This is Garrison Hardie with your CrossPolitic Daily Newsbrief, for Tuesday, November 8th, 2022. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend with you and yours. And happy election day by the way! Get out and VOTE today, as it is our duty as Christians to work to shape this nation in God’s image. Without further adieu, let’s get you caught up on the news:
 
https://thepostmillennial.com/breaking-elon-musk-endorses-gop-in-midterms?utm_campaign=64487
 
Elon Musk endorses GOP in midterms
 
In a tweet posted on Monday morning, less than 24 hours before Election Day, new Twitter owner Elon Musk recommended that Americans vote for Republican candidates during their visit to the polls tomorrow.
 
In a tweet addressed to "independent-minded voters," Musk wrote, "Shared power curbs the worst excesses of both parties, therefore I recommend voting for a Republican Congress, given that the Presidency is Democratic."
 
https://rumble.com/v153b3f-elon-musk-says-he-will-vote-for-republicans-this-election.html -Play Video
 
Musk’s tweet comes as Republican candidates in key states have either taken the lead or have come within striking distance of their Democrat counterparts.
 
In Arizona’s Senate race, incumbent Mark Kelly is up just one point, according to RealClearPolitics’ average of polls. In the state’s gubernatorial race, Republican candidate Kari Lake is up 1.8 points.
 
In Pennsylvania, GOP Senate candidate Mehmet Oz is up 0.1 percent over Democrat John Letterman. In a poll from Trafalgar, Republican candidate Doug Mastriano is down just 4.3 points.
 
In the blue state of New York, gubernatorial incumbent Kathy Hochul holds a 6.2 point lead over Lee Zeldin, who has quickly closed the gap ahead of Election Day. Independent polls have pointed to Zeldin taking the lead.
 
In Florida’s governor race, incumbent Ron DeSantis holds an 11.5 point lead over Democrat challenger Charlie Crist, according to RealClearPolitics.
 
Even in the deep blue states on the west coast, Republican challengers are closing the gap.
 
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/07/consumer-confidence-in-housing-hits-new-low-says-fannie-mae.html
 
Consumer confidence in the housing market hits a new low, according to Fannie Mae
 
Rising mortgage rates, high home prices and uncertainty in the overall economy have Americans feeling more pessimistic about the state of the housing market.
 
In October, just 16% of consumers said they thought now is a good time to buy a home, according to a monthly survey by Fannie Mae. That is the lowest share since the survey began in 2011. The share of respondents who thought now is a good time to sell a home also dropped from 59% to 51%.
 
Fannie Mae’s survey looks not just at buying and selling but tests sentiment about home prices, mortgage rates and the job market. It combines them all into one number, which also fell for the eighth straight month and now sits at a new low.
 
A higher share of consumers, 37%, said they expect home prices to drop in the next 12 months. That compares with 35% in September. More also believe mortgage rates will rise.
 
Fast-rising interest rates are what turned the red-hot housing market on its heels in early summer. The average rate on the popular 30-year fixed mortgage started the year near a record low, around 3%. By June it crossed 6%, and it’s now just over 7%, according to Mortgage News Daily.
 
“As continued affordability constraints reduce homebuyer demand, and homeowners become reluctant to sell at potentially reduced prices, we expect home sales to slow even further in the coming months, consistent with our forecast,” wrote Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae’s chief economist, in a release.
 
Home prices dropped again in September, according to Black Knight, albeit at a slower monthly pace than they did in July and August. Prices are now down 2.6% since June, the first three-month decline since 2018, when interest rates also rose. It is the worst three-month stretch for home prices since early 2009. Prices, however,