“The Republican challenger for a North Carolina Supreme Court seat conceded last November’s election to Democratic incumbent Allison Riggs on Wednesday, two days after a federal judge ruled that potentially thousands of disputed ballots challenged by Jefferson Griffin must remain in the final tally,” the AP reports.

Former President Joe Biden told the BBC that he doesn’t know “that it would have made much difference” if he had withdrawn from the 2024 presidential race earlier.

Said Biden: “I don’t think it would have mattered. We left at a time when we had a good candidate. She was fully funded.”

He added: “It was hard to say, ‘Now I’ll stop now.’ I meant what I said when I started, that I’m preparing to hand this to the next generation, the transition government. But things moved so quickly that it made it difficult to walk away, and it was a hard decision.” 

For members: Rewriting History Around Biden’s Decision to Run Again

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) is passing on a Senate run against Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) in 2026, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.

“Though some allies of the second-term Republican long doubted he would run, the uncertainty froze for months the race against Ossoff, whom Republicans see as one of the most vulnerable incumbents on the ballot next year.”

Kemp was the only Republican candidate who was running ahead of Ossoff in recent AJC polling.

This is incredibly good news for Democrats — especially if it encourages Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R) to run.

“House Democrats are making an aggressive play in their push for the majority, targeting key Pennsylvania seats with early investments and recruiting former members to help,” Punchbowl News reports.

“Democrats are hoping to flip four seats in the Keystone State now held by GOP Reps. Rob Bresnahan, Ryan Mackenzie, Scott Perry and Brian Fitzpatrick.”

“Democrats are only three seats away from the House majority and headed into a midterm cycle that historically favors the minority party. Winning big in Pennsylvania could put them back in power.”

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) said former Vice President Kamala Harris picked him as her running mate was to talk to white people and give them permission to vote for her, National Review reports.

Said Walz: “I could code talk to white guys — watching football, fixing their truck, doing that, that I could put them at ease. I was the permission structure to say ‘look you can do this and vote for this.’”

The Downballot has calculated 2020 and 2024 presidential election results according to the congressional district lines used in 2024.

Rahm Emanuel told Tara Palmeri that he spoke to White House officials and others in the Democratic party about his concerns about Joe Biden running for re-election.

Said Emanuel: “I let people know that could have an influence on that decision.”

He added: “I’ve myself, expressed my view, and I’ve been clear, I was clear. From Tokyo, I expressed myself to the people that were in important places about the importance. And I told them in no uncertain terms of what I thought the consequences were heading down this. We’ll leave it there.”

Rick Hasen notes a losing candidate in North Carolina is very close to being declared the winner.

After the 2024 elections, the Cook Political Report finds that district-level polarization slightly declined in 2024, and the House map is less skewed towards Republicans than it was in 2017.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D) told New York Magazine he warned former Vice President Kamala Harris of his strengths and weaknesses when she chose him as her 2024 running mate.

Said Walz: “I think we’re cautious by nature. And look, I said this and I told the vice-president, I said I know my strengths and weaknesses. I said about 90 percent of the time, I can be really good, but about 10 percent of the time, I can be a train wreck because I’m speaking from the heart, like a teacher sitting in a teachers lounge or a laborer sitting at the break table.”

“Underlying the 2024 election results was a subtle trend that could signal a dramatic reshaping of the electorate: a surge in ticket-splitting among Latino voters who shifted sharply toward Donald Trump but also supported Democratic House and Senate candidates,” Politico reports.

“The rise in voters simultaneously backing both parties complicates how both parties will approach next year’s midterms and the 2028 presidential race.”

“It also raises an urgent question: Were Trump’s gains with Latinos a sign of a fundamental break with the Democratic Party, or are voters who backed him in 2024 still largely Democrats who just preferred him over Kamala Harris?”