Billionaire with Epstein ties emerges as top Dem donor bankrolling ads weaponizing disgraced financier’s files

House Majority PAC uses contributions from the LinkedIn founder to target GOP candidates over the Epstein files

By Leo Briceno Fox News

Published October 26, 2026 8:00pm EDT

Kentucky GOP candidate blasts Reid Hoffman’s $500K donation to Dem-backed super PAC

Republican Ralph Alvarado slams the billionaire’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein and calls on Democratic opponent Zach Dembo to disavow the financial support.

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Reid Hoffman, the billionaire co-founder of LinkedIn who has faced scrutiny over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, was among the largest donors to House Majority PAC, a key Democratic fundraising group that is now using Epstein-themed ads to target GOP candidates, according to Federal Election Commission filings released last week.

In recent weeks, HMP has begun spending heavily as Election Day nears, pressing the case that Republicans have failed to make good on promises to bring transparency to Epstein’s child sex trafficking activities and whether he facilitated illegal sexual encounters for others. The filings do not identify which donor funds were used for specific advertisements, but Hoffman’s contribution came as HMP ramped up spending on Epstein- focused ads just two weeks ahead of election night.

In one such campaign, HMP targeted Rep. Nick Begich, R-Alaska, over his vote against a procedural motion that would have advanced consideration of the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Begich later voted in favor of the legislation, which passed with near-unanimous support.

EPSTEIN-LINKED BILLIONAIRE POURS $500K INTO SUPER PAC BACKING KENTUCKY DEMOCRAT: ‘DIRTY EPSTEIN-CLASS MONEY’

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Billionaire LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman previously maintained ties with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a relationship drawing renewed criticism following Hoffman’s $500,000 contribution to a super PAC supporting Kentucky Democratic congressional nominee Zach Dembo.(Getty Images)

“How did Jeffrey Epstein hide it? He was protected by the elites — elites like Nick Begich. Begich voted against releasing the Epstein Files, trying to hide the truth. Alaskans need someone who cares more about bringing down costs than protecting a rapist,” the ad claims.

The legislation, which became law in November 2025, requires the Justice Department to release records related to Epstein, with some protections to conceal the identity of his victims.

HMP has spent $543,300 on the ad campaign, according to FEC records.

But the group has also targeted races in a number of other battleground states, spending $ 480,000 in Iowa’s Second Congressional District, $ 2.06 million in Pennsylvania’s 1st District, $550,150 in Arizona’s 2nd District and $628,000 in Pennsylvania’s 8th Congressional District. All the ads launched within the past week, according to ADMO, an advertising- tracking service.

TRUMP-LINKED SUPER PAC PULLS FUNDING FROM 2 HOUSE REPUBLICANS AS GOP FIGHTS TO KEEP MAJORITY

Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell attend de Grisogono Sponsors The 2005 Wall Street Concert Series Benefitting Wall Street Rising, with a Performance by Rod Stewart at Cipriani Wall Street on March 15, 2005 in New York City.(Joe Schildhorn/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)

At least one Republican argued that Hoffman’s ties to Epstein made his contribution — and HMP’s Epstein-focused ads — hypocritical.

https://news-multimedia-1393112320.cos.ap-guangzhou.myqcloud.com/clear.gif”Democrats have no problem with money in politics so long as it benefits their own campaign, even if it comes from certified perverts like Reid Hoffman who maintained a relationship with Epstein after his conviction,” Natalie Baldassarre, a spokesperson for the Republican National Committee (RNC), said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

“Democrats have no morals when power and money are on the line, and they’ll take both from anyone willing to write a check.”

For many years, Epstein and Hoffman exchanged correspondence and gifts. They also helped raise money for MIT’s Media Lab. According to records made public through the DOJ’s Epstein Files library, Hoffman joined Epstein at his private island and visited him at his residence in New York. In one email, sent on Christmas Eve in 2014, Hoffman told Epstein he had sent him a pair of gifts.

“Sent you two gifts to NYC addie. 1 – Ice cream. If you have any interest, you should try — or else for the girls. 2 – something that may strike your funny bone for the island,” Hoffman wrote, referring to a surfer statue.

Hoffman has repeatedly denied wrongdoing, telling The Wall Street Journal in 2019 that he regretted continuing their relationship after Epstein was convicted in 2008 on charges of soliciting prostitution from a minor.

