as a “propaganda” operation.

Globally, the State Department estimated in 2023 that China spends “billions of dollars annually on foreign information manipulation efforts.”

Five Chinese media operations are registered as active foreign agents in the United States, DOJ records show. CCTV, Xinhua News and China Daily each have direct affiliations with the CCP, whereas Sing Tao News Corporation is privately owned but consistently takes a pro-Beijing stance in its coverage.

CCTV, which is operated by the Chinese government, runs CGTN America, China’s flagship English-language media operation. DOJ filings reviewed by Fox News Digital show that CGTN received $66.8 million in funding from CCTV between February and November 2025 — a significant chunk of China’s overall foreign influence budget.

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In 2025, CGTN amplified rhetoric similar to that pushed by Democratic politicians.

The network pushed left-of-center rhetoric on issues such as climate change, racial tensions, immigration and the war in Gaza while criticizing Trump’s tariffs as well as his efforts to make Washington, D.C., safer through law enforcement and National Guard deployments. CGTN has also been eager to praise California Gov. Gavin Newsom, seen by many as one of Trump’s chief political rivals.

A 2022 academic paper published by researchers at King’s College in London argued that, despite appearances, CGTN doesn’t aim to influence voter behavior or have a strict ideological slant but rather seeks to portray America as “poorly governed, plutocratic, racist and a destabilizing international influence” in contrast to a China that is “well governed, benign, stable and a rising superpower.”

All the Chinese media operations designated as foreign agents tend to publish similar content. An appendix in one of Xinhua’s filings reveals that the federal government required it to register under FARA because the DOJ believes that it “intends to influence the American public or policy makers on relevant topics such as U.S. policy or foreign relations.”

“Chinese media outlets conduct news reporting and information dissemination in accordance with the law. Labeling outlets such as Xinhua, CGTN and China Daily as ‘propaganda tools’ or ‘foreign influence instruments’ reflects ideological bias and a Cold War mentality, rather than an objective view of international media exchanges,” the embassy spokesperson told Fox News Digital. 

The China lobby

Representing the interests of Chinese companies, even those that the U.S. government warns are working on behalf of the Chinese military, is big business for American lobbyists.

Lobbying records show that dozens of American lobbyists have signed new contracts with dozens of companies partially or fully owned by Chinese entities since 2025. FARA records, meanwhile, reveal that seven Chinese companies — Huawei, BOE Technology America, Yangtze Memory Technologies, XH Smart Tech China, Hikvision, Futurewei Technologies and JinkoSolar — maintain active foreign agent registrations in the United States.

A Chinese company advocating for its own commercial interests usually files lobbying disclosures with Congress under the Lobbying Disclosure Act, whereas an organization carrying out what the federal government determines to be political, governmental or broader public-influence work for a foreign principal typically reports to the DOJ under FARA.

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Hikvision, a partially state-owned video surveillance equipment manufacturer based in China, for instance, reports to the DOJ.

The company faces procurement, export and investment sanctions imposed by the United States government following allegations that it aided the CCP in its repression of Uyghur Muslims. It has paid American lobbyists millions to plead its case to the United States government that those restrictions should be dropped.

Since Hikvision is bound by the disclosure requirements of FARA, the public has access to the materials distributed to policymakers on its behalf, as well as information about specific policymakers they contacted, such as a slideshow presentation its lobbyists gave to Pentagon and Department of Commerce officials in October 2024.

Most of the lobbying services purchased by Chinese companies occur under the LDA, which only requires principals to disclose who they’re paying, how much they’re paying and a very basic description of what issues they’re lobbying on. Among the firms retaining American lobbyists are controversial Chinese-owned agriculture companies, major competitors with American industries, state-owned enterprises and firms that the Department of War claims are working on behalf of China’s People’s Liberation Army.

Tencent, a technology conglomerate that the Pentagon recently added to its list of “Chinese military companies,” has spent well over $10 million on lobbying expenses since 2025.

“As the Company is neither a Chinese military company nor a military-civil fusion contributor to the Chinese defense industrial base, it believes that its inclusion in the [Chinese military company] List is a mistake,” Tencent said in a statement after the Pentagon designated it as such. “The Company intends to initiate a Reconsideration Process to correct this mistake. During the process, it will engage in discussions with the U.S. Department of Defense to resolve any misunderstanding, and if necessary, will undertake legal proceedings to remove the Company from the [Chinese military company] List.”

A handful of Chinese companies, including some that have appeared on the Pentagon’s list of Chinese military companies, have even lobbied on issues related to American national security.

Some, such as Sen. Tom Cotton, have accused Chinese entities of abusing the LDA to avoid filing under FARA and complying with its stricter disclosure requirements, which would provide Americans with a fuller accounting of their activities.

Trade, tourism and development?

China, like many other countries, spends considerable funds on convincing Americans to trade with, travel to or invest in it.

The China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, for instance, receives hundreds of thousands of dollars from Beijing every six months to travel across the country to act as “the liaison between business, chamber of commerce, trade associations and organizations in China and in the United States to facilitate bilateral trade, investment and economic cooperation,” according to its FARA disclosures.

While CCPIT’s operations appear anodyne, China hawks argue that they may serve a dual purpose.

The Jamestown Foundation, for instance, asserts that CCPIT “has long been identified by the U.S. intelligence community as a united front entity supporting PRC diplomatic goals,” citing a declassified CIA memo from 1957. Sinopis, a research project associated with a Czech university, similarly argues that China uses CCPIT to forge relationships with foreign officials and business groups to ultimately advance Chinese economic and geopolitical objectives.

“Allegations concerning organizations allegedly linked to the United Front Work Department lack factual basis,” the embassy spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “In addition, the CCPIT has long been committed to promoting trade and investment cooperation between China and countries around the world and facilitating economic exchanges. Linking normal trade promotion activities to so-called geopolitical objectives is groundless.”

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Also paid by Beijing to operate in the United States are various offices encouraging Americans to visit China and soliciting investments for ventures in it.

Despite the harsh accusations levied against China, Trump has invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to visit the United States to discuss artificial intelligence and bilateral relations in September. 

EXCLUSIVE: A conservative legal group is telling New York City police officers they can contact U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) directly, even if local sanctuary policies say otherwise, releasing a new guide as border czar Tom Homan prepares a major immigration enforcement surge in the nation’s largest city.

Fox News Digital has obtained an unreleased 35-page handbook titled “Law Enforcement Officer Immigration Cooperation Guide” from America First Legal (AFL) that tells state and local police officers they can share a person’s immigration-status information directly with ICE even if New York City or other sanctuary city policies say otherwise.

The guide argues Section 1373 of federal law bars state and local governments from preventing officers from sharing citizenship or immigration-status information with federal immigration authorities like ICE.

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America First Legal is a nonprofit which describes itself as “founded to unapologetically and boldly defend the rights of everyday Americans.”

The guide arrives days after Homan revealed he had reviewed plans to deploy “more ICE agents than you’ve ever seen” into New York City after Mayor Zohran Mamdani signed an executive order reinforcing the city’s sanctuary-status policies.

The guide repeatedly cites Section 1373 of federal immigration law, arguing that state and local governments “may not prohibit, or in any way restrict” officials from sending immigration-status information to federal authorities.

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It tells officers they may contact ICE’s 24-hour Law Enforcement Support Center to verify a person’s immigration status using only a name and date of birth and says officers may do so “regardless of any local directive telling you not to,” according to the document obtained by Fox News Digital.

The release comes as the Trump administration prepares to dramatically increase immigration enforcement in New York.

Homan told Fox News last week that a significant ICE operation is coming to the city after self-described democratic socialist Mamdani reaffirmed New York’s sanctuary policies.

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“It’s coming,” Homan said. “There’s going to be a surge, and there needs to be a surge.”

While Homan declined to discuss operational details, he said ICE would not back away from enforcing immigration law despite opposition from city leaders.

The guide comes as Mamdani and the Trump administration continue to clash over immigration enforcement.

Mamdani’s Executive Order 13 directs the NYPD to review, update and train officers on department policies governing communication, cooperation and coordination with federal immigration authorities.

The order says the city believes “the aggressive tactics that certain non-local law enforcement agencies use in pursuing civil immigration enforcement actions… hinder public safety by creating a culture of fear.”

America First Legal argues those local rules cannot lawfully prevent an officer from voluntarily sharing immigration-status information with ICE because federal law supersedes conflicting local policies.

The guide also argues sanctuary policies could create legal risks for the officials who enforce them. AFL contends some officials could face federal criminal charges for obstructing immigration enforcement and that victims of crimes allegedly committed by illegal immigrants released despite ICE detainers could, in some cases, sue those officials under federal civil RICO law.

The organization is also inviting officers who believe they were threatened, disciplined or retaliated against for cooperating with ICE to seek confidential legal representation.

“Politicians who hide behind sanctuary policies are not above the law, and they have no right to bully or gag the officers who are trying to keep their communities safe,” AFL Senior Counsel James Rogers said in a statement accompanying the guide.

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Gene Hamilton, president of America First Legal, said officers “should never be forced to choose between following federal law and following unlawful directives to appease politicians committed to sanctuary policies.”

New York City Hall did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Taylor Penley contributed to this reporting.

One key Republican’s extended absence and unclear timetable for return is slowing down several legislative priorities, and could impact President Donald Trump’s Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act in an unexpected way.

 And while sparse statements from him and his office say he’s on the mend, there has yet to be a hard date for when he’ll come back to Congress.

