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--:-- John Bickley: Control of Congress is on the line in November, and with just over a month to go, several swing state races are getting tighter.
--:-- Georgia Howe: We break down the latest polling on the key races and what issues are making the difference for voters.
--:-- John Bickley: I'm Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Monday, October 3rd, and this is Morning Wire.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The Supreme Court convenes for their fall session, where they'll decide on affirmative action, religious liberty, and state election laws.
--:-- John Bickley: We discuss the cases on the docket and how the court is expected to rule.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And American legacy media raises the alarm about the supposed rise of fascism in Italy, while right-leaning media praises the God-family-country message that won the election.
--:-- John Bickley: We separate fact from fiction regarding Italy's new Prime Minister, Georgia Maloney.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
--:-- John Bickley: Have you considered what could happen in the stock market if our economy stalls out? Don't wait until it's too late to solidify some of your investment portfolio with gold from Birch Gold.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Throughout history, gold has maintained its value better than any other investment in the world.
--:-- John Bickley: Text WIRE to 989898 today for a free zero-obligation info kit on holding gold in a tax-sheltered retirement account.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Again, text WIRE to 989898 and secure the gains you've made while you can.
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--:-- Cabot Phillips: With midterms now just six weeks away, polls in a number of swing states are getting tighter, with one crucial battleground race now closer than ever.
--:-- John Bickley: Here with more on where things stand nationally and which races you should be watching down the home stretch is Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, they have, and quickly. So we've talked a lot about Pennsylvania's Senate race so far, and with good reason. This is a race that both parties view as a sort of must-win if they want to hold a majority, and each side is responding accordingly.
--:-- John Bickley: They're pouring in millions and millions of dollars. This is a battleground state in every sense of the word.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So as of just four weeks ago, the Democrat John Fetterman was ahead in virtually every poll, and some by as many as 13 points.
--:-- John Bickley: But five different polls out in the past week and a half all show one thing, and that is Republican Dr. Oz gaining serious ground.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: He now trails by anywhere from four to even just two points in each of these polls. That's a fast turnaround.
--:-- John Bickley: Yeah, it is. And if you dig into the data some more, One interesting nugget that also seems to bode well for Republicans is their performance right now in so-called competitive suburban and exurban communities.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Remember, this is where midterms are often decided. Well, according to a recent batch of polling from ABC and The Washington Post, Republicans hold a 21-point lead in those competitive districts.
--:-- John Bickley: We haven't seen a gap that big in these kinds of districts since 2020 or 1994, which were both wave elections for the party out of power.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Now, the trend in Pennsylvania seems indicative of a broader momentum shift back toward Republicans in several states, right?
--:-- John Bickley: Yeah, there's just no question the Democrats had gained a lot of power over the last three months.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Remember, in the spring, it really seemed like a sure thing the Republicans would take the House and Senate.
--:-- John Bickley: But over the summer, as roads are overturned and gas prices started to come down a bit, we saw a major Democrat bump in the polls.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: But it appears the momentum nationally is shifting once more, and this time back towards Republicans.
--:-- John Bickley: After pulling dead even and even taking the lead in some generic ballots, that new Washington Post-ABC poll we mentioned found the Republicans now hold a five-point lead when voters were asked which party they want in control of Congress.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: That a significant gap. It is.
--:-- John Bickley: And don't forget midterms are largely still a referendum on the president in power.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: And even though Biden approval ratings have ticked up a few points since their low point in July, he's still sitting in the high 30s and low 40s in nearly every poll.
--:-- John Bickley: So really struggling. That's not good news for Democrat candidates.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: And that's also one reason you have not seen him making many appearances on the campaign trail.
--:-- John Bickley: What's the main factor playing to Republican advantage? Inflation, inflation and inflation.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: I wish I had a better answer, but that is still what it is.
--:-- John Bickley: Look, we know abortion shot up the list of biggest issues for voters after the Dobbs ruling, but this race is still all about the economy.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Every single poll still shows at least a third of voters listing inflation and the cost of living as their top issues.
--:-- John Bickley: And despite repeated promises that inflation was going to drop, it just hasn't.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: And remember, last month still marked a record increase for grocery bills and gas, even though it came down a bit, is still well above where it was two years ago.
--:-- John Bickley: And there's also that all-important enthusiasm gaps.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: More good news for Republicans there.
--:-- John Bickley: That Washington Post-ABC poll from earlier found the Democrats were trailing by one point with registered voters, which sounds pretty good.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: But if you look closer, it actually isn't so good for them.
--:-- John Bickley: When you narrow that list to likely voters, the Republican lead jumps to five points, which is really significant in the midterm where turnout is usually relatively low.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Much more important to look at likely voters, not just voters.
