Current Affairs Of Pakistan & World: Progressives’ big Midwest test

Progressives’ big Midwest test

Aug 05, 2026

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THE CATCH-UP

Progressives are cashing in on primary season. The looming question is whether they can unite a coalition to win in November — and the answer will come across the Midwest.

Abdul El-Sayed is officially the Democratic nominee for what’s shaping up to be one of the defining Senate races for Democrats searching for a way back to power.

His emphatic win — albeit smaller than projected and despite a massive fundraising disadvantage — is bolstering the party’s left flank. And the progressive question will immediately move next week to Wisconsin, where democratic socialist Francesca Hong has emerged as the unexpected frontrunner in the dramatic Democratic primary for the governor’s mansion.

If Hong emerges victorious, as polls predict, she’ll join El-Sayed as progressive test cases about how much they’ll have to moderate in battleground states — which both went to President Donald Trump in 2024.

“I’ve talked to moderates and independents, Republicans, folks who don’t have a political home right now, and they have a lot of concerns about what's going on in the state,” Hong said in an exclusive interview with Playbook this morning. “They also have concerns about things I've said in the past,” she added. “But what we're focusing on is how to come together to actually deliver for Wisconsinites, and that's going to be electing Democrats down and up the ballot this cycle.” Watch the clip

And Hong appears to be moderating on — or at least adding context to — some of her more controversial positions. She walked back her stance on police abolition while emphasizing the need to better tackle the underlying causes of crime. She told Playbook many of her old posts were “jokes,” including the now-deleted one calling to “Cancel Thanksgiving” — which she said is actually her favorite holiday. Watch the clip … More on the interview from Irie

For the party’s leftist set, El-Sayed’s odds-defying victory is a sign they’re headed in the right direction — and they’re projecting confidence about their theory of the electability case.

“What Abdul did last night is pull off, in a sense, the biggest upset in the history of modern politics,” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) told reporters at the Capitol this morning. “He had to take on the entire national Democratic leadership, [Chuck] Schumer on down, and then he had to withstand over $60 million in super PAC money, half of that from AIPAC. I have never heard, honestly, in my life, any candidate winning an election fighting back against all of that.”

Now El-Sayed has three months to prove he can be the great unifier and patch things up with the moderates he’s spent months putting on blast. Already, there are signs both wings of the party are prepared to join together, POLITICO’s Liz Crampton and Samuel Benson report.

Rep. Haley Stevens, El-Sayed’s primary opponent, offered her support this morning. Former VP Kamala Harris sent out a fundraising email for El-Sayed, saying “Michiganders were lucky to have such inspiring leaders step up in this moment.” California Gov. Gavin Newsom also posted his congratulations. Senate Majority PAC, the super PAC closely aligned with Schumer, quickly put out an upbeat ad for El-Sayed set to the tune of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing.” And Schumer, along with DSCC Chair Kirsten Gillibrand, are also taking the unity route.

That unity will be tested on progressives’ steep uphill battle to November. AIPAC, the pro-Israel mega group that spent big against El-Sayed, now indicates it could spend in favor of GOP candidate Mike Rogers. MAGA Inc. — the Trump-allied super PAC that’s been sitting on a pile of cash — put out its own statement blasting El-Sayed.

“The party has to all come together right now,” outgoing Michigan Sen. Gary Peters told reporters this morning, saying he’ll back El-Sayed after jumping in late to support Stevens. “We don’t have a lot of time, but everybody has to come together and understand that as Democrats, whatever differences we have between us as Democrats are minor compared to the differences between our Democratic candidate and the Republican candidate.”

Good Wednesday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop us a line at isentner@politico.com and abianco@politico.com.

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8 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

1. THE HEMP ISSUE: The White House is pushing for a reprieve on a ban that they passed last year on intoxicating hemp products — which would include White House chief of staff Susie Wiles’ son-in-law as one of the beneficiaries, NYT’s Kenneth Vogel and colleagues write. That addition is the core of a delay on the stopgap funding bill in the Senate, which set off an internal fight with some senators pushing back on its inclusion.

2. IMMIGRATION FILES: The Trump administration has “detained dozens of parents and spouses of active-duty U.S. troops as it rolls back immigration protections for military families to pursue its mass deportation agenda,” AP’s Jack Brook and colleagues report. “More than 50 parents and spouses of active-duty service members have been detained since Trump took office for a second term, and at least six have been deported and one self-deported, the AP found in the first accounting of such detentions, which the government does not track. At least eight immediate family members of U.S. service members remain in federal immigration custody.”

3. THE TRUMP EFFECT: Trump’s lack of subtlety in his efforts to influence foreign elections is leading to growing global backlash — and risks making America look weak, POLITICO’s Nahal Toosi writes in her latest column. “The U.S. has for decades overtly and covertly tried to sway foreign elections. Much of it is legal, especially if it involves mere commentary. And most administrations have relied on signaling, rather than blatant public moves. What’s striking about Trump is not just that he’s meddling, but that he’s so brazen about it, current and former U.S. and foreign officials say. He and his team are so obvious and ham-handed that every move the U.S. makes now fuels suspicion, including, lately, the travel of its diplomats.”

