Soccer Courtesy 10-15.jpg

Following back-to-back conference wins at home, No. 13 Mizzou faces one of its biggest tests of the season against No. 9 Ole Miss on the road. Take this week's impossible quiz to learn more about the history of the Rebels and Oxford, Mississippi.

(The Center Square) - Several contests for the U.S. House in California could determine the partisan control of Congress in the 2026 midterm elections.

In November 2025, California voters approved Proposition 50, a measure to redraw congressional districts in California to net as many as four additional seats for Democrats in the state. Many of these races in these states are among the most hotly contested in the nation.

The Center Square spoke to candidates and party organizers in these critical districts.

District 22

U.S. Rep. David Valadao, R-Hanford, is seeking reelection against Democratic candidate Randy Villegas. The Central Valley has seen tight competition between the two candidates after Villegas defeated Democratic challenger Jasmeet Baines.

Villegas called for a progressive income tax structure that “ensures millionaires and billionaires pay their fair share.” He also said working class families should get relief from rising gas prices and said he would support a federal gas tax suspension.

“Right now our fuel prices, our prices at the pump are exploding,” Villegas told The Center Square. “We’ve got to use every single tool possible to provide immediate relief for our working families.”

In California, the average gas price on Thursday was $6.23 per gallon, according to AAA. California has consistently seen the highest prices in the country during recent years. Thursday's national average was $4.33. 

Villegas also slammed Valadao for his vote to pass the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. He called for reversal of the bill’s proposed tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires but said he supported policies like no tax on tips or overtime.

“My opponent’s vote on this bill to give tax breaks to the richest in our country is ridiculous,” Villegas told The Center Square. “We need a tax policy that is going to center our working families and that’s going to bring down costs for our working families, not billionaires.”

Valadao did not respond to The Center Square’s requests for an interview. However, Matthew Casarez, executive director of the Tulare County Republican Party, told The Center Square that Valadao’s record in Congress is resonating with voters. He pointed to the congressman’s vote for the “One Big Beautiful Bill.”

“[Voters] see Congressman Valadao’s record on taxes. They know he is for affordability,” Casarez said.

Casarez acknowledged high gas prices across the country are related to the conflict with Iran. He said voters recognize those issues are temporary.

“The biggest jump in prices happened over the course of four years under Joe Biden,” Casarez told The Center Square. “They realize that a lot of this is temporary because of the situation in Iran.”

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, California’s 22nd Congressional District is home to a 27.6% foreign-born population, nearly double the overall U.S. foreign born population.

Immigration is a central issue between the two candidates in the Central Valley. Villegas slammed the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement efforts and called for comprehensive reform across the country.

“Any ICE agent who has violated the constitution and communities should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Villegas said. “I want to fight to pass comprehensive humane immigration reform with a path to citizenship, so our neighbors no longer have to live in the shadows.”

Casarez said Valadao supports the Trump administration’s efforts to pursue criminals in the community. He pointed to a surge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity across the Central Valley over the previous week, which immigrant advocacy organizations have condemned.

“If you are a law abiding American citizen, you don’t have to worry about law enforcement,” Casarez said.

Valadao has more than $4.9 million in campaign contributions, compared to Villegas with $2.6 million, according to the Federal Election Commission. The incumbent Republican received $299,000 from Emmer Majority Builders, a group associated with House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Delano, Minn. Valadao also received $44,000 from the Hispanic Leadership Trust Partnership and $67,000 from WinRed, an online fundraising platform for Republican candidates. 

Villegas received more than $37,000 from the California House Majority Fund, $20,000 from the Blue Wave California Victory Fund and $5,000 from the Jane Fonda Climate PAC. 

District 40

California’s 40th Congressional District has two incumbent Republicans at the top of the ticket. U.S. Reps. Ken Calvert, R-Corona, and Young Kim, R-Anaheim, are vying for reelection in the district, which was redrawn as part of Proposition 50.

Calvert did not respond to The Center Square’s requests for an interview. But he previously touted his record bringing funds for infrastructure projects to the district, dating back to his first election in 1992.

“Ken has successfully secured more than a billion dollars in federal funding for transportation, water, and clean air projects for Riverside County,” Calvert’s website reads.

Young Kim was not available for an interview in time for publication. She previously called for lowering gas prices and increasing the domestic energy supply.

"Working families are struggling to make ends meet, and I'm working to lower the cost of gas, groceries, and utilities and make it easier for families to get ahead," Kim said on her campaign website.

During an earlier interview, Calvert said gas prices would go down once the tensions of the U.S. conflict in Iran settled. He said the conflict was “necessary” given intelligence information at the time.

“This action will end relatively soon,” Calvert said. “So I think you're going to see declining price of oil and gasoline prices in the relatively near future.”

Calvert asserted he is a “consistent conservative” compared to Kim. Both Calvert and Ken consistently voted against resolutions to end Trump's military authority in Iran and his tariff capabilities. 

“You can’t just change your position from day to day,” Calvert said in an interview.

Jason Mills, a communications consultant with the Orange County Democratic Party, said the group is not organizing in the race between Calvert and Kim. Orange County, where Kim lives, is one of three major counties in the newly drawn 40th Congressional District. Calvert lives in Riverside County.

“Both Young Kim and Ken Calvert are MAGA Republicans,” Mills told The Center Square. “We are not mobilizing Democrats to vote for either of those candidates.”

