Connect with us

Southeast

Scoop: Trump-aligned MAGA Inc. jumps into high stakes ballot box congressional showdown

Published

on

Scoop: Trump-aligned MAGA Inc. jumps into high stakes ballot box congressional showdown

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

FIRST ON FOX: The top outside political group that supported President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign is jumping into a hotly contested special election for a Republican-controlled vacant House seat in a solidly red congressional district in Tennessee.

MAGA Inc. is launching ads to support Trump-endorsed Republican nominee Matt Van Epps in his showdown against Democratic nominee Aftyn Behn in the race to succeed former GOP Rep. Mark Green, who resigned from office in June to take a private sector job. The spots were shared first with Fox News Digital on Wednesday.

The ads, which MAGA Inc. says will run on broadcast TV and digital and are backed by a seven-figure buy that also includes investments in get-out-the-vote efforts, are the first by the group since last year’s presidential election.

Republican groups are pouring plenty of resources into the special election to avoid the possibility of a major upset and protect the GOP’s current razor-thin 219-214 majority in the House.

Advertisement

TRUMP-BACKED CANDIDATE WINS CROWDED GOP PRIMARY IN BATTLE FOR VACANT HOUSE SEAT

Republican candidate for Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District Matt Van Epps talks with attendees before a debate with other candidates at CabaRay Showroom in Nashville, Tenn., Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. (Nicole Hester / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

Trump carried the district — which is located in central and western Tennessee, stretches from Kentucky to Alabama, and includes parts of Nashville — by 22 points in last year’s presidential election.

But Democrats, energized after their sweeping victories earlier this month in the 2025 elections, are optimistic about their chances in the Dec. 2 special election. Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Ken Martin, who campaigned with Behn last weekend, argued that she has “an excellent shot to win.”

DEMOCRAT AFTYN BEHN ADVANCES TO SPECIAL ELECTION IN BATTLE FOR VACANT CONGRESSIONAL SEAT IN DEEP-RED DISTRICT

Advertisement

The spots by MAGA Inc. target Behn, a state representative, former healthcare community organizer, and rising progressive star who some have dubbed the “AOC of Tennessee,” over her vote last year in the legislature against what Republicans tout as the state’s largest tax cut ever.

“Politician Aftyn Behn voted against the largest tax cut in state history,” the narrator in the spot said.

Democrat Aftyn Behn, a current Tennessee state representative, is running to take over Republican Mark Green’s old seat following his retirement. (Aftyn For Congress)

And the narrator claimed that “this year, Aftyn Behn backed more tax hikes that would cost Tennessee families thousands more,” which points to Behn’s opposition to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which passed the Republican-controlled Congress along partisan lines and extended the Trump tax cuts from the president’s first term.

“We can’t afford radical liberal Aftyn Behn,” the narrator argued.

Advertisement

The ad also includes a clip, used twice, of Behn saying, “I’m a very radical person.”

TRUMP LOOMS LARGE OVER SPECIAL ELECTION PRIMARY IN DEEP-RED CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT

Trump’s endorsement of Van Epps helped boost the former commissioner of the Tennessee Department of General Services to primary victory last month in an 11-candidate race for the Republican congressional nomination.

Last week, Trump hosted a tele-rally for Van Epps in which he claimed Behn was a “Marxist” and linked her to Zohran Mamdani, the socialist mayor-elect of New York City, whom Republicans are aiming to make the new face of the Democratic Party.

The Van Epps campaign is asking the president to campaign in person in the district ahead of the special election.

Advertisement

A special election is being held in Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District to fill the seat left vacant when Republican Rep. Mark Green resigned from the U.S. House in June to take a job in the private sector. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo)

On Tuesday, former Vice President Kamala Harris, whom Trump defeated in last year’s presidential election, campaigned with Behn.

“Kamala Harris’ visit to Tennessee says it all — Aftyn Behn is a typical radical liberal. Behn supports higher taxes and open borders. Tennessee is going to reject her agenda and elect Matt Van Epps to Congress,” MAGA Inc. spokesman Alex Pfeiffer told Fox News Digital.