It comes as Republicans are twisting and contorting Trump’s top election priority into something that could pass the Senate. Though McConnell has voted against the bill before, he would be a key player in crafting what it would look like in the upper chamber.

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“That could be an issue,” Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., told Fox News Digital. “I think there are a lot of issues.”

That’s because McConnell is chair of the Senate Rules Committee, which will likely be responsible for drafting the version of the SAVE America Act that could pass muster in budget reconciliation, the process that Trump is pushing the GOP to use to pass the bill.

The uncertainty around McConnell, coupled with the late Sen. Lindsey Graham’s recent death, throws a wrench into the process. Graham was chair of the Senate Budget Committee, and acted as quarterback through two dances with reconciliation over the past year.

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But Graham’s replacement on the panel, Johnson, could step in and draft language for SAVE America as chair of the Budget Committee — Graham leapfrogged Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chair Rand Paul, R-Ky., in 2025 to draft his portion of the “big, beautiful bill.”

“That’s my understanding — it actually falls to budget,” Johnson said. “So, again … this is still really early in the process, so I don’t have all the answers by a long stretch. Plus, we’ve got to find out what the conference wants to do, and what Leader John Thune wants to do.”

Thune is focusing on preventing a government shutdown, and is encouraging ongoing bipartisan negotiations on a funding deal to continue. And he has threatened to press pause on reconciliation by holding the House’s own budget framework until that objective is accomplished.

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He reiterated to Fox News Digital that Republicans don’t have the votes to pass the SAVE America Act, and may not have the votes to pass a budget resolution in the upper chamber.

And he noted that the SAVE America Act would have to comply with the Senate’s strict rules for reconciliation that unlock the 50-vote threshold, which the current version of the bill does not.

Getting the legislation to a point where it wouldn’t slam into those guardrails has remained an open and difficult question for Republicans — Thune suggested that it could work if it’s “very carefully structured based upon incentive, mostly grant money,” for states.

“So, you know, we’re gonna do everything we can to move that forward,” Thune said. “But as I told you before, the math on that hasn’t changed yet. It’s still likely to be a 60-vote exercise, even if it’s done with a budget resolution.”

Trump demanded Republicans ram through their own budget resolution before they leave Washington, D.C., until after Labor Day on Truth Social Friday to fund defense, agriculture, and pass “as much of the SAVE AMERICA ACT as possible.”

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“Our voters will be extremely happy — And even impressed,” Trump said.

Meanwhile, Thune has received criticism from Republicans for his plan to hold up the reconciliation process in favor of averting a shutdown.

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., told Fox News Digital the only option to pass SAVE America was through reconciliation, and he’s been working on his own plan in the background, and believes it could survive the Senate’s “Byrd” test.

“I can’t guarantee it, but it’s a — I consider it to be a credible argument,” Kennedy said. “And I will try to do that, and I will try to, at the right time, bring my colleagues, and, more importantly, the parliamentarian, along. But if we don’t do it through reconciliation, through the House reconciliation, we won’t get it done.”

“And I’m not sure it will work, but I think it might,” he continued. “It’s at least a 50/50 shot.”

The 2026 midterm elections are 100 days away as Republicans and Democrats will battle in Congress and statehouses across the country for control over the future of the country in what is expected to be a contentious and expensive campaign season.

Republicans currently hold narrow majorities in both chambers of Congress, controlling the House with a razor-thin 218-212 edge, with one independent and four vacancies, and the Senate with a 53-47 advantage, including two independents who caucus with Democrats.

With every House seat and 35 Senate seats on the ballot, Democrats need a net gain of just six House seats to reclaim the speaker’s gavel and four Senate seats to win back the upper chamber, making even a handful of competitive races capable of reshaping the balance of power in Washington.

The latest Fox News Power Rankings suggest a tough road ahead for Republicans as they go up against the historical headwind of the party not in power usually performing well in midterm elections but the GOP will be bolstered in the House by redistricting wins in states like Florida and Texas.

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“We are in a prime position to win it in November,” Republican National Committee (RNC) Chair Joe Gruters told Fox News this week. “Under Biden we had some of the highest inflation ever. Gas prices were high. And this president has gone to bat for average Americans every single day, starting with ‘Working Family Tax Cuts,’ no tax on tips, overtime, social security. The fact that he’s been going to bat for the American worker, bringing record setting investments. The fact that he closed the border down.”

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), has been focusing on the economy and affordability in its messaging over the last few days as they promote Democrats in House races.

“From groceries to gas to health care, House Republicans have bled Americans’ wallets dry with their cost-raising agenda,” DCCC Spokesperson Nebeyatt Betre said in a press release. “Voters are exhausted by all the bad news vulnerable House Republicans have created, and the DCCC is working to make sure voters know they can hold Republicans accountable on Election Day.”

If the election were today, 53% of voters would back the Democratic candidate in their House district and 46% the Republican,” a Fox News poll released this week showed. That 7-point edge is just outside the poll’s margin of error.

Democrats were up by 5 points in April. Notably, 53% is the highest percentage either party has received on the generic House ballot in Fox News polling since 1996.

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In the Senate, Republicans are looking to hold on to seats in Alaska, North Carolina, Ohio, and Maine with record amounts of spending already pouring into those states as Democrats hope to capitalize on the historic, economic, foreign policy, and anti-incumbent mood among voters.

The upcoming November clash comes as the Democratic Party deals with a socialist wave of candidates taking more and more control and winning races across the country causing headaches for establishment Democratic leaders like Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries.

Just 50% of voters have a positive view of capitalism, down from a high of 57% in 2019, Fox News polling shows. For socialism, it’s 30% favorable, up from 27% last year but below the 32% who said the same in 2021. The Democratic Socialists of America are viewed positively by 31%.

By an 11-point margin, more Democrats have a favorable opinion of socialism (52%) than capitalism (41%), while by a 50-point margin, more Republicans have a positive view of capitalism (61%) than socialism (11%).

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Republicans are hoping to capitalize on the socialist rise within the Democratic Party, particularly after the socialist victories in New York City that rocked the political landscape in recent months. 

“Democrats want to export New York’s ‘commie corridor’ to a state near you, bringing crippling tax hikes, dismantled law enforcement, and bloated government spending with it,” NRSC National Press Secretary Bernadette Breslin said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Americans will reject Democrats’ socialist spending spree this November and elect Republicans committed to advancing an affordability agenda that keeps the American Dream within reach.”

NRCC spokesman Mike Marinella told Fox News Digital that Republicans have the “momentum” and over the next 100 days, House Democrats will “spend every day trying to explain away their radical socialist record and why they opposed tax relief for working families, stronger border security, voter ID, and countless common-sense policies Americans overwhelmingly support.”

The RNC enters the final 100 days before the 2026 midterms with a significant financial advantage over its Democratic counterpart. According to the latest Federal Election Commission filings, the RNC has roughly $125.5 million in cash on hand, compared to about $14.9 million for the Democratic National Committee, which is also carrying approximately $18 million in debt.

While Democrats remain competitive through their congressional campaign committees and strong fundraising by individual candidates, the national party apparatus currently favors Republicans by a wide margin.

“So why does the DNC have less cash on hand than some expect?” DNC Chair Ken Martin wrote in a memo this week. “Because we made a conscious decision to invest money in the work required to win in 2025, 2026 and beyond. We are converting the cash we raise into electoral assets: more people, earlier organizing, better technology, and stronger state parties.”

Martin continued, “That answer may be unsatisfying to people who believe the purpose of a political party is to accumulate the largest possible bank balance until the final days before an election. But a party is not a savings account. Its purpose is to build power.”

Beyond Capitol Hill, control of governors’ mansions is also up for grabs as Republicans currently hold 26 governorships to Democrats’ 24, with 36 states electing governors this November, including a number of battlegrounds that will shape redistricting, election administration and state policy for years to come.

The results will help determine whether President Donald Trump enters the second half of his term with a Republican governing trifecta or faces a divided government that could dramatically alter the trajectory of his legislative agenda.

“We are nearly 100 days until Election Day, and the stakes for governor’s races across the country have never been higher,” Democratic Governors Association (DGA) Chair and Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said in a press release this week.

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“Donald Trump and Republican candidates for governor have a harmful, cost-raising agenda that is making life harder at every turn – and doing everything in their power to restrict our fundamental freedoms. But Democratic governors know how to fight back, and the DGA has the record to prove it.”

Republican Governors Association (RGA) spokesperson Kollin Crompton said in a statement to Fox News Digital that “the contrast couldn’t be clearer” between the two parties 100 days out from the midterms.

“Republican governors are leading the nation in jobs, wage growth, affordability, safety, and opportunity. Democrat governors are leading in higher taxes, higher costs, rising crime, and families fleeing their states,” Krompton said. “It’s common sense versus crazy. Results versus excuses. And we’ll spend every day until Election Day reminding voters which party is delivering.”

Several findings in the latest Fox News Poll show voters are unhappy and want major change, which bodes well for Democrats in November: President Donald Trump’s job approval remains near a record low, more Democrats are motivated to vote, Republicans join Democrats and independents in rating the economy negatively, and 4 in 10 voters want “dramatic” or “revolutionary” change. Plus, more view the GOP as tied to elites than the Democratic Party.

Voters say Democrats can better handle income inequality (+22 points), healthcare (+21), inflation (+10), the economy (+9), and foreign policy (+7). Republicans hold the advantage on crime (+7 points), while government spending (Democrats +3) and national security (R +2) are more evenly divided. On immigration, the GOP had an 8-point edge in April. Now, Democrats are preferred by one point.

