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The State of Politics: The Elevator Speech for Democratic Governor Candidates
Boiling down their pitch to voters, why do they deserve your vote?
Platner's support reflects a changing party in the Trump era
Democrats are rallying behind Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner despite a series of controversies that might have derailed a Democratic campaign during the height of the #MeToo movement.
The next mayor of DC will have to navigate its most famous resident: President Donald Trump
Janeese Lewis George, a Washington, DC, councilmember and leading candidate for mayor, was knocking on doors when her team got word that President Donald Trump said he wouldn’t “put up with it” if the democratic socialist wins her Tuesday primary.
Who Will Lead the Democrats in 2028? Watch the Two Georgia Senators
The timing is right for one of Georgia’s two Democratic senators.
Reporter’s Notebook: The politics of love
The month of June plays a recurring role in my life, which is odd given that my birthday is in July. For example, storied (and sometimes infamous) Democratic U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd died on June 28, 2010. In a way, the death of Byrd was the catalyst for meeting Jessica, who would become my […]
Congo says 782 Ebola cases confirmed, two new health zones affected
The number of confirmed Ebola cases in Democratic Republic of Congo has increased to 782 after 72 new cases were documented in 24 hours, one of the biggest single-day jumps during the ongoing outbreak, government data showed on Sunday.
James Talarico Plays Up Spurs’ Past Glory in Campaign Ad Aimed at Texas Voters
The Democratic candidate for Senate looked to gain crossover appeal with a spot emphasizing teamwork and his own experience as a teacher in San Antonio.
Platner's 'deranged' response to Musk becoming a trillionaire sparks online outrage: 'Loserthink'
Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner faces conservative backlash after posting about Elon Musk becoming the world's first trillionaire.
In Retrospect: Poland, Russia, Europe
In April I spent a few days with Zryw, a Polish non-profit organization that recruits young people to enter politics and public life. Their aim is to build a new generation of civic leaders in Poland. I’ve followed their evolution from the beginning; my son is one of the founders. (“Zryw” means “impulse” or “burst of speed” in Polish). Julie Chmielewska, one of Zryw’s leaders, interviewed me at the event. Here is the conversation, lightly edited for grammar and context: Julia Chmielewska: Assuming that culture shapes institutions, could we conclude that some cultures are more prone to authoritarianism? Anne Applebaum: I don’t think so. Every culture, every nation, and every country has the potential for change. When we look at history, we can see that nations do change. Poland has changed, for example, from the 1980s to today. There’s a completely different mentality here than the one I encountered when I first visited, in 1988. The current generation sees the world through a different frame. So no, I don’t believe that certain nations are doomed to authoritarianism, or to anything. Of course, there are political and cultural traditions, but they can always be challenged. JC: So do you think there’s something intrinsic in human nature that pushes people to democracy, freedom? AA: I think there is something in human nature, a deep instinct, that pushes people towards freedom, yes. People who live in authoritarian countries – and I’ve heard this from them over and over again – sooner or later find themselves angered by a feeling of helplessness. They can see the unfairness of crooked courts, irrational political decisions. They naturally dislike the fact that somebody has all the power while they have none. In those circumstances, people who have no political background at all sometimes are politicized just by that frustration. I’m thinking of Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, for example, who was a Belarusian housewife, until the circumstances of her husband’s arrest forced her to become a politician. I met a woman who is a Uyghur from China, and who had come to live in Turkey. After several of her family members were arrested, she too was propelled into a political role. These kinds of experiences make people interested in democracy or political reform, even if they thought they didn’t care. I also think that the opposite is true: some people instinctively prefer homogeneity, order, hierarchy. They don’t like the confrontation of opinions or the noise of debate, and they lean towards a single leader or a unified regime. I think that most of modern history is shaped by the clash between those two different sides of human nature. JC: Which force do you find more powerful today? AA: I think they both have a lot of power and there’s no way of predicting who wins. Even in countries that seem very shut off or stuck in an authoritarian system can change. We’ve seen that happen. And vice versa, I think democracies can also begin to fail and slide into authoritarianism. So it’s very important not to be complacent in either direction. JC: I want to go into your history and your experiences. You’ve lived in Russia during a time of incredible change in the late 80s, and then you came back to do research in post-Soviet Russia. AA: I was a student in Russia just before the collapse of the Soviet Union. I then traveled and worked there extensively in the 1990s, and I met people who really were full of hope. They hoped that Russia could become a democracy, or at least a place that guaranteed freedom of speech, freedom of the press. These weren’t ideas that came from Washington. Although now the narrative in the Kremlin is different, I met many people who were working towards exactly that kind of transformation. A friend of mine ran a series of seminars – once a year, and then later several times a year, in cities all over Russia – designed to get people to discuss politics in new ways. She invited young politicians and journalists, as well as foreigners. I went to many of them, in Moscow as well as Volgograd and Novosibirsk. Over two decades, hundreds of people came to these seminars, and all of them wanted Russia to be different. I remain convinced that many Russians still want Russia to be different. It’s just that the old system, in the form of Putin, a representative of that system, returned. The KGB reimposed their power. And this wasn’t because of something to do with culture, this was to do with money and politics, and who