GET THE APP
Thursday, May 14, 2026

Category: Politics
18 hours ago
News
Politics

Mississippi Governor Backs Off Redistricting Before Midterms.

Republican Governor Tate Reeves has suggested that Mississippi will not redraw its congressional maps before the 2026 midterms.

PULSE POINTS
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: Mississippi will not redraw its congressional maps before the 2026 midterms, according to Governor Tate Reeves (R).
📺 DETAIL: In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday, Governor Reeves announced that he expected Mississippi lawmakers to redraw the state’s congressional, legislative, and Supreme Court districts before the 2027 elections, rather than before the 2026 midterms in November. At present, Mississippi’s congressional map includes four districts, one of which is represented by Bennie Thompson, a Democrat. This announcement followed reports on Wednesday that Gov. Reeves canceled a special session centered around the possibility of redistricting the state. The session was scheduled for Wednesday next week. “Just to clarify, I said I expect lawmakers to redraw congressional lines BETWEEN NOW and 2027 elections! I also expect them to redraw legislative and Supreme Court lines between now and 2027 elections,” Reeves said. While it initially appeared Reeves was leaving the door open to redistricting before November, a follow-up announcement clarified that Mississippi will not be pursuing a redraw of its maps, which the governor suggested are now unnecessary, citing the dissolution of a District Court’s injunction preventing the use of the state’s current Supreme Court map.
💬 KEY QUOTE: “[T]here is no need for the Legislature to draw a new map. I am recalling and dissolving my April 23, 2026, Proclamation which called for a special session to redraw Mississippi’s Supreme Court map next Wednesday.” – Governor Reeves
🎯 IMPACT: Mississippi’s map is very unlikely to change ahead of the 2026 midterms, although Reeves claims he is open to doing so in the future. “Today is not the end of the redistricting process—it is just the beginning!” he said on X. However, assuming any potential redistricting proposal for Mississippi will not take place until after the November midterms, Republicans will have to look to other states to shore up additional potential representation. Reeves called for a special session prior to the Supreme Court’s ruling in Louisiana’s redistricting case, one of several battles to redraw congressional maps ahead of the midterms. States like California and Virginia have pushed proposals favoring Democrats while states like Texas and Florida seek to boost Republican representation in Congress. This week, it was reported that South Carolina and Missouri are making their own pushes to redistrict.

Image by Gage Skidmore.

Join Pulse+ to comment below, and receive exclusive e-mail analyses.

show less

Republican Governor Tate Reeves has suggested that Mississippi will not redraw its congressional maps before the 2026 midterms.

show more
May 13, 2026
News
Politics

Louisiana GOP Advances New Congressional Map.

Louisiana’s Republican-controlled Senate has advanced a new congressional map that could shift the state’s congressional delegation from a 4-2 to a 5-1 Republican majority, following a Supreme Court decision against racial gerrymandering.

PULSE POINTS
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: The Louisiana Senate has moved forward with a new congressional map favoring Republicans, potentially increasing their delegation to five seats compared to one for Democrats. This follows a Supreme Court decision striking down the previous map, which included a racially gerrymandered, Democrat-leaning black-majority district, as unconstitutional.
📺 DETAIL: The proposal, approved by a state Senate committee after hours of overnight testimony, would likely force Democratic Reps. Troy Carter and Cleo Fields into the same district. The redistricting push follows a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that weakened aspects of the Voting Rights Act mandating racial gerrymandering in favor of minorities, and opened the door for Republican-led states to redraw congressional maps in a number of states. Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry (R) previously delayed congressional primaries to give lawmakers time to adopt a new map. The proposal now heads to the full Senate and, if approved, would move to the state House and then to Governor Landry for final approval.
📺 FLASHBACK: The Supreme Court previously ruled that Louisiana’s 2022 congressional maps violated constitutional protections by relying on racial data to draw districts, mandating the creation of a second majority-Black district. This marks the third redistricting effort in Louisiana since the last census.
🎯 IMPACT: If approved, the map could have significant implications for the balance of power in the U.S. House of Representatives come the November midterms. Redistricting efforts are intensifying across the country ahead of these elections, with the Democrats moving to redraw maps in their favor in states like California and Virginia, and the Republicans doing the same in states like Louisiana, Tennessee, and Florida.