MAGA Inc. was not a major player in the 2022 midterms, as the group saved much of its resources for Trump’s 2024 campaign to win back the White House. MAGA Inc. ended up spending $456-million to support Trump’s campaign, according to Open Secrets, a nonprofit organization that tracks campaign finance data.

But with Trump aiming to help Republicans protect their House and Senate majorities in next year’s midterm elections — “We must keep the Majority at all costs,” Trump wrote in a social media post on Monday — MAGA Inc. is expected to play a much larger role than they did during the 2022 cycle.

Advertisement

“This spend in an off-year special election shows how committed MAGA Inc will be to ensuring the House and Senate remain in Republican control,” a source familiar told Fox News Digital.

And MAGA Inc. has the war chest to deliver on that commitment. The group raised nearly $177 million through June, according to the most recent fundraising reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.

Other conservative groups that are pouring big bucks into the special election in Tennessee include the Club for Growth Action and Conservatives for American Excellence PAC, which have both launched six-figure ad buys.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

The DNC charged that “Republicans are panicking — and they should be.”

Advertisement

And DNC Deputy Communications Director Abhi Rahman argued that “Van Epps is Trump’s hand-picked candidate in an overwhelmingly Republican district, and he’s still in the fight of his life.”

Read the full article from Here

Advertisement

Southeast

250 border agents to deploy to Louisiana for ‘Swamp Sweep,’ report says

Published

on

250 border agents to deploy to Louisiana for ‘Swamp Sweep,’ report says

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is preparing to send 250 border agents to New Orleans for a two-month immigration crackdown operation called “Swamp Sweep,” according to documents obtained by The Associated Press and three people familiar with the matter.

“Swamp Sweep,” which is expected to begin on Dec. 1, is reportedly aimed at arresting approximately 5,000 people across southeast Louisiana and into Mississippi. The reported operation marks the latest in a series of DHS illegal immigration crackdowns in cities across the country, including Chicago and Los Angeles.

In response to Fox News Digital’s request for comment, Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said, “Every day, DHS enforces the laws of the nation across the country. We do not discuss future or potential operations.”

DHS ‘BLITZES’ CHICAGOLAND, NETTING ‘MANY ARRESTS’ AS NOEM ONSITE FOR IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN

Advertisement

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is reportedly planning to deploy 250 Border Patrol agents to Louisiana in an operation dubbed “Swamp Sweep.” (John Moore/Getty Images; Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, a Republican who is closely aligned with President Donald Trump, recently discussed the possibility of federal agents working in his state during an appearance on “America Reports.” He noted that his state was “working closely with our federal partners” on immigration and crime crackdowns.

“We do know that New Orleans is a place under which we’ve had illegal criminal activity, alien activity, in and around that city. Chief Conley, who is the chief of police from Kenner, has consistently had problems with illegal aliens conducting very violent crime in and around the city, in his city, and has been consistently working with the feds to try to crack that down,” Landry told Fox News’ Sandra Smith on Monday.

“Look, people around Louisiana want their communities to be safe, irrespective of whether it’s criminal or illegal. Aliens conducting violence or American citizens or Louisiana citizens. If you go out there and break the law, we’re gonna put you in jail,” Landry later added.

Gov. Jeff Landry, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Attorney General Pam Bondi attend a press conference near Camp 57 at Angola Prison in West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana, on Sept. 3, 2025. (Matthew Hinton/Getty Images)

Advertisement

NEW ICE DETENTION FACILITY ‘LOUISIANA LOCKUP’ OPENS AT NOTORIOUS PRISON

Kenner Police Chief Keith Conley, who Landry said is working closely with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Louisiana State Police, recently spoke about a community safety operation that federal agents were also involved in. According to Conley, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and ICE took “13 to 15 people into their custody.”

“You know, we’ve gotten complaints for the last three years on the lawlessness and the nuisance crimes that have been occurring at the lakefront. We’ve had a strong presence, we patrolled it, we’ve sighted people, but it just wasn’t enough. The conduct was escalating, citizens were getting harassed and bullied, strong-armed, and enough is enough,” Conley said in a video posted to the Kenner Police Department’s X page.

U.S. Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino, who has overseen other immigration enforcement operations under Trump, has reportedly been tapped to lead operation Swamp Sweep. 

Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino walks through a gas station while searching for undocumented immigrants on Nov. 17, 2025, in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Ryan Murphy/Getty Images)

Advertisement

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Documents reviewed by the AP show that Border Patrol teams are set to go across neighborhoods in southeast Louisiana, stretching from New Orleans through Jefferson, St. Bernard and St. Tammany parishes and as far north as Baton Rouge. There are also plans for federal agents to go into southeastern Mississippi.

In preparation for the operation, federal agents have been securing several staging sites. The AP, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that part of the FBI’s New Orleans field office has been designated as a command post. Additionally, a naval base will reportedly be used to store vehicles, equipment and “less lethal” munitions, such as tear gas and pepper balls. The outlet said documents it reviewed showed that DHS asked to use the naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base in New Orleans for up to 90 days beginning this weekend.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Advertisement

Read the full article from Here

Continue Reading

Southeast

North Carolina school district releases memo on ‘supporting student absences’ due to ICE raids

Published

on

North Carolina school district releases memo on ‘supporting student absences’ due to ICE raids

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

North Carolina’s largest school district released a notice on Tuesday to help support student absences in light of recent immigration raids in the state.

Wake County Public Schools Superintendent Robert P. Taylor wrote a message titled, “Supporting staff and families amid recent federal immigration orders,” to address the “anxiety” felt by members of the community over federal immigration orders.

At the bottom of the message was a section on “supporting student absences” during the “challenging times.” North Carolina’s capital city of Raleigh is Wake’s county seat.

NORTH CAROLINA SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER RIPS ‘MEDIOCRE WHITE MEN’ IN RANT AGAINST DEI CRITICS

Advertisement

Federal agents search for undocumented immigrants on Nov. 17, 2025, in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Ryan Murphy/Getty Images)

“If a student needs to be absent, we encourage families to communicate directly with their child’s teacher and school,” the note read. “Sharing the reason for the absence – whether it’s illness, a family matter, or simply feeling worried – helps us understand how to best support your child.”

It continued, “Teachers are ready to work with families to make sure learning can continue. If your child is absent, their teacher can provide classwork or learning activities that can be completed from home. Staying in communication helps us ensure students don’t fall behind and continue to feel part of their classroom community.”

Taylor emphasized that while the district will comply with state and federal laws regarding federal enforcement actions, local school authorities are consulting with legal counsel if law enforcement approaches a school. He also said the district does not record information on students’ or their family’s immigration status.

NORTH CAROLINA SCHOOL DISTRICT USED COVID-19 MONEY TO BOOST STAFF SALARIES: REPORT

Advertisement

Wake County Public Schools Superintendent Robert P. Taylor wrote a message that appeared to support student absences during immigration raids. (iStock)

Fox News Digital reached out to Taylor and Wake County Public Schools for comment.

Raleigh Mayor Janet Cowell said Monday that ICE and Customs and Border Protection officials were in the city, according to NBC News, although an administration official told NBC on Tuesday that CBP didn’t have plans for an operation there.

The superintendent’s note came days after the Trump administration launched “Operation Charlotte’s Web,” a federal immigration operation targeting criminal illegal immigrants in Charlotte, North Carolina.

According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), among those taken into custody within 48 hours of the operation were 44 criminal illegal aliens whose records include aggravated assault, assault with a dangerous weapon, assault on a police officer, battery, driving under the influence and hit-and-run.

Advertisement

MIGRANT KIDS REPORTEDLY PULLED FROM MASSACHUSETTS SCHOOLS OVER DEPORTATION FEARS

The Department of Homeland Security reported arresting dozens of criminal illegal immigrants with violent records. (AP Photos)

WBTV reported that approximately 20,935 students were absent from school across 185 schools in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg district. The local outlet also reported that 31% of the student population are Hispanic.

Charlotte is the latest city targeted by the Trump administration to enforce immigration laws, in a nationwide effort that has included cities such as Los Angeles and Chicago.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Advertisement

Fox News’ Sarah Rumpf-Whitten and Adriana James-Rodil contributed to this report.

