Wisconsin Right Now

(The Center Square) – Incumbent Sen. Tammy Baldwin defeated Republican challenger Eric Hovde in a race declared Wednesday afternoon.

Baldwin held a lead of 28,958 votes with 49.38% of the vote to Hovde’s 48.52%.

“The voters have spoken and our campaign has won,” Baldwin wrote on social media. “Wisconsinites chose someone who always puts them first, shows up, listens, and works with everyone to get the job done. I'm proud to head back to the Senate to keep fighting for our workers, farmers, and families that make our state great.”

Wisconsinites chose someone who always puts them first, shows up, listens, and works with everyone to get the job done. I'm proud to head back to the Senate to keep fighting for our workers, farmers, and families that make our state great.

If the difference remains less than 1%, Hovde will automatically qualify for a re-count.

After the unofficial tallies are done, a canvas must be complete and filed by Nov. 19. Then Hovde would have three days from the time the final canvas is received to ask for a recount.

Republican leaders, including Wisconsin Republican Party Chairman Brian Schimming, pointed toward third-party candidate Thomas Leager, who received 28,717 votes in the U.S. Senate race. Leager was found to have been funded by Democratic firms and donors despite saying that he was recruited to run by the Patriots Run Project.

Schimming called Leager and the America First party a “fake candidate under a fake party name.”

“Democrats have to come in and pose as something they are not,” Schimming said.

Schimming said that he would work with Hovde’s campaign to determine if they will ask for a recount, saying it is a “very very close race.” That decision has not been made yet, Schimming said.

(The Center Square) – Third District Congressman Rep. Derrick Van Orden defeated Rebecca Cooke in a race that was called late Wednesday morning by multiple outlets.

Van Orden, the Republican incumbent, had 51.35% of the vote with 211,696 to Cooke’s 48.65% with 200,556 votes in the district that includes Eau Claire and areas south of the city and extending east toward Oshkosh.

Incumbents won seven of the eight U.S. House seats in Wisconsin as the Republicans hold a 6-2 advantage in the state.

Republican Tony Wied topped Democrat Kristin Lyerly in the 8th District to fill an empty seat held by Republican Mike Gallagher until his April 24 resignation. Wied received 57.3% of the vote to Lyerly’s 42.7%.

Republican incumbent Reps. Bryan Steil (1st District), Scott Fitzgerald (5th District), Glenn Grothman (6th District) and Tom Tiffany (7th District) won races along with Democratic incumbents Mark Pocan (2nd District) and Gwen Moore (4th District).

Pocan represents a district including Madison and Moore represents Milwaukee.

Van Orden went back and forth during the race but ultimately did not schedule a debate.

Van Orden recently testified in front of the House Judiciary Committee about the effects of illegal immigration on Wisconsin on a statewide scale.

Van Orden fought back after Cooke incorrectly accused him of skipping a health care policy forum during the campaign.

The group organizing the forum, the Western Wisconsin Medical Society, called Cooke’s comments inaccurate and disappointing.

https://www.thecentersquare.com/wisconsin/article_3543096c-87f8-11ef-87e1-1bfc5f5a2ccc.html

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin voters approved a state constitution change requiring someone to be a citizen to vote in elections.

The ballot measure had 75% approval with more than 95% of the statewide voted tallied.

Currently, the Wisconsin constitution states that "Every United States citizen age 18 or older who is a resident of an election district" is a qualified voter; the ballot proposal would replace the phrase “every United States citizen” with “only a United States citizen.”

The ballot measure comes as leaders across the state called for a process for the state to check its voter rolls for noncitizens and remove them, ensuring election integrity in the state.

Currently, election commissions cannot check their rolls with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation to ensure an estimated 90,000 individuals who are currently legally in the state, who can get a drivers license, do not register to vote.

Several voting groups across the state spoke out against the ballot measure, including the League of Women Voters.