More Democrats (68%) say they are extremely motivated to vote in November than Republicans (57%) by an 11-point margin. By a 25-point spread, more MAGA Republicans (66%) are extremely motivated than non-MAGA Republicans (41%).

Fox News’s Dana Blanton and Remy Numa contributed to this report.

Lawmakers offered strikingly divided reactions to the White House’s announcement of a new nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia, with Democrats concerned about accelerating a nuclear program in the Middle East and Republicans emphasizing the need for partnership in the region.

“I don’t trust anybody as far as I can throw them, but we’ve got to develop allies,” Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., told Fox News Digital. “And as long as we can verify them, we have the people there that can verify that they’re using them for the proper uses, then we’re okay.”

The Department of Energy released details Wednesday on the agreement, which would support the development of a civilian nuclear energy program in Saudi Arabia by providing U.S. technology and expertise. The agreement also includes safeguards intended to ensure nuclear materials are not diverted for weapons development.

IRAN NUCLEAR DEAL HINGES ON IAEA ACCESS TO LONG-BLOCKED ATOMIC WEAPON SITES, EXPERTS SAY

Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., blasted the proposal as “outrageous,” and Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., argued allowing Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium without strict safeguards could “cause a nuclear arms race.”

“The president says what we’re trying to do is to stop Iran from having a nuclear weapon, but if Saudi Arabia … does not meet all the protocols, etc., then it could cause an arms race where Egyptians or others in the area want a nuclear weapon,” Meeks said.

TRUMP’S IRAN DEAL SPARKS GOP DEMANDS FOR VOTE AS CONGRESS REMAINS IN THE DARK

Rep. Mark Alford, R-Miss., said Congress should be central in the decision to pursue any final agreement, while also stressing the importance of having Saudi Arabia as a regional partner.

“I think it’s important with any agreement like that that Congress have a role in that and I look forward to reviewing that,” Alford said.

“As we continue our conflict with Iran, we need partners in that region who are of the same mindset,” Alford continued. “And Saudi, with its reforms that they’re undergoing right now, gives me great hope and encouragement that we can move forward together in that region to help bring lasting peace.

BOOKER SLAMS TRUMP’S IRAN DEAL AS AN ‘ABJECT SURRENDER,’ LABELS HIM THE ‘BIGGEST LOSER’ WITH ‘EGG ON HIS FACE’

Raskin also raised questions to Fox News Digital about President Donald Trump’s family’s financial ties to Saudi Arabia.

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“Now the Trump administration allows the Saudis to enrich uranium,” Raskin said. “So, the Saudis enrich the Trumps, and the Trump’s allow the Saudis to enrich uranium and then we’re going to have more nuclear weapons in the Middle East to set off another nuclear arms race there. “

The agreement comes as the Trump administration seeks to strengthen its partnership with Saudi Arabia while maintaining pressure on Iran over its nuclear program, a balancing act Congress is likely to scrutinize in coming months.

A federal appeals court on Saturday refused to let the Trump administration enforce key parts of President Donald Trump’s executive order tightening mail-in voting rules in 23 Democratic-led states, a setback that could send the administration to the U.S. Supreme Court ahead of this year’s midterm elections.

In a 2-1 decision, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied the Department of Justice‘s (DOJ) request to pause a June ruling blocking several provisions of Trump’s March executive order while the administration appeals.

The DOJ previously told the court it could seek emergency relief from the Supreme Court if it did not prevail.

The administration argued the lawsuit was premature because federal agencies had not finalized the policies needed to implement the executive order. But the appeals court found the plaintiff states were already facing looming election deadlines and had begun preparing for potential changes.

OBAMA-APPOINTED JUDGE BLOCKS TRUMP’S ELECTION ORDER AS SAVE AMERICA ACT FIGHT INTENSIFIES

“As the district court reasoned, the (executive order) lays out a clear set of rapidly approaching deadlines by which states must coordinate with federal officials and comply with new voting procedures,” the majority wrote. “The Plaintiff States have no practical choice but to respond to the (order) now.”

Trump signed Executive Order 14399 in March as part of his election integrity agenda.

The order directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to compile lists of confirmed U.S. citizens eligible to vote and provide them to states, instructs the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to establish new standards for mail-in ballots and directs the Justice Department to prioritize investigations into state and local election officials who issue federal ballots to people deemed ineligible to vote.

‘ROGUE’ OBAMA JUDGE’S SMACKDOWN OF TRUMP ELECTION RULES PROVOKES OMINOUS WARNING FROM WHITE HOUSE DEPUTY

The lawsuit was brought by 23 states, and the District of Columbia, led by California, Massachusetts, Nevada and Washington. The states argue the Constitution gives them primary responsibility for administering federal elections and that the president exceeded his authority by directing federal agencies to impose new voting requirements.

U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani agreed in June, ruling that several provisions of the executive order likely exceeded the president’s authority and blocking federal agencies from implementing them in the plaintiff states through the Nov. 3 federal elections.

Saturday’s ruling does not resolve the underlying legal challenge, but leaves Talwani’s injunction in place while the appeal proceeds.

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The White House and the Justice Department did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker was dealt a major legal blow Friday after a federal judge gutted key state laws providing in-state tuition, financial aid and scholarships to illegal immigrants, marking another win for the Trump administration’s nationwide immigration agenda.

U.S. District Judge Stephen McGlynn, a Trump appointee serving in the Southern District of Illinois, sided with the Justice Department, ruling that Illinois’ in-state tuition policies, the RISE Act and the Illinois DREAM Act are “unconstitutional and invalid” as applied to illegal immigrants.

The ruling permanently prevents Illinois from enforcing the laws, although McGlynn delayed the order from taking effect for 14 days to allow the state to ask an appeals court to intervene.

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT SUES COLORADO OVER IN-STATE TUITION AND FINANCIAL AID FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

U.S. Attorney Steven Weinhoeft celebrated the ruling.

“Illinois sought to incentivize illegal immigration on the taxpayer’s dime by treating illegal aliens better than U.S. citizens living in other states, in clear violation of federal law,” Weinhoeft said in a statement. “This ruling enforces the statute Congress wrote and stops the State from putting illegal aliens ahead of American citizens.”

The decision is the latest victory for the Trump administration’s effort to dismantle state laws extending higher education benefits to illegal immigrants and comes one day after the Justice Department filed a similar lawsuit against Colorado.

NEBRASKA ENDS IN-STATE TUITION BENEFITS FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS UNDER DOJ DEAL

The Justice Department filed the lawsuit against Illinois and a handful of colleges in September 2025, arguing that Illinois violated federal law by offering in-state tuition and financial aid to illegal immigrants without making those same benefits available to all U.S. citizens regardless of where they live.

McGlynn granted the federal government’s motion for summary judgment and denied Illinois’ motion to dismiss.

The ruling invalidates Illinois’ in-state tuition rules, the RISE Act, which provides access to state financial aid for certain students ineligible for federal aid, and the Illinois DREAM Act, which established scholarship opportunities for eligible students.

DOJ ESCALATES BLUE-STATE ICE STANDOFF AFTER STATES REFUSE KEY FEDERAL REQUEST

Rep. Mary Miller, R-Ill. praised the decision on X.

“This is a win for Illinois taxpayers and American students who were shut out while Pritzker prioritized foreigners in our country illegally,” Miller wrote.

The Justice Department has won or reached settlements in similar cases involving Texas, Kentucky, Oklahoma and Nebraska, with Nebraska agreeing to end in-state tuition benefits for illegal immigrants as part of a settlement. Lawsuits remain pending against Minnesota, Virginia, California, New Jersey, Kansas, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maryland and now Colorado.

In its lawsuit filed Thursday against Colorado, the Justice Department argued the state’s ASSET Act and related policies unlawfully provide lower tuition rates and state financial aid to illegal immigrants while denying those same benefits to out-of-state U.S. citizens.

“For three decades, Congress has made clear that Colorado cannot give education benefits to illegal aliens that it does not give to all American citizens,” Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward said. “By granting illegal aliens in-state tuition, Colorado is not only violating federal law but subsidizing education for illegal aliens at taxpayers’ expense.”

“Our litigation efforts will not cease until we have fulfilled President Trump’s promise that illegal aliens will not obtain preferential treatment over our nation’s own citizens,” he added.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis’ office defended the state’s policies.

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“The federal government seizing control of determining in-state tuition across the country is absurd,” a Polis spokesperson previously told Fox News Digital. “In Colorado, we are expanding access to education to provide students with the skills to get good-paying jobs and doubling down on strategies to save students money.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Pritzker’s office for comment.

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., is questioning whether President Donald Trump’s preferred candidate to succeed the late Sen. Lindsey Graham — his sister, Darline Graham — is even eligible to appear on South Carolina’s Republican primary ballot.

“She has no record and I’m not even sure that she’s qualified to be on the ballot,” Mace told Fox News Digital.

Her comments come as Sen. Darline Graham, R-S.C., announced on Fox News that she will enter next month’s special primary election to run for a full term in the Senate.

DARLINE GRAHAM REVEALS WHAT TRUMP TOLD HER INSIDE OVAL OFFICE AFTER BROTHER LINDSEY’S DEATH

“Obviously I feel for her and losing Lindsey Graham — the entire state is mourning right now,” Mace said of Graham.