Image by Ted Eytan.

Join Pulse+ to comment below, and receive exclusive e-mail analyses.

show less

Louisiana's Republican-controlled Senate has advanced a new congressional map that could shift the state's congressional delegation from a 4-2 to a 5-1 Republican majority, following a Supreme Court decision against racial gerrymandering.

show more
May 12, 2026
News
Politics

South Carolina Voting on Redistricting as New Missouri Map Goes to Court.

The national redistricting battle is heating up in South Carolina and Missouri, with the GOP in the former considering changes to the state’s electoral map as the latter defends a new map in court.

PULSE POINTS
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: Missouri’s Supreme Court is reviewing a legal challenge to a new congressional map, as GOP lawmakers in South Carolina consider redistricting plans that could eliminate a Democrat-held U.S. House seat.
📰 DETAIL: Missouri’s new map aims to secure more GOP seats by altering the Kansas City district, following a Supreme Court ruling that existing districts racially gerrymandered to create Democrat-leaning black majorities are unconstitutional. In South Carolina, the focus is on potentially redrawing the state’s only Democratic-held seat, which could lead to a Republican sweep. The South Carolina effort has passed the state House, but must be approved by a supermajority in the state Senate, where some GOP lawmakers are hesitant.
🎯 IMPACT: The outcomes of these redistricting efforts could significantly influence the balance of power in the U.S. House following the November midterms, with Republicans aiming to gain additional seats in several states. Notably, the Democrats have also been seeking to redraw electoral maps in their favor in states such as California and Virginia, with mixed success.
💬 KEY QUOTE: “The South Carolina State Senate has a big vote… on Redistricting. I’m watching closely, along with all Republicans across the Country who are counting on their Elected Leaders to use every Legal and Constitutional authority they have to stop the Radical Left Democrats from destroying our Country, including leveling the playing field against their decades of egregious Gerrymandering and Census Rigging. South Carolina Republicans: BE BOLD AND COURAGEOUS, just like the Republicans of the Great State of Tennessee were last week! ” – President Trump, urging South Carolina state senators to support redistricting efforts on Truth Social

Image by jpellgen.

Join Pulse+ to comment below, and receive exclusive e-mail analyses.

show less

The national redistricting battle is heating up in South Carolina and Missouri, with the GOP in the former considering changes to the state's electoral map as the latter defends a new map in court.

show more
May 12, 2026
Politics
UK

Farage Lawyers SLAM Detractors Over Fake Claims, Post Election.

Reform Party leader Nigel Farage has initiated legal proceedings against former Reform member Ben Habib for making unfounded claims about improper donations and election rigging.

PULSE POINTS
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: Nigel Farage, leader of the Reform Party, has taken legal action against Ben Habib, a disgruntled former party member, demanding an apology and retraction for allegations of improper election dealings involving Farage, former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and Reform donor Christopher Harborne.
💬 KEY QUOTE: “I do not take legal action often. But I will not accept slander & politically motivated smears after winning a national election.” – Nigel Farage
📰 DETAIL: Pakistan-born Habib left Reform after he failed to secure a seat in Parliament in the 2024 general election, resulting in his replacement as co-deputy leader by Richard Tice. Habib ultimately formed his own splinter party, Advance UK, to compete with Reform, but it performed poorly in local and regional elections across England, Scotland, and Wales last week, while Reform made massive breakthroughs across the board. Following this poor showing by Advance UK, Habib gave an interview on Monday in which he alleged the 2019 election was “sewn up” through a financial arrangement involving one-million-pound donations to Farage and Johnson from Harborne. Farage had stood down Reform, then known as the Brexit Party, against most candidates from Johnson’s Conservative Party in 2019, to ensure the Conservatives would have the parliamentary majority necessary to complete Brexit. Notably, Habib offered no hard evidence to support his allegations.
🎯 IMPACT: In his Monday interview, Habib alleged, “We know Farage is bought and paid for by Christopher Harborne,” adding, “Christopher Harborne tried to break electoral law by hiding his identity when making donations to the Brexit Party in 2019.” He invited Harborne and Farage to sue him for his allegations, but confidently predicted they would not. However, Farage announced on Tuesday that his “lawyers have formally written to Ben Habib” and “demanded an immediate apology and public retraction for the baseless allegations he made today.”

