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President Donald Trump on Friday praised Republican National Committee Chairman Joe Gruters and said the embattled political operative should continue in his role.
“I know he will do an incredible job in 2028, and secure Great Success for Republicans all across our Country,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Gruters, a longtime Florida politician and Trump supporter, has faced criticism after voters swung to Democrats in historic numbers in Tuesday’s midterm elections. As RNC chairman, he helped shape the GOP strategy and had publicly portrayed optimism about the election.
“I think we’re well positioned to defy history,” Gruters told NBC News on Election Day.
KC Crosbie, the RNC co-chair, wrote in a letter to RNC members on Thursday that the organization had fallen short and that she was running to serve as its new chair.
Trump’s endorsement of Gruters did not mention the election results. The president instead focused on Gruters’s past work helping him win Florida during his presidential campaigns and their personal relationship.
“As Sarasota County Chairman, Joe named me Statesman of the Year in both 2012 and 2015 — The only person to ever win it two times,” Trump wrote.
Florida voters elected Sydney Gruters, Joe Gruters’s wife and a fellow Republican, to the U.S. House on Tuesday.
Republican Anthony Constantino, the CEO of the sticker company Sticker Mule, has won the House race in New York’s 21st District, according to the Associated Press.
Although Constantino’s race did not seem competitive initially, Democrats saw an opportunity to flip it as the national environment shifted against Republicans. The seat is currently held by retiring Rep. Elise Stefanik (R), who ran for the New York Republican gubernatorial nomination but dropped her bid in December.
Even though the AP did not call his race until Friday, Constantino declared victory Tuesday and gave a profanity-laced speech, saying the media is “evil” and “a bunch of f—ing a——s.” On Wednesday, he took aim at fellow New York Republicans, saying the state GOP is “a con job.”
Republican New York gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman, who lost his race, then blasted Constantino on X, saying he “was by far the worst candidate I ever encountered.” (Blakeman and Constantino had appeared on the campaign trail together.)
“I ran way ahead of him in his district and if it weren’t for me he wouldn’t have won,” Blakeman said. “See you in two years, pal.”
In North Carolina, the midterm results this week were a dramatic shift to the left, from U.S. House seats to the state House. And at least one newly elected Democrat said a slow and frustrating Hurricane Helene recovery was a contributing factor — a contrast to before the 2024 presidential election. Two Novembers ago, some residents in rural western North Carolina told The Washington Post the promises Donald Trump made about speeding up recovery after the disaster influenced their decision to vote for him.
Last spring, Lynne Russo, a communications consultant from Hendersonville, who had never worked in politics before, toured her district, hard hit by Helene, and spent three months talking to residents about what was making their lives so hard.
Many in the mountain towns were already struggling following the hurricane’s impacts on tourism, roads, and bridges. Throw in high gas and grocery prices, and people were not getting by, she said.
“I ran because of Helene,” she said. “It’s a double whammy of living in a place where there was a hurricane, and living in America right now where it’s not affordable. It’s harder than other places. Most businesses have not rebounded.”
Russo, who sold her condo so she could work 16 hours a day on her state House campaign, said she also had to use her calculator when paying at the grocery store.
On Tuesday, Russo won her district handily.
“We moved 19 points to the left,” she said. “We moved a little mountain over here.”
Other Democratic candidates, such as Mark Burrows, who won his state House election, and Jamie Ager, a fifth-generation farmer, who flipped the toss-up 11th Congressional District, also focused on Helene’s difficult recovery. They talked about investing in roads, bridges, water, power and sewer systems so they could be more robust for the next disaster.
The Trump administration, meanwhile, has said it is pulling back from funding resiliency and recovery projects, and that states should be able to handle this work more on their own.
Russo said that “terrifies” her because North Carolina could not handle Helene-like devastation without significant federal assistance.
Tailgating season is well underway, and with it comes the kind of food best enjoyed in the fresh fall air before the big game. When looking for something portable, make-ahead-friendly and crowd-pleasing — not to mention easily eaten with one hand while balancing a disposable plate — you can’t go wrong with a dip.
Dips also lend themselves to all sorts of vehicles for getting them from the bowl into your mouth, including chips (potato and tortilla), crackers, pita wedges and vegetables.
Here are three of our favorite dips to scoop up at your next tailgate (or game-day couch hang).
Seven-Layer Dip. Pictured above. This party staple takes only minutes to assemble and includes salsa, refried beans, guacamole and sour cream in its colorful strata. Also check out Mediterranean Five-Layer Dip.
Buffalo Chicken Dip. It’s a classic for a reason, as the mix of spicy, salty flavors is hard to resist. A slow cooker is great for keeping it warm while everyone noshes. Better Buffalo Chicken Dip offers a slightly lighter take.
Triple Onion Dip. You don’t need a packet of instant soup mix to make this allium-rich snack that goes just as well with crudités as it does potato chips. Another option: Sweet Onion, Scallion and Chive Dip.
Democrat Scott Wiener has won the House race in California’s 11th District, according to the Associated Press, defeating fellow Democrat Connie Chan, a San Francisco supervisor.
Wiener will step into the seat currently held by former House speaker Nancy Pelosi (D), who endorsed Chan and is retiring after serving in the House for nearly 40 years. The two Democrats advanced to the general election under California’s top-two primary.
Pelosi endorsed Chan shortly before the primary, boosting her underdog campaign with fundraisers and staff support. Allies of Wiener — who began making moves for the seat long before Pelosi announced her retirement — complained that her involvement in the race was driven primarily by a personal vendetta, which Pelosi denies.
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London’s Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley has urged any other potential victims of Russell Brand to come forward, and said he believes there could be “many more” complaints, after the actor and comedian was found guilty of rape and sexual assault on Thursday.
Brand, 51, was convicted of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault. He was acquitted of two additional charges of rape and a charge of attempted indecent assault.
Rowley told Times Radio police were investigating “two more rape allegations” and were “encouraging anybody else to come forward if there’s any other allegations.”
“What cases like this show is it doesn’t matter how powerful the person is. We will support you, and we will try and bring down the person who did something ghastly to you,” he added.
In a separate interview with the BBC, Rowley said he “clearly wouldn’t be surprised if many more” potential victims came forward.
Brand is best known for his roles in films such as “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and “Get Him to the Greek.” His sentencing will take place Monday. His request for bail was refused, and he was told by the judge he was facing “a significant custodial term.”
American voters showed their frustration with rising prices in full force on Tuesday, flipping dozens of seats and delivering control of the House and the Senate to Democrats.
The economy was one of the biggest issues for voters this election cycle, as Americans grow increasingly fed up with rising gas prices, the effects of tariffs and climbing interest rates. Since the war in Iran began, oil prices have surged and inflation is outpacing wages in the United States.
Despite the rising prices, the U.S. economy remains fairly stable overall. The labor market is steady, and people are still spending money.
Still, President Donald Trump’s approval rating on his handling of the economy has fallen, and on Tuesday voters delivered him a stunning rebuke. About 3 in 4 Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of inflation and the cost of living, according to a Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll released last month.
We analyzed how Americans are being affected by Trump’s economy. See 13 charts that show how the economy has changed during his second term.
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