Connect with us

INTERNACIONAL

Suspect in anti-ICE Texas shooting granted green card under Biden administration

Published

on


NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

FIRST ON FOX: One of the suspects charged with ties to the anti-ICE attack at the Prairieland Detention Facility in Alvarado, Texas, was granted a green card under the Biden administration and is a prior recipient of DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.

Advertisement

Daniel Rolando Sanchez-Estrada, 38, is the husband of one of the alleged attackers. He is referenced in the unsealed criminal complaint lodged against 10 individuals who allegedly attacked the detention center over the weekend, which resulted in an Alvarado police officer being shot in the neck. The officer is expected to recover.

The 10 suspects are facing federal charges, including multiple counts of attempted murder of a federal officer and «discharging a firearm in relation to a crime of violence.»

ICE AGENTS TARGETED IN 2 AMBUSH ATTACKS IN RECENT DAYS

Advertisement

Daniel Rolando Sanchez-Estrada is charged with conspiracy to tamper with evidence by the federal government. (Immigration and Customs Enforcement)

Sanchez-Estrada was part of a separate criminal complaint, as he was arrested by the FBI on Monday on a felony charge of «conspiracy to tamper with evidence» as they were executing a search warrant. The unsealed complaint alleges that Sanchez-Estrada was seen «carrying multiple packages from his residence to his truck.» The box included «anti-government propaganda,» including one entitled «Organising for Attack! Insurrectionary Anarchy.»

The term «insurrectionary anarchy» is explained as a «subset of anarchism that stands out for its commitment to violence and revolutionary insurrection,» according to a Perspectives on Terrorism journal article, which is part of the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism, from March 2024. The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point also had a journal article in March 2023 that explained «insurrectionary anarchism is regarded as the most serious form of domestic (non-jihadi) terrorist threat.» 

Advertisement

According to ICE sources, he was born in 1986 and arrived in the United States with a Border Crossing Card at the Laredo, Texas, port of entry in 2001, when he was a teenager. He was granted DACA status in 2013, and he filed for renewals for DACA in 2016, 2018, 2020 and 2022.

Sanchez-Estrada was also arrested by local Texas police for alleged possession of a controlled substance in 2020, but the charge was dismissed two months later. He was granted a green card in April 2024 after applying in September 2023.

GUNMAN AMBUSHES BORDER PATROL AGENTS DAYS AFTER HOUSE DEMS REJECT RESOLUTION CONDEMNING ANTI-ICE VIOLENCE

Advertisement
"Insurrectionary Anarchy" propaganda flyer

Ten individuals have been charged for their roles in the shooting of an Alvarado police officer at the Prairieland Detention Center. (Justice Department)

On Friday, a heavily armed group allegedly lured two unarmed ICE agents into a parking lot by firing a barrage of fireworks at their door, and spray-painting graffiti on their personal cars with the words «traitor» and «Ice Pig,» which agents could see from the cameras inside, last Friday.

At around the same time, a police officer responded to their 911 call for two men firing rounds from a nearby tree line, and an officer was hit in the neck, which forced the agents to take cover.  A July 7 criminal complaint filed by the U.S. District Court Northern District of Texas alleges that assailants shot 20 to 30 rounds from an AR-15-style rifle before it jammed, causing it to malfunction. 

Suspect Bradford Morris was arrested while trying to flee from the scene in a red Hyundai van. While in custody, he told an FBI agent he had been «part of a Signal Group Chat for a while and that he had been invited to the group chat years ago after attending a protest.»

Advertisement

CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE

He allegedly drove to the incident with another suspect and two people he only knew by their nicknames, «Champagne and Rowan.» Inside Morris’ van, police found a revolver, two AR-15 rifles, two Kevlar vests, a ballistic helmet and a loaded magazine.

According to the criminal complaint, Morris «claimed that he met some people online and transported some of them down from Dallas» to the center in order to «make some noise.»

Advertisement

4 ARRESTED IN ALLEGED BORDER PATROL OPERATION SABOTAGE ATTEMPT NEAR LA AS ATTACKS ON IMMIGRATION AGENTS SURGE

Suspects connected to the Prairieland Detention Center shooting

Ten suspects were charged with attempted murder of a federal officer in connection with the July 4, 2025, ambush attack on the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas. (Johnson County Sheriff’s Office)

Police also found seven suspects in black military fatigues wandering in a field 300 yards away, some of whom were covered in mud from trying to escape on foot. Police said they also had weapons, vests and radios.

