McKinney, Texas, is ground zero for the migration of voters from California to Texas over the past several years. On Election Day, it is these newcomers who may well tip the balance not just in the Senate and governor's races.

They may also decide whether the once ruby red Lone Star State will continue to grow bluer.

I met Oren at The Celt on the picture-postcard town square, where we played a friendly game of pool. He moved from California about a year ago "because it’s a lot cheaper to live" but is voting for Democrats because he believes that Texas needs "more social services and public transit" and more support for transgender kids.

When I gently tried to press Oren on the apparent illogic of moving away from a high-tax, big-government blue state for reasons of cost only to vote to make his new home a high-tax, big-government state, he was unmoved, almost arguing that real California progressivism has never been tried.

FOX NEWS POLL: TEXAS SENATE RACE GALLOPING TOWARD A PHOTO FINISH

It turns out that Oren was not as much of an outlier as I had expected because, not long after, I met Daniel, who works at a local restaurant and moved to McKinney a few years ago with his best friend and girlfriend to start a business. He has also proudly brought his politics with him.

"It’s in the Constitution," Daniel told Fox News Digital. "We can go anywhere we want. It's meant to be that way."

When I asked him if he could understand why so many people born and raised in Texas are worried about transplants changing its politics, he shrugged and said, "Things change."

JOE ROGAN WARNS LIBERALS AGAINST TRYING TO TURN TEXAS BLUE, SAYS IT WOULD WRECK THE STATE'S 'DELICATE BALANCE'

In the space of about five hours, I met two more refugees from California prepared to keep voting for Democrats. Like Oren and Daniel, they really did not see any irony in the fact that they may be recreating in Texas exactly the conditions they escaped in California.

The natives, however, do see the problem with the Californication of Texas. Terry, a longtime local in her 60s, told me, "I love to see the growth, and there’s a lot of it, but if they bring Democratic politics with them, then we stand to lose the whole thing bringing people here."

Clint, who was in town from his home just on the other side of the Oklahoma border, is worried not just about Texas turning blue through domestic migration, but even about the Sooner State eventually turning blue.

TRUMP WON THIS RELIABLY RED STATE BY DOUBLE DIGITS; NOW A DEADLOCKED RACE IS BRINGING HIM BACK

"I cannot comprehend why someone would move from a state because there’s high taxes and then come down here and vote for high taxes. I just can’t comprehend it," Clint told Fox News Digital. "And I’ve asked them to explain it to me, but they just cuss me out."

Thankfully, nobody cussed out this columnist for asking, but Clint is correct that the liberal transplants see no problem with transforming the red states they arrive in into blue states, and it's not just Texas.

Arizona and even Montana have seen influxes of liberal California voters. West Virginians have similar fears regarding their neighbors to the south in Northern Virginia, who are also attracted by the low taxes and cost of living.

ELECTION DAY 2026: JOIN AMERICA'S CONVERSATION HERE!

In Texas, there is a kind of double-pincer political invasion because, along with the Cali converts, unchecked immigration — illegal and otherwise — over decades has also pushed the needle left in the state. This is, in a nutshell, the new Democratic Party coalition: wealthy, college-educated Whites and immigrants.

The bottom line for Republicans — not just in Texas but in many red states — is that Americans are moving at stunning rates to cheaper states, which almost always means Republican states. The good news is that red states stand to gain in the Electoral College and in Congress after the next census, but that won’t matter if Democrats take them over.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Between now and then, and especially on Tuesday, "Don’t you turn my red state blue" has to be the mantra of the GOP. If Texas falls this time, then anywhere can, and that is exactly what the Democrats moving to red states are hoping for and creating.

A Southside Virginia lawmaker is demanding an investigation after a constituent received an official rights-restoration certificate for his dog, Biscuit, a beagle-hound mix from Goochland County that died about five years ago.

The discovery follows the "Betty No Last Name" controversy in Chesapeake — where a purported convict lacking a surname had "her" rights restored — and raises fresh questions about the governor's vetting process just days before voters decide whether to make felons' voting-rights restoration automatic via an Election Day ballot measure supported by Richmond Democrats.

