‘A delayed revolution’

Presented by Anthropic: The unofficial guide to official Washington.

Aug 05, 2026 View in browser   By Adam Wren, Will Steakin and Dasha Burns Presented by  With help from Eli Okun, Ali Bianco and Irie Sentner Good Wednesday morning from Detroit, where we are a little bleary eyed and still coming off a contact sugar buzz from Abdul El-Sayed’s mocktails. Get in touch. In today’s Playbook … — Abdul El-Sayed danced into Election Day… and limped out. — Mike Johnson breaks his silence on Max Miller in an exclusive POLITICO interview. — The Boldfaces: Haley Stevens, Mike Rogers, Max Glass, Evan Barker, Adam Green, Hasan Piker, John Thune, Todd Blanche, Wesley Bell, Will Lawrence and more. DRIVING THE DAY Abdul El-Sayed speaks to supporters during a primary night event at the Majestic Theatre in Detroit on Tuesday, Aug. 4. | Jamie Kelter Davis for POLITICO DETROIT — Abdul El-Sayed strode and danced into Election Day so confident about his chances that he flashed his treasured fitness app Whoop to Playbook in Dearborn yesterday afternoon, showing a “stress monitor” that read: low. In an interview with Playbook before he made his way to his hotel and then his watch party, El-Sayed waxed poetic about being a 2028 powerbroker, putting potential presidential candidates on notice to subscribe to his campaign mantra of getting money out of politics, putting money into pockets and passing Medicare for All. “If not, I’m going to dog you up and down the state,” he said. El-Sayed even asked why he’d been getting better sleep than Playbook lately. One Democratic operative close to El-Sayed was so confident earlier on Tuesday that they predicted the race would be called “almost immediately.” Then came Election Night. El-Sayed was narrowly beating Rep. Haley Stevens, but was forced out of his venue before he could deliver a sweeping victory speech. “All right, y’all,” El-Sayed said a little before 1 a.m. at the Majestic Theatre. “Look, I wish I could tell you that I was declaring victory right about now. Turns out it takes a long time to count some votes in Michigan.” Later, he added: “We’re going to have to wait a little longer to see the outcome of this race.” As of 6 a.m., the results were far narrower than expectations and polling suggested, with El-Sayed posting a slight lead, 48.6 percent to Stevens’ 47.4 percent. Tuesday night was most notable for all the things it wasn’t: A double-digit win for El-Sayed. A resounding verdict in the Democratic civil war. Even a conclusive test of whether electability had been redefined in 2026. What it was: Yet another sign that the insurgent left, like in Maine, “performed best among wealthier and highly educated voters, while moderate Democrats still perform better in lower-income and less educated areas,” POLITICO’s Jessica Piper writes. It was also a sign of a break between two unsettled factions of the Democratic Party: Black voters and the left. A message from Anthropic: Helping a Boston restaurant owner support his team Running a restaurant means financial pressure and moving parts. At Shy Bird, owner Eli Feldman uses Claude to help solve problems from kitchen organization to manager coaching, so he can give more to the people who make the restaurant run. Learn more.   And yet it was an impressive effort on many levels for El-Sayed — even if it didn’t match expectations. “$70 million against him. Outspent 11:1. Ugly attack ads full of lies,” his longtime strategist Max Glass told us. “And he’s still going to pull it out. It’s a BFD.” Privately, though, some Michigan Democratic operatives expressed confusion at El-Sayed’s final stretch on the campaign trail. “I was really struck that he was at that fucking pool party with [the Twitch streamer] Hasan Piker the day before Election Day. These guys are unbelievably cocky.” It’s an open question to what extent El-Sayed will try to tack back to the center — but don’t hold your breath. “If I were still working for him, I’d advise him to moderate on immigration, policing, and centering identity politics,” Evan Barker, the author of the memoir “Nothing Left: Confessions of a Democratic Operative,” and El-Sayed's former fundraising consultant for Medicare for All Now and Southpaw PAC, told us. “But based on what I know about him, he is uncompromising.” What’s clear is that Democrats — in Michigan and elsewhere — have some work to do. Or, as Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, told us early this morning: “If it’s a revolution, it’s a delayed revolution.” A week ago, El-Sayed, who largely ran against Washington and eschewed Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, thought he’d emerge from this race so powerful that he could steer a primary for a sitting senator in his own party. In an interview outside a polling place yesterday, he predicted a 7-point general-election win over Mike Rogers, an opponent he described as “generationally boring and generationally corrupt,” who “can't decide what era of Republicanism he wants to be, so he carries the baggage of both.” Now, should his lead hold, El-Sayed has five weeks to “mend fences” as he put it earlier this morning, echoing a note of uncharacteristic humility he shared with Playbook on his way to his last polling stop yesterday. “I’m hoping that all of the senators who want to see a majority are going to team up so we can all collectively dunk on Mike Rogers,” he told Playbook. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — SLF targets AES: The Senate Leadership Fund is coming out swinging against El-Sayed today in a statewide digital ad campaign shared first with Playbook that uses El-Sayed’s own words to describe himself as “dangerous.” Watch the ad SLF Executive Director Alex Latcham says Republicans are experiencing the inverse of 2024: “Unified behind a strong GOP candidate while Dems have suffered an extremely divisive and narrow primary with the more extreme candidate winning despite the objections (and $60 million+ in spending) from their Senate leadership. Where Chuck Schumer failed, John Thune took early steps to position the GOP for one of the best pickup opportunities this cycle.” The NRSC told Playbook Republicans are prepared to immediately execute battle plans for either outcome. On today's Playbook Podcast: Dasha, Adam and Will pick over the overnight results out of Michigan.   A message from Anthropic: Helping a Boston restaurant owner support his team Running a restaurant comes with pressure. At Shy Bird, Claude helps Eli Feldman do more for his team. Learn more.   THE DOWNLOAD MIKE ON MILLER: Speaker Mike Johnson called for investigations into domestic abuse allegations against Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio) to play out during an exclusive interview with Dasha for “The Conversation” last night. Republicans fretting about losing Miller’s seat have until the end of the week to replace him on the ballot. “I haven't spoken to Max about this in the last few days. Of course, I will,” Johnson said on the sidelines of a campaign swing in Phoenix. The speaker called the allegations “serious” but said he would let an Ethics Committee investigation run its course. Miller denies any wrongdoing and called the claims “politically motivated” Tuesday. Miller yesterday claimed Johnson was among those “standing behind me.” First in Playbook: Miller posted documents on Dropbox over the weekend that may have been created by his congressional office in violation of House rules, POLITICO’s Daniel Lippman reports. An analysis of metadata for four documents in Miller’s Dropbox folder showed the authorship was “Office of Rep. Max Miller – Legal Counsel.” After Playbook asked if congressional resources were used to create them, Miller’s personal attorney Aaron Minc told Playbook he would change the metadata, which now reads “Minc Law LLC.” Miller chief of staff Phil Poe said only Minc handled the production of the documents and creation of the folder, and the congressional office doesn’t employ anyone with the title of “Legal Counsel.” Minc also said the error may have been caused by using AI. FUTURE THUNE: Senate Majority Leader John Thune is still expecting to run for reelection in 2028, but he left open the possibility that that could change based on how November goes, POLITICO’s Jordain Carney writes. But some GOP senators said they wouldn’t be surprised if Thune has had enough by that time. For now, he’s staring down a bipartisan CR he’ll need to push on a possibly accelerated timeline, and mounting pressure on reconciliation 3.0, among other priorities that may keep the Senate in and push back fly out day. More from Inside Congress CARTE BLANCHE: Acting AG Todd Blanche is just one vote shy of confirmation after Sen. John Curtis (R-Utah) announced his support for Blanche to take up the post formally, POLITICO’s Chris Marquette reports. But Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) is out — leaving Blanche’s fate in the hands of either Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) or Bill Cassidy (R-La.). HEADING WEST: President Donald Trump is in Nevada today for a zoom-in on the economy at an event at Red Rock Casino in Las Vegas. He’s also walking into the center of one of the most-watched governor’s races in the country, as GOP Gov. Joe Lombardo seeks to ward off a challenge from Dem AG Aaron Ford.   Pete Buttigieg talks AI wealth, 2028 and Democrats’ next chapter In the latest episode of On the Road, Jonathan Martin sits down with Pete Buttigieg in Traverse City for a conversation on the future of the Democratic Party, the Michigan Senate race, economic inequality and why Buttigieg says the next era of American politics will require bigger ideas. Watch now.     