Persistent pump pain and pricey burgers mean this summer's last hurrah comes with a cost crunch. The big picture: Gasoline prices are almost certain to remain north of $4 per gallon over Labor Day weekend — a heavy travel stretch and the time when midterm election season intensifies. Driving the news: Labor Day gas prices are slated to be the highest on record, surpassing the previous one set in 2012, per market tracking firm GasBuddy and AAA . - That's coming off a record-setting August, where the monthly national average of $4.07 trounced 2022's record, per AAA data. - While regular gas prices are more likely to impact Labor Day travel than diesel, the fuel that powers America's trucking fleet hit a new high Friday, driving up…
A Massachusetts judge ruled Tuesday that the Trump administration violated a nationwide injunction by finalizing a rule that would significantly overhaul mail voting if allowed to take effect. Why it matters: The order allows the Trump administration to publish the rule Wednesday, but the U.S. Postal Service remains barred from making the dramatic changes to mail-in ballots. Driving the news: "Defendants cannot contend that they misunderstood the scope of the court's order, " U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani wrote in a five-page filing Tuesday afternoon. - "Accordingly, despite the Defendants' protestations that '[t]he United States takes its obligation to comply with court orders very seriously,' the court finds that…
House Democrats who have comfortably held their seats for decades are suddenly finding the ground shifting beneath their feet as primary voters revolt against the party's old guard. Why it matters: The anti-establishment revolution that has swept Democratic primaries this year is poised to drastically alter the makeup of the party caucus and Congress as a whole. - Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.) became the latest victim of this trend: The 78-year-old lost his primary by more than 20 percentage points to 47-year-old former Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin . - Larson emerged as a top target for the Democratic youth brigade after he suffered a highly publicized freeze-up during a House floor speech last year that he later said was due to a complex…
AI:Democratic incumbents are facing a massive anti-establishment revolt as the party’s aging old guard is being systematically purged by younger candidates, many of whom are aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). The 2026 midterm cycle has become one of the worst for Democratic incumbents in decades, characterized by a sweeping shift where senior members—some in their late 70s and early 80s—are losing primaries to younger, more radical challengers. Notable losses include Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.), who fell to former Mayor Luke Bronin, as well as several other veteran lawmakers from Colorado, Michigan, New York, and Texas who were ousted by candidates pushing far-left agendas. While some senior members have chosen to…Open
Republicans plan to use their first-ever midterm convention in Dallas next month to mount a sweeping, made-for-prime-time case that Democrats have become captive to their activist left, Axios has learned. Why it matters: With President Trump's approval rating in the 30s and his war in Iran weighing on the economy, Republicans don't want the Nov. 3 midterms to be just a referendum on his presidency. - They're essentially planning a "But they're worse" campaign targeting the ascendant Democratic left and socialism. Driving the news: Republicans will make progressive politicians and activists recurring characters throughout the Sept. 9-10 convention at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. - GOP operatives spent months compiling…
Data : Charles F. Kettering Foundation and Gallup. Chart: Noah Bressner/Axios Americans fear November's midterms could be stolen or otherwise compromised, with most worried about political pressure to change results or officials mishandling ballots, new Gallup polling finds. Why it matters: President Trump has cast the American election system as under siege and vulnerable with unfounded claims about his 2020 loss. Meanwhile, his critics warn his push to reshape the ways Americans vote are undermining elections. By the numbers: Republicans (56%) and Democrats (77%) alike fear politicians will pressure election officials to change the outcomes of races. - 80% report a great deal or fair amount of concern that political leaders will…
Tech billionaire Elon Musk is jumping into the midterms with a huge investment in a plan to boost Republican voter turnout, Axios has learned. Driving the news: Musk is resuscitating his dormant super PAC, America PAC, which spent more than $260 million to help get President Trump elected in 2024. - America PAC will focus on door-knocking, digital advertising and direct mail aimed at turning out the conservative base, including voters who typically are less inclined to cast ballots in a non-presidential election year, sources with knowledge of the plans tell Axios. - Musk's representatives declined to specify exactly how much he'd spend. But given what he donated in 2024, the number is expected to be high. "America PAC was an essential…
House and Senate Republican leaders are heading to Dallas to embrace the president who has done the most to shape — and complicate — their political fortunes. Why it matters: Majority Leader John Thune and Speaker Mike Johnson don't have much of a choice about attending September's midterm convention. President Trump doesn't tolerate high-profile dissent, and both leaders know their best chance of staying in power is by staying united. - But for Republicans in tight races, the two-day political extravaganza presents a difficult choice. - They can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Trump, raise money from big-dollar donors and bask in the MAGA media glow. - Or they can stay home and create some separation from a president whose…
Democrats are learning a hard lesson Republicans know all too well: The party out of power doesn't just ride the anti-incumbency wave — it can also get swept up in it. Why it matters: The populist energy surging through the left after President Trump's return to the White House is roiling Democratic primaries and fueling establishment fears about the party's general election chances. - Just ask Senate Republicans how that went for them in 2010 , 2012 and 2022 . "We saw it in Missouri , we saw it in Indiana more than a decade ago," said Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.), the chair of the center-left New Democrat Coalition. - GOP candidates who were "off-putting" and held "positions that don't reflect the majority of the state" helped…
The battle for the soul of the Democratic Party is ramping up in Michigan as progressives look to clinch several key primaries in August. Progressive kingpins, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), are set to hold rallies across the state this weekend with populist Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, who’s duking it out against centrist Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) for retiring Sen. Gary Peters’s seat. The outgoing senator endorsed Stevens earlier this week after initially signaling he would stay neutral in the race. Read More: https://thehill.com/newsletters/on-the-ballot/5969504-sanders-ocasio-cortez-democrats-michigan/ #election #michigan #midterms2026
Democrats are in position to win the House this fall while the Senate is on track to hold a 50-50 partisan split, according to a new forecast from Decision Desk HQ (DDHQ) that paints a highly competitive picture of the midterm fight for control of Congress. Just more than 100 days out from the election, DDHQ forecasts Democrats clinching a 226-209 advantage in the House and predicts Republicans will narrowly retain power with Vice President Vance as the tiebreaker vote in a 50-50 Senate. Read More: https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5969201-house-republicans-reconciliation-budget-resolution/ #house #senate #congress #election #midterms2026
