A new Emerson College survey of Iowa voters in the race for Governor finds 48% of voters support Rob Sand (D), while 43% support Zach Lahn (R). Seven percent are undecided. In the race for U.S. Senate, 48% support Ashley Hinson (R), while 45% support Josh Turek (D). Six percent are undecided.

“President Donald Trump recently told donors in private that he wants to see his vice president win the 2028 presidential election — a sign that he is open to publicly backing JD Vance, even as some advisers caution that Trump has yet to settle firmly on a successor,” the Washington Post reports. For members: The […]

“President Donald Trump said talks with Tehran seemed ‘to be working out quite well,’ reiterating ​his positive portrayal of the negotiations on the Iran war without elaborating ‌on the specifics of the discussions,” Reuters reports. CNBC: Iran, Oman say Strait of Hormuz talks in final stages, as Trump again teases a deal being close.

“The Covid-19 pandemic was a historic stress test that revealed American politics as too broken to deal with a national crisis,” CNN reports. “Six years later, a new political storm over Dr. Anthony Fauci, once the nation’s most prominent health official, suggests those fractures are now even more toxic. And a long-delayed reckoning over the […]

“President Trump is taking issue with recent reports of significant U.S. munitions shortages due to the war with Iran,” CBS News reports. In a post on his Truth Social platform early Thursday, Mr. Trump said: “The U.S. has massive amounts of ‘munitions,’ especially of certain types. Additionally, large amounts are being manufactured and shipped to the […]

“Four scandal-plagued House Republicans whose seats should be gimmes for the GOP have instead turned their races into unexpected battlegrounds,” Axios reports. “These aren’t districts you’d expect to be in play — Donald Trump carried all four comfortably in 2024. But the incumbents’ ethical troubles are making Republicans spend time and money defending the seats […]

“Democrats are facing an unusual obstacle in their push to create as many paths to a Senate majority as possible this fall: a Democratic nominee who refuses to quit,” NOTUS reports. “Democrat Alani Bankhead is set to face Republican Kurt Alme in Montana’s Senate election — the kind of race that would be a reach […]

New York Times: “These officials — ranging from Virginia to Ohio to Nevada — have all come to office since President Trump returned to power and all currently play roles in elections in counties that are home to key House, Senate or statewide midterm races this year. All have either publicly espoused false conspiracy theories […]

“The embattled establishment of the Democratic Party searched furiously for a political reset after Dr. Abdul El-Sayed’s progressive victory in Michigan handed the party’s long-dominant moderate wing its most painful defeat of the year,” the New York Times reports. “Some strategists urgently pressed to adopt a sharper edge to tap into the fury among Democratic […]

“The CIA has secretly established a Cuba task force, setting in motion plans for a more concerted campaign to pressure the Cuban government to make the economic, political and leadership changes demanded by President Trump, according to people briefed on the action,” the New York Times reports. “The creation of the task force will allow […]

“Representative Andy Ogles, Republican of Tennessee, faces a more competitive race than expected in the state’s primary election on Thursday, after a last-minute influx of outside political spending and a surprise endorsement for his rival,” the New York Times reports. “Mr. Ogles, a two-term congressman, has President Trump’s endorsement but also carries some political baggage. […]

“Ukraine’s military on Thursday struck two Russian oil refineries hundreds of miles from its border, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, as Kyiv continues to target the country’s energy infrastructure,” CNBC reports.

“President Trump has spoken repeatedly with Kevin Warsh since he became chairman of the Federal Reserve, maintaining a line of communication between a president and a central bank chief that departs from recent precedent,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “The president calls Warsh in bursts —several times in a stretch of days, then quiet for […]

“The Defense Department’s second in command hastily gathered top military and defense acquisition officials for a meeting Friday night to discuss ways to quickly address a shortfall of U.S. weaponry — after he got an angry phone call from President Donald Trump,” NBC News reports. Mediaite: Frustrated Trump reportedly demanded Hegseth explain weapons shortages amid […]