Mills dismissed concerns about two Republican candidates on the ballot would prevent voters from turning out. He said rising gas prices, tariff policies and healthcare cuts are pushing voters to the polls.

“Democrats are motivated at the national level to vote against Donald Trump,” Mills said. “That is going to be what motivates voters in CA-40 rather than having any Democratic standard bearer in Congress.”

He said polling in state legislative races typically held by Republicans across Orange County is trending in favor of Democrats this year. Mills said having two Republicans at the top of the ticket in California’s 40th district will ensure that one loses reelection.

“Either way we see it as a victory because we're losing one more Trump Republican out of Congress,” Mills said.

Kim has more than $8.8 million in campaign contributions, compared to Calvert with $6.1 million, according to the FEC. She received more than $858,000 from WinRed, $404,000 from Grow the Majority and $115,000  from GOP Winning Women 2026. 

Calvert received $799,000 from the Calvert Victory Fund, a joint fundraising committee to support the incumbent Congressman. He also received more than $138,000 from Grow the Majority and $32,000 from Flexpoint Media. 

District 41

U.S. Rep. Linda Sanchez, D-Whittier, and Santa Monica Republican Mitch Clemmons are duking it out in the race for California’s redrawn 41st Congressional District. Clemmons said he was motivated to run when he realized the new district included his hometown and his plumbing company.

“I have, I guess, a little bit of name recognition to a small extent in those cities, and I have grown up in those areas. And I want to see better things for the cities in my district,” Clemmons told The Center Square.

Clemmons called for reduced taxes and fewer business regulations. He said businesses in his district have been crippled by California tax policies and minimum wage requirements.

“It's much harder to compete as a small business owner as opposed to a company like McDonald's who can automate and absorb certain costs,” Clemmons said.

In Congress, he said he would support the Trump administration's roll back of certain environmental policies to increase energy production and applauded the prescription drug deals through TrumpRx. 

Clemmons said the administration’s tariff policies are essential to offsetting income taxes. He supported a long-term tariff plan to lower taxes and increase domestic production jobs.

“We could take these tariffs that we're bringing in and utilize that in a way to not only have a balanced budget, but a budget where we're saving money so we can start paying down our debt,” Clemmons told The Center Square.

Sanchez has called for ending the Trump administration’s tariff policies and keeping control of the mechanism with Congress. She introduced the Strengthening Social Security Act, legislation that would increase social security payroll taxes on high earners.

“She has been a great representative for her constituents, always standing up for working families and working class folks in her area,” Mills said. “Even though she has always had these small portions of Orange County, she can always be counted on to stand up for families.”

Sanchez has $1.6 million over Clemmons with $5,000, according to the FEC. She received $11,000 from Blue Wave California, $5,000 from the American Council of Life Insurers PAC and $10,000 from the American Crystal Sugar Company PAC. 

Clemmons contributed $500 to his own campaign, according to the FEC. He also received $1,000 from Pat Dye, a retired resident of Mohave Valley, Ariz. 

Over its last 1,350 minutes of Southeastern Conference play entering Thursday, Mizzou soccer had scored only five goals.

On Thursday night, it took just 90 minutes for the Tigers to notch three.

Mizzou snapped a 15-match winless stretch in SEC play with a 3-0 victory over Ole Miss in Oxford, Mississippi.

In those 15 matches, the Tigers failed to record a multi-goal game. Thanks to playmaking ability of impact freshmen, MU had an offensive outburst Thursday that included two goals in the span of five minutes.

Riley Morse, a former top-50 recruit, had assists off free kicks in the 62nd and 67th minutes. She dropped both lofting passes to the left side of the goalkeeper, where her Mizzou teammates headed the ball into the goal.

Teammate and fellow freshman Lana Adams knocked home Morse's 67th-minute set piece and also recorded an assist in the first half. Adams now leads the Tigers with four goals and trails only Morse for the team lead in assists.

Emily Derucki opened the scoring by sneaking a shot past the Ole Miss keeper off Adams' pass. Mizzou is 4-0-0 in matches where it scored first.

Brianna Buels got a touch on Morse's other free kick to score MU's second goal and knock home her third of the season.

Goalkeeper Riley Wilkerson made her ninth start for the Tigers and stopped all three shots on goal she faced.

The victory over the Rebels was critical for the Tigers' SEC Tournament qualification, as only the top 12 teams qualify. Mizzou's four points sit one off 12th-place Tennessee and its three remaining opponents have a combined three conference wins.

Mizzou (4-8-2, 1-5-1 SEC) looks to record back-to-back conference wins for the first time since 2020 when it takes on Georgia (5-4-5, 2-2-3) at 4 p.m. Sunday in Athens, Georgia.

Mizzou tennis advances four doubles, two singles to Day 2 of the ITA Central Regional

The Tigers had a strong showing in day one of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Central Regional, advancing all four doubles teams and two singles players. 

Not a single doubles team came within two games of losing their lone set.

Millie Skelton and Evelyn Whiteside continue to thrive. The duo beat the team of Hyejeong Ahn and Caroline Manzi from Kansas by a score of 8-5. They will play Emma Dvorackova and Nela Linhartova, the team from the hosting university: Memphis.

Daria Budko and Alba Salles Canudas also won 8-5 to move onto the Round of 32. They did so by beating Jordane Dookie and Miranda Noor from Drake, which is Mizzou coach Robin Goodman's alma mater. Budko and Salles Canudas will play Xin Tong Wang and Giorgia Roselli from Wichita State. 