"The change from 'every' to 'only' is a downgrade to all of our voting rights," the group said. "The language changes our constitutionally protected voting rights from a guarantee for all citizens to a limitation that could be used to erode our voting rights."

Former President Donald Trump sued CBS News in federal court in Texas alleging it violated the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act.

Trump sued CBS Broadcasting Inc. in U.S. District Court Northern District of Texas Amarillo Division alleging the network’s “partisan and unlawful acts of election and voter interference through malicious, deceptive, and substantial news distortion calculated to (a) confuse, deceive, and mislead the public, and (b) attempt to tip the scales in favor of the Democratic Party” in the 2024 presidential election, the 19-page brief states.

The lawsuit alleges CBS News violated the Texas Business and Commerce Code and the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act (DTPA) when it aired two different versions of an interview with Vice President Kamala Harris.

On Oct. 5 and 6, CBS News “aired two different versions of its 60 Minutes interview with Kamala” citing examples of the differences between the versions. In both clips, Harris is asked about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the clips include different statements by Harris.

“Millions of Americans, including residents of Texas and this District, were confused and misled by the two doctored Interview versions,” the lawsuit alleges. “President Trump commented on the matter, writing on Truth Social: ‘In normal times, what happened on 60 Minutes, (deceptively ‘doctoring’ her answers), would be THE END OF ANYONE’S CAMPAIGN! Kamala is slow, incoherent, and in no way qualified to be President of the United States. RELEASE THE TAPES FOR THE GOOD OF AMERICA. We can do it the nice way, or the hard way!”

He also called for CBS News’ broadcasting license to be rescinded.

In response to widespread criticism of the interview by multiple outlets that alleged CBS edited the interview, CBS News issued a statement, saying the accusations were false.

“60 Minutes gave an excerpt of our interview to Face the Nation that used a longer section of her answer than that on 60 Minutes. Same question. Same answer. But a different portion of the response. When we edit any interview, whether a politician, an athlete, or movie star, we strive to be clear, accurate and on point. The portion of her answer on 60 Minutes was more succinct, which allows time for other subjects in a wide ranging 21-minute-long segment,” it said.

The brief states that CBS’s statement concedes that “Trump was accurate in his assertion that the interview with Kamala was doctored to confuse, deceive, and mislead the American People in order to try and interfere in the election on behalf of Kamala.”

After the interview aired, Trump’s counsel sent a letter to CBS demanding that it “immediately provide and publicly release the full, unedited transcript of the interview,” which it declined to do.

The Center for American Rights also filed a formal broadcast distortion complaint with the Federal Elections Commission. The different versions of the interview that aired “amount to deliberate news distortion – a violation of FCC rules governing broadcasters' public interest obligations,” CAR said. It also demanded that “CBS release the unedited transcript of the interview to set the record straight.”

Trump’s attorneys filed the lawsuit in Texas, the brief states, because the interview was aired in Texas and because CBS “engaged in substantial and not isolated business activities in Texas.” They also cite other examples, including a 2004 CBS News 60 Minutes interview in which forged documents were allegedly presented “in an attempt to impugn President George W. Bush’s integrity regarding his service in the Texas Air National Guard.” It also cited other examples of “dishonest reporting.”

The lawsuit claims the damages to Trump are between $75,000 and up to at least $10 billion, saying “CBS’ distortion of the 60 Minutes interview damaged President Trump’s fundraising and support values by several billions of dollars, particularly in Texas.”

A CBS spokesperson issued a statement saying Trump’s claims were false.

“The Interview was not doctored; and 60 MINUTES did not hide any part of the Vice President’s answer to the question at issue. 60 MINUTES fairly presented the Interview to inform the viewing audience, and not to mislead it. The lawsuit Trump has brought today against CBS is completely without merit and we will vigorously defend against it,” the spokesperson said.

Social media’s influence is causing Gen Z’s interest in skilled trades to rise, according to a report by Thumbtack – something a trade organization co-director said is “inspiring and eye-opening.”

