New Yorkers won't be voting on any citywide offices this year, but they do have five ballot initiatives that could shape the city's future more than any politician on this year's ballot. Mayor Zohran Mamdani created a version of the Trump administration's infamous Department of Government Efficiency in New York called the Commission on Government Efficiency (COGE). The plan is for COGE to modernize city operations and accelerate public infrastructure and permitting—in that vein, COGE placed five proposals before voters on the November ballot, largely targeting the bureaucratic processes governing new construction and business activity across the five boroughs.
Questions 1, 2, and 3 on the ballot would end or reduce the use of public hearings in different city review processes. Question 1 would, according to the ballot language, "simplify [the] process to use public space for uses such as ramps, planters and cafes, by removing mandatory hearings and Council disapproval of sidewalk cafes, while maintaining community and Council input." Question 2 would "reduce paperwork for City contractors by authorizing [the] Procurement Policy Board to simplify [the] contractor questionnaire….[And] remove mandatory hearing for required client services report." Question 3 would "simplify review of street safety projects to reduce construction timelines," among other changes. Question 4 is about simplifying permitting.
These policies were not directly introduced by Mamdani, but they reflect a governing philosophy that New York City and other big cities desperately need: a local government that won't allow a small group of organized opponents to obstruct progress for the city at large indefinitely.
Nowhere is the bottleneck against much-needed development clearer than at public review hearings. In theory, a public hearing is democracy at its purest: Every voice is heard. But in practice, it usually becomes a slow-motion filibuster. The most persistent and best-organized opponents get a megaphone, with little to no input from the millions of New Yorkers who would broadly benefit from more housing, better infrastructure, and businesses that can open without getting wrapped in red tape.
The 2026 ballot questions, if approved, would take small steps toward addressing these problems. If they all passed, it wouldn't be a seismic change—a planter here or a parcel of land there. But that's kind of the point: Should routine administrative decisions require another round of formal public review hearings to hold up any change, big or small?
SAO PAULO, Brazil— About 125 million Brazilians voted Oct. 4 on machines that print no paper ballots. Less than four hours after polls closed, the country knew its presidential election was headed to a runoff between conservative challenger Flavio Bolsonaro and leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
That process has been in place for over three decades, and Brazilians have become accustomed to its speed, simplicity, accuracy and routine. The system is robustly audited, completely disconnected from the Internet, and is the largest digital voting system deployed on the planet.
Eleven days before the U.S. midterms, Brazil’s system, analysts say, could offer Americans a more secure way to vote.
The system has been widely praised and was also mentioned in President Donald Trump’s 2025 executive order on elections, where he cited Brazil’s biometric voter identification as an example. Yet Brazil’s count runs partially on the kind of paperless machines that the president has vowed to scrap.
Over the years, Brazil merged federal, state and municipal databases into a digital voting record, whereby voter identity, eligibility and single ability to vote can (and usually must) be verified biometrically. Nearly 9 in 10 voters unlock the machines with a fingerprint.
Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court, or TSE, which designs the machines and oversees elections, says there has been no proven fraud since their 1996 debut. The 499,248 machines used on Oct. 4 never connected to the internet. Their software was open to inspection by parties, universities and watchdogs for 11 months before being digitally signed and sealed in public. Last December, the Brazilian government invited a record 149 outsiders to try to break the system; evaluators concluded nothing they found could alter results or reveal how anyone voted.
On election day, randomly drawn machines are fed paper ballots on camera as federal auditors and foreign observers watch and specifically track results.
Meanwhile, at closing, every machine used at every polling station prints its tally, which is then posted in front of the polling place with a QR code, so anyone can check it against the national count. In an email to Fox News Digital, TSE said each file’s digital signature "confirms that the result was produced by the electronic voting machine registered for that polling station."
Karina Stange Calandrin, a political scientist and professor at Instituto Brasileiro de Mercado de Capitais (IBMEC), says the system combines three traits rarely found together: voting is electronic, votes hashed to voter eligibility are stored locally in the machine and tallying is automated.
"It is an extremely secure and safe system. The machines never connect to the Internet and even the central database system used to transmit tallied votes to TSE must match results issued physically and locally by each individual machine without human interference," she said. Corrupting it, she added, would require breaking the seal of each machine and installing software that wouldn’t match the TSE’s version, automatically disqualifying its tally — a scale of collusion so large that it "simply could not pass undetected."
The machines passed their toughest political test in 2022, when former President Jair Bolsonaro, now serving a 27-year sentence for plotting to overturn his 2022 defeat, spent years attacking their credibility without evidence. Bolsonaro is presently serving time under house arrest.
This year, for the first time, a Bolsonaro appointee ran the TSE: Justice Kassio Nunes Marques. Bolsonaro’s eldest son, Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, finished first with 47% to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s 45%. The machines at the center of the senior Bolsonaro’s controversy may yet hand victory to his son.
Florencia Ferrer, CEO of e-stategiapublica, which has audited elections in 17 countries, has no doubt the Brazilian system is the most modern and secure in the world. "In India votes are electronic, but each voter gets a printed version of their vote to take home, which weakens voter safety and augments coercion rates," she says, adding that Estonia’s internet voting and the Philippines’ electronically tallied paper ballots carry their own risks.
An engineer from the University of São Paulo’s Polytechnic School who audited the machines in 2014, and declined to be named due to the sensitive nature of his work, agreed. "While no system is completely infallible... we have found no traces of tampering, wrong-doing or malicious intent," he told Fox News Digital.
Still, some defend higher scrutiny. Security researchers say a clean record is not proof enough, and the Carter Center said voters should at least see a printed version of their ballot deposited into a separate area of the machine; otherwise, results integrity rests on software alone. Germany’s top court ruled in 2009 that voters must be able to check their ballot without expert help, effectively barring a Brazilian-like system.
Brazil’s machine has traveled mostly on loan to countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia. Paraguay adopted it permanently in 2006, with machines that now print each individual vote.
"It’s obvious Washington and the remainder of the U.S. are way behind both technology as well as security when it comes to polling on voting day," Ferrer said. U.S. elections are run in thousands of local jurisdictions under 50 sets of state rules and about 30% of 2024 ballots came by mail, which is slower to process. Brazil has one national election authority, compulsory voting and no mail-in ballots.
Brazilians will vote this coming Sunday on Oct. 25. The winner is expected to be known and certified in under five hours.
"The question is not whether Brazil has invented a perfect voting machine. No voting system is perfect. It is whether democracies can combine the speed and consistency of digital tabulation with independent verification, public scrutiny and rules that citizens across the political spectrum have reason to trust," Ferrer said.
Fox News Digital's "Who's Who in Chaos Inc." is a living database mapping the organizations, local chapters, international networks and funders organizing or amplifying major protest movements.
The directory identifies each group's mission, ideology, organizational role and documented protest activity, distinguishing direct organizers and participants from supporters and amplifiers.
The database will be continuously updated and organized by country as new organizations, chapters, coalitions and connections emerge, providing a running picture of how local protest movements connect to broader national and transnational networks.
WHO'S WHO IN THE 287-GROUP FRANCE PROTEST ECOSYSTEM
ANTIFA / ANTIFASCIST (50)
Action citoyenne antiraciste antifasciste Beaucaire — ANTIFA / ANTIFASCIST: Local or regional antifascist/Antifa organization or collective; current evidence links it to the Oct. 24-25 Orléans antifascist mobilization where cited. Its documented role in the October protest wave is: Supporting / signatory — listed on the Ciao Fachos Oct. 24-25 Orléans national antifascist mobilization call..
Action Antifasciste 16 / Action AntiFa16 — ANTIFA / ANTIFASCIST: Antifascist collective It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Action Antifasciste Amiens & Alentours — ANTIFA / ANTIFASCIST: Local or regional antifascist/Antifa organization or collective; current evidence links it to the Oct. 24-25 Orléans antifascist mobilization where cited. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Action Antifasciste Angevine (3A) — ANTIFA / ANTIFASCIST: Local or regional antifascist/Antifa organization or collective; current evidence links it to the Oct. 24-25 Orléans antifascist mobilization where cited.
Action antifasciste de l’Ain — ANTIFA / ANTIFASCIST: Local or regional antifascist/Antifa organization or collective; current evidence links it to the Oct. 24-25 Orléans antifascist mobilization. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Action Antifasciste Deux-Sèvres — ANTIFA / ANTIFASCIST: Local or regional antifascist/Antifa organization or collective; current evidence links it to the Oct. 24-25 Orléans antifascist mobilization. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
AFA Dijon / Dijon Antifa — ANTIFA / ANTIFASCIST: Local or regional antifascist/Antifa organization or collective; current evidence links it to the Oct. 24-25 Orléans antifascist mobilization. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
AFA39 - Jura Antifasciste — ANTIFA / ANTIFASCIST: Local or regional antifascist/Antifa organization or collective; current evidence links it to the Oct. 24-25 Orléans antifascist mobilization. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
AG anti-fasciste 72 — ANTIFA / ANTIFASCIST: Local or regional antifascist/Antifa organization or collective; current evidence links it to the Oct. 24-25 Orléans antifascist mobilization where cited. Its documented role in the October protest wave is: Supporting / signatory — listed on the Ciao Fachos Oct. 24-25 Orléans national antifascist mobilization call.
AG Antifasciste de Brest — ANTIFA / ANTIFASCIST: Local or regional antifascist/Antifa organization or collective; current evidence links it to the Oct. 24-25 Orléans antifascist mobilization. Its documented role in the October protest wave is: Supporting / signatory — listed on the Ciao Fachos Oct. 24-25 Orléans national antifascist mobilization call..
Collectif antifasciste du 11ème — Antifascist Collective of the 11th — ANTIFA / ANTIFASCIST: Local or regional antifascist/Antifa organization or collective; current evidence links it to the Oct. 24-25 Orléans antifascist mobilization where cited. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Collectif antifasciste du 20e — Antifascist Collective of the 20th — ANTIFA / ANTIFASCIST: Local or regional antifascist/Antifa organization or collective; current evidence links it to the Oct. 24-25 Orléans antifascist mobilization where cited. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Comité antifasciste du 19e — Antifascist Committee of the 19th — ANTIFA / ANTIFASCIST: Local or regional antifascist/Antifa organization or collective; current evidence links it to the Oct. 24-25 Orléans antifascist mobilization where cited. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Antifa Paris 20e — ANTIFA / ANTIFASCIST: Local or regional antifascist/Antifa organization or collective; current evidence links it to the Oct. 24-25 Orléans antifascist mobilization where cited. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Antifa Paris 20ème — ANTIFA / ANTIFASCIST: Local or regional antifascist/Antifa organization or collective; current evidence links it to the Oct. 24-25 Orléans antifascist mobilization where cited. Its documented role in the October protest wave is: Supporting / signatory — listed on the Ciao Fachos Oct. 24-25 Orléans national antifascist mobilization call.
Antifas Marseille 1er — ANTIFA / ANTIFASCIST: Local or regional antifascist/Antifa organization or collective; current evidence links it to the Oct. 24-25 Orléans antifascist mobilization.
Antifasciste Paris 20e — ANTIFA / ANTIFASCIST: It's participated in many anti-government protests.
