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Singleton’s ‘Downtown Economic Growth Program’ Would Stimulate Business Development in Small Towns
TRENTON – The Senate Economic Growth Committee advanced bipartisan legislation sponsored by Senator Troy Singleton and Senator Parker Space that would establish the “Downtown Economic
Senate candidates in Michigan, Georgia and Maine spar in must-win debates
Both parties see the races as as must-wins in November
The midterm polls that caught our eye this week
Polls show Trump losing support among his base and voters focused on Senate control and issues.
Why Congress hasn't passed bills to save Black infants, moms
Wisconsin Democrats in the U.S. House and Senate are pushing a package of bills to improve Black infant and maternal health nationwide. It faces a steep climb.
‘He wants me to lose’: Paxton complains about lack of support from Cornyn in leaked audio
Ken Paxton has publicly said he would “love to have” John Cornyn’s support after their bruising Republican primary runoff in the Texas Senate race. But privately, Paxton has grown frustrated with the outgoing senator’s distance from his campaign.
Poll: Democrat Troy Jackson narrowly leads Susan Collins in Maine Senate race
Likely voters prefer Jackson on several key issues, but they favor Collins’s ability to steer federal dollars to the state.
Takeaways from Michigan Senate debate between Abdul El-Sayed, Mike Rogers
Even mothers were not exempt in a fierce debate in the race for a critical U.S. Senate seat.
El-Sayed's Vow to "Uncap the Payroll Tax" Would Impose a 57% Tax Rate on Michigan Small and Midsized Businesses and the Self-Employed
On Thursday night Democrat senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed vowed to drastically raise the payroll tax on Michiganders by removing the payroll tax cap. "We
5 Key Moments From Hostile Michigan Senate Debate Between El-Sayed and Rogers
Slashing personal attacks dominated the first televised face-off between Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for Senate, and former Representative Mike Rogers, his Republican rival.
El-Sayed, Rogers trade barbs over Iran war, gas prices in Michigan Senate debate
What began as a debate over Michigan families’ rising costs quickly turned into a heated political showdown Thursday night, as Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers traded personal attacks in their race for the U.S. Senate.
In Depth: A look into the politics and laws surrounding Oklahoma's open U.S. Senate seat
Sparks fly as Abdul El-Sayed and Mike Rogers face off in first Michigan Senate debate
While facing questions about gas prices, the war in Iran and tariffs, the candidates frequently exchanged insults amid a high-stakes campaign.
‘Con man’ and ‘cowardly’: Personal insults fly in heated Michigan, Georgia Senate debates
It didn’t take long for the personal attacks to fly in Thursday night’s debates for two marquee Senate races in Georgia and Michigan.
Michigan Senate debate between Rogers and El-Sayed grows hostile quickly
Republican Mike Rogers and Democrat Abdul El-Sayed are facing in their first debate in Michigan's closely watched Senate race. The Thursday night debate in Grand Rapids comes after weeks of
WA Sen. Patty Murray launches effort to restore trust in public health
As the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, Murray holds one of the most powerful roles in Congress.
How Trump Has Alienated Republican Voters
Plus, a big debate night in Senate battlegrounds.