“55% of Gen Zers are considering a skilled trade career (up 12% from last year) – including 72% of those with a college degree,” Thumbtack’s report stated.

Thumbtack is a company that helps people “care for and improve their homes” by finding a skilled tradesman nearby.

“84% of both Gen Zers and their parents express high respect for the skilled trades,” according to Thumbtack’s report.

The report shows that social media is a driving force behind Gen Z’s interest in trades, with “67% of Gen Zers – including 78% of those with a college degree – [saying] social media has increased their interest in these professions.”

“Skilled trades professionals are driving this trend, with 60% of pros saying that their careers are becoming increasingly ‘Instagrammable,’” the report stated, which feeds Gen Z’s desire to “[keep] it real” and “see both the good and bad parts of ‘a hard day’s work.’”

Ahead of social media, however, parents are the top influence as it concerns Gen Z’s career choice, according to the report.

Reasons Gen Z is attracted to the skilled trades are “the ability to earn money and work right away, to pursue a career they enjoy, and to learn new skills.”

These are “all attributes [skilled] pros rate as better than other industries,” the report stated. “Compared with an office job, the trades offer an opportunity to run your own company, control your own schedule, and pursue a career you enjoy.”

Unfortunately, “only 41% of [Gen Z] reported having any access to trade programs in school, effectively cutting off a pathway to well-paying skilled trades jobs for students every year.”

“When such programs are provided, however, Gen Z embraces them: 83% of Gen Zers who’ve taken shop class said it was their favorite subject,” according to the report.

Gen Z is “most interested in trade careers as engineers, electricians, carpenters, welders, general contractors, and plumbers,” which is “good news for both Gen Z and our communities,” the report stated.

“Gen Z college graduates are seven times more likely to regret attending college than pros who attended trade school,” according to the report. “And 83% of pros would still choose a skilled trades career if they could turn back the clock and decide again.

“80 percent of parents agree learning a skilled trade can be a better pathway to economic security than going to college,” Thumbtack said in another release. “Yet 77 percent of parents still say they’ve encouraged their children to attend a four-year college.”

Mark Hedstrom, co-executive director of Skilled Careers Coalition, told The Center Square that “there was a time when a college degree provided automatic entry into a lifelong, fulfilling career.”

“Today many young people graduating from college find themselves saddled with loan debt and unable to find a job in their field of choice,” Hedstrom said. “Skilled careers provide young people with an alternate path to success.”

Skilled Careers Coalition “looks to inspire the next generation of talent to pursue a skilled career and streamline the talent ecosystem to close the skills gap,” according to its website.

“Demand for talented professionals across a vast array of skilled trades and industries is higher than it’s ever been,” Hedstrom said.

“For young people to see others like them on social media working with their hands, earning a great living, and literally getting the job done, is both inspiring and eye-opening,” Hedstrom said. “Colleges and universities and the military are great career options for some, but for millions of high schoolers and those in the Gen Z set, these options either lack appeal, or just don’t work.”

Hedstrom also told The Center Square that although in its own study it found that guidance counselors, parents, and friends are the top career influencers for students, Skilled Careers Coalition is jumping onto the social media bandwagon with its Skills Jam entertainment brand.

“With the goal to inspire the next generation of master builders, welders, plumbers, creators and fixers, Skills Jam is a story- and information-sharing social media platform about the skilled trades for youth by youth,” Hedstrom said.

Thumbtack surveyed 1,000 Gen Zers, 1,000 Gen Z parents, and 1,233 Thumbtack Pros – those in a skilled trade –in July and August of 2024 for its study.

Under the Biden-Harris administration, more than 2.5 million illegal border crossers were reported from Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.

The total excludes gotaways, those who illegally entered the U.S. and evaded capture. It also excludes the number of inadmissibles from these countries who were released into the U.S. through a so-called family reunification program (FRP) program created by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

Mayorkas created at least 13 parole programs identified as illegal by U.S. House Republicans who impeached him for them and other policies they argue created the border crisis. Among them was the CHNV parole program created for inadmissible citizens of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela. Combined with illegal border crossers, they total more than 3 million under the Biden-Harris administration, The Center Square exclusively reported.