Irina Anghel and Daniella Chapman quickly put their Kansas State opponents to rest in an 8-2 win. Next up for them is a Round of 32 matchup against University of Minnesota team Massiva Boukirat and Jeselle Ante. 

Tiger duo Alex Ackman and Mariana Higuita Barraza handled Diana Smolinksa and Lena Beuing 8-2 from Kansas State. They will take on Oklahoma pair of Sara Shumate and Gloriana Nahum. 

All doubles Round of 32 doubles matches are scheduled for 2 p.m. Friday.

Singles results 

Two out of five Tigers advanced from the Round of 64 to the Round of 16.

Budko made quick work of Helena Bueno from Arkansas State, winning in two sets 6-0, 6-3. She then beat Missouri State player Marielou Baudouin 6-2, 6-2. Budko is set to face Flavia Monteverde in the Round of 16, who beat Bazan in the Round of 32.

Alex Ackman battled hard to get to the Round of 16. She beat Iowa's Shuqian Xu in two sets 6-4, 6-1, and then she came back against Lilitha Sithenkosi Ndungagne from Tulsa 4-6, 6-2, 6-3. She will face Valentina Vargas of Iowa State in the Round of 16. 

Bazan made the round of 32 after beating Jaraczewski in two sets 6-3, 6-2. Bazan lost to Monteverde 6-3, 6-3 to end her singles run.

Higuita Barazza and Salles Canudas both lost their first matchups of the day. Each of them won their consolation matchup in the Round of 32. 

Salles Canudas fought through a neck-and-neck match against Ahn to advance to the next round of the consolation bracket. She will take on Daniela Zegarra of Oral Roberts University.

Higuita Barazza also found success in the consolation bracket. She beat Dvorackova in two sets 6-1, 7-. The first set was won 6-1, and the next set was won in tiebreakers 7-6(4). 

The event continues on Thursday in Memphis, Tennessee.

Columbia College volleyball stretches win streak to 11

Columbia College volleyball continues to shine as it swept Central Baptist College on Thursday, improving to 23-6 overall and 10-0 in the American Midwest Conference.

The first set quickly was in the hands of CC. The front row, led by Samira Baltazar and Rowan Carr, knocked down 18 kills and hitting .425 – the strongest set of the three. CC won the first set 25-12 and rolled right into the second with strong serves from Hannah Vogt.

The Cougars strung point runs together early, capitalizing on offense once again to win 25-12 in Set 2. Central Baptist fought early in the third, running ahead with a 9-5 lead. Isabella Kinkaid started a five-point run for the Cougars with a kill, and Addison Burroughs recorded two aces in her next four serves to put the momentum back on CC's side. The Cougars closed out the third set win with five straight serves from Alexa Olson and a match-ending kill from Kenedi Canty to bring CC to 25-18.

The Cougars will host Harris-Stowe State and Central Methodist in the CC Tri-Match on Wednesday.

Stephens College volleyball drops matchup against Missouri Baptist

The Stephens College volleyball team dropped its matchup against Missouri Baptist 3-0 despite impressive performance from Anna Bradley and Michelina Oles.

Bradley and Oles both tallied 12 total points for the Stars, as the former notched 12 kills and the latter 11. The two Stars stood at the top of the two stat categories despite the loss.

The Spartans won 25-14, 25-17, 25-19.

The loss drops Stephens College to 7-14 on the season. With the matchup being a non-conference competition, the Stars' AMC record remains 5-4.

Stephens College will be back in action at the Stephens AMC Quad starting against Harris-Stowe University at 10 a.m. Saturday in Columbia.

Mizzou swimming and diving will compete in its first home meet of the season Friday and Saturday, set to host Missouri State and Indiana State. The meet begins at 5 p.m. Friday and will resume for Day 2 at 10 a.m. Saturday. Attendees will be treated to Mizzou’s own DJ Beatz, who will be performing during both days.

Director of swimming and diving Andrew Grevers is excited about the energy and the chance to swim at home.

“Our athletes are so comfortable and confident, they love our pool,” Grevers said. “DJ Beatz comes out and he plays music the whole time so you're going to see the vibes.”

Along with the entertainment, students get double points for attending plus the meet has free admission.

Grevers and his staff plan to use the meet as a stepping stone for the future.

“We’re really focusing on getting our athletes in the races they need to be in to set us up for success later in the season,” Grevers said.

As a part of their new periodization training module, the Tigers have been suffering through peak week prior to the meet. All week during practice, they've been getting crushed with tough, exhausting workouts.

To top it all off at, the end of the week, they get to compete at a high level in an attempt to defend their home pool. 

“Our athletes are going to be absolutely exhausted," Grevers said. "You see them fight through that fatigue, work through those challenges, still do great, and finish off peak week on a high note."

Despite this, Grevers still has full confidence in his team's abilities to capture victory, stating that he expects to win the meet on both sides.

Last week, the Tigers were in Dallas at the SMU Classic where both the men and women nabbed fourth place. Competition was stiff, and the athletes gained valuable experience and reps to kick off the season.

Grevers admits that. performance wise, the team isn’t there yet. However, he was extremely pleased with how the team looked and felt over the weekend.

“We’re shaking off the rust, so to speak, when it came to race and race execution, so details were a bit off,” Grevers noted. “But the effort was phenomenal, the attitudes were amazing, the energy was high and the spirit was great.”