“It’s admirable and honorable what she’s done to take the wings for the next six months, but she has no records and I am not even sure she’s qualified to be on the ballot,” she repeated.

Mace isn’t alone in her concerns over Graham’s qualifications to serve a full-term. Local South Carolina GOP Chairman CJ Westfall said in a statement that he is pursuing a formal determination of whether Graham meets the party’s qualifications to run.

He said the request followed conversations with local voters about Graham’s qualifications, including concerns over her lack of political experience and her voting record — concerns Mace shares.

“It’s not clear that she’s voted in enough Republican primary elections to be on the ballot,” Mace said when asked why Graham may not be qualified.

MACE SNUBS TRUMP’S PREFERRED SENATE CANDIDATE, BACKS RALPH NORMAN INSTEAD

“By new state election laws of July of this year, you had to have voted in the last two of the last three Republican primaries and it’s not clear she has.”

Mace has instead chosen to endorse Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., for the Senate seat.

“He’s a tried-and-true conservative,” Mace said. “He doesn’t bend, he does not back down, and he has a 100% conservative voting record.

“We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get a conservative into the U.S. Senate in this seat. We’re not going to have this opportunity again in a while.”

REP RALPH NORMAN ENTERS SOUTH CAROLINA SENATE RACE DESPITE TRUMP’S ENDORSEMENT OF DARLINE GRAHAM

Mace herself was widely considered a likely candidate to enter the race for the South Carolina Senate seat, but she announced Monday that she would not run.

Trump, regardless of any doubts of qualifications, threw in his endorsement for Graham to seek a full-term seat, posting to Truth Social after a White House meeting with her, “run, Darline, run.”

While Trump’s endorsements have oftentimes been the winners of their respective primaries, Mace isn’t sold on the idea that Trump’s pick will influence South Carolina voters heavily.

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“I think that you’ll see that South Carolina voters seem to be a little more… they’re conservative, but they’re also independent,” Mace said. “Independent conservatives.”

“They vote the way that they wanna vote, not because someone told them to. And I think you’ll see that in this race.”

A Biden-appointed federal judge on Friday became the second jurist in Massachusetts to block the Trump administration’s effort to end Temporary Protected Status for migrant groups, fueling a growing clash over whether lower courts are ignoring a recent Supreme Court ruling that narrowed their authority over such decisions.

U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy of the District of Massachusetts issued an administrative stay in African Communities Together v. Mullin, temporarily preserving TPS protections for Ethiopian nationals while the court considers whether plaintiffs may pursue constitutional claims in light of the Supreme Court’s June ruling. In a 6-3 decision in Mullin v. Doe, the Supreme Court significantly narrowed lower courts’ authority to block DHS decisions designating or terminating TPS.

Murphy’s ruling drew a swift response from DHS General Counsel James Percival, who accused him of “mutiny” against the Supreme Court and revived criticism of the judge’s May 2025 order halting a deportation flight to South Sudan. DHS blamed Murphy for leaving ICE officers stranded at a U.S. military base in Djibouti, where officials said they faced malaria exposure and the threat of rocket attacks from terrorist groups in neighboring Yemen.

SUPREME COURT’S LATEST IMMIGRATION RULING WILL CAUSE AMERICANS TO ‘DIE AND SUFFER’ ATTORNEY WARNS

“Remember when that district judge rerouted a plane with child rapists headed for South Sudan? The judge made ICE land in Djibouti to face Malaria and terrorist rocket attacks from Yemen,” Percival wrote on X. “Fun fact: it was the very same Judge Brian Murphy who entered a lawless TPS order today!”

Murphy’s Friday order comes amid a months-long legal fight over the Trump administration’s effort to end Ethiopia’s TPS designation.

The litigation began after then-Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem determined in December 2025 that conditions in Ethiopia no longer justified Temporary Protected Status and announced the designation would terminate. Under the department’s notice, Ethiopia’s TPS designation was set to expire after a 60-day wind-down period, with protections ending on Feb. 13, 2026, before Judge Brian Murphy intervened.

SUPREME COURT WEIGHS TRUMP EFFORT TO TERMINATE TEMPORARY PROTECTIONS FOR HAITIAN, SYRIAN MIGRANTS

Earlier this year, Murphy sided with the challengers, granting their motion to postpone DHS’s termination of Ethiopia’s TPS designation after finding they were likely to succeed on claims that the department failed to follow the procedures Congress established for ending TPS.

But litigation was upended on June 25 after the Supreme Court ruled in Mullin v. Doe that lower courts generally cannot hear Administrative Procedure Act challenges to DHS decisions designating or terminating TPS. Since the Administrative Procedure Act formed the legal backbone of the plaintiffs’ challenge, the Trump administration argued Murphy’s injunction had been undermined and should be lifted.

However, the Supreme Court left open whether constitutional claims could still proceed, leading the plaintiffs to revise their complaint to focus on those arguments.

BLUE STATE LEADERS ERUPT AFTER SUPREME COURT’S DECISION ENDING TPS PROTECTIONS FOR HAITIANS, SYRIANS

Murphy’s ruling comes just hours after another judge in the District of Massachusetts, Senior U.S. District Judge Patti Saris, temporarily halted the Trump administration’s effort to terminate TPS for South Sudan. Saris issued an administrative stay preserving protections while she considers whether plaintiffs may amend their lawsuit following the Supreme Court’s ruling. Like the Ethiopia case, the South Sudan challenge was brought by African Communities Together along with individual TPS holders.

Saris said her order was simply meant to temporarily maintain the status quo while the court considers the case and was “not a ruling on the merits.”

The tandem rulings have led to calls for the Trump administration to ignore the lower courts’ ruling.

“These Democrat operatives in robes do not have the power to do this,” Mike Davis, a conservative legal activist and founder of the Article III Project, wrote on X. “The Supreme Court just made that crystal clear. So it’s time to ignore these clearly lawless orders.”

“These puny little district court judges have been overruled so many times by the supreme court, especially on immigration, I think it’s time for the president to take his constitutional oath seriously, and ignore them,” Ann Coulter, a conservative political commentator wrote on X.

Murphy has repeatedly clashed with the Supreme Court over the Trump administration’s immigration policies, with the justices twice siding with the administration in its challenge to his orders restricting deportations of illegal aliens to countries that are not their homelands.

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The Biden administration first granted Ethiopians Temporary Protected Status in 2022, declaring that war and a worsening humanitarian crisis had made it unsafe to return them to their home country. Then-DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas pointed to ongoing armed conflict, widespread violence, human rights abuses, food insecurity, among the many reason as the basis for the designation. The protections took effect on Dec. 12, 2022, and were later extended through Dec. 12, 2025. DHS estimated approximately 26,700 Ethiopian nationals living in the United States could qualify for TPS.

Fox News Digital reached out to African Communities Together for comment.

Months before losing re-election, former Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., touted the work of her non-profit to donors even though records indicate the organization may have never been registered as a tax-exempt organization.

Bush described Poltivist Power Inc. as “a new 501(c)(4) organization uniting grassroots organizing with political strategy to fight oppression,” in a fundraising email.

“My team and I are on the ground, and we could use your support. Can we count on you to donate to our tornado fund today so we can continue our relief efforts?” Bush wrote.

STACEY ABRAMS HIT WITH SUBPOENA IN ALLEGED CAMPAIGN FINANCE VIOLATIONS SAGA: ‘NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW’

Bush made the same characterization in a second fundraising email sent weeks later.

But Fox News Digital could not identify any IRS record showing Poltivist Power had obtained or claimed tax-exempt status. While not proof of wrongdoing, the lack of a paper trail for Bush’s organization raises questions about whether the former “Squad” member misled donors during her time in office.

Without reporting, it’s unclear how much the group fundraised.

Bush, who first arrived to Congress in 2021, was known for her progressive stances that grouped her with fellow Democrats like Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich.

Among them, Bush began taking a critical view of the U.S. relationship with Israel amid its protracted war with Hamas in Gaza. Her criticisms became a centerpiece topic in her 2024 primary against Democratic challenger Wesley Bell — a race she lost.

Now out of office, Bush has remained involved in progressive politics in her local scene.

When approached about Poltivist Power Inc., Bush did not respond to requests for comment from Fox News Digital on whether Poltivist Power had received donations, on why it hadn’t yet reported a 990 and about the nature of its activities.

The organization’s domain, Poltivistpower.com, was first purchased on April 1, 2025, records show. Bush announced the creation of the group shortly after a tornado struck the St. Louis area, killing at least four people and causing widespread damage.

‘SQUAD’ DEM DISMISSES FRAUD PROBE SPECULATION AFTER $29M NET-WORTH DROP

“The Politivist team is on the ground, providing supplies, checking on families, and showing up for those who’ve been left behind,” Bush said.

Since then, in addition to not having a filing recorded with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the group seem to have wrongly filed paperwork with Delaware’s Department of State and with ActBlue Civics, a fundraising site for Democratic groups.

In its March 2025 Delaware incorporation filing, Poltivist Power was registered as an “exempt” corporation, a designation Delaware says is reserved for entities that meet the requirements of Section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code.

In both cases, the application requires tax-exempt status with the IRS. The organization is still listed on ActBlue Civics.

Notably, Bush’s fundraising emails, in which she highlighted the organization, also included a disclaimer clarifying that “Contributions to Politivist Power are not affiliated with Politivist Action PAC and are not political donations.” The note distinguishes the non-profit from a dedicated fundraising group by the same name.

