Tag: 2026 elections

Illinois Democrat Lawmaker and County Clerk Husband Remain in Office and on November Ballot Despite Federal Fraud and Obstruction Charges — Trial Delayed Until AFTER Election

An Illinois Democrat state lawmaker and her county clerk husband are heading into the November election while facing federal criminal charges tied to an alleged corruption scheme involving campaign kickbacks, taxpayer-funded grants, and efforts to obstruct an FBI investigation.

And here’s the kicker: Their federal trial has been postponed until December 7, more than a month AFTER Election Day!

Democrat State Rep. Carol Ammons of Urbana and her husband, Champaign County Clerk Aaron Ammons, were indicted by a federal grand jury on July 7, 2026. Both pleaded not guilty on July 16.

As The Gateway Pundit previously reported on July 9, 2026, the federal indictment against Carol and Aaron Ammons came just weeks after their daughter, Titianna Ammons, was separately indicted on federal wire fraud charges.

Despite the serious allegations, both remain in their elected positions and are seeking reelection in November.

Even more troubling, Aaron Ammons remains responsible for overseeing elections in Champaign County while facing charges that he attempted to obstruct a federal investigation involving his own family.

According to Capitol News Illinois reporting published by NPR Illinois, Carol Ammons faces a write-in challenge from Keith Smith, while her husband is running against Republican Alan Anderson.

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Influencers Got Payouts to Post Pro-Talarico Content

A new report from the New York Times has revealed that a group called Frontier Media was distributing payouts to creators who would post pro-James Talarico content on social media.

The Times claims to have found “dozens” of TikTok accounts that received payments of $4 per 1,000 views to upload positive videos of the Democrat Senate candidate. According to the Times, the Talarico campaign denies any involvement in the scheme to boost his favorability. Despite the denials, the origin of the funds is completely unknown as Frontier Media has no FEC filings.

The newest scheme to help aid Talarico through the election comes nearly a month after an employee for a pro-Talarico PAC had been caught on video explaining that the group was “paying people for their votes” through a “paid relational program.”

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South Carolina Democrat State Lawmaker Arrested For Pointing Gun at Family Member of Opponent at Polling Location on Primary Day

A South Carolina Democrat state lawmaker was arrested on Friday for presenting and pointing a handgun at a Democrat polling location on primary day.

On June 9, State Rep. Michael Rivers (D-St. Helena Island) retrieved a handgun from the glove compartment in his vehicle and pointed it at a relative of his opponent.

Michael Rivers engaged in a “brief verbal altercation” over the political campaign for his seat. He faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison for the felony pointing charge.

Rivers lost his primary to Shannon DeLocach.

An attorney for Rivers said his client is innocent.

“Representative Rivers is asserting his innocence to this accusation levied against him by a political opponent. Michael has served admirably in the State Legislature and he is a retired member United States military. He has been an upstanding citizen for nearly seven decades. We ask for the public to withhold judgment until the facts come to light and this matter is resolved in a Court of law,” the attorney, Seth Rose, said in a statement to WIS.

Rivers was released on a $15,000 bond.

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James Talarico Changes Story About Doctor Visit While Responding to Mental Hospital Rumors in First Interviews Since Disappearance

Texas Democratic Senate Nominee James Talarico broke his silence on his two-week hiatus this afternoon in interviews with NBC and MS Now, swearing that he “just had the flu” as claims that he was suffering a mental health episode continue to circulate. 

The Gateway Pundit reported earlier on allegations that Talarico was admitted to a mental institution in Ohio during his mysterious absence. An employee at the Lindner Center of HOPE in Mason, Ohio, allegedly confirmed on Saturday during a recorded phone call that Talarico had been “just discharged” from the facility. However, Talarico’s team denied the claim, saying “Talarico was home in Austin, Texas recovering from the flu.”

Talarico previously claimed, from a hotel room somewhere, that he had been diagnosed with a flu so bad that he went to an urgent care in Dallas during a virtual appearance at a United States Hispanic Business Council forum on September 30.

