https://washingtonsun.com/campaigns Campaigns en-US Fri, 04 Sep 2026 20:26:53 GMT https://washingtonsun.com/trump-white-house/trump-super-pac-maga-inc-1-billion Torrie Herrington The president this week has increasingly discussed his midterm spending strategy to address growing Republican concerns. Fri, 04 Sep 2026 20:26:53 GMT https://washingtonsun.com/trump-white-house/trump-super-pac-maga-inc-1-billion President Donald Trump says his super PAC has “close to” $1 billion, more than double what MAGA Inc. reported in cash on hand in its most recent financial disclosure.

The political committee’s filings showed that MAGA Inc. had around $403 million available as of July 31. It is currently unclear whether the president is referring to a recent, so-far-undisclosed amount of money, as the super PAC does not need to next disclose its cash on hand through Aug. 31 until mid-September.

The president this week has increasingly discussed his midterm spending strategy, addressing a growing concern among Republicans worried he is not doing enough to spend his war chest — which he called “my money” on Friday — over the next 60 days before the November elections. The super PAC had spent relatively little on direct independent expenditures through July 31, according to Federal Election Commission records.

“We're going to spend a lot of money because we don't want to lose our country,” Trump said in the Oval Office on Friday in response to a NOTUS question, adding that he could also save some of the funds totalling “around a billion dollars” for future political activity.

“I could use it for ’28, yes, if I want,” he said. “I expect to have money left over.”

Trump has not commented on who he will be financially backing in the midterms, though he has committed to a campaign trail blitz, and confirmed he will go to Alaska to stump for Sen. Dan Sullivan.

“I’m going to spend whatever amount of money necessary to try and help us, and this is … my money that I control,” Trump said, distinguishing the pool of funds from the Republican National Committee’s cash on hand, reportedly more than $130 million as of July.

While Trump’s super PAC is not yet financially supporting individual candidates, the committee’s nonprofit arm released two new ads this week — spots heavily focused on the president and his agenda that did not mention Congress. Data from tracking firm AdImpact show the spots have begun running in major media markets across the country and cost around $1 million.

The most Trump has said about his future campaigning is that he plans to concentrate on 35 “close” races. But he doesn’t want to venture out to campaign in areas where Republicans are already favored to win, he told a gathering of House members in the White House Rose Garden on Wednesday.

“Please don’t ask me to come to your area and make a speech, right?” the president said. “But I’m going to go to every one of those 35 places, and we’re going to see if we can get everyone elected.”]]> https://washingtonsun.com/campaigns/former-rnc-chair-marc-racicot-backs-democrat-sam-forstag-montana Torrie Herrington “It’s not even a close call for me to stand in Sam’s corner,” two-term Montana Gov. Marc Racicot said of congressional hopeful Sam Forstag. Fri, 04 Sep 2026 16:49:52 GMT https://washingtonsun.com/campaigns/former-rnc-chair-marc-racicot-backs-democrat-sam-forstag-montana A former Republican National Committee chair and two-term Montana governor is reaching across the aisle to back a Democrat in a competitive House race, giving Sam Forstag a high-profile crossover endorsement as he tries to flip a Republican-held seat.

Marc Racicot’s defection isn’t exactly a surprise — he’s endorsed other Democrats in recent cycles and has spoken out often against President Donald Trump, actions that saw him rebuked by the state party in 2023.

But despite the pushback, Raicot threw his support behind Forstag in an interview with MS NOW published Friday morning.

“He cares about what he’s doing. He’s very well prepared. He has the right priorities in terms of character and virtues and values and belief in the Constitution,” Racicot told the network. “It’s not even a close call for me to stand in Sam’s corner.”

Forstag is running against Republican candidate Aaron Flint, a combat veteran and former conservative radio host who won the Republican primary with Trump’s endorsement.

The race is among the more competitive House contests in Montana. A June Impact Research poll found Forstag and Flint tied at 44% among likely voters. An earlier May poll from Upswing Research had Flint ahead 48% to 43%.

The seat is open after Republican Rep. Ryan Zinke announced in March that he would not seek reelection. Zinke won the district by about 3 percentage points in 2022 and roughly 8 percentage points in 2024.

Forstag, a former smokejumper who also worked for the Montana chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, won a divided Democratic primary in June. He has since received backing from a range of Democrats, from progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) to the centrist Blue Dog Coalition.

Forstag has framed his candidacy as an alternative to the national political polarization he says voters are tired of.

“We’re in a hole that both parties have been digging for us,” Forstag said, according to MS NOW. He urged voters to support a Democrat “that could actually improve your life, and is actually going to prioritize doing so, because I know what it’s like on a day-to-day basis.”

