It has been a tumultuous several days in Virginia’s off-year races for governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general. As the fallout from Democrat attorney general nominee Jay Jones’ violent text messages and the fallout from the one and only debate between gubernatorial candidates continue to reverberate, we see the polls continuing to turn in the Republicans’ favor. Democrat gubernatorial nominee Abigail Spanberger had already turned down a CNN-hosted debate, saying she wanted “local news media” to moderate any debates she had with Republican nominee Winsome Earle-Sears. She may rue that decision, because after a contentious first half of the debate in which Earle-Sears would frequently interrupt Spanberger’s filibuster-like answers asking if the Democrat nominee was going to answer the actual questions posed, the moderators began to pick up on that. >>> Sign up for our Virginia email newsletter That led to what I think is the “McAuliffe Moment” of the debate. You’ll hear it in the beginning of this edition of “The Daily Signal Podcast” below, and I think you’ll find it interesting that it was prompted by the same tactic then-Republican gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin used exactly four years ago to get Democrat Terry McAuliffe to admit what he really thought about parents with kids in public schools. After last week’s debate, a Trafalgar Group poll showed that Spanberger’s former 12-point lead is now down to 2.6% (she is at 47.7% to Earle-Sears’ 45.1%, with 5.6% still undecided). The poll also showed that incumbent Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares is ahead of Jones 48.9% to 43.1%. In the lieutenant governor’s race, Democrat Del. Ghazala Hashmi is only ahead of Republican John Reid 46.8% to 45.9%. We caught up with Reid, the former Ronald Reagan and Gov. George Allen aide, on the way to a morning campaign stop to talk about the debate, the new polls, and where the races for Virginia’s top spots go from here. Listen here: The post John Reid on How Virginia’s Earle-Sears Pressed in Debate, Gained in Polls appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Los Angeles County has declared a state of emergency over U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests.   “We have entire families who are destitute because their fathers or mothers were taken from their workplaces, and they have no way to pay their rent or put food on the table,” Janice Hahn, an LA County supervisor, said during a board meeting Tuesday.   The five-member LA County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 Tuesday to declare the emergency.   Board of Supervisors Chair Kathryn Barger was the only “no” vote, having previously expressed concern that the declaration could lead to a legal battle.   “The federal government has sole authority to enforce federal immigration law, and local government cannot impede that authority,” Barger said last week, adding that “meaningful federal immigration reform” is needed.    The emergency declaration gives the country authority to provide assistance to those who have been affected by ICE raids.   “We need to call on our region to stand up and protect our community members,” supervisor Lindsey Horvath said.   ICE criticized the vote, telling Fox News that the “only state of emergency is the one the residents of Los Angeles face after electing officials who give a middle finger to the law.”  “Perhaps the board should ‘supervise’ funds to support law-abiding fire victims who still haven’t recovered, instead of criminal illegal aliens seeking refuge in their sanctuary city. While they publicly fearmonger, I would be shocked if they didn’t agree with ICE removing a child rapist from their neighborhood,” Emily Convington, an ICE spokesperson, said.   ICE has been carrying out targeted immigration enforcement operation in LA for months now as part of President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration.   LA is a “sanctuary city,” meaning that local law enforcement do not corporate with federal immigration officials. Border czar Tom Homan has pledged to “flood the zone” in sanctuary cities with federal immigration officers, a promise Homan has kept in LA.   The home of Hollywood has also seen violent demonstration against ICE agents since targeted immigration operations began in June.   