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Latino Senate hopeful says Hispanic voters being 'blindsided' by Dem policies, aims to flip border seat red

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Latino Senate hopeful says Hispanic voters being 'blindsided' by Dem policies, aims to flip border seat red

EXCLUSIVE: Ben Luna, a conservative Latino activist and Republican candidate running to flip New Mexico’s Democrat-held Senate seat, told Fox News Digital this week that Hispanic voters are being “blindsided” by Democrat policies that don’t align with their values as a community.

Luna, a political outsider who has never held elected office, has served for the past year as the state director for the New Mexico LEXIT movement, a faith-based organization aimed at educating and empowering Latino Americans with conservative values to leave the Democrat Party.

He believes Latinos are “being awakened” to just how contrasting their values are to the policies being pushed by Democrats, and that such a shift could lead New Mexico, a state with a population made up of nearly 50% Hispanics, to flip red in November.

BORDER STATE CANDIDATES ISSUE STARK WARNING TO FELLOW REPUBLICANS ABOUT CEDING TO DEMS ON UKRAINE: ‘BUCKLE UP’

Republican New Mexico Senate candidate Ben Luna speaks at a rally. (Ben Luna)

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“The big reason is forcing trans ideologies, and forcing it in schools. That is a deal-breaker for every parent, but especially for Latinos and Hispanics throughout the nation,” Luna said when asked why Latinos were abandoning Democrats, who have traditionally been able to depend on getting a large portion of the community’s support.

“Once you come in, and you have almost, in a sense, bridged the gap to violate the conscience of our children — once you do that, the only result we will ever live with is that you never have access to our children ever again,” he said.

Recent polling suggests Republicans are continuing to gain ground with Latinos, a trend that first gained widespread attention in 2021. One poll even showed President Biden, who won 59% of the Latino vote in 2020, trailing former President Donald Trump in a hypothetical 2024 rematch among the demographic.

POLL REVEALS ALARMING LEVEL OF FEAR OF WHETHER 2024 ELECTIONS WILL BE ‘FAIR,’ BALLOT COUNTING ACCURATE

According to Luna, Democrats have created what he called a “nonstop movement” that won’t end until those implementing such policies are voted out of office and the education system is fixed.

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Republican New Mexico Senate candidate Ben Luna

Republican New Mexico Senate candidate Ben Luna (lower front right) with fellow members of the LEXIT movement at a Turning Point USA event. (Ben Luna)

“That’s the dangerous part, and if you kind of look at the parallels of history, that’s what communists did, that’s what socialists did. They got access to the children and forced their ideologies and then produced a generation that they could use in the future. And that’s what we’re seeing in the streets of America,” he said.

Luna said one of the movement’s priorities was to reach Democrats in Albuquerque, a stronghold for the party, as well as in the northern parts of the state, and share information about what legislation Democrats are actually supporting, something he says often goes unseen and unheard of.

BIDEN CONTINUES BLEEDING SUPPORT FROM KEY VOTER GROUPS AS DEMS SOUND ALARM OVER 2024: POLL

“Once they hear about it, they’re like, ‘My party passed that?’ Then they start to distance themselves. We almost have instant volunteers,” he added.

Although elections analysts and party pollsters view New Mexico as a safe seat for Democrats, Luna argues results of recent elections in the state show victory well within reach for Republicans.

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Republican New Mexico Senate candidate Ben Luna

Republican New Mexico Senate candidate and LEXIT movement leader Ben Luna speaks at a rally. (Ben Luna)

“Something very, very interesting that happened in 2022 is we lost a lot of state House seats by less than 100 votes, and that was because they shut down our economy. [Democrats] stopped everything here. We had some of the worst Draconian policies and mandates being forced on New Mexicans,” he said, referencing the COVID-19 pandemic.

Luna claimed such policies drove people to leave New Mexico, and that topping them now with transgender ideology and bypassing parental consent would drive those still in the state toward Republicans.

BATTLEGROUND STATE POSES BIDEN’S TOUGHEST 2024 CHALLENGE IN POTENTIAL TRUMP REMATCH

“I always say this about Republican states and blue states: We in blue states have a lot to fight for. Like we have a lot. And it’s nobody fighting for us. We have to stand for ourselves,” he said.

Luna told Fox that he intends to bring his knowledge of, and high esteem for, America’s founding principles to office if elected, and that he would focus heavily on securing the southern border amid the massive influx of migrants under the Biden administration.

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Democrat New Mexico Sen. Martin Heinrich

Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) arrives to a hearing with the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on July 19, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

“I think the biggest issue is really our border … With Texas fortifying their borders and then Arizona doing their best as well, it makes us wide open, like a funnel. And so we get a lot of the crime that comes along with the drug pushing,” he said. 