Caen Antifa Squad — ANTIFA / ANTIFASCIST: Antifascist collective It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Collectif Antifasciste Lorient et Environs — ANTIFA / ANTIFASCIST: Local or regional antifascist/Antifa organization or collective; current evidence links it to the Oct. 24-25 Orléans antifascist mobilization where cited. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Collectif Antifasciste de Lutte Montrouge et Environs — ANTIFA / ANTIFASCIST: Local or regional antifascist/Antifa organization or collective; current evidence links it to the Oct. 24-25 Orléans antifascist mobilization where cited. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Collectif Nîmois Antifasciste et Queer — ANTIFA / ANTIFASCIST: Local or regional antifascist/Antifa organization or collective; current evidence links it to the Oct. 24-25 Orléans antifascist mobilization where cited. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Collectif Antifasciste du Bassin Minier — ANTIFA / ANTIFASCIST: Local or regional antifascist/Antifa organization or collective; current evidence links it to the Oct. 24-25 Orléans antifascist mobilization where cited. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Collectif Antifasciste Orléans — ANTIFA / ANTIFASCIST: Local or regional antifascist/Antifa organization or collective; current evidence links it to the Oct. 24-25 Orléans antifascist mobilization where cited. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Collectif de Vigilance Antifasciste (CVA) 22 — ANTIFA / ANTIFASCIST: Local or regional antifascist/Antifa organization or collective; current evidence links it to the Oct. 24-25 Orléans antifascist mobilization where cited. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Collectif féministe antifa 71 — ANTIFA / ANTIFASCIST: Local or regional antifascist/Antifa organization or collective; current evidence links it to the Oct. 24-25 Orléans antifascist mobilization where cited. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Front Féministe Antiraciste Antifasciste Juif — ANTIFA / ANTIFASCIST: Local or regional antifascist/Antifa organization or collective; current evidence links it to the Oct. 24-25 Orléans antifascist mobilization where cited.
Garde Antifasciste 53 — ANTIFA / ANTIFASCIST: Local or regional antifascist/Antifa organization or collective; current evidence links it to the Oct. 24-25 Orléans antifascist mobilization where cited. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Groupe antifasciste Charvieu et environs — ANTIFA / ANTIFASCIST: Local or regional antifascist/Antifa organization or collective; current evidence links it to the Oct. 24-25 Orléans antifascist mobilization where cited.
Gwened Antifa Crew (Vannes) — ANTIFA / ANTIFASCIST: Local or regional antifascist/Antifa organization or collective; current evidence links it to the Oct. 24-25 Orléans antifascist mobilization where cited. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Kreiz Breizh Antifasciste — ANTIFA / ANTIFASCIST: Local or regional antifascist/Antifa organization or collective; current evidence links it to the Oct. 24-25 Orléans antifascist mobilization where cited. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
La Piraterie Antifasciste (Genève) — ANTIFA / ANTIFASCIST: Local or regional antifascist/Antifa organization or collective; current evidence links it to the Oct. 24-25 Orléans antifascist mobilization where cited. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Lutte antifasciste forezienne — ANTIFA / ANTIFASCIST: Local or regional antifascist/Antifa organization or collective; current evidence links it to the Oct. 24-25 Orléans antifascist mobilization where cited. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Millevaches Antifa — ANTIFA / ANTIFASCIST: Local or regional antifascist/Antifa organization or collective; current evidence links it to the Oct. 24-25 Orléans antifascist mobilization where cited.
Morlaix Antifasciste — ANTIFA / ANTIFASCIST: Local or regional antifascist/Antifa organization or collective; current evidence links it to the Oct. 24-25 Orléans antifascist mobilization. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Nissa Antifa — ANTIFA / ANTIFASCIST: Local or regional antifascist/Antifa organization or collective; current evidence links it to the Oct. 24-25 Orléans antifascist mobilization. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Orléans Riposte Antifasciste — ANTIFA / ANTIFASCIST: Local or regional antifascist/Antifa organization or collective; current evidence links it to the Oct. 24-25 Orléans antifascist mobilization. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Rafahl43 — ANTIFA / ANTIFASCIST: Local or regional antifascist/Antifa organization or collective; current evidence links it to the Oct. 24-25 Orléans antifascist mobilization. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Réseau Antifasciste Var — ANTIFA / ANTIFASCIST: Local or regional antifascist/Antifa organization or collective; current evidence links it to the Oct. 24-25 Orléans antifascist mobilization.
Riposte Antifasciste Marseille — ANTIFA / ANTIFASCIST: Local or regional antifascist/Antifa organization or collective; current evidence links it to the Oct. 24-25 Orléans antifascist mobilization. Its documented role in the October protest wave is: Supporting / signatory — listed on the Ciao Fachos Oct. 24-25 Orléans national antifascist mobilization call.
Riposte Antifasciste Nantaise — ANTIFA / ANTIFASCIST: Local or regional antifascist/Antifa organization or collective; current evidence links it to the Oct. 24-25 Orléans antifascist mobilization where cited. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Rouen Antifasciste — ANTIFA / ANTIFASCIST: Local or regional antifascist/Antifa organization or collective; current evidence links it to the Oct. 24-25 Orléans antifascist mobilization. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Saint-Denis Antifa — ANTIFA / ANTIFASCIST: Local or regional antifascist/Antifa organization or collective; current evidence links it to the Oct. 24-25 Orléans antifascist mobilization where cited. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Suresnes anti-fascist anti-racist — ANTIFA / ANTIFASCIST: Local or regional antifascist/Antifa organization or collective; current evidence links it to the Oct. 24-25 Orléans antifascist mobilization where cited. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Tours AntiFasciste — ANTIFA / ANTIFASCIST: Local or regional antifascist/Antifa organization or collective; current evidence links it to the Oct. 24-25 Orléans antifascist mobilization where cited. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
CRAAAME — ANTIFA / ANTIFASCIST: Local or regional antifascist/Antifa organization or collective; current evidence links it to the Oct. 24-25 Orléans antifascist mobilization. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
No pasaran 84 — ANTIFA / ANTIFASCIST: Local or regional antifascist/Antifa organization or collective; current evidence links it to the Oct. 24-25 Orléans antifascist mobilization. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
AMAARS (Assemblée Morbihan (Est) Antifasciste Antiraciste Rurale et Solidaire) — ANTIFA / ANTIFASCIST: Local or regional antifascist/Antifa organization or collective; current evidence links it to the Oct. 24-25 Orléans antifascist mobilization where cited. Its documented role in the October protest wave is: Supporting / signatory — listed on the Ciao Fachos Oct. 24-25 Orléans national antifascist mobilization call.
Choisyenne Anti-Fascist Solidarity — ANTIFA / ANTIFASCIST: Local or regional antifascist/Antifa organization or collective; current evidence links it to the Oct. 24-25 Orléans antifascist mobilization. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Ciao Fachos — ANTIFA / ANTIFASCIST: Local or regional antifascist/Antifa organization or collective; current evidence links it to the Oct. 24-25 Orléans antifascist mobilization. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Pays d'Auray Antifa — ANTIFA / ANTIFASCIST: Local or regional antifascist/Antifa organization or collective; current evidence links it to the Oct. 24-25 Orléans antifascist mobilization.
STUDENT / YOUTH (27)
G.E.L 72 - Groupe Étudiant Libertaire Sarthe — STUDENT / YOUTH: Student or youth organization involved in education, youth representation or protest mobilization. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Jeunes Écologistes du Loiret — STUDENT / YOUTH: Student or youth organization involved in education, youth representation or protest mobilization. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Le Poing Levé Orléans — STUDENT / YOUTH: Student or youth organization involved in education, youth representation or protest mobilization. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Solidaires Étudiant-e-s Montpellier — STUDENT / YOUTH: Student or youth organization involved in education, youth representation or protest mobilization. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Young Struggle — STUDENT / YOUTH: Student or youth organization involved in education, youth representation or protest mobilization. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
AFGES – Les étudiant·e·s d’Alsace — STUDENT / YOUTH: Historically called Association fédérative générale des étudiants de Strasbourg. Student federation in Alsace, centered in Strasbourg.
Communist Youth of Greece — COMMUNIST: A Greek communist youth organization that has publicly supported French students, connecting their education demands to opposition to military spending and government austerity. It has also supported communist protesters in Madrid, Spain, and Greece.
Coordination nationale lycéenne — STUDENT / YOUTH: High-school coordination It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Étudiants Musulmans de France (EMF) — Muslim Students of France: A Muslim student association involved in student representation and campus solidarity whose social-media activity appears in the protest research; its exact Oct. 17 role remains unconfirmed.
Fédération des associations générales étudiantes (FAGE) — Federation of General Student Associations: A national student federation that joined calls for student mobilization against the "extremely violent repression" of youth. It shared footage of its members marching on Oct. 17, with the hashtags #manifestation #genz #17octobre.
Fédération Syndicale Étudiante (FSE) — Student Trade Union Federation: A left-wing student organization whose activists appeared in demonstrations and announced "Democratic and Antifascist Vigilance Committees," linking high-school grievances to the treatment of anti-Israel activists and union members. On Saturday, it posted videos with its trademark solid red flags. One message read: "In Bordeaux, protesters invade the house of the mayor! On October 17, the whole country is on a standstill. Everyone is mobilizing for better living conditions, and against cutting the budget for public service! In Bordeaux, we hear echoing in the protest: Only one solution, the Revolution! The mobilization of the 17 continues: let's block everywhere in France!" It is listed in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization evidence.
Jeunesse du Monde — COMMUNIST PUBLICATION: A communist publication associated with the Organisation Communiste de France; separate organizational participation in the October 17 protests has not been established.
La Jeunesse Communists — COMMUNIST: A group coordinating communist youth activism visible in the French demonstrations, including hammer-and-sickle flags and banners calling for "Class War!"
La Relève Lycéenne — STUDENT / YOUTH: Student or youth organization involved in education, youth representation or protest mobilization. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Le Poing Levé — The Raised Fist — REVOLUTIONARY COMMUNIST: A revolutionary student and youth organization associated with Révolution Permanente that works to connect high-school and university protests.
Les Lycéens! — The High School Students!: A high-school student organization active in the early school blockades.
Rassemblement pour l'égalité et la démocratie Jeunes — Youth for Equality and Democracy: A youth civic and political organization associated with organizing support for students in Seine-Saint-Denis; its specific Oct. 17 role has not been independently established.
Solidaires Étudiant·e·s — Solidaires Students: A left-wing student union that supported the high-school movement and helped connect university students with the October demonstrations.
Solidaires Étudiant·e·s — Student Solidarity — STUDENT / YOUTH: Student or youth organization involved in education, youth representation or protest mobilization. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Solidarité Étudiante 14 — STUDENT / YOUTH: Student organization It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Student Solidarity.es Nancy — STUDENT / YOUTH: Student or youth organization involved in education, youth representation or protest mobilization. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Student Union Federation — STUDENT / YOUTH: Student or youth organization involved in education, youth representation or protest mobilization.
Union de la Jeunesse Communiste (UJC) — Communist Youth Union — COMMUNIST: A French communist youth organization that called on supporters to join and amplify the student struggle.
Union Étudiante — Student Union: A national university student union that helped mobilize students for the Oct. 6 demonstrations and encouraged participation in the broader movement.
Union nationale des étudiants de France (UNEF) — National Union of Students of France: One of France's established student unions, it was among the organizers of the Oct. 6 nationwide demonstrations.
Union syndicale lycéenne (USL) — High School Students' Union: A French high-school student union that helped organize the initial school blockades and October demonstrations before publicly supporting students joining the Oct. 17 Yellow Vest mobilization.
COMMUNIST / SOCIALIST / TROTSKYIST (27)
Gauche Républicaine et Socialiste (GRS) — COMMUNIST / SOCIALIST / TROTSKYIST: Communist, socialist, Trotskyist, anticapitalist or revolutionary-left organization or chapter. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
La France Insoumise (LFI) 18 — COMMUNIST / SOCIALIST / TROTSKYIST: Communist, socialist, Trotskyist, anticapitalist or revolutionary-left organization or chapter. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
NPA-A Loiret — COMMUNIST / SOCIALIST / TROTSKYIST: Communist, socialist, Trotskyist, anticapitalist or revolutionary-left organization or chapter. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Parti Communiste Français Loiret — COMMUNIST / SOCIALIST / TROTSKYIST: Communist, socialist, Trotskyist, anticapitalist or revolutionary-left organization or chapter. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Parti Socialiste Loiret — COMMUNIST / SOCIALIST / TROTSKYIST: Communist, socialist, Trotskyist, anticapitalist or revolutionary-left organization or chapter. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Union pour la Reconstruction Communiste (URC) — COMMUNIST / SOCIALIST / TROTSKYIST: Communist, socialist, Trotskyist, anticapitalist or revolutionary-left organization or chapter. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Unité Rouge (07-26-38) — COMMUNIST / SOCIALIST / TROTSKYIST: Communist, socialist, Trotskyist, anticapitalist or revolutionary-left organization or chapter. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
BreakThrough News — COMMUNIST SINGHAM NETWORK: A New York-based outlet that reported on French student demonstrations and previewed their participation in the October 17 cost-of-living mobilization.
