State Politics & News
Coverage of state politics, elections, and conservative policy battles across all 50 states shaping America’s future.
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- News
On the Street: Real Americans Tell Us What’s Wrong With Washington
What do people outside Washington think of the national political scene? We took our cameras to Texarkana, Texas, to talk with some local Republican activists about what they think is working, what’s not, and what message they’d like to send to lawmakers in D.C. Watch the full video for their answers.Genevieve Wood -
- News
Trump to Shut Down Palestinian Liberation Organization’s Washington Office
The Trump administration will order the Palestine Liberation Organization to shutter its Washington, D.C., office in a bid to increase pressure on Palestinian leadership amid stalled peace talks. “We have been notified by a U.S. official of their decision to close the Palestinian mission to the U.S.,” PLO Secretary-General Saeb Erekat said in a statement…Will Racke -
- Opinion
Media Misses: New York Times Op-Ed Sends Media Into Frenzy
We break down the top media moments this week—and plenty of misses. This week’s news cycle has been dominated by the anonymous New York Times op-ed written by a Trump administration official with major news networks covering it nonstop, calling it a quote “constitutional crisis,” and some are suggesting a need for invoking the 25th…Ginny Montalbano -
- Opinion
Norway’s Boardroom Gender Quota Didn’t Work. California May Try It Anyway.
From making war on straws to policing speech, California leads the nation in adopting half-baked ideas from Europe. The latest craze is a bill that would force publicly held companies to put women on their boards by 2019. Specifically, companies would have to add at least one woman to their board by the end of 2019,…Jarrett Stepman -
- Opinion
An Obama Judge Said Michigan’s Voting Law Was Racially Motivated. A Higher Court Disagrees.
Sanity has prevailed in the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. A three-judge panel of that court, in very strong language, has stayed the absurd decision of an Obama-appointed judge, Gershwin A. Drain, who threw out the Michigan Legislature’s decision to eliminate straight-ticket voting for supposedly violating the Constitution and the Voting Rights Act. Michigan…Hans von Spakovsky -
- Opinion
California Is Changing Its Bail System. The Reforms Are Hopeful, but Unproven.
California Gov. Jerry Brown on Aug. 28 signed state Senate Bill 10 into law, which will entirely replace California’s cash bail system with a risk-assessment bail system. Under the new law, which will take effect Oct. 1, 2019, California judges will no longer impose monetary bail conditions on criminal defendants who are in jail while…Jonathan Zalewski -
- Opinion
Pennsylvania Agency Goes Around Legislature to Impose Gender Ideology
A Pennsylvania agency has made an end run around citizens to impose gender ideology. Last month, the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission released new guidance reinterpreting the category of “sex” in state anti-discrimination law to include “sex assigned at birth, sexual orientation, transgender identity, gender transition, and/or gender expression.” The commission circumvented the state Legislature, which…Monica Burke -
- News
California on Cusp of Banning Short-Term Health Coverage
State lawmakers in California are close to banning inexpensive, short-term health insurance plans backed by the Trump administration as a cheaper alternative to Obamacare. State Sen. Ed Hernandez, D-Azusa, has urged California Gov. Jerry Brown, also a Democrat, to sign his legislation to ban the short-term health plans, which passed both houses of the Legislature….Rachel del Guidice -
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This Ohio County Swung From Obama to Trump. Here’s What 8 Fair Attendees Think, 2 Years Later.
