Grace Panetta
@gracepanetta.bsky.social
political reporter @ The 19th. new englander, bad speller, hot sauce enthusiast.
I spent time in Lansing last week reporting on what is, in my opinion, the most interesting overlooked Michigan Democratic primary tonight: the three-way race in Michigan's swingy 7th District 19thnews.org/2026/08/mich...
The Michigan House race that tests whether ‘only a bro can beat a bro’
Questions of electability are frustrating Democratic women and shaping a showdown between establishment and progressive Democrats in a Michigan swing seat.
19thnews.org
New: My look at what the Michigan Senate primary says about Democrats’ ongoing debate over electability — and what the results could mean for the electability conversation in 2028 19thnews.org/2026/07/mich...
Who is electable? Michigan’s Senate primary asks a familiar question.
No one can agree on what, exactly, electability is — but both Haley Stevens and Abdul El-Sayed are making the case that they have it.
19thnews.org
New: The Maine Senate race is resetting around abortion — Dems are hitting Collins for confirming Kavanaugh as a top attack line, and with Platner out, they see it as easier to message on without having to defend his record re: women w/ @shefali.bsky.social: 19thnews.org/2026/07/main...
The race to unseat Susan Collins is resetting around abortion
Democrats say Collins' actions undermine her stated support for reproductive rights — an argument they hope will resonate with the women voters who could decide the Maine Senate race.
19thnews.org
With Platner out, here is what could be next for Maine: a conversation about Susan Collins and abortion. W/ @gracepanetta.bsky.social reporting from Maine, what candidates are saying and why it matters 19thnews.org/2026/07/main...
The race to unseat Susan Collins is resetting around abortion
Democrats say Collins' actions undermine her stated support for reproductive rights — an argument they hope will resonate with the women voters who could decide the Maine Senate race.
19thnews.org
How Graham Platner's implosion demonstrates that leaning into masculinity doesn't equal electability — and highlights the double standards for which candidates are allowed to be flawed & get second chances: 19thnews.org/2026/07/grah...
Democrats say they want a fighter. Does it have to be a White man?
Democrats went all in on masculinity as a winning strategy. It fell apart in Maine.
19thnews.org
The stunning implosion of Platner's campaign has shaken the Democratic Party and left Maine Democrats scrambling to find a replacement — and feeds into an existential debate as to how Democrats should campaign on a vision of masculinity. @gracepanetta.bsky.social @19thnews.org
Graham Platner was ‘electable’ — until he wasn’t
Democrats say they want a fighter. Does it have to be a White man?
19thnews.org
Reminder: White men have been losing American elections for at least 234 years. Great piece on electability, masculinity and what voters actually want by @gracepanetta.bsky.social. 19thnews.org/2026/07/grah...
Graham Platner was ‘electable’ — until he wasn’t
Democrats say they want a fighter. Does it have to be a White man?
19thnews.org
One of the findings in my research is that there is never enough evidence to satisfy people who want to offer a perpetrator impunity. They can always dream up a new way to blame the victim—and ignore all the other damning, relevant evidence by cherry picking some small detail that shouldn’t matter.
Kat Tenbarge@kattenbarge.bsky.social · 4w agoTrying to pick apart a woman's text messages to prove she's lying about being raped is gutter behavior. Consent can be revoked at any time and reading insinuations into text messages that the sender denies were there is ACTUAL journalistic malpractice. I would not trust a man who does this!
I briefly caught up with Rep. Diana DeGette last week — she told me she was "optimistic" about beating primary challenger Melat Kiros on Tuesday “Denver, Colorado, is not New York City," she said when I asked her about last week's results in NYC 19thnews.org/2026/06/mela...
A 29-year-old democratic socialist takes on Colorado’s most senior member of Congress
Kiros is the latest democratic socialist to mount a primary challenge against a longtime incumbent Democrat in the U.S. House.
19thnews.org
@darializaforny.bsky.social has defeated Rep. Adriano Espalliat in #NY13, @decisiondeskhq.bsky.social projects. That's 3/3 of Zohran Mamdani's big congressional endorsements (Valdez, Lander, Chevalier) winning their races tonight 19thnews.org/2026/06/new-...
a little-known fact is that I’m not the only writer in my family — my dad has a feature story in this month’s issue of Wooden Boat Magazine about our wonderful family friend Vince Todd & his work restoring beautiful wooden boats! ⛵️⚓️
In new Gallup polling, "55 percent of women said they strongly oppose data centers, compared to 43 percent of men. In fact, men were more likely to favor data centers, citing their economic benefits and job opportunities." 19thnews.org/2026/05/wome...
Americans overwhelmingly oppose data centers. Women most of all.
New polling shows women have stronger concerns than men over the implications of the massive and costly complexes used to power AI.
19thnews.org
Four of Trump’s Cabinet officials have departed in the last 3 months and all are women: Noem, Bondi, Chavez-DeRemer and now Tulsi Gabbard 19thnews.org/2026/05/tuls...
Tulsi Gabbard is the latest woman to leave Trump’s Cabinet
Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, announced she is resigning to care for her husband, who was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer.
19thnews.org
State Rep. @jasmineclarkforga.bsky.social wins the Democratic primary in the vacant #GA13, @decisiondeskhq.bsky.social projects. Clark is now poised to become the first Black woman PhD scientist to serve in Congress. My interview with her here: 19thnews.org/2026/05/geor...
