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A decision to eliminate freshman honors biology classes in an affluent enclave in Northern California isn’t typically a topic of concern for members of Congress.
Yet this week, several Democratic lawmakers took to social media to blast the idea.
“It is absurd that [the] Palo Alto School district just voted to remove honors biology for all students & already removed honors English,” said California Rep. Ro Khanna, who represents a neighboring congressional district. “They call it de-laning. I call it an assault on excellence. I took many honors classes at Council Rock High in PA.”
Khanna and other critics of the practice suggest it “dumbs down” the curriculum in a misguided quest for educational equity. (Palo Alto school officials say the high-achieving district merged freshman honors biology with the standard class as a way to ease the transition to higher-level coursework and will continue to offer a wide range of AP courses.)
“I wish my high school had more AP and honors classes, I can’t imagine a school willingly dumbing itself down,” Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego said in response to Khanna’s post.
The belief that the United States is a meritocracy that rewards excellence has long been a core tenet of conservative political philosophy. But increasingly, some Democrats are urging the party to move away from efforts to address racial disparities by promoting equity and instead embrace meritocracy as a way to connect more authentically with working-class voters across the demographic spectrum.
“I strongly agree with my colleague @RoKhanna,” Pennsylvania Rep. Brendan F. Boyle posted on X. “While the people doing this probably think they are somehow helping low-income and working class students, they are doing the exact opposite.”
Gallego, the son of Latino immigrants who grew up poor and worked his way through Harvard, has become a Democratic rising star in part because of his effort to connect with working-class voters. Last week, he brought his message of political pragmatism to a Pennsylvania swing district.
Similarly, Khanna has been traveling the nation as he seeks to position himself as a key player shaping the future of the Democratic Party. Both he and Gallego have earned speculation as potential candidates for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination.
Starting gate
Off-year redistricting: Wisconsin joins the list of states that could see new congressional maps ahead of the 2026 elections, after a pair of lawsuits were filed last week challenging the state’s current district lines. Especially in battleground state Wisconsin, changes to the map could impact the fight for the House majority next year.
Feenstra for governor: Iowa Rep. Randy Feenstra is formally exploring a run for governor after filing paperwork earlier in the week allowing the Republican to raise funds for an expected campaign. His political operation said he raised $1.1 million in the first 24 hours. Democrats landed a top recruit this week in the race to succeed retiring GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds: state Auditor Rob Sand, the only Democrat to hold statewide office in Iowa.
Speech or Debate: Our colleague Ryan Tarinelli reports that Rep. Henry Cuellar is seeking to dismiss federal charges against him using the Constitution’s Speech or Debate Clause as his defense. The Texas Democrat has been indicted over a host of alleged crimes, including money laundering and bribery.
No Greene light: Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is taking a pass on running for Senate, but state Insurance Commissioner John King became the second major Republican to challenge Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff. As Victor Feldman reported for Roll Call, the race is still taking shape, with more Republicans likely to join the primary.
No on impeachment: A long-shot effort by Michigan Democratic Rep. Shri Thanedar to force an impeachment vote against Trump was abruptly pulled Wednesday evening, Victor reports. The move didn’t have the support of House Democratic leadership, and critics have accused Thanedar of introducing his resolution with an eye on his 2026 reelection campaign. Thanedar has already drawn two-high profile primary challengers, one of whom earned an endorsement this week from Rep. Rashida Tlaib, who represents a neighboring district.
Getting closer: The GOP budget reconciliation bill proposes allocating $5 billion a year to provide a tax break for private and religious school vouchers, bringing conservatives closer to their long-standing goal of a federal school voucher program.
Take 5: Nevada Rep. Steven Horsford talks to our colleague Jim Saksa about how he’s able to serve as a member of the House Democratic whip team while also representing a Republican-targeted swing seat.