Del. Tom Garrett, R-Buckingham — who received the letter from the constituent who owned the pet — is now calling for an investigation into how Gov. Abigail Spanberger could have restored voting and jury-service rights to a deceased animal.

DEM AG'S ELECTION CRUSADE AGAINST TRUMP RUNS INTO EMBARRASSING DEAD-FELON BLUNDER BACK HOME

"This is not a question of whether people who have served their sentences deserve a second chance. This is a question of whether the Commonwealth is exercising one of the Governor’s constitutional powers with even the most basic level of review," Garrett said.

"Biscuit was a dog. Biscuit has been dead for five years. Yet an official document bearing the governor’s signature says the executive reviewed the particulars of Biscuit’s criminal case and determined her rights should be restored. Virginians deserve an explanation for how that is possible."

HIDDEN CALIFORNIA DESERT PET CEMETERY HOLDS UNEXPECTED PIECE OF WHITE HOUSE HISTORY

Biscuit’s owner, who declined to be identified to avoid political backlash, confirmed the letter's authenticity to Fox News Digital and told Garrett in a statement that the pup was a "good dog and is greatly missed."

"To my knowledge, she was never convicted of a felony, nor did she ever show any interest in voting," the owner said.

Fox News Digital reached out to Spanberger for comment.

A spokesperson for Spanberger replied, "Of course we did not restore the rights of a dog. We cannot disclose this individual's information, but we can tell you that it is associated with a person with a date of birth and Social Security number."

Fox News Digital followed up to seek clarification on what error may have occurred but did not receive a response.

The owner told Fox News Digital that Biscuit was never sent to the pound or had any other contact with Richmond that could have resulted in her being placed on the voting rolls. The owner said a sibling is currently incarcerated but added that the connection is moot because Spanberger’s stated effort only involves released former convicts.

ELECTION DAY 2026: JOIN AMERICA'S CONVERSATION HERE!

Garrett noted in a statement that the Spanberger administration said in July that Secretary of the Commonwealth Candi Mundon-King would be "proactively identifying Virginians who had lost their rights, confirming that those individuals were eligible, and restoring their rights," in his words.

Spanberger announced in August that the initial figure of 66,000 had reached 100,000 individuals who had received restoration of their rights since the Democrat took office in January.

TREASURY HAILS SUCCESS OF ANTI-FRAUD PROCESS THAT FLAGGED AND PREVENTED $99 MILLION IN PAYMENTS TO DEAD PEOPLE

"The administration told Virginians these individuals were being identified and their eligibility confirmed," Garrett said in a statement, going on to call for an investigation into how a restoration certificate bearing Biscuit's name came to be issued.

"The document itself represents that the executive reviewed the particulars of each case. If a deceased family pet made it through that process as a convicted felon, then we need to know what was actually reviewed, what databases were used, what safeguards existed, and how many other erroneous restorations were issued."

An attorney in Fluvanna County when not legislating, Garrett said the Commonwealth must launch an immediate independent audit of Spanberger’s restoration-of-rights actions and disclose the underlying record that led to "Biscuit Rigsby" being identified as a convicted felon, as well as what Spanberger’s office defines as the "review of the particulars" of Biscuit’s case.

Any investigation should also identify how many certificates and citations were issued to deceased, nonexistent or duplicate humans and require the immediate preservation of relevant data.

WATCHDOG, GOP LAWMAKER WARN NY VOTER REGISTRATION SYSTEMS LACKS KEY SAFEGUARDS

He said in a statement that his questions are not partisan and that Virginians who support restoring released felons’ voting rights should be outraged by Biscuit’s case.

"At what point does rank incompetence and malfeasance become criminal conduct?" Garrett added in a video posted to social media.

SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

With Virginians set to vote Tuesday on whether to make voting-rights restoration automatic upon release from incarceration, Garrett is demanding answers about the administration's existing review process — including how a dog that died five years ago apparently made it through.

