Live updates: Voters cast ballots in Georgia special election runoff and Wisconsin Supreme Court race

Some Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill are condemning Trump’s warning from this morning that “a whole civilization will die tonight” if Iran doesn't meet his demands.

Rep. Nathaniel Moran, R-Texas, said that while he has backed Trump’s decisions on Iran so far, he does not support the destruction of a “whole civilization.”

“That is not who we are, and it is not consistent with the principles that have long guided America,” Moran said in a post on X.

“I have and will continue to support a strong national defense—one that is focused, disciplined, and firmly rooted in protecting the safety and security of the American people. But, how we protect the lives of the innocent is just as important as how we engage the enemy,” Moran added.

Election Day voter turnout in the runoff race to represent Georgia’s 14th Congressional District is tracking higher than in the first round of voting early last month, data shared with the NBC News Decision Desk by county officials show.

At this point, NBC News estimates around 50% more people have voted on Election Day than voted at a similar time on March 10, when a large field of candidates was whittled down to just two in the special election to replace Greene in Congress.

This Election Day voter turnout trend runs counter to the in-person early voting data in the district during the runoff. County data indicates that in-person early voting for today’s election was down about 23% compared with the first round. 

Election Day turnout in Georgia's 14th Congressional District special runoff is higher than in the first round of the special election last month, after early in-person voting for the runoff came in lower than the first round. Andrew Arenge / NBC News Decision Desk

For today’s election, voters in Georgia are choosing between Harris, the Democrat, and Fuller, the Republican who has Trump’s endorsement. Greene, who left Congress after breaking with Trump and her party on foreign policy and other issues, won this deep-red district by about 30 percentage points during the 2024 election.

A top artificial intelligence industry super PAC is boosting the Republican running in today’s runoff election to fill the seat of former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., in Georgia’s 14th Congressional District.

American Mission, a super PAC affiliated with the AI industry-backed super PAC Leading the Future, spent more than $686,000 in the closing days of the race to back Republican Clay Fuller over Democrat Shawn Harris. Pro-Fuller ads produced by American Mission tout President Donald Trump’s support for Fuller’s campaign and promote his background but do not mention AI.

Fuller is expected to win Tuesday’s contest. The involvement of the AI industry backers is notable given that Greene, who resigned early this year, was often deeply critical of the industry and its priorities.

“Billionaire executives from OpenAI, Palantir, and a16z are spending in Georgia because they see this as an opportunity to put a rubber stamp where an industry critic used to be," said Sacha Haworth, executive director of The Tech Oversight Project, a tech industry watchdog group. "AI super PAC money is becoming toxic, and if Fuller wins, Georgia voters are going to wonder why he has Silicon Valley’s back and not theirs.”

Jesse Hunt, a spokesman for American Mission, said: "Georgia-14 voters certainly aren't interested in the musings of a liberal dark money group with ties to the Omidyar Network. We're proud to support candidates who will champion innovation in Congress and work toward a national regulatory framework on AI."

In his first public appearance as acting attorney general, Todd Blanche insisted today that the Justice Department was not focused on going after Trump’s political enemies.

“What we’ve been doing is changing the department,” Blanche said, claiming instead it was the previous administration that had weaponized the Justice Department by prosecuting Trump, Blanche’s former client.

Blanche was named to the job after Trump fired Pam Bondi last week, in part over his frustrations that she had not had more success in prosecuting his political enemies, NBC News reported. Blanche may face the same issues; the efforts have been blocked by courts and a grand jury that has refused a case.

Blanche said he had read the stories about why Bondi lost her job but sidestepped questions over whether he was worried he’d meet the same fate.

Read the full story here.

In the Wisconsin Supreme Court race, Democrats are looking to notch their fourth straight win in what are technically nonpartisan elections.

Today’s election is aimed at filling the seat currently held by retiring conservative Justice Rebecca Bradley, and features the Democratic-backed Chris Taylor and Republican-backed Maria Lazar.

The race has received far less attention nationally compared to last year’s state Supreme Court race. That contest ended in a win for Democratic-backed liberal candidate Susan Crawford, maintaining the bloc’s 5-4 majority — and it was the most expensive state judicial race in history after tech billionaire Elon Musk poured in millions of dollars to try and boost the candidate preferred by Republicans.