Image by Gage Skidmore.

Join Pulse+ to comment below, and receive exclusive e-mail analyses.

show less

Reform Party leader Nigel Farage has initiated legal proceedings against former Reform member Ben Habib for making unfounded claims about improper donations and election rigging.

show more
May 12, 2026
Corruption
Politics

Democrat Mayor Pleads Guilty to Spying for China.

Arcadia Mayor Eileen Wang faces up to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to acting as an unregistered agent for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) regime.

PULSE POINTS
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: Eileen Wang, the Democrat mayor of Arcadia, California, has resigned after being charged by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) with acting as an illegal agent for the Chinese government. Wang has agreed to plead guilty to the felony charge, which could result in up to 10 years in prison.
📺 DETAIL: Authorities found Wang worked with Chinese officials between 2020 and 2022 to spread pro-Beijing propaganda through a Chinese-language website called U.S. News Center while coordinating with operatives tied to China’s intelligence apparatus. Wang has agreed to plead guilty to one felony count that carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, and prosecutors said she communicated with Chinese officials about articles promoting Beijing’s positions, including content denying human rights abuses in Xinjiang. Federal investigators said Wang’s activities occurred before she took office in 2022, and officials stated there is no evidence Arcadia city resources were used in the scheme. Wang’s former fiancé, Yaoning “Mike” Sun, who previously pleaded guilty in a related case, allegedly helped manage the propaganda operation. The FBI and Justice Department described the case as part of a broader effort to counter covert Chinese influence operations targeting American institutions and local governments.
💬 KEY QUOTE: “Individuals in our country who covertly do the bidding of foreign governments undermine our democracy.” – First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli.
🎯 IMPACT: This case highlights growing concerns over China’s attempts to infiltrate and influence U.S. institutions, even at the local government level. Previous cases of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) spying have involved a former CIA official and a former State Department official who was sentenced to ten years in prison in 2025.

Join Pulse+ to comment below, and receive exclusive e-mail analyses.

show less

Arcadia Mayor Eileen Wang faces up to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to acting as an unregistered agent for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) regime.

show more
May 11, 2026
News
Politics

GOP Lawmaker Pushes House to Expunge Trump’s ‘Maliciously False’ Impeachments.

A resolution proposed by Representative Darrell Issa (R-CA) to the House Judiciary Committee seeks to formally nullify the impeachments of President Donald J. Trump.

PULSE POINTS
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: A Republican congressman has introduced a resolution to expunge both of President Donald J. Trump’s prior impeachments, citing partisan motives and faulty evidence.
💬 KEY QUOTE: “When you’ve been falsely accused… somebody should be just as interested in printing that retraction on the front page as they were in putting the original charge on the front page.” – Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA).
🎯 IMPACT: If successful, the resolution would signify that the House of Representatives formally disavows prior decisions to impeach President Trump. While the resolution would largely be symbolic, supporters regard it as a necessary clarification. Both impeachments of President Trump were extremely contentious and seen as politically motivated, and ended with acquittals in Senate trials. The resolution follows criminal referrals issued by the Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, in April, targeting a so-called whistleblower and former Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson, both of whom were involved in the 2019 impeachment of the President. In a statement announcing the referrals, Director Gabbard described a “coordinated effort” within the country’s intelligence community “to manufacture a conspiracy” against President Trump.
📺 DETAIL: President Trump has been impeached twice, once in 2019 over a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and again in 2021 following January 6. However, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) has proposed a resolution, H.Res.1211, to the House Judiciary Committee to expunge both impeachments of the President. The resolution argues that the impeachments were deliberately rushed, procedurally flawed, politically motivated, and utilized unreliable and biased evidence. The proposal has received backing from several prominent Republicans, including House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH), and garnered approximately 20 GOP cosponsors. The resolution argues that both impeachments should be “expunged as if such Article had never passed the full House of Representatives” and that Democrats pressed “knowingly false” charges against Trump.