“My last interaction with Epstein was in 2015. Still, by agreeing to participate in any fundraising activity where Epstein was present, I helped to repair his reputation and perpetuate injustice,” Hoffman said in 2019. “For this, I am deeply regretful.”

EXCLUSIVE: OSSOFF CHALLENGED TO RETURN EPSTEIN-LINKED DONATION OR RETRACT ‘EPSTEIN CLASS ATTACK’

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Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn, during the Allen & Co. Media and Technology Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, US, on Tuesday, Jul. 7, 2026. The event brings together many of the biggest names in AI, media and technology.(Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

https://news-multimedia-1393112320.cos.ap-guangzhou.myqcloud.com/clear.gifThere is no allegation in the records cited by Fox News Digital that Hoffman participated in Epstein’s sex-trafficking crimes.

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Fox News Digital asked HMP whether it was aware of Hoffman’s past relationship with Epstein when it accepted his contribution and whether the group considers his donation consistent with its messaging about Epstein.

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Fox News Digital reached out to representatives for Hoffman but did not receive a response.

Leo Briceno is a politics reporter for the congressional team at Fox News Digital. He was previously a reporter with World Magazine.

俄乌局部停火开放人道援助 俄军袭基辅酿一死10伤

发布/2026年10月27日 09:05

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10月6日，民众在乌克兰首都基辅参加集会，要求设立人道主义走廊，协助撤离受俄乌战火影响、滞留在奥列什基（Oleshky）的乌克兰平民。 （路透社）

俄罗斯与乌克兰同意在乌南俄军占领区实施局部停火，让人道援助进入受战火摧残的城市奥列什基。

综合法新社和路透社报道，俄乌双方此前宣布，局部停火将于星期二（10月27日）当地时间凌晨3时（新加坡时间上午9时）生效，适用范围仅限奥列什基（Oleshky）周边部分地区。

这项停火协议由美国第一夫人梅拉尼娅斡旋，并于上星期五（23日）宣布。

俄罗斯国防部星期二在Telegram上说，随着上述局部停火实行，俄罗斯已暂停对乌克兰赫尔松的空袭。

奥列什基位于乌克兰南部赫尔松州，自2022年俄军入侵初期便遭俄军占领。当地长期处于交战前线，居民面临粮食和药物短缺，也难以撤离。

梅拉尼娅说，俄乌双方的文职官员将登门探访居民，评估所需援助，并为希望撤离者提供支持，安排交通将他们送往其首选的目的地。“我预计有些人会想去俄罗斯，有些人会想去乌克兰。”

这项局部停火实施之际，俄军星期一（26日）晚间向基辅发动导弹袭击，击中教育机构、住宅、地铁站及医疗设施。

基辅市长克里琴科说，袭击造成至少一人死亡、10人受伤，其中九人送院治疗，三人伤势严重。多名伤者是在第聂伯河东岸一所大学的学生宿舍外受伤。

乌克兰总统泽连斯基说，救援行动仍在进行，伤亡人数尚未完全确定。他再次呼吁盟友加快提供防空武器，强调在俄军随时可能发动袭击的情况下，拖延军援将危及平民安全。

澳洲警告AI加剧网络安全威胁 黑客攻击规模与速度空前

发布/2026年10月27日 09:37

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澳洲信号局星期二（10月27日）发布年度网络威胁报告指出，AI已成为过去一年影响网络安全形势的关键因素，让恶意攻击者更快发现系统漏洞，并以前所未有的规模、速度和复杂程度发动攻击。 （示意图/档案照片）

澳大利亚网络安全机构警告，人工智能（AI）正以前所未有的速度和规模加剧网络安全威胁，外国政府支持的黑客组织也利用AI攻击电脑网络及关键基础设施。

法新社报道，澳大利亚信号局星期二（10月27日）发布年度网络威胁报告指出，AI已成为过去一年影响网络安全形势的关键因素，让恶意攻击者更快发现系统漏洞，并以前所未有的规模、速度和复杂程度发动攻击。

