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America First Works says its voter-targeting made a difference as Trump picks several leaders for new admin
The hard work and vision of a top policy and advocacy group in the America First movement helped make the difference in the 2024 presidential election, as several of its chairmen prepare to join the new Trump administration, a top official said.
America First Works executive director Ashley Hayek told Fox News in a Monday interview that her group has succeeded in focusing on popular policies from the first Trump administration and bringing those to state governments.
As the 2024 race heated up, Hayek said, America First Works turned to voter turnout as its plan to continue the prevalence of the political movement’s message.
“How do we educate people on these policies even more and mobilize voters?” she recalled asking.
“So we did a major study and analysis of the over 3,100 counties across the country, and we identified 21 key counties that we knew would be really important to be successful. And keep in mind that these are states that some were blue, some were red, some were purple, but some of the states were called in favor of Joe Biden in 2020 by only a 10,000 vote advantage,” she said.
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President-elect Trump (Oleg Nikishin/Getty Images)
The initiative, nicknamed “Project 19” after the original 19 counties it targeted, sought to bring out to the polls low- and no-propensity voters. The latter is largely unique in the campaigning realm: seeking out voters technically considered “active” on state rolls but who have not voted in the past four cycles.
It not only targeted counties in swing states or reliably conservative states, but also in blue states like New York and New Jersey. In the latter, Trump came within four points of flipping it red for the first time this century, while a majority of New York’s counties voted for the Republican but were outweighed by the five boroughs, Erie County (Buffalo) and a couple others.
“I think it’s kind of no secret when you look at any of the major media markets and the counties that those touch – look at Phoenix – that’s Maricopa County, Las Vegas, it’s Clark County, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, these are major urban areas, but they all have collar counties as well that become battlegrounds for both parties.”
“And when we were on the ground, we would see, from time to time, Kamala Harris door-knockers, not as often as we thought we would,” Hayek said.
The group’s election integrity work led them to target voters in places like Bucks County, Pennsylvania – where the RNC had launched a lawsuit after early voters were turned away from the Doylestown elections office.
“We were able to message directly to voters saying, ‘Hey, stay in line, don’t get out of line,’” she said.
“We would call ahead to find out how long the line was for some of our elderly folks who couldn’t wait in line that long.”
“Those are the types of tactics just making it more accessible to vote. That’s what conservatives want to do. We want to make it easier to vote, harder to cheat. That’s been our mantra the entire time.”
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President-elect Trump tapped AFPI’s Brooke Rollins as agriculture secretary. (Fox News)
Through its voter outreach operations, Hayek said her group’s canvassers noticed a shift in pro-Harris activity from the Sun Belt to the Rust Belt – noting the latter had been President Biden’s strategy.
Hayek suggested Harris shifted to shoring up areas that had been in Biden’s pocket because her lack of “strategic messaging” was not resonating in those places as his once did.
A California native, Hayek said her group is also very involved in the Golden State despite its blue bent.
“I do think you’re seeing more of a cultural shift. I do think that we’re going to have to do things at a more local level in the state of California, and we’re going to have to start working together in a lot better ways,” she said.
With crime and taxation continuing to plague the elector-rich state, Hayek said she hopes to see America First Works’ work there continue to make inroads, similar to how former Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., got relatively close to unseating Gov. Kathy Hochul in New York by focusing on issues and eschewing hyper-partisanship.
President-elect Trump shakes hands with former Congressman Lee Zeldin. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
America First Works’ partner group, America First Policy Institute, has since seen at least four of its leaders tapped for roles in the new administration, including Zeldin.
Co-founders Brooke Rollins and Linda McMahon are agriculture and education secretary-designates, respectively, while Zeldin and fellow co-chairman ex-Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga., are also primed for White House roles in 2025.
“I think this is a really exciting time not just for America First Works, but for all Americans,” Hayek said.
“And one of the things that was really important to us was having conversations with voters… so we made sure to collect information about what policies people cared about the most: is it the economy, is it the border, is it education? So to be able to continue those conversations throughout 2025, 2026 and beyond is going to be really important for this movement.”
Fox News Digital’s Emma Woodhead contributed to this report.
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Golden Gate Bridge fireworks will be a rare patriotic event
This year on July 4th, for the third time in history, an organized fireworks display will be held at San Francisco’s iconic Golden Gate Bridge. This only happned in twice before in 1987 and 2012 for the bridge’s 50th and 75th annivesary. Expect crowds to be massive and public transportation, ride shares and simply walking is highly recommended.
SAN FRANCISCO – San Francisco is preparing for its major July 4th fireworks display on Saturday night, an event expected to draw massive crowds as pyrotechnics are launched directly from the Golden Gate Bridge for only the third time in history.
Will crowds flood Marina?
What we don’t know:
To pull off the event, the Golden Gate Bridge, major roadways, and key parking lots at Marina Green and Crissy Field will be shut down.
Several neighborhood streets will also be blocked off, creating significant traffic hurdles. Officials are strongly advising spectators to utilize public transit due to severely limited parking.
Local residents in the Marina District have expressed concern over the impending chaos as crowds flood the neighborhood.
“I’m a little worried, yeah,” said nearby resident Michael Zoboski. “I think it’s gonna be definitely hectic. I don’t know where people are going to park, it seems like it’s taking up a large amount of the streets up here. I think it’s going to be a little crazy.”
To manage the influx, access to many surrounding neighborhoods will be strictly limited to local residents.
