Politics and views in the United States

Mike Pence declines to answer about presidential run, Massachusetts lawyers say ICE continues to violate state law, and Utah swept up in national blue wave.

Transcript

Welcome to 2026 Talks, where we're following our democracy in historic times.

The reasons for this midterm election were much more complex than gasoline prices or the war in Iran.

I think you have to look at the Trump administration's abandonment of economic freedom with broad-based tariffs and price controls and nationalization.

While refusing to answer if he'll attempt a presidential run in 2028, former Vice President Mike Pence on Fox News argues economic policies pushed by President Donald Trump helped Democratic candidates sweep House and Senate seats across the country.

Trump saw his support among rural voters drop this election season, which led to a swing toward Democrats after years of trending toward the president.

Experts say that shift was driven by economic pressures brought on by federal trade and agricultural policies.

An analysis of 80 rural counties found they moved toward Democrats by an average of 6.5 percentage points.

Michael Happ, with the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, believes those results send a clear message.

I see these results as a rebuke of status quo farm policy.

There are a lot of people who are commodity farmers that are reliant on exports, and this administration has been shipping away a lot of the pillars of that kind of agriculture without providing alternatives.

More than a week after polls closed, Democratic state senator Cindy Holsher wins the Kansas governor's race.

The seat was widely seen as the GOP's best pickup opportunity of the election cycle, with Trump winning in 2024 by 16 points.

A petition to make Massachusetts Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley Speaker of the House has garnered over 58,000 signatures.

In Massachusetts, attorneys claim that immigration officers are violating new state laws that prohibit civil immigration arrests in courthouses.

The PROTECT Act went into effect in the state on November 3rd, but lawyers say ICE officers have continued to arrest people.

Brooke Simone, with Lawyers for Civil Rights, says the legislation was intended to stop the chilling effect courthouse arrests have on immigrants who would seek relief in the judicial system.

ICE has continued to show that they believe they are above the law, so it's really important that we make sure that that does not go unanswered.

Voters in one of the most conservative states in the country got swept up in the national blue wave last week.

In Utah, Democrats broke the GOP supermajority in the state house and voters rejected a measure to make it harder to pass ballot initiatives.

Advocates say those changes will have major consequences for the balance of power in Salt Lake City and protections for public lands.

Nat Williams with Stewardship Utah says voters rejection of tighter ballot measure requirements serves as an important check on power.

Voters in Utah have consistently over the past couple of years shown that they can see through the trick from politicians.

Utahans really cherish their right to the ballot initiative.

Navidia CEO Jensen Huang resigned yesterday following reports he had affairs with two women.

The company opened up its own investigation after the New York Times reported that Huang was having an affair with a woman U.S. intelligence agencies believe was a spy for China.

I'm Zamone Perez for Pacifica Network and Public News Service.

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