Trump bucks and the politics of mailing checks
The checks started going out last week, nearly one million of them, and mostly to battleground states. With a return address for the U.S. Treasury and a letter enclosed signed by President Donald Trump, these one-time checks for $500 were ostensibly government rebates for Obamacare enrollees who overpaid. In the accompanying letter, however, Trump attacks his predecessor and talks about his record in office on an important issue he’s not polling well on, which makes it seem more like the most expensive political mailer in U.S. history. The average piece of direct mail costs between 30 cents and $3, according to Mail Processing Associates, a print, mail, and fulfillment company. At $500 a pop plus roughly 50 cents each to issue the paper check, the cost of Trump’s healthcare mailer sent to more than 950,000 enrollees comes in at more than $475 million. Trump’s midterm healthcare message “For years, the Biden Administration overcharged you to fund the operation of HealthCare dot gov,” Trump wrote in the letter. “That money belongs to hard-working Americans, not the Government, and now, I am returning it to you!” In the letter, Trump makes false and misleading claims about his administration’s record on healthcare costs, an issue Democrats have a 20 point advantage on over Republicans, according to a recent poll from KFF, a nonpartisan health policy think tank. Trump touts his administration’s TrumpRX program, which he claims is “delivering massive discounts.” However, new research from KFF found that of a selection of drugs available on the TrumpRX platform, just five were the lowest price, while 13 were the highest price. Trump also falsely claims in the letter that he’s fighting to lower healthcare costs. In reality, average monthly premium payment costs for enrollees rose 58% under Trump while marketplace sign-ups declined 5%, per KFF. Under Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, it’s estimated 10 million more Americans will be uninsured by 2034. You get a check and you get a check and you get a check Trump’s long promised cash outs to his fans, from his days as a casino operator and gameshow host to his presidency. During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the first Trump administration made the unprecedented move to put Trump’s name on checks that went out under the CARES Act (notably the $500 refund checks this time around don’t feature Trump’s name). Ever since, Trump’s been chasing that high. In his second term, Trump’s promised more stimulus that never arrived, like refund checks from DOGE cuts and tariffs, while he said at his party’s convention last month that he’d give out $5,000 checks to everyone if Republicans win in November. In reality, DOGE overstated its cost cutting and Trump’s government actually now spends more than former President Joe Biden’s, while Trump’s tariffs actually grew the trade deficit. His proposal for $5,000 checks would add about $1.2 trillion to the national debt. The problem is there’s no money to give. These $500 checks — plus $90 Medicare rebate checks also going out as well as $250 deposited this week in some Trump Accounts for kids courtesy Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell and his wife Susan — represent the closest Trump’s going to get to making good on his promise to deliver cash fast. And the checks seem especially targeted. Though the $500 checks went out to enrollees in one of 30 states that use the federal HealthCare dot gov marketplace, a Reuters review found 71% of the payments, or $339 million, went to enrollees in 13 states that have the most competitive elections for governor and U.S. Senate. Most Americans don’t buy it Could Trump bucks sway the election? An Economist-YouGov poll found 57% of U.S. adults doubt Trump will deliver on his promise for $5,000 checks, compared to 21% who do. “I’m waiting on my DOGE check and I’m still waiting on my tariff check,” one 2024 Trump voter who’s since turned on him told a recent focus group. “It felt like kind of trying to buy people’s votes, which honestly felt like in elementary when the class president was like, hey we’re going to take you to the water park if you vote for me. It’s like, I don’t think it works like that.” But for voters in swing states who got a check, it could still matter. One survey published in 2022 found receiving a physically personalized check in the mail during the pandemic was associated with a much greater self-reported likelihood of voting for Trump in 2020, and those gains mainly came from out partisans. The issue for Trump comes if these checks are mostly going to Obamacare enrollees whose premiums have gone up by more than just $500 since he took office and who view the money as something like a bribe before the election rather than an actual long-term solution to lowering household costs. Spending $500.50 per mailer would be absurd as a normal campaign expenditure, but since Trump’s checks and letter are a government rebate, his campaign and super PAC didn’t have to spend a dime and he got out his message regardless. If enough voters in key states are swayed by the one-time payment, it could prove to be the best $0 the Trump campaign spent. Subscribe [ ](https://www.yellopolitics.com/p/why-independent-candidates-are-making) [ Why independent candidates are making independence central to their brand ](https://www.yellopolitics.com/p/why-independent-candidates-are-making) Hunter Schwarz · Oct 6 [ Read full story ](https://www.yellopolitics.com/p/why-independent-candidates-are-making) [ ](https://www.yellopolitics.com/p/these-designers-and-grocery-nerds) [ These designers and grocery nerds will brand Mamdani’s NYC grocery stores ](https://www.yellopolitics.com/p/these-designers-and-grocery-nerds) Hunter Schwarz · Oct 2 [ Read full story ](https://www.yellopolitics.com/p/these-designers-and-grocery-nerds) Trump wants to turn his first-ever golf course into a government course for presidents
Fact-checking Ashley Hinson and Josh Turek in first Iowa US Senate debate
Iowa U.S. Senate candidates Republican Ashley Hinson and Democrat Josh Turek met for their first debate Oct. 7, sparring over immigration and healthcare — and scrutinizing each other’s personal and campaign finance sources.
