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Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) signed a bill legalizing recreational marijuana on Tuesday, making the North Star state the 23rd in the nation to fully legalize the substance. “We’ve known for too long that prohibiting the use of cannabis hasn’t worked,” Walz said in a statement. “By legalizing adult-use cannabis, we’re expanding our economy, creating jobs, and regulating the industry to keep Minnesotans safe.”

Sex offender Jeffrey Epstein paid school tuition for the children of then-governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands, whose wife made efforts to secure student visas and a work license for young women connected to Epstein, according to an updated court filing Thursday by JPMorgan Chase. Those tuition payments, whose duration and amounts were not revealed, allowed then-Gov. John de Jongh Jr. “to funnel additional money to his political campaigns,” JPMorgan said in the filing in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. Epstein also “offered to fund Governor de Jongh’s defense in the Governor’s criminal case,” where the then-governor was charged in...

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) signed red flag legislation into law Monday despite ongoing questions about whether it will enforced or, if enforced, how such enforcement would occur. The Associated Press reported, “Over half of the state’s counties have passed resolutions declaring themselves Second Amendment sanctuaries,” and through those resolutions have made clear there will be no enforcement of laws that infringe on Second Amendment rights. Additionally, a number of local sheriffs told the AP “that they won’t enforce the law if they don’t believe it’s constitutional.”

The trial brought by Kari Lake over questionable ballot counting and verification in her unsuccessful 2022 Arizona gubernatorial campaign concluded Friday with her lead attorney saying audit data on the processes shows “this election should be set aside.” The trial lasted three days, with closing arguments on both sides focusing on whether there was mathematical evidence proving that Lake had actually won the election. Lake fell about 17,000 votes short in the official count in her race against then-Secretary of State Hobbs. She is suing Hobbs, the current Democratic governor, in addition to current Secretary of State Adrian Fontes (D)...

Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo campaigned on a pledge to protect the Second Amendment rights of Nevada residents, and the former Clark County sheriff delivered on his word on Wednesday by whipping out his veto pen and rejecting three bills approved by the Democrat-controlled legislature. Even more deliciously, Lombardo’s move came just hours before anti-gun groups had scheduled a press conference designed to pressure the governor to adopt the new restrictions. In his veto message, Lombardo said that he could not support any legislation that infringes on the rights of Nevada gun owners, adding that “much of the legislation I vetoed...

Twenty-four Republican governors have responded to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s call for help to secure its border with Mexico.

As Tennessee’s legislature wrapped up year one of the 113th General Assembly on Friday, they did so without taking up gun legislation called to be enacted by state Democrats and Republican Gov. Bill Lee. There wasn’t a lack of time, as many more days were allotted to finish the state’s business. The House clerk told the legislature last week that between the two years, the legislature had 90 days to be in session—with the state House using 27 and the Senate using 32 this year. Less than two hours after both chambers gaveled out of session until January 2024, Lee...

North Carolina GOP Lieutenant Gov. Mark Robinson officially announced his plans to run for governor in 2024 at an Ace Speedway rally. "Today we make it official, I am running for Governor of North Carolina," Robinson said to the crowd, according to Fox 8. Robinson discussed his faith and thanked his supporters before making his campaign announcement. Robinson was elected lieutenant governor of North Carolina in 2020.

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – Oklahoma residents, and the state’s governor, are calling for three McCurtain County officials to resign after they were allegedly heard discussing the potential murder of two journalists and the hanging of Black people in an audio recording. Overheard in the recording, which was from a March county commissioner meeting, are County Sheriff Kevin Clardy, County Commissioner Mark Jennings and county sheriff employee Alicia Manning, according to the McCurtain Gazette. The Gazette first reported on the recording over the weekend, saying its employees, father and son duo Bruce and Chris Willingham, are the ones being threatened in...

Republicans have the opportunity to take back the Kentucky governor’s mansion from Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear – who narrowly won in 2019 – in November, and numerous GOP contenders are itching for the nomination. Beshear is running for his second term in 2023 in a state with a Republican supermajority in the legislature. Though 12 Republicans are running in the May 16 GOP primary, there are three clear frontrunners whose campaigns will largely hinge on issues such as education and crime while also targeting Beshear’s record on COVID-19, they told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Andy Beshear doesn’t represent Kentucky’s...