THE FRONT PAGE ABOUT LAST NIGHT: Rep. Wesley Bell defeated Cori Bush again, denying her an opportunity to return to the House after winning the Dem primary for Missouri’s 1st District last night, POLITICO’s Cheyanne Daniels reports. It’s the latest Dem race to be heavily defined over Israel, with AIPAC having poured $2 million into Bell’s reelection campaign, and it’s a snag for progressives who’ve been making AIPAC a key marker of their resistance. In Michigan’s 7th, victor and Sunrise Movement co-founder Will Lawrence’s campaign is already detailing how the progressive, Bernie Sanders-backed Democrat can pick up a battleground seat, according to a memo obtained first by Playbook. The campaign is betting Lawrence’s opposition to data-center development can help defeat GOP Rep. Tom Barrett, with internal polling showing 63 percent of voters — including 66 percent of independents and 47 percent of Republicans — more likely to support a candidate calling for a pause in data-center construction. In Kansas: State Sen. Cindy Holscher won the Democratic primary for governor, in a blow to establishment Democrats as Holscher increasingly took a populist stance. She’ll face Republican Ty Masterson in November. And voters in the red state overwhelmingly rejected a referendum designed to overturn Kansas’ constitutional right to abortion, Playbook’s Irie Sentner writes. Elsewhere in Missouri: GOP state Sen. Rick Brattin won out in the crowded Republican primary to take on Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver for Missouri’s newly gerrymandered 5th District in November.   A message from Anthropic: How a Boston restaurant owner uses Claude to help support his team   DEMS EXPAND THE MAP: The DCCC is adding 12 Republican-held districts to its offensive battlefield, bringing its target list up to 58 seats, Will scoops. The expansion puts several prominent Republicans in Dems’ sights: Lauren Boebert (CO-4), Victoria Spartz (IN-5), French Hill (AR-2), Tony Gonzales (TX-23), and in a likely bit of Democratic trolling, NRCC Chair Richard Hudson’s solidly Republican district (NC-9). Also on the list: Jeff Hurd (CO-3), Gus Bilirakis (FL-12), Mike Flood (NE-1), Nick LaLota (NY-1), and a trio of open seats in NV-2, NY-21 and TN-9. AD IT UP: The NRCC is out this morning with its first coordinated ad campaign since the Supreme Court tossed decades-old caps on how much party committees can spend in lockstep with their own candidates, Will scoops. Republicans are using their new power to target Pennsylvania’s 8th District, a marquee battleground, to shore up support for freshman Rep. Rob Bresnahan against Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti. The broadcast, cable and radio ad blitz across Scranton will “better amplify the message House Republicans are already winning on” heading into November, NRCC spokesperson Mike Marinella said. TAKING STOCK: GOP Rep. Tom Kean Jr. was completely MIA during his four-month medical absence — but he still was signing off on stock transactions, POLITICO’s Joey Fox reports. “Kean told POLITICO in a phone interview that he has no personal involvement in any transactions, having delegated all authority to his financial advisers. He only learns of any decisions made regarding his assets, he said, when he’s presented with transaction reports awaiting his signature … But his Democratic foe, former Navy helicopter pilot Rebecca Bennett, is arguing that Kean should still be held accountable for the trades made in his name.” A message from Anthropic: Helping a Boston restaurant owner support his team Running a restaurant means financial pressure and moving parts. At Shy Bird, owner Eli Feldman uses Claude to help solve problems from kitchen organization to manager coaching, so he can give more to the people who make the restaurant run. Learn more.   3 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW 1. EDWARDS OUT: Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-N.C.) in an overnight post at 3:32 a.m. said he was dropping his reelection bid following a House Ethics Committee report earlier this week that recommended he be censured over inappropriate sexual advances toward two female staffers. Edwards’ decision to drop also comes after House GOP leaders were working to pressure him to bow out in his now-toss up district, CNN’s Sarah Ferris and Lauren Fox reported. 2. IRAN LATEST: A potential deal to halt the war with Iran focused on the Strait of Hormuz appears to be gaining traction, with Qatar saying there’s a draft proposal to reopen the waterway, per Bloomberg’s Hadriana Lowenkron and colleagues. Trump discussed the possible deescalation with a top Qatari official in a call yesterday, and both Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent signaled the deal could come together quickly. 