Politics
Trump makes major endorsement in crucial Senate race in key battleground state
Former President Donald Trump is backing Republican Senate candidate Dave McCormick in Pennsylvania – after throwing his support to a different candidate during McCormick’s first run for the Senate two years ago.
“I am officially giving my endorsement to David McCormick tonight. He’s a good a man. He wants to run a good ship. He’s a smart guy, who was a very successful guy. He’s given up a lot to do this,” Trump declared on Saturday, as he spoke at a large rally in Schnecksville, Pennsylvania.
McCormick, a former hedge fund executive, West Point graduate, Gulf War combat veteran and Treasury Department official in former President George W. Bush’s administration, launched his second Senate bid last year. He’s running unopposed in the crucial battleground state’s April 23 primary and will face off in November against longtime Democratic Sen. Bob Casey Jr.
“I’ll tell you what: He’s the nominee of the Republican Party, David McCormick. Go out and vote for him because Casey doesn’t do a damn thing,” Trump emphasized.
FIRST ON FOX: MCCORMICK SHOWCASES MAJOR FUNDRAISING HAUL IN KEY SENATE SHOWDOWN
Former U.S. President Donald Trump greets attendees during a campaign event in Schnecksville, Pa., Saturday, April 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Joe Lamberti) (AP Photo/Joe Lamberti)
Casey, the son of a popular former governor, served a decade as Pennsylvania’s auditor general and then treasurer before winning election to the Senate in 2006.
The Senate race in Pennsylvania is one of a handful across the country that will likely decide if the Republicans win back the majority in the chamber.
Democrats currently control the U.S. Senate with a 51-49 majority, but Republicans are looking at a favorable Senate map this year, with Democrats defending 23 of the 34 seats up for grabs.
Three of those seats are in red states that Trump carried in his 2020 election defeat to President Biden — Ohio, Montana and West Virginia, where Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin is not running for re-election. And Pennsylvania is one of five key general election battlegrounds where the Democrats are defending seats. Democrats may also have to worry about holding the open Senate seat in blue Maryland, where former GOP Gov. Larry Hogan is running.
TRUMP, BIDEN, MAKE DUELING TRIPS TO THIS CRUCIAL BATTLEGROUND STATE
McCormick was not at Saturday’s rally. His campaign told Fox News the candidate had a previously scheduled family commitment that he made long before Trump recently announced his rally in Schnecksville, which is located in the Lehigh Valley, a highly competitive part of the northeastern swing state.
Following the rally, McCormick thanked Trump for the endorsement in a social media post.
“Thank you, President Trump,”, he said. “Together we will deliver a big win for Pennsylvania and America in November.”
Republican Senate candidate Dave McCormick launches a campaign bus tour, in Lititz, Pennsylvania, on Feb. 10, 2024 (Dave McCormick campaign)
McCormick was part of a crowded and combustible battle for the 2022 GOP nomination. He ended up losing the nomination by a razor-thin margin to celebrity doctor and cardiac surgeon Mehmet Oz, who secured a primary victory thanks to a late endorsement from Trump. Oz ended up losing the general election to Democrat John Fetterman.
“I don’t know David well, and he may be a nice guy, but he’s not MAGA,” Trump said of McCormick at the time, as he referred to his legions of Make America Great Again loyalists and supporters.
This time around, McCormick faces no major opposition in the GOP primary. He is backed by longtime Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and the Pennsylvania GOP, and was encouraged to run by the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which is the party’s Senate campaign arm.
McCormick endorsed Trump early last month after the former president scored major victories in the coast to coast Super Tuesday contests and Nikki Haley – Trump’s last remaining rival for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination – dropped out of the White House race.
Trump’s visit to Pennsylvania is his third this year. He made a Feb. 9 stop in Harrisburg to address NRA members gathered at the group’s Great American Outdoor Show. Days later, he made an unusual stop in Philadelphia at ‘Sneaker Con’ – a major trade show – to hawk new Trump-branded sneakers.
Pennsylvania is one of six battleground states where Biden narrowly edged Trump in the presidential election four years ago to capture the White House.
Most of the latest public opinion polls in Pennsylvania suggest a close contest between Biden and Trump for the state’s 19 electoral votes.
The president returns to the state where he was born on Tuesday, for three days of events in Pennsylvania, where his political advisers say Biden aims to spotlight his plans to raise taxes for the wealthiest Americans and corporations as he paints contrasts with Trump on economic issues.
President Joe Biden speaks at a campaign event at Strath Haven Middle School in Wallingford, Pennsylvania, on March 8, 2024. (Photo by Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images) (Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Biden kicks off the three-day swing with a speech in Scranton, where he spent part of his childhood. The president has repeatedly returned to the working-class city in northeastern Pennsylvania as he’s made populist pitches to Americans.
The president will head to Pittsburgh on Wednesday, followed by a campaign event Thursday in Philadelphia. Biden’s swing through Pennsylvania will come as Trump makes history as the first current or former president in the nation’s history to go on trial.
Trump’s hush-money trial will get underway Monday in a New York City courtroom.
The former president – who is being tried on 34 state felony charges – is accused of falsifying business records in relation to hush-money payments during the 2016 election he made to Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about his alleged affair with the adult film actress.
Trump has repeatedly denied falsifying business records as well as the alleged sexual encounter with Daniels.
Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub
new video loaded: Steve Hilton Holds Slim Early Lead in California Governor’s Race
transcript
transcript
Steve Hilton Holds Slim Early Lead in California Governor’s Race
Steve Hilton, a Republican and former Fox News host, held a narrow lead in early votes over two Democratic opponents in California’s nonpartisan primary for governor. The top two candidates will advance to the general election in November.
