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WASHINGTON (AP) — Aftab Pureval won reelection as mayor of Cincinnati on Tuesday, defeating Cory Bowman, a Republican who is Vice President JD Vance’s half-brother.
Pureval was first elected mayor in 2021. The office is officially nonpartisan, but his party preference is Democratic.
Pureval won the all-party municipal primary in May with more than 80% of the vote. Prior to running for mayor, he worked as a lawyer.
The Associated Press declared Pureval the winner at 8:13 p.m.
By JOHN HANNA
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas’ Republican House leader on Tuesday dropped efforts to force a redraw of U.S. House districts that would have thrust the state into a widening national battle for partisan advantage in the 2026 elections.
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The announcement by Kansas House Speaker Dan Hawkins ends a weekslong push by GOP lawmakers to circumvent Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly and call themselves into a special session on redistricting, which would have convened later this week.
A session would have targeted ousting four-term U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, the only Democrat in the state’s congressional delegation.
Kansas Republicans were trying to answer President Donald Trump’s call for states to redraw their maps to give the GOP at least seven more winnable seats ahead of the 2026 midterms so the party stands a better chance of keeping its slim House majority.
The Kansas constitution allowed Republicans to bypass Kelly’s refusal to call a special session by having two-thirds of the members of both chambers sign a petition. The GOP has the necessary supermajorities, but a few Republican lawmakers opposed a mid-decade redistricting. Others feared that changes could make the three other Republican-held districts more competitive for Democrats.
“Planning a Special Session is always going to be an uphill battle with multiple agendas, scheduling conflicts and many unseen factors at play,” Hawkins said in a statement.
GOP lawmakers in Texas,Missouri and North Carolina have heeded the president’s call for new maps. California countered with an initiative on Tuesday’s ballot to pick up five Democratic seats there.
It would have been only the second time in the state’s 164-year history that lawmakers bypassed the governor for a special session. The only previous time was in 2021, when Republicans sought to challenge federal COVID-19 vaccine mandates. GOP leaders circulated this year’s petition for weeks.
Republicans still could circulate another petition, but the Legislature is scheduled to convene its next regular, annual session on Jan. 12, and they would still have time after that to get a new map into law.
The state’s filing candidate filing deadline isn’t until June 1, and the primary election is Aug. 4.
By JOSH BOAK, LINLEY SANDERS and AMELIA THOMSON-DEVEAUX, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Economic worries were the dominant concern as voters cast ballots for Tuesday’s elections, according to preliminary findings from the AP Voter Poll.
The results of the expansive survey of more than 17,000 voters in New Jersey, Virginia, California and New York City suggested the public was troubled by an economy that seems trapped by higher prices and fewer job opportunities.
And a year after President Donald Trump was brought back to the White House on the promise that he could tame inflation and unleash growth, economic worries were still at the top of voters’ minds. Despite a rising stock market, inflation remains elevated, and hiring has slowed sharply. Since October, a federal government shutdown has only compounded the sense of uncertainty.
While Trump has tried to highlight his efforts to deport immigrants in the country illegally and send federal officers and National Guard troops into cities to fight crime, few voters saw these issues as the top concern for the places they live.
These broader economic anxieties were accompanied by high discontent in some of the off-year elections. More than half of voters in New Jersey and Virginia said they were “angry” or “dissatisfied” with how things were going in the country.
The economic challenges have played out in different ways at the local level. Most New Jersey voters said property taxes were a “major problem,” while most New York City voters said this about the cost of housing. Most Virginia voters said they’ve felt at least some impact from the recent federal government cuts.
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Voters mostly said their own finances were stable, but the poll results suggested that many feel they cannot get ahead in the current economy. That leaves them feeling stuck in place, instead of moving up the financial ladder.
About 6 in 10 voters in New Jersey, Virginia and New York City said their family’s finances were “holding steady,” but relatively few felt they were “getting ahead,” and about one-quarter said they were “falling behind.”
About half of Virginia voters, who were deciding between Democrat Abigail Spanberger and Republican Winsome Earle-Sears for governor, said the economy was the most important issue facing their state. Just 2 in 10 pointed to health care, about 1 in 10 named education or immigration, and fewer than that said crime was the top issue facing the commonwealth.
Most New Jersey voters, who were choosing between Republican Jack Ciattarelli and Democrat Mikie Sherrill for governor, said either taxes or the economy were the top issue in their state. About one-third of voters named each of these issues, compared to about 2 in 10 who said this about health care. Less than 1 in 10 identified immigration or crime as top issues.
Just over half of New York City voters said the cost of living was the most important issue in the city — as the expense of rent and level of income inequality has climbed in America’s most populated city. Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani is running against Andrew Cuomo, the former New York governor, and Republican Curtis Sliwa. About one-quarter said crime was their major concern. Another 1 in 10 said this of immigration, and less than 1 in 10 pointed to health care or transportation as the top issue.