Extinction Rebellion — COMMUNIST / SOCIALIST / TROTSKYIST: Communist, socialist, Trotskyist, anticapitalist or revolutionary-left organization or chapter. Its documented role in the October protest wave is: Supporting / signatory — listed on the Ciao Fachos Oct. 24-25 Orléans national antifascist mobilization call.
Fasci-Milé (PACA / Vaucluse) — COMMUNIST / SOCIALIST / TROTSKYIST: Communist, socialist, Trotskyist, anticapitalist or revolutionary-left organization or chapter.
Indian Alliance Paris — COMMUNIST SINGHAM NETWORK: A France-based Indian diaspora organization that connected French and Indian youth protests through its social-media messaging. It has partnered with the SIngham network's People's Forum for an event.
International Communist League — TROTSKYIST: An international communist organization whose French publication Le Bolchévik called on labor unions to mobilize in support of the school protests.
Organisation communiste révolutionnaire — REVOLUTIONARY COMMUNIST: A communist organization identified in the wider research whose precise legal identity and direct October protest activities require additional verification.
La France insoumise (LFI) — France Unbowed — LEFT-POPULIST / SOCIALIST: A political movement whose elected officials supported student blockades, including lawmaker Louis Boyard, who waved a Palestinian flag alongside students at Paris-Est-Créteil University.
Marseille Unite Communiste Libertaire — COMMUNIST / SOCIALIST / TROTSKYIST: Communist, socialist, Trotskyist, anticapitalist or revolutionary-left organization or chapter.
Nouveau Parti Anticapitaliste – L’Anticapitaliste — COMMUNIST / SOCIALIST / TROTSKYIST: Communist, socialist, Trotskyist, anticapitalist or revolutionary-left organization or chapter. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Parti communiste français (PCF) — French Communist Party — COMMUNIST: Party leader Fabien Roussel publicly supported student demonstrators in Paris alongside communist elected officials and activists as demonstrators carried party flags.
Parti de l'égalité socialiste — Socialist Equality Party — TROTSKYIST: A French socialist organization that called for workers' action committees and broader mobilization in support of the student movement.
Parti des Indigènes de la République (PIR) — Party of the Indigenous of the Republic — DECOLONIAL POLITICAL MOVEMENT: A political organization that defended the student revolt and circulated imagery of protesters outside Lycée Paul Éluard holding a Palestinian flag.
Révolution Permanente — Permanent Revolution — TROTSKYIST: A revolutionary socialist organization and publication that reported on university blockades and encouraged solidarity between high-school and university students.
Revolutionary Communist Group — COMMUNIST: A British revolutionary communist organization that published an article connecting the French student revolt to opposition to capitalism, imperialism and support for Palestine.
Union Communiste Libertaire — COMMUNIST / SOCIALIST / TROTSKYIST: Communist, socialist, Trotskyist, anticapitalist or revolutionary-left organization or chapter. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Union Communiste Libertaire (UCL) France — COMMUNIST / SOCIALIST / TROTSKYIST: Communist, socialist, Trotskyist, anticapitalist or revolutionary-left organization or chapter. Its documented role in the October protest wave is: Supporting / signatory — listed on the Ciao Fachos Oct. 24-25 Orléans national antifascist mobilization call..
World Socialist Web Site — TROTSKYIST MEDIA: An international socialist publication that covered the French school blockades and placed them within a broader argument about austerity, militarization and capitalism.
LABOR UNION (24)
CGT Eure-et-Loir — LABOR UNION: Labor union, sectoral union or local union branch involved in worker representation and mobilization. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Comité Droits et Libertés Solidarité 77 Sud — LABOR UNION: Labor union, sectoral union or local union branch involved in worker representation and mobilization. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Femmes solidaires du Montargois — LABOR UNION: Labor union, sectoral union or local union branch involved in worker representation and mobilization. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Solidaires Laval — LABOR UNION: Labor union, sectoral union or local union branch involved in worker representation and mobilization. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
SUD éducation 33 — LABOR UNION: Labor union, sectoral union or local union branch involved in worker representation and mobilization. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
SUD éducation 36-37 — LABOR UNION: Labor union, sectoral union or local union branch involved in worker representation and mobilization. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
SUD éducation 44 — LABOR UNION: Labor union, sectoral union or local union branch involved in worker representation and mobilization. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
SUD éducation 85 — LABOR UNION: Labor union, sectoral union or local union branch involved in worker representation and mobilization. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Union syndicale Solidaires 61 — LABOR UNION: Labor union, sectoral union or local union branch involved in worker representation and mobilization. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Union syndicale Solidaires 87 — LABOR UNION: Labor union, sectoral union or local union branch involved in worker representation and mobilization. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Confédération générale du travail ArianeGroup Issac union - CGT ArianeGroup Issac union — LABOR UNION: Labor union, sectoral union or local union branch involved in worker representation and mobilization. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
FNEC FP-FO — National Federation of Education, Culture and Vocational Training–Workers' Force: Force Ouvrière's education federation, which joined calls supporting high-school demonstrations.
Force Ouvrière (FO) — Workers' Force: A national labor confederation whose education affiliates joined calls supporting high-school students.
Solidaires 35 departmental union — LABOR UNION: Labor union, sectoral union or local union branch involved in worker representation and mobilization. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Solidaires 44 — LABOR UNION: Labor union, sectoral union or local union branch involved in worker representation and mobilization. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
SUD éducation — SUD Education: A left-wing education union that joined mobilization calls involving students and education workers.
SUD PTT 45 — LABOR UNION: Labor union, sectoral union or local union branch involved in worker representation and mobilization.
SUD social protection 93 — LABOR UNION: Labor union, sectoral union or local union branch involved in worker representation and mobilization. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Syndicat national des enseignements de second degré (SNES-FSU) — National Union of Secondary Education: A major secondary-school personnel union that supported strikes and demonstrations in solidarity with students.
Syndicat National des Techniciens de la Production Cinématographique et de Télévision - National Union of Cinematographic and Television Production Technicians — LABOR UNION: Labor union, sectoral union or local union branch involved in worker representation and mobilization. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Union nationale des syndicats autonomes (UNSA) — National Union of Autonomous Trade Unions: A national trade-union federation whose education organizations supported the school movement.
Union syndicale Solidaires — Solidaires Trade Union: A left-wing labor federation whose regional branches promoted Oct. 17 demonstrations and strikes after earlier student solidarity mobilizations. It is listed in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization evidence.
MIGRANT / HUMAN RIGHTS / ANTIRACIST (19)
Amnesty International Orléans — MIGRANT / HUMAN RIGHTS / ANTIRACIST: Migrant-rights, refugee-support, human-rights or antiracist organization. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
ASTI Orléans — MIGRANT / HUMAN RIGHTS / ANTIRACIST: Migrant-rights, refugee-support, human-rights or antiracist organization. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Mouvement contre le racisme et pour l’amitié entre les peuples 66 - MRAP 66 — MIGRANT / HUMAN RIGHTS / ANTIRACIST: Migrant-rights, refugee-support, human-rights or antiracist organization. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Observatoire du racisme en politique (Paris) — MIGRANT / HUMAN RIGHTS / ANTIRACIST: Migrant-rights, refugee-support, human-rights or antiracist organization. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
All Refugees — MIGRANT / HUMAN RIGHTS / ANTIRACIST: Migrant-rights, refugee-support, human-rights or antiracist organization. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Association Marocaine des Droits Humains PARIS IDF - AMDH PARIS IDF (Moroccan Association of Human Rights) — MIGRANT / HUMAN RIGHTS / ANTIRACIST: Migrant-rights, refugee-support, human-rights or antiracist organization. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Association of Maghreb Workers of France — MIGRANT / HUMAN RIGHTS / ANTIRACIST: Migrant-rights, refugee-support, human-rights or antiracist organization. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Citizens' Assembly of Originals of Turkey (The) - L'ACORT — MIGRANT / HUMAN RIGHTS / ANTIRACIST: Migrant-rights, refugee-support, human-rights or antiracist organization. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Coordination Sans-Papiers 75 — MIGRANT / HUMAN RIGHTS / ANTIRACIST: Migrant-rights, refugee-support, human-rights or antiracist organization. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Euro-Maghreb Citizenship and Culture Network (REMCC) — MIGRANT / HUMAN RIGHTS / ANTIRACIST: Migrant-rights, refugee-support, human-rights or antiracist organization. It is supporting the Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Fédération Droit Au Logement — MIGRANT / HUMAN RIGHTS / ANTIRACIST: Migrant-rights, refugee-support, human-rights or antiracist organization. It is supporting the Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Fondation Frantz Fanon — MIGRANT / HUMAN RIGHTS / ANTIRACIST: Migrant-rights, refugee-support, human-rights or antiracist organization. It is supporting the Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Handi-Social — MIGRANT / HUMAN RIGHTS / ANTIRACIST: Migrant-rights, refugee-support, human-rights or antiracist organization. It is supporting the Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Mouvement contre le racisme et pour l'amitié entre les peuples (MRAP) — Movement Against Racism and for Friendship Between Peoples: An antiracism organization identified in earlier coalition activity around the student demonstrations.
Pan-Asian Generation - Génération panasiatique — MIGRANT / HUMAN RIGHTS / ANTIRACIST: Migrant-rights, refugee-support, human-rights or antiracist organization. It is supporting the Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Rights Ahead!! — MIGRANT / HUMAN RIGHTS / ANTIRACIST: Migrant-rights, refugee-support, human-rights or antiracist organization. It is supporting the Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
SOS Racisme — SOS Racism: A French antiracism organization included in coalition activity supporting the school movement.
FEMINIST / LGBTQ (16)
Collectif féministe 45 — FEMINIST / LGBTQ: Feminist, women’s-rights, LGBTQ or queer activist organization. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Féministes en tous genres 45 — FEMINIST / LGBTQ: Feminist, women’s-rights, LGBTQ or queer activist organization. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
GAGL45 Centre LGBT+ — FEMINIST / LGBTQ: Feminist, women’s-rights, LGBTQ or queer activist organization. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
GRIF - Groupe Radical Intersectionnel Féministe Orléans — FEMINIST / LGBTQ: Feminist, women’s-rights, LGBTQ or queer activist organization. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Lille Radiqueer — FEMINIST / LGBTQ: Feminist, women’s-rights, LGBTQ or queer activist organization. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Mouvement Français pour le Planning Familial 93 - MFPF 93 — FEMINIST / LGBTQ: Feminist, women’s-rights, LGBTQ or queer activist organization. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Planning Familial du Loiret — FEMINIST / LGBTQ: Feminist, women’s-rights, LGBTQ or queer activist organization. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
#NousToutes France — FEMINIST / LGBTQ: Feminist, women’s-rights, LGBTQ or queer activist organization.
Bordeaux Feminist Collages — FEMINIST / LGBTQ: Feminist, women’s-rights, LGBTQ or queer activist organization. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Football Club Paris Arc en Ciel — FEMINIST / LGBTQ: Feminist, women’s-rights, LGBTQ or queer activist organization. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
LABEL GOUINE — FEMINIST / LGBTQ: Feminist, women’s-rights, LGBTQ or queer activist organization. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Les dégos (formerly degommeuses) — FEMINIST / LGBTQ: Feminist, women’s-rights, LGBTQ or queer activist organization. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Nous Toutes 35 / Rennes — FEMINIST / LGBTQ: Feminist, women’s-rights, LGBTQ or queer activist organization. Its documented role in the October protest wave is: Supporting / signatory — listed on the Ciao Fachos Oct. 24-25 Orléans national antifascist mobilization call..