报告说，近期还出现人工智能代理意外行为及模型测试所引发的新型安全威胁。

澳洲信号局过去一年发出超过4400次潜在恶意网络活动警告，较前一年激增80%。

报告指出，外国政府支持的黑客持续针对澳洲机构发动攻击，主要目的是窃取敏感或非公开资料，目标不仅包括政府网络，也涵盖关键基础设施、私人企业及个人。

报告点名与中国、俄罗斯及朝鲜有关联的黑客，指他们近期曾针对澳洲或其盟友展开网络攻击。

澳洲副总理兼国防部长马尔斯说，AI技术已成为现实，社会无法回避其发展，也不可能让技术倒退。

他指出，恶意攻击者正利用AI寻找系统漏洞，呼吁民众及时更新电脑软件，加强网络防护。

苹果首款折叠手机上市数天传屏幕故障

发布/2026年10月27日 10:05

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苹果公司首款折叠手机iPhone Duo上市仅数天，便有用户投诉内屏在使用数小时至数天后出现裂纹。苹果公司表明，已注意到少量iPhone Duo的内屏出现问题，受影响用户应联系AppleCare申请更换。 （路透社/示意图）

苹果公司首款折叠手机iPhone Duo上市仅数天，便有用户投诉内屏在使用数小时或数天后出现裂纹。苹果证实少量产品存在屏幕问题，并声明受影响用户可联系客服安排更换。

据彭博社报道，多名用户反映，展开手机时听到类似碎裂的声响，随后屏幕中央折痕处出现明显裂纹，部分手机屏幕右侧还出现白斑或显示异常。

相关投诉最初出现在社交媒体Reddit等平台。彭博社随后独立核实超过六名用户的个案，他们提供了手机损坏照片或与苹果客服沟通的记录。

苹果发表声明说，公司已注意到少量iPhone Duo的内屏出现问题，受影响用户应联系AppleCare申请更换。

苹果强调，大多数iPhone Duo并未受到影响，而存在缺陷的手机通常会在使用初期迅速出现问题。

美国圣迭戈iPhone Duo用户巴特尔说，他展开手机时感觉铰链比平时更紧、更难打开，随后发现屏幕出现异常线条，还能感觉屏幕下方有零件凸起或松动。

另一名手机用户、风险投资家金（Jonathan King）也说，星期一（10月26日）打开手机时听到异响，之后内屏便无法使用，尽管外屏仍正常运作。

iPhone Duo上星期五（23日）正式开卖，是苹果历经逾10年研发推出的首款折叠手机，也是iPhone历来最大的设计改变。

Venezuelan officials allowed opposition leader Maria Corina Machado to return, Rubio says

October 26, 2026 / 8:14 PM EDT / CBS News

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday that Venezuela’s interim government told the U.S. “weeks and weeks” earlier that opposition leader Maria Corina Machado could return to the country without interference, as the Trump administration pushes for a political transition that hinges on the cooperation of senior figures from Nicolás Maduro’s former government.

“We spoke to the interim authorities and just said, ‘Look, our expectation is that she’s a Venezuelan. She belongs in her country. That’s the country she’s from. She should be allowed to return, and she should be allowed to return unperturbed, having no problems,’” Rubio told reporters. “And they told us that she could fly into the airport if she wanted to. And we communicated that to her team.”

The disclosure came a day after Machado returned to Venezuela, and amid U.S.-backed efforts for an overhaul of the country’s judicial and electoral institutions that Rubio argued are required before credible presidential elections can be held.

Machado snuck out of Venezuela in late 2025 to accept the Nobel Peace Prize in Norway, after spending nearly a year in hiding. Roughly one month after she departed the country, U.S. military forces captured Maduro and left his deputy, Delcy Rodríguez, in control. The Trump administration has collaborated with Rodriguez on oil extraction and other issues, though the U.S. has said it expects Venezuela to eventually transition to a democratically elected government. Machado has suggested that she could run for president herself.

No election date has been announced, but Rubio insisted that the interim government was adhering to agreed-upon deadlines for replacing the country’s Supreme Court and electoral council, institutions long used by Maduro’s government to control political competition.

“We have timelines that are agreed to. And so far, they’ve met every one of the timelines,” Rubio said, dismissing the possibility that Venezuelan authorities could indefinitely delay elections.

“You’ve got to change the infrastructure of the elections, not in 10 years, not in five years, not in two years,” he added. “It needs to happen quickly under the timelines that we’ve established.”

Rubio cited what he described as compliance with U.S. national security demands to diminish Iranian and Cuban influence, pursue criminal organizations and extradite individuals wanted by American authorities, including former Maduro associate Alex Saab.

