Good morning, it’s Tuesday, September 23, 2025. In today’s edition, lawmakers attack mRNA vaccines; Ohio, Utah take redistricting steps; poll shows tight South Carolina GOP primary:
Top Stories
PUBLIC HEALTH: State lawmakers are preparing a wave of bills to target mRNA vaccine technology next year after at least three dozen bills were introduced this year. Those bills didn’t go anywhere, but vaccine advocates worry the sheer volume means similar proposals will come back next year as part of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s MAHA movement.
In Minnesota, lawmakers proposed labeling mRNA vaccines “weapons of mass destruction.” Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo wants to ban all mRNA vaccines. Pennsylvania Sen. Doug Mastriano (R) has supported similar measures in his state — even though evidence shows mRNA vaccines are safe and effective. (Pluribus News)
MORE: About 40 Massachusetts hospitals are set to receive $234 million in relief payments after Gov. Maura Healey (D) signed legislation Monday. The spending bill directs $122 million to acute care hospitals, $16 million to Cambridge Health Alliance and $77 million to a trust fund that covers care for uninsured patients. (State Affairs)
PUBLIC SAFETY: The North Carolina House is poised to approve a bill banning cashless bail for violent crimes and allowing new forms of capital punishment beyond lethal injection. The bill would give the Supreme Court’s chief justice the authority to suspend a magistrate from their post. The Senate approved the measure on Monday. (Associated Press)
REDISTRICTING: Ohio lawmakers met for their first hearing to consider new U.S. House district lines, but majority Republicans did not introduce a new map proposal. The state Redistricting Commission, controlled by Republicans, has until Oct. 31 to pass a bipartisan map; if they fail, Republicans can adopt a one-party map in November. (Cleveland Plain Dealer)
MORE: Utah Sen. Brady Brammer (R) has introduced legislation creating a formula for “partisan symmetry” when conducting the decennial redistricting process. The bill would allow congressional districts to be drawn to give an advantage to the party that won previous elections for president, governor, attorney general, auditor and treasurer in the state — in this case, it would give Republicans the ability to draw seats favoring them by about 30 points. (Salt Lake Tribune)
GUN POLITICS: The Pennsylvania House Judiciary Committee approved bills creating red flag laws allowing law enforcement to temporarily seize firearms from those who are a danger to others; ban devices converting semi-automatic guns to automatic fire; and ban the sale of untraceable ghost guns. The bills passed on party-line votes. (Pennsylvania Capital-Star)
In Politics & Business
SOUTH CAROLINA: A new co/efficient survey finds U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R) statistically tied with Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette (R) and Attorney General Alan Wilson (R) in the 2026 GOP gubernatorial primary. Mace takes 19% to 18% for Evette and 16% for Wilson, while U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman (R) trails at 10%. A full 35% remain undecided. (Co/efficient)
PENNSYLVANIA: State Republicans have formally endorsed Treasurer Stacy Garrity (R) for governor in 2026. Sen. Mastriano, who’s still considering another bid of his own, accused the party of “coronating” their chosen candidate rather than letting voters decide. (WHYY)
MICHIGAN: Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt (R) won the straw poll at the annual Michigan Republican Party conference on Mackinac Island with 29%, ahead of former House Speaker Tom Leonard (R) at 24% and Attorney General Mike Cox (R) at 19%. U.S. Rep. John James (R) finished fourth with 14%. (Michigan Advance)
OHIO: Lt. Gov. Jim. Tressel (R) formally announced he would not run for governor in 2026, after contemplating the bid for months. Tressel’s exit means entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy (R) is the sole serious candidate in the GOP field. (News 5)
BOSTON: Mayor Michelle Wu will run unopposed in November’s elections after a third-place finisher didn’t earn enough votes to qualify for the ballot. Second-place finisher Josh Kraft dropped out of the race after Wu thumped him in this month’s primary election. (Associated Press)
By The Numbers
$3 trillion: The market cap of Alphabet, parent company of Google, making it just the fourth company — along with Apple, Nvidia and Microsoft — to hit that value. Three of those four companies are based in California, as Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) office is only so happy to attest.
9 million: The number of bourbon barrels Buffalo Trace has produced since Prohibition. The distillery was hit by bad flooding earlier this year, which caused $30 million in damage. (Associated Press)
Off The Wall
Alabama Sen. Jabo Waggoner (R) will seek re-election in 2026, adding to the 53 years he’s already served in office. Waggoner, 88, is the longest-serving lawmaker in state history; he was first elected in 1966, when George Wallace was governor. “At this point, I’m not sure the Senate would know how to function without Jabo in the body,” Senate President Pro Tem Garlan Gudger (R) said. (AL.com)
A California attorney has been ordered to pay a $10,000 fine for filing a state court appeal that included fake quotations hallucinated by ChatGPT. The fine is the largest ever issued by a California court; the attorney’s brief included 21 made-up quotes, out of 23 total. (CalMatters)
Quote of the Day
“We’ll lose kids, not to Florida and Texas; we’ll lose them to New Jersey and Connecticut because they build more housing.”
— New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D), on a new Move In NY plan aimed to lessen the housing shortage in suburban, upstate and rural parts of the state. (New York Times)