by Allison Detzel | Sep 14, 2026 | elections, News
Retired federal Judge J. Michael Luttig is sounding the alarm ahead of November’s midterm elections, warning that the country might be “sleepwalking” into another insurrection.
“That’s exactly what I envision, which is the next Jan. 6, 2021,” the conservative legal scholar told MS NOW. “This time, however, it will be Donald Trump and Mike Johnson refusing to peacefully transfer power to the next Congress of the United States.”
Luttig said that since retaking the White House, the president has been planning a “final battle in his war against America’s democracy” by seeking to “seize control” of the country’s electoral process despite having “no power or authority whatsoever” under the Constitution.
Lutting warned that even if Democrats overcome Trump’s attacks and win in November, it will not guarantee the party will be seated as the majority in the 120th Congress on Jan. 3.
“The House Republicans could still refuse to seat even a large Democratic majority-elect under the Constitution of the United States,” he said.
While the conservative legal scholar said high turnout and an overwhelming victory for Democrats would make it “much more difficult” for Trump and Johnson to essentially pull off a “coup,” he admitted that “it would not render their effort impossible at all.”
Luttig told MS NOW that his warning should hardly come as a shock to those who have been paying attention. He said Trump has been “as transparent as one could possibly be” about his intention not to accept defeat.
“A lot of historians and commentators said back in January of 2021 that America had been sleepwalking up to that point,” he added. “Well, if America’s sleepwalking up to this January 2027,
by Steve Benen | Sep 14, 2026 | 2026 election, elections, Maddowblog, White House
Debates over the threats posed by artificial intelligence have been raging for quite a while, but last week, the dam broke.
As Vox’s Andrew Prokop explained in a piece over the weekend, “This was the week that worries AI might kill us all finally went mainstream — captivating public attention and even starting to galvanize politicians into more aggressive stances. An unprecedented rogue AI incident, a high-profile resignation from a top AI company, and increased concern from tech researchers about AI improving itself too quickly to be contained, have all combined to draw a much louder response from elected leaders in both parties.”
The same day, the public learned of Barack Obama’s latest comments on the subject, including the former president’s concerns that without proper restrictions, AI technology could be “dangerous.” The Democrat, speaking a private fundraising event days earlier, urged Democrats to take the lead on AI guardrails, saying this should be among the party’s top priorities.
His Republican successor clearly doesn’t see the issue the same way.
Asked Thursday about potentially catastrophic AI risks and whether he has any concerns, Donald Trump told reporters, “No, I don’t have any.” Instead, the incumbent president characterized the broader issue as an international arms race he expects the United States to win.
“I have concerns that if we don’t win AI, we’re going to be put in a very bad position,” the Republican added.
Later that day, Trump sat down with Fox News’ Laura Ingraham, who asked about possible “guardrails” to protect the public. The president responded with a long, meandering answer that included some insulting comments about Joe Biden, before eventually saying, “China doesn’t have guardrails,
by Erum Salam | Aug 16, 2026 | Civil Rights, elections, News, Supreme Court
The Trump administration “absolutely” is considering taking its voter roll litigation to the Supreme Court, Attorney General Todd Blanche said Sunday.
“We’re not going to stop doing what I think every American should expect us to do, which is make sure that we have elections that are fair. And as that relates to the Department of Justice, that means making sure that there are no constitutional, legal violations, even at the state level,” Blanche said in an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
President Donald Trump and his administration have repeatedly claimed, without providing proof, that voter fraud is widespread. Blanche’s remarks come after the Trump administration has lost more than 20 court cases across the country trying to force states to hand over voter roll information ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections, which will decide which party controls Congress.
A federal appeals court on Friday rejected the administration’s petition to reconsider a ruling by a three-judge panel that had denied the Trump administration access to Michigan’s complete voter rolls. Michigan’s attorney general called the Justice Department’s demands “invasive” and “a transparent attempt to intimidate and spread fear among voters.”
A federal judge in Nevada also ruled against the DOJ on Friday in its attempts to obtain Nevada’s unredacted voter registration records. Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar called the ruling “a victory for Nevada voters and their right to have their sensitive personal information protected.”
State officials have repeatedly cited the Constitution, which gives states power over their elections — not the federal government — in their pushback. Blanche said Sunday that “doesn’t mean the federal government should play no role.”
“And so the
by Katya Schwenk | Aug 16, 2026 | Democratic donor, Democrats, elections, midterms, News, Stephen Mandel
In the summer of 2023, gearing up for his bid for a second term, President Joe Biden gathered with a cadre of wealthy donors at a $7.5 million mansion in Greenwich, Connecticut. As the $25,000-a-seat fundraising dinner began, the president turned to thank his host: Stephen Mandel, a billionaire hedge fund manager and devoted Democratic donor. “I wouldn’t be here, standing here as president of…
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by Shawna Thomas | Aug 15, 2026 | elections, News, White House
AUSTIN, Texas — The Democratic National Committee on Saturday officially approved its new presidential primary calendar, cementing South Carolina’s first-in-the-nation status and highlighting its diverse base.
South Carolina’s primary is scheduled for Jan. 22, 2028, followed respectively by Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Michigan and Virginia on each Tuesday through the rest of January and February 2028.
Part of this change was due to issues Iowa had in its caucusing process in 2020 and the belief that the 2024 changes, which made South Carolina first in that election cycle, were primarily designed to aid then-President Joe Biden. When Democrats changed the calendar for 2024, they pledged to revisit the issue for the 2028 election cycle and committed to a transparent process.
There were some who spoke out against the calendar during the general session meeting, including Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart, who said, “The 2028 calendar has no representation of states with a majority of Central or Mountain time zones, and no Midwest state is among the first four.”
DNC Chairman Ken Martin, and others, pushed for a calendar they say is more representative of the racial and socio-economic make-up of the country’s Democratic electorate as a whole.
Right before the overwhelming voice vote to adopt the calendar, the chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party, Christale Spain, drew cheers when she declared: “This calendar is bold. It is fearless. It shows that Democrats are unafraid. It shows that Democrats know that the road to the White House is through the Deep South. It is through Black and Brown communities — the people who are under attack. And it’s showing that we are going
by Chris Jansing | Aug 14, 2026 | Congress, elections, News
James Talarico is betting that Texans’ growing backlash against data centers can help him do something Democrats have struggled to achieve for decades: compete for rural and suburban voters.
The Democratic Senate candidate is making opposition to the state’s booming data center industry a central part of his pitch to voters, pointing out that facilities are descending on Texas with little input from neighboring communities, all while hiking up utility bills for residents. Zillow, an online real estate marketplace, projected rent has increased by $825 in data center hub Abilene, Texas, compared to last August.
It’s a potent issue for Talarico, given opposition cuts across party lines and is strongest among the rural and suburban voters who have largely remained out of reach for Democrats.
A University of Texas/Texas Politics Project Poll from June found that 56% of Texans oppose the construction of data centers in their communities. That opposition rises to 60% among suburban voters and 62% among rural voters. Independents are particularly hostile to the development, with 62% opposing local data center construction, compared to just 17% who support it. Republicans are more divided with 44% percent opposing.
For Talarico, the numbers offer an opportunity to compete on an issue where the state’s familiar partisan loyalties are less entrenched. And he has moved quickly to claim it, especially as Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton has remained mostly silent.
At a roundtable on data centers in ruby-red Abilene on Thursday, Talarico heard from 11 residents from across the political spectrum who say data centers in the area — including the most expensive facility in the country, the Stargate Project — have spurred a housing
