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At least Marx, Lenin and Mao were well read.

Social media influencer Hasan Piker wears his Mao jacket and hoses his Twitch audience down with absurd political takes that do not betray any evidence that Rutgers University obliged him to read even a book or two of serious history before he graduated in 2013. Rutgers is a fine school and anyone can get a great education there, but Piker’s "body of work" shows us that serious study there is quite obviously not obligatory.

Piker uses social media to monetize the worst impulses of the extremes in American politics. In the course of doing so, he has become the face of the Democratic Party in the 2026 midterms, and has personally carried the most radical major-party candidate in memory — Michigan Democrat Abdul El-Sayed — to his party’s nomination for United States Senate.

HASAN PIKER SINGS MOCKING 'WE ARE CHARLIE KIRK' SONG AT LIVE PODCAST SHOW

Piker has now gone so "supernova radical" that some Democratic leaders and elected officials have had to rebuke him without naming him — including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Sen. Elissa Slotkin — and others, like New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, have slapped Piker down by name.

This past weekend, Piker exploited the assassination of Charlie Kirk on September 10 of last year — to the great disgust of the vast majority of Americans who saw the mocking performance as it went viral. The exploitation of the suffering of Charlie’s family, friends and colleagues is despicable, but the need to make himself outrageous and at the center of attention for a deranged circle of followers — and thus contagious online — has overwhelmed any sense of decency in Piker.

EL-SAYED DISAVOWS HASAN PIKER'S 9/11 COMMENTS BUT DECRIES 'CANCEL CULTURE'

Piker is from the extreme left, and the record is full of his inanities and his outrages. He is best and most infamously known for blurting out years ago that "America deserved 9/11," but as recently as last week, his comments about American Jews endangering themselves because of their support of Israel pushed the alarm buttons for Democrats across the spectrum. What seemed to some to be a warning of a looming Kristallnacht may have finally obliged most Democrats to explicitly exile Piker from their tribe. (One exception though is still El-Sayed, who shimmies from ambiguous statement to ambiguous statement about Piker but won’t disown the radical who is now effectively the Michigan Democrat's running mate.)

After graduating from Rutgers, Piker learned his trade from his uncle Cenk Uygur, co-founder and host of "The Young Turks," a sprawling digital media operation. Piker learned the ropes of the "attention economy" there, then amplified the schtick right on through the land of the "outrage economy" and into what Mary Katharine Ham of the "Getting Hammered" podcast described to her co-host Vic Matus last week as the "personality disorder attention economy."

ELISSA SLOTKIN CALLS OUT HASAN PIKER FOR BLAMING JEWISH AMERICANS TARGETED OVER THEIR ISRAEL VIEWS

That approach to garnering audience and thus profits was on display this weekend with Piker’s revolting mocking of grief around Kirk’s murder, a video that will injure every Democrat associated with him, most especially Abdul El-Sayed, the Democrats’ candidate for Senate in Michigan, whom Piker got over the top for the nomination with a closing campaign blitz (and pool party).

Other political figures who will be injured by Piker’s increasingly unhinged antics are Democratic Socialists of America-endorsed candidates for United States Senate, like Chris Pappas in New Hampshire. The DSA-adjacent hard-left Senate candidates among the Democrats — like Troy Jackson in Maine, James Talarico in Texas, and Peggy Flanagan in Minnesota — are also getting pulled down by Piker. Piker may never have met or even spoken with or about these candidates, but he has become the new face of the Democratic Party, its new "voice." Piker, like the DSA, is now effectively running with every Democrat in every race.

JONATHAN TURLEY: PIKER'S CHARLIE KIRK ATTACK SHOWS HE IS HATEFUL LEFT'S PIED PIPER

The DSA is said to have about 120,000 dues-paying members. It appears to have nearly as many co-chairs, and not one of them can make a coherent argument about anything but their "we hate the Constitution" takes, while their extreme rhetoric has laid an oily film over every Democratic candidate. Piker then dances about the various stages — online and real — tossing matches. Voters notice.

Democratic Senate Leader Chuck Schumer was pressed by Punchbowl News on the Piker- and DSA-led capture of his party’s leadership and momentum and could only lamely reply that "What people don’t understand is that a big tent is a strength, not a weakness. It’s how you build a majority."

SCHUMER DODGES QUESTION ON WHETHER DSA BELONGS IN DEMOCRATIC PARTY

That’s a lot of copium. 