He estimated walking out of the meet with around 15 new lifetime bests out of his athletes, giving a special shoutout to Matthew Judkins for his performance in the 400 individual-medley. Judkins shaved 15 seconds off his personal best, bringing it down to 3 minutes, 53 seconds.

The Tigers entered that meet exhausted, too, so to see this much progress already was a good sign. Grevers knows this training regime will sacrifice early results, but he does so for the long term goal of building up to becoming a formidable squad.

“I like being the underdog, I like people underestimating us so we can blow them away," Grevers said. "So that helps me keep our secret hidden a little longer, so to speak.” 

(The Center Square) – California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit Thursday challenging the Trump administration's practice of conducting civil immigration enforcement in and around courthouses.

The legal challenge marks Bonta's 100th lawsuit against the administration since President Donald Trump returned to office in January 2025, but the White House is pointing to court rulings up holding immigration enforcement as lawful.

According to the California Department of Justice, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have conducted disruptive and often violent civil immigration enforcement actions at courthouses across the state since the policy was initiated in May 2025. State officials report that witnesses, victims, and survivors of domestic violence increasingly fear appearing in court, creating what the state calls a profound chilling effect that undermines public safety and judicial operations.

“In California, our courthouses aren't proving grounds for unlawful immigration enforcement tactics,” said Bonta at a press conference in Sacramento. “When people come knocking at the court's door, justice should welcome them in with equal access and application regardless of their immigration status.”

Data cited in the lawsuit reveals that the average monthly number of ICE arrests in and around state courthouses spiked by more than 550% in the year following the policy change.

“Immigration arrests at courthouses have been documented in at least 22 California counties, from Los Angeles and San Diego to Shasta, Butte, and Glen, all throughout our state,” said Bonta. “That includes the five largest counties, each home to a significant percentage of non-citizen residents and families of mixed immigration status.”

The White House sharply criticized the litigation, pointing to the administration's legal track record.

"Instead of bragging about filing frivolous lawsuits against the Trump Administration, the California Attorney General should focus on addressing problems in his own state – like the countless criminal illegal aliens extreme Democrats allow to roam free and kill innocent Americans," White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis told The Center Square in an email Thursday. "The reality is, with well over 25 Supreme Court victories, the Administration’s policies have been consistently upheld as lawful, despite some lower courts issuing an unprecedented number of lawless injunctions."

Acting ICE Director David Venturella and Secretary of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin are named in the lawsuit. The Center Square reached out to the Department of Homeland Security, but did not hear back by publication time.

Although a federal court vacated ICE's written directive in late June 2026 in Pablo Sequen v. Albarran, Bonta said enforcement actions have persisted. State records show 34 reported incidents resulting in 30 civil arrests in June 2026, followed by 28 reported incidents and 28 arrests in July, with activity continuing through the summer and fall.

Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and ICE, Bonta's lawsuit outlines multiple arguments. First, the lawsuit claims the immigration enforcement directive is arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act because the agency failed to evaluate the directive's chilling effect on access to justice and did not provide a reasoned explanation for removing prior restrictions on courthouse enforcement. Second, Bonta argues that the agency exceeded its statutory authority under the APA, asserting that the Immigration and Nationality Act was enacted against a centuries-old common law privilege barring civil arrests at courthouses — a protection Congress is presumed to have incorporated.

Finally, the lawsuit contends that the directive is contrary to constitutional rights and violates the 10th Amendment by infringing on the state's sovereign power to maintain a judicial system, prosecute crimes and execute core police powers.

Meanwhile, legal defenders of federal policy argue that state powers cannot override federal authority.

Christopher Hajec, deputy general counsel for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, noted that the immunity doctrine protects federal officials performing their duties from state interference. For example, Hajec said that California once arrested a U.S. marshal for murder because of actions he took to protect a Supreme Court justice. The Supreme Court ruled that the prosecution had to be dismissed, because California law could not stop the marshal from doing his job. Pointing to Bonta’s lawsuit, Hajec said California cannot invoke its state powers or property rights to block ICE from doing its job.

"When the federal government comes into a situation anywhere in the United States, federal law is supreme, not that of the state where the activity takes place," Hajec told The Center Square in an email.

"There is no common-law privilege, silently incorporated into the INA against immigration arrest at courthouses," Hajec added.

The old privilege, he said, had the far different purpose of stopping litigants from arresting each other (as then could be done) when they came to a courthouse to have their differences decided.

(The Center Square) - Republican Victor Marx is saying more about taxes than Democrat Phil Weiser on campaign websites as Colorado voters start to decide whether Democrats will continue their 15-year stronghold in the state.

Taxpayers in the state could face an increase of $2.7 billion to $4 billion if voters decide to replace a flat income tax with a graduated one, according to analysts.

Marx has promised to close a fees loophole to protect the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, which Weiser, the current attorney general, didn't mention on his  website. TABOR is a constitutional amendment under which Coloradans get tax refunds when the state government has a surplus.

Marx also has pledged to support a responsible and phased reduction of the state’s income tax to balance economic competitiveness with the need for essential public services. Weiser's campaign website hasn't discussed the income tax.

Weiser wasn't available for an interview by this story's deadline, and Marx's campaign didn't respond to The Center Square's request for comment.

Mail-in ballots have already been sent to voters in the state, ahead of the Nov. 3 general election.

