Lots more in a packed Digest that covers: • Tuesday's big elections results, including key primaries that have yet to be resolved • The latest in redistricting battles in Maryland and Missouri • A scandal-ridden Republican ending his reelection campaign in North Carolina • And much, much, more.

The Downballot@the-downballot.com · 6h ago

Republican Rep. Max Miller refuses to drop out as his scandal worsens, with the House Ethics Committee now investigating him over accusations of “domestic violence and abuse or illegal drug use.”

We've updated our Open Seat tracker TWICE today to reflect GOP Rep. Chuck Edwards' decision to end reelection campaign in #NC11 and Democratic Rep. Shri Thanedar's loss in primary for #MI13.

The Downballot's House open seat & uncontested race tracker

docs.google.com

Red-state Republicans often spam the ballot with amendments b/c it's a freebie for them. Then their opponents have to devote major resources to defeating them, even though the GOP often doesn't lift a finger once their proposals are on the ballot. In KS & MO, though, all proposals got crushed.

The Downballot@the-downballot.com · 17h ago

Two more GOP amendments go down to crushing defeats, both in MO. #4 would have made future ballot initiatives impossible to pass by requiring winning a majority statewide *and* in each congressional district. #5 would have eliminated the state income tax.

The biggest election night from now till November is here, and The Downballot has your preview of what to watch from coast to coast across five states!

Michigan's bitter Senate primary will finally be decided on Tuesday

Our guide to the biggest election night between now and November

the-downballot.com

Depicting Jewish people with horns is a centuries-old, dehumanizing, antisemitic trope. Democratic Gov nominee Phil Weiser is outspoken about his mother’s birth in a Nazi concentration camp, his family members killed in the Holocaust, and the threat posed by antisemitism today.

Also in the newest Morning Digest: • Connecticut governor goes negative ahead of next week's Democratic primary. • House Freedom Caucus spending to save embattled Tennessee congressman in Thursday renomination battle. • House Democrats go on the offensive, including in some reach targets.

The Downballot@the-downballot.com · yesterday

The House Ethics Committee recommends chamber censure GOP Rep. Chuck Edwards of North Carolina after finding "substantial reason to believe" he "violated House Rules related to sexual harassment and hostile workplaces." Edwards already faced a tough reelection contest against Democrat Jamie Ager.

The House Ethics Committee recommends chamber censure GOP Rep. Chuck Edwards of North Carolina after finding "substantial reason to believe" he "violated House Rules related to sexual harassment and hostile workplaces." Edwards already faced a tough reelection contest against Democrat Jamie Ager.

Morning Digest: Ethics Committee recommends censure for GOP congressman over sexual harassment findings

North Carolina's Chuck Edwards was already facing a difficult path to reelection

the-downballot.com

why would a loving god allow jimmy to eat world

Michigan's Democratic Senate primary takes center stage on Tuesday, but it's *far* from the only contest to watch on a packed election night. The Downballot previews 22 races across five states—including a GOP primary where Trump made his endorsement mere minutes before publication!

Michigan's bitter Senate primary will finally be decided on Tuesday

Our guide to the biggest election night between now and November

the-downballot.com

MAHA is a movement centered on conspiracy theories and eugenics. Their rhetoric sometimes aligns with valid concerns, but there is nothing to be gained from engaging with them. So incredibly disappointed in @aoc.bsky.social and her team. They should know better.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez@ocasio-cortez.house.gov · 2d ago

There is pervasive corruption across our healthcare and agricultural systems that defy party lines. I meet with MAHA activists because a lot of their concerns are bipartisan issues that major corporations paint as partisan. The fight isn't left and right, it's top and bottom.

California voters this fall will decide whether to overhaul how recall elections work in a state where one governor was ousted well before his term was up and another took advantage of the current rules to hold on.

Morning Digest: California voters could make major changes to recall elections this fall

A Democratic proposal would make recalls less appealing to the GOP

the-downballot.com

Is Moreno calling on Miller to resign? To be expelled? Is he endorsing the Democrat running against him? He’s doing none of these things.

CNN@cnn.com · 3d ago

GOP Sen. Bernie Moreno said his former son-in-law, Rep. Max Miller, "should not serve" in Congress because of abuse allegations levied by Moreno's daughter. It came shortly after Miller appeared on a livestream and denied allegations of abuse, saying he's staying in his race: https://cnn.it/4blXf6S

Today, Chris Taylor is sworn in to replace Rebecca Bradley on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, giving liberals a 5-2 majority. As recently as 2020, conservatives had a 5-2 edge on the court, but four straight double-digit victories for liberals shifted the balance—and the court could go 6-1 next year.

This is a *seriously* messed up Google preview. It came up when searched the name of a journalist. Sure looks like the *journalist* is in prison, based on this, no? But not remotely—this is from an excerpt of an article she wrote about *someone else* that's featured on her Pulitzer page!

Kind of an amazing headline & subhed from Fox News on its own new poll, which shows Talarico up 51-48 on Paxton. (And yes, this is a for-real new poll, not the old stuff that low-rent accounts have been recirculating since yesterday.) www.foxnews.com/politics/fox...

Independent Todd Achilles is now Republican Sen. Jim Risch's only serious opponent in Idaho now that the Democratic nominee has dropped out. It's now up to Achilles to put together a crossparty coalition to win a challenging race to represent one of America's reddest states.