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“Change is coming to California, and it’s long overdue. I want to just say something from my heart to every single person who’s voted for me. We’re not — We’re not there yet, but it’s looking good.” [cheers] “Tonight, the people of the great state of California, in the greatest nation on earth, have spoken. [cheers] Loudly and proudly. [cheers] And while I take nothing for granted, there are lots of ballots left to be counted, it appears that we are on track to advance to November.” [cheers] “It might take some time to figure out where this is going. We’re going to wait until every ballot is counted. We’re going to give democracy a time to work, and we know we finished really strong.” [cheers]
By Axel Boada
June 3, 2026
Politics
Spencer Pratt surges to runoff in LA mayor’s race after angry voters send message to Karen Bass
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Reality television personality Spencer Pratt appears on track to clear a key hurdle in Los Angeles’ mayoral race as he seeks to unseat incumbent Mayor Karen Bass in November.
Bass, who has led the city since 2022 amid a turbulent stretch rocked by her response to wildfires, advanced to a runoff after failing to secure a majority of the vote in Tuesday’s primary election. With no candidate surpassing the 50% threshold, the top two finishers will face off in a November runoff.
The anticipated runoff is a symbolic blow to Bass, who was endorsed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., and former Vice President Kamala Harris and has spent decades serving California in a series of elected Democratic offices.
Pratt, a first-time candidate known for the MTV reality show “The Hills,” was running in second place as of Wednesday morning.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass attends the Women for Bass Phone bank event in the Baldwin Hills area of Los Angeles on June 1, 2026. (Louise Barnsley/Splash for Fox News Digital)
REALITY TV STAR SPENCER PRATT TESTS LA VOTERS’ APPETITE FOR POLITICAL OUTSIDER
“Obviously, God wanted five more months of me exposing the failures of our mayor,” Pratt gloated to reporters as the returns came in Tuesday evening.
Pratt has relentlessly hammered Bass on issues that have long plagued the city, including fire recovery, street homelessness and crime. The insurgent candidate holds Bass personally responsible for devastating wildfires that destroyed more than 18,000 structures in the city, including his Pacific Palisades home.
Pratt’s surge appears to have shut out Los Angeles City Council member Nithya Raman, a former ally of Bass who challenged the incumbent from the left and was once viewed as a threat to her bid for a second term. Raman is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America and has argued for steering the city in a more progressive direction.
Raman has not yet conceded despite running well behind Bass and Pratt as of Wednesday morning.
Pratt, a registered Republican, faces an uphill battle to defeat Bass in November if he advances to the runoff election.
Less than 20% of voters in the heavily Democratic city identify with the GOP, though Los Angeles’ mayoral contest is officially nonpartisan.
Media personality and independent candidate Spencer Pratt, left, pictured alongside LA mayor Karen Bass, right. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images; Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
KAREN BASS GRILLED OVER BROKEN HOMELESSNESS PROMISE, BLAMES BUREAUCRACY FOR SLOWED PROGRESS
Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., who represents a San Diego-anchored seat, told Fox News Digital that Pratt has won a following in the mayoral contest due to widespread voter discontent with Bass’ leadership.
“He’s catching fire among ardent historic Democrat voters because Karen Bass has been so ineffective,” Issa said in an interview. “And every time she opens her mouth, she’s talking about more of the same to people who have seen their streets, both crime-ridden and in fact … ineffectively managed.”
Bass, conversely, argues that her leadership is leading Los Angeles in the right direction.
“Los Angeles is at a turning point. After decades of rising homelessness, under-built housing and a shrinking police force, it’s Mayor Karen Bass who finally stepped up to change how City Hall works,” Bass’s website reads.
Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman appears likely to finish in third place, keeping her out of the November runoff. (Eric Thayer/Getty Images)
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“Homelessness is down, more housing is being built, and the LAPD is hiring new officers,” it also claims.
Fox News Digital’s Leo Briceno contributed reporting.
Los Angeles County’s half-cent sales tax to fund healthcare services was trailing Tuesday, with early returns showing a majority of voters rejecting the measure.
The tax — a half-penny of every dollar spent in the county — is meant to prop up local hospitals and clinics that are hemorrhaging funding after recent federal cuts.
The sales tax, which needs a simple majority to pass, would take effect Oct. 1 and last five years. Officials say it would pull in $1 billion annually to help plug the budget holes hitting local hospitals and clinics.
L.A. County health officials anticipate the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law by President Trump last summer, will slash more than $2 billion from the county’s health services budget within the next three years. Due to eligibility changes, the county will no longer be able to get reimbursements for many Californians who have lost Medi-Cal.
The measure was championed by a coalition of healthcare advocates called Restore Healthcare for Angelenos who warned that mass layoffs and emergency room closures could be imminent if new funding didn’t come fast. The Department of Public Health recently closed seven clinics — a grim sign, supporters said, of service cuts to come.
Voters haven’t rejected a sales tax hike since 2012, when a transportation measure fell just short with 66.1% support. It needed 66.7% to pass.
A majority of county supervisors had supported the new tax proposal, voting 4 to 1 this February to put it on the ballot. But the measure faced significant opposition from local cities, with opponents arguing the sales tax hike would unfairly burden the poorest county residents and encourage people to spend their dollars across the county line.
Supervisor Kathryn Barger, the board’s lone opponent of the tax, said she was concerned it was a “general” tax, meaning the money wouldn’t be earmarked for healthcare costs. Instead, she argued, politicians would have final say over how the money gets spent.
The supervisors have created a plan for spending the tax money, with the largest chunk of the money meant to cover the costs for patients without insurance. The measure also asked voters to sign off on a nine-member oversight committee.
The county currently has a base sales tax rate of 9.75%, and cities impose local taxes on top of that.
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