Marx makes a dramatic illustration about government spending and taxes on his website with a video of tall stacks of cash being burned. "Imagine setting $4 billion of taxpayer money on fire and watching it burn. Unfortunately, you don't have to because that's precisely what the Democratic Legislature and Gov. Polis have done with your hard-earned cash," Marx said in the video.

Estimates, including those by nonpartisan groups, have said the state could see a tax increase of $2.7 billion to $4 billion if Amendment 87 passes on the ballot. The amendment would replace the state's flat income tax with a graduated tax.

In Colorado, Democrats have maintained a stronghold in the executive branch for the last 15 years, beginning in 2011, when the now-U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper was elected. 

Gubernatorial race

Victor Marx is a former Marine and nonprofit leader who won in the Republican gubernatorial primary against two state legislators, Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer and Rep. Scott Bottoms. Marx has no prior history in politics and won by a margin of less than 1% over Kirkmeyer, who represents Larimer and Weld counties in the Senate.

Marx said on his website that his priorities are “commonsense solutions that put Coloradans first.” On that list are plans to address government accountability and transparency, the affordability crisis, economic growth, and law and order.

Marx also has said he would expand workforce pipelines by directing the Department of Labor and Employment to expand apprenticeship programs, a topic on which Weiser agrees with him.

Marx recently pledged to harness artificial intelligence as a resource to hold the government accountable. He would do this by launching audits across the state government – what he called “DOGE’ing” parts of the state budget. 

Marx’s DOGE comment refers to President Donald Trump’s creation of the Department of Government Efficiency. Overseen by Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, the department was tasked with finding fraud and wasteful spending. The audits conducted by this office effectively cut more $215 billion, according to the DOGE website.

This is especially pertinent to Colorado, as the state was most recently informed by the federal government that it owed nearly $8 million for faulty and inaccurate Medicaid payments. 

However, Marx's pledge to hold the government accountable came as his campaign was recently fined nearly $60,000 – the largest campaign finance fine in state history – for accepting illegal campaign contributions. 

Buddy Jericho, a spokesperson for Marx’s campaign, previously told The Center Square that the campaign takes full accountability for the donations that exceeded legal limits.

Weiser, Marx’s challenger, has served as the state’s attorney general since he was first elected in 2018.

He won by a large majority with a margin of 13% against his Democratic challenger, three-term U.S. Sen. Michael Bennett, in the 2026 gubernatorial primary. 

Weiser said he plans to address the affordability crisis by boosting the number of affordable homes by 40,000, which his website claims would close the current gap on the shortfall of homes by 50%. 

He added that he plans to cut the red tape to streamline this process and expand down payment assistance to support first-time homeowners, particularly first-time buyers who are essential workers such as nurses, teachers and first responders. 

Weiser also said he plans to ban algorithmic price collusion by corporate landlords and ensure out-of-state investors don’t mistreat Colorado families trying to purchase homes. 

Other priorities for Weiser include workforce development. He plans to “Champion a Colorado Earn-and-Lean Promise” to “expand pathways into good-paying jobs, including apprenticeships and other work-based learning opportunities,” according to his website. 

Attorney general race

Griswold, the Democratic secretary of state, will face a longtime prosecutor running as a Republican, Allen, for the attorney general’s seat. 

Griswold won the Democratic primary for attorney general by 24 points against three other Democratic candidates. 

The Colorado Democratic party is the second highest contributor to her campaign, spending $17,500 on her race. She’s raised more than $2 million since she announced her run in 2025. 

Allen is currently the district attorney for Colorado’s 4th judicial district and has been a prosecutor for over 20 years. He joined the Navy after he graduated high school in Arvada, Colo., and served until 1998.

Allen won with 19 points over his Republican challenger in the June primary. He’s raised $225,520 since he announced his bid earlier this year, with most of his contributions coming from individual donations. 

Both candidates pledge to advocate for victims of crime.

Griswold said she plans to do this by reducing Colorado’s rape kit backlog and speeding up testing to bring victims to justice. She also supports gun violence prevention measures in the form of “common sense gun reforms,” which includes a ban on assault weapons, according to her website.

If elected, Allen said he plans to take a stronger approach against those convicted of crimes. He and his team prosecuted Club Q shooter Anderson Lee Aldrich, who was convicted of killing five people at a bar in 2022 in Colorado Springs. The next year, Aldrich pleaded guilty to five counts of first-degree murder, 46 counts of attempted first-degree murder and no contest to bias-motivated crimes.

During his work on the case, which made national headlines, Allen secured five life sentences without parole. In addition to those life sentences, Aldrich was sentenced to an additional 2,208 years in prison.

Allen uses this example to illustrate what he could do for other victims of crime. 

Both candidates plan to advocate for Colorado’s natural resources by protecting the environment against corporate polluters. 

Secretary of state race

Five candidates will appear on the secretary of state’s ballot.  

James Wiley is a Republican born in Colorado Springs. He previously ran as a Libertarian to represent Colorado’s 3rd Congressional district in 2014 but lost. 

Sean Vadney is running as a Libertarian and is currently an entertainer and small business owner. Among his list of priorities is making Colorado more accessible and affordable for small business owners. 

The Democratic candidate for secretary of state is Amanda Gonzales, who won by nearly 25 points over her Democratic challenger in the June primary. She’s currently the Jefferson County clerk and was previously an attorney and policy analyst. 