was in charge. JC: You’ve partially answered my question... I wanted to ask whether that excitement of the 1990s was an exception from the Russian historical norm which has been rather authoritarian? AA: Of course, if you look at the history of Russia since the 18th century, there have always been liberal groups, reformers and revolutionaries. There were the Decembrists, in the early 19th century, and the rural populists later on, who tried to organize the peasantry. A significant group of liberal Russians appeared at the turn of the 20th century, people like the father of the writer Vladimir Nabokov, who was a Russian politician before the revolution. These groups were small in number, but sometimes had a broader significance. The Russian dissident movement in the 1950s and 1960s actually invented the modern human rights movement. It was their idea to hold the leaders of the Soviet Union accountable for the language they used, to remind them of the treaties they had signed and the promised they had made. They created the Helsinki group, for example, that held Soviet leadership to the language of the Helsinki Treaty, which formally ended the Second World War and which contained guarantees of human rights, at least on paper. That idea spread to Eastern Europe, and similar tactics were used here in Poland. (Benjamin Nathans recently wrote a great book about the Soviet dissidents, To the Success of Our Hopeless Cause) JC: But seemingly, even if they do ever get power, they could never hold on to it. AA: We don’t know, because they have never really had power. But in any case, we also don’t know what will happen in the future. There is no reason to assume that Russia will forever be condemned to totalitarianism. Even during the first fifteen years of Putin’s regime there was some form of democratic politics. Only when the full-scale war began did he bring everything to an end: he shut down all remaining independent organizations and killed his most important opponent, Alexi Navalny. But does that mean he is popular, that he enjoys legitimacy? Even now, we don’t really know what Russians think about him, or about the war. There is no way of doing real polling in Russia because nobody will answer an independent pollster over the phone. JC: Do you think that the flock of young people, especially young men, who fled Russia after the start of the war represent a continuation of liberal movements that refuse to partake in the authoritarian state, or do you think they are moving for the sake of self-preservation – “I don’t want to go to the army, so I leave”? AA: I’m sure it’s both. I actually know many people who left Russia for political reasons either in the very last years before the war, or else just after the war began. JC: And do you see a change in the young generation versus the old one that have fled? AA: It’s hard for me to say because the people who I know were mostly already politicized. I do know some younger people who left, but most of them were already either active in the opposition, or working as journalists. Many of them very self-consciously think of themselves as maintaining Russian culture abroad, just as in the 20th century the Soviet dissidents or the anti-communist White Russians once thought of themselves as people who maintained the true Russian culture, outside of Bolshevik Russia. JC: Let’s move on to Poland. One of your first experiences with Poland was reporting on Margaret Thatcher’s first state visit, in the autumn of 1988. You followed her around the farmers’ market. AA: She was making a symbolic gesture. She wanted to welcome free markets, but the only one she could really visit was the farmers’ market at Hala Mirowska. JC: And I want to talk about this area because today you can look out of any window in that district, Mirów, and see rows and rows of skyscrapers. How does it feel to see a country built from the ground in such a short time, both politically and economically? AA: You know, when you’re living in a period of dramatic change, it’s always hard to know whether the change is positive or negative. The transformation in Poland created winners and losers, as well as new classes of people, new political movements of different kinds. At the time, it sometimes just felt like turbulence. Now, we can look back at the 1990s and early 2000s in Poland and see in retrospect that the country was headed in towards prosperity and European integration. In around 2009 or 2010, I remember speaking to a woman who worked cleaning government offices, and who asked me if her daughter should study in Amsterdam or in London. This seemed to me to be a real transformation, and it happened very fast: within a few years, Poles stopped feeling like second-class Europeans, and a generation of younger Poles appeared who had no qualms about crossing borders. JC: We again live in turbulent times. Do you think we’re heading towards positive outcomes? AA: I can’t make predictions, because everything that happens tomorrow depends on what people do today. Also, history doesn’t have a trajectory. It doesn’t move in a particular direction. You only think it does afterwards. As I said, you can look afterwards at Poland in the 1990s and you could say this was a period of great progress. But not everybody at the time saw that. Sometimes people are very wrong about a given country’s trajectory. I remember people writing about Ukraine in the 1990s, about how dangerous it was that Ukraine was independent, that this was going to be an anti-semitic state, that Ukrainian nationalism was going to come back... and although you can say many bad things about Ukraine, the country made many bad choices, actually it became a pretty tolerant state which now has a Jewish president and until recently a Muslim defense minister. JC: In the 1990s Poland’s and Ukraine’s GDP were roughly similar. Ukraine was even a bit richer. So the starting point was similar for both of these countries, but they’ve turned out very, very differently. Even if we stop in 2014. Why do you think Ukraine “chose East”? Was it external influence? AA: No, I think Ukraine was in a different position. First of all, central and eastern Ukraine had been part of the Soviet Union since the 1920s, and had therefore experienced a longer period of occupation, repression, Sovietization and even Russification. Ukraine did not have, as Poland did, an alternative elite: a large cadre of economists and politicians, who already had some experience in opposition politics and in independent thinking. In Poland, the transformative finance minister, Leszek Balcerowicz, had already thought about how an