Senate Majority Leader John Thune doesn’t have to play that game. He doesn’t have a problem like Schumer’s Piker problem. Voters awake to the Democrats’ double-time march over the left cliff of American politics and into a Marxist fever swamp won’t be fooled by "Medicare for All" slogans.

Voters in Michigan, Maine, Minnesota, New Hampshire and Texas, to name just a few Senate races where radicalism will cripple Democratic candidacies, can’t help but notice and be repelled by Piker. Piker lives everywhere these days, and he’s taken over the emerging wing of the Democratic Party. Voters have noticed. And they will remember through November.

SHOCKING PERCENTAGE OF DEMOCRATS IDENTIFY AS 'DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS' ACCORDING TO NEW POLL: 'TOXIC POLICIES'

There is a quality of frenzy about Piker that repels moderate Americans who love the country and who exist in both parties and as independents. Piker’s Maoist rants and his long list of transgressive assaults on norms are having a cumulative impact on Democrats because Piker, like the DSA as a whole, is understood to be the future of the Democratic Party, not a fringe figure who can’t break onto stages with candidates.

Piker is estimated to have a cumulative audience of three million "Twitch" viewers and another couple million viewers on YouTube. But that’s still an insignificant audience within the American voting public, save for very close races like the Michigan Democratic Senate earlier this month, which Piker delivered for El-Sayed.

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Now Democrats have to ask themselves: "At what cost do we continue to indulge this fanatic with his violent, profane rhetoric and horrible arguments built on slogans and absurd assertions?" 

Most voters want a better life for themselves and their families. They don’t want the French Revolution or the Russian Revolution or Mao’s or Castro’s murderous reigns of terror.

Piker is the brand of Democrats in 2026. 

We will have to watch to see whether candidates for the party’s nomination for president in 2028 work to scrub that brand away in the months ahead.

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A man accused of using a forged signature of Chief Justice John Roberts on a bogus Supreme Court order in an alleged attempt to get his own Indiana criminal case dismissed has been arrested on federal charges, according to court documents.

Joshua M. Culver, who authorities say also used the alias "Maverick A. Young," was arrested last Friday in Colorado after a federal grand jury in Indiana indicted him on four counts of falsely impersonating a U.S. officer or employee and one count involving the use of a forged federal judge's signature and court seal.

Federal prosecutors allege Culver filed a document titled "Order of Dismissal With Prejudice" on Sept. 24, 2025, in a criminal case pending against him in Grant County Superior Court in Indiana.

SUPREME COURT REJECTS MICHIGAN FAMILY'S CLAIM THAT COUNTY COMMITTED 'HOME EQUITY THEFT' OVER $2,200 TAX DEBT

According to the indictment, the document used a forged signature of Roberts and a counterfeit U.S. Supreme Court seal in an effort to authenticate the purported dismissal order.

The alleged scheme involving the nation's highest court was not Culver's first attempt to pass himself off as a federal official, prosecutors say.

Five days before the alleged Roberts forgery, Culver allegedly posed as a National Security Agency agent while contacting the Tippecanoe County Sheriff's Office.

According to the indictment, Culver used his purported authority as an NSA agent to make requests that prosecutors say the sheriff's office otherwise would not have fulfilled, including asking deputies to conduct a welfare check on his biological daughter and provide information about her location.

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Culver also allegedly sought the names and information of sheriff's office employees and claimed he could take "adverse action" against the department in his purported capacity as an NSA agent.

The following day, on Sept. 20, 2025, Culver allegedly called the workplace of an individual identified in the indictment only as "Individual A."

Prosecutors say he falsely identified himself as a federal agent, claimed the person was "obstructing a federal investigation of a child kidnapping" and represented that he could have the individual arrested for committing a federal felony.

He also allegedly asked the person's employer to intervene to obtain the individual's cooperation.

JUSTICE NEIL GORSUCH BREAKS SILENCE ON VIOLENT THREATS AGAINST JUDICIARY, SUPREME COURT LEAKS

Months later, in January 2026, Culver allegedly portrayed himself as a "Special Master enforcing orders of the United States Supreme Court" in a communication sent to the Lake County clerk and directed to a Superior Court judge.

Prosecutors allege Culver claimed he had the authority to issue orders and warrants while demanding that the judge and court personnel take several actions, including making changes to vital records and dismissing cases and judgments against him.

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The indictment alleges Culver also warned that if officials failed to comply, he and U.S. Marshals would make arrests for "impeding a federal agent, lying to a federal agent, and conspiracy."

