Why Graham Platner’s meteoric rise is so unexpected

BRUNSWICK, Maine — The fireplace crackled as Democratic Gov. Janet Mills laid out her vision for beating Susan Collins to a room of supporters in late January. Then came the questions about her primary opponent, Graham Platner. Platner, one attendee noted, was very successful on social media. A second pointed to his support among young…

Read More

The ‘gift’ Democrats think Trump just gave them

Democrats are frothing at the mouth to center President Donald Trump’s tariff chaos in their affordability messaging as they charge into the midterms. The party was already planning to slam Republicans over the economy on the campaign trail, riding the playbook that helped propel New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill, Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger and New…

Read More

Noem restricts disaster aid over shutdown targeting ICE

The Trump administration on Sunday halted disaster aid to states for long-term rebuilding projects in order to focus on emergency operations as the partial government shutdown enters its second week. The Federal Emergency Management Agency “is scaling back to bare-minimum, life-saving operations only,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement. “All non-emergency recovery…

Read More

Cox pushes back on Trump over gambling and AI regulation

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox criticized the Trump administration’s approaches to prediction markets and artificial intelligence on Thursday — as well as the president’s lack of interest in unifying the country. During an interview at POLITICO’s 2026 Governors Summit, the Republican governor and occasional critic of President Donald Trump pushed back on the Trump administration’s recent…

Read More