A ‘Blue Wave' is building. It won't look the same as the last one.
Midterm elections usually give the party out of the White House a chance to make big gains. This was the case in 2018, during President Donald Trump's first term, when Democrats made significant gains in the House and flipped the chamber. With Democrats already picking up some momentum in early midterm polling, they could be poised for another strong performance in 2026.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
5 minutes ago
- USA Today
Trump's GOP on verge of big Texas win, but battle for power is only starting: 5 takeaways
Trump's Texas fight is aimed at giving the GOP an advantage in 2026 and a lame-duck president more power while in office. Democrats have other plans. A partisan battle in Texas over who holds power in Washington during the final two years of President Donald Trump's second term has unfurled into a nationwide debate drawing in top political figures as voters brace for another divisive election in 2026. The Lone Star State's GOP lawmakers are poised to send new congressional maps to Republican Gov. Greg Abbott on Aug. 21 that Trump and his allies hope will give them a strategic advantage in holding onto their majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. But the fight in Austin has spread beyond the state's borders and created significant uncertainty about who will be in position to govern during the second half of the Trump administration and after the next race for the White House. 'Game on,' New York Gov. Kathy Hochul wrote Aug. 20 in a social media post. She is one of several Democratic leaders considering their own steps like the Texas Republicans to re-draw congressional district borders inside their state. Here are five takeaways on the fast-spreading redistricting wars: Republicans have the upper hand if the redistricting war expands. States typically redo their congressional boundaries for voters every decade, specifically in the two years that follow a new census. But Trump has encouraged redistricting to happen ahead of the 2026 U.S. House elections. His motivation? The tendency of the party in the White House to lose seats in the U.S. House during the congressional elections that happen between presidential elections. Recent examples include the 1994, 2010, 2018 and 2022 political cycles. Trump and the GOP are hoping to break that trend or increase their 219-212 U.S. House majority through states with Republican legislatures that can draw congressional maps. By contrast, many Democratic states have passed laws and constitutional amendments creating independent commissions to draw their congressional district maps instead of politicians. That's part of why states such as Missouri and Indiana have discussed redistricting for Republican advantage, but the Democratic stronghold of Washington has ruled it out completely. Additionally, Ohio needs to re-draw its own congressional maps under a constitutionally-mandated process that would happen regardless of today's political climate, and Florida has created a special committee to re-draw congressional maps. Taken together, that means that there are three high-population states actively pursuing Republican seats, and so far California is the only major state likely to redistrict for Democrats ahead of 2026. A legal fight over the new Texas maps is brewing What's happening this week in Texas won't be the final say on whether the maps are permanent. That's for the courts to decide, though fights like this can take years to work their way through the system. Both Democrats and Republicans previewed their legal arguments during the Texas legislature's Aug. 20 House floor debate that ended in the House's approval of the Republican-favored new maps. Democratic lawmakers accused their GOP colleagues of 'packing' Hispanic voters into some districts and 'cracking' or 'diluting' their representation. Those are all key terms referring to practices that opponents have used when challenging maps in the past. They also asked Republicans whether they drew maps based on voters' Hispanic ethnicity since race-based gerrymandering is still illegal. Texas state Rep. Todd Hunter, the Republican author of the bill that changes the maps, explained that an outside law firm drew the maps, not members of the legislature or their in-house staff. He said he asked the firm to re-draw the maps to improve his party's 'political performance' in the state, using a term that he said was backed up by a recently decided federal court case. Hunter used the term repeatedly during hours of questioning by Democrats. Americans still don't like gerrymandering Americans haven't historically liked it when politicians draw maps in their favor, but they may support the practice when it benefits the party they agree with. A nationwide Reuters/Ipsos poll that ran from Aug. 13 to 18 found that a small majority of respondents thought the ongoing redistricting plans were 'bad for democracy,' and Democrats were more likely to think this than Republicans. A poll by the market research firm YouGov that ran Aug. 1 to 4 found that three-quarters of adults saw it as a 'major problem' when states draw maps to intentionally favor one party, and another one-fifth saw it as a 'minor problem.' These proportions, too, higher among Democrats and lower among Republicans. But in California, where Democratic lawmakers wants voters to decide in a Nov. 4 special election whether to redraw their own maps in favor of Democrats, a majority of voters support the initiative. The proposal has support from 57% of California voters, according to Gov. Gavin Newsom's own polling, as reported by Axios, including overwhelming support from Democrats and overwhelming opposition from Republicans. A Politico-UC Berkeley Citrin Center poll of nationwide voters that ran through Aug. 20 found about one-third of respondents said Democrats in California should 'fight back' with their own maps. That broke down to almost two-thirds of Democrats, one-third of independents, and about one-tenth of Republicans. New Democrats are getting their time in the spotlight Americans are seeing new faces emerge from the Democratic Party as they make national headlines fighting back against often better-known Texas Republicans. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, widely seen as a frontrunner for his party's presidential nomination in 2028, is one of them. His decision to go toe-to-toe with Texas and leverage his position in the only state with more congressional seats than the Lone Star State has meant an introduction to Americans all over the country and a national spotlight on his ideas. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, one of the names floated for vice president in 2024, got his name out there when he hosted Texas Democrats who fled their state for nearly two weeks. But the ongoing fight has also highlighted what anti-gerrymandering advocates have called an unfair map tilted toward Democrats in Illinois. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, who says she wants to retaliate against Texas, is also gaining some attention. Another new face is Texas Rep. Nicole Collier of Fort Worth, who slept on the floor of the legislature. Texas Republican leaders have been requiring the Democratic lawmakers who broke quorum earlier this month to sign permission slips to leave the chamber and have a state police escort follow them around 24 hours a day to make sure they don't attempt to leave the state again. 'Today is not the end,' Collier said after the House passed the bill Aug. 20. 