He also pointed to the administration’s ability to grant or withhold sanctions relief and licenses permitting economic activity as an incentive for the interim government to cooperate.

“The United States has significant influence over the direction that these talks go and the results that we get from them,” Rubio said.

Asked by CBS News whether Rodriguez and her brother Jorge, who leads Venezuela’s National Assembly, had been offered incentives to facilitate the transition — including immunity from prosecution — Rubio said there was “definitely no talk about prosecutions or anything of this nature.” He did not directly address whether immunity had been offered.

Rubio said the only time he personally discouraged Machado from returning was immediately after a devastating earthquake, citing the need to prioritize humanitarian relief operations.

“And the reason why it was very simple, because right at that moment, the only thing we were focusing on from a logistical standpoint was getting as many planes with relief aid as possible into the country,” Rubio said.

Machado has criticized aspects of the Trump administration’s economic deals with Venezuela’s interim government, including a U.S.-backed oil deal announced by President Trump earlier this year. Rubio defended the agreement as a means of attracting private investment, saying her objections were separate from the question of democratic elections.

“She doesn’t have to agree with it or like it,” he said of the oil deal.

Rubio warned that failure to reach a negotiated transition could result in a return to an authoritarian system – or to armed conflict – but expressed confidence that the interim authorities would continue cooperating.

“If that’s the interim authorities that try to do harm to this process or stop complying, then we’re gonna have a problem,” he said. “But I don’t expect that. I really, really don’t.”

Since Maduro’s ouster, the Trump administration has suggested Cuba is also in its sights, urging the island’s government to make sweeping political and economic changes. Rubio said hours after the Venezuela operation that “if I lived in Havana and I was in the government, I’d be concerned, at least a little bit,” pointing to Cuba’s alliance with Venezuela. Mr. Trump has mulled “taking Cuba in some form,” and hasn’t ruled out military action.

Last week, Rubio and the CIAurged Cubans in social media posts to work with the agency if they want to see “positive change.”

Asked why he encouraged Cubans to work with the CIA rather than pursue peaceful political change, Rubio said, “I can’t answer that.”

He added that Cuba needed “very dramatic change” and was “a totally different case from Venezuela.”

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研究：伊朗战争推高油价 美国消费者额外负担全球最高

发布/2026年10月27日 11:01

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最新研究显示，美国消费者承担的额外燃油开支为全球最高，自战争爆发以来，平均每人多支付471美元（约603新元）。10月26日，美国俄亥俄州一座加油站的加油泵上显示燃油价格。 （路透社）

美伊冲突推高燃油价格，最新研究显示，美国消费者承受的额外燃油开支为全球最高，自战争爆发以来，平均每人多支付471美元（约603新元），远高于全球平均的60美元。

路透社报道，芬兰的非营利组织能源与清洁空气研究中心（CREA）星期一（10月26日）发表的研究报告指出，美国消费者受到的冲击尤其严重，主要因为美国高度依赖能源效率较低的私人汽车、日常出行距离较长，以及电动车普及速度相对缓慢。

美国与以色列今年2月28日对伊朗开战后，霍尔木兹海峡一度几乎关闭，随后又遭封锁，严重扰乱全球石油供应。

研究分析169个国家今年3月初至10月中旬的燃油价格及消费情况，并以今年1月和2月的价格作为比较基准。

结果显示，全球消费者在这段期间因燃油涨价额外支付约4680亿美元，其中美国占1600亿美元，中国为540亿美元，加拿大则为170亿美元。

除了美国，加拿大、澳大利亚、新西兰和比利时的消费者也承担较高的额外燃油开支。

特朗普政府则认为，为阻止伊朗取得核武器，消费者暂时承受较高油价是可以接受的代价，并坚称战争结束后，石油和燃油价格将回落。不过，这场战争持续的时间已超出特朗普政府原先预期。

Judge continues to block Trump admin. from cutting down trees at D.C. golf course, confirms she’s still “not the Lorax”

Updated on: October 26, 2026 / 10:49 PM EDT / CBS News

A federal judge on Monday barred the Trump administration from removing trees from East Potomac Golf Links in Washington, D.C., in a colorful ruling that follows a weekslong controversy over President Trump’s plans to overhaul the publicly owned course.