NousToutes - #NousToutes — FEMINIST / LGBTQ: Feminist, women’s-rights, LGBTQ or queer activist organization. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
NousToutes Paris 19/20 — FEMINIST / LGBTQ: Feminist, women’s-rights, LGBTQ or queer activist organization. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
PROUD•E•S AUBER — FEMINIST / LGBTQ: Feminist, women’s-rights, LGBTQ or queer activist organization. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
ENVIRONMENTAL / CLIMATE (13)
Alternatiba Orléans — ENVIRONMENTAL / CLIMATE: Environmental, climate or ecological activist organization or local chapter. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Extinction Rebellion La Rochelle — ENVIRONMENTAL / CLIMATE: Environmental, climate or ecological activist organization or local chapter. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Extinction Rebellion Tours — ENVIRONMENTAL / CLIMATE: Environmental, climate or ecological activist organization or local chapter. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Greenpeace Le Mans — ENVIRONMENTAL / CLIMATE: Environmental, climate or ecological activist organization or local chapter. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Réseau pour les Alternatives Forestières (Limousin) — ENVIRONMENTAL / CLIMATE: Environmental, climate or ecological activist organization or local chapter. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Soulèvements de la Terre Essonne 91 — ENVIRONMENTAL / CLIMATE: Environmental, climate or ecological activist organization or local chapter. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Soulèvements de la Terre IDF — ENVIRONMENTAL / CLIMATE: Environmental, climate or ecological activist organization or local chapter. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Soulèvements de la Terre Indre — ENVIRONMENTAL / CLIMATE: Environmental, climate or ecological activist organization or local chapter. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Alternatiba Rouen — ENVIRONMENTAL / CLIMATE: Environmental, climate or ecological activist organization or local chapter.
Extinction Rebellion Île-de-France — ENVIRONMENTAL / CLIMATE: Environmental, climate or ecological activist organization or local chapter. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Les Soulèvements de la Terre — Earth Uprisings: A radical environmental movement that celebrated the student revolt and called for an antifascist uprising.
Soulèvements de la Terre Orléans — ENVIRONMENTAL / CLIMATE: Environmental, climate or ecological activist organization or local chapter. Its documented role in the October protest wave is: Supporting / signatory — listed on the Ciao Fachos Oct. 24-25 Orléans national antifascist mobilization call..
Uprisings of the Earth Orléans — ENVIRONMENTAL / CLIMATE: Environmental, climate or ecological activist organization or local chapter. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
PALESTINE SOLIDARITY (11)
AFPS Loiret — PALESTINE SOLIDARITY: Palestine-solidarity organization or local chapter active in advocacy and protest mobilization. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Collectif Orléanais pour une paix juste et durable entre Palestiniens et Israéliens — PALESTINE SOLIDARITY: Palestine-solidarity organization or local chapter active in advocacy and protest mobilization. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Secours Palestinien (Tours) — PALESTINE SOLIDARITY: Palestine-solidarity organization or local chapter active in advocacy and protest mobilization. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Sound of Sudan — PALESTINE SOLIDARITY: Palestine-solidarity organization or local chapter active in advocacy and protest mobilization. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Urgence Palestine Orléans (UPO) — PALESTINE SOLIDARITY: Palestine-solidarity organization or local chapter active in advocacy and protest mobilization. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
ACT FOR PALESTINE — PALESTINE SOLIDARITY: Palestine-solidarity organization or local chapter active in advocacy and protest mobilization. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
AGIR POUR LA PALESTINE Collective — PALESTINE SOLIDARITY: Palestine-solidarity organization or local chapter active in advocacy and protest mobilization. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Collectif de Solidarité Palestine 37 — PALESTINE SOLIDARITY: Palestine-solidarity organization or local chapter active in advocacy and protest mobilization.
Union juive française pour la paix (UJFP) — French Jewish Union for Peace: A Jewish peace and Palestine-solidarity organization that publicized "support for high school students" who joined protests in early October. Current update: It is listed in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization evidence.
Union juive française pour la paix (UJFP) — French Jewish Union for Peace: A Jewish peace and Palestine-solidarity organization that publicized "support for high school students" who joined protests in early October. Current update: It is listed in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization evidence.
Urgence Palestine — Palestine Emergency: A French Palestine-solidarity organization whose protest-related social-media activity appears in the research, although direct organization of the October 17 demonstrations is not established.
OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST (100)
AFA Annemasse — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
AFA78 — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Association des Ami.e.s de Maurice Rajsfus — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
OWL afa Dijon — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
ATTAC 45 — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Aux actes citoyens — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Cantine des Indigné·es Orléans — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Collectif immigrés du Montargois — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Collectif national pour une paix juste et durable — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Collectif Santé Est Loiret — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Contrevents (Côtes d’Armor) — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Debout ! — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Fondation Copernic — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
France-Cuba Association — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Génération.s — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
info gauchO — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
L’Après — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
La Digue — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
La Marche des Solidarités — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Le Boucan des paillettes (La Rochelle) — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Le Renouveau Syndical — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Les ami.es de la conf’45 — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Les amis de la Commune de Paris — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Les Écologistes Loiret — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Les Voix Éclairées (Yonne) — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
LHIAA — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Loiret populaire — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Mémoires En Marche Marseille — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
MODEF — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Mouvement de la Paix — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Mouvement pour une Alternative Non-violente — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Oaï e Libertat (Nîmes) — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Observatoire de l’Extrême Droite 61 — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Observatoire National de l’Extrême-Droite (ONED) — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Orléans Solidaire et Écologique (OSE) — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
OST Orléans — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Révolution Écologique pour le Vivant (REV) — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Ripostes.org — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Solidarité antispéciste (Occitanie) — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
TSEDEK ! Collectif juif décolonial — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Youtubercule — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
18th in struggle — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Agro in struggle — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Alternative Left Cooperative Network — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
ARAC - Republican Association of Veterans — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Asia France Solidarity (SAF) — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
ASIAD Solidarity and Information Association for Access to Foreigners' Rights — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Association of Families of Sahrawi Prisoners and Disappeared-AFAPREDESA — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Association pour la taxation des transactions financières et pour l’action citoyenne — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem.
ATTAC France — Association for the Taxation of Financial Transactions and Citizen Action: An economic-justice organization that linked protest grievances with opposition to austerity and restrictions on civil liberties. Current update: It is listed in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization evidence.
Attac Paris center — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Caen en Lutte — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Local protest collective It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Cannabis Sans Frontieres — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Cases Rebelles — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Citizen square — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Collective for the Defense of Young People of Mantois — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Confédération française démocratique du travail Éducation Formation Recherche Publiques — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem.
Confédération générale du travail (CGT) — General Confederation of Labour: One of France's major national labor confederations that supported the October school mobilizations and joined the Oct. 17 cost-of-living protests. Current update: It is listed in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization evidence.
Confédération générale du travail Éduc'action — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: CGT Éduc'action is the education-sector union of France's Confédération générale du travail.
Confédération générale du travail of the National Museum of Natural History — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Confédération générale du travail volkswagen — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Confédération nationale du travail (CNT) — National Confederation of Labour — ANARCHO-SYNDICALIST TRADITION: A revolutionary-syndicalist labor organization that endorsed the student movement, declaring that students were right to revolt.
Confédération nationale du travail 49 — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Confédération nationale du travail Education 93 — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Confédération nationale du travail Education Federation — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Coordination nationale du mouvement du 26 septembre — September 26 Movement Coordination: A climate-mobilization network that encouraged participation in Oct. 17 protests and connected environmental concerns with household economic pressures. Current update: It is listed in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization evidence.
Counter-Attack — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Elbow to Elbow — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Emancipation Inter-union Tendency — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Fanfare en lutte d'Angoulême — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Activist cultural collective It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Fédération des conseils de parents d'élèves (FCPE) — Federation of Parents' Councils: A national parents' federation that called on members to demonstrate and announced participation by its national board in Paris.
Federation of Tunisian Citizens of Both Shores — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Fédération syndicale unitaire (FSU) — Unitary Trade Union Federation: A major education and public-sector union federation that supported the school mobilization.
Fontenay-Diversité Collective — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
FRENCH ASSOCIATION — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Les Amoureux au ban public — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Let's block everything IDF — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Ligue des droits de l'Homme (LDH) — Human Rights League: A French civil-liberties organization that publicized support for students and criticism of police repression.
Ligue des droits de l'Homme - Evreux Ligue des droits de l'Homme section — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Maintenant! — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic / protest movement It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Maison des Peuples et de la Paix — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic / peace association It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Marche des Solidarités — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Neighborhood Assembly — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Nous Tous Paris Nord — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
NousTous 93 anti-racist — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Organisation de Solidarité Trans (OST) Angoulême — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Solidarity collective It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Peuple RÉVOLTÉ — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Protest collective It is participating in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Plural Women — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Popular Riposte — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Reach out — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Riposte Populaire — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Rosmerta — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Solidarités Asia France — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
TadamunExile70 — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Tendre la Main — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Théâtre 2 l'Acte — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Tout-A-Toi (Langon) — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem.
Vietnam Dioxin Collective — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem. It is supporting in the documented Oct. 24–25 mobilization.
Zora France — OTHER CIVIC / ACTIVIST: Civic, solidarity or activist organization appearing in the protest ecosystem.
They criticize the far-right candidate’s positions on labor rights, national sovereignty, poverty, violence, the environment, and human rights.
On Friday, Folha de Sao Paulo published the contents of a letter in which 54 Brazilian Catholic bishops warn that far-right presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro threatens the church’s social doctrine, democracy, national sovereignty and the practice of the common good.
“We cannot remain neutral, lest our conscience or history condemn us in the future. Those who remained silent in the face of totalitarian threats that materialized in 20th-century Europe left a shameful legacy for future generations,” stated the “Letter from Catholic Bishops to the People of God Ahead of the Second Round of the 2026 Presidential Election.”
The signatories say they are in communion with the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (CNBB) and aligned with the message issued by the organization’s Permanent Council, which defended the constitution and respect for the vote.
Besides urging voters to evaluate the records of the two candidates facing off in the Oct. 25 runoff, the bishops list the main positions through which Bolsonaro contradicts church teachings.
Labor Issues
The far-right candidate has consistently opposed eliminating the six-days-on, one-day-off work schedule and has proposed hourly pay, which “does not recognize the dignity of the worker and could bring this issue back to the forefront.”
National Sovereignty
Flavio Bolsonaro “promises Brazil’s submission to the United States, participated in a conspiracy to impose tariffs on Brazilian products, advocates foreign interference in elections, and promises to hand over our rare earth resources for U.S. exploitation.”
Poverty
The bishops cite the apostolic exhortation Dilexi Te and say the Liberal Party “has always publicly opposed social programs and the fight against poverty,” even though Flavio Bolsonaro now says he will maintain some of those programs.
🇧🇷⛪️ Creencias y política chocan en Brasil: crece la polémica por la promesa religiosa de Bolsonaro
✝️ Miles de fieles conmemoraron el aniversario de Nuestra Señora Aparecida, patrona del país sudamericano, en medio de la controversia por la promesa de campaña del candidato a la… pic.twitter.com/5AgyIQGEzv
The text reads, “Beliefs and politics collide in Brazil: controversy grows over a religious pledge made by Bolsonaro. Thousands of the faithful commemorated the anniversary of Our Lady of Aparecida—the patron saint of the South American nation—amidst controversy surrounding a campaign promise by presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro to declare that the nation belongs to Jesus Christ.
Catholics and representatives of Afro-Brazilian religions have warned of potential risks of exclusion and discrimination. Although the campaign asserted that this is merely a symbolic expression of faith, the debate has reignited questions regarding religious freedom and respect for the diversity of beliefs within Brazil.”
Violence
The bishops criticize Bolsonaro’s promise to expand access to firearms, “as his father did during his administration.” The issue had already been criticized in the homily delivered by the archbishop of Aparecida, who preached a message of “unarmed peace” during Mass on the Feast of Our Lady.
Environment
The bishops accuse Flavio Bolsonaro of denying the climate crisis and seeking to continue the “devastating policies” of his father, Jair Bolsonaro. They cite the environmental licensing law approved in 2025, known as the “Devastation Law.”
