Charlie Cook: “With the midterm elections now 20 weeks away, the question isn’t whether Republicans are going to have a bad night on Nov. 3. The question now is just how bad it will be.”

“President Donald Trump is now throwing his support behind both of the remaining Republicans in the South Carolina governor’s race as he seeks to avoid the possibility of another primary setback this month,” NBC News reports.

“Trump had endorsed Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette in late May, less than two weeks before the initial South Carolina primary. But in a Truth Social post Friday, Trump said he is also backing Attorney General Alan Wilson in Tuesday’s GOP runoff, saying the two rivals are ‘MAGA and America First all the way!'”

Mediaite: Trump pulls the rug from candidate he previously endorsed, now says he’s endorsing her opponent also.

Ed Kilgore: “As the clock ticks down toward the midterm elections, Republicans are desperate for the Trump administration to focus on advancing an affordability agenda that might bring back some of the voters they’ve lost since the 2024 election.”

“Sure, there’s the possibility of a housing bill finally being enacted, not that anyone believes it will have an immediate impact on the cost of shelter. And yes, the president’s Iran peace deal, if it sticks, will relieve upward pressure on energy prices, especially the gasoline prices politicians follow obsessively.”

“But with all the chaos currently afflicting the GOP legislative and messaging machine, it’s likely too late for the party to put together a compelling argument that Trump is keeping the promises he made to bring back pre-pandemic prices and place a steady hand on the national tiller.”

“Hannah Pingree, a former Maine House speaker who later worked on policy initiatives for Gov. Janet Mills and won her endorsement, won the state’s Democratic nomination for governor after a ranked-choice runoff, state officials said early Friday. She will face Bobby Charles, a conservative Republican and former State Department official,” the New York Times reports.

“The runoff, a feature of Maine’s ranked-choice voting system, was necessary because none of the candidates in either primary received more than 50 percent of the vote.”

CNN: “The House Republicans’ campaign arm is working to flip three border districts in November while defending at least two more. They believe they have recruited a strong lineup of challengers and can lean on illegal border crossings hitting record lows under President Donald Trump, even as his administration’s deportation efforts have coincided with a sharp drop in Latino support.”

“In a midterm cycle with fewer likely competitive districts due to redistricting, what happens in as many as six competitive border districts could help determine who controls the House for Trump’s final two years in office.”

“When Senate hopeful Ken Paxton attacks the masculinity of his Democratic opponent, James Talarico, he has one group in particular on his mind: Hispanic voters,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“The hotly contested race for Senate in Texas has become ugly early with open sparring between the candidates over who is more of a man. Paxton’s team is sensing an opening with Texas Hispanic voters, who have moved sharply to the right in recent election cycles. The thinking among Paxton’s aides is that they can successfully cast Talarico as not strong enough to represent Texas in Washington.”

“Not long ago, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani was demonized by leaders of both political parties. Today, just six months after taking office, the 34-year-old democratic socialist’s political strength is surging,” Associated Press reports.

“Always a darling of the far left, he has earned praise from both President Donald Trump and former Democratic critics like New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. He has emerged as the face of the region’s sports renaissance. And days before New York’s primary elections, Mamdani is testing the limits of his newfound political muscle in a bid to reshape the Democratic Party — in his state capital and in Washington — even if it means challenging his own party’s leadership.”

“The country’s most prominent pro-Israel special interest group isn’t even spending in Rep. Dan Goldman’s high-stakes primary. It could be his biggest problem anyway,” Politico reports.

“The American Israel Public Affairs Committee has a familiar electoral playbook: funnel millions of dollars into an election through a super PAC to boost pro-Israel candidates, attack those critical of Israel or both. The group’s massive spending over recent cycles has established it as a boogeyman among progressives, who’ve attempted to use AIPAC’s intervention, or the threat of it, to activate their base.”

“Former City Councilman Kenyan McDuffie, who ran as a tough-on-crime centrist, has conceded the Democratic mayoral primary in Washington, D.C., to Janeese Lewis George, a democratic socialist and D.C. councilwoman,” the New York Times reports.

“The Associated Press has yet to call the race, but Ms. Lewis George currently has around 53 percent of the vote, enough to give her an outright victory without tabulating the ranked choices in the election. In an overwhelmingly Democratic city, she would almost certainly win the general election in November.”

“Two of the biggest progressive stars in the country are taking a split path on endorsements in messy Democratic primaries, leaving some Democrats reading the tea leaves for what it means for their political futures,” NOTUS reports.

“New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is backing a trio of insurgent candidates in House races, including two who are challenging Democratic incumbents, while staying out of contentious state legislative primaries. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is supporting several Democratic Socialists of America candidates in competitive New York state legislative races, while so far staying out of contentious congressional primaries.”

“President Donald Trump believes he handed Republicans a winning playbook for the midterms — if only they’d follow it,” Politico reports.

“Gerrymander everywhere possible, get rid of the filibuster, fire the Senate parliamentarian and pass the SAVE America Act.”

“None of it is likely to happen, and the gap between what is likely and what is possible explains Trump’s frustrations with many in Congress and the anger the White House channels at operatives and pundits who say the president isn’t doing enough to help retain control of Congress.”

A Trump-backed pastor has dropped out of Oklahoma’s Republican House primary after his intimate relationship with a campaign aide was exposed, the Daily Mail reports.

The astonishing collapse comes after an investigation that exposed Jackson Lahmeyer’s intimate relationship with campaign fundraiser Caitlin Simmons Key, a former Miss Oklahoma USA.

Key said that she and Lahmeyer, who is married, kissed on several occasions during the heat of the campaign. He sent her thousands of text messages, in one telling her “I enjoyed those lips,” and recounted leaving Mar-a-Lago for a strip club at 1am after being offered cocaine.

New York Times: Trump rescinds endorsement of right-wing pastor after texting scandal.

Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball: “North Carolina’s 11th congressional district could be a key barometer in determining how big of a Democratic wave occurs in 2026.”

“The district, wedged in the western corner of North Carolina, has not elected a Democrat since 2010, but it got a little less red between 2020 and 2024.”

“Electoral trends, combined with the perceived strength of the challenger Jamie Ager (D) and potential weaknesses of the incumbent Chuck Edwards (R, NC-11), lead many Democrats to believe they have a chance in this unlikely district.”

“Democratic socialists are flexing their growing political strength in the nation’s capitol, with Janeese Lewis George leading in vote counting in Tuesday’s Democratic primary to be Washington, D.C.’s next Mayor,” Time reports.

“If the results hold, she will be all but certain to replace Mayor Muriel Bowser as the city’s leader in January.”