Thursday, October 8: 7th CD debate, disaster relief and politics, can Tiffany survive Trump? Homeland Security and voting records, Milwaukee renews Flock contract, abortion foes seek state pill restrictions, immigrants and in-state tuition, Trump accounts go live, Social Security cliff
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“We are still waiting for official confirmation from federal officials regarding the distribution of these funds to the state and what the timeline and other details of that process will be.”
– State Sen. Kristin Dassler-Alfheim (D-Appleton), responding to President Donald Trump’s announcement that Menasha will receive $18 million in federal emergency management funds to address damage from a tornado in July.
Wisconsin 7th Congressional District candidates Democrat Fred Clark, a conservationist and former state lawmaker, and Republican Michael Alfonso, the son-in-law of U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, faced off Wednesday night in a debate. (Screenshot via WDIO YouTube)
In the only scheduled debate for Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District, Republican Michael Alfonso and Democrat Fred Clark discussed affordability, government regulation, the war in Iran and how best to support the residents of the sprawling Northern Wisconsin district. Baylor Spears reports on the event, which saw little agreement between the two rivals.
President Donald Trump said that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) would be providing nearly $18 million in relief to Wisconsin to help with damage from July tornadoes in the Fox Valley after speaking to Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, who is running for governor. Spears reports that the administration of Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, whose previous requests for assistance went unfulfilled, says it hasn’t received any new information about the aid and accused Trump and Tiffany of playing politics.
The most recent Marquette Law School poll shows Trump at at his lowest approval rate ever. Meanwhile, Tiffany is running almost even with Democratic candidate for governor David Crowley according to the same poll. In a commentary, retired journalist Bill Christofferson questions how long that can last in light of Tiffany’s record in Congress as a 100% supporter of the president.
The Department of Homeland Security obtained tens of millions of unspecified records as part of a sweeping nationwide effort to find voter fraud, according to internal DHS reports, and weighed using undercover agents to investigate voter registration efforts by nonprofit groups. Democracy reporter Jonathan Shorman reports on a trove of documents released Wednesday in response to a records request from Democracy Forward.
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More from Washington:
ICYMI
Research suggests women living in states with abortion bans bear higher health insurance costs | Kelcie Moseley-Morris
A set of metal bleachers was lodged in the fence of a Menasha baseball field by a tornado that ripped through Fox Valley communities in July. (Photo by Henry Redman/Wisconsin Examiner)
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