Then, in February, Culver allegedly assumed yet another federal identity, this time portraying himself as the "Director of Tailored Access Operations," which the indictment describes as a purported intelligence agency.

Prosecutors allege Culver filed a document titled "OFFICIAL SENSITIVE: TAILORED ACCESS OPERATIONS (TAO) COMPLIANCE DIRECTIVE" in Lake County Superior Court in a case pending against him.

The document, which purported to bear official letterhead, allegedly described Culver as a "federal asset" involved in multiple investigations and demanded that officials take a series of actions under a purported "federal directive."

Those demands included dismissing the case against Culver with prejudice, quashing warrants and requiring Lake County officials to cooperate with a purported "federal audit," according to the indictment.

Bloomberg Law reported that Culver was arrested Aug. 21 and that the Office of the Federal Public Defender for the District of Colorado was appointed to represent him.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Supreme Court's Public Information Office, the Office of the Federal Public Defender for the District of Colorado and the Justice Department for comment.

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A small airplane crashed into shallow waters near a remote coastal town in Alaska on Wednesday, killing all four people on board, according to officials.

The aircraft, a Piper PA-24-260, was heading for an airport in the small town of Seldovia after taking off from Merrill Field Airport in Anchorage when it crashed at around 1:18 p.m., the Alaska Department of Public Safety said in a statement.

Seldovia's airport is about 136 miles southwest of Anchorage.

"Alaska State Troopers were notified that a small plane had crashed in the Seldovia Slough," the statement reads.

TWO US ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS EMPLOYEES AMONG 8 KILLED IN ALASKA CHARTER PLANE CRASH

A helicopter crew from Anchorage was dispatched to the crash site and other troopers were sent by boat from Anchor Point.

Following the crash, the plane was completely submerged in about 15 feet of water in the Seldovia Slough near the shore, according to Clint Johnson, the National Transportation Safety Board’s Alaska region chief.

Troopers were forced to wait until the tide went out in order to reach the aircraft.

Once the tide level dropped at about 6:30 p.m., troopers were able to retrieve the bodies of the four adult victims from the plane.

The bodies will be sent to the state medical examiner’s office for autopsy. The victims' names will be released once next of kin are notified, according to the Alaska Department of Public Safety.

It remains unclear what may have caused the crash.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash.

This comes after another plane crashed last week at a remote military site in western Alaska, killing all eight people on board. That aircraft had been making its second runway approach in heavy fog, and its pilots were struggling to see the gravel airstrip, according to officials.

AIR FORCE OFFICER WHO DIED IN ALASKA PLANE CRASH REMEMBERED AS 'POSITIVE LEADER'

In that incident, the Cessna's two pilots were flying solely by instruments when the plane crashed. Regulations required that the pilots abort their first landing attempt because of the lack of visibility, and the plane crashed on its second attempt, about one-third of a mile from the runway.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Despite Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed denying ties to socialism, a Republican Michigan lawmaker warned his policy agenda tells a different story and predicted voters will reject it in November.

"Abdul El-Sayed can't define what a woman is, so I'm not surprised he can't define what socialist is," Michigan state Rep. Bill G. Schuette told Fox News Digital.

"The facts are all the policies he supports are emblematic of the DSA movement and of this really far-left socialist idea."

El-Sayed, a former public health official, narrowly defeated establishment-backed Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., securing an upset victory for the party’s progressive wing in Michigan's Democratic Senate primary earlier this month. His nomination follows multiple primary victories by candidates aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), including in New York, Florida and Colorado.

DEMS' LEFTWARD LURCH GETS LEGS AS EL-SAYED'S MICHIGAN SENATE VICTORY SPARKS PARTY DEBATE

While El-Sayed has pushed back on the socialist label, he has drawn support from political heavyweights and DSA members like Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich.

El-Sayed previously told CBS News he wants to build a "broad coalition" of supporters of President Donald Trump and DSA members, saying he doesn’t "do ideology" but favors "solutions that solve problems." He separately told CNN, "I believe in capitalism, I just believe that capitalism has to be regulated."

According to Schuette, El-Sayed’s victory is evidence that the Democratic Party has "jumped the shark" by embracing more progressive candidates.

"They've gone down a policy rabbit hole of far-left socialism that is at odds with our way of life in Michigan and our way of life in the United States of America writ large," he said.

Schuette said his biggest concern is that El-Sayed wants to put Michigan on "a completely different track."

"I'm more concerned about the policies that he's advocating for that, again, I think are at really sharp odds with the way you can start a business, start a family and live your life in Michigan," he said.