Forstag would need to overcome Montana’s increasingly Republican political landscape to win the seat. But Racicot’s support gives his campaign an opportunity to make the race about more than party labels.]]> https://washingtonsun.com/missouri/missouri-republican-thomas-ross-plant-cocaine-primary-opponent-state-house Associated Press Thomas Ross, 37, was charged with conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance. Fri, 04 Sep 2026 15:42:00 GMT https://washingtonsun.com/missouri/missouri-republican-thomas-ross-plant-cocaine-primary-opponent-state-house By David A. Lieb

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A candidate for the Missouri House made an initial court appearance Thursday on a federal drug charge accusing him of trying to plant cocaine and Adderall on his Republican primary opponent.

Thomas Ross, 37, is charged with conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance. He's accused of asking a campaign manager to plant a small amount of cocaine and a prescription amphetamine pill on his opponent, Louise Secker, in the weeks leading up to the Aug. 4 primary, according to court documents.

Ross, of Joplin, defeated Secker by only a few dozen votes.

Ross did not respond to a Thursday message seeking comment about the charge, which was filed Wednesday. The federal public defender's office assigned to his case didn't immediately reply to a message asking how Ross plans to plead.

Missouri's Republican Party chairman, Peter Kinder, called on Ross to drop out of the race, describing the circumstances of his arrest as “serious and deeply troubling.”

A former campaign manager for Ross told law enforcement officers that Ross provided him with a black nylon glove that contained a small, plastic bag of white powder and a pink and white capsule. He said Ross told him to place it in Secker's purse or vehicle while Ross was out of state on vacation, according to a probable cause statement signed by an FBI agent.

Law enforcement tests later showed the substances to be cocaine and Adderall.

The FBI statement said Ross sent numerous text messages to his campaign staffer regarding “the substance.” In one, Ross said he hoped “that we could make it happen” before Secker attended a Republican women's meeting at a Joplin restaurant in June, “which would be extreme egg on the face,” according to the FBI document.

U.S. Attorney R. Matthew Price said in a statement that voters deserve to have confidence in elections.

“Candidates are expected to conduct their campaigns with integrity, honesty, and respect for their opponents," Price said.]]> https://washingtonsun.com/congress/jeffries-data-centers-progressives-moratorium Stephen Neukam The issue of limiting new facilities is becoming a central flashpoint in the midterms, but the top House Democrat is avoiding specifics. Thu, 03 Sep 2026 20:05:46 GMT https://washingtonsun.com/congress/jeffries-data-centers-progressives-moratorium House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries could be on a collision course with progressives and grassroots activists who are demanding Congress pass legislation to pause the construction of new data centers. Jeffries, who is set to become speaker if his party wins the House majority in November, hasn’t weighed in on whether he will push a moratorium.

Polls show Americans have recoiled from President Donald Trump’s directive to become the “world’s No. 1 superpower in artificial intelligence” and the recent blitz of data centers. Democratic candidates across the country are campaigning on a pledge to pause or ban the construction of new data center projects.

Trump’s call this week to “let Data Reign” and his description of communities that oppose these facilities as “backwards and poor” gives Democrats an opening to contrast with Republicans on the ballot in November. Some Republicans have worked to distance themselves from the president on the issue, which is bubbling up in areas where new development is exploding.

Jeffries criticized a pair of House Republicans in purple districts over their votes to “unleash data centers on the American people in an unfettered fashionn— Reps. David Valadao of California and Mike Lawler of New York.

But while Valadao’s Democratic challenger has endorsed a one-year pause on data centers in his district, Jeffries and other House Democratic leaders remain skeptical of a ban.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York), who has introduced a bill that would place an indefinite moratorium on data centers until Congress enacts safeguards, told NOTUS that voters are looking to lawmakers to address “the effects that AI and data centers are having in their lives.”

“Whether that is a moratorium, whether it is a pause, so that there’s actual consent in these communities on what is built, that’s what I think people want the most,” Ocasio-Cortez said.

Jeffries said this week that Americans “want some restraint so that they’re not overrun by the possibility of their electricity bills continuing to skyrocket and their water bills continuing to skyrocket.”

But the Democratic leader has pumped the brakes on a calling for a strict ban. He told Politico this summer that a moratorium is “not a position that I’ve articulated at this moment.” Rep. Frank Pallone (D-New Jersey), the top Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, supports a moratorium but has not committed to pushing one if he chairs the committee next year. Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Florida), the top Democrat on the panel’s energy subcommittee, opposes a moratorium.

Jeffries’ office declined a request from NOTUS to comment on his policy position.

Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vermont), a progressive who hasn’t taken a stance, told NOTUS that there are “competing interests” for the Democratic policy prescription on data centers.

