Gen Z prepares to vote and more news from the states

Good morning. Welcome to our Thursday edition of Daybreak.

The Wednesday execution of Tennessee death row inmate Christa Pike was halted after the state administered two failed rounds of its lethal injection protocol. The botched execution spanned more than two hours, and Pike was eventually taken by ambulance to a hospital for treatment.

Today, President Donald Trump is scheduled to kick off a monthlong blitz of campaign stops with a rally in deep-red Oklahoma before heading to other states with strong Republican leanings. The first events in the closing stretch of the midterm election campaign suggest his strength with swing voters is limited, as even some Republican candidates seek distance, States Newsroom’s D.C. Bureau reports.

And tomorrow, Iowa lawmakers will convene for a special session on tax incentives for a steel mill project.

Keep reading for news on reproductive rights, Flock cameras, data centers and more. Thanks for stopping by.

National: The Republican attorneys general of Alabama, Arkansas and Louisiana filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Supreme Court, suing California, Massachusetts and New York to invalidate  “shield laws” that allow providers in those states to send abortion medication to people in states with abortion bans.

Wisconsin: A committee of the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors voted to advance a resolution to remove Flock automatic license plate reader cameras from county park property. The unanimous vote comes as Flock cameras have grown increasingly unpopular around the state. 

Texas: The Trump administration is pushing for a 90-day ban on diesel exports intended to rapidly lower climbing fuel prices for consumers. The proposal would hurt Texas refineries in the Gulf Coast and deal a blow to the state’s economy, industry leaders said.

Pennsylvania: The House Energy Committee advanced three bills to address electricity company profits and data center infrastructure costs, and to ensure speculative developments do not skew electricity demand forecasts.

New Jersey: Two lawmakers want to expand a law that would allow judges and law enforcement officials who work in other states to shield their personal information from public disclosure. 

See the rest of the news of the day from all 50 states, plus our D.C. Bureau and Stateline, on News From The States.

Generation Z, now roughly 14 to 29 years old, is a growing portion of the electorate with about 50 million eligible voters in the upcoming midterm elections. But these young voters have soured on both parties, Maine Morning Star reports. 

Mainers frequently cross party lines, as evidenced by the fact that U.S. Sen. Susan Collins is the only GOP senator running for reelection in a state Trump lost in 2024. Maine consistently ranks among the highest in the country for voter turnout, even among young voters, despite having one of the oldest populations in the country.

Younger people have long been more likely to identify as independents, but Gen Z is doing so at a significantly higher rate than any previous generation at the same age. Being independent does not mean being moderate. Gen Z’s ideological gender gap is driven more by women moving further left than men moving further right.

A unifier among Gen Z is a belief that the government is failing to protect and address their needs, notably the high cost of living. 

Trump capitalized on that discontent in 2024, making gains with young voters, particularly young men. Now, Trump’s net approval rating is underwater, especially among Gen Z, with 31% of young people who voted for the president saying they regret it, according to an August Navigator poll. 

Both parties are trying to remedy mistakes of elections past in the hopes of winning over the Gen Z vote, launching targeted recruitment efforts, hiring more young people and leaning into social media.

Oct. 1 marks the start of Transgender Empowerment Month — a series of events launched by Michigan nonprofit Stand with Trans that has grown to a national and even global audience of transgender people, their families and allies, Michigan Advance reports. 

Stand with Trans executive director Roz Gould Keith says that this year’s theme, “Stronger Together,” reflects the fact that “we really feel that we have to be on the same team, and we are so much stronger together. We want young people and their families to feel like they have a community, and that they don’t have to be isolated and alone.”

Trans Empowerment Month began in 2015 as a one-day workshop for trans youth,, to celebrate young trans people and to give them an opportunity to be in community with one another, Keith said. During the pandemic, the programming switched to a monthlong conference-style format to meet the need for a virtual setting. 

The transgender community has increasingly become the target of political and legal attacks, with the Trans Legislation Tracker showing 835 anti-trans bills introduced across 43 states in 2026.