Mike Rogers, Abdul El-Sayed debate tonight in Grand Rapids
Here's how to watch tonight's U.S. Senate debate between Republican Mike Rogers and Democrat Abdul El-Sayed.
‘We don’t want this right now’: James Talarico off the trail with the flu for 12 days
In final stretch of the Texas Senate race, Talarico has not appeared in person since Sept. 26; he is expected to be back this weekend. Opponent Ken Paxton is calling for “proof of life.”
Justice weighs political future, talks Senate control
RAVENSWOOD – U.S. Sen. Jim Justice has enjoyed being in the Republican majority in the U.S. Senate, but the November midterm election could see control flipped to the Democratic Party
Rogers and El-Sayed are set for their first debate in Michigan's Senate race after sparring online
Republican Mike Rogers and Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, competing for an open U.S. Senate seat in Michigan, are set for their first campaign debate Thursday after weeks of sparring both online and in advertisements that are flooding the state in one of the nation’s most closely watched races.
Obama marvels at Democrats’ Senate chances
“There are states right now in play that I would not have imagined being in play,” the former president said.
The states that aren’t cooperating with Democrats’ Senate majority hopes
Democrats’ path to the Senate majority is improving. In fact, recent polls have shown the party leading in three states that President Donald Trump carried by double digits in 2024: Alaska, Ohio and Texas. Democrats need at least two of those to win the majority.
New St. Pete Polls survey has Ashley Moody at 47%, Angie Nixon at 45%, and the Senate race still inside the margin of error
U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody leads Democrat Angie Nixon 47% to 45% in a new St. Pete Polls survey for Florida Politics, a narrow edge for the Republican inside
Democrat called slur by Trump airs ad urging ‘No men in women’s sports’
Senate candidate Annie Andrews, a Senate candidate in South Carolina, released a transgender issues ad days after the president called her an anti-transgender slur.
http://democrats-energycommerce.house.gov/media/press-releases/republican-health-care-cuts-are-decimating-american-families
Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and House Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr., D-N.J., today released their latest report spotlighting the consequences of Donald Trump and Republicans’ health care cuts, with a focus on the fallout of the Republican Big Ugly Bill.
The fresh faces that may shake up key Senate committees ahead of midterms
Dozens of Democrats are vying for seats on the House Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means committees, with several members from both parties either leaving or in close races.
Kentucky Senate budget chair questions whether politics are influencing budget forecast
A Republican leader has raised concerns about whether political games are being played with budget forecasts that show new revenue amid a very uncertain economic forecast.
Talarico earns major Texas newspaper backing over Paxton in US Senate race
Democrat James Talarico earned the backing of a major Texas newspaper, adding momentum to his U.S. Senate battle against Republican Ken Paxton.
Trump makes last-minute pitch in San Antonio after upending the GOP map
President Donald Trump rallied supporters in San Antonio as Republicans work to shore up several competitive races across Texas, including Ken Paxton's U.S. Senate bid and Carlos De La Cruz's campaign in the newly redrawn 35th Congressional District.
Trump, a Cowboy and a Science Guy: Who’s taking sides in Senate race
Ken Paxton and James Talarico are drawing support from politicians, sports stars, entertainers and some surprising crossovers.
Obama endorses Troy Jackson in Maine Senate race
The former president told voters he is “proud to be on board” the Democrats’ campaign to oust Republican Sen. Susan Collins.
Trump has ‘no regrets’ endorsing Ken Paxton for Senate in Texas, even after a new audio leak
An Ohio edge. An Iowa tossup. New CNN polls give Democrats hope in a pair of red states
Widespread dissatisfaction with the state of the country has opened up a prime Senate pickup opportunity for Democrats in Ohio and made for a razor-thin contest in Iowa, according to new CNN polls conducted by SSRS.
5 Takeaways From the First Iowa Senate Debate
In a top Senate battleground, Representative Ashley Hinson, the Republican nominee, sparred with Josh Turek, her Democratic rival, on policy issues ranging from Medicaid to term limits.