Mark Robinson became a viral hit in 2018 when he defended law-abiding gun owners at a city council meeting. Two years later, he made history by becoming the first African-American Lt. Governor of North Carolina. Conservative Rising Star Mark Robinson to Announce Run for Governor of North Carolina “Should he run and win, Robinson will become the first black governor in the state’s history.” Mark Robinson became a viral hit in 2018 when he defended law-abiding gun owners at a city council meeting. Two years later, he made history by becoming the first African-American Lt. Governor of North Carolina. Now...

Now that you all have placed your Super Bowl bets and don’t want to be a chalk-eater, here’s a good underdog wager: A Democrat will win the Mississippi governor’s race this year. Yeah, sounds crazy. The deep-red Magnolia State went overwhelmingly for Donald Trump, hasn’t voted for a Democratic president since 1976, for a U.S. Senator in 40 years — and not for a Democratic governor in almost a quarter century. But incumbent Gov. Tate Reeves is not very popular. A Siena college poll last month showed 57 percent would prefer someone else, and Reeves barely leads the Democratic candidate,...

The Lead panel discusses.

Kate Brown hasn’t yet announced professional plans now that she’s departed the Oregon governor’s mansion. But for a week or so this spring, Brown is Cambridge-bound. The former governor has been tapped as a “visiting fellow” at the Institute of Politics at Harvard’s Kennedy School. That means Brown is headed to the university campus this semester to offer its students a glimpse into what she learned over decades in state politics — and as a sometimes controversial and unpopular executive. In announcing the appointment, the Kennedy School touted Brown’s history of signing major legislation like the “motor voter” law that...

Arkansas Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders will prohibit the use of the term “Latinx” in government documents through an executive order. Sanders, who was sworn in as the first female governor of Arkansas on Tuesday, justified the ban of the word “Latinx” in government documents and name titles by citing a Pew Research poll that found only 3% of American Latinos and Hispanics used the term to describe themselves. “Ethnically insensitive and pejorative language has no place in official government documents or government employee titles,” Sanders’ executive order states. “The government has a responsibility to respect its citizens and use...

Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) announced on Wednesday that he would be passing on a gubernatorial bid in Louisiana after he said late last year that he was giving the matter “serious consideration.” “I have looked into my heart and decided to remain in the Senate and not to run for governor,” the senator said in an email, according to the Lafayette Daily Advertiser. “At this juncture, I just think I can help my state and my country more in the Senate.” Kennedy was considering a run for governor in the state’s off-year election. Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) is term-limited,...

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan speaks at an annual leadership meeting of the Republican Jewish Coalition, Friday, Nov. 18, 2022, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher) Outgoing Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) said managing the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2015 riots in Baltimore and his cancer diagnosis were the greatest challenges he faced during his time as governor. Hogan met with the Washington, D.C.-based Fox affiliate FOX 5 for an interview to reflect on his time as governor as his second term comes to an end, saying the pandemic was probably the “toughest” challenge he faced. But he said handling the violence...

Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R-Ark.) reiterated on Sunday that he preferred a different GOP presidential candidate in 2024 who was not former President Trump, telling ABC’s “This Week” that Jan. 6 should disqualify Trump from holding office again. “I do not believe that Donald Trump should be the next president of the United States,” Hutchinson said. “I think he’s had his opportunity there. I think Jan. 6 really disqualifies him for the future.”

Wes Moore, the incoming Democratic governor of Maryland, said he is “confident” he can reach his economic goals without raising taxes in the state. Moore said on CNN’s “State of the Union” that economics will be his priority, and he is going to work to create pathways for “work, wages and wealth.” He said too many people are working in their jobs and still living below the poverty line, and he wants to make sure people own more than they owe.

Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts (R) on Tuesday announced he’ll try for the appointment to replace outgoing Sen. Ben Sasse (R) and represent the state in the U.S. Senate, according to local outlets. “For me, it came down to a single question: How can I best serve the people of Nebraska and advance our conservative values? In Congress, we’re in a fight for the future of our nation, and it’s a fight we have to win. We must cut taxes, strengthen public safety and our national security, and protect our most sacred freedoms,” Ricketts said in a statement shared with The...