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.

4. KASH FLOW: FBI Director Kash Patel “says he has forged new law enforcement partnerships with China and Russia, two longtime U.S. rivals, over the past year in hopes of gaining allies in combating transnational crime including fentanyl, cyber fraud and child sexual exploitation,” Reuters’ Jana Winter reports. Chinese officials have visited the U.S. and FBI agents have done the same in China to “work on cases together and share intelligence.” In interviews, Patel “described the FBI's initiatives with what he called ‘non-traditional partners’ as selective and limited to specific types of transnational crimes.”

5. MORE FROM MICHIGAN: Rep. Shri Thanedar lost his Democratic primary bid for reelection to progressive challenger Donavan McKinney, in yet another win for the progressive wing of the party who’ve ousted a string of incumbents in safe blue seats, POLITICO’s Andrew Howard reports. But more shocking was the result of the GOP primary for Michigan’s purple 8th District, where the Trump-backed candidate, Amir Hassan, finished significantly behind Tom Smith, who had dropped out of the race entirely to endorse a different candidate, POLITICO’s Jessica Piper and Andrew write. Smith is now reentering the race to challenge Democratic Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet.

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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.

6. YIKES IN TEXAS: “James Talarico accused Ken Paxton of voter fraud. His own voter registration is raising questions,” by the Texas Tribune’s Kayla Guo and Zach Despart and ProPublica: “Texas state Rep. James Talarico voted in five elections using his parents’ address after purchasing a home for himself nearby, a practice that may have violated state voting laws … This comes weeks after Talarico accused Attorney General Ken Paxton, his opponent in the race for U.S. Senate, of voter fraud for similar actions. … But unredacted records Talarico’s campaign provided the newsrooms show that he listed his parents’ address on his voter registration in November 2021.”

7. NOT SO SUNNY IN THE SUNSHINE STATE: Two Florida House Republicans have endorsed against incumbent GOP Rep. Cory Mills for the state’s 7th District, deepening an intra-party clash as Mills is in the thick of an ethics probe, POLITICO’s Andrew Atterbury reports from Tallahassee. Reps. Anna Paulina Luna and Mike Haridopolos endorsed GOP challenger Ryan Elijah over the Trump-endorsed Mills. “He needs to not be seeking reelection,” Luna said in a text to Andrew.

8. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: Kansas’ outgoing Democratic governor isn’t mincing words about a ballot referendum once again targeting abortion rights in the red state that failed by a wide margin yesterday. “Kansans were Kansans last night. They don’t like nonsense and they are not easily fooled,” Laura Kelly texted Irie in her first direct remarks to a reporter since voters rejected the initiative by more than 20 points. “They saw the amendment for what it was….a power grab by a Legislature that wants to strip women of their constitutional rights and use public taxpayer dollars to fund private schools.”

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TALK OF THE TOWN

HOW PIRRO LANDED IN HOT WATER — U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro has drawn Trump’s intense ire over her decision to drop the charges against a former Olympian whom Trump alleged was a vandal that destroyed his revamped Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. What led Pirro to make such a break with Trump — and potentially put her job in jeopardy — were “questions career prosecutors had privately raised about the wisdom of bringing a felony case,” WSJ’s C. Ryan Barber and colleagues report. “In recent weeks, career prosecutors advocated for dismissing the case as information from the Interior Department revealed” that it was actually the installation of the lining in the pool that caused the deterioration.

At a DOJ presser this morning, acting AG Todd Blanche expressed support for Pirro’s “incredible” work, but he declined to say whether she’d handled the pool-related prosecutions correctly. Asked what message it would send if Trump decided to fire a U.S. attorney for dropping charges due to a lack of evidence, Blanche defended his right: “Hypothetically, if the president chose to fire a United States attorney, it turns out he’s allowed to do that because he’s the president of the United States.”

BIG SPENDERS — “Freedom 250 Sponsors Failed to Disclose Donations — A Potential Lobbying Law Violation,” by NOTUS’ Taylor Giorno: “The Great American State Fair was covered in the logos of dozens of corporate lobbying giants. But most of the event sponsors — including defense contractors Lockheed Martin, GE Aerospace and Northrop Grumman — did not disclose payments to the President Donald Trump-supported event organizer Freedom 250, in potential violation of federal lobbying law.”

TRANSITIONS — Tanika Pradhan is now VP of comms at the National Association for Behavioral Healthcare, a Washington-based advocacy organization representing behavioral health care providers. She most recently was at ROKK Solutions. … Vanessa Gonzales has joined the National Women’s Law Center as VP of campaigns and comms. She previously was VP of government and political affairs at Giffords. … David Purcell has joined the U.S. Green Building Council as chief marketing officer. He previously worked at Purcell Strategic.

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Correction: Monday’s Playbook PM misspelled Jennifer DeCasper’s name.