At San Antonio Rally, Trump Warns He’ll ‘Never Forgive’ Texas if Talarico Wins
The President returned to deep-red Texas to rally for Ken Paxton’s Senate bid, while revealing at times his own trepidation that one of the Republican Party’s longest winning streaks may be about to end on his watch.
Takeaways from the first Iowa Senate debate
Donald Trump’s shadow looms over every contest in November’s midterm elections — but on an Iowa debate stage Wednesday night, the president’s name was rarely mentioned.
A public health-minded senator asks: What comes after Trump and Kennedy?
Sen. Patty Murray, a former chair of the Senate health committee, is forming a group of experts to examine how to insulate the C.D.C. from political interference.
Ahead of Trump's Visit, Ken Paxton Has a New Problem: Snitches
Based on a series of audio leaks, the Republican candidate for Senate does not seem to be having a good time.
NC’s Michael Whatley pauses TV ads as campaign rethinks strategy
Senate candidate Michael Whatley’s campaign paused television ads as it rethinks strategy in a final push to November.
Hispanic business owners weigh in on Paxton vs Talarico Texas race
A new survey of Texas Hispanic business owners offers a window into the Senate race and the issues driving them as early voting nears.
Trump makes third trip to Texas in less than a month despite Paxton audio leaks
President Donald Trump is making his third trip to Texas in less than a month to stump for a Senate candidate who’s privately questioned his political capital and whom the president has publicly insulted in personal terms.
A Public Health-Minded Senator Asks: What Comes After Trump and Kennedy?
Senator Patty Murray, a former chair of the Senate health committee, is forming a group of experts to examine how to insulate the C.D.C. from political interference.
A Public Health-Minded Senator Asks: What Comes After Trump and Kennedy?
Senator Patty Murray, a former chair of the Senate health committee, is forming a group of experts to examine how to insulate the C.D.C. from political interference.
Government Watchdog: Trump Illegally Blocked Health Research Funding
Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray, Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, issued the following statement on a Government Accountability Office (GAO) decision issued today, which concludes that President Trump and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. illegally impounded fiscal year 2025 funding for health research conducted by the Agency for Healthcare Research […]
Bucco Discusses 4-Point Affordability Plan on ‘Minding Your Business’
On this past weekend’s “Minding Your Business” on News 12+, Senate Republican Leader Anthony Bucco discussed his 4-point affordability plan to help New
Debate an even matchup says University of Maine Political Science Chair
The University of Maine’s Political Science Chair, Mark Brewer, thinks both candidates fared well in Tuesday’s US Senate debate, but the even match-up might be a win for the challenger.
Debate an even matchup says University of Maine Political Science Chair
The University of Maine’s Political Science Chair, Mark Brewer, thinks both candidates fared well in Tuesday’s US Senate debate, but the even match-up might be a win for the challenger.
What happened in the first Maine Senate debate between Collins and Jackson
Republican Sen. Susan Collins distanced herself from President Donald Trump during her first Maine Senate debate with Democrat Troy Jackson, arguing she has maintained her political independence by repeatedly voting against Trump's agenda and saying that she's “not exactly his favorite senator.”
Susan Collins touts independence from Trump in first Maine Senate debate
Sen. Collins said she's "not exactly" Trump's favorite senator while fending off Democratic attacks in a closely watched Maine debate.
Michigan Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers breaks with Trump on tariffs
Mike Rogers, the Republican Senate nominee in Michigan, is breaking with President Donald Trump over his tariffs on Canada in a new advertisement.
Michigan Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers breaks with Trump on tariffs
(CNN) — Mike Rogers, the Republican Senate nominee in Michigan, is breaking with President Donald Trump over his tariffs on Canada in a new advertisement.
Most Texas Republicans ignore Democratic calls to debate in statewide races
The last U.S. Senate race in Texas to go without a debate was in 2000. Gov. Greg Abbott, meanwhile, debated his Democratic opponents in each of his last three campaigns.
Senate passes healthcare cybersecurity bill after 190 million impacted by Change Healthcare breach
The Health Care Cybersecurity and Resiliency Act of 2026 was passed by unanimous consent last week, potentially expanding federal cyber requirements for healthcare organizations.
