Tag: 2024

Commentary: Red Warning Lights Are Flashing on U.S. Economy as 2024 Rapidly Approaches

Virginia Star Staff

As 2023 is winding down to a close, the U.S. trade in goods deficit with the world is down $101 billion for the first nine months of the year to $802 billion, an 11.2 percent decrease so far, with still three months of data left to collect for the year, according to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Simultaneously, existing home sales measured by the National Association of Realtors are down to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.79 million, a 16.7 percent decrease from its Feb. 2023 level of 4.5 million, and are averaging 4.16 million for the past 12 months. Overall, existing home sales are down the past 12 months by almost 32 percent from their 2021 high of 6.12 million. That’s a lot.

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Survey: Cost of Thanksgiving Dinner Down Slightly from Last Year’s Record High

The Center Square

Thanksgiving dinner shoppers will get a bit of a break in the pocketbook this year. 

Illinois shoppers participating in the annual American Farm Bureau Federation’s (AFBF) Thanksgiving Cost Survey reported the average cost of a traditional Thanksgiving meal is down slightly compared to last year. 

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Trump Widens Lead over Biden in New 2024 Poll

Virginia Star Staff

Former President Donald Trump has widened his lead over President Joe Biden by 5 points for a 2024 head-to-head matchup, according to a Tuesday poll.

Trump is beating Biden 47% to 40% among registered voters, with 13% remaining undecided, according to a Messenger/HarrisX poll. The former president’s margin of victory grew from his 2-point lead reflected in a previous Messenger/HarrisX survey released on Nov. 1, when 12% of registered voters were not sure of their choice.

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Cornel West Targets Minority Voters in Michigan

Virginia Star Staff

Independent presidential candidate Cornel West is targeting minority voters in Michigan for 2024, a crucial voting bloc for Democrats that President Joe Biden has lost support with, Politico reported Tuesday.

West’s campaign is setting up a ground game operation to be deployed in the diverse battleground state early next year where the candidate will seek support from “environmental justice advocates,” the indigenous population, black voters, college students and Arab Americans, according to Politico. The move comes as Biden is losing support from minority voters, as well as Muslims in the swing state following the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack, providing a potential opening for West to shore up support among the key groups.

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Commentary: As Consumer and Producer Inflation Cools, Recession Maybe on the Horizon in 2024

Virginia Star Staff

Both annualized consumer and producer inflation decreased in October from 3.7 percent to 3.2 percent and from 2.2 percent to 1.3 percent, respectively, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, amid a drops in oil prices.

On the consumer side, gasoline prices dropped 5 percent in October and are down 5.3 percent over the past twelve months.

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Meta Is Allowing Political Ads That Question the 2020 Election — But Censoring Doubts About 2024

Virginia Star Staff

Meta’s social media platforms now allow political ads questioning the 2020 presidential election, but will censor ads questioning the 2024 election, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.

The company permits fraud claims about past elections but not current or future ones, according to its updated policy. Meta rolled out the policy after blocking certain Republicans during the 2022 midterm election primaries from releasing ads with assertions about the 2020 election being fraudulent, according to the WSJ.

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Another Poll Shows Biden Trailing Trump in Battleground States

Virginia Star Staff

President Joe Biden is trailing former President Donald Trump in four key swing states for a potential 2024 head-to-head rematch, according to a Thursday poll.

Biden would lose to Trump in Georgia, Pennsylvania, Nevada and Arizona by anywhere from 2 to 8 points among likely voters, and is tied in Wisconsin and narrowly leading in Michigan, according to an Emerson College survey. The poll comes after a series of other surveys suggest similar margins where the former president is beating Biden in crucial battleground states, most of which Trump won in 2016 but lost in 2020.

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Commentary: Trump’s Popularity Is Not Inexplicable

Virginia Star Staff

In a routine that has become familiar of late, CNN’s Jim Acosta reports the ongoing ascendancy of Donald Trump in the polls with a mixture of dismay and disbelief. With these emotions front and center on his November 5 cable show, Acosta grimly reported the latest polling on the 2024 presidential candidates, noting that Trump is now ahead of Biden in five out of six crucial swing states. In Nevada, where Trump lost by 2 percentage points in 2020, Trump is now up by 11 points over Biden.

