“Senator Chuck Schumer of New York is accustomed to getting his way in Democratic primaries for Senate,” the New York Times reports.
“But even as Mr. Schumer, the Democratic leader in the Senate for nearly a decade, has successfully recruited a number of nominees in marquee races this year, he is getting a clear message from his party’s voters, candidates and local leaders in all-important Maine: Stay away.”
“President Donald Trump is working to gain unprecedented control of the 2026 U.S. midterm elections this fall through a series of new assertions of presidential power, including firing key leaders of the federal Election Assistance Commission on July 9,” USA Today reports.
The Guardian: How to plan for an election that leaders are trying to subvert.
“The sudden death of Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina sets up a succession drama in the deeply conservative state that risks throwing the race into chaos less than four months before the midterm elections,” Bloomberg reports.
“He had been set to face off against Democrat Annie Andrews, a pediatrician, in November.”
“South Carolina Republican Governor Henry McMaster can name a replacement for the remainder of Graham’s term. State election law then calls for a special primary election, creating an intra-party scramble that could help give Andrews an edge. President Donald Trump said Sunday that he had a candidate in mind to take over the seat but would not publicly name them because it was ‘just too soon’ after Graham’s death.”
Said Trump: “I don’t want to even talk about anybody. But I do have somebody that I think is really good.”
“To hear establishment Democrats tell it, Republicans are as excited as progressives about the prospect of Abdul El-Sayed winning a pivotal two-person Democratic U.S. Senate primary in this battleground state on Aug. 4,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The former local public-health official holds left-wing policy views that could turn off swing voters in November’s election, making the GOP eager to run against him, according to his opponent, four-term Congresswoman Haley Stevens.”
“El-Sayed is arguably the front-runner and has proven himself to be a stronger political athlete than Stevens, quick on his feet and social-media savvy. She describes herself as a workhorse competing against a show horse.”
“The primary will be the first major electoral test of the party’s direction since the implosion of Graham Platner’s Senate campaign in Maine, a debacle that could make some Democrats anxious about nominating another candidate who has never held elected office.”
CNN: Michigan Senate Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed on Israel, “defund the police” comments, and whether he’s a socialist.
“Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) is the first in what could be a crowded field of candidates expressing interest in the now-open Senate seat after Sen Lindsey Graham died suddenly over the weekend,” CNBC reports.
“Graham was seeking reelection at the time of his death and was due to square off against Democrat Annie Andrews in the general election this November, in a race the Cook Political Report with Amy Walter had labeled ‘Solid R.'”
“A person familiar with Mace’s thinking, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said she is ‘strongly considering’ running for the seat and would be out with polling on Monday.”
Axios: Nancy Mace eyes run for Lindsey Graham’s Senate seat.
“President Donald Trump marked the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding on July Fourth with a speech touting a roaring stock market, urging election reforms, and hailing military interventions in Venezuela and Iran,” CNN reports.
“But another anniversary went conspicuously unmarked: the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law by Trump exactly one year earlier.”
Punchbowl News: “South Carolina law mandates that GOP Gov. Henry McMaster name a replacement senator who can serve out the rest of Graham’s current term this year.”
“But Graham was also up for reelection in November. Republicans will have to hold a primary at some point later this summer to replace Graham on the ballot. Graham was set to face Democrat Annie Andrews in the general election, where he was overwhelmingly favored to win in deep-red South Carolina.”
“Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC), 78, and the longest serving Republican in the state, is interested in the interim appointment and would run for a full term. His son, Alan Wilson, is on a path to become governor this November.”
“In truth, the competition for Graham’s seat will be vibrant. South Carolina is a state that gave Trump 58% of the vote. Any Republican who wins the primary can win a full term in the Senate in a very short race.”
“Democrats are growing increasingly bullish they can seize control of the Senate, even as crucial races in Maine and Michigan remain unpredictable,” the Washington Post reports.
”Some even see Maine Democratic nominee Graham Platner’s exit from the race this week as boon to the party’s chances in a must-win contest.”
Graham Platner sent a letter officially dropping out of the U.S. Senate race in Maine.
“Abdul El-Sayed looks like he would rather be anywhere else,” Time reports.