In first Maine Senate debate, Collins seeks to distance herself from Trump
Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins has distanced herself from President Donald Trump during her first Maine Senate debate with Democratic opponent Troy Jackson.
In this vast stretch of northern Minnesota, shifting politics make every vote count
A state Senate rematch and a closely watched House race has a once-reliable DFL stronghold in northeastern Minnesota at the center of the fight for control of the Legislature.
Trump choosin' Texas in bid to save GOP majority in Congress
The president's visit to San Antonio is his 4th stop in Texas in 6 weeks. The visit fulfills a promise he made in August to help Republican U.S. Senate candidate Ken Paxton win in November.
Florida poll: Republicans lead in the races for governor and Senate
The new survey shows the state’s Hispanic voters shifting away from President Donald Trump after Republicans made gains in 2024.
Abdul El-Sayed is certain he’ll win Michigan’s Senate race. Some key Democrats quietly aren’t so sure
Abdul El-Sayed predicts that he will win the Michigan Senate race by 7 points.
Kansas’ 94-year streak is unlike anything else in American politics
Democrats are dreaming of a revolution in Kansas in November, trying to believe in polling that shows a tight race in the Senate contest there between the Democrat, Rev. Adam Hamilton, and the Republican incumbent, Sen. Roger Marshall.
In Maine Senate debate, Collins says she's "not exactly" Trump's "favorite senator"
Takeaways: Trump and abortion rights take center stage in first Maine Senate debate
GOP Sen. Susan Collins and her Democratic challenger, Troy Jackson, sparred over President Donald Trump and abortion rights in their first debate Tuesday night in Maine’s all-important Senate race with control of the chamber at stake.
Tillis says ‘it’s tough’ convincing voters to keep GOP in control of House & Senate
Takeaways from the Maine Senate debate between Susan Collins, Troy Jackson
The debate in a race for a critical Senate seat featured lots of talk about President Trump, high prices and the war in Iran.
Susan Collins and Troy Jackson clash over Trump and seniority in Maine’s first Senate debate
The two candidates clashed repeatedly on their records and about national politics in the first of four debates in the key battleground race.
Abortion and Trump spotlighted in Maine Senate debate
GOP Sen. Susan Collins and her Democratic challenger, Troy Jackson, sparred over President Donald Trump and abortion rights in their first debate Tuesday night in Maine’s all-important Senate race with control of the chamber at stake.
Talarico steps off Texas Senate campaign trail after flu diagnosis
Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico has stepped off the campaign trail after being diagnosed with the flu. Talarico disclosed his illness Sept. 29 at a virtual forum sponsored by the
Democrats eye political shift as key US Senate races take center stage ahead of midterms
A ‘Special Report’ panel discusses energy costs amid the war in Iran, Michigan Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed’s campaign and key races ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
Kyle Austin touts business experience in bid as Libertarian for U.S. Senate
Kyle Austin is the Libertarian candidate in Montana’s U.S. Senate race. The 43-year-old pharmacy owner and farmer says he’s had a desire to serve in a federal office since he was a teenager.
Kyle Austin touts business experience in bid as Libertarian for U.S. Senate
Kyle Austin is the Libertarian candidate in Montana’s U.S. Senate race. The 43-year-old pharmacy owner and farmer says he’s had a desire to serve in a federal office since he was a teenager.
Senate candidate Andrews says Medicaid cuts 'will be devastating' to SC
In Greer, U.S. Senate candidate Annie Andrews discussed what she calls America's 'broken healthcare system' and shared ideas for making it better.
Three Senate races shift toward Democrats in Cook ratings
The latest changes reflect growing worries for Republicans.
Trump, Vance to headline three Ohio rallies in 10 days
The campaign stops point to growing GOP anxiety over the tight Senate race between Sen. Jon Husted and former Sen. Sherrod Brown.
Trump, Vance to headline three Ohio rallies in 10 days
The campaign stops point to growing GOP anxiety over the tight Senate race between Sen. Jon Husted and former Sen. Sherrod Brown.
Trump, Vance to headline three Ohio rallies in 10 days
The campaign stops point to growing GOP anxiety over the tight Senate race between Sen. Jon Husted and former Sen. Sherrod Brown.