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy warned that an alleged Democratic scheme to recruit a second "Dan Sullivan" into the state's pivotal Senate race exposed a deeper vulnerability in its election system, telling Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview that his administration is investigating newly surfaced evidence just days before the midterms.

Dunleavy said The New York Times uncovered details that state officials did not have when they initially challenged the second Sullivan's candidacy this past summer — including alleged involvement by operatives connected to Democratic nominee Mary Peltola.

The Republican argued Alaska's relatively new election system helped make the controversy possible, as state and federal authorities pursue separate investigations into potential wrongdoing.

"This would have never happened if we didn't have ranked-choice voting," Dunleavy told Fox News Digital. "If this was a historical primary, a primary that our fathers and grandfathers had, this individual [retired schoolteacher Dan Sullivan of Petersburg] would not have gotten out of the primary."

'DECOY DAN' SULLIVAN CASE LEADS TOP SENATOR TO BREAK FOUR-YEAR X SILENCE: 'PATTERN OF LIES'

Dunleavy cited reporting that the Petersburg Sullivan initially denied having been recruited, but the Times found Peltola-connected operatives had worked to recruit spoilers named "Dan Sullivan" from around the state.

"We're compelled to do an investigation on behalf of the people of Alaska, because as they say in Alaska, which is a big fish state, if you can smell the fish way far from the dock, you've got a real problem," Dunleavy said.

"And so, this really does stink."

Alaska's election system advances the top four finishers from a nonpartisan primary to a general election in which voters rank candidates by preference. Dunleavy argued that traditional party primaries would have prevented the second Sullivan from reaching November's ballot.

"Our job as executives are to make sure that we can provide our people with an election that everyone could look at it and say that was done with integrity. And right now this cast, unfortunately, a pall over all of this," he said.

Dunleavy said the state's initial investigation in June after the Petersburg Sullivan surfaced ultimately led to the state Supreme Court, which allowed both Sullivans' names on the ballot, with Senator Sullivan marked "incumbent."

"Initially, when [Petersburg Sullivan] contacted the Division of Elections, he wanted his name listed as Daniel S. Sullivan. That's not his middle initial. That's the middle initial of our incumbent senator. His website looked very, very, very similar to our incumbent senator. And we went to court over this, and the Supreme Court of Alaska ruled that they were going to put his name on the ballot," he said.

"We knew there was a problem, but the courts had decided. And then of course, the article comes out in the Times and there's a whole list of issues that we were never privy to."

The new reporting identified contradictions in accounts of what transpired over the summer, including whether there was contact between Petersburg Sullivan and any campaigns.

RNC REJECTS NARRATIVE OF SPOILER CANDIDATES 'ON BOTH SIDES,' CALLS ALASKA SCHEME 'FRAUDULENT'

"There's a lot more smoke and a lot of fishy smell after this article came out," he said.

In Alaska, elections are overseen by the lieutenant governor, not the governor, and Fox News Digital reached out to Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom for comment on whether or how her office is investigating.

"They're obviously shoulders deep now in an election with all the people and all the polls open here with early voting. The governor's office is in charge of making sure that there's execution of the laws. That's what this investigation is going to look at to see if there were any violations of law or if there was a civil violation as well," Dunleavy added.

Peltola's campaign has denied involvement with either Sullivan campaign. Peltola also dismissed the controversy as a distraction during a campaign appearance Wednesday, while the New York Times reported that operatives connected to her campaign participated in efforts to recruit potential spoiler candidates.

Fox News Digital reached out to Peltola for additional comment.

Former FEC Chair Hans von Spakovsky told Fox News Digital that something investigators should look at is whether individuals paid by Peltola or another political organization were providing any "in-kind" services to the Petersburg Sullivan.

"In-kind services are considered a contribution to a campaign. Failure to disclose such services is a violation of federal law. Also, if the fair market value of the services provided to the campaign exceeds the maximum contribution allowed to a federal candidate, that is also a violation of federal law. If this was knowingly and intentionally done, it moves from being a civil violation to a criminal violation of the law," von Spakovsky said.

