Political Wire

Archives for 2026

Just dropped · Trial Balloon · Ep. 194

What Just Happened?

A new episode of Trial Balloon just dropped for Political Wire members. Log in or become a member

Trial Balloon · Ep. 194: What Just Happened?

The MAGA Coalition Is Beginning to Fracture

· Leave a Comment

“The coalition that helped return Donald Trump to the presidency two years ago is beginning to fracture, with Democratic Senate candidates peeling away voters to win seats in deeply Republican territory this cycle,” CNN reports.

“In five races won by Democrats in states where Trump voters made up the lion’s share of the midterm electorate – Texas, Ohio, Iowa, Kansas, and South Carolina – roughly one-tenth of those Trump voters backed the Democratic candidate this year. Democratic candidates in Georgia and North Carolina also won more than one-tenth of Trump voters in their states.”

Voters Rebuff Data Centers in Nearly Every Ballot Measure

· Leave a Comment

“The artificial intelligence data center boom hit a roadblock on election night, further complicating the tech industry’s historic expansion plans,” CNBC reports.

“There were 41 local ballot measures in 10 states up for a vote on Tuesday that would place restrictions on the construction of data centers in different ways.”

Bloomberg: Only one town out of dozens in U.S. voted in favor of data centers.

Marco Rubio Pushes Back On Idea He Plans to Resign

· Leave a Comment

“Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s office is pushing back against reports that claim he plans to resign to focus on a potential 2028 presidential bid,” NewsNation reports.

Said Assistant Secretary of State Dylan Johnson: “This is complete and total fake news based on the word of anonymous sources, befitting a tabloid. The Secretary has not discussed leaving his role and he will continue to proudly serve in President Trump’s administration long after this fake news is revealed as yet another baseless hoax.”

Hinojosa Requests Pause On Land Talks with SpaceX

· Leave a Comment

“Texas Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa used her first news conference since winning election to spotlight her scrutiny of the potential sale of state park land to Elon Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies Corp,” Bloomberg reports.

“Hinojosa said she spoke to the head of the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department on Thursday to ‘request that no action be taken’ during her transition to power.”

Blue Tsunami Crashes Into State Legislatures

· Leave a Comment

“For 16 years, Democrats have tried to reclaim the statehouse power Republicans won in the 2010 midterms. On Tuesday, they took back more of it than in any of those years,” MS NOW reports.

“Democrats flipped at least seven Republican-held legislative chambers, broke at least seven GOP supermajorities and took control of some statehouses that had been under Republican control for decades.”

“The victories will give Democrats more say over lawmaking in the states. Perhaps as significant, the wins also reshape the mid-decade redistricting war that Trump started last year.”

Schumer Won’t Rule Out Holding a Court Seat Open

· Leave a Comment

“Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer is vowing that Democrats will not allow President Donald Trump to put ‘a right-winger’ on the Supreme Court once they take power, raising the possibility that his party could block a presidential nominee if there is a vacancy in the next two years,” the Associated Press reports.

“Schumer would not say if he would hold a Supreme Court vacancy open until after the next presidential election, as former Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell did in 2016. But he said that Democrats are ‘not going to allow any crappy nominees’ to be confirmed to the Supreme Court — or to the lower courts or Trump’s Cabinet, either.”

Said Schumer: “The bottom line is we’re not going to allow a right-winger on the court.”

Scott Colom Widens His Lead in Mississippi

· Leave a Comment

“The race for Mississippi’s Senate seat remains dramatically close: Scott Colom (D) pulled further ahead of incumbent Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R) in a state that hasn’t elected a Black senator since Reconstruction,” the Washington Post reports.

“Colom was leading incumbent Hyde-Smith by 1,724 votes, according to unofficial results as of early Thursday afternoon, extending his small lead after election night.”

Steve Scalise Tells GOP Chairs to Prep for Investigations

· Leave a Comment

“House Majority Leader Steve Scalise told GOP committee chairs Thursday to steel themselves for upcoming Democratic investigations into President Donald Trump’s administration and other targets,” Politico reports.

Said Scalise: “Although they ran on affordability, it is clear the main focus of their new majority will be retribution and unleashing countless witch hunts under the guise of ‘oversight.’”

The MBAs Who Won in the Midterms

· Leave a Comment

“An unusual force helped fuel this week’s historic Blue midterm wave: Democratic candidates with serious business credentials,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Across the U.S., candidates with experience running major companies—or working inside them—seemingly broke a curse that has sometimes plagued executives seeking office as Democrats or Independents.”

The Blue Tsunami Swept Doctors and Scientists Into Office

· Leave a Comment

Wired: “What do Michigan senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed, South Carolina senator-elect Annie Andrews, Ohio governor-elect Amy Acton, and North Carolina representative-elect Jamie Ager have in common, beyond their victories in this week’s midterm elections?”

“Each is either a doctor or a scientist. And each had the backing of the political action committee 314 Action Fund, which focuses on electing pro-science voices to public office.”

“The organization’s success rate topped 80 percent this cycle for congressional candidates, with 14 of 17 of its candidates in the U.S. House of Representatives winning their races and hundreds of successful down-ballot candidates.”

Rubio Weighs Departure From Trump Administration

· Leave a Comment

“Secretary of State Marco Rubio is weighing whether to leave the Trump administration, people familiar with the matter said, as he considers his next moves following Republicans’ midterm elections wipeout this week,” Bloomberg reports.

“Rubio and his advisers are going over options for his future, according to the people, who asked not to be identified discussing internal deliberations. He hasn’t made a decision about whether to quit his posts as top U.S. diplomat and national security adviser, and there is no timetable on a possible departure.”

The New Republic: Trump is losing power. Marco Rubio’s next move proves it.

Newsom Commutes Sentences of 548 Death Row Inmates

· Leave a Comment

“Gov. Gavin Newsom of California moved to spare the lives of all 548 prisoners on the state’s death row on Thursday in the largest mass commutation of death sentences in modern American history,” the New York Times reports.

“Mr. Newsom said he made the decision because he finds capital punishment morally objectionable. He reduced every death sentence to life in prison without parole, a sweeping move that will require a review by the state’s highest court in some cases and could draw legal challenges.”

Criminal Probe of Supreme Court Abortion Leak Started

· Leave a Comment

“The Justice Department is pursuing a criminal investigation into who leaked the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision overturning the right to abortion, examining the inner workings of an institution that has long operated in secrecy and resisted oversight from the other branches of government,” the New York Times reports.

“At issue is who provided the draft decision to Politico two months before it was formally released by the court, a seismic breach of confidentiality that led to intense partisan accusations about the motivations of the leaker.”

“Despite an internal inquiry by the court, no leaker has ever been publicly identified.”

Hegseth Faces Renewed Impeachment Effort

· Leave a Comment

“U.S. lawmakers are looking to impeach embattled Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as soon as next week, an effort that’s gained momentum after the Iran war he championed partly led to Republicans losing control of Congress in the midterms,” Bloomberg reports.

“Representative Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican and frequent critic of President Donald Trump, told Bloomberg News he will ‘definitely’ reintroduce articles of impeachment when the chamber returns next week.”

“The move follows Massie’s earlier effort to impeach Hegseth — for waging the Iran war without congressional approval — and amid widespread speculation that Hegseth’s job is on the line. Trump has said he intends to keep Hegseth as Pentagon chief.”

Taegan Goddard

Taegan Goddard

Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.

More about Taegan Goddard →