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Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) will run for governor of California in 2026 after current Gov. Gavin Newsom reaches his two-term limit. The Los Angeles Times reported on Tuesday: Villaraigosa, who has been out of elected office since leaving Los Angeles City Hall in 2013, joins a crowded field of high-level Democratic candidates that includes Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, former state Controller Betty Yee, state Sen. Toni Atkins, and state schools Supt. Tony Thurmond. All are vying to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is serving his second and final term in office.

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey (D) has called on President Biden to “carefully evaluate” his candidacy as concerns about his ability to win the election persist, despite his team insisting he won’t step aside. In a statement obtained by NBC News, Healey said Biden saved democracy by winning the 2020 election, and that this year’s is “the most important election of our lifetimes.” Healey was one of several Democratic governors to meet with the president Wednesday evening to discuss the future of the party after his lackluster debate performance a week prior that left many of his supporters in a panic....

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey (D) has called on President Biden to “carefully evaluate” his candidacy as concerns about his ability to win the election persist, despite his team insisting he won’t step aside. In a statement obtained by NBC News, Healey said Biden saved democracy by winning the 2020 election, and that this year’s is “the most important election of our lifetimes.” Healey was one of several Democratic governors to meet with the president Wednesday evening to discuss the future of the party after his lackluster debate performance a week prior that left many of his supporters in a panic....

President Biden told a gathering of nearly two dozen Democratic governors at the White House Wednesday night that he needs to get more sleep and work fewer hours — and even avoid events held after 8 p.m. — despite indications he can only handle the rigors of the job between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Biden’s acknowledgment was reported by the New York Times, citing two people who took part in the high-stakes meeting and others who were briefed on the comment. During the same gathering, the outlet reported, Biden responded to a question from Hawaii Gov. Josh Green about...

Democrat governors issued messages of support for President Joe Biden amid mounting concerns of Biden remaining the party’s presidential nominee after his debate performance. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) were among the governors who issued messages of support for Biden after having a call both virtually and in person with Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. Other Democrat governors who had been on the call were Gov. Wes Moore (D-MD), Gov. Maura Healey (D-MA), Gov. Ned Lamont (D-CT), and Gov. Katie Hobbs (D-AZ). Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser was also on the call, according to Deadline

Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida has given the public some clarity on his veto last week of $32 million in arts and culture grants from next year’s state budget. According to a story published in the Tampa Bay Times, DeSantis said the cause was Orlando International Fringe Theater Festival, which he characterized as being overtly “sexual” and therefore an inappropriate recipient of state funds. While it’s unclear if the Orlando festival was slated to receive any money from the grants, the state of Florida awards money for cultural projects based on a ranked list. The Fringe Festival was ranked toward...

As she runs this year in one of the top gubernatorial elections in the country, former Sen. Kelly Ayotte is making clear she supports former President Trump's bid to win back the White House. "Under Joe Biden things cost more, we’re less safe. There’s no question that we are worse off than we were than when President Trump was in office," Ayotte charged in a national interview with Fox News Digital. "I’m supporting President Trump because I believe we need to change courses for the nation."

A newly approved law will enable Oklahoma public school students to receive off-campus religious instruction during the school day if they choose to. Oklahoma Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt signed House Bill 1425 into law Wednesday. The bill was passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature last month, with the Senate voting 38-7 and the House of Representatives voting 51-40.The law authorizes school districts’ boards of education to “adopt a policy that excuses a student from school to attend a released time course for no more than three class periods per week or a maximum of one hundred twenty-five class periods per year.”The...

Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean (D) dashed speculation about another gubernatorial run Monday, deciding against a bid to challenge Republican Gov. Phil Scott. “In theory, this is a winnable race. But I’ve been in state and national politics for a very long time, and there’s only one way to close a 10-point gap between two well-known candidates, and that’s to run a scorched-earth, negative attack campaign, like ones being run all over the country,” Dean said at a press conference, shared by WCAX. Dean knocked Texas and Florida, where, he argued, “creating enemies out of women, gay people and even...

Vice President Kamala Harris has joked about returning to California to run for governor in 2026 when incumbent Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) ends his second and final term. Politico reported on Thursday, in an overview of potential gubernatorial candidates, that the former California Attorney General and U.S. Senator could make a run: Vice President Kamala Harris has joked to friends that she may return to California to run for governor if Democrats lose the White House this fall, taking a page from Richard Nixon, two people familiar with her remarks said.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) signed legislation Thursday to create a state-level gun control center mirroring the federal office of gun violence prevention created by the Biden Administration. The Associated Press reported that Moore lauded the creation of the gun control center at a signing ceremony, saying, “Maryland became the first state in the nation to officially answer President Biden’s call.” Democrats touted the center as a way “to foster a statewide partnership with federal and local agencies to reduce gun violence.”