“I was starting to feel kind of under the weather a few days ago, and last night it got so bad that I went to the urgent care here in Dallas,” he said. “And I was diagnosed with the flu, and so uh I’m running a fever, and I’m my most contagious uh right now.”

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Talarico FINALLY Speaks, and I Think He Just Made Things Worse

Texas State Rep. James Talarico (D-50th District) finally spoke out about his two-week disappearance from the campaign trail, and his softball interview with NBC’s Phil Prazan raised more questions than it answered.

As we reported on Sunday, audio released by independent journalist Nick Sortor appears to show that the Lindner Center of Hope, a mental health facility in Mason, Ohio, discharged the Democrat nominee for U.S. Senate earlier this week. Sortor and Rhein Amacher gave Talarico until 1 p.m. ET Sunday to explain his absence, or they would expose the truth. The Talarico campaign didn’t respond, and the recording was posted after the deadline passed.

On the call, Amacher asks whether the facility has anything for James Talarico.

“It looks like he was just discharged this evening,” an unidentified female employee says.

Talarico’s campaign angrily denied it.

“This is a lie designed to promote a pathetic conspiracy theory,” spokesman JT Ennis wrote on X. “Last week James Talarico was home in Austin, Texas recovering from the flu.”

Inevitably, Talarico had to address the situation personally, and what a softball interview it was. For starters, Talarico went two weeks without an in-person campaign event in Texas, yet Prazan shrank that to “roughly nine days” in his first question.

“Yeah, I got the flu, and I’m feeling much better, and I’m glad I had a chance to recover,” Talarico told him. “I’m glad we made the decision to just take the week, get better, and now I’m glad to be back on the trail.”

Prazan then handed him the diabetic explanation, which many predicted would happen, noting that the flu can hit diabetics hard before asking whether Talarico ever needed a doctor or a hospital.

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Ohio Mental Hospital Reportedly Confirms that James Talarico was Discharged as Dem’s Campaign Screams ‘This is a Lie!’ and Calls It a ‘Pathetic Conspiracy Theory’

Receipts were just dropped by several investigative reporters producing a recorded call with a mental hospital that claimed that Texan Democrat James Talarico was just discharged. His campaign is still claiming he had the flu. More damning evidence is coming – time for Talarico to bow out of the race.

And there it is… Looks like Texan soy boy Democratic Senate candidate and all-around Marxist James Talarico has some ‘splainin’ to do, and the clock is ticking. As reported previously, Talarico was missing for roughly two weeks. His campaign claimed he had the flu, and Friday he finally showed his face with some supporters at the Austin City Limits music festival for about 15 minutes. However, investigative reporter Rhein Amacher confirmed with a mental hospital in Mason, Ohio, that Talarico was checked in there and has now been discharged. Oops.

Rumors are still swirling around the claim, but it now has a lot of credence since Amacher recorded that call. The reporter said he personally confirmed Talarico’s stay by calling the hospital, and he produced the receipts. That’s pretty damning.

“During my recorded call, an individual identifying themselves as a female facility employee reportedly stated that Talarico was no longer a patient and had been discharged within the previous 24–48 hours,” he posted on X.

The unidentified woman Amacher spoke with checked her records and told him that Talarico “was just discharged this evening; that’s why I don’t have it,” after telling him she could not confirm he was an inpatient. Except she just did.

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Justice Department eases political activity restrictions for senior officials

The U.S. Department of Justice has relaxed restrictions on political activities for Attorney General Todd Blanche and other senior political appointees, according to new internal guidance issued this week.

The memo, authored by Assistant Attorney General Jolene Ann Laurie, allows presidential appointees confirmed by the Senate to participate in certain political activities in their personal capacity. 

Covered activities include speaking at political rallies, campaigning for candidates, canvassing for votes, and serving as delegates or officers within a national political party.

The policy is reportedly applicable to several high-ranking officials, including the attorney general, deputy attorney general, assistant attorneys general, FBI director, and U.S. attorneys.