“President Donald Trump came to Las Vegas on Wednesday to rally voters on the economy and tax relief. But, after a pivotal week for left-leaning candidates in Michigan and Wisconsin, he couldn’t help but pivot to communism,” NOTUS reports. Said Trump: “You lose your home, you lose your apartment, and that’s where the communists will […]

“Ideally, the Senate would be adjourning for a five-week break in less than 24 hours,” Politico reports. ”Instead, Republican senators are still navigating what Majority Leader John Thune described as a ‘train wreck’ as they face a pileup of legislation, key nominations and public pressure from President Donald Trump and angry conservatives to show progress […]

“Sens. Bill Cassidy and Lisa Murkowski met on Capitol Hill Wednesday afternoon with acting Attorney General Todd Blanche as they weigh whether to support Blanche’s nomination to serve as attorney general,” ABC News reports.

Forbes: “For years, Trump and his family have maintained that, even though he continues to own his assets, the president is walled off from decision making inside the Trump Organization.” “He is not.” “Sure, first sons Eric and Don Jr. handle the day-to-day responsibilities, but the president still weighs in when he wants, according to […]

“A Senate panel investigating Dr. Anthony Fauci has obtained a copy of the doctor’s iPhone, potentially securing even more records related to the doctor’s actions during the Covid-19 pandemic,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “The copy of the phone was transferred by the Department of Health and Human Services to the Senate Homeland Security Permanent […]

“Tucker Carlson used a highly promoted livestream Wednesday to unveil a 10-point vision for America — defining the worldview of a breakaway MAGA faction increasingly at odds with President Trump,” Axios reports. “After vowing last month to ‘help build a third party,’ Carlson fueled further speculation this weekend by hosting MAGA dissidents at his home […]

“President Donald Trump’s frustration over the Iran war boiled over at Camp David last week, where he demanded answers from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on why he had apparently been misled on extreme munitions shortages that now threaten to limit military options with Iran,” the Washington Post reports. ”The encounter took place on the sidelines […]

“Earlier this year, the voters of Avenal, a community in California’s rural Central Valley, ousted their mayor and all but one member of their City Council,” the New York Times reports. “Leaders of the recall celebrated the effort as democracy in action. The message: Get out.” “But more than three months after the election, the […]

“A Senate panel’s vote Thursday on whether to hold former Covid-19 czar Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress could set the stage for a legal showdown about presidential pardons and the Fifth Amendment,” NewsNation reports.

“The American Israel Public Affairs Committee has told allies that it is considering a major financial campaign to support the Republican Senate nominee in the Michigan general election this fall, after it failed its biggest test of the primary season on Tuesday,” the New York Times reports. “AIPAC’s super PAC spent $32 million in an […]

“American taxpayers would pay about $2,358 each for President Trump’s mass deportation push, according to a new calculator tool from the Economic Policy Institute,” Axios reports. “Why it matters: The estimate fuels debate over whether billions of federal dollars devoted to deportations could instead fund other public priorities such as food assistance, health care or […]

New York Times: “Even without scandal, the race in western North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District had turned competitive. Jamie Ager, the Democratic candidate, had been making hay of his background as a farmer with deep roots in a region that has been reliably red for decades but has shifted left in recent election cycles.” ”Now, […]

“Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced Wednesday that his office, alongside two other red states, issued a subpoena to former Covid czar Anthony Fauci for records tied to grant money, awards and book deals, among other areas of investigation,” Politico reports. Axios: Fauci woes could deter scientists from public service.

“A half dozen House Democrats in safe districts have lost their primaries so far this election cycle — and many more could soon follow suit,” Axios reports. “Many of these losses are the result of growing restlessness among the Democratic grassroots that has increasingly morphed into anger towards the party establishment.”

“President Trump’s road map to disarm Hamas has wobbled in the days since he announced it, with Israeli airstrikes on Gaza and growing disputes over the terms threatening to collapse the effort to wind down the war in the enclave,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “The Board of Peace, created by Trump to oversee Gaza’s […]

“Iran and Oman were finalizing a draft agreement Wednesday to reopen the Strait of Hormuz that would give Tehran oversight of ships entering the Persian Gulf but wouldn’t let it levy tolls or service fees, people familiar with the matter said,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “The parties have agreed on the main points of […]