Despite Bush’s departure from Congress, enough anomalies about Politivist Power have surfaced to catch the attention of Missouri Attorney General Catherine L. Hanaway earlier this month.

She announced her office would look into whether Bush had personally benefited from her fundraising efforts during the tornado recovery and the work that Politivist allegedly did at the time.

“The investigation started when a local news station reported that people had reported to it that contributions they had made for a tornado relief fund had actually gone to her political activity,” Hanaway said in a statement about the investigation.

FIRST ON FOX: ACTBLUE BOARD MEMBERS IN HOT SEAT AS GOP PROBES ‘SERIOUS’ MISCONDUCT ALLEGATIONS

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“We do not have our own evidence of that, but that is what we are investigating,” she added.

Bush has not been formally charged with any wrongdoing.

BANGOR, Maine – Maine Democrats on Saturday quickly coronated Troy Jackson as their party’s Senate nominee — following this month’s spectacular implosion of ex-candidate Graham Platner — in the high-stakes Senate showdown with longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins.

Jackson, a former state Senate president, was elected in a landslide at the Maine Democratic Party’s nominating convention in Bangor. He was on a glide path to the nomination after winning the vast majority of the voting delegates chosen last weekend by Democrats in the northern New England state’s 16 counties.

Jackson’s top rivals in the race to replace Platner backed him after dropping out of the race the past few days, leaving only one long-shot candidate for delegates to also consider at the convention. He defeated Saundra Pelletier, a pharmaceutical company CEO, by a 566-5 margin in Saturday’s vote.

The Senate race in Maine, where Collins is the only GOP incumbent running for re-election in a state President Donald Trump lost in the 2024 election, is one of roughly a dozen midterm showdowns across the country that will determine if Republicans hold onto their slim majority or if the Democrats win back control of the chamber.

WHO’S UP AND WHO’S DOWN: CHECK OUT THE FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS ON THE MIDTERM ELECTIONS

“Are you ready to defeat Susan Collins? Well, then let’s unite this party. Let’s build the largest working class movement Maine has ever seen. And let’s win this fight,” Jackson, a fifth-generation logger from the remote northern tip of Maine and a one-time conservative Republican who became a Democrat over two decades ago, said in convention speech just ahead of the delegate vote.

While Jackson quickly raised over $1 million for his burgeoning Senate campaign and coalesced party support, there are some potential warning signs.

Following reports this past week digging into Jackson’s alleged temper and workplace conduct, reported claims of mortgage improprieties as well as other potential liabilities including his past strict anti-abortion stance, there are concerns by some in the party that following the Platner implosion, Democrats have landed another unvetted nominee.

“This is a bit of a rocket vetting process,” a Democratic strategist who works on Senate races, who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely, told Fox News Digital. “Maine Democrats have seemingly made their choice and they’re just going to have to ride with it.”

A veteran Democratic consultant who also asked for anonymity said that “it’s very clear that Democrats should not be looking to Maine to flip the Senate.”

“The good news is that we have upset opportunities in places like Texas, Iowa, and Alaska,” added the consultant, who works with centrist Democratic Senate candidates.

Platner, a military combat veteran and oyster farmer who was backed by progressive champion and Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont soon after he launched his bid last August, saw his campaign quickly catch fire. Two-term Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, who was heavily recruited by longtime Democratic Senate leader Sen. Chuck Schumer to run for the Senate, suspended her campaign this spring after trailing Platner in fundraising and in the polls.

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT TROY JACKSON, WHO’S ABOUT TO REPLACE GRAHAM PLATNER AS THE DEMOCRATS’ SENATE NOMINEE

But even as Platner steamrolled the Democratic establishment and crushed the competition last month in Maine’s primary to capture the nomination, he had already been forced on defense in the wake of a slew of scandals.

Platner dropped out earlier this month, amid calls from top Democrats in Maine and across the country to immediately exit the race following an explosive report containing an allegation of rape from a woman he previously dated. Platner denied the report but stepped aside.

Jackson, who unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, campaigned alongside Platner during the primary. And he quickly made the case that he was the best equipped candidate to grab the mantle of the progressive and populist movement that had backed Platner.

Similar to Platner, Jackson is running on a platform aimed at working-class voters. He backs raising taxes on billionaires, the universal healthcare system known as “Medicare-for-all,” abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and he opposes military aid to Israel at a time that Democrats are increasingly divided on support for America’s longtime Middle East ally.

DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB

Jackson, who also had Sanders’ support as he ran for governor, is currently backed in his Senate campaign by Our Revolution, the group born in 2016 out of Sanders’ first presidential campaign.

Rep. Ro Khanna of California, a leading progressive in the House and a potential 2028 Democratic presidential contender, was a top Platner backer. Khanna quickly moved his support to Jackson in this month’s sprint to succeed Platner.

And Jackson enjoys strong support from labor unions in Maine. The labor backing, along with support from Platner’s former allies, helped Jackson capture the overwhelming majority of county-selected delegates last weekend.

The 500 delegates chosen last weekend, along with 101 selected by the state party, voted in Saturday’s convention.

Republicans argued ahead of the convention that Democrats stacked the deck to back Jackson as Platner’s replacement.

“Maine voters have been shut out by the Democrat establishment with a rigged nominating process to crown Platner 2.0 without a single vote being cast,” Republican National Committee spokesperson Kristen Cianci charged in a statement to Fox News Digital.

Collins, as she runs for a sixth six-year term in the Senate, is facing a rough political climate for Republicans, amid GOP President Donald Trump’s underwater approval ratings, persistent inflation and what polls indicate is an unpopular war with Iran.

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The senator, known as a moderate Republican who at times has voted against Trump, last month received bipartisan praise after reaching a milestone by casting her 10,000th consecutive Senate vote.

But Democrats are taking aim at Collins over her comments that she didn’t regret her 2018 vote to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, despite his crucial vote four years later to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion ruling.

And following the fatal shooting in Maine earlier this month involving federal immigration agents, Democrats heavily criticized the Senate Appropriations Committee chair for her support for ICE funding.

But Collins has a history of defeating the Democrats’ efforts to oust her from the Senate.

Six years ago, she trailed Democratic challenger Sara Gideon, the then-Maine House speaker, but the senator ended up winning re-election by nearly 9 points .

The Senate showdown in Maine is expected to be competitive, combustible, and expensive, with outside groups on both sides spending big bucks to run ads.

The first Fox News Power Rankings of the 2026 midterms, which gauge the competitiveness of elections using data, reporting and analysis, were released this week. And they rank the showdown in Maine as a toss-up.

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Meanwhile, a Pine Tree Poll conducted in recent days by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center indicated Jackson with a slight three-point edge over Collins, right at the edge of the margin of error, among likely general election voters in Maine.

A top conservative leader in the House GOP is arguing that supporters of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) are pushing Democrats further left than even they are letting on.

House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris, R-Md., told Fox News Digital he’s still hopeful that Republicans have a chance of retaining their razor-thin majority in the lower chamber of Congress because Democrats’ left flank will make American voters nervous come November.

“The Democrat party is now being infiltrated with truly communist elements. I think Americans are going to realize that the Democrats are truly the crazy party now, and the country can’t tolerate that,” Harris said. “So I think that improves our chances in November.”

HOUSE REPUBLICANS AIM TO TURN DEMOCRATIC CIVIL WAR INTO MIDTERM WEAPON

Republicans are facing an uphill battle to retain control of the House of Representatives as the midterm elections creep closer. House lawmakers raced out of Washington on Thursday back to their home districts, where they will spend the next five weeks making the case to their constituents as to why the GOP should keep control for the latter half of President Donald Trump’s final term.

One line that is already popping up frequently on the campaign trail references the recent slate of victories for DSA-backed candidates in Democratic primaries across the country.

In New York City, for example, two House candidates backed by Democratic socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani defeated incumbent progressive lawmakers and will likely sail to victory in the November general election. 

A third open House race saw a Mamdani-backed candidate defeat an establishment-backed Democrat

BERNIE SANDERS, DSA REVEAL DEMANDS FOR DEM PARTY AFTER SOCIALISTS SWEEP NEW YORK ELECTIONS

“I think Mr. Mamdani in New York says exactly where the party is. He wants government-run everything. That’s called communism. That’s way beyond socialism. That’s communism,” Harris said.

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When you want to control – for instance, you want have the grocery stores run by the government – that’s the way it is in Russia. That’s is the way is in China. That’s it the way in communist-controlled countries. And anybody who’s interested in that, ought to look back at history and see how that works out.”

Harris himself is in a safe red seat after Maryland Democrats thwarted an effort by their own party to redraw congressional lines there ahead of November.

Democratic Hawaii Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke was indicted by a grand jury on charges of criminal conspiracy to commit bribery, bribery and falsifying candidate committee reports stemming from a bribe she allegedly took as a state lawmaker in 2022.

The indictment alleges that local businessman and lobbyist Tobi Solidum offered Luke a $35,000 bribe connected to a COVID-19 testing contract a company he recommended had with the state.

Solidum was also indicted as part of the state attorney general’s probe, along with former state representative Ryan Yamane, Hawaii’s Transportation Department official Ford Fuchigami, and Leo Asunción, a former official for Hawaii’s public utilities commission.

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All five defendants were swept up as part of state Attorney General Anne Lopez’s January investigation, which was an offshoot of a federal bribery probe.

Solidum represented the National Kidney Foundation of Hawaii, which had contracts with the state to provide COVID-19 testing sites.