Jasmine Clark is poised to be the first Black woman Ph.D. scientist in Congress
Rep. Jasmine Clark is poised to become the first Black woman Ph.D. scientist to serve in Congress from Georgia’s 13th Congressional District.
19thnews.org
The @demwomencaucus.bsky.social issues a scathing statement opposing the Republican-amended version of a bipartisan bill to create a Smithsonian women's history museum: "Republicans traded the representation of women for Trump’s gain and ego. It’s as embarrassing as it is disappointing."
The Supreme Court allowed medication abortion to stay available for now, but Louisiana's lawsuit has put reproductive rights back on the agenda ahead of the midterms. From @shefali.bsky.social and me: 19thnews.org/2026/05/medi...
Medication abortion is available — for now. But reproductive rights could still shape the midterms.
Even without a Supreme Court court ruling restricting abortion rights, Democrats in tight races are likely to keep the consequences of bans in their midterm campaigns.
19thnews.org
Today, @replamonica.bsky.social announced she's expecting her second child. I spoke with her last year about her journey battling uterine fibroids — she's had four surgeries, most recently in November, and went to Washington to vote on the same day: 19thnews.org/2025/11/lamo...
A vote too important for Rep. LaMonica McIver to miss
Just hours after surgery for uterine fibroids, the New Jersey Democrat — a target of Trump’s Justice Department — was in Washington to vote last week.
19thnews.org
Will be joining @thehill.com & @decisiondeskhq.bsky.social for live coverage of tonight’s primaries starting at 7pm ET! www.youtube.com/live/6oNPfR6...
Watch LIVE: The Hill's Decision Desk 2026 - Data Nerds track Ohio, Indiana primary elections
YouTube video by The Hill
youtube.com
Some Indiana state lawmakers who defied the White House's redistricting push facing Trump-backed primary challengers tonight also faced death threats. I recently investigated the fragile 50-state security and safety patchwork keeping state lawmakers safe: 19thnews.org/2026/04/poli...
A state lawmaker was assassinated last year. Who is keeping others safe?
The rise in threats and abuse is disproportionately affecting women lawmakers. We asked law enforcement agencies in all 50 states what they’re doing about it.
19thnews.org
“As recently as this week, Mr. Swalwell communicated directly with a former intern on the app and asked her why she had taken a screenshot of their chat history, based on images provided to The Times, though the messages were not sexual in nature.” www.nytimes.com/2026/05/01/u...
Swalwell Used Social Media to Build His Career. His Accusers Used It to Warn Others.
nytimes.com
Wednesday: I reported on how abortion is going to show up as a bigger issue in the ‘26 midterms than the current discourse reflects Today: The 5th Circuit blocks abortion pills from being prescribed via telehealth nationwide 19thnews.org/2026/04/abor...
Abortion isn’t *the* issue in 2026. But it’s still definitely *an* issue.
Democrats are still embracing abortion as a top issue in some state Supreme Court and downballot races in the 2026 midterms.
19thnews.org
Though they see SCOTUS' gerrymander ruling as a blow, Black women members of Congress who spoke to @gracepanetta.bsky.social noted the success of Black politicians in being elected to non-majority-Black seats. “Black women know how to win all over.” 19thnews.org/2026/05/blac...
‘We’re gonna hang strong’: Black women in Congress face the next voting rights fight
They see the Supreme Court’s gerrymandering ruling as a devastating blow to Black voters — but are ready to win anyway.
19thnews.org
New: I’ve spent the last few days talking to Black women in Congress about the VRA decision and what it means for them “We’re gonna hang strong and make sure that we fight against this,” @repterrisewell.govpeeps.us told me 19thnews.org/2026/05/blac...
‘We’re gonna hang strong’: Black women in Congress face the next voting rights fight
They see the Supreme Court’s gerrymandering ruling as a devastating blow to Black voters — but are ready to win anyway.
19thnews.org
ICYMI — read this excellent story from @gracepanetta.bsky.social on how state agencies are (not) protecting lawmakers. Political violence is one of the major barriers to a robust, representative democracy.
Grace Panetta@gracepanetta.bsky.social · 3mo agoI posed these 4 questions to state law enforcement agencies tasked with protecting state lawmakers in all 50 states — 27 gave on-the-record responses, which you can read here: 19thnews.org/2026/04/poli...
The economy and the cost of living are driving voters’ concerns and Democratic campaigns’ messaging going into the 2026 midterms. But abortion is still shaping messaging in state-level and especially state supreme court elections. @gracepanetta.bsky.social for @19thnews.org
Abortion isn’t *the* issue in 2026. But it’s still definitely *an* issue.
Democrats are still embracing abortion as a top issue in some state Supreme Court and downballot races in the 2026 midterms.
19thnews.org
New from me: Abortion isn't the top issue in 2026 — but Democratic & liberal candidates in state Supreme Court races in Wisconsin & Georgia this spring and in some upcoming House primaries are still running on it + highlighting the issue in their campaigns 19thnews.org/2026/04/abor...
Abortion isn’t *the* issue in 2026. But it’s still definitely *an* issue.
Democrats are still embracing abortion as a top issue in some state Supreme Court and downballot races in the 2026 midterms.
19thnews.org
Will be on @waytooearly.bsky.social tomorrow talking about my recent reporting on political violence at about 5:30 a.m tomorrow 🌞 19thnews.org/2026/04/poli...
A state lawmaker was assassinated last year. Who is keeping others safe?
The rise in threats and abuse is disproportionately affecting women lawmakers. We asked law enforcement agencies in all 50 states what they’re doing about it.
19thnews.org