Image by Matt H. Wade.

Join Pulse+ to comment below, and receive exclusive e-mail analyses.

show less

A resolution proposed by Representative Darrell Issa (R-CA) to the House Judiciary Committee seeks to formally nullify the impeachments of President Donald J. Trump.

show more
May 8, 2026
News
Politics

Virginia Supreme Court BLOCKS Democrats’ Redistricting Referendum Win.

The Virginia Supreme Court has halted Democrat efforts to redraw congressional maps ahead of the November midterms, impacting the political landscape in the state and nationwide.

PULSE POINTS
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: The Virginia Supreme Court has nullified the results of a redistricting referendum orchestrated by the state’s Democrat leadership, blocking Democrats from implementing new congressional maps that would likely have handed them multiple seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.
🎯 IMPACT: This decision prevents a shift in Virginia’s congressional representation from a 6-5 Democrat advantage to a likely 10-1 Democrat advantage, significantly affecting the balance of power in the House of Representatives come the November midterms.
💬 KEY QUOTE: “In this case, the Commonwealth submitted a proposed constitutional amendment to Virginia voters in an unprecedented manner that violated the intervening-election requirement in Article XII, Section 1 of the Constitution of Virginia. This violation irreparably undermines the integrity of the resulting referendum vote and renders it null and void.” – Virginia Supreme Court ruling
📰 DETAIL: The court’s ruling follows extensive legal challenges questioning the constitutionality of the referendum, which cost the state $5.2 million and saw nearly $100 million raised by outside groups to influence voters. The court agreed with Republicans that the amendment process was improperly advanced. Meanwhile, efforts in multiple Republican-led states that moved to redraw their own maps in response to the Virginia referendum and a Supreme Court ruling against racially gerrymandered, Democrat-leaning districts are proceeding.
📖 READ: The Virginia Supreme Court ruling in full.

This story is developing…

Join Pulse+ to comment below, and receive exclusive e-mail analyses.

show less

The Virginia Supreme Court has halted Democrat efforts to redraw congressional maps ahead of the November midterms, impacting the political landscape in the state and nationwide.

show more
May 7, 2026
News
Politics

Tennessee House Approves Redistricted Map Likely to Hand GOP Entire Congressional Delegation.

The Tennessee House has passed a redistricting proposal likely to reshape the political landscape by eliminating a racially gerrymandered Democrat district.

PULSE POINTS
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: The Tennessee House has passed a redistricting proposal that would divide Memphis, a Democrat-controlled, racially gerrymandered district, into three separate congressional districts. The final vote was 64 to 24, with two Republican lawmakers from Memphis joining Democrats in opposition.
📺 DETAIL: The proposed map would likely eliminate the only Democrat-held congressional seat in Tennessee by splitting Memphis, which was racially gerrymandered in order to create a Democrat-leaning black majority district, across three separate districts. This move follows a Supreme Court ruling that race should not be a factor in determining congressional lines, leading many Southern states to move to abolish racially gerrymandered districts they were forced to create by the Voting Rights Act. Similar redistricting efforts are underway in other states, including Alabama, Louisiana, and Florida, and, if successful, should secure more congressional seats for the GOP in the November midterms.
💬 KEY QUOTE: “We owe it to Tennesseans to ensure our congressional districts accurately reflect the will of Tennessee voters,” said Tennessee Governor Bill Lee (R) in a statement, emphasizing the need for fairness and legality in the redistricting process.
🎯 IMPACT: If the redistricting plan is approved by the state Senate—where thge GOP commands a supermajority—and signed by Governor Lee, it could significantly alter Tennessee’s congressional representation, reducing Democrat influence in the state. The broader redistricting battles across the country could determine who controls the U.S. House of Representatives after November.