The attack comes amid rising concerns about hostilities toward ICE and Border Patrol agents amid left-wing criticisms of the Trump administration’s immigration policies.

Advertisement

This week, a gunman was killed ambushing Border Patrol at an annex facility in McAllen, Texas. A McAllen police officer was shot in the leg and two Border Patrol personnel were injured, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

«They vandalized vehicles and security cameras at the detention center and slashed federal vehicle tires. Responding officers made arrests. ICE is actively working with the FBI and the Texas Rangers regarding the incident,» a DHS spokesperson said in a statement on Wednesday.
 
«Threats or acts of violence toward law enforcement officers will NOT be tolerated. Secretary Noem has made it clear: If you threaten or attempt to harm a law enforcement officer, we will find you and prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law,» the statement continued.

Advertisement

Advertisement
Advertisement

INTERNACIONAL

Ukraine peace talks productive as ex-government official says country rethinking ‘uncompromising’ stance

Published

on


NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Official peace talks between the U.S. and Ukraine on ending the Ukraine war moved to a productive phase Sunday – but only after President Zelenskyy sent a new-look team to Florida, according to a former Ukrainian government official.

Advertisement

With Rustem Umerov now leading Zelenskyy’s team and longtime adviser and chief of staff Andriy Yermak out, the source claimed the move signaled Kyiv was reassessing its «uncompromising» stance.

The official, who spoke to Fox News Digital on condition of anonymity, said the personnel choice represented a move away from the approach that has shaped Ukraine’s diplomatic strategy for years.

«Yermak had been teaching Zelenskyy to be a ‘Father of the Nation’ and until now, the Ukrainian side has been pushing for an unachievable and uncompromising position,» the former official said.

Advertisement

MOMENTUM BUILDS IN UKRAINE PEACE PUSH, BUT EXPERTS FEAR PUTIN WON’T BUDGE

Ukrainian officials, left to right; Andrii Hnatov, Chief of the General Staff, Vadym Skibitskyi, Deputy Chief to the Head of the Defense Intelligence and Rustem Umerov, Secretary of the National Security, during a meeting with U.S. officials Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025, in Hallandale Beach, Florida. (Terry Renna/AP Photo)

«Umerov is not a very impressively strong individual in politics, but he wants to achieve results and is known to be aligned with compromise.»

Advertisement

Ukraine’s new delegation also included Andrii Hnatov, head of the armed forces; Andrii Sybiha, the foreign minister; and Umerov, who is head of the country’s security council.

After the meeting, Umerov offered a brief assessment to reporters, saying: «We are grateful to American people, American leadership and a great team with, state secretary, Steve, with both Jared Kushner for their tremendous work with us,» he said.

«Our objective is a prosperous, strong Ukraine. We will [be] discussing [sic] the future of Ukraine. We discussed all the important matters that are important for Ukraine, for Ukrainian people. And the U.S was super supportive.»

Advertisement

«We already had a successful meeting in Geneva, and today we can continue this success. So at the moment, this meeting was productive and successful in the later stages.»

MOMENTUM BUILDS IN UKRAINE PEACE PUSH, BUT EXPERTS FEAR PUTIN WON’T BUDGE

The new team traveled to Florida for discussions aimed at refining President Trump’s proposed framework and his push to end Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Advertisement

Sunday’s negotiations also took place after a leak published by Bloomberg News, revealed a transcript of an Oct. 14 call where special envoy Steve Witkoff allegedly offered advice to Russian officials on how to sell a peace plan to Trump.

«The Ukrainian side had in some way undermined peace negotiations and Donald Trump’s efforts, not mentioning that it prolongs the war,» the former official said.

UKRAINIAN OFFICIAL YERMAK RESIGNS AS CORRUPTION PROBE ENCIRCLES ZELENSKYY

Advertisement
Yermak and Rubio standing together.

Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak, left, and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio talk to the press as their consultations continue at the U.S. Mission to International Organizations in Geneva, Switzerland, Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025. (Martial Trezzini/Keystone via AP)

The same former official said the shift in Kyiv’s delegation followed the dramatic resignation of Yermak, after anti-corruption investigators raided his home on Friday.

«Yermak was deeply distrusted by many actors, including Western actors including the U.S. administration and including Biden’s administration,» the source added.

Despite his exit, the official warned that Yermak’s influence may still be shaping the Ukrainian team.