3. REDISTRICTING RODEO: Maryland Democrats passed an amendment to their constitution that will tee up the state’s 2028 redistricting fight by insulating future Dem-leaning maps from being shot down in court, POLITICO's Greg Svirnovskiy reports. Voters will have their say on the amendment in November. Over in Missouri, the state’s Democrats will not get their own referendum after Republicans blocked Dems’ petition, meaning the GOP’s gerrymander eliminating one Dem-leaning seat is basically guaranteed, per POLITICO’s Aaron Pellish.   Introducing Canberra Playbook POLITICO is coming to Australia. Canberra Playbook, our new daily briefing on the people and power shaping federal politics, launches 17 August. Free, daily, in your inbox before Canberra's day starts. Subscribe free.     TALK OF THE TOWN JUDGMENT DAY — NYT’s Tyler Pager and colleagues have an inside look at the Oval Office meeting where U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro pleaded her case with Trump, where she told him Interior Secretary Doug Burgum had misled him on the cause of the deterioration of the Reflecting Pool. She privately called Burgum an incompetent liar, Burgum defended himself and Trump let out his frustrations in a face-to-face meeting “worthy of two decorated veterans of confrontational reality TV,” they write. NO MORE PILLOW TALK — Mike Lindell, who’s in the thick of a GOP primary campaign for governor of Minnesota, announced he’s stepping down as CEO of MyPillow. He’s reduced his ownership to a minority share but will stay on their board of directors, per CBS. FOLLOWING FAUCI — Steven Quay, a pharma exec with multiple books tracing the origins of Covid-19 to a Chinese lab, is in the final vetting process for Anthony Fauci’s old job, POLITICO’s Simon Levien and Tim Röhn scoop. K STREET NEWS — FGS Global is acquiring Rich Feuer Anderson, a bipartisan government affairs firm. The acquisition will build FGS and RFA’s leading financial services and energy practices into a single, integrated team spanning policy strategy, strategic communications and cross-border execution. TRANSITIONS — The Institute of Politics at the University of Chicago has named its newest class of Pritzker fellows: John Kirby, David Axelrod, Patrick Ruffini, Amanda Litman, Sasha Baker, Christy George and Morgan McSweeney. … Noah Peters has joined Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors as a partner in their New York office. He previously worked for the OPM director. ENGAGED — Kate Santaliz, a congressional reporter at Axios, and Isaac Cohen, a technical adviser to the CEO at Slate Automotive, got engaged on Saturday. The couple met at Madhatter while they were both at GW. He proposed on the beach in Spring Lake, N.J. Pic by Alyssa Cobb ... Another pic WEDDING — Hannah Rehm, comms director for Rep. Dave Min (D-Calif.), and Yusuf Nekzad, legislative director for Rep. Nikki Budzinski (D-Ill.), got married on July 4 at Wind Mountain Ranch in Stevenson, Washington. The couple met on Pat Timmons-Goodson’s congressional campaign in North Carolina. Pics by Cara Mia photography … Another pic … SPOTTED: Budzinski, James Floyd, Matt Corridoni, Sean Sibley, Aaron Groce, John Lee, Jessica Spence, Merrilee Rogers, Joe Valente, Brian Duckworth, Joe Zanoni, Lorna Gilmore, Matt Hill, Evan Keller and Alex Przybelski. WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Nadgey Fones, comms director for the House Judiciary Majority, and Harry Fones, senior adviser for comms at the USDA, welcomed their daughter Alice Fones on July 1. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Puerto Rico Gov. Jenniffer González-Colón … A.G. Sulzberger … Planned Parenthood’s Alexis McGill Johnson … Rufus Gifford … Blake Masters … Ryan Wrasse of Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s office … Sharon Weber … POLITICO’s Meredith Jolivert … Nick Raineri … Crooked Media’s Matt Berg … Kristofer Eisenla … Boston Globe’s Jim Puzzanghera … Jeremy Flantzer … Meta’s Monique Dorsainvil … Cicely Simpson … Molly Donlin of Regent Strategies … Laura Chace … ABC’s Luis Martinez … Caroline Ehlich … Mark Brunner of Merlin … Katie Vlietstra Wonnenberg of Public Private Strategies … former Rep. Mike Doyle (D-Pa.) … Pete Snyder … former Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval 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.   Sponsored Survey WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU: Please take a 1-minute survey about one of our advertising partners.     Follow us on X Adam Wren @adamwren Dasha Burns @DashaBurns Will Steakin @wsteaks   Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook  |  Playbook PM  |  California Playbook  |  Florida Playbook  |  Illinois Playbook  |  New Jersey Playbook  |  New York Playbook  |  Canada Playbook  |  Brussels Playbook  |  London Playbook  |  Playbook Paris  |  Berlin Playbook  |  Madrid Playbook  |  Canberra Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters Follow us