Human Rights and Democracy
The bishops recalled that the far-right candidate “publicly expresses support for torture” and that his family honored Col. Carlos Alberto Brilhante Ustra, a torturer during the military dictatorship.
Flavio Bolsonaro “made several statements that threaten the constitutional order” and, if elected, would govern with a majority in Congress and the Supreme Federal Court (STF), “creating the conditions for a usurpation of power,” the bishops warned.
The Brazilian Situation
Without mentioning Lula, the letter states that the Workers’ Party candidate, “although he has also been the subject of criticism, has always demonstrated responsibility toward the poor and our Common Home, and has acted within the limits of the democratic order, respecting the Constitution.”
“Whether one likes the current government or not cannot be a reason to hand the country over to someone who demonstrates such a contradiction with the teachings of our church,” the bishops say. They also urge Catholics not to abstain from voting.
Among the signatories are Bishop Jose Ionilton Lisboa de Oliveira, president of the Pastoral Land Commission, and the archbishops of Porto Velho, Roque Paloschi; Feira de Santana, Zanoni Demettino Castro; and Uberaba, Paulo Mendes Peixoto. The list includes bishops from Brazil’s Amazon, Northeast, Southeast, Central-West, and South regions.
The letter adds to the existing rivalry between Flavio Bolsonaro and the Catholic Church during the 2026 presidential campaign. In September, the Brazilian Commission for Justice and Peace delivered a report to the bishops detailing 58 attacks by the far right against Catholics and their church since 2018.
An ad earlier this week from Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy sparked outrage from both sides of the aisle, but a political strategist in the state says that the record of his opponent, former health director Amy Acton, is what ultimately makes the difference in the race.
The ad features Acton’s estranged mother, Donna Arthur, accusing her daughter of lying about her childhood and questioning her fitness to serve as governor. Acton responded by saying she and her brother were removed from their mother’s custody after her stepfather was accused of sexually abusing her, and Ramaswamy was quickly blasted by Democrats and some Republicans over the ad, which he has defended and spent millions to run over the next couple of weeks.
The controversy over the ad went viral on social media and was even commented on by President Donald Trump, who strongly defended Ramaswamy. Ohio attorney and political strategist Mehek Cooke told Fox News Digital that Acton’s record is what should be under the microscope, not the ad.
"I think that we have to really shift from Vivek's recent ad into the most important question for Ohioans is, who do you want governing the state of Ohio? We clearly can't trust Amy Acton, and she has a record of that," Cooke told Fox News Digital.
Acton’s record involves controversies both professionally and personally, many of which have been focused on by ads in the state of Ohio.
Acton served as health director under Republican Gov. Mike DeWine during the first months of COVID-19, when Ohio closed schools, shuttered bars and restaurants, restricted businesses and imposed a statewide stay-at-home order.
She also signed orders restricting nursing-home visitors, closing senior centers and adult daycare facilities, limiting mass gatherings and closing gyms and personal-service businesses before leaving the position amid pushback for the negative impact the lockdowns had.
"She worked as a health director for Mike DeWine and left after masking our children, shutting down our state, and yes, Mike DeWine's name is on those orders, but at the end of the day, it was Amy Acton's signature," Cooke said. "And she's the one who pushed for locking down our kids. I don't ever want to hire somebody who quits on the state during a pandemic. I can't imagine if she had another meltdown, whether it was managing our state budget or anything else. So people don't trust Amy."
Acton’s handling of nursing homes has also drawn criticism in pro-Ramaswamy advertisements on the airwaves. Ohio imposed a broad visitor ban at nursing homes and similar facilities in March 2020, separating residents from family members during the early months of the pandemic.
The Ohio Department of Health was later sued over its refusal to release facility-level COVID-19 death data. An Ohio appeals court ruled that the department violated the state’s public-records law by refusing to provide information about nursing-home deaths.
The ruling involved the health department as an agency and did not establish that Acton personally ordered the records to be withheld. However, critics have continued to argue that the controversy raises questions about transparency during her tenure.
Acton’s closure orders also became the subject of litigation from Ohio gyms. In the Rock House Fitness case, a court described the state’s actions as "arbitrary, unreasonable, and oppressive," though subsequent legal proceedings and changes to the state’s orders complicated the dispute.
More recently, five current and former state-government workers told the Washington Examiner that Acton was sometimes absent from pandemic strategy meetings and emotionally volatile while leading the state’s response. One source alleged that she was found curled up on the floor before an emergency meeting, while another said she was seen crying in a bathroom.
A separate 2019 police report has also become a campaign issue. Bexley police responded to Acton’s home after a reported domestic dispute involving her husband. According to reporting based on the police report, Acton’s daughter told police that Acton had been drinking, throwing things and breaking glass. The report also said Acton pulled a mirror from a wall, shattering it.
No one was injured and no charges were filed. Acton’s campaign described the episode as a normal marital argument and disputed claims that it demonstrated alcohol abuse. Acton has called broader accusations that she is an alcoholic or drug addict "lies" and "a complete fabrication."
Cooke explained that supporting law enforcement will be a critical attribute the next governor needs and that Acton has shown she is weak in that area, pointing to an Acton comment that appeared to compare ICE agents to the KKK and tying Acton to the "defund the police" ideology popular with socialist candidates across the country.
"There are people coming out there wearing masks, with all the gear on," Acton said earlier this year during a City Club of Cleveland forum. "We don’t even know who they are. They’re just showing up. Does this not feel like the Ku Klux Klan to anyone?"
While Ramaswamy has faced blowback for using Acton’s mother in an ad, the race had already gotten personal and tied to family, with Acton’s side running ads invoking Ramaswamy’s mother.
"They have run an attack ad on Vivek Ramaswamy's mother and the failure of an Alzheimer's drug, they started attacking family first and I think politics is brutal," Cooke said. "This is a contact sport in terms of anything in your closet. It all goes, but the difference is Vivek actually comes and addresses questions. He talks to people. He explains whether it was his businesses or anything else that he has conducted for the betterment of our economy and Ohioans. Amy continues to hide."
With 11 days until voters decide who will be the next governor of Ohio, Acton has not yet agreed to debate Ramaswamy, which Cooke says is because she can’t articulate the complicated issues.
"They're trying this Joe Biden strategy of hide in the basement, play the victim card, and it's not going to work," Cooke said.
"Amy will never get on a stage because the truth is she doesn't know what she stands for, she's going to have policies written for her by Democratic socialists that are running her party today, and right now, the plan is, let's hide."
Cooke recounted a recent visit to a doctor, who politically identifies as an Independent, where Ramaswamy’s ad came up and described a response that suggests the ad is not as damaging to Ramaswamy as being portrayed in the media.
"He said, ‘I don't care about what's in the ad,’" Cooke explained. "‘I care about her integrity. And the problem is, what does she stand for? I know what Vivek stands for. I have no idea what she stands for.’"
Fox News polling, conducted before the ad fallout, shows a tight race with likely voters favoring Acton over Ramaswamy by 50% to 48%.
Reps. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) and Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota) were born outside the US.
Getty Images
The US House of Representatives has 435 members, each representing a state congressional district.
US representatives do not need to be natural-born citizens in order to take office.
See the 26 current representatives born outside the US.
Similar to the US Senate, members of the House of Representatives do not need to be natural-born citizens in order to take office.
In fact, the only members of government who do are the president and vice president.
The House of Representatives, one of the two chambers of Congress alongside the Senate, has 435 voting members. They represent congressional districts allocated among the states based on population and serve two-year terms with no term limits.
To qualify as a US House representative, a person must be:
At least 25 years old
A US citizen for at least seven years.
Live in the state they want to represent at the time of the election.
Many current House members were US citizens at birth despite being born in another country — for instance, because they were born to American parents working in government positions abroad.
Here are the 26 active House representatives born outside the US.
Becca Balint (D)
WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 11: U.S. Rep. Becca Balint (D-VT) listens as U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies before the House Judiciary Committee in the Rayburn House Office Building on February 11, 2026 in Washington, DC. Bondi is expected to face questions on her department’s handling of the files related to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, President Trump’s investigations into political foes and the handing of the two fatal ICE shootings of U.S. citizens. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Alex Wong/Getty Images
State: Vermont
District: At Large
Place of birth: Germany
Balint has served in Congress since 2023. She was born in Germany while her father was serving in the US armed forces, making her a US citizen at birth.
Donald S. Beyer Jr. (D)
UNITED STATES - MARCH 1: Former Virginia Lieutenant Gov. Donald S. Beyer Jr., speaks during the Mount Vernon District Democratic Committee's annual Mardi Gras fundraiser at Don Beyer's Volvo car dealership in Alexandria, Va., on Saturday, March 1, 2014. Beyer won a straw poll over 10 other candidates vying to replace the retiring Rep. Jim Moran, D-Va. (Photo By Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)
Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call
State: Virginia
District: 08
Place of birth: Free Territory of Trieste (now Italy)
WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 1: Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-CA) arrives for a Democratic caucus meeting on Capitol Hill on September 1, 2026 in Washington, DC. House Republicans and Democrats are gathering for their first conference meetings after the August recess. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Representative Sean Casten, a Democrat from Illinois, during a House Financial Services Committee hearing in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he's supportive of a plan floated by President Donald Trump to send $5,000 checks to American adults if Republicans retain their majorities in Congress, downplaying concerns about the potential cost. Photographer: Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images
WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 21: U.S. Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ) arrives to a House Republican Conference meeting in the U.S. Capitol Building on July 21, 2026 in Washington, DC. The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to start a long recess through August after completing legislative business this week. (Photo by Finn Gomez/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 13: Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA) speaks to the press during a press conference on Capitol Hill on June 13, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Michael A. McCoy/Getty Images)
Michael A. McCoy/Getty Images
State: Georgia
District: 09
Place of birth: Canada
Clyde has served in Congress since 2021. He was born to American parents, making him a US citizen at birth.
Dan Crenshaw (R)
WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 26: Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) speaks during a press conference on Capitol Hill on June 26, 2024 in Washington, DC. Republicans in the House are attempting to hold Attorney General Derrick Garland in contempt of Congress after he advised that President Biden assert Executive Privilege over the audio and video records of his interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 30: Rep. Sharice Davids (D-KS) listens as Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-WA), the chairwoman of the New Democrat Coalition, speaks to reporters outside of the West Wing of the White House on March 30, 2022 in Washington, DC. The coalition met with U.S. President Joe Biden to discuss Biden’s domestic agenda and how to move forward with new legislation since the failure to pass Build Back Better in the U.S. Senate. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
State: Kansas
District: 03
Place of birth: Germany
Davids has served in Congress since 2019. She was born in Germany to a mother who served 20 years in the US Army, making her a US citizen at birth.
Diana DeGette (D)
DENVER, COLORADO - MAY 28: Diana DeGette participated in a League of Women Voters Congressional District 1 candidate forum at Montview Presbyterian Church on May 28, 2026, in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images)
RJ Sangosti/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images
State: Colorado
District: 01
Place of birth: Japan
DeGette has served in Congress since 1997. She was born in Japan while her father served in the US armed forces, making her a US citizen at birth.
Adriano Espaillat (D)
Representative Adriano Espaillat, a Democrat from New York, joined by House Democratic Party caucus chairs, speaks during a news conference on the US Supreme Court birthright citizenship decision outside the US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, June 30, 2026. The US Supreme Court rejected a central plank of President Donald Trump's immigration agenda on Tuesday, deeming his plan to restrict birthright citizenship to be unconstitutional. Photographer: Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Bloomberg/Getty Images
State: New York
District: 13
Place of birth: Dominican Republic
Espaillat has served in Congress since 2017. He came to the US as a child and became a naturalized US citizen in the early 1980s. Espaillat is the first formerly undocumented member of Congress.
Jesús G. "Chuy" García (D)
WASHINGTON, D C , UNITED STATES - 2019/06/25: U.S. Representative Jesús García (D-IL, aka Jesús G. "Chuy" García) speaking at a rally against the proposed United StatesMexicoCanada Agreement (USMCA), the proposed successor to NAFTA, at the Capitol. (Photo by Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
State: Illinois
District: 04
Place of birth: Mexico
García has served in Congress since 2019. He emigrated to Illinois in 1965 and became a US citizen in 1977.
