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By Daniela Altimari, Niels Lesniewski and Mary Ellen McIntire
Michelle Obama stood on the stage at the Democratic National Convention in 2016 and famously issued a call to reject the politics of personal pettiness.
For Democrats, those days are long over. From Gavin Newsom’s Trump-trolling social media posts to the party’s willingness to engage in tit-for-tat redistricting, Democratic leaders are embracing a more combative approach.
“We cannot be the only party that plays by the rules anymore,” DNC Chair Ken Martin said at this week’s Democratic National Committee summer meeting in Minneapolis. “We’re not going to have a hand tied behind our back anymore. Let’s grow a damn spine and get in this fight, Democrats.”
But it will take more than tough talk and all-caps taunts to address the Democratic Party’s underlying challenges, including money woes, stark divisions over war in Gaza and a looming voter registration crisis. (The party has lost ground even in deep blue states such as Rhode Island, according to a review by the Providence Journal.)
And a new analysis by the New York Times outlines a “nightmare scenario” for Democrats driven by national population trends that show a sharp shift toward red states such as Texas and Florida and away from New York, California and other Democratic strongholds. The Times projects that, over the next decade, “the Electoral College will tilt significantly away from Democrats,” which could have drastic implications for the party’s presidential prospects in 2032 and beyond.
Democrats got a glimmer of good news from Iowa this week, when Catelin Drey won an upset victory and flipped an open seat in the state Senate. Drey, who leads a parent-advocacy group, defeated Republican Christopher Prosch, 55 to 44.7 percent. The seat was previously held by Republican Rocky De Witt, who died of cancer in June, and Drey’s win breaks the GOP’s supermajority in the Iowa Senate.
It also marks the third victory by Hawkeye State Democrats in special legislative elections this year — and gives the party a jolt of optimism in advance of the midterms. “Our state is ready for a new direction,’’ state Democratic chair Rita Hart said in a statement, “and Iowa Democrats will keep putting forward candidates who can deliver better representation for Iowans.”
Starting gate
Beehive boundaries: A Utah judge this week tossed the state’s congressional maps and directed its legislature to enact new lines for the 2026 midterm cycle that comply with the requirements from a 2018 ballot initiative. The result could be a new, Salt Lake City-based district that could be favorable to Democrats. “All Citizens of Utah should be outraged at their activist Judiciary, which wants to take away our Congressional advantage, and will do everything possible to do so. This incredible State sent four great Republicans to Congress, and we want to keep it that way,” President Donald Trump posted Wednesday on Truth Social.
Texas fallout: Rep. Lloyd Doggett said he wouldn’t seek reelection if Texas’ newly drawn legislative map is upheld in court. Under the plan approved by Texas state legislators, Doggett could have faced a Democratic primary against fellow progressive Rep. Greg Casar, Jacob Fulton reports.
ICYMI
New chair: Florida state Sen. Joe Gruters has been selected to lead the Republican National Committee. Gruters, a Trump ally, takes over from Michael Whatley, who stepped down to run for North Carolina’s open Senate seat.
#AL01: Alabama Sen. Katie Britt maxed out a donation to state Rep. Rhett Marques, who launched a campaign for Alabama’s 1st District. Marques joined former Rep. Jerry Carl in the Republican primary for the seat, which is open with Rep. Barry Moore running for Senate.
Ad watch: Former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, the Democratic nominee for governor of Virginia, released an ad criticizing her GOP opponent, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, for supporting Republicans’ tax and spending law.
Where’s the beef: The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is rolling out digital ads targeting vulnerable Republicans on cost-of-living concerns. The five-figure ad buy, which will run over the Labor Day weekend on YouTube and Instagram, hits the GOP for driving up the price of burgers and beer and is aimed at men ages 18 to 44.
Endorsement tracker: Former Michigan House Speaker Joe Tate, who recently suspended his Senate campaign, endorsed Rep. Haley Stevens to be the Democratic nominee for the open seat.
At the plate: Former Texas Rangers first baseman Mark Teixeira kicked off his run for Congress Thursday. The conservative Republican is running in the open 21st District, located in central Texas. The seat is currently held by Republican Rep. Chip Roy, who has launched a campaign for state attorney general.