As Acosta proceeded to interview experts in an attempt to make sense out of this, the prevailing message was Biden is too old, and that has voters worried. David Frum, a reliable uniparty stalwart, reassured Acosta that “Trump is only three years younger than Biden,” and that Trump is so weak and elderly that he “can’t even open a jar of pickles.” The men then proceeded to applaud Biden as physically hale and hearty, dismissing concerns about his age as unwarranted.

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Poll: Most Americans Believe A.I. Will Lead to More Misinformation in 2024

Virginia Star Staff

A new poll released on Friday shows that a majority of Americans believe that artificial intelligence (AI) will lead to more misinformation being spread on the Internet during the 2024 presidential election.

According to The Hill, the poll from AP-NORC and the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy found that 58% of Americans believe AI will lead to an increase in election misinformation. Among respondents who said they have “heard a lot or some about AI” 61% believed in the threat of more misinformation.

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Commentary: Women in Swing States Could Cause Problems for Biden in 2024

Virginia Star Staff

President Biden continues to trail across the country singing the virtues of “Bidenomics”, but voters aren’t buying it – especially female voters in highly contested battleground states that will play an outsized role in 2024.

Biden won women by a wide fifteen-percentage-point margin in 2020, but new polling shows he is suffering double-digit losses with women across key battleground states, and the economy, rising crime, inaction on the border, and foreign policy all play a role.

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Commentary: Bidenomics Takes Its Toll on Biden 2024

Virginia Star Staff

Drops in inflation-adjusted compensation and wages preceded the losses of Harry Truman in 1952, who opted not to run, Gerald Ford in 1976, Jimmy Carter in 1980, George H.W. Bush in 1992 and Donald Trump in 2020, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics and Bureau of Economic Analysis data.

They also preceded the historic wipeouts of Republicans in 2008 by Barack Obama and Senate Democrats in the 1958 midterms, and the Republican House wins of the 2010 and 2022 midterms.

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Trump Gaining Ground with Young Voters: Poll

Virginia Star Staff

Former President Donald Trump is gaining ground with young voters ahead of 2024, and is faring better than President Joe Biden among the electorate, according to a Friday poll.

Trump is leading Biden among voters aged 18 to 29 by 2 points, as well as with 30- to 39-year-olds by 11 points, according to an Emerson College survey. Trump is also leading Biden in a head-to-head matchup 47% to 45% nationally, with 8% remaining undecided.

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Minnesota Rep. Signals to Colleagues He’s Planning to Challenge Biden for Presidential Nomination: Report

Virginia Star Staff

Minnesota Democratic Rep. Dean Phillips has signaled that he is planning on running against President Joe Biden in 2024, Politico reported Thursday.

Phillips has been considering a White House bid for months, and relayed his aspirations to run to House colleagues, two sources familiar told Politico. The congressman has signaled that he’s inching toward a presidential campaign, as the outlet reports that he reached out to the New Hampshire Democratic Party last week and approached potential staffers to bolster his expected efforts in the key early state.

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Commentary: Democrats Begin Scapegoating Biden

Virginia Star Staff

Listen closely and you will hear Biden being scapegoated for Democrats’ policy failures. In 2020, Democrats had only one candidate who could beat Trump, and Biden had only one candidate whom he could beat. It was a match made in heaven. Now, three years in, that heavenly match is looking devilishly difficult, and doubting Democrats have only themselves to blame.

Hardly a day goes by without a story about Democrat angst over the president’s poor poll numbers. After winning in November 2020 with 51.3 percent of the popular vote, Biden rose further in the approval polls, reaching 55.7 percent on April 4, 2021, according to the RealClearPolitics national polling average. From there it has been an unmistakable plunge. On Oct. 18, RCP’s average of national polling had Biden at just a 40.8 percent approval rating (versus 55.1 disapproval).

