“We’ve got a fucked up guy who could be 100 times more fucked up than he is and he’d never be as fucked up as what we’ve got in Washington. This country is about to lose it, the whole goddamn thing. We gotta win this. If we got a person that’s understandably got issues, good. Maybe people oughta see it and maybe we oughta be reminded what these stupid wars have brought about and the consequence of said stupid wars that stupid Susan Collins’ been for all of her political life.”

— James Carville, on his podcast, endorsing Maine U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner (D).

A source close to Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) told CNN: “The Governor remains on the ballot, and in the wake of this week’s stories, people across Maine are reaching out to tell her they’re voting for her and encouraging her to get fully back into the race.”

Bloomberg: “The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is launching its first general election attack ad against Rep. Tom Kean (R-N.J.) on Friday, targeting him for trading stocks while missing votes in Washington.”

“The release of the ad, shared first with Bloomberg Government, coincides with the three-month mark since Kean has voted in the House.”

Bloomberg: “James Talarico picked at the brisket with his bare hands and polished off a rack of pork ribs. Sausage links and ‘Texas Twinkies’ — stuffed jalapeño peppers wrapped in bacon — crowded the butcher paper on his overflowing tray of smoked meats…”

“In an election season expected to hinge on weighty matters such as affordability concerns and the war in Iran, a non-pocketbook issue has emerged early in the campaign: whether Talarico, the Democratic nominee, is a vegan.”

“Janeese Lewis George leads Kenyan R. McDuffie by double-digits in the Democratic primary for D.C. mayor, boosted by voters who find her more honest and think she will do a better job handling issues of affordability and public schools,” according to a Washington Post-Schar School poll.

“But a quarter of voters remain undecided about the race as the primary enters its final days.”

Washington Post: “Democrats focused on taking back the Senate in November are growing increasingly worried that a surging liberal candidate in Michigan’s contentious Democratic Senate primary could imperil their slim shot at being in the majority next year.”

“Polls consistently find Abdul El-Sayed, a former local health official who lost a previous gubernatorial bid, at or near the top of the three-person August primary race. He has outflanked Rep. Haley Stevens and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow from the left, boosted by a populist agenda and endorsements from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and liberal lawmakers.”

Mark Leibovich: “Democrats appear to have skirted a dreaded “Blue Armageddon” scenario in which their crowded field of middling-or-worse candidates cancel one another out, while the two middling-or-worse Republicans (Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco) advance to the final two. ‘Bullet dodged’ seems to be the prevailing takeaway among Democrats. If Becerra or Steyer winds up facing Hilton, they will clearly be favored to win, given the state’s heavily Democratic makeup and what looks to be an overwhelmingly Democratic-friendly electoral environment across the country.”

“Still, even if Team Blue will likely win in the end, the California governor’s race has been a fiasco for Democrats from the start—and in ways that reflect an ongoing dysfunction that has become a feature of the party in recent years. Even worse, California in 2026 could portend a larger and more destructive performance from the party in 2028.”

“For starters, Democrats won’t have Donald Trump to save them in the future, as he seems to be doing this year.”

New York Times: “Graham Platner, the presumptive Democratic nominee for Senate in Maine, appeared Thursday night in his first interview since a New York Times report about his treatment of several women he had dated, denying one woman’s account that he had physically harmed her and saying he would not drop out of the race.”

“I haven’t waded into that primary.”

— Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), speaking to reporters about Maine U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner (D).

Several women who once dated Maine U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner (D) described him “as a fun and caring partner, and saying they felt safe with him. Some remain friends with him to this day, years after their relationships ended,” the New York Times reports.

“But in extensive conversations over the past two months, three other women who had been romantically involved with Mr. Platner offered a far more complicated assessment, describing volatile and ‘toxic’ relationships that were unsettling and at times emotionally wrenching.”

“Mr. Platner could be charming and charismatic, they recalled in interviews, but also demeaning to women and, in at least one case, even physically threatening. He drank heavily and was regularly unfaithful.”

Shannon Mullen: “We don’t know what Graham Platner, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Maine, wrote in his sexually explicit texts with women other than his wife—six, according to his campaign; a dozen, according to an ex-aide—but do we need to?”

“The glaring question that the texts pose to voters about the presumptive Democratic nominee at this point in a pivotal midterm race is: Are we really going to do this again?”

NewsNation: “Republicans hoping to keep control of Congress in a tough election year have been thrown off-balance by President Trump’s focus on foreign policy, pet projects, and statements dismissing the importance of the midterms and cost-of-living issues.”

Steve Bannon warned Republicans on his podcast: “We’re going to lose the Senate in the fall anyway.”

He explained: “The old way of putting a couple hundred million dollars in and buying TV ads on Fox and CNN doesn’t work anymore. That’s old school. Does not work. There’s been a new day, and the Senate’s got to understand that, or we’re going to lose the Senate. There is no enthusiasm for going door to door, having voter engagements, canvassing, to actually lead to victory.”

“House Republicans aren’t having the best luck seeking higher office,” Semafor reports. 

“Dusty Johnson of South Dakota and President Donald Trump-endorsed Randy Feenstra of Iowa both lost gubernatorial primaries this week, joining statewide primary losers Buddy Carter in Georgia and Wesley Hunt and Chip Roy in Texas.”

“Those losses may multiply.”

“Trump backed South Carolina Lt. Gov. Pam Evette over Reps. Nancy Mace and Ralph Norman in the state’s gubernatorial race. Rep. John Rose is an underdog to Sen. Marsha Blackburn in Tennessee’s governor race. Rep. Mike Collins is facing Derek Dooley for Georgia’s Senate nomination. And Arizona Reps. David Schweikert and Andy Biggs are facing off in their own gubernatorial primary.”

Mark McKinnon: “Yes, Virginia, there may in fact be a blue wave in Texas this year.”

“I’ve been in Texas politics for most of my adult life. I worked for Governor Ann Richards, a Democrat. And I worked for Republican George W. Bush when he ran for the governor’s mansion—and the White House. I’ve witnessed the best of times and the worst of times for both parties.”

Elaine Godfrey: “You could be forgiven for ignoring the recent political goings-on in Iowa. The state, which was once a violet-hued hub of unpredictability, has lately elected and reelected Republicans.”

“In last night’s primaries, though, Iowa Democrats nominated the kind of candidates the national party has struggled to find. Josh Turek, a two-time Paralympic gold medalist with a record of winning red areas, is the party’s nominee for the state’s open U.S. Senate seat. And Rob Sand, the affably idiosyncratic state auditor who didn’t have a challenger, is officially up for governor.”

“Which means that national Democrats and Republicans are now wrestling with a development that, until this week, had registered as little more than a quiet observation in the broadcast-standard English of farm country: Iowa is competitive again.”