Good morning, it’s Wednesday, February 26, 2025. In today’s edition, states race to hire federal workers; red states back gun restrictions; Donalds enters Florida governor’s race:
Top Stories
ECONOMY: Blue state governments are marketing state-level jobs to federal workers laid off during the first weeks of the Trump administration. Maryland and Virginia have launched websites to help former federal workers apply for unemployment benefits and new jobs. New York and Hawaii are recruiting laid off workers, and Washington lawmakers have proposed legislation to give former federal workers priority consideration for state jobs. (Pluribus News)
We won’t see government data on the scope of the layoffs until at least next Friday, but reports indicate that tens of thousands have been laid off in just the Trump administration’s first month in office.
GUN POLITICS: The Alabama Senate has approved legislation increasing penalties for the possession and distribution of Glock switches, devices that modify semiautomatic pistols into fully automatic weapons. (Yellowhammer News) The North Dakota House approved legislation barring the possession of a firearm or dangerous weapon on school property. (Fargo Forum)
MORE: The Colorado House has advanced legislation requiring gun stores to keep ammunition behind the counter and ban ammunition vending machines. Lawmakers stripped a provision that would have prohibited anyone under 21 from buying ammo. (Denver Post)
ABORTION: The Wyoming legislature has given final approval to a bill adding new regulations on clinics that perform abortions. The bill would require clinics to maintain admitting privileges to hospitals within ten miles. The Senate passed a measure on Tuesday requiring patients to undergo transvaginal ultrasounds before taking abortion medication. (WyoFile)
EDUCATION: An Iowa Senate subcommittee has advanced legislation allowing parents and school employees to sue school districts that don’t follow state law prohibiting instruction or materials related to gender identity and sexuality. Speakers during the hearing brought up Pride flags, which they say violates a 2023 law restricting teaching about gender identity and sexuality in elementary schools. (Iowa Capital Dispatch)
WORKFORCE: The Alaska Senate unanimously approved legislation to allow employers to pay employees by debit-type card if the employees don’t have a bank account. The bill would require employers to notify employees of fees or terms of use. (Alaska Beacon)
Alaska Native households are more likely to be unbanked than households of other races, according to a 2023 report from the FDIC.
MORE: Minnesota Democrats plan to introduce legislation to allow rideshare drivers to unionize. Supporters say the bill would build on legislation from 2024 that set minimum pay levels for rideshare drivers, who are treated as independent contractors under federal law. (MPR News)
BUSINESS: The board of directors of Rhode Island Commerce voted this week to establish a Rhode Island Venture Capital Fund, seeded with $2 million to make investments in early stage and startup companies with less than $1 million in revenue. (Boston Globe)
MEDIA: The Idaho House unanimously approved a bill creating a media shield law protecting sources who provide confidential information to journalists. The bill protects journalists from having to divulge sources during court or legal proceedings. (Idaho Capital Sun)
In Politics & Business
FLORIDA: U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds (R) will run for governor, days after President Trump encouraged him to get in the race. Donalds served in the legislature before winning election to Congress in 2020. (Associated Press) Former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R) and Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson (R) are considering runs, while Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is pushing his wife Casey DeSantis (R) to enter the race.
MORE: Attorney General James Uthmeier (R) has formally filed to run for a full term in office. DeSantis appointed Uthmeier, his former chief of staff, to serve as attorney general when Ashley Moody (R) resigned to take Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s seat in the U.S. Senate. (Florida Politics)
PENNSYLVANIA: State Sen. Doug Mastriano (R) is considering another run for governor in 2026. Mastriano, a close ally of President Trump, lost to Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) by 15 points in 2022. (Harrisburg Patriot-News)
COLORADO: Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty (D) has launched a bid for attorney general. Attorney General Phil Weiser (D) is running for governor. (Colorado Sun)
VIRGINIA: Former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D) leads Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears (R) 39% to 24%, according to an early Roanoke College poll conducted last week. Nearly a third of voters, 32%, are undecided. (Roanoke)
Vibe check: Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s (R) approval rating stands at 53% in Virginia. President Trump’s approval rating stands at 37%.
ARIZONA: A new Noble Predictive Insights survey shows U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs (R) and conservative activist Charlie Kirk leading the Republican primary field with 14% of the vote each. Businesswoman Karrin Taylor Robson (R), who has President Trump’s endorsement, follows with 11%, while 47% of Republican voters are undecided. (Noble Predictive Insights)
Robson is the only candidate to announce a challenge to Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) so far.
By The Numbers
50: The number of states where right-to-repair legislation has been introduced in the last eight years, after Wisconsin became the last state to introduce a version this year. Lawmakers in California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York and Oregon have approved right-to-repair laws. (Pluribus News)
62%: The share of U.S. adults who identify as Christian, a 9-point drop since 2014. The decline has largely stabilized, hovering between 60% and 64% in recent years, according to a Pew Research Center report. Seven percent of Americans identify with a religion other than Christianity, including Jews (1.7%) Muslims (1.2%) and Buddhists (1.1%). (Pew)
$1.3 million: The amount advertisers have spent supporting school choice legislation in seven states this year. The conservative Club for Growth accounts for more than half that spending, most of it in Tennessee and Texas. (AdImpact)
Off The Wall
Building America’s Future, the political action committee funded by Elon Musk, attacked Dane County Judge Susan Crawford in a new advertisement in the race for an open seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The only problem? The ad shows a photo of the wrong Susan Crawford. The ad, which ran on social media, showed a former Harvard Law School professor with the same name as the judge. (Wisconsin Examiner)
An Arkansas Senate committee has approved legislation naming the mallard the official state duck. (Arkansas Times) That’s distinct from the official state bird, a mockingbird. Arkansas lawmakers over the years have also named an official historic cooking vessel (the Dutch oven), an official musical instrument (the fiddle) and the official state primitive fish (the alligator gar).
Quote of the Day
“1985 called — they want their technology back.”
— Tennessee House Majority Leader William Lamberth (R), who introduced legislation eliminating a requirement that residents fax certain communications to some state agencies. The bill, which won unanimous approval, would require state agencies to accept electronic communications. (State Affairs)