economy might be decentralized before he took office. We can argue about how successful he was, but at least he was prepared to try something new. In Ukraine, people weren’t prepared. For one, there hadn’t been much space even for an illegal opposition in the previous couple of decades. Ukraine was also in many ways still emerging from colonial occupation. For the previous couple of centuries, many of the most capable Ukrainians had moved to Russia, and the first generation of leaders in independent Ukraine tended to be former Soviet apparatchiks. They didn’t immediately seek to become closer to western Europe. Instead, they looked for some kind of economic and political “third way” and an accomodation with Russia. Ukraine became stuck in this position, half-in, half-out and became pretty profoundly corrupt. JC: The Polish alternative elite had a vision of where they wanted the country to go. I think the general perception now is that this vision ends with the next election, right? Is this a natural process of gaining power? AA: Their vision, and it was shared by the time by politicians who now call themselves both left and right, was that Poland should join the EU and NATO, as fast as possible. My husband (Radek Sikorski) was in the very first government that said it wanted to join NATO. At the time this was taken very badly in Washington: the demand for NATO membership absolutely came from Poland, not from the US. But even then, in the early 1990s, many Poles already understood that the Russian sphere of influence would grow once again, that it was important to become part of the transatlantic alliance and an integrated Europe as fast as possible: NATO, the EU, the Council of Europe, all of the trading and security alliances. That consensus lasted through several different governments and over many years, even governments containing former communists. For twenty years, right, left and center disagreed about many things, but they all agreed on the direction that the country should go. In retrospect, that consensus created the basis for prosperity in Poland. JC: And regarding the Polish-Ukrainian relations. We know that antagonisms, e.g. the myth of Wołyń [a massacre of Poles that took place in what is now Western Ukraine, in 1943] are increasingly used in Polish political discourse today. In Ukraine, nationalist historians make heroes out of UPA, the Ukrainian revolutionary army, which is held responsible for this tragedy. Where do you see a start for burying the hatchet? Is the reconciliation of our nations possible? AA: So here’s a strange thing: For more than a decade after they both gained independence, Poland and Ukraine participated in a number of projects that were designed to solve exactly these kinds of Polish-Ukrainian differences. Books were published that were jointly written by Polish and Ukrainian historians, monuments were built. These projects were successful: If you’d asked me this question in 2010, I would have said that there are no real historical issues between Poland and Ukraine, that the two countries had mostly reconciled. For a number of reasons, this began to shift. In Poland, children and grandchildren of victims of the Wołyń massacre felt their tragedy hadn’t been fully recognized. In Ukraine, nationalist groups wanted the UPA partisans who had fought against the Soviet Union recognized for their heroism, despite the fact that some in this broad and not well-defined group were also linked to Wołyń. In both eastern Poland and western Ukraine, the memory of the ethnic cleansing that took place there in the late 1940s - Poles were moved West, Ukrainians East - to accomodate new borders has left feelings of displacement and bitterness. The wave of Ukrainian immigration, which started before the war, may have provoked some of this. But don’t underestimate the role played by Russia, which has always wanted to create discord between Poland and Ukraine, and pumps out propaganda to that effect in both countries. Vandalism on both sides of the border, damage done to cemeteries and monuments, is sometimes carried out by provacateurs working for Russia, just to create bad feelings. The Polish-Ukrainian conflict also hides a different reality: although there are real grievances and bad memories, the truth is that the biggest tragedies both nations experienced in the twentieth century were inflicted by the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany. That should unite these two countries, not divide them. JC: This week (19.04.2026 – Ed.) in Hungary we saw that using historical narratives to create grievance has no longer worked. Are you optimistic about the direction after Orban’s loss? AA: The Hungarian election was really important because it shows that people can actually resist powerful, dominant propaganda. The ruling party Fidesz controlled all of the TV, 90% of the newspapers, the constitutional court, the bureaucracy... and yet people had the nerve to vote against it and resist it. It’s also an important election because Hungary created a huge network of well-funded think tanks and foundations that were funding other far right groups and projects. So that loss is going to have a knock-on effect in other places too, maybe even in Poland. JC: What you’ve said about resisting propaganda reminds me of one of the interviews you did about talking to Russians in the post-Soviet era who claimed that people knew that the system was lying. Why do people choose to believe in these regimes anyway? AA: Because it’s useful. Stephen Kotkin, an American historian, once described how people would learn how to “speak Bolshevik”: It was just a language that you needed to use in order to get by in society. If you didn’t talk the way the regime wanted you to talk, then you might have problems, or lose your job, or your kids would not get into university. It was a way of getting along. Communist Poland was similar, at least in the early years. When I was writing a book about the Sovietization of Eastern Europe after World War II, I met a lot of people who wanted to talk a lot about the war, when many of them had done really heroic things. But almost nobody wanted to talk about the decade afterwards, between 1945 and 1956. This was when you had the short period of terror, violence and Polish Stalinism. To stay safe, people felt the need to just go along with what others were saying, or stay out of politics, or use communist jargon without necessarily believing it. I don’t judge them for it, and I wouldn’t describe all of those people as collaborators. It’s easy to feel moral certainty in retrospect, because we know that