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By Ali Bianco |
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With help from Eli Okun and Irie Sentner Good Sunday morning. This is Ali Bianco, writing in from a foggy Boston today. There’s just over a week left of August, and thus the summer recess season. How are you spending it? Shoot me a note.
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DRIVING THE DAY |
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New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill, speaking with candidate Maura Sullivan and a veteran at their roundtable in Manchester, New Hampshire on Aug. 19, 2026. | Photo courtesy of Sherrill's office |
MANCHESTER, N.H. — New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill, a former Navy helicopter pilot, has enlisted for a new mission: to establish herself as an influential operator for the midterms, with an eye toward putting Democrats back on the right footing with working-class voters ahead of 2028. Sherrill’s presence at the trendy To Share Brewery in New Hampshire is about more than one election cycle. As she vents her concerns about the Iran war to the roundtable of veterans, her focus on the president’s role as commander-in-chief is evident. She talks animatedly about making sure candidates up and down the ballot “are implementing policies that are going to drive down costs for people.” It’s got Sherrill’s closest allies agreeing she could generate some 2028 buzz. “I think the sky is the limit for Mikie Sherrill,” Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.), part of Sherrill’s old “gang of nine” veteran House members and a former Army Ranger, told Playbook. “I need to recruit new friends because all my friends have become governors and senators.” She is hyper-focused on veterans and what she calls a guiding principle of “ruthless competence” — which could set her apart in the 2028 conversation. “If I read one more headline that says somebody looks like [John F. Kennedy] and talks like [Barack Obama], you know, I’m going to explode,” said Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.), one of Sherrill’s fellow “badass women” colleagues and an Air Force vet. “We have to recognize what an enormously talented bench we have.” While some potential 2028ers may be taking on more of a beer-in-hand, “I’m just like you” approach to rebuilding the party, Sherrill is mainlining a 2 percent latte from Starbucks with an extra shot. She’s wired when she meets with voters, she’s a bit relentless by her own account and she’s frustrated with the current political reality. “I’m just, like, an old school Democrat. Like I’m for working people,” Sherrill said. “Voters are looking for the people that they think are going to deliver action, deliver on their promises, make change because the status quo is not working.” |
A message from The Alzheimer's Association: A simple blood test can detect Alzheimer’s before symptoms appear, enabling significantly more effective treatment. The bipartisan Alzheimer’s Screening and Prevention (ASAP) Act ensures people benefit from this scientific milestone. Congress has acted to allow Medicare coverage for mammograms and other pivotal screening tests. Now Congress has the same generational opportunity to redefine Alzheimer’s care: Unlock early detection to enable early treatment. Congress must pass the ASAP Act. |
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Just six months into her tenure, she kicked off a fall of cross-country travel with a slate of endorsements in some of this cycle’s most competitive districts. In the last week, she’s already checked off the almost-obligatory summer stop to Martha’s Vineyard. She’s stumped in an American Legion outpost in Arlington, Massachusetts, for her ally Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), who’s trying to topple a tenured Senate incumbent. And she’s romped through New Hampshire, hitting both local craftsman leagues in Concord and breweries here in Manchester alongside her chosen candidates in a state crucial to a would-be Senate majority. “The fight isn't moderates versus DSA candidates,” Sherrill told Playbook on the road this week. “The fight is if we are going to have strong people in the Democratic Party that are going to actually make change to make people's lives better, or people who you can just expect more of the same.” But in entering the midterms battlefield, Sherrill is joining a growing crop of Democrats like Pete Buttigieg, Mark Kelly or her close friend Elissa Slotkin who are testing the ground for building a coalition broad and sticky enough to retake the White House come 2028. “People like women who have served,” Slotkin told Playbook. “They like veterans serving in elected office. I think that's interesting to people and maybe helps attract crossover voters who might not otherwise have considered voting for a Democrat.” Sherrill’s betting that a group of veterans, eschewing ideological identities or factions, could form that path back to power come November, as your author writes this morning. Her Mission to Deliver PAC announced endorsements this summer for candidates like retired Marine Corps drill instructor JoAnna Mendoza in Arizona, Navy veteran Zach Dembo of Kentucky, former Navy helicopter pilot Rebecca Bennett in New Jersey and former active duty Army officer Cait Conley in New York. She’s also supporting Nancy Lacore, the retired Navy vice admiral who was recently fired, in South Carolina. And she appears to have her pulse on the candidates the party believes have promising paths — both Dembo and Lacore were added to the DCCC’s coveted “Red-to-Blue” program last week. Sherrill’s next stop will take her to Las Vegas, Nevada. And her PAC is preparing to roll out more endorsements this fall. Her midterm moves raise an obvious question: Should Democrats put a veteran atop the ticket? “That's a layup,” she said. “Yes.” Could that be, say, one with her particular résumé? “What I’m really focused on in ’28 is how we are going to implement change for this nation,” Sherrill said. “We desperately need it.”