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Dem Stefany Shaheen Says ‘We’ve Got to Roll Back These Tax Breaks’ for New Hampshire Families

New Hampshire Democrat congressional candidate Stefany Shaheen, the daughter of U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), said this week that she wants to reverse Republican tax reductions, after previously supporting tax and fee increases as a Portsmouth city councilor and receiving financial and political support connected to her mother.

Shaheen said this week, “I believe it’s a matter of electing people who have the will to fight for the issues that matter most to the majority of people, and we’ve got to roll back these tax breaks. And again, let’s be clear: my opponent supports them.”

Rolling back the tax provisions would result in a 20 percent tax increase for New Hampshire families and bring back taxes on tips, overtime, and Social Security.

“Silver Spoon Stefany Shaheen just told voters everything they need to know: In Congress, she’d ‘roll back’ tax cuts that have made life better and more affordable for New Hampshire families. It doesn’t get any more out of touch than that. Granite Staters deserve a fighter, not a nepo baby,” NRCC spokeswoman Maureen O’Toole told Breitbart News.

Shaheen’s record as a Portsmouth city councilor also includes votes and proposals that increased taxes and fees. During her time on the council, Shaheen brought forward a motion to increase the city’s hourly parking fees by 25 percent.

A year later, Shaheen voted in favor of Portsmouth’s first budget to exceed $100 million. The budget included a property tax increase and another increase in parking fees.

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Democrats Campaign Against Their Own Congressional Nominee Who Happens to Be in Federal Prison

Eric Hafner, 35, is running to strip Alaska’s lone House seat away from Republican incumbent Rep. Nicholas Begich. But can he win? After all, Hafner is the only Democrat on the ticket, and midterms historically punish the president’s party.

There’s just one problem: Eric Hafner is nearly 3,000 miles away from Juneau, serving out a 20-year prison sentence in Otisville, New York.

According to U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger, Hafner repeatedly threatened elected representatives, judges, law enforcement officers, and private citizens.

“He further victimized these public officials, private citizens, and the public generally by calling in numerous false bomb threats to a courthouse, a police department, law firms, businesses, and an elected official’s office,” Sellinger said.

Reporting by The Blue Alaskan revealed that in 2016, Inmate #00932-005 told a police department that the officer who arrested him “deserves to get shot,” that he knew where the officer lived, and that the officer’s minor child would “get his head bashed in.”

Data from Ballotpedia suggests that just 3.8 percent of voters filled in the bubble next to this man’s name.

It is unclear whether these voters knew Hafner’s background. The ballot may have been a protest vote or a knee-jerk reaction to the “D” next to his name.

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Something Is Rotten in Michigan. Are Democrats Trying to Steal the Election for El-Sayed?

Michigan is a prime flip opportunity for the GOP, and it looks as if the Democrats are engaging in shenanigans to try to steal it.

Start with the motive. Republican Mike Rogers and Democrat Abdul El-Sayed are fighting to replace retiring two-term Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), and recent polling shows the contest in a dead heat. The last two surveys that RealClearPolitics tracked put El-Sayed ahead by a single point, well inside the margin of error. Cook Political Report rates Michigan as the only Democrat-held seat in the toss-up column, in a state President Donald Trump carried in two of his three runs.

Democrats did this to themselves, frankly.

The seat became a pickup opportunity the moment Michigan Democrats passed over the more electable candidate, Haley Stevens, and nominated a socialist radical instead. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) obviously doubted his party could hold Michigan with El-Sayed on the ticket.

Then came Thursday night’s debate, and it did not go well for El-Sayed.

Rogers dominated, exposing his opponent’s hypocrisy and dishonesty on Israel, terror ties, his foreign property, and health care. El-Sayed faced questions about his ties to terrorist groups, about supporters who cheer Hamas, Hezbollah, and al-Qaeda, and about his mother’s role in wiring money to Osama bin Laden. Social media reaction overwhelmingly scored it for Rogers, and the verdict wasn’t limited to Republicans.

“Rogers showed up tonight and exceeded expectations,” wrote Michael LaRosa, a former spokesman for Jill Biden. “He spoke with absolute moral clarity about who Abdul El-Sayed actually is, he hit the right notes clearly and forcefully, and he didn’t flinch when going in on the attack.”

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