“The Court earlier stated, ‘I am not the Lorax. I do not speak for the trees,’” U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes wrote. “The Court still does not speak for the trees. It speaks only for the rule of law.”

In a 70-page preliminary injunction ruling, Reyes prohibited the government from “removing or damaging” any trees on the golf course while a lawsuit challenging the renovation plan works its way through the court system. The judge also required 10 days’ notice before the government makes “any irreparable modification” to the course.

The judge had previously blocked tree removal through Monday.

Mr. Trump has sought to overhaul the golf course — which sits beside the Potomac River — for months, pitching a “World Class Championship Golf Course” fit to host high-profile professional tournaments instead of the current “dysfunctional” course. The D.C. Preservation League sued over the planned changes to the course, arguing the government violated the National Environmental Policy Act by failing to analyze the project’s impacts.

Reyes has sparred with the government since it cut down hundreds of trees earlier this month with little notice to the court or plaintiffs. In a hearing two weeks ago, after more than 430 trees were felled, the judge told lawyers for the government that they had “lost credibility,” and she was “furious” and “thoroughly unamused.”

Mr. Trump said last week the course would close for construction beginning in November, and it would reopen in 15 months. He later said work would begin “IMMEDIATELY.”

In her ruling Monday, Reyes argued Mr. Trump’s statements about the renovation plans were tough to square with government lawyers’ position that it’s legally too early to challenge the plans in court because there was no final decision.

“Rarely, if ever, has the United States Department of Justice urged a federal court not to believe the sitting President,” she wrote. “This started as a case about golf. That good walk spoiled. But it has become much more. It now forces the Court to reconcile assertions by President Donald J. Trump with the sworn testimony of multiple government employees and the argument of senior Department of Justice attorneys.”

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A golfer walks past the stump of a large tree at the East Potomac Golf Links, Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, in Washington. AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein

Reyes said she was initially reluctant to intervene in the case, writing that she “would much prefer not to have to resolve Lorax v. Once‑ler redux” — a reference to an earlier court hearing in which Reyes invoked the Dr. Seuss character to explain why she wasn’t interested in micromanaging the federal government’s tree management efforts.

She said she only intervened “because the Government did what it assured all it would not do,” by chopping down hundreds of trees on the golf course.

Reyes found that the D.C. Preservation League is likely to succeed in showing the Trump administration’s plans for the golf course violate the legal requirement for an environmental review.

She also found that the tree removals were part of Mr. Trump’s renovation plan, rejecting the government’s argument that they were part of an unrelated maintenance effort.

The judge said she did not find statements by the Department of Interior’s deputy chief of staff to be credible, including his description of the agency’s tree management plan as “cleaning up” the course.

CBS News has reached out to the Justice Department and the Department of Interior for comment.

Mr. Trump has feuded with Reyes, calling her a “crazed lunatic.”

Earlier this month, the Trump administration asked Reyes to recuse herself from the case, arguing that she had shown “open hostility” to the government and that her “histrionics in prior hearings have clearly demonstrated she is no longer impartial.”

“To name just a few examples of bias, Judge Reyes has unfairly questioned Trump Administration attorneys’ intelligence, allowed her disdain for the Trump Administration to influence how hearings unfold, and systematically disregarded basic separation of powers principles and Article III constraints on judicial authority,” government attorneys wrote.

Reyes rejected that request and denied that she is biased, listing out compliments that she has paid government lawyers.

“So what happened? Not sudden onset bias,” Reyes wrote in her denial. “Instead, the Government decided to remove over 500 healthy, non-invasive trees from East Potomac Golf Course. It waited until 4:55 p.m. on the Friday of a holiday weekend to give notice that it would begin removing trees within 15 hours. It removed nearly 430 trees in one day and would have destroyed hundreds more but for a rain delay.”