Read the full article from Here

Continue Reading

Southeast

GOP civil war erupts over shutdown politics in critical Senate race: ‘Not a winning formula’

Published

on

GOP civil war erupts over shutdown politics in critical Senate race: ‘Not a winning formula’

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Republicans in Georgia are locked in a bitter civil war revolving around the government shutdown and a critical primary race for a shot at unseating Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff.

Though currently held by Ossoff, the Georgia Senate seat is considered highly competitive, with Republicans having a real chance of flipping the seat red in 2026. Ossoff won the seat in 2021 in a razor-thin runoff election, beating former Republican Sen. David Perdue by a margin of just 1.2%.

The race is considered highly critical for Republicans to protect their Senate majority. This, however, has not kept Republicans from jumping headlong into a bitter feud over the freshly ended government shutdown last week.

The controversy exploded when a political group aligned with Republican Gov. Brian Kemp released an attack ad criticizing Republican Reps. Mike Collins and Buddy Carter over the government shutdown and suggested “political outsider” Derek Dooley, a former Tennessee football coach, is needed to set things straight.

Advertisement

GEORGIA’S MIKE COLLINS NEEDLES OSSOFF IN NEW AD OVER SHUTDOWN’S TOLL ON AIRPORTS, WORKERS

Left to right: Derek Dooley, Rep. Mike Collins, Rep. Buddy Carter and Sen. Jon Ossoff (@DerekDooleyGA via X; Bill Clark via Getty Images; Rep. Buddy Carter official U.S. House of Representatives portrait; Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/AP Photo)

The ad asked, “What do Mike Collins, Buddy Carter and Jon Ossoff have in common? They all failed and shut down the government.”

“It’s what happens when you send career politicians to D.C.,” the narrator states.

The ad garnered quick criticism from sections of the Georgia Republican Party as a betrayal of President Donald Trump’s and the GOP’s national messaging on the shutdown being Democrats’ fault.

Advertisement

Kemp, who is in the midst of his second term as governor, has endorsed Dooley in the primary race.

Collins took to X, writing, “I’m not sure why the governor’s nonprofit 501(c)(4) would be using dark money to attack Republican members of the Georgia delegation by parroting the anti-Trump Democrat lie that ‘Republicans are to blame for the shutdown.’”

“It’s not only contrary to the message from Speaker Johnson, Leader Thune and President Trump, but it’s also disconnected from reality,” wrote Collins.

He went on: “Myself and Buddy Carter have done our job, and passed a clean, nonpartisan Continuing Resolution that funds the government.”

A few days later, Collins’ campaign released a Veterans Day ad attacking Dooley for saying in an interview that he “probably went 20 years” without voting for a presidential candidate, including missing five opportunities to vote for Trump. The ad criticized Dooley for not voting while Georgia military service members “find a way to vote absentee.”

Advertisement

VULNERABLE DEM SENATOR’S ‘GRASSROOTS’ CAMPAIGN POWERED BY OUT-OF-STATE CASH, MOSTLY BY COASTAL ELITES

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp endorsed Derek Dooley for Senate. (@DerekDooleyGA via X)

Dooley in turn accused Collins of “using Veterans Day to score political points,” which he said, “tells you everything you need to know about typical politicians.”

He said that “like millions of others, I proudly got off the sidelines and voted for President Trump in 2024” and “unlike many career politicians in D.C., I’m focused on earning trust the right way: with honesty, humility, respect for all Georgians, and not accepting business as usual.”

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Carter spokesperson Harley Adsit called the ad a “desperate attempt” by Dooley “to save his failing campaign.”

Advertisement

Adsit accused Dooley of having “sold out to the radical left” and “pulling from Jon Ossoff’s playbook, attacking conservatives and turning his back on President Trump and Georgia’s hardworking families.”

“[Carter] proudly voted to keep the government open — it’s Dooley, Jon Ossoff, and the Democrats playing shutdown politics. Georgians deserve a MAGA warrior, not puppets trying to please the establishment elite,” she added.

Collins, meanwhile, told Fox News Digital: “Dooley is certainly an odd fellow.”

