Good morning, it’s Tuesday, October 28, 2025. In today’s edition, Indiana, Kansas take steps toward redistricting plans; Paxton sues makers of Tylenol; Drazan will run for Oregon governor:
Top Stories
REDISTRICTING: Indiana Gov. Mike Braun (R) will call lawmakers back to Indianapolis on Nov. 3 to consider a redistricting plan aimed at U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan’s (D) district in the northwest corner of the state. It’s still not clear whether Indiana Republicans have the votes, and several lawmakers remain skeptical of the plan. But the special session will act as a new turn of the screw on those who are reluctant to pursue mid-decade redistricting. (Pluribus News)
MORE: Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson (R) says he has secured enough signatures to call his chamber back into special session on a redistricting plan that would target U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids (D). It’s not clear if House Speaker Dan Hawkins (R) has the signatures to bring his members back to the Capitol for what would be just the second special session in state history. (State Affairs)
EVEN MORE: The Democratic law firm Elias Group has sued New York, alleging district lines in the state’s 11th Congressional District unfairly disenfranchises Black and Latino voters. The district is held by U.S. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R), the only Republican who represents a slice of New York City. (New York Times) Ohio’s Redistricting Commission is at an impasse ahead of its Friday deadline to approve a bipartisan map. (State Affairs)
We ranked all the states pursuing redistricting based on how likely their plans are to stick, from Texas and North Carolina (done deals) to Maryland and Illinois (longer shots).
IMMIGRATION: Alabama Sen. Donnie Chesteen (R) intends to introduce legislation requiring most elected officials to be citizens born in the United States. Secretary of State Wes Allen (R), running for lieutenant governor, backs the idea. The existing constitution requires the governor and lieutenant governor to be citizens for ten years, and members of the legislature to be citizens for at least three years before taking office. (AL.com)
EDUCATION: Florida lawmakers are introducing education bills ahead of next year’s session. Bills would require instruction in cursive writing, a ban on corporal punishment, and an oath teachers swear to protect and defend the Constitution and government. (WLRN)
PUBLIC HEALTH: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) has sued Johnson & Johnson, accusing the company of failing to warn consumers about the risk of taking Tylenol while pregnant. Major medical associations have rejected HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s claims that acetaminophen is a possible cause of autism. (Texas Tribune)
In Politics & Business
VIRGINIA/NEW JERSEY: U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.) and former Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.), the Democratic gubernatorial nominees in their respective states, will make a joint appearance at a Zoom organizing rally on Wednesday sponsored by the Democratic National Committee. The DNC has spent about $3 million in both states. (New York Times)
FLORIDA: A new University of North Florida poll shows U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds (R) leading former U.S. Rep. David Jolly (D) and Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings (D) 45% to 34% in the race for governor. First Lady Casey DeSantis (R) leads Jolly 47% to 34% and Demings 47% to 36%. (Florida Politics) The same poll shows Attorney General James Uthmeier (R) leading former state Sen. Jose Javier Rodriguez (D) 45% to 36%. (Florida Politics)
OREGON: State Sen. Christine Drazan (R) will run for governor again in 2026, after falling short in her challenge to Gov. Tina Kotek (D) in 2022. Drazan, then the House minority leader, lost her bid that year by less than 4 percentage points in a state that hasn’t elected a Republican governor since 1982. (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
VERMONT: A University of New Hampshire survey finds 47% of voters think Gov. Phil Scott (R) deserves re-election to a sixth term in office, while just 31% say he doesn’t deserve another term. Scott’s approval rating stands at 61%. (UNH)
CALIFORNIA: The campaign against Proposition 50, the redistricting measure, spent just $155,000 on advertising last week, compared with $3.8 million from Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) campaign in favor of the measure. Republicans have effectively conceded defeat on the initiative. (Politico)
By The Numbers
634,983: The number of early votes, cast in person and by mail, in New Jersey so far this year. Total turnout stands at 10.3%. Democrats and Republicans are virtually tied in in-person voting, while Democrats outpace Republicans three-to-one in mail ballots. (New Jersey Globe)
164,190: The number of voters who cast early ballots in New York City’s elections on Saturday and Sunday, five times higher than the first weekend of early voting in 2021. Voters over the age of 55 make up more than half the early vote so far. (Gothamist)
19: The number of states that had obesity rates of 35% or more in 2024, down from 23 states the year before. It’s the first time in more than a decade that the number of states with high obesity rates fell. (Nevada Independent)
Off The Wall
Former Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron (R) announced last week he would run for lieutenant governor. He also took the opportunity to register to vote — for the first time in his life. McCarron told a reporter not registering before running made him the “ultimate outsider candidate.” (AL.com)
A cutting-edge experimental aircraft, Lockheed Martin Skunk Works’s X-59, has been named the “Coolest Thing Made in California.” The jet is designed to curtail sonic booms caused by supersonic flight. (Sacramento Bee)
Quote of the Day
“We’re all here today to pay witness to essentially what is a direct attack on democracy and on voter choice.”
— Virginia Del. Israel O’Quinn (R), objecting to Democratic efforts to redistrict the state. (Cardinal News)