The American Constitution Party will also take the stage on this year’s ballot, with Amanda Campbell running for secretary of state. Campbell is currently the associate director of field education at Metropolitan State University of Denver and has spent much of her career focused on healthcare policy. 

Celeste Landry represents the Forward Party in Colorado’s secretary of state election. Landry is a former activist and has spent extensive time dedicated to election reform.  

(The Center Square) – Twenty-two financial officers from across the U.S. wrote to the nation’s top rating agencies – Moody’s, Fitch, and S&P – asking them to explain the influence ESG policies have had on states’ credit ratings, with the officers detailing what they consider the harm using such “political assumptions” causes to states and taxpayers alike.

The officers also said the agencies have a double standard when it comes to ESG downgrades for American oil and gas companies and not for China. ESG stands for environmental, social governance.

One of the officials involved in the letter – Utah State Treasurer Marlo Oaks – told The Center Square that “credit ratings should be grounded in objective, consistent financial analysis, not political assumptions about the future.”

"Our concerns about subjective ESG criteria influencing state and local credit ratings date back several years,” Oaks said.

Oaks noted he appreciates S&P “taking those concerns seriously and discontinuing its ESG credit indicators,” calling this action “an important step.”

“But the underlying problem remains,” Oaks said. “Ratings agencies continue to incorporate speculative ‘transition risk’ and ‘physical risk’ assumptions into credit decisions, potentially increasing borrowing costs and harming taxpayers based on politically contingent predictions that have failed to materialize or have been retracted.”

The state financial officers wrote in their letter that ratings agencies’ credit ratings’ reliance on “false ESG predictions of ‘transition risk’ and retracted predictions of ‘physical risk’” harms states “by leading to unwarranted downgrades of their bonds, as well as decreasing the value of States’ shares in downgraded companies.”

Ratings agencies have “downgraded oil and gas companies and upgraded companies embracing ESG” based on supposed risks, the letter said. 

However, the agencies’ ESG predictions about transition risk have been proven wrong, and physical risk predictions cite retracted information, according to the officials.

The officials also pointed out the double standard of ESG downgrades when it comes to China.

For example, S&P downgraded “the oil and gas sector and American oil and gas companies based on ESG risks” while it reaffirmed “its A+ rating for two Chinese state-owned oil and gas companies,” even though these Chinese companies “are worse by every objective ESG metric,” the letter said.

“Similarly, Fitch has indicated no ESG risk for Chinese state-owned companies,” the letter said.

In their letter, the officers called for a reversal of downgrades based on false ESG predictions, as well as for ratings agencies to explain the influence ESG policies have had on states’ credit ratings.

The Center Square reached out to Fitch, Moody’s and S&P twice each individually for comment. None have responded by publishing.

CEO of State Financial Officers Foundation OJ Oleka told The Center Square that the financial officers’ “important letter puts the nation’s top credit rating agencies on notice for playing political games at the expense of everyday Americans, and it also gives them an opportunity to once again do what they were designed to do.”

“S&P, Moody’s and Fitch can be respected sources of objective financial analysis, or they can be activists for an outdated ideological agenda, but they cannot be both,” Oleka said.

“When false ESG predictions are used to weaken a state's credit rating, as we've seen happen, the financial security of millions of public employees is threatened,” Oleka said.

Will Hild, executive director of consumer advocacy organization Consumers’ Research, told The Center Square that “factoring ESG in credit ratings is what forced American car makers and energy companies to turn their backs on their loyal customers in pursuit of net-zero insanity, which made things more expensive for all Americans.

“The very fact that so-called 'ESG risk' resulted in some American companies getting downgraded while Chinese state-owned companies received high ratings should be enough to discredit this absurd metric permanently,” Hild said.

“No credit rating agency should base scores on ESG, period,” Hild said.

The state financial officers also sent their letter to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which has not yet responded to The Center Square’s request for comment.

Those signing the letter include Arizona Treasurer Kimberly Yee, Arkansas Auditor Dennis Milligan, Indiana Comptroller Elise Nieshalla, Indiana Treasurer Daniel Elliott, Kansas Treasurer Steven Johnson, Kentucky Auditor Allison Ball, Kentucky Treasurer Mark Metcalf, Louisiana Treasurer John Fleming, Mississippi Treasurer David McRae, Missouri Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick, Missouri Treasurer Vivek Malek, Nebraska Auditor Mike Foley, Nebraska Treasurer Joey Spellerberg, North Carolina Auditor Dave Boliek, North Dakota Treasurer Thomas Beadle, Ohio Treasurer Robert Sprague, Oklahoma Treasurer Todd Russ, Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity, South Carolina Treasurer Curtis Loftis, Utah Auditor Tina Cannon, Utah Treasurer Marlo Oaks and West Virginia Treasurer Larry Pack.

(The Center Square) — As President Donald Trump continues to weigh options regarding the next moves with Iran, elections in the U.S. and Israel loom large.

Last week, the president vowed not to strike Iran before the midterm elections set for Nov. 3.

Exactly one week before the U.S. elections, Israel will also hold an election that could determine the fate of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The prime minister made similar comments to Trump, saying a strike before their elections would not be “convenient,” adding “it’s no good.”

As of last week, the president claimed the U.S. and the Islamic Republic were engaged in “productive discussions,” noting the country’s dire economic situation.

“Iran is in very bad condition, both economically and militarily, and while the blockade will remain in full force and effect, with oil flowing in record numbers of barrels through the Hormuz Strait,” the president wrote on Truth Social. “We will not be attacking Iran at any time prior to the midterm elections.”