Maryland Governor Wes Moore (D) on Wednesday called for “full accountability” following the collapse of the Francis Key Scott Bridge in Baltimore that left six people presumed dead. Moore said on CNN there “needs to be a full and thorough investigation.” “What led up to this? What made the ship lose power? What made them lose the ability to be ability to steer the ship? Do we have the right infrastructure that’s in place to be able to protect the people of our state,” he said. “So I think there needs to be a full reckoning, a full accountability, and...

A bill that would allow concealed carry of firearms in schools and government meetings is headed to Wyoming's governor after clearing the state Legislature by a wide margin Thursday. What happens next is somewhat uncertain because Wyoming governors traditionally don’t say if they plan to sign or veto bills. Gov. Mark Gordon has not spoken publicly about the bill, but he is a Republican gun rights supporter. Wyoming is among the gun-friendliest states and the bill passed the state Senate 22-8 after supporters dismissed fears about allowing guns where they're currently banned. People carry concealed guns in Wyoming all the...

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) has appointed an adviser focused on extreme heat after the state experienced record summer temperatures last year. The Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) announced Wednesday that Dr. Eugene Livar is now the country’s first statewide chief heat officer. Livar’s new position is part of Hobbs’s Extreme Heat Preparedness Plan, announced Friday, in which state agencies will work to address Arizona’s extreme heat in the immediate and long-term future. “ADHS is proud to play a role in meeting this moment and working to fix a complex problem facing Arizonans and we will handle this responsibility...

Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson of North Carolina is one step closer to winning it all after clinching the state’s Republican gubernatorial primary on Tuesday. Not only is he the first Black man to hold his office, but he has also taken some staunchly conservative positions on several issues including the gender debate. “Here’s something else I’m not supposed to say: Ain’t but two genders,” he said to roaring applause. “Two genders. Ain’t nothing but men and women.” “You can go to the doctor and get cut up, you can go down to the dress shop and get made up, you...

The Republican congressman representing the Florida Panhandle leads the pack of potential GOP 2026 gubernatorial primary rivals, according to a newly released Kaplan Strategies poll of 1,151 likely Florida Republican voters. Advertisement “Matt Gaetz is in the early lead with the support of 16 percent of Republicans going into 2026,” said Doug Kaplan, the Florida-based pollster, who famously nailed the 2016 percentages between former first lady Hillary R. Clinton and New York City developer Donald J. Trump, when Kaplan was running polls for Gravis Marketing. Following Gaetz in the top three were Rep. Byron Donalds at 13 percent, and state...

Anti-Trump Republicans New Jersey state Sen. Jon Bramnick and radio host Bill Spadea are vying to become the first Republican to win the Garden State governor’s mansion since Chris Christie in 2009. Bramnick and Spadea hope to replace outgoing Gov. Phil Murphy (D), who is term limited. Bramnick is an avowed moderate Republican and hopes to flip the governor’s mansion red, albeit with his anti-Trump flare. He hopes to buck the trend as Republicans have increasingly embraced former President Donald Trump as the leader of the GOP.

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont (D) unveiled a plan on Friday to cancel medical debt for residents of the Constitution State, in what would be a first-of-its-kind initiative. The plan was first unveiled on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” According to ABC, the plan includes using $6.5 million in funds from the American Rescue Plan Act to cancel $1 billion of medical debt in collaboration with a nonprofit that buys and eliminates debt. Those who are eligible for the cancellation include families that have debt equivalent to 5 percent or higher of annual income. “This is not something they did because they...

“This is not over,” Texas Governor Greg Abbott tweeted on Monday evening after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Border Patrol agents can cut the razor-wire border barriers along the Rio Grande. The court granted an emergency appeal from the Biden administration allowing federal agents to access the Texas border with Mexico being fenced off by the Texas Military Department.

Two Republican state lawmakers in New Mexico filed a resolution Wednesday to impeach Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, accusing her of breaking her oath to the U.S. Constitution over her use of emergency public health orders to restrict the right to carry firearms in some public places. Reps. Stefani Lord and John Block claim that with the restriction, Lujan Grisham infringed upon the rights of New Mexicans. "The rights of New Mexicans are not up for debate, and no matter how hard Lujan Grisham tries to violate the Constitution, she will never succeed," Lord said in a statement. "I stood...