CANTON, Ohio—Attendees of the 169-year-old Stark County Fair in Ohio don’t come out to see politicians, and politics aren’t on the forefront of their minds, but a large portion of the folks here had strong opinions on both when asked. The political climate of Stark County, known for its rural, farming areas and also home…Rachel del Guidice -
- Opinion
School Discipline Policy Belongs at the Local Level, Not Washington
Teacher unions and progressive special-interest groups cried foul earlier this year when the White House suggested that federal directives on school safety could be rescinded. But if a recent hearing held by the Federal Commission on School Safety is any indication, state and local policymakers don’t need Washington to micromanage student discipline policies. These state…Jonathan Butcher -
- News
Fact Check: Trump Administration Challenges Washington Post Hispanic Passport Story
The Trump administration is pushing back against the accuracy of a Washington Post story that suggests Hispanics applying for passports are facing discrimination from the federal government. Writing that “a growing number of people whose official birth records show they were born in the United States … are now being denied passports—their citizenship suddenly thrown…Fred Lucas -
- Opinion
California Shows Why Congress Needs to Eliminate Food Stamp Work Requirement Loophole
Despite a booming economy and a record-low unemployment rate nationally, at least one state has been working overtime to ensure its work-capable food stamp recipients don’t have to work. Current law requires non-elderly, able-bodied adults without dependent children to work or participate in work-related activities, such as education and job training programs, for at least…Vijay Menon -
- Opinion
How Louisiana Stood Up to the Anti-Gun Corporate Elite
The state of Louisiana recently held some members of the corporate social police accountable for discriminating against law-abiding Americans. By a vote of 7-6, the State Bond Commission excluded Citigroup and Bank of America from the running for a lucrative state contract. Our reason for doing so: these corporations had introduced bank policies that restrict…Jeff Landry -
- Opinion
Christian Cake Baker Turns the Tables, Sues Colorado for Anti-Religious Bias
Jack Phillips owns Masterpiece Cakeshop in Lakewood, Colorado, and is himself a master baker. He’s in trouble with the state of Colorado for declining to create a custom cake for an event because doing so would violate his religious beliefs. If that sounds familiar, it’s because Phillips has already taken a similar case all the…Thomas Jipping -
- Opinion
Chicago’s Risky Bid to Dig Itself Out From Massive Pension Debts
Imagine if Congress wanted to issue $4 trillion in new debt in hopes of leveraging it to help pay down its existing $16 trillion in public debt. That’s essentially the city of Chicago’s latest last-ditch effort to address its massive—and still growing—unfunded pension obligations. Chicago has $36 billion in total unfunded pension obligations across its…Rachel Greszler -
- News
What These 6 University of Iowa Students Say About Mollie Tibbetts’ Death
IOWA CITY, IOWA—For students who attend the University of Iowa, the beginning of the school year brought the tragic news of their classmate Mollie Tibbetts’ death. Tibbetts’ body was found Tuesday in a corn field in Poweshiek County, Iowa. Tibbetts, a 20-year-old psychology major who would have begun her junior year this fall, was last…Rachel del Guidice -
- Opinion
California’s ‘Must Stay Gay’ Bill Would Cause Severe Harm
A groundswell of opposition from churches, pastors, and ordinary citizens in California may have delayed but ultimately could not prevent the passage of AB 2943 by the California Senate on Aug. 16. The bill itself, dubbed by some as the “Must Stay Gay” bill, is a perfect storm of leftist political correctness that attacks free…Peter Sprigg -
- Opinion
Colorado Officials Want to Crush Jack Phillips for Not Creating Some Cakes
For over six years now, Colorado has been on a crusade to crush Jack Phillips because state officials despise what he believes and how he practices his faith. After Phillips defended himself all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court and won, he thought Colorado’s hostility toward his faith was over. He was wrong. Colorado…Jim Campbell -
- News
Colorado Targets Christian Baker Again Despite Supreme Court’s Cake Ruling
The Colorado Civil Rights Commission is going after Christian baker Jack Phillips again, although the Masterpiece Cakeshop owner won a resounding 7-2 decision in June before the U.S. Supreme Court. The state commission moved against Phillips after a lawyer asked him to design and bake a custom cake celebrating a gender transition, pink on the…Fred Lucas -
- Opinion
Chicago’s Violence More Proof of How Liberal-Controlled Cities Have Let Down Black Americans
During the weekend of Aug. 4-5 (and the preceding Friday night), 12 Chicagoans were shot dead, and 62 others were shot and wounded, the Chicago Tribune reported. Before last week’s mayhem, 1,718 Chicagoans had been shot since the beginning of the year, and 306 had been murdered. Adding to this tragedy is the fact that…Walter E. Williams