Advertisement

«Mr. Yermak is still there and, in fact, all the delegation that came to Florida includes Mr. Yermak’s people, his loyal people, very close personally to him –  people who [have] been serving him faithfully for years.»

«Yermak has not disappeared and might be on the telephone or online and ruling the agenda behind the scenes,» they added.

RUBIO, WITKOFF MEET WITH UKRAINIAN OFFICIALS IN PUSH TO FINALIZE DEAL AFTER ZELENSKYY’S TOP NEGOTIATOR RESIGNS

Advertisement
Umerov and Rubio hugging.

Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Rustem Umerov and Secretary of State Marco Rubio embrace after a meeting on Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025, in Hallandale Beach, Fla. (Terry Renna/AP Photo)

They said Yermak’s long-standing governing style still influences Kyiv’s political posture:

«In Ukraine, as in many post-Soviet countries, there is still the so-called ‘telephone rule’, when a powerful person can influence the outcome of any formal decision-making despite lacking formal powers and in contradiction with the law.»

«Yermak has been doing this for the last six and a half years,» the source added.

Advertisement

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Witkoff, and senior advisor Jared Kushner led the American side in Sunday’s session.

Rubio told reporters after the meeting: «We had another very productive session. Building off Geneva, building off the events of this week,» he said.

ZELENSKYY WARNS UKRAINE FACES ‘DIFFICULT CHOICE’ AS US PEACE PLAN HITS MAJOR HURDLE 

Advertisement
U.S.-Ukraine meeting on Russia's war with Ukraine.

White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Jared Kushner listen as Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Rustem Umerov speaks while leading Ukrainian delegation during a meeting in Hallandale Beach, Florida, on Nov. 30, 2025.  (Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images)

«As I told you earlier this morning, our goal here is to end the war,» he continued. «But it’s more than just to end the war. We don’t just want to end the war. We also want to help Ukraine be safe forever. So never again will they face another invasion. And equally importantly, we want them to enter an age of true prosperity.»

Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday that he had spoken to Rubio and Witkoff and that they were «doing well.»

«Ukraine’s got some difficult little problems,» Trump said. «They have some difficult problems. But I think Russia would like to see it end and I think Ukraine… I know Ukraine would like to see it end.»

Advertisement

He also said he thinks there is «a good chance we can make a deal.»

In a post shared on X, Zelenskyy highlighted Umerov’s work in Florida as the head of the Ukrainian delegation.

«Today, following the work of the teams in the United States, head of the Ukrainian delegation Rustem Umerov reported on the main parameters of the dialogue, its emphases, and some preliminary results,» he said.

Advertisement

«It is important that the talks have a constructive dynamic and that all issues were discussed openly and with a clear focus on ensuring Ukraine’s sovereignty and national interests. I am grateful to the United States, to President Trump’s team, and to the President personally for the time that is being invested so intensively in defining the steps to end the war. We will continue working. I look forward to receiving a full report from our team during a personal meeting.»

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Sunday’s talks came just hours after another deadly Russian strike on Kyiv killed at least one person and wounded 19, including four children, Euronews reported.

Advertisement

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, the war has left huge areas of Ukraine devastated and roughly 20% of its territory under occupation.



ukraine,volodymyr zelenskyy,marco rubio,donald trump,wars,russia

Continue Reading

INTERNACIONAL

Steve Witkoff viajará a Moscú para volver a reunirse con Putin tras las conversaciones con Ucrania en Florida

Published

on


Steve Witkoff vuelve a Moscú para reunirse con Putin (Sputnik/Gavriil Grigorov/Pool via REUTERS)

El enviado especial de Estados Unidos, Steve Witkoff, viajará a Moscú el lunes, dijo una fuente oficial, en momentos en que Washington presiona para terminar la guerra de Rusia contra Ucrania.

La noticia de la visita de Witkoff a Rusia para conversaciones previstas con el presidente Vladimir Putin el martes llega tras negociaciones este domingo entre altos funcionarios de la administración de Trump y una delegación ucraniana en Florida.

Advertisement

Por su parte, el secretario de Estado de Estados Unidos, Marco Rubio, reconoció avances tras una sesión de negociación de cuatro horas con funcionarios de Ucrania, enfocada en delinear las condiciones para poner fin al conflicto con Rusia.

