Good morning, it’s Thursday, October 2, 2025. In today’s edition, states consider institutional investor housing bills; Trump blocks funding for blue states; Spanberger posts big lead in Virginia:
Top Stories
HOUSING: Lawmakers in at least 22 states this year proposed bills restricting investor purchases of single-family homes. Only one passed, when New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) signed a bill requiring homes to be listed for sale for 90 days before an institutional investor can make an offer. But both Republican and Democratic supporters of such bills in other states say they will try again in an effort to bring down housing prices.
Today, investors who own 1,000 or more single-family rental properties account for about 3% of the overall rental market, according to the Government Accountability Office. Institutional investors tend to significantly raise rents after they acquire a property. (Pluribus News)
SHUTDOWN: The Trump administration has frozen $26 billion in funding for Democratic-led states in the midst of the government shutdown. The funding includes $18 billion for transit projects in New York, home of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D), as well as $8 billion for green energy projects in 16 blue states. (Reuters)
CRYPTO: Wisconsin Rep. Adam Neylon (R) has introduced legislation to legalize crypto staking, the process by which cryptocurrency holders lock or commit their tokens to a blockchain. Staking helps validate transactions and secure networks, in exchange for earning interest or dividends. Staking is legal in every state except Wisconsin, California, Maryland and New Jersey. (State Affairs)
EDUCATION: An emerging budget deal between Michigan’s Democratic-controlled Senate and Republican-controlled House includes $200 million in subsidies for universal free school meals. Lawmakers are expected to approve the budget this week, after months of logjams. (Detroit News)
PUBLIC HEALTH: Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) signed an executive order protecting access to vaccines for children and adults. The order expands the list of trusted authorities for vaccine guidance beyond the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It also creates a working group to combat vaccine misinformation. (Harrisburg Patriot-News)
In Politics & Business
VIRGINIA: A new Emerson College poll finds former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D) leading Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears (R) by a 52% to 42% margin. Early voters back Spanberger by a 60% to 38% margin, while those who have yet to cast a ballot give the Democrat a 50% to 43% edge. (Emerson)
MORE: Democratic Attorney General candidate Jay Jones was convicted of reckless driving in 2022 in an incident in which police clocked him speeding at 116 miles per hour. Jones spent 500 hours performing community service for the state NAACP, and another 500 working for his own political action committee. (Richmond Times Dispatch)
PENNSYLVANIA: Gov. Shapiro leads Treasurer Stacy Garrity (R) 55% to 39% in a hypothetical test of next year’s gubernatorial contest. Shapiro runs ahead of state Sen. Doug Mastriano (R), the 2022 Republican nominee, by a 56% to 39% margin. Shapiro’s approval rating stands at 60%. (Quinnipiac)
OKLAHOMA: Businessman Chip Keating (R) will run for governor in 2026, he said Wednesday, touting himself as a Trump-backing outsider. Keating is the son of former Gov. Frank Keating (R). (McCarville Report) He joins Attorney General Gentner Drummond (R), former House Speaker Charles McCall (R) and two other former legislators in the GOP field.
MISSOURI: A state circuit judge has ruled Secretary of State Denny Hoskins (R) must rewrite ballot language on a proposed constitutional amendment to ban most abortions for a third time. The judge ruled the language failed to alert voters that the measure would overturn pro-abortion rights language they approved in 2024. (St. Louis Public Radio)
By The Numbers
$10 million: The amount Oregon taxpayers are likely to spend on a deployment of National Guard troops to Portland, according to Gov. Tina Kotek (D), who opposes the Trump administration’s order. The money would cover Guard salaries, food and lodging while on deployment. (Oregonian)
Organizers of the World Naked Bike Ride are planning an emergency ride to protest the deployment. (Oregonian)
$9,000: The amount Connecticut will pay to rent a tour bus for two days to ferry reporters and influencers to nine stops on the state’s new Pizza Trail. There are 100 total stops on the trail as Connecticut leans into a tourism campaign focused on slices. (Hartford Courant)
$775,000: The amount makeup company Sephora will pay to California cities and counties to settle claims the firm mishandled hazardous waste at its retail locations. It’s the second big company to pay environmental fines to California this year, after UPS agreed to $1.7 million to settle a suit in August. (Los Angeles Times)
Off The Wall
Maine authorities are investigating how 250 blank ballots were mailed to a woman in Penobscot County ahead of November’s elections. The woman reported the blank ballots to town officials in Newburgh after receiving them in an Amazon package, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows’s (D) office said Wednesday. (Portland Press Herald)
Researchers at the Virginia Tech Carillon School of Medicine study how people’s brains react to eating foods like chocolate chip cookies, animal crackers and eggs and hash browns. The researchers work at the DiFeliceantonio Neuropsychology of Nutrition Lab — or the DONNUT Lab. (Cardinal News)
This item brought to you by our appreciation for a well-done acronym.
Quote of the Day
“I don’t know if I need to be the main character in the next chapter, but I want to have a hand in writing it.”
— Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D), asked whether she will run for president in 2028. (Associated Press)