Von Spakovsky pointed to an FEC case involving socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign, which accepted campaign assistance from Australian Labor Party members whose travel expenses and stipends were paid by the foreign political organization.

SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER

The FEC determined that the arrangement constituted a prohibited $24,422 in-kind foreign contribution. Sanders' campaign and the Australian Labor Party each agreed to pay $14,500 in civil penalties to settle the matter without admitting liability.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

With Election Day approaching, the governor said the investigation would continue for as long as necessary, warning that the alleged effort could foreshadow new attempts to manipulate elections through misleading candidacies and other tactics.

Fox News Digital's Hannah Brennan contributed to this report.

FIRST ON FOX: Four U.S. cities will share almost $300 million in federal funding after competing to show how they would reduce violent crime and strengthen local law enforcement.

Jacksonville, Florida; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Jackson, Mississippi; and St. Louis, Missouri, were selected for the Justice Department's new Model Cities Initiative, according to details obtained by Fox News Digital.

The four winners represent markedly different policing environments, from Jacksonville, where murders have fallen sharply in recent years, to Baton Rouge, where officials have struggled with a significant officer shortage, and Jackson, where DOJ says officials proposed a technology-driven strategy to combat persistent violent crime.

Attorney General Todd Blanche and other DOJ leaders will visit each city over the next 10 days to present the awards, when the department plans to reveal the individual funding amounts.

KASH PATEL TO TOUT 'LARGEST' YEAR-TO-YEAR VIOLENT CRIME DROP IN US HISTORY

The DOJ launched the competition in June as part of President Donald Trump's focus on reducing crime in U.S. cities. It invited cities nationwide to submit comprehensive plans for reducing violent crime and improving public safety.

The awards could represent a sizable addition to the cities' existing law enforcement budgets.

Jacksonville budgets about $674 million annually for its sheriff's office, while St. Louis budgeted about $147 million for its police department in fiscal 2026. With nearly $300 million to be divided among just four jurisdictions, each award could amount to tens of millions of dollars, though DOJ has not yet disclosed how the funding will be split.

BILL BARR SAYS TODD BLANCHE ISN'T 'A TOADY,' URGES SENATE TO CONFIRM TRUMP'S AG PICK

"The Model Cities Initiative reflects the Trump Administration’s commitment to reducing crime across the country and ensuring the safety of every American," Blanche said.

"These cities are setting an example of proactive law enforcement that will strengthen the rule of law and improve public safety in their jurisdictions. As violent crime rates continue to fall to historic lows, the Department of Justice is redoubling our efforts to invest in local communities and keep American families safe."

Rather than funding a single policing program, the initiative takes what DOJ describes as a "whole-of-city" approach, bringing together law enforcement, local government officials and community partners to develop strategies tailored to each jurisdiction's public safety challenges.

The money can be used to hire sworn and non-sworn law enforcement personnel and other public safety workers, purchase technology and equipment, expand forensic capabilities and fund programs addressing mental health, substance abuse and recidivism.

Jacksonville's selection comes after a sharp drop in killings. The city recorded 59 murders in 2024, its lowest total since at least 1995 and less than half the number recorded a year earlier, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. DOJ said murders fell 38% between 2023 and 2025, while robberies declined 25% and aggravated assaults fell 21%.

DOJ pointed to Jacksonville's use of advanced training and technology and efforts to strengthen investigative capabilities in selecting the city. The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, which has more than 3,600 police, corrections and civilian employees, has an annual budget of roughly $674 million.

FIRST ON FOX: DHS POINTS TO ‘COMMON SENSE’ REASON FOR COLLAPSING CRIME: ‘NO SURPRISE’

St. Louis' selection is particularly notable given the city's long struggle with violent crime. The city recorded 263 homicides in 2020, but that figure fell to 150 in 2024, its lowest total since 2013, as overall crime declined 15% year over year.

The decline continued into 2025, when homicides during the first three months of the year fell another 45% compared with the same period a year earlier.

DOJ said St. Louis' proposal calls for expanding law enforcement personnel by more than 300, modernizing policing technology and strengthening public safety operations.