By contrast, this year’s race has mostly flown under the radar. While Taylor holds massive fundraising and ad spending advantages over Lazar, the total amount of money involved — including outside money — is far lower than last year’s race.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt says in a statement: “The Iranian regime has until 8 p.m. Eastern Time to meet the moment and make a deal with the United States. Only the President knows where things stand and what he will do.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and a group of Democratic ranking members of key committees issued a rare joint statement condemning Trump's threat that “a whole civilization will die tonight” if Iran doesn't reach a deal with the U.S.

“We speak today with one voice and one purpose: to condemn President Trump’s threat to extinguish an entire civilization," said the Democrats, who include Sens. Chris Coons, D-Del., the ranking member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense; Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., ranking member of the Foreign Relations Committee; Jack Reed D-R.I., ranking member of the Armed Services Committee; and Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, ranking member of the Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations.

“This is not strength. Intentionally destroying the power, water, or basic infrastructure upon which tens of millions of civilians depend to punish the very civilians who suffer at the hands of the Iranian regime would constitute a war crime, a betrayal of the values this nation was founded on, and a moral failure," they added.

At the 1988 Republican National Convention in New Orleans, George H.W. Bush swore an oath to his party: “Read my lips: No new taxes.“

He won the election. Then, he raised taxes. The move alienated Republican activists, and GOP lore has long held that he lost re-election because the broken promise tattered his relationship with the party’s base.

Now, Trump is threatening to destroy the Iranian civilization after campaigning in part on a “no new wars“ mantra in 2024. He has said the war is necessary to stop Iran’s leadership from obtaining nuclear weapons and further destabilizing the global order. 

His reversal is creating major strains within his own “Make America Great Again” movement, evident in increasingly loud dissent from some of its most prominent media figures, resistance from a growing number of GOP lawmakers and polling.

Read the full story here.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told reporters that leaks that involve putting soldiers' lives at risk is something the Justice Department "will always investigate."

If that means subpoenaing the reporter involved in the story, then "that's exactly what we should do, and that's exactly what we will be doing," he said.

Blanche's comments come after Trump said he would go after those who leaked details of the daring rescue of two airmen after their F-15 fighter jet was shot down by Iran.

Blanche would not say specifically whether he was following up on Trump's threat. "I'm not going to talk about ongoing investigations except to say that, yes, we will always investigate those types of leaks."

Todd Blanche held his first press conference as acting attorney general to announce the formation of a national fraud enforcement division — and delivered a defense of the president's calls to investigate his political foes.

"We have thousands of ongoing investigations and prosecutions going on in this country right now," Blanche said. "It’s true that some of them involve men, women, and entities that the president in the past has had issues with, and that believe should be investigated. That is his right and indeed it is his duty to do that, meaning to lead this country."

The former Trump personal lawyer, who was named the acting attorney general last week, was responding to a question about whether he felt pressure to prosecute the president’s perceived political enemies.

"I do not view this as pressure," he said. "I do not view this as something that’s going to keep me up at night, except to make sure we're investigating every case we have to the fullest extent of the law."

Asked if his predecessor Pam Bondi had lost her job for failing to prosecute Trump's enemies, Blanche said, "Nobody has any idea why the attorney general is no longer the attorney general, and I’m the acting attorney general, except for President Trump.”

The NAACP today joined Trump's critics to call for his removal from office through the 25th Amendment after he posted on social media this morning that the Iranian civilization "will die tonight" unless Tehran comes to an agreement to end the war by the president's deadline.

The group said it's the first time it has called for the amendment to be invoked.

"This president is unfit, unwell, and unhinged," said Derrick Johnson, the head of the NAACP. "The rhetoric and behavior we are witnessing from Trump isn’t just alarming, it’s dangerous."

"When the person entrusted with the highest office in the land demonstrates a disregard for truth, stability, and the well-being of the American people, it’s a threat to the entire nation and the world," he continued. "Trump must be immediately removed from office."

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said this afternoon that Federal Emergency Management Agency employees will receive back pay owed to them because of the government shutdown by Friday or Monday.