“He’s been gone from our state for 25 years and his first attempt at gainful employment upon return is to run for office, but what’s even odder is his campaign’s decision to attack congressional Republicans and run counter to President Trump’s messaging, and frankly the reality, that Democrats indeed caused the shutdown,” said Collins, adding, “I’m not sure if he and his team’s hatred for Trump is driving their strategy or if it’s just a genuine ignorance of what’s going on at the federal level, but it is certainly not a winning formula for next November.”

Meanwhile, in a statement to Fox News Digital, Dooley spokesman Connor Whitney framed him as the most viable candidate to flip the seat red by defeating Ossoff.

Advertisement

“Political outsider Derek Dooley has the clear momentum in this race. From fundraising to grassroots support to high-profile endorsements, it is clear there is only one candidate that can take on Jon Ossoff next November,” said Whitney.

He noted that Dooley himself has been “solely focused on blasting Jon Ossoff’s failed record and giving the people of Georgia a senator that actually represents their values,” adding, “that’s what he’ll continue to do when he’s the Republican nominee.”

EX-GOP OFFICIAL TURNED DEMOCRAT TARGETS TRUMP IN BATTLEGROUND STATE GUBERNATORIAL CAMPAIGN LAUNCH

Rep. Mike Collins leaves the House Republicans’ caucus meeting at the Capitol Hill Club in Washington on May 23, 2023. (Getty)

Whichever the outcome, the infighting spells trouble for Republicans.

Advertisement

A Georgia GOP strategist told Fox News Digital, “The party in general needs to unify and not have a messy primary.”

“Every day we have a primary fight is another day that Ossoff gets to vote the way that he did on the shutdown. It’s another day that he gets to stay out of the spotlight and we’re not hitting him,” the strategist said. “So, every day this goes on is a day that Jon Ossoff has won. And it just makes our jobs tougher come the summer when we finally have our nominee.”

The strategist said Dooley is “kind of running out of time,” adding that he needed to have significantly out-fundraised Collins and Carter to establish himself as a “legit candidate.”

The strategist said this exchange has demonstrated that Dooley “doesn’t understand” the dynamic of Trump’s Republican Party.

“In Trump’s Republican Party, you earn trust by fighting, not hiding on Election Day. You’ve got to show that you’re part of the movement,” the strategist said, adding, “So, Dooley is in a bad spot right now.”

Advertisement

Meanwhile, the strategist said, “Collins has a record, Collins has been elected before, Collins has stood with the president several times, he’s passed a significant bill through Congress.”

“So, what’s the argument for doing at that point? And if he doesn’t have the money to draw a message more than Collins can, then he doesn’t really stand much of a chance.”

However, Deborah Dooley, a Georgia Tea Party activist who is not related to the football coach-turned-politician, told Fox News Digital that “Derek Dooley is the only Republican with a credible path to victory in November” and “Collins, by contrast, brings liabilities that Democrats will aggressively weaponize.”

She did not back down from the ad’s shutdown messaging, saying, “The House members and senators should have stayed in D.C. without pay until they reached a deal.”

REPUBLICAN WHO DEFIED TRUMP OVER 2020 ELECTION RESULTS LAUNCHES BATTLEGROUND STATE GOVERNOR BID

Advertisement

Sen. Jon Ossoff arrives before a subcommittee hearing, Sept. 13, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/AP Photo)

“Jon Ossoff will be extremely difficult to unseat, and this race hinges entirely on electability,” she went on. “Democrats are already accusing Rep. Collins of racism and the GOP primary is not until next year. Republicans cannot afford to jeopardize another Senate seat.”

Observing all this from the outside, Georgia Democrats signaled they are bullish on their chances to hold the seat in November.

Devon Cruz, a spokesman for the Democratic Party of Georgia, told Fox News Digital, “Brian Kemp’s latest attempt to boost the failed and fired Derek Dooley further proves that Republicans are in for a long, nasty primary.”

“No matter who limps out of the primary, it’s been made very clear that the eventual nominee will be badly bruised and battered for a general election,” said Cruz.

Advertisement

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Kemp’s office responded to Fox News Digital’s request for comment by referring to Fox News Digital to the governor’s political staff at Georgians First, Inc. The group did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Hardworking Georgians did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment by the time of publication.

Read the full article from Here

Continue Reading

Trending