communism ended. But if you were living in 1949, it might not have been clear to you that communism was going to end. In very repressive societies, maybe about 10% of people who are really evil – collaborators, torturers. Maybe 10% of people are really brave and who find ways to resist. And then around 80% of people have kids, they have parents, they have to have jobs and they’ve had to get through it somehow. Strange though it may sound, I’ve found that the work I did on that book is now very useful in explaining some of what’s going on in the United States today. There are plenty of members of the Republican Party in Congress who know perfectly well that Donald Trump says many things that aren’t true. But they avoid criticizing him because it’s inconvenient, because they would get in trouble, because someone would attack them on the internet. So actually you don’t even need mass terror to get people to conform. JC: Is Gen Z reinventing agency? AA: We’ll see. In any generation you can find groups of people who want agency. If you live in a society that’s unfair, for example where a tiny number of people have captured most of the wealth, then at a certain point people rebel. This is always easier for younger people, who have you have less to lose. The question now is how the internet will affect the relationships between citizens and the state, and how it will change organizations. The “Twitter revolutions” people spoke about as early as 2008-9, mass protests organized online, have often proved to be very superficial. Although you can easily join something just by clicking, the work of creating a real movement requires physical participation. Successful mass movements of the past, for example the Civil Rights movement in the United States, were built by people who had spent many years together. They had participated in non-violent workshops together. They practiced and prepared. Just using the you can get everybody to show up at a certain moment, but then when the protest is broken up, nothing happens. It’s also true that the repressive regimes have more recently learned how to use the internet to undermine leaders and movements. Most of all, they now understand how to make people cynical. The form of propaganda that most modern authoritarians use - and I think the Russians really pioneered this - deploys sneering cynicism. Instead of praising the rulers, the regime propagandists mock the opposition movement leadership for being supposedly corrupt or sexually degenerate, with the goal of undermining any kind of idealism. JC: MAGA grew on the internet? AA: MAGA is a real grassroots movement. They had symbols, red hats, they showed up at rallies. But you’re right that the cynicism, the sarcasm and the distrust that the movement embodies came originally from the internet, and this is different. Fifty years ago, most European political parties had a social base in real organizations, in trade unions for Social Democrats, in church groups for Christian Democrats. As people stopped going to church and as the trade unions became smaller, the social base of these parties disappeared. Now people who wouldn’t have known one another in the past meet on the internet and create new movements, many of which don’t last. JC: Is history ending? Going in stale circles? AA: History never ends. In truth, human beings want contradictory things at the same time: order and freedom, stability and change. These things are never resolved, and when a society swings too far in one direction, people always push it the other way. But each time that happens, the result is different. Certainly it is true that we are now in a period when old philosophers and ideas from the 1930s are undergoing a revival. Carl Schmitt, who was a philosopher who was very influential on the Nazis, is back as an influence on both the far left and the far right, once again inspiring people to think that all politics has to be existential, that all politics is about defining and defeating enemies. In the US, some are also bringing back dominionism, the idea that we need a Christian and not a secular state. It’s also true that we are living through a more fundamental shift. The old left-right divide, which was mostly about the size of the state, is much less important now. Instead, we are arguing about more fundamental things: what are our rights, what protects our freedom. Or how much power do we want to give small elites, versus how much power to give ordinary people. In America a small group of very wealthy people now control information, because they control the social media platforms and AI, which means they determine what people will read and learn. Finding a way to preserve preserve zones of autonomy and independent thinking, this is going to be the main task for the next generation. JC: What is the one book that a person interested in Central Europe should read? AA: You could read my book “Iron Curtain: the Crushing of Eastern Europe” which tells the story of how the Soviet Union imposed its culture on the region. Or read Tim Snyder’s history of the region, “The Reconstruction of Nations: Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus 1569-1999.” And everyone should read “The Captive Mind” by Czesław Miłosz, which describes exactly the phenomenon we were talking about: why do people collaborate? I joined Scott Galloway and the brilliant Fiona Hill in a discussion about the wars in Ukraine and Iran, the future of global power, and what these conflicts reveal about America's role in the world. Scott told us that this was the 400th edition of his podcast, which is quite a number: My friend Francesco Chiamulera runs a brilliant series of literary events, Una Colline di Libri, A Hill of Books, in the Prosecco Hills, a region of vineyards and elegant hill towns in the Veneto, north of Venice. We did an event in Vittorio Veneto and also drove and biked around the countryside. Buy Autocracy Inc Buy Iron Curtain Open Letters, from Anne Applebaum is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe
'Democrats want to win': Platner's support reflects a changing party in the Trump era
Democrats are rallying behind Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner despite a series of controversies that might have derailed a Democratic campaign during the height of the #MeToo movement
'Democrats want to win': Platner's support reflects a changing party in the Trump era
Democrats are rallying behind Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner despite a series of controversies that might have derailed a Democratic campaign during the height of the #MeToo movement.