#CA48: As California prepares to potentially redraw its congressional districts, Democrat Ammar Campa-Najjar is readying for a rematch against Republican Rep. Darrell Issa in the proposed 48th District. Campa-Najjar, a Navy officer and an official in the U.S. Department of Labor during the Obama administration, lost to Issa in 2020. Meanwhile, another Democrat, attorney Anuj Dixit, also launched a campaign against Issa, pivoting from a previously announced run against Republican Rep. Ken Calvert in California’s 41st District.
Blue battle: Connecticut state Rep. Jillian Gilchrest is the latest Democrat to announce a primary challenge against longtime Rep. John Larson in the deep blue 1st District. Gilchrest won her suburban Hartford legislative seat in 2018 by ousting a 12-term Democratic incumbent.
Redistricting shift: Former Rep. Mayra Flores announced this week that she’ll seek her old seat in Texas’ 34th District, which is currently held by Democrat Vicente Gonzalez. Flores had been campaigning against Rep. Henry Cuellar in the 28th District but switched back to the 34th after the Texas legislature approved new congressional maps making that district more hospitable to the GOP.
Unconventional conventions: Both parties are contemplating holding party conventions before next year’s midterm elections. Axios reported that some Democrats are considering a “mini convention” as a way to generate news coverage and raise money. On Thursday, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that he is also “thinking of recommending a national convention to the Republican Party just prior to the midterms.”
Rumors fly: California Sen. Alex Padilla left the door open for a 2026 gubernatorial run as rumors have swirled that the senator could enter the race.
Nathan’s notes
Roll Call columnist Nathan L. Gonzales of Inside Elections takes a look this week at the baselines for party divisions in districts in 2026, including some of the potential new-look districts in California and Texas amid recent redistricting efforts. As Gonzales explains, the “index aims to approximate what share of the vote a ‘typical’ Democrat or Republican might receive in any given district.”
What we’re reading
#NJGOV: Politico reports that Republican Jack Ciattarelli’s path to winning New Jersey’s governorship this fall may run through Black and Hispanic voters, two groups with which Trump made gains in the state last year. In June’s Democratic primary, nominee Mikie Sherrill drew less support in many of the Black and Hispanic areas that shifted most toward Trump in November.
Town hall blues: Rep. Barry Moore, who is running for Alabama’s open Senate seat, earned jeers and cries of “shame” during a town hall, AL.com reports. Meanwhile, a St. Louis man who provided security at a contentious town hall hosted by Missouri Democratic Rep. Wesley Bell earlier this month was placed on leave by his employer, St. Louis Public Radio reports.
Just joshing: NBC News examines the rise of Joshes in politics, sports and culture. Three Democratic governors named Josh — North Carolina’s Stein, Hawaii’s Green and Pennsylvania’s Shapiro — share a bond and a group chat, the outlet found.
Like father, like son: A young New York City liberal named Mario M. Cuomo lost the Democratic mayoral primary in 1977. Forty-eight years later, The New York Times sees an echo of that race in the political fortunes of Cuomo’s oldest son.
The count: 231 days
That’s how far we were into Arizona Democrat Ruben Gallego’s first Senate term last Friday when he arrived in Manchester, N.H., for an event hosted by Saint Anselm College’s New Hampshire Institute of Politics. This came two weeks after Gallego toured Iowa, and marked the completion of his first Iowa-New Hampshire swing — tour schedule stops that have long signaled a run for president.
“I’ll be here, but I’ll be here to support Chris Pappas, Maggie Goodlander, Democrats in general,” he said at Saint Anselm. “I don’t know where my future goes.”
Gallego noted he wasn’t sure he saw a presidential bid in his future, given his young family.
“I know I have a message. I know that this message helps, and if Democrats can use it, we can win,” he added.
But should he decide to officially launch a bid, Gallego would join at least eight others who, since 1972, have run for president despite having completed less than two-thirds of their first term in the Senate.
Barack Obama was the only successful candidate among them, and he didn’t finish his initial Iowa-New Hampshire swing until a December 2006 New Hampshire stop on his book tour, after he had logged 706 days as the junior senator for Illinois.
The quickest of the bunch — Republican Larry Pressler of South Dakota — officially announced his candidacy for the 1980 campaign 266 days into his first Senate term. Pressler cited being excluded from the Iowa debate and a struggle to raise money when he dropped out of the race 104 days later.
— By Roll Call’s Ryan Kelly
Coming up
Recess is over. The House and Senate will be back in legislative session right after Labor Day, with less than a month to reach a deal to avoid at least a partial government shutdown.
Photo finish
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The post At the Races: Going low appeared first on Roll Call.