In July 2023, Mayorkas implemented the FRP program for inadmissible citizens of Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, The Center Square reported. Citizens of CHNV and FRP countries have been, and continue to be, linked to violent crimes committed against Americans and against others in the country illegally, The Center Square reported.

The FRP facilitated “access to lawful pathways” for citizens of these four countries, including the federal government opening regional processing centers for the first time in U.S. history outside of the United States. The first centers were opened in Colombia and Guatemala for their citizens to make appointments to meet with U.S. immigration specialists to help process them for entry before they arrived to the U.S.

“The new processes are for nationals from Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras whose family members are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents and who have received approval to join their family in the United States,” DHS said. “Specifically, nationals of these countries can be considered for parole on a case-by-case basis for a period of up to three years while they wait to apply to become a lawful permanent resident.”

Unlike CHNV data, DHS hasn’t publicized how many FRP recipients were released into the U.S. or how many were processed in Colombia and Guatemala before they arrived.

“These new processes promote family unity and provide lawful pathways consistent with our laws and our values,” Mayorkas said when announcing the FRP. “The Department has proven that the expansion of safe, orderly, and lawful pathways, combined with strong enforcement, is effective in reducing dangerous, irregular migration to the United States.”

Despite this, the greatest number of illegal border crossers were reported from these four FRP countries, according to CBP data from fiscal 2021 through fiscal 2024.

CBP’s fiscal year goes from Oct. 1 through Sept. 30. The data excludes the first three months of fiscal 2021, which occurred in 2020 under the Trump administration. Data from Trump-era months are miniscule compared to Biden-Harris-era months.

Colombia

Under the Biden-Harris administration, 442,299 Colombian illegal border crossers were reported, with the greatest number in fiscal 2023 of 167,388.

By comparison, 371 Colombian illegal border crossers were reported in December 2020 under the Trump administration and 19,287 in December 2023 under the Biden-Harris administration, according to the data.

El Salvador

Under the Biden-Harris administration, 306,455 Salvadoran illegal border crossers were reported, with the greatest number in fiscal 2022 of 97,797.

By comparison, 3,107 Salvadoran illegal border crossers were reported in October 2020 under the Trump administration and 9,848 in October 2021 under the Biden-Harris administration, according to the data.

Guatemala

Under the Biden-Harris administration, 913,783 Guatemalan illegal border crossers were reported, with the greatest number in nine months of fiscal 2021 of 251,902.

By comparison, 12,559 Guatemalan illegal border crossers were reported in December 2020 under the Trump administration and 35,544 in December 2023 under the Biden-Harris administration, according to the data.

Honduras

Under the Biden-Harris administration, 870,146 Honduran illegal border crossers were reported, with the greatest number in nine months of fiscal 2021 of 294,770.

By comparison, 7,535 Honduran illegal border crossers were reported in October 2020 under the Trump administration and 22,300 in October 2023 under the Biden-Harris administration, according to the data.

Combined, they total 2,532,683, excluding gotaways and those released through the FRP and other programs.

These numbers alone total more than the individual populations of 15 U.S. states.

A South Carolina sheriff is under fire for refusing to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

U.S. House representatives who chair the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Accountability subcommittees are demanding answers from a Charleston County, South Carolina, sheriff in response to its noncompliance with ICE detainer requests.

U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, R-SC, and U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman, R-Wis., sent a letter to Sheriff Kristin Graziano about her refusal to cooperate with ICE. They also announced they are investigating instances of local law enforcement agencies nationwide that refuse to cooperate with ICE.

