Fiery Texas House race, Minnesota fraud scandal fuel 2026 midterm battles ahead of Election Day
Contentious races in Texas and Minnesota spotlight voter concerns over campaign conduct, government accountability and public spending.
Minnesota Senate GOP nominee Michele Tafoya targets Democratic rival Peggy Flanagan's record
Michele Tafoya, the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in Minnesota and a former broadcaster, aggressively sought to put her opponent, Democratic Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, on the defensive during a debate Friday afternoon over the billion-dollar fraud schemes that drew national attention to the state earlier this year.
Early in the debate, Tafoya pressed Flanagan on her qualifications for federal office, pointing to her record as lieutenant governor.
"My opponent has been second in command in this state for eight years, drawing a taxpayer-funded paycheck. And what do we have to show for that? We have massive fraud, historic fraud. We have test scores down. We have crime spiking. We have a massive surplus turned into a deficit," Tafoya said.
Local and federal investigators have uncovered myriad fraud schemes involving daycare centers, food programs, health clinics and other operations accused of defrauding the state of Minnesota up to $9 billion. Investigators say fraudsters either inflated the number of people they allegedly helped or fabricated their services altogether — all while receiving government dollars.
When the issue resurfaced later in the debate, the moderator asked Flanagan directly whether, in her view, she had "any ownership over the fraud."
Flanagan sought to distance herself from the issue, pointing to Walz's acknowledgment that responsibility for oversight rested with him.
This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News Digital's Leo Briceno.
Meet the 22-year-old candidate eyeing history in key swing state as Gen Z embraces conservatism
From delivering pizzas to running for an Iowa House seat, 22-year-old Dillon Fillion hopes to make history in his swing district and inspire Gen Z to embrace conservatism, which he says he's already seeing on the ground.
Fillion, believed to be the youngest candidate ever to seek office in Scott County, spoke to Fox News Digital about his ambitions to cut property taxes, boost police funding, give parents more say in their children’s education and draw Gen Z to the polls.
"I think people are very excited that a young person is running because they see a lot of these old people running for office, no offense to them, but people wanna see some fresh new faces and I think it's time for my generation to step up," Fillion said.
Before launching his bid for the Iowa House, Fillion decided to take a gap year from Scott Community College, where he is pursuing a criminal justice degree. He currently works as a Domino’s delivery driver while hitting the campaign trail, which he described as juggling "two full-time jobs."
"Basically, I do a full-time job as well as campaigning," he said.
But campaigning wasn’t always Fillion’s vision. A lifelong hockey fan, he said his initial dream was to play professionally before stepping into politics.
Fillion said he became interested in politics in 2019 after seeing Democrats accuse President Donald Trump of colluding with Russia, saying he found it "weird" they were "calling our president a lot of weird, untrue things." From there, he said he went down a "rabbit hole" researching what he described as corruption within the Democratic Party, which he found "baffling and shocking."
"I just couldn't stand back and just watch all this stuff happen, and I decided to get involved," he said.
This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News Digital's Kiera McDonald and Andrew Mark Miller.
Texas House nominee's campaign spent thousands on cookies, Mexican food and alcohol
A Texas Democratic congressional candidate's campaign reported more than $4,300 in spending on cookies, Mexican restaurant purchases and beer and wine earlier this year, according to federal election records.
Katy Padilla Stout, the Democratic nominee for Texas' 23rd Congressional District, reported expenditures totaling $4,338.14 in five transactions in March and April, according to spending details cited in an August report by RedState and records attributed to the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
The reported purchases included $675 for cookies for a campaign event, $1,289.22 at Total Wine and $2,373.92 at Las Guitarras Cocina Mexicana.
According to the spending details, the campaign reported a $675 payment dated March 30 with the stated purpose "COOKIES FOR EVENT." Herrera's website identifies the payee as Denise Gamboa Zelle and categorizes the expense as a campaign event expenditure.
Additional transactions included $1,089.08 at Total Wine on April 21 and $200.14 the following day, both described as "BEER AND WINE."
The campaign also reported payments of $2,027.52 and $346.40 to Las Guitarras Cocina Mexicana on April 27 and April 28, respectively, according to the transaction details.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Stout said the disbursements "were for campaign and fundraising events which were attended by our supporters."
"Sugar cookies, particularly Texas-shaped ones, hold a special place in Texan culture," she said. "We bought ours at a local bakery because we believe in supporting small businesses."
This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News Digital's Jasmine Baehr.
'You must leave': Minnesota GOP candidate takes aim at noncitizens accused of defrauding Americans
Michele Tafoya, the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in Minnesota and a former broadcaster, said noncitizens accused of defrauding Americans “must leave” the U.S. amid fallout from billion-dollar fraud schemes uncovered in the state.
Tafoya laid out her own proposals for combating fraud during a debate Friday that focused on the schemes that drew national attention to the state earlier this year.
"No. 1, if you're a guest of this country, and you defraud Americans, you must leave. You must leave, and you should have no pathway back," she said.
"No. 2, if you're an American and you defraud your fellow Americans, we should be talking about mandatory prison minimums. Tough sentences, not an easygoing slap on the wrist.
"And No. 3, if you're a state like Minnesota who cannot keep your financial house in order, why would the federal government release billions and billions of dollars to you, only to see it go to fraud?"
Tafoya faces Democratic Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan in the state’s general election on Nov. 3.
This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News Digital's Leo Briceno.
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