“What (voters) are telling us is, we need to take a beat,” Balint said. “This needs to be a really thoughtfully rolled out plan.”

Mitch Jones, managing director of policy and litigation at Food and Water Watch, an environmental advocacy group that has pushed for a moratorium on new data centers, told NOTUS that Democratic leadership “hasn't really come to terms” with the grassroots energy behind the anti-data-center movement and what it means for AI policy in Washington.

“They're going to be caught off guard if they don't start paying attention to what's happening on the ground,” Jones said. “If they try to do some sort of squishy or milquetoast policy on AI or data centers, there will be an immediate backlash from their base.”

Jones said that embracing strict regulations is important for Democrats because it “sends a message to voters across the country that they're actually listening to them, not the Silicon Valley executives whose private jets” lawmakers fly on.

The push to rein in data centers isn’t just gaining traction on the campaign trail. More Democrats on the Hill are embracing the policy, and urging leadership for a vote on the issue in the future.

Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Massachusetts) told NOTUS that he thinks it’s important to go on the record to send a message.

“We ought to at least give members the opportunity to vote on the national moratorium,” McGovern said.
]]> https://washingtonsun.com/campaigns/matt-little-minnesota-state-fair-world-handshake-record-guinness-congress-candidate-campaign Angie Orellana Hernandez Matt Little will take on a big challenge Saturday when he attempts to beat the two-decade-old record. Thu, 03 Sep 2026 20:00:06 GMT https://washingtonsun.com/campaigns/matt-little-minnesota-state-fair-world-handshake-record-guinness-congress-candidate-campaign You have to hand it to him.

Minnesota congressional candidate Matt Little is eyeing an ambitious goal this week: More than 13,000 handshakes in eight hours, which would be a new world record.

He said it’s been on his mind for more than a decade: a record so untouched it has only been held by two other people, an influential governor and one of the nation’s most formative presidents.

Little will need to break the late New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson’s Guinness World Record for most handshakes by a politician, which he achieved in 2002 by shaking 13,392 hands in just eight hours, besting President Theodore Roosevelt’s previous mark of 8,513.

Little, who beat a crowded primary field to become the Democratic nominee for Minnesota’s 2nd Congressional District, will take on the challenge Saturday at the Minnesota State Fair.

“I like competitive activities but I also love shaking hands,” Little said in an interview with NOTUS on Thursday. “I do think that is the foundational building block of our democracy, like the Constitution, is a written handshake, right? In these times too, we've got to get back to that. I believe very strongly the things I believe in, and I'm willing to have that conversation with anybody, even if we're diametrically opposed.”

Not that there will be much time for talking — to reach the world record, Little estimates that he’ll have to average a whopping 29 handshakes a minute.

The progressive and former state senator said he is also pursuing this big challenge because he wants to bring the record “home to Minnesota.” Little is currently running against Republican state Sen. Eric Pratt to succeed Rep. Angie Craig, who lost a Senate primary last month to Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan.

To prepare for Saturday’s event, Little told NOTUS he has been training for weeks with a hand-gripper exercise tool to build strength. He stopped doing his regular exercise routine, which usually consists of push-ups and pull-ups, on Wednesday because “we don't want any injuries or pulled muscles heading into Saturday morning.”

When asked if he was serious about pausing physical activity ahead of Saturday’s record-breaking attempt, Little replied, “I’m, as the kids say these days, deadass.”

Little estimated his current personal best is the 1,000 hands he shook during a parade this year.

On Saturday, Little plans to begin his journey at the booth for the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party. If the attendance slows down, Little said he will pivot to seeking out the state fair’s longest lines, where his campaign staff will tell eventgoers, “There's gonna be a guy coming by trying to shake as many hands to break a world record, we'd love you to participate.”

Little’s staff will keep track using clickers. They will also film the event and upload it to YouTube for verification purposes.

As for how he plans to avoid germs, Little said there will be plenty of hand sanitizer on hand for both himself and those who shake his hand.

“Every handshake is unique, and it's never the same experience twice,” he said. “I'm gonna give it my all.”]]> https://washingtonsun.com/campaigns/republican-independent-candidates-midterm-elections Raymond Fernández A set of independent candidates is holding the Democratic Party at arm’s length. Republicans want to close that gap. Wed, 02 Sep 2026 09:13:00 GMT https://washingtonsun.com/campaigns/republican-independent-candidates-midterm-elections Republicans have a simple strategy for how to campaign against a slate of independent candidates running for Senate seats in red states: Take every opportunity to tie them to Democrats.

In Nebraska, South Dakota, Idaho and Montana, Republican Senate candidates are running against independents who have held the Democratic Party at arm’s length in order to make competitive runs. These are states where Democratic candidates have flopped in recent years.

