Politics

Florida Politics reports: Rep. Spencer Roach said Hurricane Ian has left countless residents in his Lee County district homeless — and he is one of them. The North Fort Myers Republican evacuated the district before the Category 4 hurricane made landfall in Cayo Costa. He rode out the storm in Stuart at his brother’s home. While there, he learned flooding …

Fox News reports: With just six weeks until the midterm election, the latest Fox News survey among Georgia registered voters shows Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock maintaining an edge over Republican Herschel Walker, while incumbent Republican Gov. Brian Kemp widens his lead against Democratic challenger Stacey Abrams. The poll, released Wednesday, finds Warnock up 5 points over Walker (46%-41%), similar to …

The Hill reports: Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) is leading Republican challenger Blake Masters by 10 points in his bid for reelection, according to the latest Marist Institute for Public Opinion poll. With the midterm elections just around the corner, 51 percent of registered voters in Arizona say they support Kelly while 41 percent are backing Masters. Masters, who has been …

Marist Polling reports: In Arizona’s gubernatorial contest, 1 point separates Republican Kari Lake (46%) and Democrat Katie Hobbs (45%) among registered voters statewide. Lake (49%) edges Hobbs (46%) among those who say they will definitely vote. Among independents, Hobbs receives 43% to 41% for Lake. 15% of independents are undecided. More than seven in ten Arizona voters with a candidate …

Florida Politics reports: Proving that even the most partisan politics fall by the wayside when a hurricane is approaching, Gov. Ron DeSantis had nothing but good things to say about President Joe Biden during a Tuesday night interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity. “Well, Sean, you know, what I said today is that my phone line is open. When people’s …

The Tallahassee Democrat reports: Gadsden County religious leaders are demanding a local commissioner and Gov. Ron DeSantis “come forward” to address allegations that the commissioner resigned last Friday after a photo surfaced purportedly showing him wearing a Ku Klux Klan robe and hood at what could have been a Halloween party years earlier. Jeffery Moore, a Havana resident and former …

The Washington Post reports: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has endorsed a bipartisan electoral count reform bill in the Senate, giving the legislation a key boost over a similar bill the House passed last week. Both bills seek to prevent future presidents from trying to overturn election results through Congress, and were directly prompted by the Jan. 6, 2021, …

CNN reports: The House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol postponed its hearing scheduled for Wednesday in light of Hurricane Ian heading toward Florida. The panel had originally scheduled a hearing for Wednesday to reveal new information it has uncovered since its last hearing on July 21, but the committee’s chairman, Democratic Rep. Bennie …

Philadelphia’s Fox affiliate reports: A New Insider Advantage/FOX 29 Philadelphia poll shows Democratic nominee John Fetterman leading Dr. Mehmet Oz by a narrow margin in Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate Race. The poll, which surveyed 550 likely voters, shows just how tight the race is between the top two candidates with just a few weeks left before election day on Nov. 8. …

The Parkersburg News & Sentinel reports: Gov. Jim Justice said he may not be done with public office when his second term as governor concludes in 2024, and that a seat in the U.S. Senate just might pique his interest. The next time one of West Virginia’s two Senate seats is up is 2024, when the seat of current U.S. …

The Intercept reports: Under the leadership of Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron Desantis, a Missouri-based railroad and transport company that contributed generously in support of his campaign saw an astonishing 280-fold increase in its Florida state government contract awards. A construction aggregates firm that contributed $82,500 was awarded $30 million in new contracts. And a highway and civil site contracting firm …

The Washington Post reports: Top allies of Kevin McCarthy, the House Republican leader, worked this spring to deny Cawthorn a second term in office, after the Donald Trump-endorsed lawmaker made controversial comments about cocaine use and sex parties in Washington that led McCarthy to announce he had “lost my trust,” according to multiple Republicans briefed on the effort, which has …

NBC News reports: Senior leadership at the Secret Service confiscated the cellphones of 24 agents involved in the agency’s response to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol and handed them over to the Department of Homeland Security’s Inspector General, according to two sources with knowledge of the action. The agency handed over the phones “shortly after” a July …

The Texas Tribune reports: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton fled his home in a truck driven by his wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, to avoid being served a subpoena Monday, according to an affidavit filed in federal court. Ernesto Martin Herrera, a process server, was attempting to serve the state’s top attorney with a subpoena for a federal court hearing …

Mississippi Today reports: A former professional wrestler and defendant in the Mississippi welfare scandal is alleging that he personally witnessed Republican Gov. Phil Bryant instruct an appointee to cut welfare funding to a nonprofit because its director supported Democrat Jim Hood in the 2019 governor’s race. The allegation that Bryant leveraged his control of welfare spending to punish a political …

The Associated Press reports: President Vladimir Putin has granted Russian citizenship to former U.S. security contractor Edward Snowden, according to a decree signed by the Russian leader on Monday. Snowden is one of 75 foreign nationals listed by the decree as being granted Russian citizenship. The decree was published on an official government website. Snowden, a former contractor with the …

The New York Times reports: Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida wanted to irritate a set of wealthy, liberal elites when he flew migrants to Martha’s Vineyard from Texas, delivering them a slice of the humanitarian crisis simmering along the nation’s southern border. But Mr. DeSantis’s stunt also annoyed an entirely different group — fellow Republicans in Austin, including some of …

The Washington Post reports: News that a former adviser to the committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection is publishing a book billed as a “behind-the-scenes” look at the committee’s work came as a shock to most lawmakers and committee staff when it was announced last week. Denver Riggleman, a former Republican congressman, is set to publish “The Breach” on …

The Associated Press reports: A party with neo-fascist roots, the Brothers of Italy, won the most votes in Italy’s national elections, looking set to deliver the country’s first far-right-led government since World War II and make its leader, Giorgia Meloni, Italy’s first woman premier, near-final results showed Monday. Italy’s lurch to the far right immediately shifted Europe’s geopolitics, placing a …

John Fetterman writes for NBC News: Earlier this month, Fox News host Tucker Carlson went on a nearly 20-minute-long rant about me. The whole thing was as unhinged as you’d expect, but one line that stood out was about my tattoos. “All your stupid little fake tattoos,” he said, calling them a “costume.” So let’s talk about the tattoos that …