Checking IDs
What we know:
Law enforcement officers will be checking IDs and questioning drivers to verify residency. According to the district supervisor, there will be 10 police officers deployed per block in the Marina.
Road closures will stretch from Baker Street to Van Ness Avenue between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m.
Portions of Fisherman’s Wharf are scheduled to shut down even earlier, starting at 1 p.m. Saturday afternoon, with much of that neighborhood also restricted to local access. The Golden Gate Bridge itself will close to traffic starting at 9 p.m.
Additionally, roads will be closed in the Presidio and Richmond District. To encourage the use of public transportation, Muni is providing special shuttles to help transport spectators to the viewing areas.
The Source: Marina neighbors, Muni, San Francisco city website
There have been many great offensive linemen in Denver Broncos history, so this list is likely going to vary greatly from person to person. In fact, my take might be a little too bold, but I’m sticking with it.
At the top spot, I think Garett Bolles has earned it. Since coming into the league as a first-round pick in 2017, he has grinded through one of the worst periods in Broncos’ history and grown from beleaguered oft-penalized first-round bust into a perennial All-Pro caliber left tackle. Even more, he has stayed a Bronco through his entire career. The rest of my list speaks for itself and is a throwback to Super Bowl greatness.
Here’s where our Mile High Report staff landed on the top five for offensive line:
Scotty Payne: Tom Nalen was the leader of Mike Shanahan’s offensive line, Ryan Clady was a top LT on a Hall of Fame career before injury and Stink was a key member of the Broncos Super Bowl winning OL back in the 90s. I included Bolles and Meinerz since both will be on this list once their successful careers are over with.
Chris Hart: This position group was one of the toughest to come up with a top five. Denver has an incredible history of top-tier offensive lineman. There are several players I left off who were certainly deserving. I posted Tom Nalen as my top guy because he was a stalwart at the pivot for many years for the franchise. We all know what Gary Zimmerman and Mark Schlereth provided on the field and they are both Super Bowl champions. The last two spots go to two recent Broncos, left tackles Garret Bolles and Ryan Clady. Bolles, a decade into his career, continues to play at a high level and Clady was a fantastic blindside protector whose career ended earlier than it should due to injury.
Ian St. Clair: For the first time in Elway’s career, he had a blind-side protector. And Zimmerman is one of the best to ever do it. Same for Nalen, who should be in the HOF. Clady was special. Bishop was the first Broncos offensive lineman in franchise history to get a Pro Bowl invite and provided one of the best in-game quotes ever when he said in Denver’s endzone at old Cleveland Stadium before hiking the ball at the 2-yard line in what would become The Drive, “We got ‘em right right where want ‘em.” And Schlereth helped lock down the left side of the line that was one of the best in league history.
Sadaraine: The top 3 are largely indisputable, other than maybe swapping Schlereth and Zimmerman. Ken Lanier started 178 consecutive games, which is nuts for an OT, and appeared in 3 Super Bowls. Garret Bolles has crafted himself into an all-time great at tackle and may move up the list.
Ross Allen: The Hall-of-Famer Gary Zimmerman was everything you could ever ask for in a left tackle and was a huge reason why John Elway and that 1997 team was so dominant. Schlereth also gets his credit as he was a massive contributor to Denver’s Super Bowl successes. There’s a strong case for Tom Nalen deserving a spot in the Hall of Fame too. And for the past two years I’ve become a huge spouter of Bolles being destined for the Ring of Fame. He’s an incredible talent as has been the cornerstone of this team for a while now. I just hope he gets his Super Bowl.
Joe Mahoney: Top 3 are a no-brainer. Bolles will finish his career with more starts on the OL than any other Bronco. The man he will pass is Ken Lanier. Since stats from Lanier’s era don’t exist we only have starts to go off, but Lanier was an iron man. He started 167 NFL games and 165 were for the Broncos.
There is a bit of variation here, but a general consensus of who should be in the Top 5. I loved the throwback to Keith Bishop who was a big part of the John Elway fourth quarter magic back in the day.
Who gets into your top five offensive lineman list?
SEATTLE — Fireworks are set to light up the sky above Lake Union on Saturday night as Seattle marks America’s 250th birthday on the Fourth of July.
Crews are preparing more than 7,000 pounds of fireworks for the Seafair show over the water, with hundreds of thousands of spectators expected at Gas Works and Lake Union parks.
This year’s festivities come as visitors from around the globe are in Seattle ahead of another World Cup match featuring Team USA on Monday.
One major change for this year’s celebration is that Gas Works Park will be gated off and will require tickets for entry. Seafair organizers say the new system is intended to help manage the expected increased capacity and keep spectators safe.
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Planned activities during the day on Saturday include an interactive Seafair coloring wall and all-American games, where people can compete in a pie-eating contest, sack races, and a water balloon toss. Musical performances are scheduled to start at 5 p.m.
Free parking is available in the surrounding Gas Works Park neighborhood, but finding a spot is expected to be difficult. Organizers are urging people to give themselves extra time and consider rideshare, carpooling, or public transportation.
Fireworks sales and setting off fireworks are illegal in many areas of western Washington, making large public shows a safer option for many people.
Spectators at Gas Works Park will notice some changes this year. The city recently removed ladders, catwalks, and platforms from the structures there after the death of a 14-year-old last summer.
The teen’s family said the city failed to address dangerous conditions around the park’s towers despite years of warnings and several injuries.
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The Lake Union fireworks are expected to start at roughly 10:15 p.m. Saturday.
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