"We’re going to be able to get everybody paid through pay period six, which is basically all their back pay," Mullin told reporters during a FEMA-focused roundtable in Lake Lure, N.C., when asked about when FEMA personnel will be paid.

Vance has spent today claiming he is not in Budapest to tell Hungarians how to vote, but he contradicted that message in the most emphatic fashion at the close of his speech here in the Hungarian capital.

"You have held on to the civilizational goods that make a country worth living in in the first place," he said, listing these values as "sovereignty, prosperity, history, a sense of national community, the redemptive nature of bringing new life and new families into the world."

In rejecting communism, he said, Hungarians "have stood up to the nihilists — and now I wonder, will you do it again?"

Vance called on the country's voters to stand up for "democracy, for truth and for the God of our forefathers: Go to the polls in the weekend, stand with Viktor Orbán, because he stands for you and he stands for all these things. God bless Hungary and God Bless the United States."

That got the biggest round of applause of the day, with the attendees in the bleachers all standing and whooping in response to the message of the vice president. Vance in turn got Orbán back on stage and exited while pointing repeatedly at his ideological ally.

Vance has done his homework, getting a strong response from the crowd by giving a shoutout to St. Stephen, Hungary’s first king, who ruled for nearly four decades starting at around the year 1,000.

The vice president credited the “spirit” of Stephen with allowing Hungary to overcome communism in the 20th century.

This weekend, “you have a choice: Do you bend the knee to tyranny, or do you proudly stand with St. Stephen and choose a real leader?” Vance said, referring to foreign powers that he said aimed to influence Hungary's election.

The comments led to a chant of “Viktor! Viktor! Viktor!” in the auditorium.

Vance spent part of his remarks criticizing liberal policies related to issues like immigration and energy.

The vice president characterized a "far-left ideology" as "a shared threat from within that both of our nations face."

Vance said the ideology was "given quarter in university circles, in the media and in our entertainment industry, and increasingly among bureaucrats on both sides of the Atlantic."

"Now, its followers don't see Western society as flawed, yet worthy of reform,” he said. "Instead, they view the very foundations of our shared civilization as illegitimate."

"In Western history, they don't see a proud tradition, they see only injustice," he said. "In our borders, they see exclusion and racism. In Christianity, they see not liberation, but oppression. And in the family, they see constraint."

Vance told the Hungarian crowd during his remarks that he and Trump are “fighting here with you” — while simultaneously decrying “election interference” from the European Union.

Some commentators have pointed to what they say are double standards: Vance alleging meddling in Sunday’s vote after flying to Europe to hold a “mass rally” in support of Orbán.

“I'm not telling you who to vote for,” Vance said, having spent the day extolling what he says is Orbán’s lonely battle for Western, Christian values against mass immigrant “invaders.”

“I come here not in the spirit of telling you what to do," the vice president added. "I come here in the spirit of friendship to offer a few observations about our shared civilization and how we can advance it together.”

Vance began his remarks at a joint rally with Orbán in Hungary by calling Trump and putting him on speakerphone.

The audience broke into applause when Trump answered.

"I just want to tell you, I'm a big fan of Viktor, I'm with him all the way, and the United States is with him all the way," Trump said during the call, referring to Orbán.

The president praised Orbán for keeping the country "strong" and "good" and said Hungary's prime minister had prevented the country from being "invaded," an apparent reference to immigration.

At his press conference in Budapest, Vance hinted that the U.S. could intensify attacks on Iran if it does not come to terms.

"The president of the United States is a man who recognizes leverage, that if the Iranians want to exact a certain amount of pain, the United States has the ability to exact much, much greater pain," Vance said. "The president doesn't want to do that. I don't want to do that. That's why we're negotiating so aggressively. But fundamentally, the ball is in the Iranians court."

Vance added that although negotiations have taken some time and suffered from delays in communication, "we feel confident that we can get a response, whether it's positive or negative, we're going to get a response from the Iranians by eight o'clock tonight. I hope they make the right response, because what we really want is we want a world where oil and gas is flowing freely, where people can afford to heat their homes and cool their homes, where people can afford to transport themselves to work. That's not going to happen if the Iranians are engaged in acts of economic terrorism.”