They’re referring to a federal immigration law 287(g) program that authorizes ICE to designate some state and local law enforcement officers with specific immigration officer functions under its oversight. ICE explains the 287(g) program “enhances the safety and security of our nation’s communities” by allowing ICE officers “to partner with state and local law enforcement agencies to identify and remove incarcerated criminal noncitizens who are amenable to removal from the U.S. before they are released into the community.”

ICE also maintains that arresting and removing noncitizens “who undermine the safety of our nation’s communities and the integrity of U.S. immigration laws” is paramount.

Graziano, who was elected sheriff in November 2020, canceled the county’s cooperative agreement with ICE on Jan. 5, 2021, after she was sworn into office. Similarly, Harris County, Texas, Sheriff Ed Gonzalez did the same after he was elected in 2016, ending Texas’ largest county’s participation in the program in January 2017.

Local jurisdictions ending cooperative agreements with ICE because of so-called sanctuary city policies have been detrimental to arresting, detaining and removing some of the most violent offenders, ICE argues. Under the Biden-Harris administration, ICE Deputy Director Patrick Lechleitner said sanctuary policies are hurting Americans and noncitizens.

Some local jurisdictions “have reduced their cooperation with ICE, to include refusal to honor ICE detainer requests, even for noncitizens who have been convicted of serious felonies and pose an ongoing threat to public safety,” he said in a letter to Congress, due to their so-called “sanctuary city” policies. “However, ‘sanctuary’ policies can end up shielding dangerous criminals who often victimize those same communities,” he said.

In addition to ending the sheriff’s office 287(g) agreement with ICE, Graziano’s office also refused to honor at least 51 ICE detainer requests, according to ICE data.

Among the requests was one reportedly for “an illegal alien who was arrested and charged with two counts of criminal solicitation of a minor and then released back into the community,” Mace and Grothman said. “Due to your actions, ICE has designated Charleston County a ‘non-cooperative’ institution for refusing to detain criminal aliens long enough for ICE to take custody of them.”

Because local jurisdictions nationwide have refused to cooperate with ICE, the agency lifted detainers for 24,796 known criminals and released them into the U.S., Lechleitner said in a recently released report. The data is from Oct. 1, 2020, through July 22, 2024. Local jurisdictions refused to comply with 23,591 detainer requests, he said.

As of July 21, 2024, “there were 662,566 noncitizens with criminal histories on ICE’s national docket, which includes those detained by ICE, and on the agency’s non-detained docket. Of those, 435,719 are convicted criminals, and 226,847 have pending criminal charges,” Lechleitner said. This includes criminal foreign nationals convicted of, or charged with, homicide (14,914), sexual assault (20,061), assault (105,146), kidnapping (3,372), and commercialized sexual offenses, including sex trafficking (3,971).

The U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Accountability has launched an investigation into why local jurisdictions refuse to cooperate with ICE, arguing doing so “endangers local residents.”

The committee requested Graziano provide requested information about her office and ICE requests by Nov. 10. If she fails to comply, she will be subpoenaed.

During Graziano’s tenure, 17 inmates have died, prompting a federal investigation “into a potential pattern of abuse at the county jail,” The Post and Courier reported. More than twice as many deaths occurred under her tenure than in the four years prior, according to the county coroner’s office.

Graziano, who’s running for reelection, called Mace a "liar" in a statement issued to the media with “a dump of paperwork” about how the jail functions, The Post and Courier reported. "Just because she and her congressional colleagues cannot solve our country's federal immigration problem doesn't mean they get to make it mine,” Graziano said. She also accused Congress of failing “to do its job” and “lawmakers like [Mace] think it's their job to force someone else to do their work. Not on my watch."

In response, Mace said, “The delusion is outstanding. The document 'dump' Graziano took the liberty of providing the press before our office CONFIRMS everything we've been saying about her reckless, fake, & self-imposed policies. This is not ‘abuse of authority,’ but necessary intervention.”

Mace has led the charge to deport criminal noncitizens, introducing a bill that passed in the House to do so. Among the 158 House Democrats who voted against it was South Carolina’s Jim Clyburn, The Center Square reported.