Now Democrats are making the case that the independents — who they hope would caucus with their party, even as some of them have said they would not — stand a chance of defeating Republicans because of the current political environment.

“If the Democrats are calling me a Republican, and the Republicans are calling me a Democrat, I'm doing something right. So that's what I'm going with,” Brian Bengs, the independent running against Republican Sen. Mike Rounds in South Dakota, told NOTUS.

Republicans, however, believe the Democratic Party’s brand is noxious enough that they can effectively beat the independent candidates just by continuing to point out how Democrats are embracing them.

That’s how it’s playing out in Nebraska, where Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts is vying against independent Dan Osborn.

“Our approach is straightforward: expose the truth about Dan Osborn’s far-left views and the Democrat infrastructure behind his campaign,” Ricketts’ deputy campaign manager, Max Oberg, told NOTUS in a statement.

“[Democrats] know their brand is so toxic in these states that they're just going to try to put a false label on progressive candidates,” Oberg added.

Republicans are pointing out that some Democrats, like Cindy Burbank in Nebraska, David Roth in Idaho and Julian Beaudion in South Dakota, dropped out of their races to allow the independent candidates in their states the opportunity to consolidate voting blocs.

“There were two Democrat candidates in the race, and now there is one,” Sen. James Risch of Idaho told the Idaho State Journal in a statement, after Roth dropped out of the race to pave the way for independent candidate Todd Achilles. “Idaho remains one of the most Republican states in the nation, and I am proud to consistently deliver conservative votes for our state.”

The Democratic nominee in Montana did not withdraw despite mounting calls to drop out to allow a two-way race between the Republican candidate and independent Seth Bodnar.

The Republican campaigns have also pointed to some of the independents’ presence on ActBlue, a Democratic fundraising platform; Osborn, Bengs and Bodnar have all used it to raise money. On its site, ActBlue says it allows independent candidates on a “case-by-case basis” if they meet criteria the platform has set up.

Osborn has raised more than $5.7 million as of June 30, Federal Election Commission records show. At that point during his 2024 run against Republican Sen. Deb Fischer, in which he ran as an independent, Osborn had raised around $1.6 million. The boost in fundraising suggests growing interest in his race this cycle since he came within 7 percentage points of Fischer two years ago.

Bengs has raised more than $780,000 as an independent as of June 30 — an approximately $630,000 jump from what he raised in the same period in 2022, when he ran as a Democrat against now-Senate Majority Leader John Thune, according to FEC records.

“Bengs is out there using ActBlue and the Democrat machine to raise money, which should also tell everyone that he's a Democrat,” Rob Skjonsberg, a senior campaign adviser to Rounds, told NOTUS.

Still, most of the Republicans have outraised their opponents by millions. As of June, 30 Ricketts raised more than $11.4 million; Risch more than $4 million; and Rounds more than $4.5 million.

Republicans are leaning on referring to the independents as democratic socialists and associating them with the views of progressives running elsewhere, calling them “fake independents.” It’s reflective of their broader playbook against Democratic candidates.

“Dan Osborn, Brian Bengs, Todd Achilles, and Seth Bodnar would work in lockstep with the toxic socialist Democrats to enact their woke agenda and raise taxes for American working families,” Bernadette Breslin, who serves as national press secretary for the National Republican Senatorial Committee — Senate Republicans’ campaign arm — told NOTUS in a statement.

Democrats would have to flip a net of four seats in order to take control of the Senate.

Osborn, a navy veteran running to unseat Ricketts in Nebraska, is seen by political analysts as having the best shot of the independents. Although he has the endorsement of labor groups often associated with Democrats such as the United Auto Workers union, he also supports cutting federal spending.

In April, the Cook Political Report moved the Nebraska Senate race from solid Republican to likely Republican.

“If voters are convinced that this is a politician who is not going to be tethered to either party in a state like Nebraska and a year like 2026, yeah, Dan Osborn has a real shot,” Jim Kessler, the executive vice president for policy at Third Way, a “center left” think tank, told NOTUS.

Candidates like Osborn are making sure to keep their distance from Democrats. Although Nebraska Democratic Party Chair Jane Kleeb said on X the party supported Osborn, he told CNN on Aug. 23 he planned “on remaining an independent.”

Osborn’s campaign did not respond to NOTUS’ request for comment.

“The reason that Dan Osborn and this independent movement has started was because Dan Osborn ran against [Sen.] Deb Fischer two years ago and got closer than anybody thought he would as an independent,” Mary Jane Truemper, the chair of the Nebraska Republican Party, told NOTUS.

Kurt Alme, Montana’s Republican candidate, has followed similar talking points to other Republicans. Breitbart News Network reported he called Bodnar a “Democrat in disguise.”

“I’m running for Senate as an Independent because Washington is broken, and Party bosses in DC are too busy fighting each other while families in our state face higher costs and fewer opportunities,” Bodnar told NOTUS in a statement.

Bengs and Achilles have considerably lower chances of pulling off an upset, Larry Sabato, a political analyst and director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, told NOTUS. But they have been targeted by Republican campaigns in nearly identical ways.

Both independent candidates have past connections to the Democratic Party. Bengs ran as a Democrat in 2022 and Achilles was elected to the Idaho state House as a Democrat in 2024. Both candidates told NOTUS they plan to join the Senate as independents and, while they acknowledge their past Democratic affiliations, Bengs and Achilles said they plan to caucus as independents.

Still, those commitments haven’t changed the Republican playbook against them.

“Our strategy is simple: tell the truth about Todd Achilles. He's a liberal Democrat masquerading as an 'independent' and his record makes this clear,” Marc Kilmer, Risch’s campaign manager, told NOTUS in a statement.
]]> https://washingtonsun.com/campaigns/trump-data-centers-undercuts-republicans-midterms Igor Bobic Many Republican candidates are running on pledges to pause new data centers, but the president’s position undermines that message. Wed, 02 Sep 2026 09:09:00 GMT https://washingtonsun.com/campaigns/trump-data-centers-undercuts-republicans-midterms First it was beef. Then it was new tariffs. Now it’s data centers.

President Donald Trump’s recent policy moves are making life difficult for Republicans, many of whom fear the series of economic positions could cost them control of Congress in November’s midterms.

Trump’s love letter to data centers this week undercut efforts by Republican candidates in battleground states to align themselves with a growing bipartisan backlash against new construction of the resource-intensive projects. His remark that communities that oppose data centers are destined to become “backwards and poor” landed like a thud on Capitol Hill and on the campaign trail.

“I guess I’m backwards and poor,” Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett told a reporter for the outlet MeidasTouch on Monday, suggesting that new data centers ought to be built on military installations. “We need more local control. Go a little slower to get there a little faster.”

Freshman Rep. Rob Bresnahan, who represents a high-profile swing seat in Pennsylvania, told NOTUS he disagrees with the president on the matter.

“It’s something we have a different perspective on,” Bresnahan said, adding that he wants to ensure approved developments provide a benefit to the community.

“I have a piece of legislation called ‘Local Control Protections Act,’ which does exactly what the name insinuates. It empowers local communities and allows those decisions to be made at the local level. … We're about local control,” he said.

Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie, who represents a deeply conservative district, appeared to criticize Trump’s position: “New directive from the leader: MAGA is required to support all Data Centers, no questions asked,” he wrote on X.

Data centers have become a major political issue as voters grow increasingly weary of their impact on the energy grid, utility bills and water resources. While most elected Republicans continue to cheerlead construction of new facilities, touting that they create jobs, GOP candidates in tough races have embraced restrictions on the industry, including moratoriums on new facilities and requirements that data centers cover the cost of electricity bills.

Michigan Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers, for example, has called for a one-year pause on new data centers. In Texas, where state Attorney General Ken Paxton is running for Senate and Gov. Greg Abbott is seeking reelection, both Republicans are also pushing to pause new data center projects, even though Abbott initially promoted Texas as a hub for the industry and offered tax incentives. In Pennsylvania, state treasurer and Republican gubernatorial candidate Stacy Garrity has called for an indefinite pause on new data center development. In Wisconsin, Rep. Tom Tiffany, the Republican gubernatorial nominee, has called for ending state subsidies for data centers.

“Tom Tiffany’s position has always been clear: Local communities must have the final say, and no new data centers should be built in Wisconsin without strong standards to protect our farmland, water, environment and ratepayers,” a Tiffany campaign spokesperson told NOTUS.

Nevertheless, Trump’s strong endorsement of data centers is handing their Democratic opponents a fresh line of attack.

“Make no mistake — this is Mike Rogers' position on data centers,” Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed wrote online. “He's got up to $2.6 million invested in companies cashing in on the data center boom, all while Michiganders watch their utility bills soar.”

The campaigns of Rogers, Paxton, Abbott and Garrity did not respond to a request for comment.

One Republican gubernatorial candidate did push back on Trump’s call to “let Data reign.”

“President Trump and I don’t see eye to eye on this issue,” wrote Darren Bailey, the nominee in Illinois. “As I travel across Illinois, I hear the same concerns: massive data centers are threatening farmland, straining our power grid and driving up costs. My position is clear: Illinois families and communities come first.”

Other Republicans suggested Trump’s historically poor approval ratings pose a bigger challenge for the party in this year’s midterm elections, rather than the issue of data center construction.

“I think Trump is right on the issue, despite the clumsiness with which he said it. The next 50 years could rest on the next five regarding AI,” Republican strategist Doug Heye told NOTUS. “But, I don't think it has much of an impact, where Trump's approval rating definitely does.”

Conservative radio host Erick Erickson, meanwhile, said on his show Monday that Trump stood up for data centers “probably in the least helpful way possible.” Erickson, who’s based in Georgia, praised Vice President JD Vance for taking a “far more nuanced approach.”

Vance expressed some sympathy for skeptics of the facilities while traveling Monday to Michigan, a state where communities have also pushed back against data centers.

“I think probably 99% of the backlash to data centers has come in areas where building a data center means higher utilities and higher electricity for the people on the ground,” Vance said.

He added that data centers “should be putting power back into the grid, not taking it out. And if that is happening, I don’t think the data centers are that controversial. It’s when the utility bills get so much higher; that’s when it’s a real problem.”

Polls show deep distrust in data centers. In a Fox News survey conducted in July, 70% of respondents expressed opposition to the construction of a data center in their area, including 60% of Republicans and 76% of Democrats.

Former Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene was dismissive of the president’s position in a post on X: “Good luck winning the midterms now that MAGA means mass data centers, flock cameras and the surveillance state, protecting the Epstein class, and the never ending Iran War!!”

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), a prominent AI critic who led calls for a federal moratorium on data center construction last year, said Americans have “every right to be concerned” about them.

“They understand that data centers are destroying local environments and that these out-of-control technologies will likely eliminate tens of millions of jobs, eviscerate our privacy, negatively impact the mental health of our children, radically alter how we as human beings relate to each other, undermine our democracy and threaten the very future of humanity,” Sanders wrote in a post responding to Trump on Monday.
]]> https://washingtonsun.com/democrats/seth-moulton-loses-massachusetts-senate-primary-ed-markey Christa Dutton How much do voters care about age over ideas? Wed, 02 Sep 2026 00:39:59 GMT https://washingtonsun.com/democrats/seth-moulton-loses-massachusetts-senate-primary-ed-markey Each time he’s tried to climb the political ladder beyond his seat in the House of Representatives, Rep. Seth Moulton has pitched himself as someone who can usher in the Democratic Party’s next generation.

And each time — including in Tuesday’s Massachusetts Senate Democratic primary, in which voters picked Sen. Ed Markey over Moulton — voters have rejected him.

Moulton, who arrived in Congress by beating a nine-term incumbent, was once part of a rising class of young(ish) Democrats styling themselves as the next generation leaders of their party. He was part of a failed effort in 2018 to oust Nancy Pelosi as the top Democrat in the House Democratic Caucus, arguing that “Our party is changing, our country is changing and our leadership should change, too.” His bid for president in 2020 — which kicked off with, “The greatest generation saved our country from tyranny. It's time for our generation to step up and do the same” — fell short.

In his campaign against Markey, Moulton declared, “I’m running against the senator’s decision, after 50 years in Washington, to run for another term at age 80.”

Now, Moulton’s failed Senate bid in one of the last major Democratic Party showdowns of the cycle is a warning to the party as Democrats begin to assemble for what’s expected to be a messy 2028 presidential race. The lesson from his collection of unsuccessful campaigns, other Democrats say, is that it’s not enough to just position yourself as the poster child of a new generation of leadership — winning candidates need to have something actually new to say. 

“The moment that we're in right now isn't just about electing young people, but it's about electing people who have new and big ideas,” said Rep. Maxwell Frost of Florida, the youngest member of Congress at age 29 and a rising star in the party.

In some ways, the Moulton-Markey primary in a state as blue as Massachusetts turned the party’s biggest intraparty feuds on their head. The younger candidate in this primary was more moderate than the older incumbent. Even during an insurgent wave that has led to at least seven other Democratic incumbents losing their seats, the 80-year-old Markey won reelection in part because of his progressive bona fides — despite a gaffe during a debate that showed his spotty understanding of AI platforms.

Moulton, whose campaign didn’t respond to a request for comment, fell short of convincing voters, but he also couldn’t convince much of the party to back him: Markey gained momentum in the final weeks of the campaign as he notched endorsements from Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren and longtime ally Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Sanders, a kingmaker for the left wing who has his own track record of running competitive if ultimately unsuccessful presidential campaigns, was frequently named in interviews as an example of someone older being able to energize the party.

“This is the same reason that Bernie keeps winning reelection, even though he's a little bit older,” said Charles Hughes, chair of the College Democrats of Massachusetts, which endorsed Markey. “As long as the candidate shows that they're capable of fighting for those progressive causes and fighting for the issues that young people care about, I think age is a secondary factor.”

These generational questions are already following Democrats into the 2028 presidential race. Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia, 39, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, 44, Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, both 53, are all considered to be among the youngest possible contenders.

“These candidates who run on change will have to prove that they actually are making change in order to do that, not just showing that they are a younger face necessarily,” said David Hogg, founder of Leaders We Deserve, which works to elect young Democrats.

Moulton’s loss reflects how the party has evolved since former President Joe Biden’s aborted reelection campaign. Youth is still important for young Democrats, but they say they want more than just a number.

“Age to me isn't really the big thing,” said Melat Kiros, a 29-year-old lawyer who beat Rep. Diana DeGette, 69, in Colorado’s 1st District this summer. “It's about, does your platform actually speak to what this new generation of politics is demanding?”

Even if Moulton wasn’t successful at running as a change agent, there are Democrats who think there’s a case to be made for candidates trying to run on changing the status quo, regardless of their age or how many times they’ve tried it.

“The system is still very stale, and so even a guy like Seth is still a younger candidate in relation to what people see in Chuck Schumer, for example,” said Tim Ryan, a former lawmaker from Ohio who unsuccessfully ran against Pelosi in 2016 for House minority leader.

“People want a new set of eyeballs on the problem,” he went on.

Moulton on Tuesday signaled he planned on continuing to play a similar role in the future.

“Challenging the establishment and calling for a new generation of leadership isn’t easy, but it is necessary," he said in a statement after the race was called. "I will continue to push the Democratic Party – and our country – to look towards the future.”

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Editor’s Note: This story has been updated with additional reporting.
]]> https://washingtonsun.com/campaigns/mamdani-dsa-berlin-die-linke Daniella Diaz Staffers from Germany’s Die Linke party traveled to New York last year to learn from the DSA’s campaign as they try to win a mayor’s race in Berlin. Tue, 01 Sep 2026 09:02:00 GMT https://washingtonsun.com/campaigns/mamdani-dsa-berlin-die-linke BERLIN — A mayor's race. A Muslim candidate from the left. A promise to make one of the world's great cities affordable again.

Sound familiar? This time it’s not New York. It's Berlin, where Elif Eralp, Die Linke's candidate, is running to become the city's first Muslim mayor, as well as the first Left Party mayor since the city’s reunification. Recent polling shows her leading with 20.7% of the vote against the Christian Democratic Union of Germany Party and the Alternative for Germany party, which are polling around 18.9% and 17.6%, respectively.

The Sept. 20 election echoes the race that gripped America last year, when political newcomer Zohran Mamdani toppled former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary and rewrote the rules of what a mayoral campaign could look like.

In several interviews, Die Linke’s party members have made clear they drew inspiration from Mamdani’s successful mayoral campaign, first from afar and then much closer to New York’s City Hall. Party co-chair Ines Schwerdtner traveled to New York with other party officials to watch the Mamdani operation up close.

Schwerdtner went last fall to learn more about efforts by the Democratic Socialists of America, as well as New York’s progressive Working Families Party, to expand their bases of support in the city and the U.S. more broadly.

“We embrace Mamdani's victory,” said Janis Ehling, the Die Linke federal managing director, which is the equivalent of an executive director for a party in the U.S. “We learned a lot [from] them, especially when it comes to community organizing, door-knocking, canvassing campaigns.”

“I think we're going in the same direction,” Ehling told NOTUS.

A far-left candidate breaking through in Germany’s capital city would stand in contrast to what’s happening in the state government, where the far right appears to be surging.

“It would be really significant for German politics as a whole when you think of [World War II history],” said Thorsten Holzhauser, a historian and political scientist in Germany.

“They have tried to play down identity politics and parts of their agenda,” he said of Die Linke, “and highlight the more economic and social issues such as housing, such as cost of living, things that are important to middle-class voters and working-class voters at the same time.”

The Left Party's Berlin Election Campaign with Lead Candidate Eralp 26234672086988 (3419x2279, AR: 1.50)
While elections operate completely differently in Germany than in the United States — voters cast ballots for the party rather than the candidate — Die Linke has selected Eralp to represent them in the election.

“We have the chance to have a Left mayor in Berlin, and that's a huge chance,” Ehling said. “In Germany, the far right is rising too, and that would be a big symbol of hope for all over Germany, like Mamdani was in the United States.”

Grace Mausser, co-chair of New York City's DSA chapter, told NOTUS that she sees similarities in the United States’ and Germany’s partisan politics.