Image by FaceMePLS.

Join Pulse+ to comment below, and receive exclusive e-mail analyses.

show less

The Tennessee House has passed a redistricting proposal likely to reshape the political landscape by eliminating a racially gerrymandered Democrat district.

show more
May 6, 2026
News
Politics
SCOTUS

Tennesse Puts Forward New Electoral Map Likely to Eliminate Democrat House Seat.

Tennessee Republicans have introduced a congressional map that could eliminate the state’s only Democrat seat, following a Supreme Court decision against racial gerrymandering.

PULSE POINTS
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: Tennessee Republicans have put forward a new congressional map that could secure all nine of the state’s congressional districts for the GOP by eliminating a Democrat-represented district that was gerrymandered in order to create a black voting majority. Governor Bill Lee (R) had called the state legislature into a special session on Friday in to consider redistricting following a Supreme Court ruling against racial gerrymandering.
📰 DETAIL: The proposed map divides the majority-black district in Shelby County, potentially displacing Representative Steve Cohen, and also alters Maury County to favor Republican incumbent Rep. Andy Ogles. This move follows the Supreme Court ruling, related to Louisiana, which found that Democrat-leaning, racially gerrymandered districts that some states were forced to create by the Voting Rights Act are unconstitutional.
💬 KEY QUOTE: “The Supreme Court has opined that redistricting, like the judicial system, should be color-blind,” noted Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton.
🎯 IMPACT: If passed, the map would likely ensure a Republican sweep in Tennessee’s congressional delegation, further solidifying GOP control in the state and handing the party another House member in the November midterms. Similar redistricting efforts are underway in other Southern states, including Louisiana, Florida, and Alabama, following the Supreme Court’s ruling against racial gerrymandering.

Image by FaceMePLS.

Join Pulse+ to comment below, and receive exclusive e-mail analyses.

show less

Tennessee Republicans have introduced a congressional map that could eliminate the state's only Democrat seat, following a Supreme Court decision against racial gerrymandering.

show more
May 6, 2026
News
Politics

DATA: Affordable Health Care is Top Issue for MAHA Voters.

A new poll reveals that affordability, particularly in health care, is the leading concern for “Make America Healthy Again” voters, potentially influencing midterm election outcomes.

PULSE POINTS
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: A poll conducted by KFF found that health care costs are the top concern for voters identifying with the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement, with 61 percent of all respondents stating it will have a “major impact” on their midterm voting decisions.
📺 DETAIL: The survey, conducted April 14-19 among 1,343 U.S. adults, revealed that 42 percent of MAHA supporters prioritize lowering health care costs over other issues like food safety (21 percent) and vaccine reevaluation (10 percent). This comes as the Trump administration faces criticism for rising costs amid the Iran war, which has driven up gasoline prices and affected consumer spending. The administration’s approval ratings on health care and food policy remain low, at 38 percent and 46 percent, respectively. The MAHA movement has also split with the Trump administration over the use of the pesticide glyphosate, which is believed to cause cancer. The Trump administration recently sided with pharma giant Bayer, which manufactures the pesticide, over MAHA activists.
💬 KEY QUOTE: “This poll really shows that the issues the MAHA movement has elevated resonate broadly with the American public, but even for voters who support MAHA, health care costs are the dominant priority by a wide margin,” said Audrey Kearney, senior survey analyst at KFF.
🎯 IMPACT: With affordability concerns dominating voter priorities, Republicans may face challenges in maintaining control of Congress in November if it remains focused on the Middle East and other foreign policy issues, instead of emphasizing its work to bring down drug prices.

Join Pulse+ to comment below, and receive exclusive e-mail analyses.

show less

A new poll reveals that affordability, particularly in health care, is the leading concern for "Make America Healthy Again" voters, potentially influencing midterm election outcomes.

show more