Over the summer, ICE made over 5,000 arrests of “criminal illegal aliens, gang members, child predators, and murderers,” according to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.   “Make no mistake,” Noem said, “if you are here illegally, we will find you, arrest you, and send you back. This is just the beginning.”   The post LA County Declares Emergency Over ICE Raids   appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Frank Sinatra once said of New York City, “If I can make it there, I’ll make it anywhere.” But the Big Apple is increasingly plagued with politicians who want to make it impossible for Americans to make it there—or anywhere. Just look at leading Democratic NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, who supports Marxist policies and spouts Marxist aphorisms.  (For example, he posted on May 27, 2020, “Each according to their need, each according to their ability”). And then there’s Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Bragg won election and entered office as part of the George Soros-supported rogue prosecutor movement.  On his first day in office, he issued a “Day One Memo” with policy proposals so radical he had to quickly revise and backpedal, claiming that those who read it didn’t understand its content due to poor word choices. Obviously, that’s complete nonsense. The memo’s radical soft-on-crime policies were, sadly, crystal clear. But Bragg’s office has also recently demonstrated another hallmark of the rogue prosecutor movement: incompetence.  Even when rogue prosecutors want to secure convictions—a rarity—they can’t do it.  In what should have been a cut-and-dry case, Alvin Bragg’s office dropped the ball and forced a judge to dismiss its case against Brianna J. Rivers. Rivers brazenly attacked pro-life activist Savannah Craven Antao, who had the audacity to approach Rivers on the street and simply ask her several questions. Antao caught the entire exchange on camera.  But because Bragg’s office missed discovery deadlines in the case—meaning they didn’t turn over evidence to which the defendant was entitled—a judge dismissed the case. Now, Rivers will go unpunished for her brazen act of violence—a fact which she celebrates.  Antao says she has “dozens of screenshots of [Rivers] liking comments saying things like, ‘You ain’t hit that girl hard enough,’ ‘You did the community a service! She f—ed around and found out!’ ‘She deserved it 1000% never doubt yourself queen!!!’” Antao says that Rivers even made a rap song blaming Antao for the assault.  To be fair, Rivers did issue what may be one of the worst non-apology apologies of all time saying that “hands being put on someone is never the answer, but throwing rocks and hiding hands is worse”—essentially blaming Antao for the assault. Antao was—rightly—troubled by the fact that she found out about the case’s dismissal not from Bragg’s office, but from Rivers celebrating on Instagram. Bragg’s office readily admits that mistakes were made. One of the saddest parts of this entire ordeal is that Alvin Bragg’s office moved mountains to prosecute Donald Trump under a novel legal theory that has been widely criticized. And yet, it couldn’t give minimal attention to serious cases like this one.  Of course, some speculate that Bragg’s incompetence in this case might have been intentional.  The Thomas More Society, which plans to file a civil lawsuit against Rivers on Antao’s behalf, says that “Bragg’s office first downgraded the charge to a misdemeanor before ultimately dismissing the charge altogether.”  One NYPD veteran echoed similar sentiments, saying, “She’s a pro-lifer.  It wasn’t a case that Bragg and them really gave two [use your imagination] about.  Something serious like this and all of a sudden you forget the paperwork?” Of course, sheer incompetence isn’t out of the question. Kim Gardner, the now-former rogue district attorney in St. Louis, Missouri, once had a murder case dismissed because her office didn’t realize the prosecutor assigned to the case was out on maternity leave. But regardless of the reason, this result—a lack of accountability for a serious crime—makes those who live in, work in, or visit New York City less safe. New Yorkers deserve better than Alvin Bragg’s incompetence and dangerous soft-on-crime policies if they want to have a shot at making it there or anywhere else. The post The Big Apple Deserves Better Than Alvin Bragg’s Incompetence appeared first on The Daily Signal.