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A message from The Alzheimer's Association:  
More than 9 in 10 Americans say they would want a simple test for Alzheimer’s. Learn more. |
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SUNDAY BEST … — Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) on the possible Democratic slate looking to 2028, and whether he is considering a run, on NBC’s “Meet the Press”: “I think we need this healthy debate. Because I don't think Democrats have put forward a clear alternative to the Trump administration. … I think Democrats need to be very clear not just what we're against, but what we're for. And I very much want to be part of that debate, and I am kicking the tires, testing the waters.” — Transportation Sec. Sean Duffy on the Indy car race in D.C., and on the Freedom 250 Grand Prix working with the D.C. mayor’s office, on “Fox News Sunday”: “The mayor has been a great partner. This has been bipartisan all the way along. And I think if you talk to the Secret Service, they'll tell you that. There haven't been any planned protests for this event, the first one in all the 250 celebrations, because again, it's bipartisan and road racing, who's gonna protest that?” — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on the growing backlash to data centers, and the one year moratorium that he implemented, on ABC’s “This Week”: “They didn’t do their job to get the support of people in local communities. … Because they did not do that, that’s why I’m coming in as governor and saying, ‘Listen, if you want to open a data center in Texas, you have to first get the approval of those in local communities.’ And that’s why I set that standard. … They basically dug their own grave for the problem that’s been caused for them, and that’s why they got the backlash they deserved.”
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Where energy, tech and policy connect POLITICO Surge launches August 31 with reporting and analysis on rising power demand, AI infrastructure, electrification, grid constraints and the politics shaping energy’s next chapter.
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7 THINGS FOR YOUR RADAR 1. THE NEW TRADE WAR: Canadian PM Mark Carney is not mincing words about the gravity of the trade threat that the U.S. and Canada are now staring down: “So, it is an attack in a war. It’s not a good choice,” he said yesterday. Both the U.S. and Canada are accusing each other of eleventh-hour demands that derailed talks, with Canada now preparing a dollar-for-dollar retaliation that will go into effect on Sept. 8. More from our POLITICO Canada colleagues Inside the fracture: USTR Jamieson Greer had been in wall-to-wall negotiations for over a week and got close to landing a deal after a year of strained relations. But it fell apart within hours under a combination of those last-minute demands and the political constraints, POLITICO’s Daniel Desrochers and colleagues report. “The negotiations also exposed friction between Greer and U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s respective public policy spheres,” they write. “While the White House has been adamant officials are in lockstep, two people familiar with the talks said Lutnick felt the deal framework hammered out by Greer’s trade office was ‘sprung on’ his agency.” 2. 2026 WATCH: Mike Rogers’ allies asked AIPAC not to advertise on his behalf, the biggest sign yet of how potent the anti-AIPAC backlash has grown this cycle, even for some Republicans, Axios’ Alex Isenstadt scoops. The GOP candidate for Michigan Senate met with AIPAC chair Michael Tuchin this week in LA, after which the group shelved its first planned ad. The move angered the group’s officials as they were prepared to spend millions more to defeat Democrat Abdul El-Sayed. In another controversial trend: Data centers have suddenly become one of the top issues of the midterms, NYT’s Shane Goldmacher writes. “So far, Democrats have chiefly been the ones racing to harness voter anger about data centers over rising electricity prices, water use and mistrust of the tech sector. … Some Republicans are now using ‘data center’ as an epithet, and casting themselves as the real opponents of corporate tax breaks and unfettered construction.” 3. UNLIKELY ALLIES?: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries met privately recently with Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to discuss possible common ground between the Democratic caucus and the administration, NYT’s Maggie Haberman and Annie Karni scoop. Neither commented to the NYT. The timing highlights that the White House is increasingly aware of the possibility that it’ll have to work with a Democrat-led House after this year’s midterms.