Opinion | Meet the Political Bosses Who Brought You Graham Platner
The Democratic Party’s New Establishment is less interested in winning than in remaking the party.
Progressive Talarico knifes Biden's open border, tries moderating stance on key issues in Texas Senate race
Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico flip-flopped on border security, gun control, and transgender issues during a podcast interview this week.
Meet the Democratic candidates for New York's 54th Senate District
Voters get the chance to decide who represents their interests as early voting gets underway Saturday.
Democrats seek next ObamaCare ahead of midterms amid rising health costs
There is growing momentum within the Democratic Party to find its next ObamaCare heading into the midterms, as healthcare costs become more untenable and American anger over affordability persists.…
Chuck Schumer is ready for redemption
The embattled Senate minority leader isn’t popular with the base of his own party. But he says he has laid the groundwork for a Democratic resurgence.
Political parties succeed when understand people
One of the more revealing political developments of recent years has been the Democratic Party’s growing concern about its declining support among male voters. After years of watching men drift toward the political right, many Democrats have begun asking a simple question: Why are men leaving? The answer may be simpler than party strategists would […]
Judge acquits Democratic congressional candidate arrested at New York immigration court protest
Federal prosecutors unsuccessfully argued that Brad Lander obstructed an elevator as he sat in front of it for 20 to 25 minutes in September.
Congo says number of confirmed Ebola cases rises to 676
The number of confirmed Ebola cases in Democratic Republic of Congo has increased to 676, including 136 deaths, government data showed on Thursday.
There are two Dan Sullivans in Alaska’s Senate race. Yes, really.
Two Dan Sullivans are running for Senate in Alaska. Republicans accuse one of them of being a Democratic prop.
Unfinished Revolution: Social Movements, Freedom Struggles, and the American Democratic Development -
APSA’s Engaging America’s 250th Webinar Series Unfinished Revolution: Social Movements, Freedom Struggles, and the American Democratic Development Tuesday, July 7, 2026 12:30 – 2:00 PM (ET) Register Here Join APSA for a discussion connecting American democratic [...]
New Jersey Citizen Action’s Political Action Committee Endorses Candidates for 2026 General Elections
New Jersey Citizen Action’s Political Action Committee (NJCA-PAC) has endorsed US Senator Cory Booker, and Democratic Congressional candidates Zack Mullock (CD2), Rebecca Bennett (CD7), and Dr. Adam Hamawy (CD12) for the General Elections in November. In a press statement today, New Jersey Citizen Action Executive Director Dena Mottola Jaborska said: “At a time when Washington is prioritizing tax breaks for billionaires while working families struggle to afford healthcare, housing, and everyday necessities, we need lawmakers who will fight for[...]
The road test: Inside Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s strategy ahead of a potential 2028 campaign
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is truly undecided about what she’ll do in 2028, when she can run for president or for the seat held by Sen. Chuck Schumer. But Ocasio-Cortez is positioning herself to try to reach nationally beyond the deepest blue parts of the Democratic base — and making clear in private that whatever she decides, she has no interest in being merely a protest candidate.
A key congressional race in California will test progressives' appeal in a Republican district
Randy Villegas, a populist insurgent, has won the Democratic primary for a House seat representing California’s Central Valley.
Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried ‘disappointed’ in Wasserman Schultz
Fried’s statement follows warnings that Wasserman Schultz’s decision — and the state party’s silence about it — could have ripple effects.
Nevada is set to have one of nation’s premier races for governor as Democrats seek to reclaim seat
Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo, a Republican, will face Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford in a battle to hold onto his seat in November, setting up what is considered one of the most competitive governor's races in the country.
Jolly announces running mate in governor race
Rep. Gwen Graham ran unsuccessfully in the 2018 Democratic primary for governor against then-Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum.
WATCH: 'He's a thug,' Trump says of Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner
President Donald Trump spoke at length on Wednesday about Democrat Graham Platner, who clinched Maine’s Democratic Senate nomination on Tuesday.