While Virginia Democrat governor nominee Abigail Spanberger is campaigning on a platform of making life in the Old Dominion more affordable, her voting record suggests she’d do the opposite, critics claim. “Virginians are feeling squeezed by high prices,” Spanberger said in response to a September inflation report. “As the next governor of Virginia, I will be laser-focused on bringing costs down for families.” “Abigail Spanberger is running from her record,” Peyton Vogel, press secretary for Spanberger’s opponent, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, told The Daily Signal in a statement Tuesday. “She voted for the so-called Inflation Reduction Act that raised prices for every Virginian, she backed Biden’s failed liberal agenda that drove up housing prices, and stood shoulder to shoulder with the most liberal wing of her party.” “Winsome Earle-Sears has spent her career working for Virginians by cutting burdensome regulations, lowering taxes, and saving families money,” Vogel added. “Winsome’s plan means more money in your pocket. Abigail wants to bleed it dry. Don’t let her tell you otherwise.” Spanberger’s affordability messaging echoes the Republican campaigns of 2022 and 2024, when GOP candidates condemned President Joe Biden and the Democrats for the inflation that followed the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet the message that worked for Republicans may not persuade voters to support a Democrat who voted for the spending that arguably spurred record inflation in the Biden years. Spanberger’s ‘Affordable Virginia’ Plan In June, the Democrat launched an “Affordable Virginia” plan, suggesting President Donald Trump is contributing to inflation. Spanberger attacked Trump’s tariffs, the Medicaid reforms and tax cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, and the reduction in the federal workforce. Spanberger calls for cutting red tape to spur new housing, price controls on health care, increasing child care subsidies, and energy policy. While Republicans like Earle-Sears support increasing the supply of energy in order to drive down costs, Spanberger’s plan seems focused on decreasing the demand. Her policy calls for ensuring Virginians are “making use of the resources currently available to them to lower their energy bills,” such as deciding to use less electricity for heating and cooling. At a time when the Trump Administration is raising electricity costs, we need a Governor who will stand up for Virginians who are seeing their bills go up — unlike @winwithwinsome. As Governor, I’ll make it a priority to lower Virginians’ energy bills.— Abigail Spanberger (@SpanbergerForVA) October 14, 2025 The Democrat also mentions a return to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, an inter-state agreement that charges power plants for emissions and uses the money to prop up renewable energy. Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, attempted to exit the initiative, calling it a “hidden tax” on electricity. Virginia’s withdrawal remains in limbo after judge blocked it. While some of her policies may decrease some costs, critics say her own voting record muddies the waters. COVID-19 Spending “Spanberger voted for trillions in unnecessary COVID spending that has driven up inflation and made everything from groceries to buying a vehicle more expensive,” Stephanie Kreuz, director of sentinel strategy at Heritage Action, told The Daily Signal. Heritage Action is supporting Republicans running for the Virginia Legislature. Richard Stern, director of The Heritage Foundation’s economic policy arm, told The Daily Signal that Spanberger’s “record during COVID-19 was to vote for disastrous shutdowns and inflationary spending programs that raised prices over 20%—an increase in the cost of living of a family of four by over $20,000 annually.” Stern added that “while her call for some permitting reform is a good start, her overall economic approach would largely repeat these big government mistakes of the Biden COVID era and would impose yet more crushing economic burdens on Virginia.” Spanberger voted for trillions in spending during the COVID-19 pandemic and in its aftermath, a massive spending surge that arguably triggered the inflation of the Biden years. She supported the $1.9 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act in March 2020 (it passed by voice vote so there is no record of her vote); a supplemental funding package with $900 billion in COVID-19 spending in December 2020; and the $2.1 trillion American Rescue Plan Act in February 2021. These COVID-era bills cost nearly $5 trillion, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. Critics have claimed only a small fraction of the funds went to health care. She also voted for the Inflation Reduction Act, which Biden later celebrated as “the largest climate investment in history.” While Democrats at the time said the bill would pay down the deficit and combat inflation, a Cato Institute study estimated that the bill will cost between $936 billion and $1.97 trillion over the next ten years. Spanberger also voted for the November 2021 infrastructure law, which authorized more than $500 billion of direct spending and tax breaks. Critics also fault green energy spending for increasing inflation. “These green energy policies are masqueraded in the guise of averting climate change but in reality, they do nothing but cater to special interests while only making life more expensive and less convenient for ordinary Americans and offering only limited impact on the climate,” Kevin Dayaratna, director of Heritage’s Center for Data Analysis, told The Daily Signal. “If the United States were to completely avert CO2 emissions there would be less than 0.23 degrees Celsius impact on the climate,” he noted. “Candidate Spanberger’s proposed policies would have an impact of a mere fraction of this fraction.” The Spanberger campaign did not respond to a request for comment. The post ‘RUNNING FROM HER RECORD’: Spanberger’s COVID Spending Votes Undermine Her Campaign Against Inflation, Critics Say appeared first on The Daily Signal.

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