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4. BIG SPENDERS: The top donors in this election cycle so far have spent over $1.6 billion, with Republican-leaning donors giving $1.05 billion and Democrat leaning donors giving $410 million, WaPo’s Clara Ence Morse and colleagues report. George Soros tops the list for Democrats, with Jeff and Janine Yass, Ben Horowitz and Marc Andreessen leading the pack for the GOP. And of the top organizations to spend, the GOP-aligned One Nation and Dems’ Majority Forward lead that list, followed by Coinbase. 5. IMMIGRATION FILES: “‘We don’t need him’: DHS officials relieved Trump’s ICE pick is stalled,” by POLITICO’s Eric Bazail-Eimil and Myah Ward: “Some officials inside the Department of Homeland Security, which houses ICE, question Oklahoma state trooper Lance Schroyer’s qualifications to lead the agency. And they also prefer acting director Dave Venturella … Some of those hawks question whether Schroyer has the immigration enforcement experience necessary to carry out the president’s mass deportation agenda. Schroyer is [Secretary Markwayne Mullin’s] handpicked person for the job. That ‘shows how out of touch Mullin is. That’s not even JV level for literally the most important job in the admin that remains unfilled,’ a second official said.” 6. OVER IN ISRAEL: For POLITICO Magazine, Jan Philipp Burgard writes about Gadi Eisenkot, the man whose ascent through the Israeli parliament is putting PM Benjamin Netanyahu on his back heels ahead of the country’s election in October. “A former member of Netanyahu’s war cabinet, Eisenkot has seemingly overnight emerged as the prime minister’s most formidable challenger … Rarely has an Israeli election been watched abroad with such anticipation. … Eisenkot is promising his supporters that he can wrest the country in a new direction.” 7. THE VIEW FROM 1600 PENN AVE: “‘The writing on the wall’: Trump’s staff departs ahead of possible turmoil,” by POLITICO’s Alex Gangitano and colleagues: “Though it’s not unusual for staff to depart around the midterms, Trump’s desire to run the country through a handful of close, fiercely loyal aides means each loss is more impactful than in a White House where power and responsibility are more diffuse. … The optics of leaving ahead of a contentious midterms battle aren’t ideal. But White House allies concede that waiting until after the election may reduce their political capital, particularly if Republicans lose one or both chambers of Congress.”
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TALK OF THE TOWN |
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HEALTH CHECK — “Doctors say Trump’s weight poses a significant health risk,” by WaPo’s Dan Diamond: “Some doctors say they’re worried about another risk: the 23 pounds that Trump may have gained since his last campaign for president. … But the president has appeared heavier in photos than he did during his campaign, and the administration said he gained 14 pounds between his most recent annual medical check-ups. White House physicians have said they’ve advised Trump … to focus on weight loss, improving his diet and sustained physical activity.” ENGAGED — Mateo Pierce-Mosquera, legislative and public affairs director for the United States Hispanic Business Council, and Jennyfer Andrea Castro Corrales, a systems engineer, got engaged on Friday in Cali, Colombia — two days before their one-year anniversary. The couple met on Tinder. Pic … Another pic HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Stephen Miller … Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer … Kari Lake … Reps. Scott Franklin (R-Fla.) and Kim Schrier (D-Wash.) … Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow (40) … NBC’s Julie Tsirkin … WaPo’s Annah Backstrom Aschbrenner … Mike Memoli … Roll Call’s Niels Lesniewski … Ameer Patel of Voto Latino … Bradley Singer of WME … Richard Chalkey … Bloomberg Government’s Caitlin Oprysko … Playbook’s own Irie Sentner … POLITICO’s Madina Touré and Rob Bialkowski … Miriam Sapiro … Herald Group’s Todd Van Etten and Malyia Kelley … Jenna Alsayegh of USTelecom … Tom Nowlan … Ian Jefferies of the Association of American Railroads … Rob Bluey … Jesse Connolly of Rep. Chellie Pingree’s (D-Maine) office … Brunswick Group’s Patti Solis Doyle … Indicator’s Craig Silverman … Bryer Davis of Sen. Raphael Warnock’s (D-Ga.) office … Jessica Ketner … David Wickenden of AARP … former Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam … Alexi McCammond … former California Gov. Pete Wilson … Merla Zollinger of the American Cleaning Institute Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@politico.com or text us on Signal here. Playbook couldn’t happen without our editor Giuseppe Macri and deputy editor Garrett Ross. |
A message from The Alzheimer's Association: The ASAP Act is a “mammogram moment” for Alzheimer’s — an opportunity to make early detection the standard of care. When Congress enabled Medicare coverage for routine mammograms, screening rates soared and breast cancer deaths dropped significantly. That early investment led to earlier detection, better outcomes and improved quality of life.
Congress can deliver this same breakthrough for those with Alzheimer’s through the bipartisan ASAP Act, which would allow Medicare to cover a simple blood test to detect Alzheimer’s before symptoms appear. Until Congress acts, Medicare cannot cover dementia screening tests. But fewer than 10% of people receive a diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment when today’s FDA-approved treatments are significantly more effective. Expanding access to blood-based screening will help more patients receive an early diagnosis, and the opportunity for earlier, more effective treatment. Congress must support the ASAP Act and appropriate Alzheimer’s care. |
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