胡塞武装向沙特发射导弹及无人机 多国联军称成功拦截

发布/2026年10月27日 11:52

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在也门西部塔伊兹省对抗胡塞武装的前线阵地，一名隶属也门政府的武装人员，星期一（10月26日）从一辆皮卡车后方操作车载机枪开火。 （法新社）

沙特阿拉伯领导的多国联军星期二说，已拦截并摧毁也门胡塞武装向沙特发射的三枚弹道导弹及四架无人机。

路透社报道，多国联军星期二（10月27日）说，胡塞武装向沙特东部地区发射三枚弹道导弹，并向南部地区发射四架无人机。

沙特民防部门一度向东部地区及海尔季省发布潜在袭击预警，随后宣布威胁已解除。

胡塞武装上个月夺取也门红海沿岸多个战略地区，并向曼德海峡推进后，沙特加大对胡塞武装的打击力度。曼德海峡是全球重要航运通道，也是海湾产油国石油运输的关键航道之一。

沙特领导的联军支持也门政府，胡塞武装则控制首都萨那。双方近期再度交战，打破了2022年在联合国斡旋下达成的停火协议。

Dem bucks party over alleged Alaska vote-siphoning effort: ‘Neither party should be doing it’

The Justice Department has intervened due to concerns over ballot confusion between two candidates by the same name

By Alec SchemmelFox News

Published October 26, 2026 4:39pm EDT

Iowa gubernatorial candidate Rob Sand weighs in on Alaska Senate ballot controversy

Democratic gubernatorial nominee Rob Sand discusses the dispute involving two Alaska Senate candidates who share the name Dan Sullivan during an exclusive interview with Fox News.

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Iowa Democratic gubernatorial nominee Rob Sand is criticizing an alleged effort by Democrats to “siphon” votes from a Republican senator, calling the tactic “manipulating the political system” as the controversy consumes Alaska’s bruising Senate race.

Sand was asked by Fox News about allegations that Democrats have boosted unaffiliated Alaska Senate candidate Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., whose name closely resembles that of incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan, in an effort to draw votes away from the senator.

“Both parties are doing it and neither party should be doing it,” Sand told Fox News in an exclusive interview Sunday. “To me, it’s manipulating the political system and it’s not a good thing to do.”

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Democratic Party candidate for Iowa governor, Rob Sand.(Rob Sand For Iowa)

The unusual candidacy has become the center of an escalating legal and political fight in Alaska, where the Justice Department has intervened, arguing that the similarity between the candidates’ names could confuse voters. On the ballot, the Republican incumbent appears as “Dan S. Sullivan,” identified as a Republican and the incumbent, while his unaffiliated challenger appears as “Daniel J. Sullivan Jr.”

Republicans argue the similarity could cause some voters intending to support the senator to instead select his unaffiliated challenger, accusing Democratic operatives of helping elevate Daniel J. Sullivan to “siphon” votes from the GOP incumbent. Democrats have blasted the Trump administration’s intervention, while Daniel J. Sullivan has denied that he is a Democratic plant.

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Dan J. Sullivan, who has filed to run for U.S. Senate in Alaska, poses for a photo in Petersburg, Alaska, on June 26, 2026.(Katie Holmlund/Associated Press)

Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the Trump administration’s lawsuit seeking to block certification of Alaska’s Senate results if Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses to his Democratic opponent, Mary Peltola.

The administration says the lawsuit is intended to address the possible voter confusion, but Peltola called the case “flagrant corruption,” while Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has called it “an outrage.”

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Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, and former Rep. Mary Peltola, D-Alaska. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images) (Nathaniel Wilder/Bloomberg via Getty Images)((Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images) (Nathaniel Wilder/Bloomberg via Getty Images))

“This is an outrage,” Schumer said on social media about the suit. “It shows they know they’re going to lose. We will fight tooth and nail. And we will win.”

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Peltola has argued that voters can distinguish between the two candidates and her campaign has asked a federal judge to dismiss the Justice Department’s case.

Alec Schemmel is a Politics Reporter for Fox News Digital who is originally from Charlotte, North Carolina but now resides in the Washington D.C.-Baltimore Metro Area.

Not even sky high gas prices or the Iran war will stop Trump supporters voting MAGA

Trump rally attendees in Michigan call rising costs ‘short term pain for long term gain’ and back Republicans

By Paul SteinhauserFox News

Published October 26, 2026 6:00pm EDT

Trump voters unfazed by rising prices, Iran war as midterms loom: ‘He’s doing the right things’

MAGA voters speaking with Fox News Digital outside a President Donald Trump headlined rally in Port Huron, Michigan defend the president amid rising prices and the Iran War: ‘He’s doing what he has to do.’

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PORT HURON, Michigan – They’re coping with high prices at the gas and diesel pumps and at the supermarket, but the MAGA faithful in this key battleground state remain firmly supportive of President Donald Trump.