DSA’S GROWING GRIP ON DEM PARTY HITS NEW TERRITORY AS ESTABLISHMENT FALLS IN LINE

Some of El-Sayed’s campaign priorities are abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Medicare for All, taxing billionaire wealth and ending U.S. military aid to Israel.

Schuette said affordability will be key in the midterms, saying that El-Sayed’s policies run counter to the "spirit of America."

"The spirit of America is about entrepreneurship and American ingenuity, hard work," he said. "Those are the types of policies that Abdul El-Sayed would work directly against."

Schuette also took aim at El-Sayed’s association with far-left streamer Hasan Piker, who has roughly 10 million social media followers and has said "America deserved 9/11." Piker endorsed El-Sayed and has attended several of his campaign events.

"The fact that he associates with people like Hasan Piker, who say that America deserves 9/11, I mean, that's disgusting," he said.

El-Sayed distanced himself from Piker after the streamer’s comments about Jewish Michigan state Sen. Jeremy Moss, the Democratic nominee in the state’s 11th Congressional District. A recent viral audio clip, which Moss has said is fake, appeared to suggest that his entire reason for running for Congress is to make sure that America continues to support Israel.

Reacting to the clip, Piker said, "If Jews in America keep putting this idea out there that they are singularly invested in Israel, eventually someone is going to come around and take action, not against the state of Israel, mind you, but against American Jews."

UNEARTHED CLIP OF EL-SAYED REVEALING HIS 'HATE' FOR ICONIC MICHIGAN TOWN SPARKS ONLINE FIRESTORM: 'DARK HEART'

"I want to be crystal clear, nobody speaks for this campaign besides me and my campaign spokespeople," El-Sayed said in a statement Monday responding to Piker’s comments.

Highlighting the importance of representing Michiganders, Schuette argued El-Sayed doesn’t align with the state, pointing to his resurfaced remarks that he "hates" Mackinac Island and linking football to "toxic masculinity."

"It doesn't seem that he likes Michigan very much or our way in America very much either," he said.

With the midterm elections approaching in November, Schuette said he believes voters will reject socialism and choose "an idea that looks for ways to give the American people more freedom and opportunity and more of their own money back in their own wallets."

"I’m confident the people in Michigan will choose that," he said.

El-Sayed will face Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers for retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters’ seat in a race that could determine control of the Senate.

Fox News Digital reached out to El-Sayed's campaign for comment.

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The Trump administration has directed U.S. embassies and consulates around the world to postpone immigrant visa interviews while consular officers complete training on new public-charge guidance, temporarily stalling applications that have reached the interview stage.

The State Department told diplomatic posts to reschedule immigrant visa interviews until consular officers complete the training on how to evaluate whether an applicant is likely to become a public charge.

A public-charge determination can make an immigrant visa applicant inadmissible under federal immigration law if officials determine the person is likely to become dependent on certain forms of public assistance after arriving in the U.S.

"In early August, we launched a global training initiative at all of our embassies and consulates worldwide. To accommodate this in-depth training, appointments for visa services will be adjusted," a State Department official said in a statement.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION PROPOSES SIX-FIGURE PRICE TAG FOR NEW H-1B VISAS

The official added that the training is intended to ensure evaluations of visa applicants are made "comprehensively and consistently."

For most diplomatic posts, the training sessions are expected to take place this week.

The State Department did not say when affected applicants would be notified of their rescheduled interview dates.

The scheduling changes have sparked uncertainty among immigrant visa applicants who received emails informing them that their interviews had been canceled without instructions for immediately rescheduling them.

STATE DEPARTMENT BLASTS BACK AT 'ROGUE JUDGE' WHO OVERTURNED AGGRESSIVE VISA CRACKDOWN

Applicants were told they would receive future notice of a new interview date but were not given a timeline for when that communication could be expected.

The move comes as President Donald Trump pursues a broader immigration crackdown that has extended beyond illegal immigration to legal immigration pathways. While Trump campaigned in 2024 on curbing illegal immigration, his administration has also imposed additional restrictions on legal immigration, including higher fees for certain work visas and new limits on how long some foreign students and journalists can remain in the US.

The administration has also pursued visa revocations and removal proceedings in cases involving political activity and speech, including some anti-Israel activists. Those efforts have prompted court challenges alleging violations of free-speech and due-process protections.

The administration said Monday that it was preparing to revoke the business and tourism visas of up to 200,000 foreigners who have applied for or are seeking asylum in the U.S., a move that would represent the largest mass visa revocation in U.S. history.

