Good morning, it’s Friday, October 24, 2025. In today’s edition, Virginia enters redistricting chat; Trump admin denies blue state disaster requests; new polls in Virginia, Nevada:
Top Stories
REDISTRICTING: Virginia lawmakers will return to special session on Monday to attempt a long-shot effort to redraw congressional district boundaries to favor Democrats. Majority Democrats would have to pass constitutional amendments now and in January ahead of a potential statewide referendum vote in April. No map has been released, but Democrats would likely target districts held by U.S. Reps. Jen Kiggans (R) and Rob Wittman (R). (Pluribus News)
A group of North Carolina voters has sued to block new maps the General Assembly approved earlier this week. (Raleigh News & Observer)
DISASTER RELIEF: The Trump administration has approved major disaster declarations for Alaska, Nebraska, North Dakota and the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe while denying requests from Vermont, Illinois and Maryland. President Trump posted on social media about his election wins in states that got disaster assistance. (Associated Press)
SNAP: More than 42 million Americans are at risk of losing SNAP benefits beginning Nov. 1 if the government shutdown persists. The USDA has about $6 billion in a contingency fund, less than the $9 billion needed to cover a full month of benefits. (Arizona Mirror) Officials in Louisiana, Vermont and Virginia said they would keep food aid flowing. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) said he would declare a state of emergency to provide SNAP benefits. (Associated Press)
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: The Massachusetts Senate has advanced bills to create new guardrails around AI. The bills would create a state board to develop and deploy AI technology and limit the ability of employers to use electronic monitoring to track employees. Another bill bans political deepfakes, and a third imposes limits on the use of AI in health care decision-making. (State Affairs)
ABORTION: The New Hampshire Senate Judiciary Committee has approved legislation requiring written parental consent to transport a minor for an abortion. Gov. Kelly Ayotte (R) has been wary of raising abortion issues. (WMUR) The Pennsylvania House has approved a proposed constitutional amendment that would protect abortion rights. (State Affairs)
GUN POLITICS: Ohio Sen. Terry Johnson (R) has introduced legislation to allow adults between the ages of 18-21 to purchase a handgun from a federally licensed dealer. That’s illegal under a 1968 federal law, but the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has struck down that law in a decision that applies to Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. (Columbus Dispatch)
PUBLIC SAFETY: The Massachusetts House has unanimously adopted legislation adding transit workers to the list of employees covered by a state law that imposes higher penalties for assault and battery. The bill makes clear that saliva is covered under assault charges. The MBTA reported more than 600 assaults last year. (State Affairs)
In Politics & Business
VIRGINIA: A Suffolk University poll finds former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D) leading Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears (R) 52%-43%. The same poll shows Attorney General Jason Miyares (R) leading former Del. Jay Jones (D) 46% to 42%. In the race for lieutenant governor, state Sen. Ghazala Hashmi (D) and radio show host John Reid (R) are tied at 44% apiece. (USA Today)
MORE: A Washington Post/Schar School of Policy poll has Spanberger up 54%-42%. It shows Miyares and Jones tied at 46% apiece, while Hashmi leads Reid 51% to 44%. The poll found 51% of voters said Jones should drop out of the race. (Washington Post)
NEVADA: A new Noble Predictive Insights poll finds Gov. Joe Lombardo (R) leading Attorney General Aaron Ford (D) 40% to 37%, with 23% of voters undecided. Both candidates have net-favorable ratings. (Noble Predictive Insights)
ALABAMA: Former University of Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron (R) will run for lieutenant governor. He will face Secretary of State Wes Allen (R), Agriculture Commissioner Rick Pate (R), pastor Dean Odle (R) and businesswoman Nicole Jones Wadsworth (R) in the GOP primary. (Associated Press)
PEOPLE: The son, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren of Illinois gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey (R) were killed in a helicopter crash in Montana on Wednesday, Bailey’s campaign said Thursday. The NTSB said it was investigating the crash in Ekalaka, in southeastern Montana. (New York Times) Our deepest condolences to the Bailey family.
By The Numbers
$34 million: The amount West Virginia has collected in taxes, licensing fees and interest from the state’s medical marijuana program, which launched in 2021. None of the money has been spent. (Associated Press)
31%: The increase in profits on Wall Street in the first half of the year, according to New York Comptroller Tom DiNapoli (D). Securities companies made $30.4 billion in the first six months of 2025, compared with $49.9 billion in all of 2024. (State of Politics)
Off The Wall
A black bear wandered through a distillery in Bozeman, Mont., early Tuesday. The Bozeman Spirits Distillery said the bear “was looking for some Huckleberry Vodka to take to his den for the winter.” (UPI)
Boecker, a German company that produces the furniture hoist used by robbers who struck the Louvre last week, has been using the heist to promote its product. In a social media post, the company touted the hoist as a perfect answer “when you need to get going again quickly.” The thieves stole the vehicle during a demonstration before making off with jewelry from Paris’s most famous museum. (AFP)
Quote of the Day
“As with other aspects of the currently debased public square — law fare, demonizing opponents, the normalization of infantilism and profanity in public discourse — someone has to lead in climbing out of the muddle.”
— Former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels (R), opposing mid-decade redistricting in his state. (Indianapolis Star)