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Biden Challengers Nearly Nonexistent in Google Results

Just the News

Republican presidential candidates’ websites are practically nonexistent in generic Google searches for the party’s 2024 bench, and not much better for the most viable primary challenger to Democratic President Biden, according to tests by a watchdog and Just the News.

For the conservative Media Research Center and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), it’s unmistakable evidence of Google’s bias for the incumbent just as primary voters are seeking more information about the candidates on the debate stage.

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Commentary: Biden’s Margin of Error Is Gone

Virginia Star Staff

Comparing current polling to 2020’s results, President Joe Biden cannot win reelection in 2024. To win in 2020, Biden had to roll up a big popular-vote margin to squeak to victory in the Electoral College. If current polls are correct, or even close, Biden’s needed popular support is nonexistent. And looking at the economy, it is hard to see from where it will come.

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Commentary: The Implications of Joe Biden’s Pending Political Demise

Virginia Star Staff

I’ve been saying, at The Spectacle podcast and elsewhere, that I refuse to make any assumptions about the 2024 presidential cycle. And let me offer the further caveat that Republican voters and conservative activists, not to mention current and prospective officeholders who wear that “R” next to their political names, had better pay a whole lot more attention to the structure of next year’s political cycle than to the personalities and candidates involved.

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Swing State Poll Results Could Spell Big Trouble for Joe Biden

Virginia Star Staff

Former President Donald Trump appears to have an advantage against President Joe Biden in 2024 among key battleground states in the 2020 election, according to a Friday poll.

The states that had the narrowest margin of victory for either candidate last cycle were Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, with Biden winning all but North Carolina. Across those key swing states, Trump is ahead of Biden 41% to 35%, and 24% of voters remain undecided, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.

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Race to Replace Romney Takes Shape in Utah After He Announces Retirement; Some Jockey for Position

Just the News

Utah Republican Sen. Mitt Romney on Wednesday announced that he would not seek reelection in 2024, contending that it is time for a younger generation of leaders to enter Congress and setting up what is likely to be a crowded Republican primary.

Romney served as a Senator since 2019, and before that was the Governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007.

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Nancy Pelosi Says She’ll Seek Reelection in 2024

Virginia Star Staff

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced on Friday that she will seek reelection to a twentieth term in the House of Representatives in 2024, according to a post on Twitter, now known as X.

Pelosi, age 83, served previously as the speaker of the House of Representatives for eight years cumulatively, and was leader of the House Democratic Caucus for twenty years from 2003 to 2023. After retiring from leadership at the end of the 117th Congress, Pelosi has remained a member of the House from San Francisco and announced on Friday that she would run again in 2024, according to a tweet.

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Top Montana State Republican Lawmakers Break from National GOP, Reveal Their Senate Pick

Virginia Star Staff

Republican leaders in both chambers of Montana’s state legislature along with 37 other lawmakers are backing U.S. Rep. Matt Rosendale for Senate in 2024, who has yet to launch a bid and is not the favorite of the GOP in Washington, D.C.

Former Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy was recruited to run by the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Chairman Steve Daines of Montana and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, and has received endorsements from GOP Gov. Greg Gianforte along with numerous other national Republicans. Montana’s Senate President Jason Ellsworth, Speaker of the House Matt Regier and other legislators argued Rosendale is the best candidate to beat Democratic Sen. Jon Tester and challenge the “establishment” in Washington, D.C., according to the letter.

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Commentary: Drug and Crime Issues at Border Could Make Immigration a Central Issue in 2024

Virginia Star Staff

Despite voters being focused on economic issues like lowering inflation and raising wages, the public’s concern over immigration could make border security as big of an issue in 2024 as it was just before Former President Trump was first elected.     

New Gallup polling from July shows the share of Americans who say immigration is a “good thing” is at its lowest point since 2014. The last time enthusiasm for immigration was this low, the public elected a staunchly law and order president who spent much of his campaign illuminating the drug and crime crisis in the United States due to unchecked immigration.