Tuvimos otra sesión muy productiva, pero aún queda trabajo por hacer”, declaró Rubio ante la prensa al finalizar el encuentro. El diálogo, realizado en Hallandale Beach, se centró en revisar una propuesta base de 28 puntos y en ofrecer garantías de seguridad y prosperidad a Ucrania luego de un eventual alto el fuego.

El jefe negociador ucraniano, Rustem Umerov, resaltó ante Rubio la importancia del respaldo estadounidense y agradeció el apoyo concreto de Washington.

Advertisement

Estados Unidos nos escucha, nos apoya y está trabajando junto a nosotros”, dijo Umerov. Los demás miembros del equipo ucraniano incluyeron al jefe de las Fuerzas Armadas, Andrii Hnatov, y al asesor presidencial Oleksandr Bevz.

Marco Rubio y Rustem Umerov
Marco Rubio y Rustem Umerov dialogan con la prensa tras las conversaciones mantenidas este domingo en Florida (REUTERS/Eva Marie Uzcategui)

Esta ronda ocurre tras la dimisión de Andrii Yermak, anterior jefe negociador y principal asesor de Volodimir Zelensky, quien renunció después de que su vivienda fue registrada en la investigación por desvío de fondos en el sector energético.

Rubio enfatizó que las discusiones no buscan solo detener la violencia, sino asegurar que Ucrania salga del conflicto con independencia y capacidad de desarrollo sostenido.

No se trata solo de poner fin a la guerra, sino de condiciones que permitan que Ucrania sea soberana, segura y prospere realmente”, subrayó.

Advertisement

El plan discutido inicialmente preveía que Kiev ceda el control total del Donbas oriental a Rusia, así como límites al tamaño de las fuerzas armadas ucranianas y la exclusión de Ucrania de la OTAN.

Rubio insistió que los negociadores estaban revisando estos puntos polémicos y buscando un equilibrio entre las demandas rusas y las garantías de seguridad y reconstrucción exigidas por Ucrania.

Rubio adelantó que pretendían trabajar los próximos días para solidificar los detalles con la delegación de Vladimir Putin, quien recibirá a Witkoff y posiblemente a Kushner antes de partir hacia India el jueves.

Advertisement

En ese contexto, el presidente Zelensky se pronunció en sus redes sociales destacando “la disposición positiva” de la delegación estadounidense y el enfoque “constructivo” demostrado en las últimas rondas.

Estados Unidos y Ucrania retomaron
Estados Unidos y Ucrania retomaron este domingo las conversaciones sobre el plan de paz de Trump (REUTERS/Eva Marie Uzcategui)

En los próximos días, es factible concretar los pasos para llegar a un fin digno del conflicto”, afirmó Zelensky en su mensaje nocturno del sábado.

Umerov señaló también que el foco sigue siendo la resiliencia y el futuro de Ucrania, más allá del cese de hostilidades.

No obstante, la violencia se mantiene en el campo de batalla. Durante la madrugada del domingo, ataques con drones y misiles rusos mataron al menos a tres personas en Kiev, mientras un dron impactó un edificio residencial en Vyshhorod, al norte de la capital, dejando un muerto y casi veinte heridos.

Advertisement

Este mismo fin de semana, Ucrania reclamó un ataque exitoso contra un terminal petrolero ruso en Novorossiysk, lo que generó una advertencia diplomática de Kazajistán exigiendo que se detengan futuros ataques a instalaciones estratégicas.

Zelensky recalcó en su mensaje diario que Rusia lanza “cientos de drones y misiles cada semana contra la población civil”, por lo que reclamó más defensas antiaéreas y la continuidad del esfuerzo diplomático.

“Necesitamos soluciones reales, fiables, que ayuden a terminar la guerra”, insistió.

Advertisement

La próxima etapa de estas negociaciones incluirá contactos directos con Moscú y la revisión de cualquier nuevo borrador propuesto, en busca de un equilibrio viable entre las concesiones territoriales exigidas por Rusia y las garantías internacionales de seguridad y soberanía reclamadas por Ucrania.



Europe

Advertisement
Continue Reading

INTERNACIONAL

Top 5 game-changers from the 2025 campaign trail

Published

on


NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

In the wake of last year’s tumultuous presidential election, which exhausted many Americans, it was expected to be quiet on the 2025 campaign trail.

Advertisement

But with President Donald Trump back in the White House and Democrats itching to rebound after last year’s ballot box setbacks, 2025’s off-year elections were anything but sedate.