How the political typology groups feel about the Republican and Democratic parties
The 2026 Pew Research Center political typology identifies nine distinct groups in the American public, some highly ideological and partisan, others more ideologically mixed. While partisan affiliation was not a factor in developing the nine typology groups, some groups are firmly in the Democratic camp, while others are overwhelmingly Republican. But several groups include sizable […]
Loyal Liberals
Loyal Liberals have broadly progressive political values across many issue areas and a strong allegiance to the Democratic Party. Highly educated and relatively secure economically, they are strong supporters of the United States’ traditional diplomatic alliances. Loyal Liberals are one of nine groups in Pew Research Center’s 2026 Political Typology. To learn more about the […]
Left-Out Left
Left-Out Left are a Democratic-oriented group marked by low expectations of the political system and a feeling that they are not well-represented. They largely doubt that political action will meaningfully improve their lives. And while they like the Democratic Party considerably more than the Republican Party, their evaluations of Democrats are lukewarm at best. Left-Out […]
Tuned-Out Middle
Tuned-Out Middle are defined largely by their relatively low levels of interest in politics and participation in elections. While they are roughly equally likely to associate with the Republican and Democratic parties, most don’t identify as partisans, and they tend not to hold strong positions on political issues. Just 32% voted in the 2024 election. […]
Congo says number of confirmed Ebola cases rises to 635
The number of confirmed Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo has increased to 635, including 127 deaths, government data showed on Wednesday.
ActBlue C.E.O. to Invoke Fifth Amendment in Testimony to Congress
The head of the Democratic fund-raising behemoth was called to testify on Wednesday about reports that she may have misled Congress about how it vets foreign donations.
Controversial Graham Platner overcomes allegations to seal Maine Democratic nomination for Senate race
Marine veteran won 72% of the vote despite infidelity and abuse allegations that emerged during primary campaign
Opinion | A Different Kind of ‘Values Voter’ Will Power the 2026 Midterms
A new politics of morality is rising in the Democratic Party.
Top takeaways from the primary elections in Maine and South Carolina: 'Movement about us'
Graham Platner cruises to Maine Democratic Senate nomination despite mounting controversies, setting up a key midterm battle against Sen. Susan Collins.
The Democratic establishment begrudgingly moves to embrace Graham Platner
Democrats largely lined up behind their new Maine Senate nominee on Tuesday, while Republicans were quick to launch their attacks.
Democrats Face Another Long Wait for Results in Maine Swing District
No candidate cleared 50 percent in the Democratic primary race to replace Representative Jared Golden, sending the race into ranked-choice voting.
Graham Platner tears into Republicans after clinching Susan Collins matchup in Maine, and other primary night takeaways
Graham Platner was all but certain to win Maine’s Democratic Senate primary on Tuesday. But the progressive populist Platner was on course to earn about three-fourths of primary voters’ support — effectively ending any question about whether Maine Democrats wanted him to be their standard-bearer against Republican Sen. Susan Collins in one of the nation’s marquee races in November.
Graham Platner shrugs off scandals to win Maine Democratic Senate primary
Platner, whose campaign was hit by series of negative headlines, to face Susan Collins in key midterm contest
Platner Wins Maine Senate Primary After a Turbulent Stretch of His Bid
Graham Platner has faced new scrutiny over his personal history, but his Democratic primary victory sets up a high-stakes race against Senator Susan Collins, a Republican.
Graham Platner wins Democratic nomination to challenge Susan Collins in November
U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner on Tuesday secured the Democratic nomination on Tuesday, withstanding a withering blitz of unflattering revelations and ongoing attempts by Republicans and some Democratic operatives to weaken his candidacy.
Bernie Sanders dodges questions about abuse allegations facing Maine Senate candidate Platner
Sen. Bernie Sanders dodged questions about abuse allegations facing Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner, refusing to respond at the Capitol.
Platner to frame overtly negative campaign against Collins
A speech he intends to deliver Tuesday night when he accepts the Democratic nomination, obtained by The Post, suggests the Maine Senate candidate wants to make the election a referendum on President Trump.
Platner seeks Democratic nomination for US Senate
Graham Platner has attracted a following of enthusiastic supporters and been confronted with a string of controversies as he has transformed from a political unknown into the leading Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in one of the year's most critical races.
Democratic National Committee: Local small businesses continue to suffer under Trump and his cost-spiking Republicans, forcing them to raise prices on families and cut jobs for workers
According to new data released today by The National Federation of Independent Business, small businesses throughout America continue to suffer under Donald Trump and his cost-spiking Republicans. With everything — from food and utilities to gas and building materials — becoming more...
Democrats Accuse Republicans of Meddling in Maine’s Second Congressional District Primary
A mysterious group has spent $500,000 to elevate a progressive candidate in the Democratic primary race for a key House seat.
New study recommends 1 alcoholic drink or fewer per day. Its researchers want clearer U.S. guidelines on drinking
One of the officials involved in the study commissioned by Biden's Democratic administration accused Trump's Republican administration of “sidelining” the research — an allegation the Trump administration denies.
Mejia Appointed to U.S. House of Representative Committee on Small Business
Today, upon the recommendation of the U.S. House Democratic Sterling and Policy Committee, Congresswoman Analilia Mejia (NJ-11) was appointed to the U.S. House of Representative Committee on Small Business. This is her second committee assignment in addition to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security. Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said, “Throughout her entire[...]