ICYMI
#MISEN: The Democratic primary to succeed retiring Michigan Sen. Gary Peters expanded this week when former state House Speaker Joe Tate launched his candidacy. Rep. Haley Stevens, state Sen. Mallory McMorrow and former Wayne County health director Abdul El-Sayed were already in the primary. On the Republican side, former Rep. Mike Rogers, who lost a bid for the state’s other Senate seat last year, is running, while Rep. Bill Huizenga is reportedly staffing up to potentially join him in the primary.
Illinois open seats: The Democratic primaries for a handful of open House seats in the Chicago area are heating up, with several candidates launching their campaigns over the past week. In the 8th District, which Rep. Raja Kirshnamoorthi is vacating to run for Senate, Cook County Commissioner Kevin Morrison, businesswoman Sanjyot Dunung and Richard J. Durbin staffer Yasmeen Bankole have declared bids. In Illinois’ 2nd District, where Rep. Robin Kelly is also running for Senate, state Sen. Robert Peters has entered the primary and earned an endorsement from DNC Vice Chair David Hogg’s group Leaders We Deserve. And Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss joined the race for the 9th District seat vacated by retiring Rep. Jan Schakowsky.
More House launches: Former Kentucky state Rep. Cherlynn Stevenson, a Democrat, is running for the open seat being vacated by GOP Rep. Andy Barr, a Senate hopeful. The 6th District is on the DCCC’s target list, although Trump carried it by 15 points last year, according to calculations by The Downballot. In Arizona’s 1st District, former state Rep. Amish Shah has joined a growing Democratic primary to challenge GOP Rep. David Schweikert, whom he lost to by 4 points last year. Marine veteran Tyler Kistner, who ran unsuccessfully for Minnesota’s 2nd District in 2020 and 2022, announced he would again run for the seat, which is now open as Democrat Angie Craig is running for Senate. In Iowa, outgoing state House Minority Leader Rep. Jennifer Konfrst joined state Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott in the Democratic primary to challenge GOP Rep. Zach Nunn in the 3rd District. And in New Mexico, radio talk show host Eddy Aragon became the first Republican seeking to take on Democratic incumbent Gabe Vasquez in the battleground 2nd District.
It’s not my party: A pair of former congressmen are weighing comeback bids, but not necessarily under the party labels they were originally elected under. In Michigan, former Republican Rep. Dave Trott is weighing a bid to succeed Rep. Haley Stevens in the 11th District, either as a Democrat or an independent. Democratic state Sen. Jeremy Moss is already in the race. And in Illinois, former governor and congressman Rod Blagojevich, who was convicted on corruption charges and received a pardon from Trump earlier this year, is considering a Senate run, though he is undecided on which party primary to enter.
Letlow for LA: Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy could face another Republican primary challenger: Rep. Julia Letlow. The Associated Press reports that Gov. Jeff Landry and Trump have discussed whether the three-term congresswoman should challenge Cassidy, who voted to convict Trump during his 2021 impeachment trial.
Guv roundup: Former Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer has entered the Republican primary to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly. This is his second comeback bid, as he briefly ran for the governorship last cycle before withdrawing in 2021 after a prostate cancer diagnosis. Another Republican announcing another gubernatorial bid is Minnesota’s Kendall Qualls, a former tech executive and congressional candidate who sought the governorship in 2022 but came up short at the party’s endorsing convention. In Florida, former state Senate Minority Leader Jason Pizzo, who left the Democratic Party last month, is running for governor as an independent. Meanwhile, in New Jersey, former state Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli got a crucial endorsement from Trump in the Republican primary for the state’s open governor’s office this year.
New day for New Dems: The New Democrat Coalition Action Fund, the political arm of the namesake center-left group, announced Tuesday that Arizona Rep. Greg Stanton would be taking over as chair for the 2026 cycle. He succeeds Michigan Rep. and Senate hopeful Haley Stevens.
Warren endorses in Minnesota: Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., endorsed Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan in the state’s open-seat Senate race. “Peggy’s a fighter. She’s tough, smart, experienced, and ready to take on corrupt special interests in order to make life better for working people,” Warren said.