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Commentary: Keeping Trump Off the Ballot in 2024 Will Hurt the GOP

Virginia Star Staff

Now there are four separate trials against former President Donald Trump, the latest in Fulton County, Ga., arising from Trump challenging the results of the 2020 election, coming atop trials in New York City over supposed federal campaign finance violations, Miami, Fla. over his receipt of classified documents while he was president and retention when he left office and Washington, D.C. again over his challenge of the 2020 election.

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Biden, Dems Tap New Data Trove That Includes Contact Info for Almost Every Voter in America

Virginia Star Staff

President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign and other Democrats are tapping into a new database that provides contact information for nearly every voter in America for 2024, Axios reported Thursday.

The Democratic Data Exchange (DDx) has obtained data from 500 groups compiled over the last ten years, identifying 90% of voters’ contact information that Biden and Democrats will have at their disposal next year, according to Axios. With Democrats and Republicans fighting to use technology to their advantage in the 2024 cycle, Biden is hoping to reach crossover voters with the new information from the DDx.

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Commentary: Don’t Believe the Leftist Media Narrative About the State of the 2024 Race

Virginia Star Staff

To the surprise of no one, the leftist corporate media’s coverage of the 2024 presidential race has been abysmal. Predictably, their reporting is full of omissions, half truths, and wishful thinking. Once again, they only report their preferred narratives, in a desperate attempt to persuade stupid people and gullible news outlets into believing them, including Conservative Inc.

As usual the leftist coastal elites are attempting to shape their perceptions into reality.

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Former GOP Texas Rep William Hurd Announces Run for President

Admin

Former Republican Texas Rep. Will Hurd announced Thursday he’s running for president in 2024. Hurd, a frequent critic of former President Donald Trump, is the first Texan to enter the growing GOP primary field. The former congressman released an announcement video Thursday where he touched on illegal immigration and inflation, and argued that “Americans deserve better.”

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Commentary: Iowa and Minnesota Are Neighboring States That Show Different Futures for America

RealClearWire

There is no Berlin Wall or 38th Parallel separating Lyle, Minnesota, from Mona, Iowa, just 1.4 miles south along 1st Street, but the two towns are under governments with widely diverging visions. Iowa, once a “purple” state that leaned Democrat is now a “red” conservative state, while Minnesota, long a reliable Democrat state, has taken a radical, leftward turn. These neighbors exemplify the different visions for America that its citizens are likely to be offered in 2024.

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Republicans See Ballot Harvesting as a Necessary Evil in Some States Ahead of 2024

Virginia Star Staff

The Republican National Committee (RNC) unveiled a new election strategy on Wednesday that includes ballot harvesting in states where it’s legal, which conservative activists say is necessary to win elections in 2024.

The RNC’s new strategy, named “Bank Your Vote,” involves helping Republican voters cast their votes “as early as possible, through in-person early voting, absentee voting, and ballot harvesting where legal,” according to an email the RNC sent the DCNF. “Ballot harvesting,” a practice where absentee ballots are collected from voters by political employees and deposited at an election office or ballot drop box, has been strongly criticized by some Republicans in the past, though GOP candidates and activists now say it will be important to winning in 2024.

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Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie to Launch 2024 Presidential Campaign at New Hampshire Town Hall

Just the News

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is launching his second bid for the Republican presidential nomination at a New Hampshire town hall Tuesday evening. Christie also ran in 2016, losing the nomination to former President Donald Trump. He went on to become an adviser to Trump before their relationship soured over their disagreement about the 2020 election results.

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Commentary: Trump Still Has the Magic

Virginia Star Staff

The Republican primary is already in full swing. While a few second-tier candidates have joined the fray, including neoconservative Nikki Haley, Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.), and old school evangelical and former Vice President Mike Pence, the chief contest is between former President Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

Things are already heated. Some former Trump supporters now support DeSantis. Indeed, they have completely turned against Trump. The firehose of criticism reminds one of the refrains of a jilted lover.

