State Politics & News
Coverage of state politics, elections, and conservative policy battles across all 50 states shaping America’s future.
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- Opinion
Reopening of California Justified by Lower Total of COVID-19 Deaths
In the nearly three and a half months since California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency March 4, state and county officials have imposed severe lockdowns throughout the state in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Newsom’s declaration gave essentially unlimited powers to health officers, at both the state level and the county level, to control the virus. Those…James Enstrom -
- News
George Washington University Apologizes for Sharing Email About Police Recruitment Fair
George Washington University issued an apology Wednesday to students after sending an email about an upcoming police employment fair. The chair of the sociology department, Hiromi Ishizawa, said the employment email sent a few days prior “hurt many people in this context of national and international focus on police violence and police abuses, especially against…Jake Dima -
- Opinion
Missouri Planned Parenthood Prioritizes Agenda Over Women’s Health
Protecting the health of women should be apolitical. Unfortunately, the nation’s largest abortion business is more interested in pursuing its own agenda than in protecting patients. Lawyers for Planned Parenthood sought, and just obtained, an administrative ruling to allow its abortion business in St. Louis, Missouri, which didn’t meet the state’s safety standards and violated state law, to…Jeanne Mancini -
- Opinion
Despite Win in Wisconsin, Religious Discrimination Remains During Lockdown
As our nation finds it way forward after weeks of pandemic-related lockdowns, governments have unfortunately treated churches and religious gatherings differently—and often less favorably—than comparable secular gatherings. This means the actions taken by some states are discriminatory. Fortunately, defenders of the First Amendment successfully restored their right to worship in-person (albeit in a limited capacity)…Zack Smith -
- Opinion
Wisconsin vs. Illinois: Don’t Ask Responsible States to Bail Out the Reckless
Wisconsin’s neighbor to the south is at it again. This time, Illinois is using the COVID-19 pandemic as an excuse for seeking a federal bailout to extricate itself from its own long-standing—and self-created—fiscal mess. What does one have to do with the other? Nothing. Yet, the House recently passed a new $3 trillion coronavirus relief package that includes…Jay Miller -
- Opinion
How 5 Justices Botched the California Church Case on COVID-19 Restrictions
Today’s news reads like it’s ripped straight from the pages of the Old Testament. Plagues and protests dominate the headlines. But unlike Moses, who received his law directly from God, ours today derives from mere mortals. It’s mostly good, but still fallible. As a result, sometimes an individual’s views of God’s law and man’s law…Zack Smith -
- Opinion
Pennsylvania Governor’s 11th-Hour Ballot Deadline Change Spurs Election Chaos
The protests and unrest in response to the tragic death of George Floyd, an African American man who died in police custody last week, and the COVID-19 public health crisis have greatly complicated the work of election officials attempting to conduct honest and fair voting. If that were not enough, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf unilaterally…Tom Spencer -
- Opinion
Prosecutions in Philadelphia, West Virginia Show Voter Fraud Is Bipartisan
As the 2020 election cycle continues to unfold despite the coronavirus pandemic, it appears that election fraud also continues to be uncovered and prosecuted, even though Twitter apparently thinks no such fraud occurs. Two cases—one out of Philadelphia, the other out of West Virginia—highlight the problem of election fraud and the immense amount of responsibility…Hans von Spakovsky -
- News
‘Total and Complete Victory’: Illinois Governor Withdraws Worship Restrictions
The governor of Illinois has withdrawn restrictions on religious services amid the coronavirus pandemic following lawsuits from the Thomas More Society. The nonprofit law firm hailed Democratic Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s Thursday announcement as a victory after the governor said he would remove mandates on Illinois churches requiring no more than 10 people to be…Mary Margaret Olohan -
- News
In Georgia, 6 Owners of Small Businesses Eye Coming Back From COVID-19
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp reopened much of his state's economy a month ago, making Georgia one of the first states to begin to do so during the coronavirus pandemic. The Peach State’s stay-at-home order expired April 30 and now only a few kinds of businesses, such as amusement parks, are closed through the end of…Virginia Allen -