Baton Rouge is confronting a different challenge: manpower. The Baton Rouge Police Department was roughly 150 officers short earlier this year, prompting officials to approve what they described as the largest police pay raise in department history. Starting salaries increased from $40,000 to $58,000 as part of an effort to recruit and retain officers.

The department also operates a Real Time Crime Center that uses data analytics and other technology to support officers and investigators.

DOJ said East Baton Rouge Parish stood out for its partnerships among law enforcement, local government and community organizations and its broader approach to combating violent crime.

Jackson, Mississippi, meanwhile, was selected for what DOJ described as an ambitious, technology-driven strategy to address persistent violent crime.

The Jackson Police Department already operates a Real Time Command Center and specialized units focused on gun crime, vice and narcotics and other investigations, while assigning officers to outside task forces. Its proposal calls for greater coordination among law enforcement agencies, expanded investigative capabilities and targeted enforcement, according to DOJ.

"President Trump and this Department of Justice have demonstrated that Americans need not accept unsafe streets as a fact of life," Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr. said. "We have made tremendous strides in restoring public safety, and the Model Cities Initiative offers an opportunity to build on that progress. These cities have the potential to set a new standard for safer communities across America."

The four winning jurisdictions will now work with DOJ to finalize and implement their public safety plans.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Blanche and other Justice Department officials will travel to all four jurisdictions over the next 10 days to present the awards in person and reveal how the nearly $300 million will be divided among them.

With the midterm elections approaching, data centers have become an increasingly popular political target. Politicians are raising alarms about their impact on communities, with some calling for construction moratoriums or outright bans.

There's been plenty of fearmongering. But the more Americans learn about data centers, and the more communities experience their benefits firsthand, the stronger the case for continued development becomes.

Data centers have existed for decades, but the rapid growth of artificial intelligence has dramatically increased the demand for computing power. Americans understandably have questions about what this development means for electricity prices, water supplies, and their quality of life. Newer facilities are increasingly being designed with technologies that can address these concerns, including closed-loop cooling systems and quieter operations.

DATA CENTERS COULD BE THE SLEEPER ISSUE OF THE 2026 MIDTERM ELECTIONS

Yet much of the national debate overlooks what data centers are already delivering to communities across America.

Take Ellendale, North Dakota, a town of 1,100 people. Before Applied Digital's new $11 billion data center development, the town collected roughly $400,000 annually in sales taxes. In the first seven months of 2026 alone, that figure jumped to $3.5 million.

THIS TINY FARMING TOWN YOU’VE NEVER HEARD OF IS HELPING MICROSOFT SELL AMERICA ON DATA CENTERS

That revenue is helping the city repave its roads and renovate its senior center. A historic opera house is being restored. For a small town, this kind of investment can transform the community for generations.

And Ellendale is far from alone.

Schools across America are seeing enormous benefits from the data center boom.

In Richland Parish, Louisiana, Meta's massive investment has helped fund an increase in annual teacher bonuses ranging from $10,000 to $50,000.

Think about what that means for a working family. Teachers who have dedicated their careers to educating children are receiving a life-changing financial benefit, while the school district becomes an attractive destination for talented educators.

It's hard to imagine a politician campaigning against higher teacher pay or better schools. Yet those are precisely the kinds of benefits communities stand to lose when development gets blocked.

PROPOSAL WOULD PAY HOMEOWNERS 'DATA CENTER DIVIDENDS' TO COUNTER GROWING BACKLASH

The benefits extend to homeowners struggling with the rising cost of living.

In Loudoun County, Virginia, data centers generate 45% of county revenue. That enormous tax base has allowed local officials to cut homeowner property tax rates every year for a decade.

TO BEAT CHINA IN AI, AMERICA MUST WORK WITH COMMUNITIES — NOT AROUND THEM

In neighboring Henrico County, local leaders used data center revenue to fund a $60 million Affordable Housing Trust Fund, helping young families and first-time buyers purchase homes.

At a time when housing affordability is dominating political conversations, building data centers is helping some communities make the American Dream a little easier to achieve.