“If we don’t have borders, then we’re technically not a nation. And from seeing what happened to Israel by just only a thousand that came across their border, a lot of people are actually bracing themselves for something to happen in New Mexico and America,” he said. 

 

Luna currently faces no other major candidates in the race for the Republican Senate nomination, and would likely face incumbent two-term Democrat Sen. Martin Heinrich in the general election.

The primary is scheduled for June 4, and the filing deadline for candidates to enter the race is Feb. 6.

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Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

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Southwest

Officer’s smooth dance moves convince partygoers to turn down music

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Officer’s smooth dance moves convince partygoers to turn down music

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An Oklahoma police officer’s smooth moves while issuing a noise citation have gone viral.

The officer with the Tulsa Police Department was caught on video dancing at a party while onlookers recorded with their phones and cheered him on at approximately  9 p.m. on Sept. 27. 

“The caller said her neighbors had been playing loud music all day, and she wanted to file a complaint,” the department’s Facebook post with the video of the dancing officer said.

“Since this was the second time officers got called out there for the same issue, Officer Greene did issue a nuisance sound citation… but while he was there, he took a few minutes to also show off his dance moves!”

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OFFICERS’ UNEXPECTED PIZZA DELIVERY GOES VIRAL AFTER HOLIDAY TRAFFIC STOP ARREST

Tulsa Police Officer Greene dances while issuing a noise citation at a party on Sept. 27, 2025.  (Facebook/Tulsa Police Department)

Tulsa PD’s video of the dance had been viewed more than 1.1 million times as of Monday afternoon. 

VIDEO SHOWS NEW JERSEY STREET TAKEOVER ERUPTING WITH MOB SHOOTING FIREWORKS AT POLICE

Officer Greene TPD dances while issuing citation

Tulsa Police Department’s Officer Greene appears to be doing a choreographed group dance.  (Facebook/Tulsa Police Department)

“The fact that TPD posted the video after the complaint makes it even funnier,” one Facebook user wrote. 

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Officer Greene TPD dances does choreographed dance

Onlookers are telling Tulsa PD’s Officer Greene the moves while recording him dancing.  (Facebook/Tulsa Police Department)

The department did post a comment on the video explaining the ordinance that the partygoers allegedly violated. 

“The people out there appreciated his style, and also agreed to turn down the music,” TPD wrote. “Nice moves, Officer Greene!” 

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Voting underway in 2025 election that may determine if Republicans hold House in 2026 midterms

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Voting underway in 2025 election that may determine if Republicans hold House in 2026 midterms

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Early voting is now underway in California in a special election that will make a huge impact on next year’s battle for the U.S. House majority.

California voters are deciding whether to pass a ballot proposition this November which would dramatically alter the state’s congressional districts, putting the left-leaning state front-and-center in the high-stakes political fight over redistricting that pits President Donald Trump and the GOP against the Democrats.

California state lawmakers this summer approved a special proposition on the November ballot to obtain voter approval to temporarily sidetrack the state’s nonpartisan redistricting commission and return the power to draw the congressional maps to the Democrat-dominated legislature. Ballots began being mailed out on Monday.

The effort in California, which could create five more Democratic-leaning congressional districts, aims to counter the passage in the reliable red state of Texas of a new map that aims to create up to five right-leaning House seats. Failure to approve what’s known as Proposition 50 would be a stinging setback for Democrats.

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WHAT STATES ARE NEXT UP IN THE CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING BATTLE

California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a news conference Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025, in Los Angeles.  (Jose Sanchez/AP photo)

Two-term Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is seen as a likely 2028 Democratic presidential contender, is spearheading the push to pass the proposition.

“If we lose here, we are going to have total Republican control in the House, the Senate and the White House for at least two more years,” Newsom emphasized in a recent fundraising appeal to supporters. “If we win here, we can put a check on Trump for his final two years.”

The push by Trump and Republicans for rare mid-decade redistricting is part of a broad effort by the GOP to pad its razor-thin House majority to keep control of the chamber in the 2026 midterms, when the party in power traditionally faces political headwinds and loses seats.

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TRUMP’S SHADOW LOOMS OVER KEY 2025 ELECTIONS

Trump and his political team are aiming to prevent what happened during his first term in the White House, when Democrats reclaimed the House majority in the 2018 midterm elections.

Missouri last month joined Texas as the second GOP-controlled state to pass congressional redistricting ahead of next year’s elections. The new map in Missouri is likely to give the GOP another right-leaning seat.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks with Fox News Digital, in Las Vegas, Nevada on Sept. 5, 2024

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas in August signed into law new congressional maps that redistrict ahead of next year’s midterm elections. (Paul Steinhauser – Fox News)

But unlike Texas and Missouri, California voters need to weigh in before giving redistricting power back to the legislature in Sacramento.