Here are five of the biggest moments that shaped the campaign trail.

5. Democrats overperform in special elections

Just eight days into Trump’s second term in the White House, demoralized Democrats had something to cheer about.

Advertisement

SETTING THE STAGE: WHAT THE 2025 ELECTIONS SIGNAL FOR NEXT YEAR’S MIDTERM SHOWDOWNS

President Donald Trump was inaugurated for a second term in the White House on Jan. 20, 2025, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C. (Morray Gash/AFP via Getty Images)

Democrat Mike Zimmer defeated Republican Katie Whittington in a special state Senate election in Iowa, flipping a Republican-controlled vacant seat in a district that Trump had carried by 21 points less than three months earlier.

Advertisement

Zimmer’s victory triggered a wave of Democrats overperforming in special elections and regularly scheduled off-year ballot box contests.

In Iowa, Democrats in August flipped another Republican-held seat in a state Senate special election, breaking the GOP’s supermajority in the upper chamber for the first time in three years.

«Since the president was inaugurated back in January, there’s been 45 elections on the ballot. Democrats have overperformed in all of them to the tune of about 16 percentage points on average,» Democratic National Committee chair Ken Martin touted in a Fox News Digital interview days ahead of the 2025 elections.

Advertisement

4. Inflation persists, making affordability issue No. 1 on the campaign trail

It was the issue that boosted Trump and Republicans in the 2024 elections, as they won back the White House and Senate majority and kept control of the House.

But a year later, the economy, and everyday expenses in particular, are working against the president and his party in the 2025 elections.

FOX NEWS POLL: VOTERS SAY WHITE HOUSE IS DOING MORE HARM THAN GOOD ON ECONOMY

Advertisement

Democrats, with an across-the-board focus on affordability, enjoyed sweeping success at the ballot box earlier this month, with double-digit victories in the gubernatorial showdowns in blue-leaning but competitive New Jersey and Virginia, as well as major victories in high-profile contests in battlegrounds Georgia and Pennsylvania and solidly blue New York City and California.

Rep. Mikie Sherrill votes

Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill votes on Election Day, in Montclair, New Jersey, on Nov. 4, 2025. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)

«Voters are remarkably consistent in their priorities: the economy, the economy, the economy,» noted Wayne Lesperance, a veteran political scientist and president of New England College.

«When you win an election, voters expect you are going to do something to address those concerns and the reality is that the questions of affordability remain unchanged in their importance to the everyday voter.»

Advertisement

3. Jay Jones text messages revealed, rocking the Virginia elections

Virginia Democrats were cruising toward convincing victories in the commonwealth’s statewide elections when a scandal sent shockwaves up and down the ballot.

Democratic attorney general nominee Jay Jones instantly went into crisis mode after controversial texts were first reported earlier by the National Review in early October.

Jay Jones speaks at a podium while wife Mavis Jones stands behind him

Jay Jones addresses supporters after winning the Democratic nomination for Virginia attorney general as wife Mavis Jones looks on in Norfolk, on June 17, 2025. (Trevor Metcalfe/The Virginian-Pilot/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Jones acknowledged and apologized for texts he sent in 2022, when he compared then-Virginia House Speaker Todd Gilbert to mass murderers Adolf Hitler and Pol Pot, adding that if he was given two bullets, he would use both against the GOP lawmaker to shoot him in the head.

Advertisement

But Jones faced a chorus of calls from Republicans to drop out of the race.

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THE 2025 ELECTIONS 

And the GOP leveraged the explosive revelations up the ballot, forcing Democratic Party nominee, former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, back on defense in a campaign where she was seen as the frontrunner against Republican rival Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears.

Advertisement

Earle-Sears didn’t waste an opportunity to link Spanberger to Jones. And during last month’s chaotic and only gubernatorial debate, where Earle-Sears repeatedly interrupted Spanberger, the GOP gubernatorial nominee called on her Democratic rival to tell Jones to end his attorney general bid.

«The comments that Jay Jones made are absolutely abhorrent,» Spanberger said at the debate. But she neither affirmed nor pulled back her support of Jones.

While the scandal grabbed national headlines, in the end it didn’t slow down the Democrats, as Spanberger crushed Earle-Sears by 15 points. Democrats won the separate election for lieutenant governor by 11 points and Jones even pulled off a 6-point victory over Republican incumbent Jason Miyares.