In conversations with nearly 20 Michigan voters who waited in line for hours to attend a Trump rally in this small city on the shores of Lake Huron, voters made clear they’re sticking with Republicans in the midterm elections and view Democrats as “socialists.”

“He has our best interests at heart. He loves our country and he is doing the right things for us to get back on track,” Carol Mocan of Warren, Michigan told Fox News Digital.

As they fight to hold their slim House and Senate majorities, Republicans are fighting political history, as the party in power in Washington has traditionally lost seats during midterm election years. The GOP also faces a challenging political climate fueled by persistent inflation tied in part to what polls show is an unpopular war with Iran and Trump’s increasingly negative approval ratings.

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Trump stood at 36% approval in the latest Fox News national poll, his lowest level ever in a Fox News survey. But among self-described MAGA voters, the president’s approval rating remained at a sky high 95%.

“I know that Trump is always out for America’s interests first. And that’s what I really like about him,” Bay City resident James Blake said.

Linda Taggart of Marysville called the current high prices “short term pain for long term gain…. We see the long term goal and we support that.”

Port Huron resident Bob Kemp said Trump is getting the U.S. back on course following four years of Democratic control in the White House under former President Joe Biden, noting “whenever you’re fixing something, it always gets worse before it gets better.”

Another Port Huron resident, Michael Bacheller, said the affordability issue wouldn’t impact his vote in the midterms.

“I think it’s kind of a small price that we have to pay temporarily, and I think that’s how Trump’s, you know, putting it, and I can agree with that,” he said.

Asked if she blamed Trump for high prices, Judith Troy of Port Huron said “yes and no, you know, because he’s doing what he has to do. Which causes, you know, prices to go up and that, but he’s doing it for a good cause, so, you know, it’s expected.”

Trump touted during his speech at the rally that “we are ensuring that Iran will never have, ever have, ever, ever a nuclear weapon,” as he offered his reason for launching the war against Iran. The argument resonates with MAGA voters.

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President Donald Trump walks up to the podium as he arrives to speak at a rally in Port Huron, Michigan, on Oct. 25, 2026(Matthew Reidy/Fox News)

“He’s taken the fight to the terrorists over in Iran,” James Blake said.

Carol Mocan said she doesn’t blame Trump for the high cost of living “because Iran needed to be taken care of. And no one else has done it for a long time, and I don’t know who else would have, and I really think it needs to be shut down.”

Ken Gunnels of Clio, Michigan said, “I believe Iran was a genuine threat to this country. If a nuclear bomb went off in one of our major cities, I don’t think any of us would have any idea the repercussions…that this country would suffer from that. I think those people are monsters, and I think we had to have a president that would stand up to them.”

Other MAGA voters said while the war and the economy are important, another issue takes precedence.

“My biggest thing is the immigration. If you’re here illegally, expect a knock on your door from ICE,” Burtchville resident Steve Scouten said.

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Bacheller, Scouten’s longtime friend, agreed. “I’m with Steve. I think if I could pick one thing that Trump should really go down for is the immigration policy,” he said.

James Blake emphasized that Trump’s “shut the borders.”

He added that the president has “also has advocated for no men in women’s sports, which is a huge one for us. Also with no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, no tax on Social Security, that’s huge, especially for a lot of members of my family.”

And Port Huron resident Rolande Debell highlighted she’s “all for Trump” because “it’s all about being American. It’s all about our freedom. It’s all about our rights. It’s all about our Ten Commandments, and that’s Trump.”

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A MAGA float outside of a rally headlined by President Donald Trump, in Port Huron, Michigan on Oct. 25, 2026(Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)

None of the MAGA voters Fox Digital interviewed said they would vote for a Democrat in the midterms.

“I don’t like a lot of the things that they believe in,” Judith Troy said.

Carol Mocan argued that Democrats “don’t live in the same world that that the rest of us do. They just don’t, they don’t think about the people. They think about their careers… whatever it takes to get elected.”

Asked why he won’t consider voting for Democrats, James Blake said, “I’m not in the business of socialism. I don’t think that’s a good way to go, and I think that’s where the Democrats are heading at this time.”

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Meanwhile, Steve Scouten shared that he “used to be a Democrat.”

“Never again. They’re too far to the left,” he claimed.

Paul Steinhauser covers the national campaign trail from coast to coast for Fox News

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