--:-- John Bickley: So what are some states where Democrats are performing well?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So according to most polls, they still hold a lead in Nevada and New Hampshire.
--:-- John Bickley: And in Ohio, the race between Democrat Tim Ryan and Republican J.D. Vance for Senate is probably the best example of Democrats exceeding expectations.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Right now, Ryan is leading or tied in a number of polls, which is surprising.
--:-- John Bickley: Remember, Trump won Ohio by eight points in 2020 and 2016.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So a Democrat win, there would be a serious blow to Republicans.
--:-- John Bickley: Well, things are far from over. A lot can still happen.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Cabot, thanks for coming on.
--:-- John Bickley: Anytime.
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--:-- John Bickley: Coming up, the Supreme Court kicks off their fall session with a full docket of hot-button issues.
--:-- Georgia Howe: If you like this podcast, subscribe to our Morning Wire newsletter available exclusively to Daily Wire members.
--:-- John Bickley: Get the Morning Wire newsletter delivered straight to your inbox when you join at dailywire.com slash subscribe.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Use code MORNINGWIRE to try a Reader's Pass membership and get your first month for only 99 cents.
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--:-- Maraida Lordi: The Supreme Court begins a new session today with several high-profile cases on the docket.
--:-- John Bickley: Last session, the court heard a number of cases on hot-button issues, including abortion and gun rights.
--:-- Maraida Lordi: Daily Wire investigative reporter Maraida Lordi is here with the details for us.
--:-- Maraida Lordi: So, the Supreme Court is set to consider cases that deal with the First Amendment, affirmative action, and control of election laws.
--:-- John Bickley: One of the upcoming cases involves a Christian, Colorado woman who designs wedding websites and does not want to be forced to design them for gay couples as that would violate her beliefs about marriage.
--:-- Maraida Lordi: The woman wanted to put a notice on her business website to alert potential clients about her beliefs and let them know she was willing to help them find another designer who could help them instead.
--:-- John Bickley: That case is called 303 Creative LLC v. Alanis.
--:-- Maraida Lordi: Another case deals with the future of affirmative action. That case is between Harvard University and a group of anonymous Asian American students who were rejected from Harvard and claimed that the Ivy League school discriminates against Asian American applicants in its admissions process.
--:-- John Bickley: The plaintiffs allege that Harvard admissions officers rated them lower in personal qualities, such as likability, despite their high academic scores, while other racial groups like African Americans received higher median ratings for their personal qualities.
--:-- Maraida Lordi: Finally, two other highly anticipated cases involve election laws Moore v Harper deals with how much power state courts have over federal elections in their state.
--:-- John Bickley: Another case, Merrill v. Milligan, deals with allegations of racial gerrymandering.
--:-- Maraida Lordi: Both cases could have an effect on how much power states have to decide when, how, and where residents are able to vote.
--:-- John Bickley: And do we have any predictions about how the court is expected to rule on any of these cases?
--:-- Maraida Lordi: Well, Chief Justice Roberts sided with Alito and Thomas against affirmative action in the past.
--:-- John Bickley: So if he maintains his stance from Fisher v. University of Texas from 2016, and at least two of the three Trump-appointed judges sign on with Roberts, Alito, and Thomas, then that should be enough to secure a conservative ruling.
--:-- Maraida Lordi: Similarly, the current court has firmly upheld religious liberty on multiple occasions, even just this year.
--:-- John Bickley: So that's a good omen for the Colorado web designer.
--:-- Maraida Lordi: For example, the court ruled 6-3 in favor of a football coach in Maine who had a habit of praying at the 50-yard line during games in 2022.
--:-- John Bickley: The wild card this season will be the election cases.
--:-- Maraida Lordi: Right. Well, we haven't done in-depth stories on those election cases just yet on this show, but we're definitely going to do that this fall.
--:-- John Bickley: Maraida, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Maraida Lordi: That was Daily Wire investigative reporter Maraida Lordi.
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--:-- Megan Basham: Italy's election of conservative Georgia Maloney as the country's next prime minister has been drawing sharp reactions from the American media, with many framing her rhetoric as concerning.
--:-- John Bickley: Some have even gone so far as to call her dangerous.
--:-- Megan Basham: Daily Wire culture reporter Megan Basham is here now to detail the responses Maloney is getting and analyze what it is about her political views that's so worrying to some U.S. news outlets.
--:-- Megan Basham: So Megan, what are some of the common themes we're seeing?
--:-- Megan Basham: You know, the biggest standout to me is how many stories are connecting Maloney to fascism.
--:-- John Bickley: The New York Times, The Washington Post, MSNBC. If you Google Maloney and fascist, you're gonna get a lot of search results from news outlets.
--:-- Megan Basham: Now, one prominent example is the Atlantic story describing her win as, quote, the return of fascism in Italy.