Robert Garcia (D)
Representative Robert Garcia, a Democrat from California and ranking member of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, speaks to members of the media during a break in a closed-door interview with Kathryn Ruemmler, former lawyer at Goldman Sachs, not pictured, in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, July 15, 2026. Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s former general counsel defended her association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to Congress, calling him a "masterful liar" who used her and others to help legitimize him. Photographer: Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Bloomberg/Getty Images
State: California
District: 42
Place of birth: Peru
Garcia has served in Congress since 2023. He emigrated to the US when he was a young child and became a naturalized citizen in his early 20s.
Carlos A. Gimenez (R)
WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 20: U.S. Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-FL) (C) speaks as Rep. Maria Salazar (R-FL) (L) and Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) (R) listen during a news conference on former Cuban President Raul Castro at the U.S. Capitol on May 20, 2026 in Washington, DC. Rep. Diaz-Balart held a news conference to urge the U.S. government to hold former Cuban President Raul Castro accountable for the 1996 downing of two Brothers to the Rescue planes, which resulted in the deaths of four volunteers, including three Americans. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Alex Wong/Getty Images
State: Florida
District: 28
Place of birth: Cuba
Gimenez has served in Congress since 2021. His family emigrated to Miami in 1960, and he became a US citizen in 1976.
James A. Himes (D)
WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 14: U.S. Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT) speaks to members of the press after a briefing at the U.S. Capitol on February 14, 2024 in Washington, DC. Earlier in the day, Turner released a public statement warning members of Congress about a "serious national security threat" without giving any information about the nature of the threat and demanded that President Joe Biden declassify the information. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Alex Wong/Getty Images
State: Connecticut
District: 04
Place of birth: Peru
Himes has served in Congress since 2009. He was born to American parents, making him a US citizen at birth.
Pramila Jayapal (D)
WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 01: Ranking Member Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) listens during a hearing before the Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement of the House Judiciary Committee at Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill on September 1, 2026 in Washington, DC. The subcommittee held a hearing titled "Sanctuary Policies, Tragic Consequences," to examine how sanctuary policies, specifically in California, Colorado, and Maryland, endanger communities by putting the interests of criminal aliens ahead of the interests of Americans. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Alex Wong/Getty Images
State: Washington
District: 07
Place of birth: India
Jayapal has served in Congress since 2017. She emigrated from India at age 16 in 1982 and became a naturalized citizen in 2000.
Young Kim (R)
WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 02: U.S. Rep. Young Kim (R-CA) (2nd L) speaks as (L-R) Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) and Rep Claudia Tenney (R-NY) listen during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on February 2, 2022 in Washington, DC. House Republican leadership held a news conference to discuss GOP agenda after a caucus meeting. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Alex Wong/Getty Images
State: California
District: 40
Place of birth: South Korea
Kim has served in Congress since 2021. She emigrated to the US at age 12 and later became a naturalized US citizen.
Raja Krishnamoorthi (D)
WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 10: U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) speaks to the media as Microsoft Co-Founder Bill Gates testifies during a closed-door interview with the House Oversight Committee on Capitol Hill on June 10, 2026 in Washington, DC. The committee is continuing to hold closed-door interviews as part of their investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. (Photo by Tom Brenner/Getty Images)
Tom Brenner/Getty Images
State: Illinois
District: 08
Place of birth: India
Krishnamoorthi has served in Congress since 2017. The exact year of his naturalization is not in the public record, but he moved to the US with his family as a child.
Ted Lieu (D)
WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 15: Democratic Caucus Vice Chair Ted Lieu (D-CA) speaks during a weekly news conference at the U.S. Capitol on September 15, 2026 in Washington, DC. Lieu spoke about Congress's ability to impose guardrails on artificial intelligence. (Photo by Heather Diehl/Getty Images)
Heather Diehl/Getty Images
State: California
District: 36
Place of birth: Taiwan
Lieu has served in Congress since 2015. The exact year of his naturalization is not in the public record, but he moved to the US with his family as a child.
Ilhan Omar (D)
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - JANUARY 28: Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) speaks during a press conference at the Karmel Mall on January 28, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Omar continues to rally with community members after facing an attempted attack by a person who charged her podium with a syringe as she spoke yesterday at a town hall gathering. Protests and demonstrations continue around Minneapolis in the aftermath of the killings of Alex Pretti and Rene Nicole Good by federal law enforcement. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
Brandon Bell/Getty Images
State: Minnesota
District: 05
Place of birth: Somalia
Omar has served in Congress since 2019. She was naturalized in 2000, five years after arriving in the US from Kenya, where her family had lived in a refugee camp after fleeing Somalia.
David Rouzer (R)
UNITED STATES - JUNE 31: Rep. David Rouzer, R-N.C., leaves the House Republican Conference meeting in the Capitol on Tuesday, June 2, 2015. (Photo By Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)
Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call
State: North Carolina
District: 07
Place of birth: Germany
Rouzer has served in Congress since 2015. He was born at Landstuhl Army Medical Center in Germany, where his father was stationed, making him a US citizen at birth.
Raul Ruiz (D)
UNITED STATES - JANUARY 14: Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-Calif., speaks during the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology hearing titled "Oversight of the Federal Communications Commission," in Rayburn building on Wednesday, January 14, 2026. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, FCC Commissioners Anna Gomez, and Olivia Trusty testified. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
State: California
District: 25
Place of birth: Mexico
Ruiz has served in Congress since 2013. He was born in Mexico and raised in Coachella, California, after his aunt and uncle adopted him as a baby. He is a naturalized US citizen.
Victoria Spartz (R)
WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 20: U.S. Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-IN) questions Attorney General Merrick Garland as he testifies before the House Judiciary Committee in the Rayburn House Office Building on September 20, 2023 in Washington, DC. The committee is holding an oversight hearing on the U.S. Department of Justice. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 15: U.S. Rep. Marilyn Strickland (D-WA) speaks during a press event on reproductive right in front of the U.S. Capitol July 15, 2022 in Washington, DC. The House is voting on the Women’s Health Protection Act today. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Alex Wong/Getty Images
State: Washington
District: 10
Place of birth: South Korea
Strickland has served in Congress since 2021. She was born to an American serviceman father and Korean mother, making her a US citizen at birth.
Shri Thanedar (D)
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 14: Congressman Shri Thanedar (D-MI) speaks at a press conference with other Democratic members of House Homeland Security Committee on the killing of Renee Good, outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC on January 14, 2026. (Photo by Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)
POMONA, CA - MAY 07: Congresswoman Norma J. Torres (D-CA-35) addresses the media after touring the temporary Office of Refugee Resettlement Emergency Intake Facility at Fairplex in Pomona Friday, May 7, 2021. Approximately 280 undocumented children are currently housed at the facility after being relocated from facilities near the border. (Photo by Will Lester/MediaNews Group/Inland Valley Daily Bulletin via Getty Images)
Will Lester/MediaNews Group/Inland Valley Daily Bulletin via Getty Images
State: California
District: 35
Place of birth: Guatemala
Torres has served in Congress since 2015. She emigrated to the US as a young child in the early 1970s and became a naturalized citizen in 1992.
Eugene Simon Vindman (D)
UNITED STATES - NOVEMBER 21: Rep.-elect Eugene Vindman, D-Va.., on phone, and his brother Alexander, are seen after Eugene drew number 57, the last pick, during the New Member Orientation Room Lottery for office space at the Capitol on Thursday, November 21, 2024. Reps.-elect Lateefah Simon, D-Calif., left, and Maxine Dexter, D-Ore., are also pictured. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
State: Virginia
District: 07
Place of birth: Ukraine
Vindman has served in Congress since 2025. The exact year of his naturalization is not in the public record, but he moved to the US with his family as a child.
Dimanche 25 octobre, les Brésiliens départageront MM. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva et Flávio Bolsonaro. Arrivé en tête du premier tour de l'élection présidentielle le 4 octobre, le troisième fils de l'ancien président d'extrême droite voit son avance se réduire. À la veille du scrutin, les deux candidats sont au coude à coude dans les sondages.
Dans les rues, les partisans de Lula se mobilisent pour favoriser la « remontada » du président sortant : étudiants, syndicats, militants des mouvements populaires (lire le reportage inédit d'Anne-Dominique Correa) et artistes multiplient les rassemblements contre Flávio Bolsonaro. À São Paulo, des livreurs de plate-forme ont même détourné les cortèges de motos popularisés par le sénateur de l'État de Rio de Janeiro. Ils soutiennent Lula tout en réclamant à son gouvernement les protections sociales qu'ils attendent toujours.
Quatre ans après sa défaite, le bolsonarisme conserve pourtant de puissants moyens pour reconquérir la présidence. La condamnation de son fondateur pour tentative de coup d'État n'a pas défait les alliances qui avaient assuré son ascension. L'agrobusiness, les églises évangéliques et une partie des forces de sécurité constituent autant de relais que l'alternance de 2022 n'a pas abolis.
Dans un pays où près de 60 % de la population ne s'informe que sur les réseaux sociaux, l'extrême droite brésilienne est puissamment organisée. Ses opposants accusent les plates-formes américaines, notamment Meta (Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp), de favoriser par ses algorithmes le camp de M. Bolsonaro. Saisie par l'équipe de campagne de Lula, le Tribunal suprême fédéral (TSF) a exigé des explications à l'entreprise, ainsi qu'à celle détenue par M. Elon Musk, X.
Aux États-Unis, le bolsonarisme compte sur d'autres appuis avérés : celui de M. Donald Trump et de son administration. Lors du débat du 18 octobre, Lula a dénoncé les démarches de M. Eduardo Bolsonaro auprès de l'administration américaine, qui ont contribué à l'imposition de sanctions de Washington contre le Brésil pour faire pression sur sa justice. Une curieuse conception de la souveraineté, dont se réclame pourtant l'extrême droite brésilienne.
Mais la souveraineté se joue également à l'intérieur des frontières. Au Brésil, 1 % des propriétaires détiennent près de la moitié des terres agricoles. Les sans-terre poursuivent leur combat pour une réforme agraire que la résistance des grands propriétaires contribue à maintenir inachevée. Leur poids économique se traduit aussi en influence politique, notamment au Congrès. Derrière les discours sur l'indépendance nationale subsiste ainsi la question de savoir qui décide de l'usage des terres, de l'exploitation des ressources et de la répartition des richesses. Quel que soit le vainqueur dimanche, ceux qui contrôlent ces dernières conserveront de solides moyens de défendre leurs intérêts.
Une dernière question demeure au sujet de cette élection dont les enjeux concernent le Brésil, mais également l'ensemble du continent : l'administration américaine reconnaîtra-t-elle les résultats dimanche soir en cas de victoire serrée de Lula ?
The lawsuit invokes voter confusion over two candidates named Dan Sullivan, but its narrow conditions raise questions about the administration’s broader intentions
There are two elements of the Senate race in Maine that truly stand out on the ground. One is that this is a small state, at least in terms of population. The other is that Susan Collins has been a senator here for three decades. The upshot is that almost everyone I've met here has met her.
Philip, a lifelong Mainer in his 70s from Bangor, told me in an accent straight out of "Murder, She Wrote": "It would be stupid, in my opinion, not to vote for Susan, she's chairman of the appropriations committee, and she's brought a lot of money to the state," adding, "we've got new fire stations in every little town you can think of."
The appreciation for Collins among ordinary Mainers represents the daunting uphill battle Democrat Troy Jackson faces in a race where polls give him a slight lead, but the word on the street has him dead in the water.
Speaking of fire stations, I met Andy and Hank, both firefighters, at Seasons restaurant in Bangor. And just like Philip, they can't really see Collins going down.
"We've all met her," Andy said of "Susan," not "Collins," adding, "She's an institution in Maine, I can't believe that Jackson can beat her."
Hank was hardly alone. Everyone I spoke to at Seasons seemed to agree, even the Democrats, who have a unique affection for Collins. As the burly Hank put it, "I'll believe she loses when I see it."