The president’s comments come as the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen have been accused of multiple attacks against Saudi Arabia.

The Iranians have been largely quiet in recent weeks, with some in the Iranian leadership expressing a desire to end the conflict. However, there are multiple reports that Iran has returned to targeting cargo ships in the Strait of Hormuz. However, the Trump administration appears focused on the midterm elections as the president and members of his administration are engaged in a campaign blitz across the country.

Despite the hectic campaign season, Trump continues to say he is weighing options against Iran, repeating that “Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.”

The Trump administration estimates the complete naval blockade on Iranian ports is costing the Islamic Republic’s economy between $400 million and $500 million a day in economic losses, as the country cannot export oil.

The Pentagon estimates that Operation Epic Fury, which began with joint U.S./Israeli strikes against Iran on Feb. 28 of this year, has cost at least $33.4 billion.

(The Center Square) – It’s been 17 years since the federal minimum wage was raised, though that could soon change if U.S. Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Arizona, has his way.

The junior senator from the Grand Canyon State rolled out his plan to bankroll the first wage increase since 2009, with his 32-page “Saving the Middle Class and Restoring the American Dream” middle-class jobs plan coming out this week. Gallego is proposing to raise the minimum wage gradually in phases starting in 2027. By 2030, the wage would be $20 an hour. The current rate is $7.25 under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

But critics warn the wage hike could end up in losses of jobs in a world where customers are already placing their orders at kiosks at McDonald's.

According to an estimate from a conservative nonprofit research organization, the Employment Policies Institute, Gallego’s plan would cut 2.3 million jobs nationally. The institute noted California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s $20 fast food minimum wage, which the Legislature passed, cost the state thousands of jobs. The state's minimum wage for other jobs is $16.90 an hour, although the wage is higher for certain healthcare workers. The minimum wage in the city of Los Angeles rose on July 1 to $18.42 an hour.

Gallego is arguing that people need to earn least $20 an hour to meet the growing cost of living. His plan projects that raising the minimum wage to $20 an hour would raise Arizonans’ annual wages by just over $2,400. 

While Gallego’s team did not make the Phoenix native available for an interview with The Center Square before deadline, he did discuss it on NBC News over the weekend.

“I always felt like, you know, if I put 40 hours’ worth of honest work together, I would have enough to support my family, and then feel comfortable enough to go to a movie,” he told NBC News. “That’s not happening anymore, and so that’s the most important focus of this plan.”

Gallego’s plan has drawn an immediate reaction from the state he represents in the nation’s capital.

Among those is Danny Seiden, CEO of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry.

During an interview with The Center Square, Seiden said Gallego’s plan, which would also impose a 10% excise tax on data center gross receipts and end all tax deductions for data centers to pay for the raise, is misguided.

“I think the market is much better suited to do this than a politician in Washington, D.C.,” Seiden told The Center Square. “And I think the market would tell you there's actually been labor shortages, and they're way above minimum wage. There are all kinds of special signing bonuses paid trying to get these workers trained."

Gallego’s proposal also has drawn heavy skepticism from people like Jon Riches, vice president for litigation at the Goldwater Institute in Phoenix.

Riches told The Center Square that attempts to raise the minimum wage typically have the opposite effect on workers, driving up unemployment rates and depreciating wages in the long run.

Others, such as Mike Huckins of the Greater Phoenix Chamber, see Gallego's proposal as well-intended but ultimately fruitless. He told The Center Square the senator's plan would do more harm than good.

“We can raise living standards without closing the door on entry-level workers, because they're the ones that are most likely going to get hurt by those kinds of policies,” said Huckins, the chamber's senior vice president of public affairs and information technology operations. “So, we think the better path better path on this is to improve skills, improve housing, improve childcare - all those things that right now are a little bit of a barrier to getting people to work and to advancing their careers.

Growing union membership

Another key part of Gallego’s plan is to triple union membership by 2035 by automatically certifying a union with more than 50% of workers who have signed authorization cards and expanding opportunities for entering union career fields.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Arizona’s unionized employee rate (4.1%) was the tied with Idaho for the sixth lowest rate nationally in 2025, ahead of Utah (3.8%), South Carolina (2.7%), Arkansas (2.8%) North Carolina (2.5%) and South Dakota (2.3% each).

Longtime economics scholars, such as Kelvin Wong, a clinical associate professor at the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, understand where Gallego's proposal is coming from. 

Still, even with Arizona's unionized labor force near the bottom of the pack nationally, analysts such as Wong believe that such a decision could lead to a wave of unintended consequences. 

"From an economics standpoint, the minimum wage kind of has trade-offs," Wong told The Center Square. "You have the fairness issue, where you are helpful to people that are earning low wages, and you can provide a better, living wage for them."

The trade-off is a loss of jobs, Wong said.

Where Arizona stands

Right now, Arizona’s $15.15 minimum wage ranks 10th nationally, more than double the federal standard, according to Common Sense Institute of Arizona’s 2026 Job Killers Report. That standard is tied to the Consumer Price Index, meaning the wage standards increase as inflation does.

Katie Ratlief, the institute's executive director, said the report’s findings make it clear that wage hikes hurt, more than help, the average worker.

“I think minimum wage issues in Arizona are often passed at the ballot box, and they pass because people want their neighbors and their kids and their friends to have jobs where they can make enough money to afford to live and achieve the American dream,” Ratlief told The Center Square. “That makes complete sense.

