Good morning, it’s Monday, November 3, 2025. Election Day is tomorrow! In today’s edition, how states are handling delayed SNAP benefits; Ohio approves redistricting plan; our complete guide to the 2025 elections:
Top Stories
SHUTDOWN: A federal judge on Friday ordered the Trump administration to use contingency funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to pay out SNAP benefits for November. But even if the administration swiftly complies, it will take days to process transfers from the federal government and load them onto electronic benefit transfer cards, meaning a delay for those who rely on food assistance.
Some governors, primarily Democrats, are taking steps to fill the void. Those extra steps mainly involve funding for food banks, rather than covering benefits. Governors in Vermont, Ohio, Virginia, Rhode Island, Arizona and New Mexico have allocated funding to cover at least some portion of the missing benefits. Read how every state is handling the delayed SNAP funds at Pluribus News.
REDISTRICTING: The Ohio Redistricting Commission has unanimously approved new U.S. House district maps that will create 12 Republican-leaning districts and three Democratic-leaning seats. The map draws incumbent Reps. Marcy Kaptur (D) and Greg Landsman (D) into more Republican-leaning districts, though both incumbents will have a fighting chance. (State Affairs)
Democrats on the panel reluctantly agreed to the map to stave off what could have been an even more aggressive gerrymander.
MORE: The Virginia Senate on Friday approved a resolution that would ask voters to amend the state constitution to permit the legislature to redraw congressional maps if other states redistrict first. The General Assembly must approve the same bill when it reconvenes in January before voters would get to weigh in, perhaps as early as April. (Virginian-Pilot)
EVEN MORE: Kansas House Republicans still don’t have the votes to call a Nov. 7 special session to redraw state legislative district maps. Leaders must collect the signatures of two-thirds of the state House, 84 members, to gavel into special session. (State Affairs)
IMMIGRATION: Illinois lawmakers have approved a bill prohibiting federal authorities from making immigration arrests near courthouses. The bill also allows lawsuits from those who believe their constitutional rights have been violated during civil immigration arrests. Senate President Don Harmon (D) acknowledged the bill will almost certainly face a court challenge. (Associated Press)
SNAP: Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves (R) has requested a waiver from the USDA to ban the use of SNAP benefits to purchase of unhealthy processed foods and beverages. The request also asks federal officials to allow SNAP recipients to purchase hot prepared chicken. Mississippi would be the 13th state to receive a federal waiver. (Magnolia Tribune)
GUN POLITICS: The Massachusetts legislature is considering a bill that would allow residents to sue firearm manufacturers and dealers for harm caused by their products. The bill would require those businesses to take “reasonable precautions” to ensure firearms aren’t designed in a way that could allow conversion of legal products into illegal products. (Boston Herald)
TAXES: Washington lawmakers are considering a new 9.9% tax on adjusted gross income of more than $1 million, a plan that would generate an estimated $3 billion per year. Senate Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen (D) said it’s too soon to know whether the legislation will advance next year. (Washington State Standard)
In Politics & Business
Don’t miss our definitive guide to the 2025 elections, from gubernatorial contests in Virginia and New Jersey to the ballot measures you should be watching.
VIRGINIA: The final Emerson College poll shows U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D) leading Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears (R) 56% to 44% in the race for governor. An Echelon Insights (R) poll released Friday found Spanberger ahead by the same margin, 55% to 43%. Emerson shows former Del. Jay Jones (D) leading Attorney General Jason Miyares (R) 49% to 47%, while Echelon shows Miyares ahead 49% to 46%. (Emerson, Echelon)
Earle-Sears’s campaign bus caught fire while traveling to a rally in Greene County late last week. No one was hurt. (Daily Progress)
NEW JERSEY: The final AtlasIntel poll in the race for governor finds a statistical tie, in which U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D) leads former Assemb. Jack Ciattarelli (R) 50% to 49%. Ciattarelli leads 54% to 46% among independents. The poll finds President Trump has a higher approval rating in New Jersey, 47%, than does Gov. Phil Murphy (D), 43%. (New Jersey Globe)
MINNESOTA: House Speaker Lisa Demuth (R) said Sunday she will run for governor, joining a crowded Republican field vying for the right to challenge Gov. Tim Walz (D) next year. Demuth became speaker earlier this year in a power-sharing agreement in the tied House. (MPR News)
CRIME BLOTTER: North Carolina Rep. Cecil Brockman (D) resigned his seat Friday as lawmakers prepared to expel him. Brockman was arrested Oct. 8 on multiple felony charges involving a minor. (NC Newsline)
PEOPLE: Former Kentucky Gov. Martha Layne Collins (D), the only woman ever to win election as governor, has died at 88. Collins helped overhaul Kentucky’s economy by landing a major Toyota plant in 1986. (Kentucky Lantern)
By The Numbers
$26 million: The amount spent on independent expenditures — as opposed to direct campaign spending — on California’s Proposition 50, the redistricting initiative. That’s more than outside groups have ever spent on a California ballot measure. (CalMatters)
36: The number of states that have limited or banned the use of cell phones in schools, after Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) signed bipartisan legislation on Friday. (Wisconsin Examiner)
Off The Wall
Los Angeles is the “rattiest” city in America, according to the pest control company Orkin’s annual rankings. It’s the first time Los Angeles tops the list, and the first time in years that Chicago has fallen out of the top spot. New York, San Francisco and Hartford, Conn., round out the top five. (The Hill)
Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia basilica has become the world’s tallest church after builders lifted part of its central tower into place. Sagrada Familia now tops Germany’s Ulmer Münster by about four feet. Barcelona’s church has been under construction since 1882. (Associated Press)
For context, the church has been under construction since before North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Washington, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Alaska and Hawaii were admitted to the United States.
Quote of the Day
“If the governor wants to run for the office of attorney general, she has the right to do so.”
— Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach (R). Gov. Laura Kelly (D) is suing Kobach’s office for the right to file lawsuits on behalf of the state. (KCUR)