“The Michigan Senate candidate makes no effort to greet the corporate executives, lobbyists, and consultants drifting around him on Mackinac Island, where the state’s political establishment convenes every spring for a gathering of power brokers and deal-makers. Ferries shuttle attendees onto the car-free island, where horse-drawn carriages move at a leisurely pace and the sprawling Grand Hotel overlooking Lake Huron becomes a hot spot for the local elite.”
“It is precisely the sort of place that El-Sayed, a former local public-health director and podcaster, denounces as the problem with American politics.”
Said El-Sayed: “I’ve been to that conference way too many times. It’s always weird.”
Politico: “Mary Peltola raked in $7 million in Q2 as she challenges GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan in Alaska… Peltola’s hauls are keeping Democrats hopeful about her chances of flipping one of the most hotly contested seats on the map.”
Cook Political Report: “There’s no prize for the party that holds the majority of governorships, but Democrats may be poised to take the lead nationally for the first time since 2010.”
“That’s in part because the party now finds itself surprisingly competitive in several red-leaning states, including Ohio and Iowa, due to a favorable national climate and unique Democratic recruits.”
“As such, we are moving five governors’ race ratings, all but one in Democrats’ direction.”
“The leading Senate Democratic super PAC and an affiliated nonprofit raised $147 million from April through June, the groups said, notching its best-ever second quarter haul as the party seeks to win back control of the upper chamber in this fall’s midterm elections,” the New York Times reports.
“Senate Majority PAC, the super PAC that is aligned with Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the minority leader, brought in $58 million and entered July with $126 million in its account, more cash to spend than it has had at this point in previous election cycles.”
“A chaotic scramble is under way for Democrats to replace Graham Platner with a new nominee in the race for U.S. Senate from Maine, already drawing in more than half dozen candidates ranging from a brewer to an epidemiologist,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Since Platner announced he would leave the race Wednesday following a sexual-assault allegation, which he denies, Maine Democrats have found themselves in uncharted territory, rushing to craft a process that voters will find palatable and anoint a candidate who can defeat Republican Sen. Susan Collins.”
PBS: Who will replace Graham Platner on the ballot? 7 Democrats to watch.
“One of Graham Platner’s top political advisers said he and others suggested Platner drop out of the Maine Senate race when they ‘became aware of the rape allegations,’” Politico reports.
Said Katz: “As soon as the team became aware of the rape allegations against Graham Platner we advised he suspend his candidacy, and in the following days worked to wind down the campaign. Like so many of his supporters, I’m deeply disappointed.”
“AIPAC hoped it had ended former Rep. Cori Bush’s political career for good when it helped oust her two years ago. Now it’s spending big to stop her attempted comeback,” Axios reports.
“Why it matters: The left has high hopes that Bush can prevail in her rematch against Rep. Wesley Bell this cycle by riding the wave of anti-establishment energy coursing through the Democratic primary electorate.”
“Late last week, the rumors reached a fever pitch. Graham Platner, the Marine Corps veteran and oysterman who mounted a quixotic bid for the U.S. Senate in Maine, was used to controversy—headlines had been bad enough already, and his campaign aides spent much of their time dealing with lurid rumors. That there was a sex tape on the verge of leaking. That notes from his therapist were floating around,” Vanity Fair reports.
“On Friday, as fresh rumors of serious misconduct began to swirl, Morris Katz, one of Platner’s top strategists, took the first step toward ending the turbulent campaign. Fearing the worst, he contacted several pollsters to commission surveys for alternative candidates. Platner’s advisers, meanwhile, questioned the candidate directly on what they were hearing.
Said one: “We continued to ask Graham for the billionth time in this race if there was any information he had not shared. He continued to say no.”
“A poll of potential replacements for Graham Platner, who dropped out of the Maine Senate race on Wednesday, found a trio of former gubernatorial candidates in tight head-to-head battles against Republican Sen. Susan Collins,” NOTUS reports.
“The statewide poll pitted Collins against Nirav Shah, Shenna Bellows and Troy Jackson. It found the potential contests at 47% for Shah to 46% for Collins; 47%-47% for Bellows versus Collins; and Jackson getting 47% to Collins’ 48%.”
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.
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