“Heaven help us if we lose,” Newsom said in his fundraising pitch. “This is an all-hands-on-deck moment for Democrats.”

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Proponents and opponents of Proposition 50 reported raising more than $215 million as of Oct. 2, with much of the money being dished out to pay for a deluge of ads on both sides.

One of the two main groups countering Newsom and the Democrats is labeling their effort “Stop Sacramento’s Power Grab.”

Also getting into the fight is former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was the last Republican governor of California.

During his tenure as governor, Schwarzenegger had a starring role in the passage of constitutional amendments in California in 2008 and 2010 that took the power to draw state legislative and congressional districts away from politicians and placed it in the hands of an independent commission.

“That’s what they want to do is take us backwards — this is why it is important for you to vote no on Prop 50,” Schwarzenegger says in an ad against Proposition 50. “Democracy — we’ve got to protect it, and we’ve got to go and fight for it.”

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As ballots start reaching mailboxes across California, a panel of federal judges in Texas is hearing a case in the legal battle over the passage of the new congressional maps.

If redistricting in Texas is blocked, it’s not clear how the ruling would impact California. 

Newsom this summer indicated that California could continue with its nonpartisan redistricting commission if other states rescinded their efforts to change their maps. But that language was not included in the proposition now on the ballot.

Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger opposes moves in his home state of California and in Texas to implement mid-decade congressional redistricting

Former Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California opposes efforts by Democrats to temporarily suspend the state’s nonpartisan redistricting commission. (Tristar Media/WireImage)

Even before Trump initiated his redistricting push, Ohio was under court order to redraw its maps. That could boost Republicans in a one-time battleground state that now leans right.

Republicans in the GOP-dominated states of Indiana and Florida are also mulling congressional redistricting. And Democrats in heavily blue Maryland are weighing a redistricting push.

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Other states considering altering their maps are Democrat-dominated Illinois and red states Kansas and Nebraska. 

Meanwhile, Democrats could pick up a seat in Republican-dominated Utah, where a judge recently ordered the GOP-controlled legislature to draw new maps after ruling that lawmakers four years ago ignored an independent commission approved by voters to prevent partisan gerrymandering. 

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Oklahoma troopers, ICE detain 120 illegal immigrants in three-day interstate enforcement sweep

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Oklahoma troopers, ICE detain 120 illegal immigrants in three-day interstate enforcement sweep

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Officials from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol recently arrested more than 100 illegal immigrants in a three-day crackdown.

In an Oct. 6 statement, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said that the operation targeted “threats to public safety along I-40 in Oklahoma.” It took place between Sept. 22 and Sept. 25.

“ICE ran records checks on foreign-born nationals that OHP encountered during patrol,” the DHS’s statement said. “As a result, 120 illegal aliens were taken into custody for immigration violations, 91 of which were operating a commercial motor vehicle with commercial driver’s licenses (CDL).”

OKLAHOMA GOV. STITT, ICE BUST 120 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS IN HIGHWAY CRACKDOWN, SLAMS BIDEN BORDER FAILURES

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Among the 120 suspects, past convictions included DUIs, illegal re-entry into the U.S. and money laundering, as well as human smuggling and assault.

ICE and Oklahoma Highway Patrol officials arrested 120 illegal immigrants in a three-day operation along I-40. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Some of the illegal immigrants were also convicted of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and possession of a controlled substance.

Two suspects were also arrested in connection to a nearby cannabis grow site.

In a statement, ICE Deputy Director Madison Sheahan said that the suspects had “no business operating 18 wheelers on America’s highways.”

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ICE agent wearing a black shirt

Federal and state officers targeted commercial truck drivers during a multi-day immigration enforcement sweep in Oklahoma. (Getty Images)

“Our roads are now safer with these illegal aliens no longer behind the wheel,” said Sheahan.We encourage more state and local law enforcement to sign 287(g) agreements to help remove public safety threats and receive reimbursement funds available to our law enforcement partners.” 

ALABAMA CONDUCTS FIRST STATE-FEDERAL CHECKPOINT OPERATIONS WITH ICE, DETAINING OVER 20 PEOPLE

The arrests came just weeks after a suspect, who was deported several times before, allegedly caused a DUI-related crash in California.

ICE HQ

The DHS described the Oklahoma operation as part of a broader effort to address threats on major freight routes. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Norberto Celerino, 53, faces six counts of murder in relation to the Sept. 7 crash. He is accused of driving under the influence in Napa County.

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Fox News Digital’s Adam Sabes contributed to this report. 

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