Electricity prices are another major concern, and understandably so. Families are already struggling with higher utility bills, and the arrival of a major new industrial customer can raise legitimate questions about who pays for new infrastructure.

But the enormous, predictable electricity demand from data centers also creates opportunities to finance new generation and grid investments, spreading infrastructure costs across a larger customer base.

In Georgia, agreements involving new large electricity customers, including OpenAI, are projected to lower residential power bills by $180 annually by 2029.

With the right arrangements in place, the arrival of data centers can mean lower costs for the families already living in these communities.

And the benefits extend well beyond tax revenue and household expenses.

Trade unions have been among the most vocal supporters of data centers because of the good-paying jobs they create. Building these facilities requires years of work for skilled tradesmen, with new projects creating opportunities for the next generation of American workers.

In Baltimore, Maryland, IBEW Local 24 expanded its membership by 50% alongside data center construction. In Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, IBEW Local 163 doubled its ranks following construction of an Amazon data center.

Politicians have spent decades promising to bring back good-paying blue-collar jobs. Here is an industry creating enormous demand for exactly those workers.

Of course, developers have a responsibility to work with residents and local governments to address legitimate concerns. Communities deserve clear answers about electricity costs and water use. They should also understand how the investments taking place in their backyards will benefit local families.

But when data centers are developed responsibly, the economic benefits can be enormous. Communities are rebuilding roads and improving schools. Homeowners are seeing lower tax burdens, and skilled workers are finding new opportunities.

For decades, politicians have campaigned on championing the Forgotten Man and bringing economic opportunity back to communities that have struggled to attract investment.

Now, data centers are delivering billions of dollars in private investment to many of those very places.

We're watching a new industrial boom take shape across America, creating jobs and revitalizing communities that Washington has spent decades promising to help. Before politicians rush to stop it, they ought to take a serious look at what those communities are gaining.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

And they should consider what their constituents stand to lose.

Federal agents raided multiple Minnesota autism service providers Thursday in the latest law enforcement action involving a state already under intense scrutiny over allegations of widespread fraud in taxpayer-funded programs.

The FBI confirmed that federal and state agencies were conducting "court-authorized investigative activity" at multiple locations across Minnesota, including sites in the Twin Cities and Rochester, according to MPR News. Meanwhile, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison's office also confirmed that its Medicaid Fraud Control Unit executed search warrants at Iska Inc. in St. Louis Park and Bright Horizon Therapy in Edina, both of which provide autism-related or other Medicaid-funded services.

The operation involved the FBI, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, IRS criminal investigators, U.S. Postal Inspectors and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, according to FOX 9 Minneapolis.

MN DEM SENATE CANDIDATE'S VIRAL HIJAB VIDEO TAKES NEW TURN AS WOMAN BESIDE HER FACES MAJOR STATE INVESTIGATION

"This is an active investigation, and no further details are available at this time," FBI Minneapolis spokesperson Matt Vogel told MPR News.

Iska Inc. received more than $16.7 million in Medicaid payments between 2018 and 2025, according to state data reviewed by the Minnesota Star Tribune. The business participated in Minnesota's Early Intensive Developmental and Behavioral Intervention program, which provides services to children and young people with autism and has faced increasing scrutiny over fraud allegations.

The latest searches follow a series of enforcement operations targeting suspected fraud in Minnesota's publicly funded programs. In April, federal and state investigators executed 22 search warrants in Minnesota, including at autism service providers and childcare businesses.

SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER

The Justice Department also announced charges against 15 defendants in May in connection with alleged health care fraud schemes involving more than $90 million in intended losses. The cases included an alleged $46.6 million scheme targeting Minnesota's autism intervention program, which DOJ said saw Medicaid claims surge from more than $600,000 in 2018 to more than $400 million by 2025.

The raids come ahead of Vice President JD Vance's planned visit to Minnesota — alongside members of the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud — where allegations of public-services fraud have fueled growing questions about oversight. 

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Officials have not announced charges related to Thursday's searches, and the allegations against any individual business remain unproven.