Republicans to spend $5 million in South Carolina Senate race as Trump plans trip there
The primary Senate Republican super PAC is sending reinforcements to South Carolina as President Donald Trump prepares to visit and boost Sen. Darline Graham | Newsradio 1140 WRVA
Thune presses Trump for more funding toward battleground races red
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) on Monday revealed he is pressing President Donald Trump for more funding toward battleground races in the midterm elections, as Republicans fight to stave off losses in November. Thune said that he’s been emphasizing the question of resources for candidates during conversations with Trump and the president’s advisers, in […]
Pulse of Politics: Less than a month until Election Day
Detroit News Columnist Kaitlyn Buss joins FOX 2 Detroit Live Host Aaron Jordan to discuss the races for senate and governor, with less than a month to go until Election Day.
Troy Jackson is racing against time in his bid to unseat Susan Collins
Jackson became the party’s nominee in late July after the campaign of Democratic primary winner Graham Platner fell apart.
Senate passes bipartisan Health Care Cybersecurity and Resilience Act
First introduced in the HELP Committee in 2025, the bill would require healthcare organizations to meet some core cyber hygiene best practices while also offering guidance and assistance for providers.
What’s in Trump’s $3.4 Trillion Tax and Spending Bill: 2025 Reconciliation Act
The Senate passed the Protect College Sports Act (S. 4668). Here's what the federal NIL bill means for revenue sharing, transfers, and state NIL laws.
Top Republican super PAC pledges $5 million for South Carolina Senate race
The Senate Leadership Fund’s commitment comes amid a tight contest between GOP Sen. Darline Graham and Democratic challenger Annie Andrews.
Brazil: Lessons from a Disaster
By Antonio Martins (Outras Palavras) Defeats become deeper and more prolonged when we misunderstand what caused them, avoid correcting course, and embrace “solutions” that only compound our mistakes. Lula’s government and the Brazilian left suffered a disaster in Sunday’s election. Contrary to every poll, the president finished the first round 2.2 million votes behind Flávio Bolsonaro—and, more significantly, 3.4 million votes below his total four years ago, when the machinery of the state was working against him and in favor of his opponent. His vote share declined in 98 percent of Brazil’s municipalities. The PL, the main party of the far right, elected 121 deputies and 28 senators, becoming the largest caucus in both houses of Congress. The parties aligned with the Centrão—Brazil’s bloc of transactional center-right parties—were somewhat diminished, but will still hold roughly 250 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 35 in the Senate. That will make it easier to assemble the majorities needed to amend the Constitution or impeach Supreme Federal Court justices. If elected, Flávio Bolsonaro could appoint four members of the Court, substantially altering its internal balance of power. What produced these results? How can the far right be prevented from consolidating them into a prolonged political hegemony? And what is the essential change of direction the left now needs? Explaining the Disaster Across the commercial media and the exuberant chaos of digital platforms, interpretations are multiplying. Some focus on specific episodes: Lula’s absence from the Globo debate, his very close relationship with Alexandre de Moraes, or his emphasis on issues supposedly remote from most people’s everyday concerns, such as rare earth minerals. Among the more systemic interpretations, three seem especially questionable. One argues that the principal defeat was not the left’s, since its congressional representation declined only slightly. The decisive movement captured at the ballot box, according to this view, was a shift within the right itself—from the more moderate and transactional forces of the Centrão toward the more ideological and radicalized forces of the PL and Novo. A second interpretation holds that the nature of electoral and political processes has changed. The material interests and aspirations of society, it argues, no longer play the central role they once did; they have given way to forms of subjective self-identification that the left has yet to understand. And a third concludes that, because of these two developments, we should expect a political winter: a prolonged period in which the far right and the broader right dominate Brazilian political life. There are important elements in all three interpretations. The problem lies in what they deny or leave out: Lula’s third government was a small-bore government. It offered the majorities that elected it neither a clearly better life nor reasons to believe again in politics and its power to transform society. These failures flowed from two fatal accommodations, which I will examine below. As a result, the government suffered a slow but steady erosion of support. And, as has happened in so many Western countries, it gave the far right the opportunity to present itself as anti-system and to benefit from popular frustration and distress. The interpretation that emphasizes the