In January 2022, with his client’s contracts set to expire soon, Solidum met with Luke at a steakhouse and allegedly gave her two $5,000 checks made out to her campaign committee Friends of Sylvia Luke, according to prosecutors.

NEWSOM ADMIN FACES QUESTIONS OVER $6.2M DIAPER CONTRACT AFTER TOUTING ‘COMPETITIVE’ PROCESS

“By next week, we’ll have 35, so it will be halfway to our 70,” Solidum allegedly told Luke, promising to give her $70,000, according to the indictment.

“Oh wow,” Luke allegedly replied, adding, “That’s terrific,” according to the documents.

Luke admitted to accepting the two $5,000 checks, but denied taking more than that and also denied any money influencing her lawmaking.

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“I never granted special favors to a contributor,” she said in a social media post, adding that she “prized integrity and honesty above all throughout her career.”

The indictment also argues that Solidum appeared to be attempting to leverage Luke’s upcoming run for lieutenant governor. Speaking about Luke to another state representative, Solidum said, “All I gotta do is give her more money now,” the indictment alleges.

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Hawaii Gov. Josh Green called for Luke to resign hours after the indictment.

“The lieutenant governor needs to consider formally resigning to address this matter and so that the state of Hawaiʻi can move forward,” Green told local outlet Maui Now on Friday.

Fox News Digital contacted the governor’s and lieutenant governor’s offices for further comment.

Rep. Mike Carey, R-Ohio, grilled Smithsonian leadership at a hearing on Wednesday on why the National Museum of American History (NMAH) had dropped mention of “American history” from its mission statement in

“You explained that the museum removed the phrase ‘American history’ from the mission statement in order to help people ‘to get out of the America-first mentality,’ Carey said, posing his question to Anthea Hartig, NMAH administrator.

“What did you mean by America-first?” he asked.

Carey’s line of questioning, made during a Committee on House Administration hearing on Wednesday, comes as Republicans in Congress have made preserving America’s heritage a proxy for larger struggles over national identity and cultural values.

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Progressive thinkers, such as Hartig, have argued that keeping the darker parts of American history in view should inform an understanding of the country’s past — and help set its policy direction in the present.

In response, many Republican lawmakers have voiced deep unrest over efforts to characterize the U.S. as marked by oppression or slavery — such as the New York Times’ 1619 Project. Many conservatives have argued that the American ideals, laid out in documents like the Declaration of Independence, transcend even the country’s most blatant failures to live up to those aspirations; that they are anything but definitive of the American experience.

The conversation has also taken on a new focus in President Donald Trump’s second term as the administration has pulled out all the stops in celebrating the country’s 250th anniversary.

With calls to “Make America great again” and put “America first,” the administration released a report called “Saving America’s Story.”

That report highlighted the American History Museum’s decision to change its mission statement and called out Hartig specifically.

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“That shift from history to activism is clearly documented in this report. Anthea Hartig, NMAH’s director since 2019, has explicitly stated that she sees history as a ‘prime tool of social justice’ and one of her roles as connecting ‘research and scholarship to activism and advocacy,’” the report stated.

The report also details how Hartig had explained the change to NMAH’s mission statement in a 2024 presentation to a group of undergraduate and graduate history students.

“It’s hard to get out of the ‘America First’ mentality …It’s just that, and why we changed our mission when I first came,” Hartig said. “I think it’s a big challenge, especially going into 2026, which will be the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the 25th year since 9/11, the fifth year since January 6th.”

Speaking before the committee on Wednesday, Hartig defended her view, claiming that she had not tried to make history a matter of activism through her leadership at NMAH.

“The museum does not take sides in America’s political debates. We preserve and document the evidence of American life in all its breadth, so that the public can encounter the past and draw their own conclusions,” she stated.

“When historians talk about reframing a traditional narrative, we do not mean erasing it. We mean adding the evidence, voices and objects that earlier tellings left out, so that more Americans can see themselves in the national story. Examining the harder chapters of our history is not the same as hostility toward America.”

But Carey, alongside other Republicans, appeared unconvinced.

“‘The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.’” Carey cautioned, quoting George Orwell’s cautionary book on authoritarianism, 1984.

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“Let me get back to my original question — why do you think that ‘American history’ should be erased from the American History museum?” Carey added.

Hartig, pressed for time, did not give a response.

President Donald Trump attended the annual White House Correspondents Association (WHCA) Dinner Friday night for the first time in either of his two presidential terms.

The event was rescheduled from its original April 25 date after a crazed gunman allegedly tried to assassinate the 47th president, bull rushing security with several weapons and firing a shot before he was taken into custody.

Here are five top highlights from the dinner:

TRUMP HEADS BACK TO CORRESPONDENTS’ DINNER MONTHS AFTER GUNFIRE FORCED EVACUATION

1. Journalists, Trump share heartfelt moments

Trump and the press typically find themselves at odds, and while Friday night had its share of uncomfortable moments, both sides were able to find some common ground — especially after sharing a scary moment at the originally scheduled dinner in April.

Before presenting one of the many awards of the night, ABC’s Jon Karl thanked the president for his attendance.

“Mr. President, I want to say it matters that you came here tonight,” said Karl. “For more than 100 years, presidents have chosen to sit in a room of reporters who asked tough and often uncomfortable questions, and who report without fear or favor. It’s important. Thank you for being here.”

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WHCA outgoing President and the dinner’s emcee Weijia Jiang also had kind words for the president, just before she introduced him to speak and after discussing the importance of the First Amendment.

“President Trump, I’ve covered you for a long time, and so have many reporters in this room. When we ask questions, you push back, you give us answers and we push back,” she said. “You have always been a deal guy. Well, that’s the deal. And the First Amendment is a done deal. And that’s what we toast tonight. The freedoms that brought us back together even after they were threatened.” 

“So let’s raise a glass to what makes ours a beautiful country.”

Later in the night, Trump concluded his speech with a warm message for the press delivered in his own style.

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“I just want to say, this room — I have tremendous respect for the people in this room,” Trump said. 

“Sometimes I don’t feel you treat me fair, maybe you do, I don’t know,” he continued. “I don’t feel that. But sometimes you treat me fairly, and I have a lot of respect for your profession. It’s amazing. And I just want to thank you for having me, and it’s been fun.”

2. Trump razzes the press and members of his cabinet

Trump made a series of jokes throughout his speech, some targeting the press, and others targeting people he appointed to positions of power.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was on the receiving end of a quip from the 47th president after Trump told attendees he hoped they enjoyed their beef tenderloin dinner.

“I want you all to know that Bobby Kennedy, who’s right here, personally ran over the cow with his car,” he jabbed. “And he cut it up and he brought it here for you to eat tonight.”

Kennedy is well known for his eccentric history with animals, including once saying he captured a raccoon and cut its genitals off, viral videos of him catching dangerous snakes and once using a chainsaw to remove the head of a dead whale that washed up on Cape Cod.

“Bobby also suggested an appetizer featuring his favorite cut of male raccoon roadkill. But we drew the line at that,” the president went on. “We said, ‘No, we’re not doing that.'”

Kennedy is also known for pushing a more red-meat centric diet and has embraced the push for restaurants to use beef tallow to fry their food instead of seed oils. 

Trump also joked about the shooting at the first WHCA dinner earlier this year, which pro-MAGA rapper Nikki Minaj attended.

“But after hearing the gunshots, many people yelled, ‘get down, get down!’ Which caused Nicki Minaj to start twerking, do you believe? Get down! She’s the only one that really understood what that meant,” Trump joked, earning laughter from the tough crowd.

Throughout his speech, he repeatedly used one of his famous phrases — referring to the press as “fake news,” but took some direct shots at certain outlets and figures.

He unexpectedly flipped the script in a misdirection from what seemed like an update on the Iran war.

“A once feared and powerful regime that relentlessly attacked America has finally been toppled,” he said. “Their former leaders have been removed and they’re now being run by a gay dictator facing internal divisions. But I, for one, wish Bari Weiss all the best at CBS News.”

Trump’s nemesis, Kaitlan Collins of CNN, was also on the receiving end of a brutal blow.

“I thought Kaitlan Collins had really made it big with a major new sponsorship, but then I informed her that it wasn’t her on the Bud Light can, it was Dylan Mulvaney,” he said, referencing the beer brand’s failed marketing campaign featuring a transgender influencer.

3. Unsuspecting Todd Blanche yanked into mentalist Oz Pearlman’s routine

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who is currently in the confirmation process to take on the job full-time, became part of mentalist Oz Pearlman’s routine to close out the night.

In a convoluted bit, Oz asked Blanche to make up an amount of money he had in his wallet. Blanche said $130, but Oz guessed the correct amount — $85. Then, Oz asked a man sitting next to Blanche to choose a single bill from Blanche’s wallet, and then had Blanche sign it. Blanche signed it, and was instructed to sit on it.

For the remainder of the act, Oz asked members of the crowd to stand — including Fox News’ Kevin Corke — and dream up a person dead or alive who they wished they could interview. He guessed several of interview subjects’ names correctly, and even enlisted the help of a member of the crowd, who also made correct guesses.

After that, he enlisted audience members, once of which was former National Security Administrator and current U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Watlz, to chose important dates and random numbers. When multiplied, those numbers equaled 53,670,682. 

Oz then turned back to Blanche and asked him to stand up and look at the serial number of the bill he was sitting on. Audience members were stunned to find out it was No. 53670682.

