Free Republic

The numbers crunched by Derek Ryan, founder of Ryan Data and Research, show that nearly 55% of the ballots cast early and on the same day in the recent Democratic primary came from voters 50 and older. By contrast, voters 30 and under accounted for just 14% of the turnout in a primary that nominated 36-year-old James Talarico… But the age gap is even more yawning on the Republican side, according to Ryan's analysis, which uses data from the Texas Secretary of State's Office, the Texas Legislative Council and other sources. Voters 50 and older made up 78% of GOP...

With just over two months until the mayoral primary, a majority of Los Angeles voters are fed up with Mayor Karen Bass, according to a new poll described as “downright devastating.” The incumbent still leads the pack, albeit with just 25% of voter support — but roughly 25% of Angelenos are still undecided, according to a Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies/Los Angeles Times poll. Meanwhile, ultra-left City Councilwoman Nithya Raman and reality TV personality Spencer Pratt are gaining on Bass, garnering 17% and 15% of voter support, respectively, the poll shows. More concerning for Bass is her unfavorable rating among...

South Carolina Democrats are reportedly leaning on state representative Jermaine Johnson to pull out of the 2026 governor’s race – thus making way for their preferred candidate, multimillionaire William M. “Billy” Webster IV. Johnson, 39, of Hopkins, S.C. is one of two announced Democrat candidates for governor of the Palmetto State. He is the only black candidate seeking the nomination of either major party. Also running for the Democrat nomination is Charleston, S.C. trial lawyer Mullins McLeod, although it’s worth pointing out the S.C. Democrat Party (SCDP) previously called on him to leave the race after he used the ‘N-word’...

Despite a long, entrenched Democratic reign over California politics, a new poll shows two Republicans leading by slim margins in the state’s 2026 race for governor as the June primary election fast approaches. The confounding results appear to be mostly due to the state’s left-leaning electorate feeling uninspired by any single candidate in the crowded field of eight top Democrats. Because of California’s top-two primary rule, that lethargy could lead to Democrats being shut out of a November election that will determine the next leader of the largest state in the union, though that is still considered unlikely. Conservative commentator...

President Donald Trump teased an endorsement in Texas’s bruising GOP Senate primary on social media Wednesday, saying he will soon pick a candidate and asking the other to “DROP OUT OF THE RACE.” On Tuesday night, the GOP primary between incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) resulted in a run-off. “The Republican Primary Race for the United States Senate in the Great State of Texas, a State I LOVE and won 3 times in Record Numbers (the HIGHEST vote ever recorded, by far!!!), cannot, for the good of the Party, and our Country, itself, be...

ROCKINGHAM COUNTY, N.C. (WBTV) - A hotly contested primary in North Carolina was decided by just two votes and seems likely to be headed for a recount, based on initial results. Unofficial results shared by the North Carolina State Board of Elections showed challenger Sam Page held a narrow lead over incumbent Phil Berger in the Republican primary for the state Senate’s 26th District. District 26 is on the North Carolina-Virginia line and includes all of Rockingham County and a large portion of Guilford County. For the past 28 years, Page has been sheriff of Rockingham County. Meanwhile, Berger is...

Showdown Career Politician on the Ropes as Grassroots Conservatives Demand New Blood Cornyn Flooded With Swamp Cash While Texas Voters Ask: What Has He Actually Delivered? Texas Republicans are sending a clear message: they’re tired of Washington insiders who talk conservative at home but cut deals behind closed doors. After more than two decades in the U.S. Senate, John Cornyn is facing the political fight of his career — and this time, it’s coming from within his own party. Attorney General Ken Paxton and Congressman Wesley Hunt are crisscrossing the Lone Star State, hammering Cornyn as the embodiment of the...

Conservative organizations across the state have released recommendations for candidates running in the March Republican primary for statewide office.The endorsements considered include: True Texas Project (TTP), Texas Gun Rights (TGR), Texas Family Project (TFP), Grassroots America: We The People (GAWTP), Texas Right to Life (TRL), and Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom (TURF).Early voting has begun and ends on Friday, February 27. Election day is Tuesday March 3.Click on this link for complete list of endorsements by all of the above organizations: Texas Scorecard.Click on the links of the individual organizations above for commentary on the endorsements.

These are draining times for your bank account at the gas pump. California gas prices have jumped up to 40 cents in two weeks, as refinery closures tighten fuel supplies across the state. The statewide average now stands at $4.582 per gallon, up from $4.463 a week ago and $4.182 just 14 days ago, according to the American Automobile Association. Energy experts say the spike is tied directly to shrinking refinery capacity. Specifically, Valero’s Benicia refinery — a key Northern California supplier — is in the process of idling operations. The move follows other major pullbacks, including Phillips 66’s Los...

In a move that has shocked conservatives across social media, a niqab-wearing Muslim woman named Lakeshia M. Alston has filed to run as a Republican for North Carolina State Senate District 22 in the 2026 election. Alston is the only Republican in the race so far, and her history screams lifelong Democrat. The shocking move has led many to question if this is an infiltration tactic from the left, designed to disrupt GOP primaries and hand victories to Democrats in the general election. BREAKING: This person – Lakeshia M. Alston – has filed as a REPUBLICAN for North Carolina...