“The problem is when you're setting wage policy at the ballot box, or in this case, even worse, out of Washington, D.C., there will be collateral damage and that damage, generally, ends up being entry level workers, teenagers and people who are just trying to get on that first rung of the economic ladder," Ratlief said.

Economists like Wong see the appeal of using the bully pulpit as a way to drag salaries back in line with inflation, especially in an election year. He also cited the fact that roughly 1% of Arizona workers, per his estimate, are currently making the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, meaning the impact might be intangible for most workers.

"I do think it makes sense for politicians to propose ways that kind of say, 'Hey, we're looking out for you, and here's how we're going to do that - by suggesting a raise in the federal minimum wage'," Wong said. "So, to me, it seems like a good strategy, and addressing that is a huge issue right now in this country." 

(The Center Square) - The price of wholesale diesel fuel rose sharply Tuesday and has remained higher this week despite Trump administration initiatives aimed at increasing supplies before the midterm elections scheduled for Nov. 3.

“Absolutely stunning price spikes in wholesale diesel today,” longtime oil markets analyst Tom Kloza wrote Tuesday on X. “US retail diesel price record of $6.53/gal could be topped by the midterms,” wrote Kloza, adviser at energy consultancy Gulf Oil, soon after the market began trading on Tuesday.

The price of ultra-low-sulfur diesel futures for delivery in November on the New York Mercantile Exchange, a good indicator of pump prices in two to three weeks, jumped almost 20 cents per gallon or 5% in little more than two hours on Tuesday.

The big spike in wholesale diesel prices came on the first day of trade at the New York Mercantile Exchange after the Columbus Day holiday weekend, as energy traders reacted to President Donald Trump’s Friday afternoon announcement of a deal with Vladimir Putin to temporarily lift sanctions on Russian fuel exports. The deal potentially allows 300,000 tons of diesel to reach world markets “immediately” and another 100,000 tons in November.

Moscow extended a one-month ban on diesel exports for the third time on Sept. 30 as Ukrainian drones and missiles continued to strike Russian refineries, causing severe shortages of the distillate fuel across the country’s western regions, including the Moscow and Leningrad oblasts, and at major southern agricultural hubs like Krasnodar during the fall grain harvest.

If immediately shipped from Russian Baltic ports or Black Sea export terminals, the first diesel shipments from Russia would likely reach the U.S. East Coast and Gulf Coast on Nov. 1 or Nov. 2.

While wholesale diesel prices rose sharply across the United States on Tuesday, the increases varied from region to region, energy analyst Kloza noted. “Up 18cts/gal Gulf Coast and East Coast; but up 28cts/gal in Southern California and 25-30cts/gal in Great Plains and Great Lakes,” Kloza posted Tuesday on X. “Market clearly not believing that Russian oil is on the way.”

On Thursday, the retail diesel fuel prices paid by motorists, truckers and farmers averaged $6.32 per gallon, up from $6.28 the previous week but down from a record high of $6.53 on Sept. 21, according to price data compiled by AAA.

The U.S. average price of retail diesel fuel is up almost 70% since the United States and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, while the cost of unleaded gasoline has risen by about 45% in the same period.

The retail diesel price in California averaged $8.43 per gallon Thursday morning, while drivers in Mississippi paid $5.86 for a gallon.

A Thursday survey by the California Farm Bureau showed that 40% of the state’s farmers are scaling back field operations due to near-record diesel costs. "Diesel powers the equipment that plants, irrigates, harvests and transports our food,” said California Farm Bureau President Shannon Douglass. “These survey results show the financial pressure fuel costs are placing on family farms across California. Farmers won’t survive if something doesn’t change."

In Iowa, as the corn harvest reached 14% completion according to the USDA, the state’s farmers and other retail diesel buyers paid an average of $6.07 per gallon. In neighboring Indiana, where the corn harvest is 34% complete, the average Thursday was $6.62 per gallon.

With Illinois corn harvest now past the halfway point at 51% complete, according to the USDA, the statewide average price of diesel Thursday was $6.57 per gallon, a record high.

On Oct. 5, President Trump signed an executive order allowing tax-exempt, red-dyed diesel, which is normally restricted to off-road equipment and farm machinery, to be used legally as fuel by vehicles on American highways through the end of 2026.

The American Trucking Associations, however, told its members using the fuel might not be worth the risk, noting that most retail truck stops lack the dedicated tank infrastructure or automated tax-clearing systems to distribute the red-dyed diesel fuel without triggering IRS audits.

GasBuddy petroleum analyst Patrick De Haan said Wednesday the core problem is there is not enough diesel supply, noting that scheduled seasonal refinery maintenance after the summer driving season is causing price volatility at the pump.

“Pricing impacts will likely spill into Washington, Oregon, Nevada, and Arizona, as well as California,” De Haan told the Daily Caller News Foundation in an interview published Wednesday. “A high level of refinery maintenance is impacting the West Coast, and it is diesel that is seeing larger impacts right now.”

The International Energy Agency said Wednesday that global diesel markets could remain tight past the middle of 2027, with resulting high prices driving inflation and hurting economic growth, as conflicts curb output from the Middle East and Russia.

“Record diesel prices are already having broad economic consequences by raising the cost of goods and impacting real incomes, economic activity, and inflation,” the Paris-based agency stated in its Wednesday report.