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Mike Pence Expected to Launch 2024 Presidential Campaign Next Week

Just the News

Former Vice President Mike Pence is reportedly planning on launching his 2024 presidential campaign next week, setting him up to face off against his old boss, former President Donald Trump, for the Republican nomination.  Pence is likely to launch his campaign on June 7, his birthday, at a rally in Des Moines, Iowa, according to multiple news reports. Later that day, he is scheduled to speak at a CNN town hall at Grand View University.

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Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin Is ‘Reconsidering’ Running for President in 2024: Report

Admin

Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin is reportedly “reconsidering” his decision not to run for president in 2024, according to Axios.

Youngkin was often named as a potential candidate for president, but seemingly closed the door when he announced on May 1 that he wouldn’t run for president “this year.” Republican donors are urging Youngkin to reconsider as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is expected to jump in the race Wednesday and former President Donald Trump continues to dominate in the polls, according to Axios.

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Youngkin Passes on 2024 Presidential Bid, Focuses on Virginia Elections

The Center Square

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has ended months of speculation he will make a run for the White House in 2024.

Youngkin was asked by Wall Street Journal editor-at-large Gerard Baker at the Milken Institute’s “Governing America” discussion if he was planning on “dusting off” his fleece jacket to hit the campaign trail this year. Youngkin didn’t mince any words with a simple, “no.”

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Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Will Challenge Biden in 2024

Just the News

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will challenge President Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination in 2024.

The son of late presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, the younger bearer of the name has attracted attention for his opposition to COVID-19 lockdown measures and has been a long-time advocate against vaccinations more broadly.

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Youngkin Does Not Rule out 2024 Run, Emphasizes Virginia

The Center Square

When asked directly Thursday night whether he is considering running for higher office, Gov. Glenn Youngkin did not officially rule out a presidential run in 2024, but said he is focused on Virginia. 

“I have a big job, I love my job,” Youngkin said during a CNN Town Hall Thursday night. “Thank you for hiring me, thank you for letting me come to work every day and go to work for 8.7 million Virginians. That’s what my focus is right now, and I believe there is an enormous about of work yet to do in Virginia.”  

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Ron DeSantis Suggests Privately He’s Decided to Run for President: Report

Virginia Star Staff

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has privately disclosed his intentions to run for president in 2024, two sources close to the governor told The Washington Post.

DeSantis’ private comments suggest that he is no longer in the deciding phase, and is likely to make an announcement once Florida’s legislative session concludes in May, according to The Post. The Thursday launch of Never Back Down, a political action committee designed to boost DeSantis as the GOP nominee, serves as another indicator of a possible campaign, as it intends to “carry him to the White House.”

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In Possible 2024 West Virginia Senate Race, GOP Gov. Justice over Incumbent Democrat Manchin, Poll

Just the News

West Virginia Republican Gov. Jim Justice is the only potential nominee who could beat Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin in the 2024 Senate race, according to a GOP poll. 

Justice, a Democrat-turned-Republican, has not formally entered the race, but in a hypothetical matchup, the two-term governor beat Manchin 52% to 42%, according to the poll conducted by The Tarrance Group, a GOP strategic research and polling firm.

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California Democrat Sen. Feinstein Announces Won’t Seek Re-Election

Just the News

California Democrat Sen. Dianne Feinstein announced Tuesday she’s retiring at the end of her term and won’t seek 2024 reelection. “I am announcing today I will not run for reelection in 2024 but intend to accomplish as much for California as I can through the end of next year when my term ends,” Feinstein, 89, tweeted.

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Trump Unveils Plan to ‘Save’ Education from ‘Radical Left Maniacs’

Admin

Former President Donald Trump announced Thursday his plan to “save American education” from “the Radical Left maniacs” as part of his 2024 presidential campaign. The plan, unveiled on Twitter, focuses on tackling cultural issues in education including critical race theory (CRT) and gender ideology. Trump proposed cutting federal funding from schools that promote “[CRT], gender ideology, or other inappropriate racial, sexual, or political content onto our children,” the investigation of schools which engage in “race-based discrimination,” and keeping men out of women’s sports.

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