NEWS AND OPINION:
President Biden has “abandoned” the state of New Hampshire, according to the Republican National Committee, which has compiled an extensive list of contributing factors. Here are a few of them.
“Living in the ‘Live Free or Die’ state has become increasingly unaffordable under Bidenomics as prices overall have risen by 9% since Biden took office. Inflation has cost the average New Hampshire family $24,113 since Biden took office, according to Congress’ Joint Economic Committee,” the committee said in a report released Tuesday and shared with Inside the Beltway.
“Illegal immigration along the northern border around New Hampshire has surged to unprecedented levels under Biden. Since Biden took office, Border Patrol have arrested nearly 15,000 illegal immigrants attempting to cross the northern border illegally in the Swanton Sector. Earlier this month, Border Patrol in the Swanton Sector reported that they made a year’s worth of apprehensions in a single week,” the report said, citing statistics from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
“In April 2024 alone, over 1,400 illegal immigrants were arrested trying to cross illegally in the Swanton Sector, surpassing the total from fiscal years 2021 and 2022 combined,” it said.
“Particularly troubling is that a majority of the individuals on the terror watchlist apprehended by Border Patrol are crossing through the northern border. Approximately 86% of the people on the terror watch list who were apprehended by Border Patrol in fiscal year 2023 were encountered along the northern border,” the report continued.
“Granite Staters are counting on Republicans to rescue New Hampshire from Biden’s failures. The latest NH Journal/Praecones Analytica poll has found that former President Trump is tied with Biden in New Hampshire among registered voters, putting Biden at risk of becoming the first Democrat to lose the state since Al Gore in 2000,” the report concluded.
The research was compiled by Jake Schneider, rapid response director for the Republican National Committee.
Find the complete research at GOP.com; check under the “News” section, specifically the “Rapid response, research and blogs” portion. The pertinent titles are “NH voters to Biden: GoAway,” and “Biden Abandoned New Hampshire.”
MEANWHILE IN CALIFORNIA
“A community college in Pasadena, California, will host five identity-based graduations at the end of May and beginning of June. Pasadena City College will celebrate an ‘UndocuGraduation,’ ‘Lavender Graduation,’ ‘Black Graduation,’ ‘Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) Graduation,’ and a ‘Latine Graduation’,” wrote Brendan McDonald, a correspondent for Campus Reform, a student-written news organization.
“UndocuGraduation will take place May 29 in honor of illegal alien students. The school states that ‘Undocugraduation celebrates our undocumented students’ educational success at Pasadena City College,’ and adds that these particular graduates are strongly encouraged to apply to the DREAM Scholarship: Ready Behind Degrees,” Mr. McDonald wrote.
He added that Pasadena City College is not the only school to hold such a graduation. Both Rutgers University at Newark and California State University, Northridge previously hosted their own “UndocuGraduation” events earlier in May as well.
THE GAS FACTOR
What really sways voters when it comes to a significant election?
“The outcome of the presidential election isn’t likely to hinge on abortion, immigration or even climate change. It is likely to depend, instead, on the price of gasoline in the lead-up to the vote,” writes Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, in an essay for CNN.
“The average nationwide price for a gallon of regular unleaded gas is currently $3.59 per gallon. This is about halfway between the recent low of less than $2 at the height of the pandemic, when much of the world was sheltering in place, and the high of $5 in 2022 as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and resulting sanctions on Russian oil were having their greatest impact,” Mr. Zandi said.
“Based on my econometric analysis of past presidential election outcomes looking at the state electoral college vote, which accounts for a wide range of political and economic factors, if gasoline falls toward $3 a gallon by election day, President Joe Biden should win re-election. However, if pump prices rise to more than $4, former President Donald Trump is more likely to prevail. This assumes any other changes in the economy and the political situation that could sway voters by election day are more or less a wash,” he said.
And just in case you wondered, the highest price of gas in the U.S. can be found in California, where it is $5.18 a gallon as of Tuesday according to AAA. The lowest price of all is in Oklahoma, at $3.09 a gallon.
FOXIFIED
In the week of May 13-19, Fox News had an average daily audience of 2 million prime-time viewers, compared with MSNBC with 1.2 million and CNN with 484,000, according to Nielsen Media Research.
In the daytime hours, Fox News was ranked first in the entire cable realm with an average daily audience of 1.3 million; MSNBC attracted an audience of 831,000 viewers, while CNN had 471,000 during those hours.
Fox News also aired 78 of the top 100 cable newscasts that week.
“The Five” still commands the largest average daily audience of all with 3.1 million viewers, followed by “Jesse Watters Primetime” (2.6 million), “Hannity” (2.2 million), plus “The Ingraham Angle” and “Special Report” — both with average audiences numbering 2.1 million.
And a round of applause for late-night offering “Gutfeld,” which averaged 2.2 million viewers during the week and bested the broadcast competition — outpacing CBS’ “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” which drew 1.9 million viewers and NBC’s “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” with 1.4 million.
POLL DU JOUR
• 77% of U.S. adults say the nation is “on the wrong track” when it comes to the cost of living.
• 70% say the nation is on the wrong track when it comes to national politics.
• 65% say the nation is on the wrong track when it comes to immigration policy.
• 64% say the nation is on the wrong track when it comes to the national economy.
• 55% say the nation is on the wrong track when it comes to foreign policy.
SOURCE: A Reuters/Ipsos poll of 3,934 U.S. adults conducted May 7-14.
• Contact Jennifer Harper at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.