Morning Digest: It's independent vs. Republican in Idaho after Democrat drops out

This Senate battle now mirrors Nebraska's, but in an even redder state

the-downballot.com

Nearly every claim here is wrong. ➨ 61% of Republicans support a fetal heartbeat abortion ban (Gallup 2023) ➨ 67% support deporting immigrants w/o criminal records (UMass Amherst 2025) ➨ 37% support same-sex marriage (Gallup 2026) None of this is cherry-picked. Other polls find the same.

Jessica Tarlov@jessicatarlov.bsky.social · last wk.

Your average Republican is pro-IVF, skeptical of six week heartbeat bills, against deporting productive, law-abiding immigrants, and for gay marriage.

Hell. Yeah!

G Elliott Morris@gelliottmorris.com · 7d ago

The Strength In Numbers podcast returns! Join me and @davidnir.com live tomorrow at 2:00 PM Eastern right here to talk about Trump's new all-time low approval rating and the state of the midterms: open.substack.com/live-stream/...

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I've always loved Daniel Donner's hexmap. Of all the things we've created over the years at The Downballot, this is one of my very favorites. So clean, so appealing, so useful. And we make it freely available to all!

The Downballot@the-downballot.com · last wk.

We've got a fantastic announcement: The Downballot has just released a new version of our one-of-a-kind "hexmap," which shows every congressional district as the same size. @donnermaps.bsky.social has been hard at work updating it for all 10 states with new maps. Check it out here! 🧵

This would be a good year for some other outlet to start (1) a liveblog of SCOTUS decision days and (2) a user-friendly SCOTUS docket tracker. SCOTUSblog is a gatekeeper because they're the ones doing those things and the Court's own website is meh, but they should not be the gatekeeper anymore.

Jay Willis@jaywillis.net · last wk.

A pretty clean illustration of how SCOTUSblog's editorial coverage has shifted since its merger with a conservative media outlet: At its big-ticket Supreme Court term preview conference in the fall, the marquee event is...a panel featuring the GCs of Boeing, TD Bank, and ExxonMobil

Republicans seem to be meddling in next week's Democratic primary for a key U.S. House seat in Michigan.

Morning Digest: It looks like the GOP is meddling in yet another Democratic primary

The newest target is Michigan's swingy 7th District

the-downballot.com

The Klausenberger Rebbe, who lost his first wife and all eleven of his children in the Holocaust, was once asked how he could believe in chosenness after Auschwitz. He allegedly said that, had he not been chosen to be a victim of the Nazis, he might have become a Nazi, which would have been worse.

I'm also incredibly impressed that @jaywillis.net found a pic of two of the offenders with ... the person in the hot dog suit trying to find the guy who did this

I Am Begging Senate Democrats to Do Anything Other Than Help Confirm Trump Judges

Four months before the 2026 midterms, three Democratic lawmakers have decided to give a historically unpopular president a little boost.

ballsandstrikes.substack.com

Let me also add that it's not a "coronation" just because Troy Jackson did exceedingly well at the county-level meetings. This idea that he should be punished for his success *last* weekend is absurd. The only way to avoid this bad-faith criticism would have been to win fewer delegates! Come on.

David Nir@davidnir.com · 2w ago

Stop calling the Maine Democrats' convention "hastily arranged." "Hasty" by definition means "with excessive speed." It connotes corner-cutting and a shoddy final product. Maine Dems moved quickly—because they had to—but came up with a well-organized system that worked without any issues.

Hell, many political conventions that are planned over much longer time periods are plagued by problems and descend into chaos. The MN GOP holds a regular convention every two years and still had a meltdown this year! www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0... Credit to Maine Dems for avoiding any such thing.

Endorsement voting stalls after ‘inconsistencies’ in GOP devices

Voting has come to a halt in the Republican Party contest for the governor’s endorsement after “inconsistencies” in the results from electronic voting technology.

mprnews.org

David Nir@davidnir.com · 2w ago

Stop calling the Maine Democrats' convention "hastily arranged." "Hasty" by definition means "with excessive speed." It connotes corner-cutting and a shoddy final product. Maine Dems moved quickly—because they had to—but came up with a well-organized system that worked without any issues.

Stop calling the Maine Democrats' convention "hastily arranged." "Hasty" by definition means "with excessive speed." It connotes corner-cutting and a shoddy final product. Maine Dems moved quickly—because they had to—but came up with a well-organized system that worked without any issues.

Spare a thought for my neighborhood vegan spot whose name was probably fine until recently

This is really astonishing. If someone complained about one of our headlines and I thought it had merit, I might change it—but I absolutely would not *take their suggestion* for the new headline! But imagine doing that, *and* admitting it.

Collins Watch@collinswatch.bsky.social · 2w ago

2) Wilson said that the substitute headline -- in particular the idea of invoking an "oversight hearing" -- had ALSO been suggested by Susan Collins's staff. He said he went along with that characterization because he thought it was appropriate. 3/X

Man, this thread.

Collins Watch@collinswatch.bsky.social · 2w ago

We decided to reach out to PPH Politics Editor Kirby Wilson about this puzzling headline, which seemed crafted to advance a Susan Collins-friendly narrative ('she's challenging Trump!') at the expense of truth. Had a vigorous discussion during which he made two striking disclosures. #MEpolitics 1/X