4. Trump reveals how he communicates with the press

Trump explained that he was tired of asking his communications team, Karoline Leavitt and Steven Cheung, if he had received any calls from the press. So instead he started to give journalists his direct line, which has turned out to be a disaster.

“That was the stupidest thing I ever did,” the president said. “I’m getting a call every 3.7 minutes.”

“Every once in a while, it’ll be one of the people in this room that I like and I’ll pick it up,” he said, referencing taking phone calls from Fox News’ Jacqui Heinrich and joking that she only wants to discuss “horrible” subjects.

But he said that other callers are from outlets that he has never heard of or are just starting out. 

“You know, I pick up every once in a while, ‘hello, I’m from Reno, Nevada. We’re a startup paper. We’re calling us the Reno Express,'” Trump continued. “I’ll say, ‘Do you believe it, I’m the president of the United States.'”

“‘Mr. President, could I have your views on Iran?’ And I just hang up,” Trump continued. “No, I get the craziest calls. I mean, some of them. My wife said, I can’t believe you do this. This is a hell of a way to live.”

5. Trump announces he WILL attend the 2027 WHCA Dinner, unless…

Trump had never attended the WHCA Dinner in either of his two presidencies, a total of five years, breaking with long-held tradition for a night of comradery with the press and government officials. His attendance Friday night was a major storyline — especially after the event in April was foiled by a lone gunman.

The president laid his plans for next year towards the conclusion of his hour-and-four-minute remarks.

“It’s an honor to do it,” Trump said of his attendance. “I’ve been to it numerous times, but as president, I haven’t been here, and I’m glad.”

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Trump expects to attend again in 2027, but joked that his decision could depend on how the press behaves.

“They said, ‘Would you do it next year?’ I said, ‘I will be back next year,'” Trump said. “Now if you get really, really nasty, maybe not. I don’t know. But we’re going to be back next year.”

Trump attended the WHCA Dinner in 2011 and 2015, when he was a successful businessman, real estate tycoon and reality television personality. 

Former NFL placekicker Jay Feely is the latest professional athlete poised to transition to a congressional career, where leadership, performing under pressure and handling public scrutiny are essential in both arenas.

Fox News Digital reached out to Feely, who spent time with the New York Giants and Arizona Cardinals before becoming an “NFL on CBS” commentator, for his take on why professional sports prepared him for public life as he seeks the seat of retiring Rep. David Schweikert, R-Ariz.

“Especially as a kicker — to be a successful kicker in the NFL, you have to be able to handle pressure, and you have be able handle failure. And I think those two attributes are very tangible attributes that will help you as you try to navigate the political field and try to be effective,” Feely said Friday in an interview with Fox News Digital.

He said the NFL also exposed him to teammates from different backgrounds and viewpoints, helping prepare him to represent a diverse constituency.

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“[T]he greatest advantage of being an NFL player was to be in those locker rooms where racial walls were broken down and conversations happened and you got to know people which otherwise you might not ever get to know.”

He recalled rooming with LeVar Arrington and Brandon Short while with the Giants in East Rutherford, sharing stories about their different life experiences and personal views as they played chess and other games.

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“Your job is to represent everybody and i think those experiences certainly are an asset,” Feely said.

He also mentioned a trip to the infamously unfriendly confines of Lincoln Financial Field to play the Philadelphia Eagles right after the “worst game of [his] career” against the Seahawks.

The prior night he had been “spoofed” on “Saturday Night Live,” and while preparing for what was a game-winning kick after an apparent icing timeout, Philadelphia played a montage of his Seattle misses on the Jumbotron to mock him.

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“They tried to deter me, but I made the kick and my career goes on for another nine years – you learn a lot through those processes,” Feely said.

Feely added that he got to know another athlete-turned-public official through their time with the NFL Players Association (NFLPA).

“There’s so many different correlations with the people in sports, and a lot of the best people I know that I met in sports have thought about getting into politics,” he said, reflecting on his time working with HUD Secretary Scott Turner, a former Washington Redskin.

He said he also hopes to see other athletes regardless of viewpoint who have acted on issues close to them, like former New Orleans Saints Drew Brees and Benjamin Watson.

Feely will face former state Rep. Amish Shah, D-Phoenix, who also worked for about two years as the New York Jets’ team doctor.

Just over two decades ago, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner was on the NFL gridiron, playing cornerback for the Washington Redskins and then-San Diego Chargers.

The skills and lessons learned on the field helped Turner grow into his new role at HUD, which was also preceded by a stint in the Texas House of Representatives.

“The Lord used football to change the course of my life, and through the game,” Turner told Fox News Digital.

“He taught me lessons that continue to guide me every day in public service: discipline, teamwork, perseverance, humility, and working toward a mission bigger than yourself.”

“Those values inform how I served in the Texas state legislature and how I lead HUD today. My experience on football teams shaped how I lead, how I serve, and the example I hope to set for the next generation.”

Rep. Sharice Davids, D-Kan., had a successful mixed martial arts career before shifting from dodging fists to political blows on Capitol Hill.

Davids, who tried out for “The Ultimate Fighter,” compiled a 5-1 amateur record before a brief professional MMA career in 2013, when she went 1-1.

“Turns out getting punched in the face is pretty good preparation for Congress,” Davids told Fox News Digital on Friday.

She first left the octagon to support Native American communities, focusing on community development and expanding economic opportunities for Native people.

Davids later won her 2018 congressional bid in an upset against Rep. Kevin Yoder, R-Kan., in the largely red state.

“But really, fighting professionally taught me that you don’t solve every challenge by throwing punches. You have to stay disciplined, work hard, respect your opponent, and keep moving forward — and that’s how I approach this job, too,” she told Fox News Digital.

Former Auburn Tigers Coach Tommy Tuberville transitioned to the U.S. Senate in 2021 after compiling a slew of outstanding stats as a head coach.

The Republican — now running for governor of Alabama — declined comment for this story but spoke in 2020 about the parallels between success in athletics and government.

Asked about his then-11-month campaign against incumbent Democrat Sen. Doug Jones, Tuberville told the Alabama Daily News he had to approach it at “full speed” just like a football coach.

“We put together a good, good team. And a lot of people told me when I first got started they said, coach, this is just like being a head coach. You’re only as good as the team around you,” he said.

One of the most recognizable Republican figures of the last century was former HUD Secretary and former Congressman Jack Kemp.

Kemp’s political peak came in 1996 when he was the vice presidential running mate of Sen. Bob Dole, R-Kan., against President Bill Clinton.

Prior to that, Kemp led the same agency Turner did under the first Bush administration, and previously represented western New York in Congress for almost 20 years.

Kemp’s first public role, however, was as a journeyman NFL quarterback in the 1950s and 1960s. He played for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Los Angeles Chargers and Buffalo Bills, among others, and also spent time in the Canadian Football League with the Calgary Stampeders.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell — whose father Charles Goodell represented Kemp’s area as a Republican in Congress in the 1960s — was quoted as calling Kemp an “extraordinary American leader who became a trusted colleague and exceptional friend to countless NFL owners, team personnel and commissioners after his MVP playing career with the Buffalo Bills.”

Kemp, who died in 2009, said that professional football gave him a “good perspective” for politics.

“When I entered the political arena, I had already been booed, cheered, cut, sold, traded, and hung in effigy,” he said, according to the Bills.

The only active member of Congress with an NFL history is Rep. Burgess Owens, a retiring Republican from Utah.

Owens, a former New York Jets safety, has alluded to his NFL career at times, largely focusing on criticizing the politicization of sports.

He previously told Fox Business during a time when players were kneeling for the national anthem that he would be boycotting games until Goodell was fired.

“I’m done,” he told host David Asman in 2020. “It’s time for these young men who make millions of dollars to say thank you [and respect the country].”

Owens did not respond to a request for comment.

Former longtime Philadelphia Eagles offensive tackle Jon Runyan Sr. also parlayed his playing career into one on Capitol Hill.

The Republican represented part of South Jersey for two terms in a district now represented by Rep. Herb Conaway, D-N.J., that covers part of the Pine Barrens and Philadelphia suburbs.

Runyan is now a vice president of policy and rules with the NFL and his son Jon Jr. is a guard with the Giants. He did not respond to a request for comment.

Another NFC East player who went on to serve in Congress was former Rep. Heath Shuler, D-N.C.

Shuler, who played quarterback for the franchise now known as the Washington Commanders, parlayed his playing career into a congressional career in 2006 before being succeeded by Republican Mark Meadows, a later close ally of President Donald Trump.

Colin Allred, a former Tennessee Titan, also moved on to Congress, where he served until 2025.

This cycle, he unsuccessfully challenged state Rep. James Talarico and U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, for Sen. John Cornyn’s seat.

Cornyn lost his primary earlier this year to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton who now faces Talarico.

There have been several other top-name lawmakers who themselves were former professional athletes.

Rep. Anthony Gonzalez, an Indiana Republican who chose not to seek re-election in 2022 over political fallout from voting to impeach Trump, was a former Indianapolis Colts wide receiver.

Former Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Steve Largent — an NFL Hall of Famer — went on to represent Oklahoma in Congress.

Former Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Jim Bunning went on to have a lengthy political career.

He was elected to the Kentucky State Senate in 1979, Congress in 1986 and later the U.S. Senate in 1999.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., now holds his seat.

New York Knicks star Bill Bradley, whose number 24 has been retired in MSG, went on to serve New Jersey in the U.S. Senate as a Democrat in the 1980s and 90s.

