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an hour ago
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Rep. Eric Swalwell Inspires MAGA Tizzy Fit By... Eating A Taco
Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) trolled the hell out of Donald Trump and his supporters this past weekend just by eating a taco on TikTok. The California Democrat posted a video of himself sitting in his office when someone walks up and asks, 'Hey, Congressman, what the fuck is up with Trump always chickening out on tariffs?' Swalwell responds by biting into a Taco Bell crunchy taco that just happens to be sitting on his desk. The video alludes to TACO, or 'Trump Always Chickens Out,' a reference to the president's tendency to announce huge tariffs, only to reverse course days later. The notoriously thin-skinned president doesn't seem fond of the acronym and chewed out a reporter for asking 'a nasty question' about it last week. Swalwell's taco TikTok made quite an impact with conservatives. Some suggested the video was part of the Democratic National Committee's plan to attract more male voters to the party. MEN? Eric Swalwell is kicking off the Democrat's $20 million effort to attract young men to the party. What do you say guys? Want to share a taco with Eric? — @amuse (@amuse) June 2, 2025 Fox News' 'Outnumbered' even did a segment on it. Congressman Eric Swalwell (D-CA) attempts to troll President Trump over his tariff policies by eating a this video win over more voters for the Democratic party? — Outnumbered (@OutnumberedFNC) June 2, 2025 Swalwell seemed amused by the attention, tweeting, 'I don't know what this Fox News lady ate for lunch, but she's talking about what I had.' Other Trump supporters got into a MAGA tizzy over Swalwell's video. Eric Swalwell is a fucking idiot. He thinks eating a taco supreme crunchy at that effect's president Trump. The Democrats have lost their fucking minds. They're idiots. They lie and they're out of control. — Foxwatcher@ (@ArmyMosher4) June 2, 2025 Eric Swalwell is as fake (and as carcinogenic) as the "meat" in that Taco Bell. — Chesty (@ChestyPullerGst) June 2, 2025 Pretty brave of Swalwell to eat Taco Bell while being filmed for a video 🤣 Wonder how many takes they had to do 💀 — Sara Rose 🇺🇸🌹 (@saras76) June 2, 2025 A couple of right-wing outlets, probably well aware of the trending term, apparently decided that feigning ignorance was the right way to go. VERY ODD: Democrat Rep. Eric Swalwell posts a video using the f-word while he eats a tacoWhat was the point of this??? — TheBlaze (@theblaze) June 2, 2025 Democrat Rep. Eric Swalwell (CA) posts a bizarre video on social media where the person recording drops the f-bomb, and the Congressmen silently eats a taco. Cameraman: What the f*ck is up with Trump always chickening out on tariffs?' Swalwell: *Eats a taco — RedWave Press (@RedWave_Press) June 2, 2025 Others felt obliged to reference an MSNBC interview between Swalwell and Chris Matthews from November 2019, in which a fart sound could be heard at one point. Eric Swalwell is the absolute last person who should be eating Taco Bell, especially in an enclosed space. — JawjaJim 🇺🇸 (@JimJawja) June 2, 2025 For the sake of all mankind, let's hope that Eric Swalwell did NOT eat refried beans with that taco. — Soquel by the Creek (@SoquelCreek) June 2, 2025 Although Trump supporters tried to dismiss the trolling, 'Trump Always Chickens Out' is catching on, according to one conservative thought leader. Rick Lowry of the National Review appeared on Fox News Sunday and admitted 'TACO' is sticking, much to Trump's chagrin. 'Apparently, Trump was irritated in part because he hadn't heard it, and afterwards was irked with his aides not telling him about this,' Lowry said, before admitting that the 'TACO' insult is 'catchy, kind of funny and gets to a real phenomenon with the tariffs, which [is that] he's backed off them.' Trump Short-Circuits Over Wall Street's 4-Letter Slogan For Him 'Utterly Embarrassing': Critics Cluck Back At Trump After Bizarre 'Chicken' Meltdown 2028 Might Be The Year Of The Beard For Presidential Hopefuls
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Business
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Democrats begin the long 2028 campaign in South Carolina, 'for whatever reason'
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Over the weekend, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore quoted Martin Luther King Jr., ate fried fish with hot sauce, and thanked the Democratic voters – most of them black – whose primacy in Democratic politics is part of Joe Biden's ambiguous legacy to his party. But while Biden's Democratic National Committee put South Carolina first in part to shut down any possible challenge to the aging president, the state may not fight to keep the privilege. 'We had nothing to do with being number one,' Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.) told Semafor at his 'world-famous fish fry,' flanked by Moore and Walz in matching CLYBURN t-shirts. 