In fairness, while Collins may be the Tom Brady of New England politics, even he lost twice to Eli Manning in the Super Bowl. So Jackson does have a chance to unseat the 73-year-old stalwart of the Senate.
John and Jeff, two voters I spoke with, are hoping and voting for just that. Jeff told me his top issue this election is ICE, saying, "We shouldn't have federal troops in every city … the Portland police should be able to handle things without having immigration backing them up."
John went a bit further. When asked about the riots in France, he told Fox News Digital, "We should probably start rioting more in America, to be honest," but then hedged a bit with, "I would say, not riot. Protest."
I met Paul at the bar of the Hollywood Casino in Bangor. He and the bartender, both in their early 70s, knew each other from the town where they grew up, "up north." Frankly, it seems like everyone in Maine knows everyone.
Paul lives in South Carolina now, making him a bit of a two-for-one for this columnist. He told me he thinks the GOP will hold the Senate seat in the Palmetto State and that Maine will "come around for Susan like it always does," adding, "She has a house right up the road."
The word that kept resounding in my mind as I wandered the dusty back alleys of Bangor and marveled at the sea of colors clinging to the leaves along the dusky Penobscot River was "Susan." Almost everyone I talked to called her by her first name, a level of familiarity I have rarely encountered while covering a political race.
The inescapable reality of this Senate campaign in Maine is that many Mainers under 40 have no memory of a time when "Susan" was not their senator. And to break that streak would require a call to arms that Troy Jackson just can't seem to muster.
Among the kindest words I heard about Jackson in Bangor were those of a woman in the antiques emporium on Main Street who said, "Somebody had to run."
Maine voter Wendy told Fox News Digital of Jackson, "He was a last-ditch effort," adding that she hopes Collins wins.
One word I didn't hear much in Maine, and this is a problem for Jackson, is "Trump." Almost everyone I spoke with sees Collins as independent of the president, who, after all, would serve only two years of the six-year term she is running for.
At Reagan National Airport on Tuesday, I bumped into former U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, himself the kind of institution in my home, the Mountain State, that Collins is in Maine. He was on his way to campaign for her.
The message of Manchin's mission was clear: a former Democrat, a centrist, a guy who can get things done with both sides, but also very much a former senator who could not survive the purity tests of the modern, far-left Democratic Party.
For Collins' part, Republicans across the country, especially in Maine and even in the White House, are willing to look past her centrism and just be thankful a Republican has a shot in a state like Maine.
But let's be honest: Polls or no polls, a Collins loss would be an absolute shocker in Maine, and one that this column sees no evidence is in the works.
President Trump says Venezuela is not ready for elections, and he focuses instead on its oil. But Secretary of State Marco Rubio is nudging talks between opposing politicians.
Dinorah Figuera, left, Delcy Rodríguez and Jorge Rodríguez during a meeting at the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas on Thursday, in a photo released by the Venezuelan presidency.
FREMONT, Neb. — If Democrats are able to gain control of the House of Representatives, one relationship between the top two lawmakers on both sides of Congress could define the remainder of President Donald Trump's time in office.
If that’s the outcome on Election Night, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., would have to work with the Democratic leader who rises in the House, and that is expected to be House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., who has led Democrats in the lower chamber since 2023.
But Thune, in an interview with Fox News Digital on the campaign trail in Nebraska, remained confident that wouldn’t be the outcome.
"Well, I mean, I think obviously that's an entirely different dynamic," Thune said. "You've got a situation with divided government and that creates a different incentive structure in terms of if you want to be able to get things done, but I don't assume for a minute that's going to happen."
"I still think that when push comes to shove and people look at the choices in front of them that we have a really good shot at hanging on both the House and the Senate," he continued.
Election forecasters predict that the Senate could stay in Republican control, though seven total races are considered toss-ups by the Cook Political Report. Republicans’ chances of holding onto power in the House, however, are murkier, given that dozens of battleground seats are in play that have shifted favorably toward Democrats.
The GOP has had a grip on the lower chamber since 2022, when it flipped the House during former President Joe Biden’s presidency. But a deeply unpopular Trump, whose approval ratings have dipped to historic lows, and continued economic pressures could contribute to Democrats regaining power.
Jeffries’ office did not respond to an inquiry from Fox News Digital asking whether he could work with Thune if both won their respective leadership spots.
There has been no love lost between the two men during this congressional term so far, with each sharply criticizing the other during key legislative fights.
Thune blasted Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., earlier this year as talks began to break down over funding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The top Republican accused both of being "afraid of their shadows," and being controlled by their left flank.
That prompted Jeffries to retort to reporters that it was Thune who was "scared of his own shadow" during the partisan standoff. During the 2025 government shutdown, Jeffries accused Thune of "trying to bluff his way into an agreement" on federal spending.
Congress is no stranger to a divided government, either. From 2023 to early 2025, Republicans controlled the House and Democrats held a razor-thin majority in the Senate.
During that time, according to data collected by the Pew Research Center, the split Congress produced 106 laws. This version of Congress has so far produced 121 laws, with some major legislative action happening, like the "big, beautiful bill" and a major housing affordability package, passing between historically long government shutdowns.
Thune is laser-focused on keeping the GOP’s control of the Senate, which was under Democratic control until 2024, when Trump and Republicans clinched a trifecta in Washington, D.C.
He’s crisscrossed the country for the last several weeks of the homestretch heading into the election on Nov. 3, boosting candidates in competitive races that could determine the balance of power in the Senate.
Republican control of the upper chamber, he contended, would be vital to continuing key chunks of Trump’s agenda, including confirming his judicial and other executive branch nominations.
"So if you want to see the country succeed and move forward, we've got to have a majority in the U.S. Senate to work with this president," Thune said. "Hopefully with a majority in the House as well, but I am very committed to doing whatever I can in the next couple of weeks getting around the country on behalf of our candidates to ensure that we have that majority in the Senate."
While many Republican candidates are keeping Donald Trump at arm’s length, Iowa’s Joe Mitchell has moved in a far more obsequious direction, despite running in one of the nation’s most competitive congressional districts.
The 29-year-old former state representative, hoping to succeed Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson in Iowa’s 2nd District, joined the president during a rally Thursday night and offered the kind of gushing praise Trump likes to hear. Mitchell said Trump has “kept this country more safe than any other president, ever,” before expressing outrage that Trump hasn’t been given a Nobel Peace Prize.
It was at that point when the Iowan decided to give the president a different honor — one he had made up.
Joe Mitchell gives Trump "the man of the century" award (that he just made up)
Mitchell held up a framed certificate and said, “So what I came up with, Mr. President, is a new award. It’s called the ‘Man of the Century Award.’” The congressional hopeful went on to insist that Trump has “fought more for humanity and for America than any other president ever” and has become “the greatest president we’ve ever had.”
The president accepted the certificate, handed it to an aide and continued with his rally.
Time will tell whether locals in one of the nation’s true toss-up House races are impressed with such sycophancy, but the presentation got me thinking about the larger pattern: Trump has struggled to earn the kind of awards he desperately wants, but he has managed to receive all kinds of fake honors.
Earlier this year, for example, several coal industry executives and miners in hard hats presented Trump with a trophy that labeled him the “Undisputed Champion of Beautiful Clean Coal.”
This was not an isolated incident. Shortly after Trump lost his re-election bid in 2020, the National Republican Senatorial Committee made up an honor for him called the Champion for Freedom Award.
More recently, after the president’s begging didn’t lead to a Nobel Peace Prize, soccer’s global governing body, FIFA, concocted its own peace prize in the hopes of making Trump feel better.
A month after Trump picked up a trophy from coal industry representatives, House Speaker Mike Johnson held an event in which he announced another made-up honor, called the America First Award. The Louisiana Republican then handed the president, the first recipient, with a giant eagle statue.
Let this be a lesson to those hoping to curry favor with the White House: If you haven’t already visited a store that makes trophies and prizes, you’re making a mistake.
Capitol Hill is about to embark on a biennial game of musical chairs.
Everyone needs to find a seat when the music stops. Those who don’t are out.
There are four sets of leadership elections pending in Congress over the next few weeks. House Republicans and Democrats will pick their top leaders. The same with Senate Republicans and Democrats. The entire House must elect a speaker when the new Congress convenes on Jan. 3. The full Senate chooses the majority leader. That’s decided individually by the majority party in the Senate.
We anticipate a scramble for leadership positions in the days following the election, depending on which party captures the majority of each body for the new Congress.
If Republicans maintain control of the House, the GOP will likely maintain its current leadership team of House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., and Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn. However, if the GOP loses control of the House, recriminations — and an epic game of vicious political musical chairs likely commences.
The reason? In the minority, a party only has two top leadership positions compared to three in the majority. Will Johnson slide to minority leader? Does he want that slot? Does President Donald Trump want him in that position? Or someone else?
Regardless, whoever Trump wants as the top House Republican is the one who gets that slot in the new Congress.
Would Scalise become minority leader? Would he slide to minority whip? Where does Emmer fit in here? Could Emmer become the top House GOPer?
It’s clear that Jordan wants to become the top Republican in the House. He’s campaigned for Republican candidates and members for months and has raised money on the GOP’s behalf for years. It’s unclear if Jordan might be in a race against Johnson or any of the others soon.
Keep in mind that Scalise, Emmer and Jordan all lost bids to become speaker when the House dismissed former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., in the fall of 2023. In fact, Jordan lost multiple floor votes for speaker before the House Republican Conference nixed him as the GOP nominee.
In the interim, Jordan has worked to build bridges among Republicans who opposed him three years ago. The Ohio Republican also remains a close ally of Trump. Jordan also maintains strong ties to the conservative House Freedom Caucus.
The question is what rank-and-file Republicans want to do if they find themselves in the minority? Some might prefer a wholesale set of changes among the GOP leadership team. But it will come down to musical chairs. And somebody — if not several somebodies — probably lack a seat when the music stops.
For the Democrats, their situation is easier. Let’s say Democrats do win control of the House. Yes, the Democratic Socialists of America and some possible members have reservations about promoting House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., to become speaker of the House. But it’s hard to see that Democrats wouldn’t tap him as the first Black speaker in American history. House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., would matriculate to majority leader. House Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., would likely become majority whip.
However, if Democrats don’t win the House, would their top leaders remain in place? Unclear. Democrats have established high expectations. So one can envision a scenario where rank-and-file Democrats are so exercised about a midterm loss that they call for some new leaders if Democrats fail to flip the House in such a toxic political environment for Republicans.
Then, there’s the Senate.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., does not wield the same political currency with Trump as Johnson. The president has started to make demands of the Senate schedule or what he wants passed. The South Dakota Republican has resisted many of those entreaties. But what happens if Republicans lose control of the Senate?
Many Senate Republicans are apoplectic at how the president treated Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who formerly served as Senate GOP whip. They will rage if the president calls for the dismissal of Thune — in the minority but especially the majority. So far, Trump has kept things in check and not expressed direct displeasure with Thune personally. But one wonders how long that would continue. Especially considering what the president said about former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. – who ushered three Supreme Court nominees to confirmation under dramatic circumstances.
Who could step into a possible Senate GOP leadership void?
Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., is the obvious choice. Barrasso appears closer to the president than Thune — and remains airtight when given the opportunity to criticize Trump. That could work in Barrasso’s favor if there’s an opening.
But leadership elections are always about opportunities. And sometimes those figures with certain bona fides have too much baggage from being on the job for a while. Here are the names to watch if there’s a push for changes inside the GOP leadership ranks: Sens. Katie Britt, R-Ala., John Kennedy, R-La., and Rick Scott, R-Fla.
A former Senate aide, Britt has a solid "inside game" and works well with the administration. Kennedy’s folksy manner makes him a darling of TV appearances. He also spent lots of time on the road campaigning for Senate Republican candidates. Scott ran for majority leader two years ago and lost to Thune and Cornyn in the first round.
Then there are Senate Democrats.