The media and consulting firm linked to fraudulent voter registration forms in Pennsylvania earlier this week has gone dark as of Saturday.

Field and Media Corps – the website and social media accounts of which are now defunct – is an Arizona-based company that contracts with Everybody Votes to run a canvassing operation in Pennsylvania and other states that target low-income minority residents unregistered to vote.

The Monroe County District Attorney’s Office confirmed Wednesday that 30 registration forms contained fraudulent information, including an application submitted on behalf of a dead resident.

Everybody Votes runs an office in Lancaster County, where election workers recently found suspicious registration forms among a batch of 2,500 applications delivered last week. Investigators there said at least 60% of those reviewed were fraudulent. So far, the campaign has not been tied directly to the investigation.

Not so in nearby York County, where law enforcement continues reviewing another delivery from the operation leading up to the Oct. 22 deadline to register.

On Wednesday, the America First Policy Institute, a conservative-leaning research nonprofit, demanded a federal investigation into the company.

“Where there’s fire, there’s fire,” said Hogan Gidley, vice chairman of the institute’s Center for Election Integrity. “Thousands of instances of reported voter registration fraud have now been confirmed throughout Pennsylvania.”

He described Field and Media Corps, established in 2017, as a “high-powered left-wing organization” that may have launched similar “schemes” across the country that require state-level investigations.

“Submitting fraudulent registrations right at the voter deadline to overwhelm election officials is exactly the kind of scheme that the Department of Justice should be using their force and resources to stop,” he said.

Evidence also exists that Everybody Votes is linked to a left-wing super political action committee intent on expanding registration numbers for Democrats in battleground states.

Of note, the Democratic Party's registration advantage in Pennsylvania has diminished significantly over the last four years.

According to public tax records shared with The Center Square, The Voter Registration Project, also known as Everybody Votes, describes itself as a public charity that helps low-income minority citizens register to vote and provides technical assistance to voter registration drives.

The organization reported $45.8 million in total revenues in 2022, a “substantial portion of which comes from a governmental unit or the general public.”

A 2023 report from Capital Research Center, a conservative nonprofit, says left-wing donors together raised $190 million for the campaign to register 5.1 million voters across the country – all in violation of federal law that bars 501(c)(3) from engaging in such activity.

The strategy, detailed in a 2019 leaked memo from Mind the Gap, the liberal super PAC in question, entices investors by promising a more cost-effective strategy to boost vote counts for Democrats – namely through voter registration drives.

The group pointed to its direct role in flipping the U.S. House blue in 2018 as “proof of concept.”

Detailed further in the report are signed tax forms from donors that link their grants to the Voter Registration Project in direct support of Mind the Gap. The Capital Research Center estimates President Joe Biden collected between 1 million and 2.7 million swing state votes in the 2020 election as a result.

Biden defeated then-incumbent President Donald Trump 306-232 in electoral college votes; the popular vote was Biden 81.2 million to 74.2 million.

Francisco Heredia, who runs Field and Media Corps, told Votebeat earlier this week he’d not heard from county officials in Pennsylvania, but would cooperate with the investigation. He said the company trains workers how to legally complete registration forms and has no tolerance for fraud.

The U.S. economy added 12,000 jobs in October, far fewer than expected and the lowest monthly total since December 2020.

With the election just days away, it's unclear how Friday's report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor will impact voting.

"Total nonfarm payroll employment was essentially unchanged in October (+12,000), and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.1 percent," the bureau said. "Employment continued to trend up in health care and government. Temporary help services lost jobs. Employment declined in manufacturing due to strike activity."

The economy and inflation have been the top issue on voters minds all year, according to most polls, including The Center Square Voters' Voice poll in October.

"Employment in government continued its upward trend in October (+40,000), similar to the average monthly gain of 43,000 over the prior 12 months," the bureau said. "Over the month, employment continued to trend up in state government (+18,000)."