- Opinion
How Minnesota Catholics and Lutherans Teamed Up to Open Their Churches
Last week, Catholic bishops in Minnesota and Lutherans in the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod united to go against Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s stringent order that only allowed 10 people at church services. Diana Verm, senior counsel with Becket Law, joins The Daily Signal Podcast to discuss the stand they took that brought Walz, a Democrat, back…Rachel del Guidice -
- News
California Church Asks Supreme Court to Block Gavin Newsom’s Coronavirus Restrictions
A California church has asked the Supreme Court to block California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s restrictions on religious services. South Bay United Pentecostal Church of Chula Vista, California, filed a petition over Memorial Day weekend saying that the Democratic governor’s coronavirus restrictions “arbitrarily discriminate against places of worship in violation of their right to the Free…Mary Margaret Olohan -
- Opinion
Phased Reopenings in California, Minnesota Discriminate Against Religious Services
Feeling tired? Worn out? Getting cabin fever after being stuck inside for the past two or three months? Good news! As many states move to reopen, in the coming weeks you likely can begin to return to work, go out to eat, or even go to a bar. Unfortunately, do you know what you still…Zack Smith -
- News
Meet the Small Business Leader Fighting to Reopen Michigan
After Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued executive orders forcing the closure of many of the state’s businesses amid the coronavirus pandemic, small-businessman Erik Kiilunen said he saw $600,000 in contracts disappear overnight. Kiilunen, of Ahmeek, Michigan, runs Kiilunen Manufacturing Group, which makes construction materials. “My book of business for the next month and a half…Fred Lucas -
- News
With Cuomo Under Scrutiny, New York Switched to Undercounting Deaths in Nursing Homes
The New York State Department of Health’s quiet switch to a reporting method that undercounts deaths of nursing home and other long-term care facility residents followed the administration facing criticism over skyrocketing deaths in such facilities. New York knowingly omitted an unknown number of coronavirus deaths in recent reports regarding residents of nursing home and…Peter Hasson -
- News
Illegal Aliens Can Begin Applying for Cash Assistance in California
Illegal aliens can apply for direct cash assistance from the California state government as of Monday, marking the implementation of the first relief program of its kind. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, announced in April the launch of the Disaster Relief Fund, a $125 million coronavirus relief program for illegal aliens living in the state who don’t…Jason Hopkins -
- Opinion
California’s Dangerous Voting Experiment
“One of the reasons I believe in the resurrection,” Mike Huckabee once joked, “is because we’d see dead people vote every year!” Well, he’s about to make a lot of converts in California, where liberal Gov. Gavin Newsom just ordered a vote-by-mail system through November—a decision that’s scaring the daylights out of anyone who cares…Tony Perkins -
- Opinion
Americans, and Congress, Are Ready to Get Back to Work, Indiana Lawmaker Says
American workers are more than ready to get back to work, according to Rep. Trey Hollingsworth. The Indiana Republican joins The Daily Signal Podcast to talk about how his state is handling the impact of the coronavirus, state bailouts, sheltering in place, what the economic effects of the coronavirus shutdown will be, and much more….Rachel del Guidice -
- News
172 Pastors Petition Virginia Governor to Allow Weekly Church Services
After six weeks of not being allowed to gather in church buildings for corporate worship, more than 170 pastors in Virginia are respectfully saying “enough.” Michael Law Jr., senior pastor of Arlington Baptist Church, emailed a letter Monday to Gov. Ralph Northam asking him to modify two executive orders to allow religious gatherings at least…Virginia Allen -
- Opinion
Pulitzer Overlooks Egregious Errors to Award Prize to New York Times’ Fatally Flawed ‘1619 Project’
The awarding of a Pulitzer Prize for commentary to Nikole Hannah-Jones for her lead essay in The New York Times Magazine’s “The 1619 Project” comes on the heels of the severe criticism that has been heaped on the project by at least two groups of American historians, by African American activists (led by Robert Woodson…Allen C. Guelzo