Some have lobbed gobs of criticism at Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. His age. His style of politics seems archaic to some. But it’s hard to argue with success. Schumer likely becomes majority leader if Democrats flip the Senate. But things could change if Democrats fail to gain control of the body. Political observers don’t think Democrats have as good a chance at flipping the Senate as the House. So it’s not a done deal that Democrats will want new leadership if Democrats fail to gain control.
The one "known" is the pending candidacy of Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, to succeed retiring Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill. However, one could envision a scenario where Schatz becomes the top Senate Democrat if Schumer departs. Like Britt, Schatz is an intense internal operator and understands the subtleties of the Democratic Caucus.
Others who may have an interest in a leadership post — if they don’t run for president — include Sens. Cory Booker, D-N.J., Chris Murphy, D-Conn., Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Chris Van Hollen, D-Md.
Booker has credibility for his record-breaking 25-hour speech last year. Murphy appeals to the party as a telegenic spokesperson — and spoke on the floor for nearly 15 hours on gun violence in 2015. Slotkin is a moderate Democrat in a purple state who likes to tangle with the Trump administration — despite picking some of her spots to address the press corps. She’s said that the "old" Senate leadership models are no longer working. Warren commands the support of progressives. And Van Hollen already has the backing of Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed.
This is a lot to sort out. And it all hinges on the election outcomes. Leadership elections usually take place in mid to late November. It’s possible there could be a delay in leadership elections if it takes a while to sort out which party controls which body of Congress.
But the music is already playing. And everyone is jockeying for a seat because the music is about to stop.
Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* In Mississippi’s unexpectedly interesting U.S. Senate race, former Vice President Kamala Harris headlined a rally in support of local prosecutor Scott Colom, the Democratic nominee.
The rally came on the heels of Donald Trump’s political operation confirming that the president will hold a rally on Monday in hopes of boosting Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, who’s struggling to a surprising degree in a race the GOP long assumed would be easy.
The news coincides with an Axios report that said Senate Republicans are so concerned about the Mississippi race that it’s “weighing a cash infusion” for the contest.
* In Maine’s closely watched U.S. Senate race, the latest Fox News poll found Democrat Troy Jackson and incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins tied, with each garnering 49% support.
* In Kansas’ closely watched U.S. Senate race, incumbent Republican Sen. Roger Marshall has finally sold his house in Florida. The sale was finalized the same day early voting began in Kansas.
* In Texas’ closely watched U.S. Senate race, The New York Times reported that a covert Russian influence operation is targeting Democratic state Rep. James Talarico’s candidacy as part of an apparent effort to boost Republican state Attorney General Ken Paxton.
* Speaking of Texas, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott recently boasted about endorsements he received from several Democratic sheriffs, but The New Republic reported that some of them deny having endorsed the GOP incumbent.
* While voter turnout is expected to be strong in New Hampshire this year, there is a new hurdle for voters to keep in mind: The Supreme Court granted New Hampshire’s emergency request to block the use of student IDs for voting in the midterms.
* Over the first two weeks of October, Republican megadonor Elon Musk invested an additional $76 million to boost GOP candidates. Five months after the billionaire publicly vowed to curtail his campaign spending, Musk has now donated more than $442 million to advance the Republican cause in the 2026 cycle.
* Speaking of Republican megadonors, billionaire Jeff Yass has now invested nearly $110 million to boost GOP candidates in the midterms. Yass is also the top donor to Vivek Ramaswamy, the Republican’s gubernatorial nominee in Ohio.
* And speaking of Ramaswamy, to appreciate the scope of the controversy surrounding his scandalous attack ad, it’s worth noting that 10 sitting Democratic female governors issued a joint statement on Thursday, condemning the candidate’s vile commercial as “an insult to survivors everywhere.”
American voters’ antipathy toward Big Tech companies has become a central theme of campaigns in the 2026 midterm elections, according to an analysis published by The Guardian on Thursday. The Guardian noted that hundreds of midterm campaign ads attacking data centers have aired over the past two months, with both Republicans and Democrats accusing one […]
There has been much consternation this week about the use of fake polls in the media, with some government officials promising swift, and legally dubious, punishments for broadcasters that use them.
The use of these fake polls came to light on Wednesday, when The New York Timesreported that "well-known polling aggregators," including the paper itself, had been citing fake surveys by Wedgewood Polls. The fake polling scheme was revealed when the outlet FivePlusOne contacted Wedgewood Tuesday for comment about an investigation into the pollster. That night, Wedgewood posted a now-deleted statement declaring that it was an "experimental project to demonstrate the vulnerabilities, lack of oversight, and overall barrier to entry in the modern polling industry." The fake pollster claimed it was "far too easy" to be taken seriously in media and public commentary.
A similar "social experiment" was revealed in August, when the Los Angeles Times reported that a poll by Median Strategies showing Mayor Karen Bass "leading ahead of Councilmember Nithya Raman by a wide margin" was "bogus." An earlier poll by Median Strategies showed Francesca Hong, who lost her race for Wisconsin governor, up by more than 20 percentage points. Median Strategies told the Times that the firm was "created as a short term social experiment to examine how purported polling information could enter and spread through the political information ecosystem without independent verification."
If Wedgewood's polling stunts were in fact social experiments (pollster Nate Silver is very skeptical of this explanation), then the experiment worked. Nobody is completely immune to deceit. And while savvy media consumers have become more attuned to detecting AI writing and video fakes, masses of people still fall for more than fake polls, as they have for a long time.
In 2018, when the word "slop" meant food for pigs and before anyone wrote posts using ChatGPT, the Intelligencerasked the question: "How much of the Internet is fake?" The answer, the outlet concluded, was "a lot."
At the time, Reason's Nick Gillespie noted that the article was a "sobering and obvious revelation that much of what we browse, engage, and interact with is in some fundamental way, total bullshit." Gillespie solemnly observed, "we're living not in the disintermediated, utopian world chronicled in the early days of Louis Rossetto and Jane Metcalfe's Wired, but something closer to the endlessly creative, weird, off-kilter, semi-insane world imagined by Philip K. Dick and, later, Neal Stephenson."
Eight years later, the "semi-insane" world is no less insane, and humans, as they always have, are falling prey to increasingly intricate schemes and hoaxes. In September, Semafor's Max Tani revealed that a large number of YouTube videos—several of which garnered hundreds of thousands of views—were made by "ghost creators." In these videos, presented as news reports, real actors were paid to read AI-written scripts "laced with misleading claims and outright falsehoods." According to Tani, these "accounts appear to be run not by political operatives trying to win, or foreign intelligence efforts seeking to destabilize the US, but by engagement junkies detached from the stakes of politics." While any semi-media-literate person in 2026 could tell you that not all YouTube videos should be taken as fact, the scale of the operation was staggering.
The deception crisis plagues the media as well. Recently, the platform Qwoted, which connects journalists with sources, had to remove a supposed art therapy expert from its website after her "details were found to be false," reported thePress Gazette. According to the Gazette, the fake therapist's insights had been cited in several outlets, including Psychology, Forbes, Glamour, and Vice. I have also raised concerns about news outlets and commentators citing polls published by EduBirdie, a Cyprus-based company that sells human-written academic papers to students for $8 a page (ethics aside, what a bold business model in the AI age).
So what is to be done? As Gillespie wrote in 2018, there are existing legal levers to root out fraud, but any top-down approach to squashing online lies "will be poorly applied, repressive, and ultimately arbitrary." Government-led crackdowns on COVID-19 "misinformation" have proven him right. Outsourcing the arbitration of truth would only diminish our access to information, and no one entity, particularly the government, should be trusted to determine what is true or false. Unfortunately, the Trump administration has not learned much from the pandemic era and has instead repeatedly tried to crack down on media coverage it doesn't like.
Ideally, media organizations would act as B.S. detectors, but clearly, they often fail to do so. So, consumers are left to wade through lies, AI hoaxes, and so-called "social experiments." This may be tedious work, but it is necessary for consumers to evolve as technologies change. This sleuthing for scams may even be enjoyable. Why pay to have your brain scrambled by Nathan Fielder's Elizabeth Holmes documentary when you can drive yourself insane by tracking down and scrutinizing widely cited statistics and polls?
To many people, but especially libertarians, voting can feel dispiriting: By definition, every person on the ballot wants in some way to exert control over your life.
Perhaps that's why it's refreshing to see a candidate for office who truly seems not to want the job.
Brady Rogers worked as a robotics engineer for four years, but he quit in 2019 after deciding the corporate world wasn't for him.
"It was just a bit unfulfilling," Rogers tells Reason. "I wanted to do something a little more impactful with my skills….So I left to find something else that felt worthwhile."
He started The Rogerie, a retail store in his hometown of Kelowna, British Columbia, a city of about 170,000 people. Rogers and his wife collect shredded plastic waste and extrude it into filament for 3D printers, which they use to create new housewares to sell in the shop.
Then earlier this year, Rogers again got the feeling that he could be doing something beneficial with his talents. This time, it meant running for the Kelowna City Council.
But he had to stand out in a crowded field—he would be one of 37 candidates running, and only the top eight would win a seat.
So, he settled on a strategy: openly admit his lack of qualifications and how little he even wanted the job.
"I guess I'm running for Kelowna city council," read his campaign website. "I don't like meetings, I don't like having to be certain places at certain times, and I'm allergic to stuffy offices. But unfortunately, I happen to like Kelowna, and think I can help do some good."
"Do I enjoy politics? No," he adds. "Do I know what I'm doing? No. But am I qualified? Also no."
That lackadaisical attitude carried over into his campaign signage: Yard signs featured pictures of Rogers with sullen, shrugging expressions, alongside slogans like "I barely want to do this" and "Let's see what happens?" In a winking reference to political gerontocracy, one sign even bragged that he was "Under 60!"
"I certainly thought it was clever. I thought it would work, but it was really just how I honestly felt when I started," Rogers admits. "I was pretty conflicted about committing to a four-year thing that I didn't even really fully understand the ins and outs of, but at the same time I saw the opportunity to have a bigger impact. So, I was conflicted, and I figured that's a good, honest place to start a campaign."
Ultimately, he won a seat: He placed fourth out of 37 total candidates and even beat three incumbents, one of whom lost her seat.
The irony of Rogers' outwardly indifferent attitude is that he actually does have a policy platform: On his website, he advocates finding solutions to homelessness not necessarily by spending more money but by making better use of the resources that the city and province already provide. He also notes that Kelowna taxes land and improvements at the same rate, which "means we tax someone for improving their property while relatively rewarding someone who sits on valuable, underused land." Writing this week at Reason, J.D. Tuccille made a similar point.
Of course, Rogers' underqualified and disinterested campaign persona is only partially true—he did, after all, want the job, or at least he saw it as a viable means of improving his city.
Still, it's refreshing for a candidate to treat public office as something less than a higher calling.
Ultimately, Rogers thinks that authenticity is why his campaign caught on and was ultimately successful with voters, when many campaigns struggle to create viral moments or capitalize on social media trends. Perhaps other people could even learn from him.
"I think why mine worked so profoundly is that it is a little bit of humor, but immediately behind it was a legitimate platform and me as a real person with the skills and a real desire to do something," Rogers says. "And I think that resonated. I think people [have] an appetite for a new kind of politics."
Today's guest is Ted Brown, the Libertarian Party candidate for U.S. Senate in Texas. Brown is facing off against Republican Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico in a closely contested race. Brown received more than 267,000 votes in his 2024 Senate campaign and is now challenging both major parties on their commitment to individual liberty. He argues that Republicans have abandoned limited government while Democrats increasingly embrace economic policies that undermine the free market.
Nick Gillespie talks with Brown about Paxton's corruption scandals, Talarico's hostility toward billionaires, and why Texas ranks poorly on personal freedom despite its business-friendly reputation. Brown makes the case for returning to an Ellis Island–style immigration system, cutting federal spending to confront the $40 trillion national debt, and ending America's military involvement in the Middle East. They also discuss abortion rights, government surveillance, online age-verification laws, and how regulations drive up the cost of healthcare. Brown explains what it will take to rebuild the Libertarian Party and why he believes a senator could accomplish more by stopping bad legislation than by passing new laws.
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