The immigration agenda has also faced legal setbacks. On Friday, a federal judge struck down a State Department policy suspending the issuance of immigrant visas to applicants from 75 countries, ruling that the policy exceeded Secretary of State Marco Rubio's statutory authority.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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Florida Democratic Senate nominee Angie Nixon's denial that she is a socialist despite her membership in the Democratic Socialists of America should alarm voters as much as her surprise primary victory did, a lawmaker who fled Fidel Castro's Cuba told Fox News Digital.

Nixon, who upset Trump impeachment witness Alexander Vindman in last week's Democratic primary, told NBC News on Sunday that she is "not a socialist," despite acknowledging her DSA membership. She said she joined the far-left group because of its platform on public housing, healthcare, veterans and removing big money from politics.

"She's either a bona-fide socialist, or she's not very smart, because she ended up being a member of the Democratic Socialists of America," Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., told Fox News Digital.

"I don't know what the heck she thought she was joining… Socialists [and] communists, deny what they are until they get into power," Gimenez said. He fled Castro’s Cuba as a child.

FLORIDA DEMOCRAT SENATE NOMINEE ANGIE NIXON INSISTS ‘I’M NOT A SOCIALIST’ AFTER JOINING DSA

Gimenez said he experienced that type of political pivot firsthand after Castro overthrew Fulgencio Batista in 1959.

Castro denied he was a Marxist and a communist early in the revolution but publicly acknowledged on Dec. 2, 1961 that he embraced Leninism and would do so forever, Gimenez recounted.

SOCIALISM WILL 'CONTROL PEOPLE' AND 'TAKE EVERYTHING AWAY' FROM AMERICA, ACCORDING TO THESE EXPATS

Gimenez argued that Nixon’s position, along with those of her DSA allies, "doesn’t sell" to the broader electorate.

"These socialists … are actually using democracy to destroy democracy," Gimenez said, pointing to Venezuela and Nicaragua as examples of movements that initially gained power through elections.

Gimenez said an early act of Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez was to pack the Supreme Court. He argued that socialist and communist regimes typically restructure government so the presidency answers to a single legislative chamber packed with apparatchiks.

"Sound familiar?" he said, drawing a comparison between that history and DSA proposals to abolish the Senate and restructure the Supreme Court.

NICARAGUA'S ORTEGA SAYS COUNTRY WILL 'NEVER AGAIN' HOLD ELECTIONS, SHUTTING OUT OPPOSITION

Gimenez pointed to Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega's July announcement banning future elections after Ortega was democratically elected twice.

Ortega then "eliminated all pretexts of democracy" and plans to jail political opponents, Gimenez said, arguing that the development shows socialism as presented is "a pack of lies."

PROGRESSIVE FLORIDA LAWMAKER ANGIE NIXON TOPPLES TRUMP IMPEACHMENT WITNESS IN DEM SENATE PRIMARY UPSET

Gimenez predicted incumbent Sen. Ashley Moody, R-Fla., will "smoke" Nixon in November. He added that his district, which stretches from Miami to Key West and has a 70% Hispanic population that includes immigrants from Cuba and Venezuela, has "seen this movie before."

"We kind of look at each other and go ‘OK’. Unfortunately, across the nation, it is not the same," Gimenez said, pointing to New York City and Detroit and referencing the rise of Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Abdul El-Sayed.

Before Nixon’s comments, the DSA publicly celebrated what would have been Castro’s 100th birthday while attacking Secretary of State Marco Rubio for upholding the longstanding embargo and accusing him of hurting the Cuban people.

"They blame the embargo for everything," Gimenez said, adding that Rubio — the son of Cuban immigrants — is doing the right things. Gimenez said the embargo has never covered basic necessities such as food or medicine and argued that the only reason Cuba is broke is its leadership.

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He noted Cuba used to be a global leader in sugar production but now imports cane.

"Why are they broke? Because they're incompetent. Why are incompetent? Because they are communists," Gimenez said, adding that the DSA is honoring a man who "incarcerated [his] entire island" so that no one can flee.

When socialists defend the Cuban healthcare system, Gimenez said his response is "the Cuban healthcare system... sucks," pointing to hospitals without supplies or medicines and a lack of public access to pharmaceuticals.

"It's okay to deny you all your basic rights as long as they give you healthcare? That's how screwy they are."

"I have seen socialism. I want no part of it. And hopefully the American people once they understand exactly what that brings and the price that you're going to pay because they lose your freedom, that they'll say we want no part of this."