Iran has “got to know we've got tools in our toolkit that we so far haven't decided to use,” Vance added. “The president of the United States can decide to use them, and he will decide to use them if the Iranians don't change their course of conduct.”

The crowd has filled up inside the bleachers of the MTK Sportpark in Budapest, which seats about 2,000 people, for the “mass rally” where Vance and Orbán are due to speak.

It's hot in here, and the audience is being treated to a heavy metal soundtrack to get them in the mood for the main event.

As well as the Hungarian flag, are plenty of American colors, Trump hats and other assorted MAGA apparel.

Republicans are expected to prevail in today’s special election run-off in the deep-red 14th District in northwest Georgia, which includes Rome.

Trump won the 14th District by 37 percentage points in 2024, while former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene won re-election by 29 points. A Democratic victory here would be a significant upset, and is seen as unlikely despite the party’s recent overperformance in special elections. 

In the first round of the special election last month, candidates from all parties competed on the same ballot because of state rules — and that ballot was crowded with a dozen Republicans all vying for the seat. The top two candidates moved on to a run-off because no one single candidate won a majority of the vote.

Democrat Shawn Harris, a retired Army brigadier general who lost to Greene in the 2024 general election, was the top vote-getter in that race, winning 37% of the vote. And Republican Clay Fuller, a district attorney and Air Force veteran endorsed by Trump, was the top GOP candidate, winning 35% of the vote. 

It’s worth noting that all the Republican candidates combined won almost 60% of the vote in the race. 

The American Historical Association filed suit today against the president and a number of top Trump administration officials over a new Justice Department legal opinion that contends they can ignore the Presidential Records Act of 1978.

In an opinion released last week, the head of DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel wrote that he believes the law serves “no identifiable and valid legislative purpose” and is unconstitutional. The president “need not further comply with its dictates,” the guidance said.

The law, enacted in the wake of the Watergate scandal, requires that White House records be turned over to the National Archives after the president leaves office and that those documents eventually be made public.

The American Historical Association suit, filed in federal court in D.C. in conjunction with the watchdog group American Oversight, says the Trump administration has taken the position that “the President is legally free to destroy records of his official government conduct, or even spirit away the records for his own future personal use.”

Trump threatened in a Truth Social post today that “a whole civilization will die tonight” as the deadline nears for an agreement on a ceasefire in the war with Iran.

The message is his most extreme public rhetoric to date against the country and comes less than 12 hours before he says the United States will launch attacks on Iran’s infrastructure over Tehran’s continued disruption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

Read the full story here.

Joe Kent, the former director of the National Counterterrorism Center who resigned last month over the war in Iran, said in a post to X that the U.S. would be viewed as "an agent of chaos" if Trump tries to destroy the entire Iranian civilization.

Kent argued in the post that while Trump thought he was threatening to destroy Iran, "it is America that now stands in danger."

"If he attempts to eradicate Iranian civilization, the United States will no longer be viewed as a stabilizing force in the world, but as an agent of chaos —effectively ending our status as the world’s greatest superpower," Kent said in a post to X.

"This would upend our economy and shatter the global order," he continued. "The process is already underway, yet we still have time to avert catastrophe if Trump finds the courage to pursue serious negotiations rather than reckless rage and destruction."

In his remarks at their joint news confernce, Vance lauded Orbán has a leader of European energy security who had done more than most other of the continent’s governments to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

Orban is a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

However, Vance said he was not in Hungary because of economic cooperation.

“I'm here because of the moral cooperation between our two countries,” he said.

The vice president hailed their shared “defense of Western civilization” and “the defense of the idea that we are founded on a certain Christian civilization and Christian values” that informs “everything from freedom of speech to rule of law to respect for minority rights and protection of the vulnerable.”

There were some murmurs and chuckles in the room when Vance, asked if he had any updates on Trump’s Iran deadline, pulled out his cellphone and teased some live information.

“Well, so you asked if there’s new information,” he told the news conference in Budapest. “Unless I have a text message from Steve — Oh, I do have a text message from Steve Witkoff. Wouldn’t you like to know the subject of this message? But no, I need to read it first before I talk about it.”

