“Influential figures on the right have largely cheered on the opening months of the Trump presidency,” the New York Times reports.
“But as the administration has rushed to carry out deportations as quickly as possible, making mistakes and raising concerns about due process along the way, the unified front in favor of President Trump’s immigration purge is beginning to crack.”
CNBC: “Newsmax shares have risen more than 1,500% since its Monday debut, when it opened at $14 per share. It closed at $233 per share on Tuesday.”
Susan Crawford defeated Brad Schimel in the Wisconsin Supreme Court election, preserving liberals’ 4-3 majority, according to projections from Decision Desk HQ and the Cook Political Report.
NBC News: “The outcome is a setback for President Trump and his billionaire adviser, Elon Musk. Trump endorsed Schimel in the final stretch of the race, while Musk injected himself into the center of it, spending huge sums of money, visiting Wisconsin days out from Election Day and frequently posting about the race on his X feed.”
New York Times: “For Democrats, the result is a jolt of momentum… Her win showed that, at least in one instance, Mr. Musk’s seemingly endless reserves of political cash had energized more Democrats than Republicans.”
For members: Wisconsin Race Carries Major Political Implications
You're reading the free version of Political Wire
Upgrade to a paid membership to unlock full access. The process is quick and easy. You can even use Apple Pay.
Milwaukee election officials are reporting ballot shortages at voting sites due to what they say is “unprecedented high turnout” in Tuesday’s election, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.
Officials urged patience and said confirmed that anyone in line by 8 p.m. will be able to vote.
“Senior Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev is expected to visit Washington this week to meet with top Trump official Steve Witkoff for talks on strengthening relations between the two countries as they seek to end the war in Ukraine,” CNN reports.
Florida chief financial officer Jimmy Patronis (R) was projected to win the special election to replace former Rep. Matt Gatez (R-FL) in the 1st congressional district, defeating Gay Valimont (D), according to Decision Desk HQ.
“Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) accused Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) of using her name to fundraise, as speculation grows that the third-term Republican will run for the Senate,” Punchbowl News reports.
“Greene, who has openly said she is considering running for statewide office in Georgia, responded to Ossoff’s comments this week suggesting she doesn’t have ‘the guts’ to run for Senate.”
Said Greene: “I just found out he’s been lying to everyone and using my name to fundraise. So he must be having a really hard time raising money, is how I see it.”
Florida state Sen. Randy Fine (R) was projected to win the special election for Florida’s 6th Congressional District on Tuesday, according to Decision Desk HQ, defeating Josh Weil (D) in what became a closely contested race in the deep-red district.
Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) has broken the record for the longest floor speech in modern Senate history, surpassing the late Sen. Strom Thurmond’s speech lasting 24 hour and 18 minutes in 1957.
Politico: “Booker did not indicate before beginning his marathon speech that he intended to set a new record. He suggested he hoped to be able to last as long as he did in 2016, when he and Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) held the floor for roughly 15 hours to discuss gun violence.”
“But as Tuesday crept on and Booker showed no sign of losing momentum, his colleagues began to openly discuss whether Thurmond’s 67-year-old record could fall.”
Polls close at 7 p.m. ET in Florida’s 6th congressional district — which has become unexpectedly competitive — and at 8 p.m. ET in the 1st congressional district.
Polls close in Wisconsin for the Supreme Court race at 9 p.m. ET.
Leave your reactions in the comments as the results come in.
“Senate Republicans are fully embracing the strategy of plowing ahead on President Trump’s ‘one, big beautiful bill’ by bypassing the parliamentarian on a crucial accounting matter,” Axios reports.
“Senate leadership and Trump want to make the 2017 tax cuts permanent without having to account for how much it would add to the deficit. Now, they’re saying all they need is for Budget Chair Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) to decide that’s what they’re going to do.”
“Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) backed the the argument, laid out by Graham, that Republicans don’t need the Senate parliamentarian to bless the current policy approach during Tuesday’s Senate GOP lunch.”
“After nine Republicans joined all Democrats to tank a procedural vote Tuesday afternoon, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) had a novel solution: everyone go home,” NOTUS reports.
Said Johnson: “We can’t have any further action on the floor this week.”
Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), on X: “So let me get this right. They opposed proxy voting for pregnant women because they said they should be in DC for work, and their response is to send us home and not work at all?”
“Republicans are in the process of drafting a tax bill behind closed doors that includes an increase of the state and local tax deduction to as high as $25,000 for an individual,” Bloomberg reports.
“A sizable increase to the current $10,000 limit on SALT write-offs would represent a major political victory for a crucial group of swing-district House Republicans representing the New York City area and southern California, who have made their votes for a broader tax cut bill contingent upon securing a bigger deduction.”
“President Trump will consider a final proposal for TikTok on Wednesday,” CBS News reports.
“The administration is finalizing plans for potential investors that could include Blackstone and Oracle, as well as a long list of other investors that will likely involve blue chip private equity firms, venture capital firms, and major investors in the technology industry.”
“President Trump’s return to the White House has coincided with record-setting ratings for Fox News, with the channel enjoying the best quarter in cable news history in terms of total weekday viewership,” The Wrap reports.
Julian Zelizer: “Wisconsin is more than just a battleground state; it’s a bellwether. This election isn’t only about measuring enthusiasm for Trump’s second term. It’s also a critical test of how well each party is faring in the ongoing battles over the institutions responsible for overseeing elections in 2026 and 2028.”
“Members of President Donald Trump’s National Security Council, including White House national security adviser Michael Waltz, have conducted government business over personal Gmail accounts,” the Washington Post reports.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told the Christian Broadcasting Network that President Trump is engaged in a “spiritual battle” against “evil forces.”
She added: “I think that the president was saved by the grace of God on July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania, and he’s in this moment for a reason.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
“There are a lot of blogs and news sites claiming to understand politics, but only a few actually do. Political Wire is one of them.”
— Chuck Todd, host of “Meet the Press”
“Concise. Relevant. To the point. Political Wire is the first site I check when I’m looking for the latest political nugget. That pretty much says it all.”
— Stuart Rothenberg, editor of the Rothenberg Political Report
“Political Wire is one of only four or five sites that I check every day and sometimes several times a day, for the latest political news and developments.”
— Charlie Cook, editor of the Cook Political Report
“The big news, delicious tidbits, pearls of wisdom — nicely packaged, constantly updated… What political junkie could ask for more?”
— Larry Sabato, Center for Politics, University of Virginia
“Political Wire is a great, great site.”
— Joe Scarborough, host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe”
“Taegan Goddard has a knack for digging out political gems that too often get passed over by the mainstream press, and for delivering the latest electoral developments in a sharp, no frills style that makes his Political Wire an addictive blog habit you don’t want to kick.”
— Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post
“Political Wire is one of the absolute must-read sites in the blogosphere.”
— Glenn Reynolds, founder of Instapundit
“I rely on Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire for straight, fair political news, he gets right to the point. It’s an eagerly anticipated part of my news reading.”
— Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist.