Dems' 2028 primary schedule angers some progressives

Some progressive Democrats are fuming that the party's new schedule for 2028 presidential primaries could make it harder for one of their own to win the party's nomination.A powerful Democratic National Committee panel voted Friday to kick off the primary in South Carolina — the state where progressive icon Bernie Sanders suffered landslide losses in the 2016 and 2020 primaries.Why it matters: The panel's decision came with Democrats already divided over a wave of contentious 2026 primaries that have pitted an insurgent left against the party's more moderate establishment.Zoom in: From Wisconsin to Michigan to Maine, top Democrats are trying to halt the left wing's momentum in the run-up to this year's midterms, favoring relatively centrist candidates they see as more electable.Some progressives view the elevation of South Carolina on the party's 2028 primary calendar as part of that effort.South Carolina edged out Nevada for the first spot on the primary schedule, stinging progressives because Sanders won the primary in the Silver State in 2020.Puck reported that some DNC members were concerned that making Nevada the first state to vote would boost another socialist candidate.But even some DNC members were angry with the decision to put South Carolina first.A member of the DNC's Rules & Bylaws panel, which preliminarily OK'd the calendar, told Axios that "the public is swinging left, and the establishment is trying to fight the winds of change."The panel member added that putting South Carolina first could "shut down" a progressive presidential candidate, which is "not a strategy for winning the electorate."Branko Marcetic, a writer for the socialist magazine Jacobin, posted on social media that "the whole rationale is stopping a left-wing insurgent." Leftist streamer Hasan Piker snarkily suggested that South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn had too much power over the presidential nominating contest.The other side: South Carolina Democratic Party chair Christale Spain told Axios that a progressive candidate such as New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez "absolutely" could win the state's primary."I hate that the narrative kind of seems like 'Well, a progressive can't win in the South,'" said Spain, who worked for Sanders' 2016 campaign. "The work that you have to do in the South is retail politics."Between the lines: The debate between progressives and traditional Democrats over South Carolina has at times been racially fraught partly because Sanders, who's white, twice fared poorly in a state where a sizable chunk of Democratic voters are Black.At the same time, Black Democrats viewed South Carolina's victory in the debate over the primary schedule as overdue recognition of their importance to the party.The DNC panel's decision on the primary schedule still must be ratified by the full DNC.Whether progressives can break through with Black voters on a national scale is perhaps the most important question facing them ahead of the 2028 presidential primary.The left has had more recent success with Latino voters and Black voters under 50, especially in the Northeast, but it's not clear that would be enough to carry a presidential primary in which older Black voters across the South are a key constituency.Sanders performed well with Latinos and young Black voters, and it wasn't enough.The intrigue: Some progressives believe the new calendar could work to their advantage — but not necessarily because they think they could win in South Carolina.The state previously played a decisive role as the final contest before the traditional string of primaries on Super Tuesday. Now, they argue, South Carolina may serve more as a culling mechanism than a kingmaker.A former Sanders senior campaign aide said the senator "might have been unstoppable" in 2020 if the Democrats' new calendar had been in place then.

Red flags fly after Trump 'lays the groundwork' for election plot: 'This is about pretext'

President Donald Trump may have just laid down the tracks for one of his boldest election plots yet, according to one political analyst. John Heilemann, an MS NOW political analyst, said on Sunday's broadcast of "Deadline: White House: Weekend" that Trump's recent national address about election security was an attempt to "lay down the tracks" for his next wave of lies about the election results."I think he's just trying to lay down the tracks on which he can make false claims in the future," Heilemann said. "For him, it's enough to have said those things publicly so that when he does what he's going to do, whatever that turns out to be in November, he can look back and say, 'I told you so. I said, this was rigged. You didn't believe me. You didn't listen to me. But it was rigged then, and it's rigged now ... This is an illegitimate election. And here's what we're going to do going forward.'" Heilemann noted that recent polling appears to back up his assertion. A recent poll from The Economist and YouGov found that 67% of Americans, including 77% of independent voters, thought Trump was trying to sow doubt about American elections during his national address rather than back up his claims of election interference with concrete facts. "So, all of this is about pretext, not about persuasion, and not about some kind of good faith attempt to govern," he added. "It's about ... laying the groundwork for what comes nextcomes next."

Troy Jackson Crowned As New Maine Senate Nominee

GOP senator says Thune ‘being too cautious’ in talks with Senate Democrats to avoid shutdown

Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) on Sunday said that Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) is “being too cautious” in his talks with Senate Democratic leaders in an effort to avoid a government shutdown at the end of September. “Look, I mean no disrespect. I love John Thune. He’s my leader. He’s got a big brain.…

Trump allies offering startling advice to GOP candidates with midterms just 100 days out

People close to President Donald Trump are giving GOP candidates some startling advice as the midterms approach, according to new reporting. MS NOW's Jake Taylor revealed on Sunday's edition of "Alex Witt Reports" that Trump White House insiders are quietly telling GOP candidates to distance themselves from the messaging Trump has put out about the war in Iran. Taylor pointed to the consistent negative polling about the war and Trump's public messaging that the war is going well as reasons allies have put forward for candidates to create the airspace. "They're advising, whether they're incumbents or challengers, Republican candidates to essentially not talk about the war the same way President Trump is," Taylor said. "They're encouraged to actually put some distance [and] space between the way Trump talks about the war and the way they do, because they're aware they don't have a winning strategy when it comes to the midterms."Taylor's report underscores the growing divide between Trump and the Republican Party over the war against Iran. Several Republican lawmakers have sharply criticized the president for launching the war without Congressional approval, although that feeling has yet to metastasize into an official vote to curtail Trump's war powers. "Obviously, we are just 100 days out [from the midterm elections]," Taylor said. "Every bit of messaging on this matters. And the Republicans around Trump know that, and that's why they're encouraging others to distance themselves from his language in this moment."

Jeffries pivots to Trump and GOP when asked about noncitizens on New Jersey voter rolls

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) sidestepped a question about New Jersey’s disclosure that thousands of noncitizens were mistakenly registered to vote, instead criticizing President Donald Trump and Republicans over election messaging. “I continue to have confidence in state and local authorities in making sure that there’s going to be a free and fair election […]

Trump Right To Recognize Collapse of Trust in US Elections

President Trump is right to recognize the collapse of confidence surrounding American elections. It's time to make amends.

'People are scared': MAGA senator lashes out at Trump over 'hair trigger' tensions

A MAGA Senator took to the airwaves to call out President Donald Trump for hypocrisy. Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) admitted on "Face the Nation" Sunday that he was not "comfortable" with Trump's newly announced and already problem-laden nuclear deal."We're bombing a country to keep'm from getting a nuclear weapon," said Kennedy. "But we're signing a deal with another country...that the world perceives as possibly, someday leading to a nuclear weapon."The countries, of course, are Iran — which Trump ostensibly started to dismantle their nuclear program — and Saudia Arabia, the nation Trump wants to allow to enrich uranium.The U.S. struck the deal Wednesday but hit a snag over the Saudi government's relationship with Israel. Less than 24 hours after announcing the deal, Trump added a condition that the Saudis normalize those relations. Experts warn the deal could trigger a cascade of nuclear ambitions across the Middle East, The Wall Street Journal has reported, and critics note the Saudis gave Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner's private equity firm $2 billion."Face the Nation" host Margaret Brennan noted Sunday that any deal would have to be approved by Congress, which prompted Kennedy to list off his concerns. "The world's on a hair trigger," Kennedy said. "The world looks at what's going on in Ukraine, the Middle East, the world looks at America's relationship now with Europe."He added, "People are scared." The Louisiana lawmaker is hardly the first U.S. senator to vent frustration with Trump this week. White House demands that Majority Leader Sen. John Thune (R-SD) do more to pass the SAVE America Act — a non-citizen voting ban critics describe as redundant and dystopian — have infuriated GOP members of the Senate. "Instead of pointing the finger at Republicans," Thune said, "they might think about going after the people who are stopping it on the floor, which is the Democrats."Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) added, "I have 1000 percent confidence in Thune, and anybody in the White House who thinks he's not a good leader isn't qualified for their job.""This idea that he can just command members of the Republican conference to get in line is just a fantasy," responded Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX). “It’s creating a circular firing squad for Republicans.”Kennedy himself added, “John can’t put a gun to people’s heads."