migration of votes from the center-right and traditional right toward the far right has been advanced, among others, by the courageous journalist Leonardo Sakamoto. In his UOL column on Monday, October 5, he highlights the miserable behavior of the traditional conservative parties. Over the past four years, they repeatedly joined forces with the “neo”-fascists, helping to “normalize” them—a criticism that could equally be directed at almost the entire corporate media. Believing they could use the far right as a stepping stone, they instead ended up partly devoured by it. This was especially true in the Senate, where the PL’s gain of 13 senators and Novo’s gain of two came at the expense of the PSD, which lost nine; the MDB, which lost two; the PSDB, which lost two; and the PP, which lost one. Sakamoto’s observation is accurate and necessary, but it leaves uncomfortable questions unanswered. Why did the erosion of the Centrão benefit the far right rather than, for example, producing growth for the left—as has happened so many times before, both in Brazil and elsewhere? The answer is not difficult. Throughout its four years in office, Lula’s third government was almost invariably associated with the Centrão. Here lies its first accommodation: accepting the limits imposed by conservative institutions; avoiding, as much as possible, any attempt to strain those limits through popular pressure; and believing only in the modest changes that could be squeezed through openings in Congress. The failure of the campaign to end the six-day workweek is emblematic. Lula could have electrified the presidential race by pairing it with a popular campaign for passage of the measure. Instead, he chose to place his hopes in the hands of Senate president Rodrigo Alcolumbre. He generated no mass mobilization, did not force his opponents onto an uncomfortable defensive, and won no victory. In September 2025, the government squandered the greatest of its many opportunities to shake up conservative power in Congress. Popular opposition to the so-called Shielding Amendment—which, if approved, would have restricted criminal proceedings against members of Congress—brought crowds into the streets, mobilized primarily by artists and social movements. This opened the possibility for a broader political education: a campaign that could begin exposing the limits and dysfunctions of Brazil’s political system while putting Bolsonaro’s movement on the defensive for its predictable support of political privilege. The amendment was defeated. But the executive branch then backed away from the fight. It remained associated with an institutional world widely seen as corrupt, elitist, and indifferent to ordinary people’s struggles. In doing so, it forfeited its credibility as a vehicle for the protest vote. On Sunday, it reaped the bitter fruits. Are We Doomed? Taking a different approach from Sakamoto, the philosopher Moysés Pinto Neto and other writers have drawn attention, in their first analyses of October 4, to the fragmentation of the public sphere produced by Big Tech platforms. Through their algorithms, these platforms present each person with a different view of social reality. As a consequence, it becomes much harder to identify common material problems and demands—for example, the fight for labor rights or for a properly funded public health system. Voters no longer embrace such demands, these authors argue, because they no longer see themselves as part of a collective. Instead, they tend to value the identities assigned to them by neoliberal subjectivity—the role of the entrepreneur, for example. On this interpretation, the left’s possible error lies in clinging to outdated illusions. Moysés’s warning is highly relevant and resonates with arguments such as Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor’s “Apocalyptic Fascism and the Billionaires’ Bet.” Unlike a century ago, the far right no longer promises a radiant future. It concentrates instead on resentment—especially that of young men. “They belong to a generation that fears it may never own a home, but compensates with the pleasure it gets from constantly provoking progressives online. Convinced their future has been stolen, they share memes romanticizing historical authoritarian regimes,” the authors write. But Moysés seems to confuse this danger with inevitability. He fails to see that the left’s answer cannot be adaptation. On the contrary, it must strengthen the possibility of politics as collective action. Nor does he recognize that precisely such a reversal is already becoming possible in some of the most promising mobilizations of the twenty-first century: the election, at the end of 2025, of the young Muslim Zohran Mamdani as mayor of New York, on a platform centered on the intensely material fight for an affordable city; the Left Party’s victory in Berlin two weeks ago, built around the demand to expropriate private real-estate corporations; and the very recent wave of demonstrations in Spain—including an occupation of Madrid’s Puerta del Sol—in which tens of thousands of young people mobilized by the Tenants’ Union have demanded limits on rents. By putting itself in the straitjacket of the “fiscal framework” in the first months of 2022, Lula’s third