Advertisement

2. Trump urges Texas to redistrict

Aiming to prevent what happened during his first term in the White House when Democrats reclaimed the House majority in the 2018 midterm elections, Trump in June first floated the idea of rare but not unheard of mid-decade congressional redistricting.

The mission was simple: redraw congressional district maps in red states to pad the GOP’s 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.

Trump’s first target: Texas.

Advertisement

A month later, when asked by reporters about his plan to add Republican-leaning House seats across the country, the president said, «Texas will be the biggest one. And that’ll be five.»

The push by Trump and his political team triggered a high-stakes redistricting showdown with Democrats to shape the 2026 midterm landscape in the fight for the House majority.

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas called a special session of the GOP-dominated state legislature to pass the new map.

Advertisement

ELECTION REFLECTION: ‘DEMOCRATS FLIPPED THE SCRIPT’ ON AFFORDABILITY IN BALLOT BOX SHOWDOWNS

But Democratic state lawmakers, who broke quorum for two weeks as they fled Texas in a bid to delay the passage of the redistricting bill, energized Democrats across the country.

Among those leading the fight against Trump’s redistricting was Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom of California.

Advertisement
Gavin Newsom Prop 50 victory

Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during an election night press conference at a California Democratic Party office on Nov. 4, 2025, in Sacramento. (Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP Photo)

California voters earlier this month overwhelmingly passed Proposition 50, a ballot initiative which will temporarily sidetrack the left-leaning state’s nonpartisan redistricting commission and return the power to draw the congressional maps to the Democratic-dominated legislature.

That is expected to result in five more Democratic-leaning congressional districts in California, which aimed to counter the move by Texas to redraw their maps.

Meanwhile, an opinion by two federal judges in Texas this month delivered a blow to Trump and Republicans, by ruling that the state can’t use the newly drawn map in next year’s elections. Texas Republicans say they’ll appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court.

Advertisement

But the fight has spread beyond Texas and California.

Right-tilting Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio have drawn new maps as part of the president’s push. And red-leaning Indiana, Florida and Kansas are also mulling redrawing their maps.

«We must keep the Majority at all costs,» Trump wrote on social media this month.

Advertisement

Illinois and Maryland, two blue states, and Virginia, where Democrats control the legislature, are also taking steps or seriously considering redistricting.

And in a blow to Republicans, a Utah district judge this month rejected a congressional district map drawn up by the state’s GOP-dominated legislature and instead approved an alternate that will create a Democratic-leaning district ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

1. Mamdani wins NYC mayoral primary

Zohran Mamdani’s convincing June 24 victory in New York City’s Democratic Party mayoral primary was the political earthquake that rocked the nation’s most populous city and sent powerful shockwaves across the country.

Advertisement

The capturing of the Democratic nomination by the now-34-year-old socialist state lawmaker over frontrunner former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and nine other candidates propelled Mamdani to this month’s general election victory.

zohran mamdani speaking with his hand over his heart

Zohran Mamdani speaks to supporters during a primary election night gathering on June 24, 2025, in the Queens borough of New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

While Mamdani’s 9-point general election victory is a shot in the arm for the rise of the socialist movement as it battles moderate Democrats for the future of the party, it also appears to be the political gift that keeps on giving for Republicans, as they aim to paint all Democrats as far-left radicals.

The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) was one of the first out of the gate to capitalize on the leftward lurch, firing off an email release minutes after Mamdani’s primary victory, arguing that «every vulnerable House Democrat will own him, and every Democrat running in a primary will fear him.»

Advertisement

And this month, immediately after Mamdani became mayor-elect, the NRCC claimed «the new face of the Democrat Party just dropped, and it’s straight out of a socialist nightmare.»

Mayor-elect Mamdani and President Trump

President Donald Trump met with New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, in the Oval Office at the White House, on Nov. 21, 2025. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)

But Trump’s very chummy meeting with Mamdani recently at the White House seemed to undercut the GOP strategy to use the mayor-elect as a human cudgel.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Advertisement

Democrats insist that the effort to link Mamdani is a distraction from Republicans’ inability to deal with the affordability issue.

«Republican operatives in D.C. know they can’t win on the issues, so we’re seeing them melt down in real time, resorting to ineffective boogeyman attacks. It’s embarrassing,» the rival Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee charged.

Advertisement

elections,campaigning,2025 2026 elections coverage,virginia governor race,nyc mayoral elections coverage,zohran mamdani,donald trump,inflation

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Tendencias