Another reporter urged him to read the message, but he did not.

Asked about the U.S.’ latest attacks on Iran’s Kharg Island, Vance said he didn’t think that represented “a change in strategy, or represents any change from the president of the United States.”

Vance said during the news conference that the Iran war would conclude "very shortly," but "the nature of the conclusion is ultimately up to the Iranians."

He said that negotiations have been focused on the question of "what does this look like afterwards?"

"The president has set a deadline for about 12 hours from now in the United States," he said. "We're going to find out, but there's going to be a lot of negotiation between now and then, and I'm hopeful that it gets to a good resolution."

Vance calls Trump a “dear friend” and a “strident supporter” of Orbán’s. “I don’t expect the people of Hungary to listen to the vice president of the United States — that’s not why I’m here,” he says.

But he adds that he does want to send a message “to the bureaucrats” in the European Union, whom he accuses of trying to contain Orban.

The backdrop to this is that the E.U. — of which Hungary is an irritant member — says Hungary can no longer be classified as a full democracy, rather calling it an “elective autocracy,” citing Orbán's restrictions of the judiciary and media.

Vance — who has flown to Hungary to try to boost a trailing Orbán days before the election — has accused the E.U. of “one of the worst examples of foreign election interference” he has seen.

As an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Orbán has constantly thwarted the E.U.’s attempts to aid Ukraine. In response, the E.U. has blocked funds for Hungary, which says has harmed its economy.

Vance said in his opening remarks at a news conference in Hungary that he wants to help Viktor Orbán ahead of the country's Sunday elections.

"I want to help as much as I possibly can the prime minister as he faces this election season, which I believe is happening in just about a week, the election to elect the next prime minister of Hungary," Vance said. "Now I don't expect, of course, the people of Hungary to listen to listen to the vice president of the United States. That's not primarily why I'm here."

"But I did want to send a signal to everybody, particularly the bureaucrats in Brussels, who have done everything that they can to hold down the people of Hungary because they don't like the leader who has actually stood up for the people of Hungary," he added.

Orbán is a Trump ally.

Vice President JD Vance and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán have just taken the stage almost 30 minutes late. Speaking in Hungarian, Orban says that "a golden era has been ushered in in our relations."

As the media waits for JD Vance's news conference with Viktor Orbán in Budapest to start, a few hundred journalists and aides are crammed into the event hall of Sandor Palace, the large pipes of its organ towering above the makeshift stage and screen. A hush has now fallen over the previously lively gaggle.

The screen reads "THE DAY OF HUNGARIAN-AMERICAN FRIENDSHIP" in both English and Hungarian, alongside flags from both countries. This is a real show of support days before the vote in which Orbán appears to be trailing.

In his first remarks after arriving in Hungary, Vance has hailed Orbán as "one of the only true statesmen in Europe" while telling him "the president loves you."

The vice president made the comments at the neoclassical Sandor Palace, Hungary's presidential residence, where Vance and Orbán are due to hold a news conference shortly.

"The relationship, friendship, between Hungary and the United States is very important to us, in part because we love the Hungarian people in this amazing nation and culture, but in part because the president loves you," Vance said in remarks before reporters at the beginning of the leaders' bilateral meeting. "You're such an important part of what has made Europe strong and prosperous."

The comments make clear the extent to which Washington has shifted from its historical allies such as France and Germany, which the Trump administration has repeatedly criticized, and toward hard-right populist regimes such as the one in Hungary.

Trump threatens Iran with attacks on infrastructure unless deal is struck

02:19

Trump has set a deadline of tonight for Iran to make a deal to end the war or face escalated attacks. “The entire country can be taken out in one night,” the president said, “and that night might be tomorrow night.” NBC News’ Garrett Haake reports.

Voters in Wisconsin and northwest Georgia head to the polls Tuesday to decide a pair of races that will provide further clues about how the political environment is shaping up heading into this fall’s midterm elections.

In battleground Wisconsin, liberals are aiming to further expand their majority on the state Supreme Court and extend their recent winning streak. And in the runoff election in Georgia’s conservative 14th Congressional District, Republicans are favored to hold on to former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s seat, while Democrats are hoping to at least make it competitive.

Read the full story here.