government adopted the second fatal accommodation of its term. Faced with conservative institutions and a country devastated by four years of Bolsonaro, increased public investment was the government’s remaining weapon for offering a more dignified life to the majority and forging an anti-conservative pact with them. The same state that disburses 1 trillion reais a year to enrich a small class of rentiers could instead spend money to extend the Family Health Strategy to every Brazilian, at a cost of 30 billion reais; provide full-day public schooling and childcare to all adolescents and children—and, especially, relief to their mothers; achieve universal sanitation while cleaning up polluted urban rivers; multiply metro systems; begin transforming the urban peripheries; and undertake many other urgently needed projects. In April 2023, an article in Outras Palavras warned that the fiscal framework could “shrink the Lula government and preserve the forces that condemn the country to inequality and regression.” A year later, another article showed that restraints on public spending were strangling policies vital to ordinary people and undermining the president’s popularity. In November 2024 came a reality check, in the form of the government’s humiliating defeat in the municipal elections. Even then, the fiscal lock was neither removed nor loosened. On the contrary: throughout the government’s four years, fiscal restraint remained central to its political narrative. The administration proudly proclaimed that it had “put the state’s accounts in order,” without grasping either how misleading that phrase was—given the payment of 1 trillion reais in interest—or how badly the message was hurting it politically. Lula finally woke up in September 2026. The increase in Bolsa Família benefits, after four years of being frozen; the announcement that anti-obesity drugs would be offered through Brazil’s public health system; and the ban on online betting showed that the state has the power to act decisively on behalf of the majority when those in government are willing to confront obstacles. The huge marches that closed the campaign in Fortaleza, Salvador, Rio de Janeiro, and São Paulo on the eve of October 4 showed how such initiatives can mobilize activists and the broader public. But it was too late—and too little to change the outcome of the first round. History has not ended The possibility of a turnaround in the three weeks leading up to November 25 cannot be ruled out. It will not be simple or easy. Lula must not only make up a deficit of 2.2 million votes; he must also offset the movement of voters who backed other right-wing candidates in the first round, most of whom are likely to move toward Flávio Bolsonaro. Pulling that off will require a broad, grassroots effort to win over voters, potentially reinforced by new initiatives from Lula. The coming hours and days will be decisive. If Bolsonaro’s movement also wins the presidency, the result will create a high-risk situation for Brazilian sovereignty and democracy. The enormous challenges posed by such an outcome would require the left to reexamine, in depth and with a genuine willingness to engage in self-criticism, its political projects—or its lack of them—and its practices. But would that mean we are condemned to the long winter of far-right hegemony that some analyses are beginning to forecast? It is far too early to say, suggests a recent text by Álvaro García Linera, the thinker who served as vice president of Bolivia under Evo Morales. His central hypothesis is that this political current will prove short-lived. At a moment when the entire world is once again talking about sovereignty and protecting national economies, the far right offers a stale, recolonizing neoliberalism. Its submission to the United States is as blatant and pathetic as Flávio and Eduardo Bolsonaro’s overtures to Donald Trump. Its project amounts to something like every man for himself: greater inequality, capitalism without limits, devastation, and supremacism. Will it work? In the United States, just two years into his second term, Trump himself is reaching record levels of unpopularity and may be on the verge of losing Republican control of both the House and Senate in November. Every new beginning is difficult. Whatever the outcome of the second round, the defeats of October 4 show how profoundly the Brazilian left will have to rethink and rebuild. But just as it would be foolish to underestimate the seriousness of its mistakes, it would be equally foolish to conclude that rebuilding a political project is no longer possible. History has not ended. The times are moving faster than ever. Originally published in Portuguese by Outras Palavras. English translation by Eric Blanc; I’ve added the subtitles. More We can’t stop the far right at home or abroad without a revitalized labor movement, which is yet another reason why you should become a sustaining supporter of the Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee (EWOC) — one of US labor’s pivotal bright spots. Relatedly, Jacobin published a short piece of mine reflecting on a decade of Bernie Sanders inspiring a whole new generation of young worker organizers.
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