It starts with a call. A sore knee, a lingering cough, a changing mole - nothing urgent - but not quite ignorable. The receptionist is polite, but the first available appointment is three weeks away.For millions of Americans, health care begins with a wait. For many, walk-in clinics have replaced family medicine.“People have started to accept that,” Dr. Dorothy Serna, a primary care physician who left traditional practice for a concierge model, told The Epoch Times. “They think, ‘I can’t get my doctor, so I won’t even try. I’ll just go to urgent care. I’ll wait. I’ll Google it.’”Such scenarios...

Rand Paul (R-KY) blasted President Donald Trump’s overseas strikes on alleged drug boats “insane” and not something “civilized people” do. Paul joined Glenn Greenwald on the System Update podcast where he called out Trump and his Republican colleagues over US strikes against alleged drug boats in South American waters. Paul accused Republicans of supporting actions they would be up in arms over if a Democrat were in office. The senator argued the strikes include no due process and could be leading to the death of innocent people.

🚨 JUST IN: Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) accuses President Trump of doing what CHINA and IRAN do when he "executes" narco-terrorists "I would call them extrajudicial killings. This is akin to what China does, what Iran does with drug dealers -- they summarily execute people without presenting evidence to the public. So it's WRONG."

President Donald Trump's political muscle in Republican nomination races was on full display Tuesday as a candidate he endorsed last week won a crowded and competitive GOP special election primary for a vacant congressional seat in Tennessee. Trump-backed Matt Van Epps, a former commissioner of the Tennessee Department of General Services, came out on top in a field of 11 Republican candidates vying to fill the seat in the state's solidly red 7th Congressional District, according to the Associated Press. Van Epps will now be the favorite in the Dec. 2 general election in the race to succeed former Republican...

MOUNT OLIVET, Ky. — Rand Paul might run for president in 2028. It depends on whether the Republican Party still has space for his fellow Kentuckian who now shares the title of Donald Trump’s biggest conservative troublemaker. “First, we’ve got to see if Thomas Massie will keep his job and get reelected,” Paul said after offering a “maybe” to the 2028 question. For Paul, a libertarian-leaning senator willing to break with the president when most fellow Republicans fall in line, Massie’s ability to withstand a Trump-backed primary foe speaks to his own future. “We represent the same thing. If people...

A Kentucky congressman and senator are touring northern Kentucky together as the election season begins. “Is it the Republicans fault or the Democrats fault? And I just say ‘yeah,’” Sen. Rand Paul said humorously as he began remarks to a packed room at the Robertson County Community Center. It was one of four community forums held on Wednesday, co-headlined by Paul and Rep. Thomas Massie. Later in the day, both appeared at a coffee meet & greet and a “Massie for Congress” rally that staff said were campaign events. Both Republicans have taken national heat for their own independence from...

No freebies for Kathy. Gov. Kathy Hochul seemingly got little-to-nothing in exchange for her bombshell endorsement Sunday of socialist mayoral hopeful Zohran Mamdani — except to appease the far-left in a desperate attempt to stave off a real primary challenge next year, insiders said. Hochul likely will have Mamdani’s endorsement in the Democratic primary, where she faces a challenge from her estranged Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado, sources said. One Democratic operative called Hochul’s endorsement — which failed to sway some prominent Dem holdouts and took some business leaders by surprise — “inevitable” given the political calculus. “It’s a calculated political...

Nate Morris is a textbook "McConnell protégé." And this is not an attack on him for that - if you were an aspiring Republican in Kentucky that's where you went...and the only place to go for awhile - McConnell got the reversal of the Dem stranglehold in motion. Being a Republican was to be lost in the wilderness. McConnell and Nate Morris have been on first name terms over two decades now. His ties to McConnell are why he became a political force in Kentucky and his connections and networking may have helped him in his private sector career as...

U.S. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said during an interview today with CBS News that people should “stay tuned” for tomorrow’s announcement from President Trump regarding Russia, with him adding, “The game, regarding Putin's invasion of Russia, is about to change. I expect, in the coming days, you will see weapons flowing at a record level to help Ukraine defend themselves. I expect, in the coming days, that there will be tariffs and sanctions available to President Trump he has never had before. I expect, in the coming days, more support from Europe regarding the efforts to help Ukraine. Putin made...

Democrats are in “absolute panic” over Zohran Mamdani’s stunning New York City Democratic mayoral primary win — fearing he could be “toxic” for the party but worried about possible primary challenges if they don’t endorse him, sources told The Post. Congressional Dems are “afraid” of Mamdani supporters setting up opponents to incumbents, including Reps. Dan Goldman, Jerry Nadler and even Grace Meng and Adriano Espaillat “could be a target,” a New York Democratic source said Monday. “It’s not hesitancy, it’s absolute panic and fear – and fear that not only are they saddled with (Gov.) Kathy Hochul’s very bad polling...