Fox News Digital reached out to Nixon for comment.

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WASHINGTON, N.J. — Washington, D.C. is undoubtedly the center of gravity in American politics, but another Washington over 100 miles away could help decide the fate of Congress for the latter half of President Donald Trump's term.

It's a small town in New Jersey where Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., urged GOP supporters to help get Rep. Tom Kean Jr., R-N.J., re-elected to the House in November. Kean is seeking a third term representing the Garden State's 7th Congressional District, which is notably home to Trump's Bedminster golf course where he spends a significant amount of time.

"We consider this a top three race, not just a top ten. That's how important it is to us. It has a target on its back," Johnson told the room at Hawke Point Golf Club, Fox News Digital heard. "They're investing tons of money to try to take [Kean] down, but they are not going to be successful."

The district happens to be one of the most critical battlegrounds in the country this year. Trump narrowly won the area by two points in 2024, though it flipped for Democrat Gov. Mikie Sherrill by the same margin in 2025.

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Democrats are now betting they have a real opportunity to score another victory in November by sending former Navy helicopter pilot Rebecca Bennett to the House. And with such a small number of House seats still considered politically neutral, it could prove decisive for which party controls the House next year.

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If Republicans win, that means enacting Trump's agenda for another two years. Johnson told Fox News Digital the GOP has "aggressive" plans to tackle government waste and excessive spending. But if Democrats win the district — and potentially the House — Trump's goals could grind to a halt.

Kean, for his part, told Fox News Digital that he's confident he can win again.

"I've been a really effective legislator who's brought things back to the district, who's listened to my constituents on their needs and their concerns, in contrast to my opponent, who has really been a very abject partisan," Kean said on the sidelines of his event. 

"She's actually stopped going to church because there are Republicans [there]. So when you think about that contrast — a person can't even go to religious services with people of the other party — she'll never work across the aisle. She'll be always in the far-left corner of whoever is in her caucus and whoever is in her leadership. And that's not what this district needs."

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Bennett spokesperson Carly Jones hit back at Kean's accusation, "Rebecca is an active member of her local church and talks openly on the campaign trail about her faith, which inspired her to serve her country in uniform and run for office. She is proudly building a coalition of Democrats, Independents and Republicans to flip this seat in November."

Kean noted he's seen legislative success under both the Biden and Trump administrations, and his bipartisan efforts were on display — by what was not on display. The congressman's name appeared throughout the event, but without mention of "GOP" or "Republican." A sign outside the door only said "Tom Kean for Congress."

Conventional wisdom dictates that the party in power faces significant losses in Congress during the midterms. Critics of whoever is president generally turn out in droves to vote for the other side, in this case, Democrats.

Kean noted that he's had legislation signed into law by former President Joe Biden, but also insisted he backed Trump "fully."

SOCIALIST VICTORIES SHOW DEMS' DESCENT DOWN 'DEADLY PATH OF COMMUNISM,' JOHNSON WARNS

"He's done great things for this country and will continue to do great things for this country. He has been a very effective leader," Kean said of the current president.

And Johnson deployed a pinch-hitter to help gin up enthusiasm on Friday: All-Star professional baseball player Mark Teixeira, who posed for photos with excited attendees. Teixeira is running his own campaign for Congress and is likely to win a safe red seat in Texas.

Republican leaders are also seizing on the far-left insurgency that's toppled establishment Democrats in recent months as evidence that they should not get control of the House.

"It's very effective because people see what's happening. This isn't campaign rhetoric. They give us new illustrations every day," Johnson told Fox News Digital in an interview. "It's a challenge to the very foundational principles of America, and that is increasingly what the Democrat Party represents...The Marxist-communist element is taking over that party, sadly, and it's really alarming for our country."

Kean was notably absent from the campaign trail and the halls of Congress from March through June this year, with few knowing the circumstances until the congressman publicly admitted he was being treated for depression. Upon his return, he introduced legislation aimed at making it easier for people to pay for mental healthcare.

Bennett did not criticize the reason for his absence but has previously accused him of continuing to trade stocks during that time. She similarly told Fox News Digital in a written statement that Kean made millions from the stock market.

"I spent 15 years serving our country in the military, and I felt called to serve once again because I can’t sit on the sidelines while Washington corruption, rising costs, and devastating healthcare cuts crush New Jersey families. Congressman Tom Kean Jr. has failed to show up for our community while trading more than $3 million worth of stocks during his time in office," she told Fox News Digital.

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