Councilmember Cindy Bass declared herself the winner of a Philly Democratic ward election — and may have violated party rules
In a brief meeting Monday, Bass said she won against her progressive challenger in the 22nd Ward and rejected demands for a roll call to clarify the vote.
Progressive Nithya Raman advances to November runoff against Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass
The election will test whether voters in the heavily Democratic city want to move further to the political left to address long-running problems of homelessness, buckled streets and sidewalks and climbing rent and home prices.
GOP primary for U.S. House seat and Democratic governors race among Nevada's key contests
Nevadans are choosing their party nominees Tuesday for two closely watched congressional seats and the governor’s race, among others, as the state grapples with an affordable housing shortage, exploding energy demand from data centers and federal cuts to key state programs.
Platner seeks the Democratic Senate nomination to set up critical Maine race with Collins
Graham Platner is seeking to make a Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate official in advance of one of the most anticipated contests of the year.
Sen Collins slams Bernie-backed Graham Platner as too far-left for Maine voters
Sen. Susan Collins calls Democratic challenger Graham Platner too extreme for Maine voters, while Platner charges Collins is the "radical" candidate.
Former Platner campaign aide: ‘The answer to a broken political culture is not to accept it’
A former top aide of Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner’s campaign urged members of her party to consider voting for another contender in Maine — one day before Tuesday’s primary cont…
Building trust and lab testing at the heart of DRC Ebola response: WHO
In Ebola-stricken eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) a massive push for early testing and contact tracing is helping to contain the virus, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.
Graham Platner seeks to win Democratic Senate nomination in Maine, and more primary races to watch today
Democratic group launches ad campaign to help flip control of Congress in midterm elections
A Democratic group that previously focused on presidential races is wading into more than a dozen House and Senate contests across the country
Democratic Group Kicks Off $50 Million Midterm Blitz in Conservative Strongholds
American Bridge is hoping that Republicans are vulnerable in parts of the country that had been exceedingly tough terrain for Democrats in recent elections.
Will Platner Scandals Dampen Democratic Vote? What to Watch in Tuesday’s Primaries.
Any indication of tepid support for Graham Platner, a Democratic candidate for Senate in Maine, will be seen as a warning sign about his chances against Senator Susan Collins, the Republican incumbent.
Vance recommends DOJ criminal investigation into Tim Walz and Minnesota AG over state’s fraud scandal
Vice President JD Vance, who leads the White House anti-fraud task force, has referred allegations of complicity surrounding fraud in Minnesota, including against Democratic Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison, to the Department of Justice for criminal investigation.
New Jersey health inspectors find Delaney Hall food premises ‘satisfactory’
The Democratic governor was also granted limited entry to the immigrant detention center, but remained concerned about conditions.
Nithya Raman advances over Spencer Pratt to face L.A. Mayor Karen Bass in a runoff
NBC News projects Bass, the Democratic incumbent, and Raman, a City Council member, will face off in November after receiving the most votes in the all-party first-round election.
How New York’s Kathy Hochul is navigating a complex political moment
The Democratic governor must contend with a rising populist movement on both her left and right flanks.
Will Graham Platner's tattoo, sexting scandals impact Maine primary?
Graham Platner is still expected to win the Maine Senate Democratic primary. But can he keep his momentum through another controversy?
Ken Paxton's attorney in his impeachment trial endorses James Talarico in US Senate race
An attorney who defended Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in his impeachment trial has endorsed Paxton’s Democratic opponent in the U.S. Senate race
Platner calls Fetterman ‘a--hole’ at town hall as Democratic feud heats up
Graham Platner calls Sen. John Fetterman "an a--hole" at a Maine town hall days before the Democratic Senate primary election against rivals.
Graham Platner gets a lift from friendly Maine crowd
The Democratic primary is still seen as Platner's to win, but he is facing questions about his past that could make it difficult to defeat longtime incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins.
Barbie Harden Hall suspends campaign in CD 11
She challenged Dan Webster in 2024 and was the leading Democratic contender for the open seat this cycle.
AP Decision Notes: What to expect in Nevada’s state primary
Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo will face six Republican challengers in a state primary on Tuesday, while state Attorney General Aaron Ford, Washoe County Commissioner Alexis Hill and four others will compete for the Democratic nomination to reclaim the seat in November
AP Decision Notes: What to expect in Nevada’s state primary
Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo will face six Republican challengers in a state primary on Tuesday, while state Attorney General Aaron Ford, Washoe County Commissioner Alexis Hill and four others will compete for the Democratic nomination to reclaim the seat in November.
Attorney general race: Johnson and Middleton offer competing visions
Democratic Sen. Nathan Johnson of Dallas says he wants to depoliticize the attorney general’s office. Republican Sen. Mayes Middleton of Galveston says he wants to use it to fight the left.
Merton Redux: Re-Confronting the Norms of Science in Democracy
The decimation of democratic processes that undergird state-sponsored research may be ultimately more consequential than funding cuts.