--:-- John Bickley: The story went on to say Maloney, quote, represents continuity with Italy's darkest episode, the interwar dictatorship of Benito Mussolini.
--:-- Megan Basham: Now, while I could find conservative policies, I couldn't find specifics on what those fascist policies would be.
--:-- John Bickley: That Atlantic article, for instance, points to her desire to preserve Italy's national identity and reduce immigration.
--:-- Megan Basham: But it's hard to say why that's explicitly fascist by nature and not really just the same thing a lot of Republicans in America might include in their platforms.
--:-- John Bickley: The Washington Post also likened her criticism of global bodies like the EU setting environmental policies for European nations to Mussolini.
--:-- Megan Basham: But again, that's not an authoritarian or dictatorial position. You could arguably say it's a policy against that.
--:-- John Bickley: In fact, Maloney's own political rival, former liberal prime minister Matteo Renzi, told CNN that there's no truth to the idea that Maloney is a fascist or that her win signals a return to fascism.
--:-- Megan Basham: We are and will be a rival always. At the same time, I think that is not a danger for Italian democracy.
--:-- John Bickley: She is my rival. I'm rival. We will continue to fight each other. But the ideas now there is a risk of fascism in Italy is absolutely fake news.
--:-- Megan Basham: I asked Alvino Mario Fantini, who is publisher and editor-in-chief of the European Conservative and who supports Maloney where he thinks these characterizations are coming from.
--:-- John Bickley: And he really just pointed to journalistic laziness I think they not doing their research They're not doing their homework.
--:-- Megan Basham: They're not really looking at what does Georgia Maloney stand for. If they did, they would realize it has nothing to do with fascism, properly understood.
--:-- John Bickley: In fact, many of Maloney's economic policies, like government daycare and government benefits for infants, would actually be pretty liberal by U.S. standards.
--:-- Megan Basham: But she is on the right politically by Italian standards.
--:-- John Bickley: So what is it about her that's drawing those labels?
--:-- Megan Basham: Well, I think it's important to note that the conservatism American news outlets are highlighting is largely social conservatism.
--:-- John Bickley: So much of the criticism you're hearing here is based on her rhetoric regarding family, sexuality, gender, and religion.
--:-- Megan Basham: There's one particularly impassioned speech from the 2019 World Congress of Families, where Maloney spoke against what she views as the left's assaults on God, their traditional family, and national identity.
--:-- John Bickley: Now that went viral.
--:-- Megan Basham: Interesting to note, last Wednesday, YouTube users noticed that the platform had removed this video, saying it violated its community guidelines.
--:-- John Bickley: When several conservative news outlets reached out to YouTube to ask what those violations were, YouTube said there had been an error and the video went back up.
--:-- Megan Basham: A YouTube spokeswoman said, quote, we enforce our policies regardless of the speaker's political views.
--:-- John Bickley: But at least what we can see here is that the same sort of subjects that get conservative political speech suppressed here in the U.S. on social media platforms was also what led to Maloney's video being taken down.
--:-- Megan Basham: And they're not really views that would qualify as fascist. You might more accurately call them populist.
--:-- John Bickley: Well, based on the response she's gotten in Italy, I would not be surprised if we start seeing some politicians imitating her.
--:-- Megan Basham: Megan, thanks for reporting.
--:-- John Bickley: Yeah, anytime.
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--:-- John Bickley: Other stories we're tracking this week.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said over the weekend, over half of residents who lost power during Hurricane Ian got it back within two days.
--:-- John Bickley: Recovery efforts continue as charities and businesses have donated supplies to those impacted by the storm.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Florida is also working with Elon Musk's Starlink to provide Internet service.
--:-- John Bickley: At least 125 people died and many more were wounded following a stampede at a soccer game in Indonesia Saturday night.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Fans rushed the field after the home team lost to the visiting team for the first time in 23 years.
--:-- John Bickley: Tear gas was deployed by security, leading thousands to attempt exiting the stadium at once.
--:-- Georgia Howe: A lawsuit filed on behalf of Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams was shot down on all counts by a judge on Friday.
--:-- John Bickley: Fair Fight Action, a group Abrams formed, filed the suit after she refused to concede to Republican Brian Kemp.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The suit alleged that Georgia's election laws were racially discriminatory and violated federal law.
--:-- John Bickley: Thanks for listening to Morning Wire.
--:-- Georgia Howe: We created this show to bring more balance to the national conversation.
--:-- John Bickley: If you love our show and you stand with our mission, consider subscribing, leaving us a five-star rating, and most importantly, sharing our podcast with a friend.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for waking up with us.
--:-- John Bickley: We'll be back this afternoon with more of the news you need to know.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Peace.