“I think it's critical that we not only inspire each other and give each other encouragement as we're working in sometimes dangerous conditions, yeah, but also that our work compounds each other and doesn't take away from what each is doing,” she said.

The comparison is one that the Die Linke party officials have leaned into publicly. When Mamdani won in November, the party's Berlin branch posted on X, translated into English, “Whether New York or Berlin: We all want affordable rents and a good life for our families and friends!” Eralp said in interviews that she sees Mamdani’s win as an example for left candidates.

Part of the Die Linke party’s appeal in Berlin is Eralp's pledge to force corporations to own fewer apartments to help lower housing costs. She's paired that with a push for rent caps on public housing, a new city office for tenant protection and a discounted transit pass, a platform that is gaining traction in the city that’s faced an affordability crisis.

Beyond Eralp’s affordability proposals, Mausser said, her immigrant background also resonates with voters.

“One thing I found interesting in the Berlin mayoral election specifically is the potential to activate and politicize an immigrant population within the city,” Mausser told NOTUS. “We saw that with Zohran activating and politicizing a Muslim and Southeast Asian voter base, and I think Elif has the potential to do that with the Turkish voter base in Berlin.”

She added: “That to me is so important because the right wing explicitly doesn't want people who are not coded as a native to their home country to be able to vote, to have a political voice. So a figure like Zohran, a figure like Elif, a figure like [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez], who is obviously Hispanic and will speak to that population, them running proudly as non-white people in majority white countries, I think it sends an important signal on who belongs in each of those places.”

Holzhauser, the political scientist, sought to temper expectations of what a Die Linke victory could yield, saying that Germany’s coalition system of governing will make it nearly impossible to enact Eralp’s and Die Linke’s proposed policies.

“It will be very difficult for Die Linke to realize and to bring forward their agenda in such a coalition,” he said. “Especially when it comes to housing, when it comes to the very controversial issue of expropriating major players in the housing sector, which is a very important issue for Die Linke, but which has been opposed by every other party and especially by the potential partners.”]]> https://washingtonsun.com/campaigns/top-general-says-military-has-no-plans-to-deploy-to-polls-during-midterms Joe Gould The chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff made the assurance in a letter to Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin. Mon, 31 Aug 2026 22:16:27 GMT https://washingtonsun.com/campaigns/top-general-says-military-has-no-plans-to-deploy-to-polls-during-midterms The nation’s top military officer said the Pentagon has no plans to send troops to polling places or use military personnel to seize election materials during November’s midterms, offering Democrats their clearest assurance yet that the armed forces will stay out of elections.

Gen. Dan Caine, the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made the commitment in a letter, released Monday, to Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Michigan), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
The Associated Press was first to report on Caine’s letter.


“The Joint Force has no plans to send Federal military personnel or Federalized members of the National Guard to polling places during the 2026 elections,” Caine wrote. “Likewise, the Joint Force has no plans to use such personnel to seize ballots, voting machines, or other election-related material.”



Caine also said he had “neither received nor anticipate receiving any unlawful order” concerning the military’s role in the elections and stressed that “election administration and security remain the fundamental responsibility of state and local officials.”

The response comes after months of concern among congressional Democrats that President Donald Trump could use troops or federal law enforcement around polling places. Trump has not ruled out sending National Guard troops or immigration agents to voting locations, and in January said he regretted not sending the guard to seize election equipment after the 2020 election.

Slotkin had asked Caine and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for written assurances about the military’s role in the election. Hegseth has not responded, according to Slotkin's office, despite a deadline last week.

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment, but it has said previously that any reply would be directed to Slotkin.

When Slotkin asked Hegseth during an April congressional hearing whether he would deploy troops to polling places, he dismissed the question as a “gotcha hypothetical.”

Caine’s letter does not say troops could never be deployed in connection with the election. Instead, it states that there are currently no plans to do so.

“Every member of the U.S. Armed Forces takes an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States,” he wrote, adding that the military “has acted, and will continue to act, in accordance with the Constitution and the law.”

The distinction comes amid Democratic preparations for the possibility of federal forces appearing at or near polling sites. Senate Democrats have conducted tabletop exercises involving such a scenario and have said they are planning election observers, coordination with local officials and voting-rights groups — as well as rapid-response legal efforts.

Federal law already places significant restrictions on using the military around elections. The Posse Comitatus Act generally bars federal troops from carrying out domestic law enforcement, while a separate law makes it a crime to deploy “any troops or armed men” to a place where voting is happening, with a narrow exception involving protection against an armed threat.

Slotkin and other Democrats have argued that even the presence of federal personnel near polling places could intimidate voters, while military personnel handling ballots or voting equipment could raise questions about election integrity.]]>