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
As Obama Travels to Florida to Promote Obamacare, State Faces Higher Costs, Fewer Options
Before Obamacare insurance exchanges were established in 2013, Florida had 18 insurers operating in the state. President Barack Obama arrives in Miami Thursday to promote his signature legislative achievement, as Florida will have just five companies for Florida residents to choose from in 2017. The Affordable Care Act was sold in part as a means… -
news
Meet the Maryland Conservative Who Aims to Take Over the House’s Largest GOP Caucus
Like most Americans, but unlike most of the other 434 members of the House of Representatives, Andy Harris pulls a lengthy commute to work each day. One way and without traffic, the Maryland Republican says he can go door to door in an hour and a half from his home in Cockeysville to his office… -
news
Why Virginia’s ‘Reasonable’ Voter ID Law Could Survive the Courts
Virginia Republicans are making the case that this state’s voter identification law is different than versions in other states that came and failed before it. “We like our facts; we have better facts than some of other cases that have struggled in court,” said Del. Robert B. Bell, a state Republican legislator. “That’s why we… -
news
Washington Couple Fights Government After Police Seize Car Son Was Borrowing
Terry and Maria Platt haven’t been to Arizona in more than 30 years, and they weren’t driving the 2012 Volkswagen Jetta that belongs to them when police in the Grand Canyon State seized it in May. In fact, Terry Platt, 77, and Maria Platt, 74, who goes by Ria, were five states away in Prosser,… -
news
Virginia Hasn’t Stopped Noncitizens From Voting, Watchdog Finds
More than 1,000 noncitizens registered to vote in Virginia and cast nearly 200 ballots in elections before being purged from voter rolls, according to a government watchdog group. The Public Interest Legal Foundation released its findings Tuesday from only eight of Virginia’s 133 voting jurisdictions. So, the group suggested, the problem of noncitizen voting could… -
news
Why This Virginia Tech Student Went on a Hunger Strike for Gun Rights
A Virginia Tech student, currently on a hunger strike advocating for the allowance of concealed weapons on campus, wants the right of self-defense abided by on his college campus. “I am advocating for Virginia concealed gun permit holders to be able to carry concealed on campus and in buildings and in the classrooms,” Ryan James… -
news
Hundreds of Noncitizens on Voting Rolls in Swing State of Virginia
The 2012 presidential race in Virginia was decided by just 3 percentage points, as was the next year’s race for governor. In both 2005 and 2013, fewer than 1,000 votes decided contests for Virginia attorney general. Against this backdrop, watchdog groups have pushed local election officials in seven Virginia jurisdictions to reveal hundreds of noncitizens… -
opinion
Massachusetts Supreme Court Says It’s Perfectly Legitimate for Black Men to Flee Police
Has it really come to this? On the heels of dramatic disagreement between the two major party presidential candidates about how to react to ongoing tension between the police and the African-American community, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts has unanimously concluded that a black man fleeing from a police officer investigating criminal activity is… -
opinion
Washington at Its Worst: Senate Passes Nonexistent Bill
On Tuesday night, the Senate voted to proceed to the continuing resolution, a bill that will allegedly fund the government until Dec. 9. The only problem is that there isn’t actually a bill yet. There is no text. There is no agreement between Democrats and Republicans on what the bill will fund—Planned Parenthood, the Export-Import… -
opinion
New York Bombing May Be Another Terrorist Attack Inspired by al-Qaeda’s Anwar al-Awlaki
New York City and New Jersey dodged a bullet on Saturday. The terrorist bombings allegedly perpetrated by Ahmad Khan Rahami, a 28-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen who was born in Afghanistan, could have been much worse. Several of the bombs that he reportedly planted failed to explode, giving investigators important leads that enabled Rahami’s quick arrest…. -
news
High School Boy’s Case Against LGBT Policy Goes to Virginia Supreme Court
A male high school student in a Virginia suburb has told the state’s highest court that he became “distressed,” “nervous,” and “terrified” after the school board instituted a policy for transgender students. The student and his parents unsuccessfully sued the Fairfax County School Board, and last week the Virginia Supreme Court agreed to take up their appeal…. -
news
California Could Let Felons Behind Bars Vote, Despite What the State Constitution Says
California Gov. Jerry Brown is considering whether to sign a bill that would allow tens of thousands of incarcerated felons to vote, while continuing to deny the vote to others. The Legislature sent a bill to Brown’s desk that would restore voting rights to an estimated 50,000 convicted felons who are behind bars in county jails, but not… -
opinion
The Great George Washington Bridge Scandal, Part II
The federal traffic-jam prosecution of two former officials in New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s administration begins this week. The officials reduced access for one week to the George Washington Bridge from Fort Lee, New Jersey, to New York as political payback against the mayor of Fort Lee for not supporting their boss in his re-election… -
opinion
How Washington Has Hurt Native Americans
If the idea behind U.S. policy in the early 20th century was either to help Indians or to help white settlers, the easiest way of accomplishing this would’ve been to grant a simple title to the land to either group and let each do what they wanted. But, “had the land been given directly to… -
opinion
Planned Parenthood Wants to Use California Bill to Silence Opposition
At Planned Parenthood’s behest, the California Assembly has passed AB 1671 on to Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk. AB 1671 amends a state anti-eavesdropping law to add criminal penalties for disclosing the confidential communications of a health care provider. The bill is designed to silence “undercover journalists” who might have reason to suspect foul play within… -
opinion
How Georgia Could Boost American Interests
My small country of Georgia lies at the crossroads of Europe and Asia. It also lies at the intersection of many of America’s most vital interests in this increasingly important region. Georgia is connected by geography to the Black Sea and to the West’s NATO allies that border it. Georgia shares another important border with… -
opinion
The Most Dangerous Period in Washington Could Be About to Happen
The lame-duck session is the most dangerous period in the nation’s capital that you’ve never heard of. There are nearly two months in between Election Day in November and the swearing-in of the newly elected Congress in January. This period is known as the lame-duck session, because many of the voting members won’t be returning… -
news
Oregon Bakers’ Legal Battle Continues, as Same-Sex Couple Speaks Out
Aaron and Melissa Klein, the Oregon bakers who refused to make a cake for the wedding of two women, filed new documents Thursday with the Oregon Court of Appeals in response to the same-sex couple’s arguments that the Kleins had no legal right to refuse them service. “We are hopeful that these judges will understand that… -
news
Votes of Thousands Who Haven’t Proven Citizenship Could ‘Swing’ Kansas Elections
With the presidential election two months away, a Kansas law requiring voters to show proof of citizenship remains in legal limbo. Late last month, Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach asked a U.S. appeals court to reinstate a provision of a law requiring Kansans to prove their citizenship when registering to vote while obtaining driver's… -
news
Minnesota Students and Parents File Lawsuit Against Obama’s Bathroom Mandate
A group of students and parents from Minnesota filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the federal government and their school district for allowing a transgender student who was born male but identifies as female into the girls’ locker rooms, showers, and restrooms. The lawsuit is the latest in a series of challenges to the Obama administration’s…