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
Hawaii Taxpayers Would Spend Millions on Private Preschools if Amendment Passes
HONOLULU — Hawaii is the only state that prohibits government funding of private preschools, but that may change tomorrow. Hawaii’s voters will be asked whether the state constitution should be amended so taxpayers can subsidize private preschool education. Amendment 4, “The Hawaii State Funding for Private Early Childhood Education Programs,” asks: “Shall the appropriation of… -
news
Will Burke Victory Mean a Higher Minimum Wage in Wisconsin? Not Necessarily.
MADISON, Wis. — If Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mary Burke defeats Republican Gov. Scott Walker on Tuesday, she’ll owe tremendous thanks to a union group fighting for an increase in the state minimum wage. But some political and legal experts say there’s no guarantee Wisconsin will see a higher minimum wage if Burke is elected. Although… -
news
Maryland Republicans on Lookout for Voting Machines That ‘Flip’ Democrat
Kerry August can debunk any excuse an election judge may have for why her votes switched from Republican to Democrat right before her eyes: Her hands are tiny, her nails aren’t long and she definitely didn’t vote with an elbow. Still, while voting early last week in Montgomery County, Md., August watched as three… -
opinion
The Washington Post Misses the Point on Immigration Enforcement
Last week, The Washington Post’s editorial board criticized the GOP for trying to “frighten” voters about a wide-open border. The Post points to substantial increases in border security in the past decade as an indicator that the U.S. is already doing a great deal to stop illegal immigration. Yet, the article misses the real issues… -
news
New Jersey Has Therapists, Hawaii Has Tour Guides. Find Out the Unusually Popular Job in Your State.
What job is most heavily concentrated in your state? A new map from Business Insider uses the newly released May 2013 Occupational Employment Statistics to illustrate “the most over-represented job in each state.” Each of the jobs depicted has a higher per-capita rate in the individual state than in the rest of the nation. For… -
news
Billionaire Steyer Spends $15M Pushing Low-Priority Climate Change Message in Florida
In an effort to oust Gov. Rick Scott, billionaire activist Tom Steyer has underwritten a nearly $15 million campaign focusing on climate change, an issue one poll says few Florida voters care about. Steyer’s advocacy group, NextGen Climate Action, set up shop in Miami this year, targeting Scott as oblivious to global warming disasters, a… -
opinion
How a New York Times Story Upset the ‘Bush Lied, People Died’ Narrative
Iraq’s chemical weapons are back in the news. The New York Times reported that American troops found roughly 5,000 chemical warheads, shells and aviation bombs since the Iraq War began. Then last week The Washington Post reported the Islamic State terrorist group had used chlorine gas against Iraqi police officers. What’s going on? We’ve been… -
news
Virginia Braces for Aftershocks from Wallops Rocket Explosion
The failed launch and fiery explosion at the Wallops Island spaceport could blow up Virginia’s projected financial windfall at the commercial site. The state invested $26 million in 2009 to bring privately operated space flights to the Eastern Shore. The Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport was estimated to generate $4.25 billion for Virginia’s economy through 2020. After the… -
news
Is an Ohio School District Using Public Money to Campaign?
Brad Reynolds received a text message, Oct. 24, from Maumee City Schools: “Spaghetti Dinner fundraiser tonight at Maumee High School. 5 – 6:30. $6 adults. $4 seniors/students. Students performing throughout” The text came from the School Messenger alert system — the one that’s supposed to be used to notify parents of an emergency or about… -
news
Grammy Museum in Mississippi Gives U.S. Taxpayers More Blues
Mississippi is cornering the market on taxpayer-funded music museums. First there was a state-funded museum dedicated to country legend Tammy Wynette. Now the state is going to have a museum for the Grammy Foundation in Cleveland, Miss., and it’s going to be built with federal and state taxpayer dollars. U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., in… -
news
How a ‘Crazy’ Runoff Vote in Georgia Could Decide Control of the Senate
The U.S. Senate race in Georgia was supposed to be a gimme for Republicans. After all, it’s a reliably red state in the Deep South. Instead, polling now suggests an extremely tight contest, raising the possibility of a runoff election in January if neither candidate can get 50 percent of the vote a week from today–and… -
news
A Massachusetts Town May Ban All Tobacco Sales
A Massachusetts town might become the first in the nation to ban all tobacco sales, according to the Boston Globe. Westminster, Mass. is a town of 7,765 located northwest of Boston. The city’s website describes the community as “a small New England village.” The Westminster Board of Health has recently issued a proposal that would… -
news
Jimmy Carter: ‘If Texas Doesn’t Want to Have Gay Marriage, Then That’s a Right for Texas People to Have’
Jimmy Carter doesn’t think marriage laws should be decided at the federal level. “I’m kind of inclined to let the states decide individually,” the former president told WFAA, an ABC affiliate, in an interview that aired Sunday. “As you see, more and more states are deciding on gay marriage every year,” Carter said. “If Texas… -
news
NIH Director Warns of Unintended Consequences from Mandatory Quarantines in New York, New Jersey
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced mandatory quarantines for health workers returning from West Africa. However, such a policy could have negative, unintended consequences, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, warned today. During an appearance on ABC’s “This Week,” Fauci said that… -
news
In New Jersey, an Uphill Race for Senate Resets the Gold Standard
“Hands Across New Jersey.” That was the name given to the grassroots movement that came together in response to the $2.8 billion tax increase New Jersey Gov. Jim Florio pushed through after taking office in 1990. Florio, a Democrat, had said throughout the campaign that he saw “no need for new taxes.” When he went… -
news
In Chicago, Candidate Votes Republican, But His Vote Is Changed to Vote for Democrat
CHICAGO — Early voting in Illinois got off to a controversial start Monday, as votes being cast for Republican candidates were transformed into votes for Democrats. Republican state representative candidate Jim Moynihan went to vote Monday at the Schaumburg Public Library. “I tried to cast a vote for myself and instead it cast the vote… -
news
Lockheed Martin Director Explains Why Ending Export-Import Bank Could Benefit South Carolina
The embattled Export-Import Bank received a nine-month reprieve from Congress last month, but could ending it next year actually be a good thing for some states? When asked about the agency last week, Don Erickson, a site director for defense giant Lockheed Martin in South Carolina, first contended that financing from the Export-Import Bank creates… -
news
Indiana to Start Requiring Food Stamp Recipients Work, Be in Job Training, or Job Hunting
Next spring, thousands could be cut from Indiana’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Indiana has previously waived the federal requirement that SNAP recipients are either employed, actively seeking employment or in training for future employment. But now the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration has announced that, as of 2015, the federal requirement will be enforced… -
opinion
Watch This Man Get Arrested for Just Playing His Guitar in New York City
Watch out: dangerous guitar players could threaten you next! That seems to be the mindset of the New York Police Department. The NYPD recently arrested a local musician for loitering while playing the guitar in a New York subway station, despite reading word for word the law which allowed him to perform his music. The… -
news
Hawaii Ranks Worst for Sales Tax Burden
HONOLULU—Hawaii ranks worst in three major categories in the seventh annual “Rich States, Poor States” report, which tracks states’ economic policies based on 15 policy areas. Hawaii has no sales tax; residents pay a general excise tax for goods and services, including food, medical services and medical prescriptions. The state has the highest “sales” tax…