The polling found a high level of discontent about America’s direction as a country in several states, a sign that few voters have felt reassured so far by Trump’s return to the White House.
Democratic-led California asked its residents to vote Tuesday on a plan to redraw the lines of its congressional districts, after Trump has pushed Republican states such as Texas to amend their district boundaries in hopes of helping GOP candidates in next year’s midterm elections.
About half of California voters described themselves as “angry” about the direction of the country, with another 2 in 10 saying they were “dissatisfied.”
About 6 in 10 voters in Virginia and New Jersey said they are “angry” or “dissatisfied” with the way things are going in the country today. Just one-third said they are “enthusiastic” or “satisfied.”
People are stressed about affordability, but that’s manifesting itself in different ways.
In Virginia, federal government layoffs and funding cuts initiated by the Trump administration seemed to be taking a toll. Roughly 6 in 10 voters said federal government cuts this year affected their family’s finances “a lot” or “a little.” Those economic woes could compound if the ongoing government shutdown persists and federal employees and contractors are forced to go without paychecks.
In New Jersey, property taxes and electricity costs were raising alarms. About 7 in 10 New Jersey voters called property tax rates where they live a “major problem” and about 6 in 10 said that about their utility bills. Sherrill, the Democrat, seized on cost-of-living issues to attack Trump, whereas Ciattarelli has suggested that tax cuts would help to provide relief on inflation.
In New York City, about 7 in 10 voters said the cost of housing where they live was “a major problem,” with renters being especially likely to point to this as an issue. Fewer voters called crime “a major problem” in the city.
The 2025 AP Voter Poll, conducted by SSRS from Oct. 22 – Nov. 4, includes representative samples of registered voters in California (4,490), New Jersey (4,244), New York City (4,304) and Virginia (4,215). The AP Voter Poll combines data collected from validated registered voters online and by telephone, with data collected in-person from election day voters at approximately 30 precincts per state or city, excluding California. Respondents can complete the poll in English or Spanish. The overall margin of sampling error for voters, accounting for design effect, is plus or minus 2.0 percentage points in California, 2.1 percentage points in New Jersey, 2.2 percentage points in New York City, and 2.1 percentage points in Virginia.
Don’t call it a rebuild, Derek Shelton said Tuesday.
The Twins might have traded away 10 of their best, most veteran players at the deadline last July, then plummeted in the American League Central Division standings, but that doesn’t mean it’s a gut job, the new Twins manager said.
“I’m not using the term ‘rebuild,’ ” Shelton said. “People are always going to go to a certain term, but I think we’re going to develop young players, and I think we have good young players. So that’s probably not a word you’re going to hear me say.”
Shelton managed a rebuilding club for four-plus seasons in Pittsburgh, finishing with a 306-440 record, before winning the Twins’ opening after a monthlong search.
With the team stuck in place outside the wild card race after the all-star break, the Twins orchestrated a salary dump last July that included sending former building blocks Carlos Correa, Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax and Louie Varland — plus productive veteran rentals Ty France and Harrison Bader — to contenders for prospects.
With a solid rotation led by Pablo Lopez, Joe Ryan and Bailey Ober, the Twins seem dedicated to building around a young core of position players that includes infielders Royce Lewis, Brooks Lee and Luke Keaschall, and outfielders Matt Wallner and Austin Martin.
“I’m excited about this young core,” Shelton said, “and I’m excited about how they’re going to compete, and I think everybody always wants to put a term on something. But I don’t think (calling it a rebuild) is fair.”
When the Twins fired Rocco Baldelli after the season ended, they held off on the rest of the coaching staff. Their fates will begin to become clear as Shelton starts to build his staff.
Among those waiting on their fates are assistant bench coach Hank Conger — who interviewed for the managerial job — and pitching coach Pete Maki.
“There will be changes with our (coaching) staff, there’s no other way to put it,” team president Derek Falvey said. “Exactly what that change is still remains to be seen.”
Falvey said he didn’t have any indication of when two minority ownership partners would officially come on board, after which, presumably, he will have more clarity on the team’s financial position heading into free agency.
“I don’t have a timeline right now; some of that is owed to the process of finalizing a deal, so to speak, behind the scenes,” Falvey said. “But at the end of the day, once the Pohlads give me an indication of that, there will be some — subsequent to that — baseball process. That’s a little bit above my pay grade; when they tell me, I’ll know, and at this point we’re just not there.”
Falvey said right-handed starters Lopez (forearm) and David Festa (thoracic outlet syndrome) are on track to be ready for spring training.
Lopez, who missed three months with a shoulder injury before injuring his forearm trying to field a grounder in September, is “in full offseason mode at this point.”
Festa, who ended the season on the 60-day injured list, was seen by a specialist in Dallas on the team’s final road trip and is “tracking the way we expected this offseason” and “should track well towards spring training.”
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