He also mounted an unsuccessful presidential primary bid against former Sen. Al Gore, D-Tenn.

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Ex-Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Tom Osborne – who briefly played for the Redskins – also served his college’s home state in Congress in the early 2000s.

Former Rep. Adam Wyant, R-Pa., had a 10-year career in the early days of professional football. He played for the Greensburg Athletic Association in the 1890s.

Laverne Dilweg, an early Green Bay Packer, also represented Wisconsin in Congress as a Democrat in the 1920s and 30s.

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Former Arizona Democratic Congressman Mo Udall — whose family is considered political royalty throughout much of the Mountain West — spent three decades in Congress after a brief stint with the Denver Nuggets.

Olympic gold medal-winning decathlete Bob Mathias returned to the United States after the Helsinki Games and represented California as a Republican for about a decade beginning in 1967.

BANGOR, Maine – The sprint to replace ex-candidate Graham Platner will come to an end on Saturday as Maine Democrats are expected to quickly elevate Troy Jackson as their party’s nominee in the high-stakes Senate showdown with longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins.

Jackson, a former state Senate president, is on a glide path to replace Platner at the Maine Democratic Party nominating convention in Bangor, after winning the vast majority of the voting delegates chosen last weekend by Democrats in the northern New England state’s 16 counties. And Jackson’s top rivals in the race to replace Platner backed him after dropping out of the race the past few days, leaving only one long-shot candidate for delegates to also consider at the convention.

The Senate race in Maine, where Collins is the only GOP incumbent running for re-election in a state President Donald Trump lost in the 2024 election, is one of roughly a dozen midterm showdowns across the country that will determine if Republicans hold onto their slim majority or if the Democrats win back control of the chamber.

“Let’s get to work to defeat Susan Collins and create the Maine that working people deserve,” Jackson, a fifth-generation logger from the remote northern tip of Maine and a one-time conservative Republican who became a Democrat over two decades ago, said in a social media post ahead of the convention.

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While Jackson quickly raised over $1 million for his burgeoning Senate campaign and coalesced party support, there are some potential warning signs.

Following reports this past week digging into Jackson’s alleged temper and workplace conduct, reported claims of mortgage improprieties as well as other potential liabilities including his past strict anti-abortion stance, there are concerns by some in the party that following the Platner implosion, Democrats have landed another unvetted nominee.

“This is a bit of a rocket vetting process,” a Democratic strategist who works on Senate races, who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely, told Fox News Digital. “Maine Democrats have seemingly made their choice and they’re just going to have to ride with it.”

A veteran Democratic consultant who also asked for anonymity said that “it’s very clear that Democrats should not be looking to Maine to flip the Senate”

“The good news is that we have upset opportunities in places like Texas, Iowa, and Alaska,” added the consultant, who works with centrist Democratic Senate candidates.

Platner, a military combat veteran and oyster farmer who was backed progressive champion and Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont soon after he launched his bid last August, saw his campaign quickly catch fire. Two-term Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, who was heavily recruited by longtime Democratic Senate leader Sen. Chuck Schumer to run for the Senate, suspended her campaign this spring after trailing Platner in fundraising and in the polls.

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But even as Platner steamrolled the Democratic establishment and crushed the competition last month in Maine’s primary to capture the nomination, he had already been forced on defense in the wake of a slew of scandals.

Platner dropped out earlier this month, amid calls from top Democrats in Maine and across the country to immediately exit the race following an explosive report containing an allegation of rape from a woman he previously dated. Platner denied the report but stepped aside.

Jackson, who unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, campaigned alongside Platner during the primary. And he quickly made the case that he was the best equipped candidate to grab the mantle of the progressive and populist movement that had backed Platner.

Similar to Platner, Jackson is running on a platform aimed at working-class voters. He backs raising taxes on billionaires, the universal healthcare system known as “Medicare-for-all,” abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and he opposes military aid to Israel at a time that Democrats are increasingly divided on support for America’s longtime Middle East ally.

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Jackson, who also had Sanders’ support as he ran governor, is currently backed in his Senate campaign by Our Revolution, the group born in 2016 out of Sanders’ first presidential campaign.

Rep. Ro Khanna of California, a leading progressive in the House and a potential 2028 Democratic presidential contender, was a top Platner backer. Khanna quickly moved his support to Jackson in this month’s sprint to succeed Platner.

And Jackson enjoys strong support from labor unions in Maine. The labor backing, along with support from Platner’s former allies, helped Jackson capture the overwhelming majority of county-selected delegates last weekend.

The 500 delegates chosen last weekend, along with 101 selected by the state party, will vote for the nominee at the convention. While the delegates on Jackson’s slate are not required to support him at the convention, he is considered all but certain to secure the nomination.

Republicans are arguing that Democrats stacked the deck to back Jackson as Platner’s replacement.

“Maine voters have been shut out by the Democrat establishment with a rigged nominating process to crown Platner 2.0 without a single vote being cast,” Republican National Committee spokesperson Kristen Cianci charged in a statement to Fox News Digital.

Collins, as she runs for a sixth six-year term in the Senate, is facing a rough political climate for Republicans, amid GOP President Donald Trump’s underwater approval ratings, persistent inflation and what polls indicate is an unpopular war with Iran.

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The senator, known as a moderate Republican who at times has voted against Trump, last month received bipartisan praise after reaching a milestone by casting her 10,000th consecutive Senate vote.

But Democrats are taking aim at Collins over her comments that she didn’t regret her 2018 vote to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, despite his crucial vote four years later to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion ruling.

And following the fatal shooting in Maine earlier this month involving federal immigration agents, Democrats heavily criticized the Senate Appropriations Committee chair for her support for ICE funding.

But Collins has a history of defeating the Democrats’ efforts to oust her from the Senate.

Six years ago, she trailed Democratic challenger Sara Gideon, the then-Maine House speaker, but the senator ended up winning re-election by nearly 9 points.

The Senate showdown in Maine is expected to be competitive, combustible, and expensive, with outside groups on both sides spending big bucks to run ads.

The first Fox News Power Rankings of the 2026 midterms, which gauge the competitiveness of elections using data, reporting and analysis, were released this week. And they rank the showdown in Maine as a toss-up.

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Meanwhile, a Pine Tree Poll conducted in recent days by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center indicated Jackson with a slight three-point edge over Collins, right at the edge of the margin of error, among likely general election voters in Maine.

Democratic lawmakers told Fox News Digital they agree New Jersey’s voter registration error demands accountability but say it doesn’t justify claims of widespread election fraud.

New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill on Tuesday said a “serious software error” led to the mistaken registration of roughly 6,600 noncitizens through the state’s Motor Vehicle System, while the company that provides the identity-related security services denied any wrongdoing.

“In New Jersey, we absolutely need to have accountability for what happened,” Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., said.

“It was just horrible. There was a big problem with that computer problem that they had. We need to try to address that going forward.”

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Kim said states should be given the tools to keep voter rolls accurate instead of relying on the Department of Homeland Security’s findings after the agency found roughly 250,000 potential noncitizens who may be registered to vote across New Jersey, California, Nevada and Pennsylvania during a preliminary review.

“The main thing is making sure states have what they need,” Kim added. “I don’t trust the idea that we’re just going to mesh it with some DHS database. That’s where a lot of the problems come in, but we should all be making sure we’re looking out for election integrity.”

Sherrill said she immediately ordered an investigation after the error was discovered and that the state’s Division of Elections is removing ineligible voters from the rolls. She said fewer than 400 of those improperly registered cast ballots.

Kim said improving election technology and maintaining paper trails need to be a priority.

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“I’ve been pushing on that. Why don’t we get behind that?” he said.

Pointing to state and county officials, Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, said they must ensure “only those who are eligible to vote, vote.”

The comments also come after House Democrats largely opposed a legislative package combining a congressional stock trading ban with federal voter ID measures, as New Jersey’s voter registration error reignites debate.

When asked whether the country needs a nationwide proof-of-citizenship requirement for voting, Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., said President Donald Trump’s claims of widespread election fraud are “a figment of his imagination.”

“There’s no evidence for it, and I’m not going to validate his false narratives,” he said.

Despite acknowledging those involved should be “held accountable,” Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., said noncitizen voting “remains extremely rare.”

“I have always said that people should have to prove that they are who they say they are before they vote, and we have systems in place to ensure that happens, which is why noncitizen voting remains extremely rare,” he said.

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said the error was “not acceptable” and pointed to Virginia’s voter ID requirements and election audits, saying they have never uncovered a noncitizen voting problem.

“We do have an ID requirement in Virginia,” he said. “We also have audits of elections, and we’ve never found there to be a noncitizen voting problem.”

Praising Sherrill for coming forward in a “transparent manner,” Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., said election software should be continuously reviewed.

CALIFORNIA ACCUSED OF BLOCKING FEDERAL VOTER ROLL AUDIT AS DOJ ESCALATES PROBE OF ELECTION FRAUD CLAIMS

“We need to constantly be looking at election software and making sure,” she said.

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Rep. Seth Magaziner, D-R.I., said he supports a “simple” voter ID law but opposed the House GOP bill because he said it went beyond a basic ID requirement.

“If they put up a simple voter ID bill for an up-or-down vote without any of the other bulls— in it, I would vote for it,” he said. “I think a lot of people on both sides would, too. But they keep adding other stuff, like gutting mail ballots, and that was the problem with yesterday’s bill.”