With qualifying days away, 5 competitive House seats remain unchallenged
Palm Beach County’s House District 89 is the closest of the bunch, with 2024 presidential results showing just a 1-point Democratic advantage.
Authenticity is what American voters want
Results in US Democratic primary races are showing that old establishment politics no longer work.
Rob Sand to rally in Iowa governor bid with Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear as Democrats eye a flip
Rob Sand will rally a crowd for the first time as the official Democratic nominee for Iowa governor on Sunday, kicking off a countdown to November with the support of Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear.
Bennet wants to be Colorado’s next governor
U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet is considered the front-runner in the Colorado Democratic Party primary contest for governor. His major opponent is current Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser. The Democratic primary election is June 30. Registered Democrats and unaffiliated voters who choose to can vote in this election. Ballots are being mailed out starting Monday. Michael F. Bennet, 61, was born in New Delhi, India, where his father […]
'Scandal' stars Kerry Washington and Tony Goldwyn think Olivia and Fitz are still together
'Scandal' on-screen couple Kerry Washington and Tony Goldwyn reunited for Variety's Actors on Actors series.
Republican and Democratic congressmen urge Floridians to start preparing for hurricanes
Representatives Byron Donalds and Jared Moskowitz join forces to get Floridians prepared for the forces of nature.
GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan is raising alarms about an 11th hour challenger: Dan J. Sullivan
Sen. Dan Sullivan and the GOP’s Senate campaign arm are raising major alarms about a same-name rival, warning that it could cost them a seat by confusing the electorate and give a leg-up to his well-funded Democratic challenger, former Rep. Mary Peltola.
Byron Donalds takes affordability pitch to Palm Coast on 'Defending the Florida Dream' tour
The Palm Coast stop landed just as the Democratic field reshuffles.
Trump Looms Over Pivotal Republican Senate Runoff in Georgia
The president has not yet endorsed Representative Mike Collins or Derek Dooley, a former football coach, in the race to challenge the Democratic senator, Jon Ossoff.
Rob Sand to rally in Iowa governor bid with Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear as Democrats eye a flip
Rob Sand will rally a crowd for the first time as the official Democratic nominee for Iowa governor on Sunday
Rob Sand to rally in Iowa governor bid with Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear as Democrats eye a flip
Rob Sand will rally a crowd for the first time as the official Democratic nominee for Iowa governor on Sunday.
Rob Sand to rally in Iowa governor bid with Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear as Democrats eye a flip
Rob Sand will rally a crowd for the first time as the official Democratic nominee for Iowa governor on Sunday.
Rob Sand to rally in Iowa governor bid with Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear as Democrats eye a flip
Rob Sand will rally a crowd for the first time as the official Democratic nominee for Iowa governor on Sunday.
Rob Sand to Rally in Iowa Governor Bid With Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear as Democrats Eye a Flip
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Rob Sand will rally a crowd for the first time as the official Democratic nominee for Iowa governor on Sunday, kicking off a countdown to November with the support of Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear. The race for governor between Sand and Republican Zach Lahn stands to be one of ...
'Talk of the Town': Voters asked about Democratic politicians’ controversial pasts
‘The Big Weekend Show’ hits the streets of New York City to gauge public sentiment toward politicians with controversial pasts.
Beau Bayh wins Democratic secretary of state nomination. How will he fare in November?
Bayh's victory was boosted by a gargantuan fundraising haul and a name that evokes nostalgia for when Democrats held power in the state.
Massachusetts accounts for 4th-most contributions to Graham Platner campaign
Massachusetts accounts for the fourth-most contributions out of all 50 states sent to controversial Maine U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner’s campaign, with the Somerville-based Democratic Party PAC sending him an eye-popping $3.6 m…
WATCH: Maine voters divided on Platner as scandals shadow Democratic primary
Maine voters are split on whether explosive allegations against Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner will affect their vote in Tuesday's primary.
Amid Mounting Democratic Concern, Platner Says His Past Is Being ‘Weaponized’
The presumptive Democratic Senate nominee in Maine said the state would have his back in the face of accusations he has denied
Graham Platner says his past has been ‘weaponized’ at rally in Maine
Supporters brush off negative stories about the Democratic Senate candidate and rebut suggestions that he is the wrong person to take on GOP Sen. Susan Collins.
Trump Says Bill Pulte, His New Intelligence Director, Should Slash Staff
The president suggested that employees who worked for previous Democratic presidents were among those who should be fired.
Becerra advances to November, moves closer to becoming California's first elected Latino governor
Democrat Xavier Becerra consolidated enough support from Democratic base to advance beyond a bitter primary to California governor, while the second spot remains up for grabs.
Matsui advances to November ballot in reelection bid for California congressional seat
California Democratic Rep. Doris Matsui has advanced to the November ballot after facing a reelection challenge from a younger Democrat
In roundtable, Eugene and Springfield business leaders raise concern about federal policies economic impact
Several business owners at the roundtable, convened by Oregon Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley, said customers are spending less. Merkley said higher prices are linked to tariffs, inflation and the Iran war.