The blue dot goes blue: Nebraska Democrats broke a decade-plus-long Republican hold on the mayor’s office in Omaha, with Douglas County Treasurer John Ewing Jr. unseating incumbent Jean Stothert to become the first Black person to lead the Cornhusker State’s largest city.
Nathan’s notes
Donald Trump is running for reelection in 2028.
So says Roll Call elections analyst Nathan L. Gonzales of Inside Elections in his latest opinion column. Trump is raising millions of dollars for allied entities and complaining about campaign interference, and he even has 2028 campaign merchandise — all signs of a bid for a third term, Nathan writes.
Meanwhile, Nathan joined Roll Call Editor-in-Chief Jason Dick on the latest “Political Theater” podcast to talk about Senate and House races that could become competitive as the cycle progresses but aren’t quite there yet.
What we’re reading
#NJGOV: Our friend and Roll Call alumna Bridget Bowman writes for NBC News how last week’s arrest of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka at a federal immigration detention facility could shake up the six-way Democratic primary for governor of New Jersey.
Confronting Collins: The Boston Globe digs into the question of why vulnerable Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine has yet to face a top-tier Democratic challenger.
Alabama living: In an opinion column, AL.com investigates why Alabama Republican Party Chairman John Wahl held a Tennessee driver’s license under the name Nehemiah Ezekiel Wahl. Residency questions could also come up in the Yellowhammer State should Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville decide to run for governor.
Cable conundrum: C-SPAN, which counts Trump as a regular viewer, is increasingly hard to find on air as more Americans cut the cable TV cord. Vanity Fair looks at the public service network’s efforts to persuade Google, which owns YouTube TV, to carry its programming.
#FITN: There’s already talk about which candidates will be part of the Democrats’ 2028 presidential primary, but before they get there they’ll have to decide on which states land the coveted first-in-the-nation primary, the AP writes.
More 2028: Talking about the next presidential election, the jockeying for the Democratic nomination has already begun, CNN reports, while prospective Republican candidates take a “wait-and-see” approach.
Top takeaways: While we wait for the May 20 release date of “Original Sin,” Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson’s damning account of former President Joe Biden’s mental and physical decline, we’re reading The New York Times’ top takeaways from the book and this Politico report on how Democrats on Capitol Hill are reacting to some of the more explosive revelations.
The count: 20
That’s how many lawmakers (two senators and 18 voting House members) have missed a larger share of floor votes in Congress this year than embattled Sen. John Fetterman.
Concerns from staffers and colleagues about the Pennsylvania Democrat’s health were the subject of a report in New York magazine earlier this month. While many of Fetterman’s colleagues, both Democrats and Republicans, have publicly defended him in the days since, others have anonymously questioned his participation in Senate votes.
So far in 2025, through Wednesday, Fetterman has missed 30 of the 249 floor votes cast in the Senate for a participation rate of 88 percent. Two senators have missed more votes this year: veteran Washington Democrat Patty Murray (39) and Vermont independent Bernie Sanders (38), giving both a participation rate of 85 percent.
Fetterman’s absences have been distributed over 19 different days. Sanders’ have been over 18 days. Murray’s missed floor votes are concentrated over 10 nonconsecutive days, the bulk of which (33) came when her husband was hospitalized at the start of April, forcing her to miss a Senate “vote-a-rama” on the budget resolution.
None of the absences by the three senators would have tipped any vote outcomes.
On the House side, 12 Democrats and six Republicans have missed a higher share of floor votes than Fetterman.
— By Roll Call’s Ryan Kelly
Coming up
A quintet of House Republicans — Arizona’s David Schweikert and Juan Ciscomani, Iowa’s Ashley Hinson, Michigan’s Tom Barrett and Pennsylvania’s Ryan Mackenzie — are set to join the conservative group Americans for Prosperity on Saturday for a “Day of Action” to talk with voters about Republicans’ tax policies. All five lawmakers face competitive reelection races in battleground districts, according to Inside Elections.
Photo finish
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The post At the Races: Democrats go back to school appeared first on Roll Call.