'It is the beginning, the start of a new Democratic party where we won't back down. … And we will push and push and push until we take over this country.' Barack Obama, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are all involved Trump kicked off the firestorm when he called on Texas lawmakers to redraw the maps and provide five more Republican-leaning congressional districts. Now he's going toe-to-toe with Democratic Party standard bearers who have come into the fight. Former President Barack Obama posted on X that the attempt to re-draw districts in Texas was an 'assault on democracy,' and praised Texas Democrats. Now he's endorsed Newsom's plan to redistrict California's congressional maps in retaliation. Former Vice President Kamala Harris also called Collier while she stayed in the legislature: 'You really are inspiring so many people, and I just want you to know that you are among those who history will reveal to have been heroes of this moment. So you just stay strong and do what you are doing.' Harris ruled out a run for governor of her home state of California in 2026, leaving Americans to wonder whether she'll run for president in 2028. Contributing: Kathryn Palmer, USA TODAY
USA Today
5 minutes ago
- USA Today
Rainbow crosswalk removed at Pulse nightclub memorial amid Trump's street art crackdown
A rainbow-colored crosswalk near where 49 people were killed in a mass shooting at the gay nightclub Pulse has been painted over, said officials in Orlando, Florida, amid a push from the Trump administration to remove street art with 'political messages.' In a post on X, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis responded to criticism of the move by saying, "We will not allow our state roads to be commandeered for political purposes." The Florida Department of Transportation did not immediately respond to a request for comment from USA TODAY. Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said in a statement Aug. 21 that he was "devastated" to learn the crosswalk had been removed in the middle of the night. He said the crosswalk was part of the larger memorial and had been created with the permission from the state's transportation department. "This callous action of hastily removing part of a memorial to what was at the time our nation's largest mass shooting, without any supporting safety data or discussion, is a cruel political act," he said. The news comes as Republican-led states have taken up the Trump administration's directive to crack down on what it has described as politically-charged street art. On July 1, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy issued a letter giving states 50 days to evaluate intersections and crosswalks as part of a "nationwide roadway safety initiative." The letter said that intersections and crosswalks need to be "kept free from distractions," including "political messages of any nature" and "artwork." This summer, the Florida Department of Transportation released a memo saying local governments could jeopardize state funding if they did not immediately remove street signs with 'social, political, or ideological messages.' The memo applied to crosswalks, bicycle symbols and other road surfaces. Since the directives went into place, cities across Florida and the nation have prepared to remove street art being targeted by the federal government. Crosswalks and street murals gained popularity during the pandemic and especially in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, which fueled the installation of large murals reading "Black Lives Matter" on city streets across the country. The rainbow colors were added to the crosswalk outside the Pulse nightclub in 2017, according to the Orlando Sentinel, a year after a gunman walked into the gay nightclub and fatally shot 49 people and wounded 53 others. It was the nation's deadliest mass shooting until a year later when a gunman killed 60 people at a country music festival in Las Vegas. Pulse survivor, state Democrats decry rainbow crosswalk removal A survivor of the deadly shooting as well as state Democrats were quick to condemn the action. "The cowards who feel threatened by our lives should feel lucky they didn't have to bury the ones they love — then watch the state come & desecrate their memory," said Brandon Wolf, a Pulse survivor and activist, in a statement on X. Florida Sen. Carolos Guiermos Smith, a Democrat, called the removal of Pride colors from the memorial of a mass shooting that killed many members of the local LGBTQ+ community "ridiculously short sighted" and "bigoted." "I cannot believe that the DeSantis administration has engaged in this hostile act against the city of Orlando," he said. "They have insulted the families and survivors of this horrific tragedy." He said he hopes the city of Orlando paints the colors back onto the street and sues the state for "vandalizing their poperty without their consent." Florida Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando, said the rainbow colors are not a political statement and instead "sparked joy and showed our love for all people."
The Hill
5 minutes ago
- The Hill
California Democrats plow ahead in redistricting fight
CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATS are poised to vote on legislation Thursday to allow for a special election with the aim of redrawing the state's maps, as Texas Republicans move closer to finalizing their own reworked districts. The California legislature could approve the bill establishing a statewide election on a new map as soon as Thursday evening, as Democrats seek to pick up five additional House seats in next year's midterm elections. On Wednesday, the California Supreme Court rejected a petition filed by state Republican legislators seeking to halt Gov. Gavin Newsom 's (D) redistricting plan. Newsom has cast the effort as a response to Texas's mid-decade redistricting effort, which aims to help Republicans pick up an additional five House seats next year. 'We're fighting fire with fire, and we're gonna punch these sons of b‑‑‑‑es in the mouth,' Newsom said this week on 'The Siren Podcast.' The Texas House advanced the new GOP-friendly map Wednesday after a two-week delay due to Democrats fleeing the state to deny the legislature a quorum. The Texas Senate is expected to pass the new map this week, sending it to Gov. Greg Abbott 's (R) desk for signature. 'Big WIN for the Great State of Texas!!! Everything Passed, on our way to FIVE more Congressional seats and saving your Rights, your Freedoms, and your Country, itself,' Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. California's redistricting efforts are more complicated. The Golden State's maps are dictated by an independent commission. The California bill will allow for a special election in November that sends the new maps directly to voters to either approve or disapprove. One early poll showed most Californians oppose the mid-decade redistricting, although Axios reports that Newsom's pollster found widespread support for the measure in a new survey. Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) are among those who have vowed to fight the California redistricting push. A new Reuters survey found most voters believe partisan redistricting in the House threatens democracy. The Kansas City Star reports that Missouri Republicans are weighing a potential gerrymander, following other red and blue states, including Florida, Indiana, Illinois and New York, who have weighed joining the redistricting fight.