'That's something that Joe Biden decided to do, for whatever reason.' Democrats won't set their next calendar for more than a year, but the move to put South Carolina first had been pitched as a tribute to black voters. Moore and Walz were embraced by party activists, most getting their first in-person look at one of the country's first black governors, and at the Minnesotan who shared a ticket with their first black female nominee. 'Even if you have no moral courage in your body at all, if you want to see us survive economically, you're damn sure we've got to start investing in black communities,' Walz told delegates at the party's convention on Saturday. But Democrats weren't sure that the state needed to stay first on their calendar, a source of internal friction during Biden's presidency. Moore said he 'hadn't put enough thought into it,' while Walz said it was 'important' to keep South Carolina at the front. 'I don't know why we would move it,' state party chair Christale Spain told Semafor. 'If we're serious about keeping our base, why wouldn't we keep the primary that we moved up because of our base?' South Carolina, which has not voted for a Democratic president since Jimmy Carter, has played a powerful role in picking its nominees. Clyburn was part of that, lobbying to ensure that the state got one of the 'first four' primaries in 2008 along with Iowa, New Hampshire, and Nevada. For Republicans, the 'first in the south' primary empowered conservatives and evangelical Christians, canceling out the New Hampshire independents who liked to boost more liberal candidates. For Democrats, it empowered black voters who tended to be less ideologically progressive than Iowa caucus-goers, and more loyal to the party than white New Englanders. 'We haven't heard from the most committed constituents in the Democratic Party, the African-American community,' Biden said at a rally here the night of the 2020 New Hampshire primary, betting correctly that a South Carolina win would vault him to the nomination. 'Ninety-nine-point-nine percent – that's the percentage of African-American voters who haven't had the chance to vote in America.' Jaime Harrison, a former state party chair here who presided over the schedule change as DNC chair, recalled how Biden fought for it. At an early meeting over the primary calendar in 2021, when DNC leaders briefly brought up South Carolina, Biden chimed in and said it deserved a bigger role. 'I go all over the country, and I meet black folks in this state or that state, but they all have family in South Carolina,' said Biden, according to Harrison. During his last days in office, when Biden flew Air Force One to Charleston to thank black voters and Clyburn for their loyalty, he told Harrison that the new schedule should stay in place. 'He said to me: Listen, I'm proud that we chose to put South Carolina first,' said Harrison. 'He said, that's gonna be a part of my legacy, and I'm gonna fight like hell to make sure it works.' Harrison, like many Democrats here, believed that some of the party's post-2024 problems could be fixed in South Carolina. Harris lagged recent Democratic nominees with black men, and Trump made gains with working class voters of all races. Campaigning in South Carolina would put candidates right in front of them. 'Who is really the influential bloc here?' he said. 'It is older, middle-aged, African-American folks who've been through something in life, who've not always had everything that they wanted, but have worked hard to provide for themselves and their family. They take that pragmatism, that seasoning that they've gotten from life, and they apply that to looking at who can actually win. Not who delivers the fanciest speeches.' In South Carolina, those voters are also used to losing. Democrats have not elected a governor here since 1998 – Jim Hodges, who Walz shouted out from the stage at Friday night's fundraising dinner. Republican-drawn maps have locked Democrats into one safe House seat, Clyburn's, and Donald Trump's coattails reinforced the GOP supermajority in Columbia. The state's largest cities, which had Democratic mayors when Biden took office, are now led by Republicans. Walz and Moore framed all this as a temporary setback, and a reason for Democrats to fight harder and act faster. They put special emphasis on the needs and histories of black voters and poor people. 'Right now, the Trump administration is actively divesting in black communities, actively dismantling our minority business programs, and actively banning books about our history,' said Moore. 'If Trump can do so much bad in such a small amount of time, why can't we do so much good? Now is the time for us to be impatient, too.' Moore's speech was boycotted by a black state legislator, John King, angered by Moore's veto of a bill to study reparations for the descendants of slaves. In an interview, Moore ticked off programs that he'd already expanded to help black Marylanders. 'This would be the fifth study in 25 years. What are we studying?' said Moore. 'We have got to stop being the party of bureaucracy and multi-year studies on things that we know the answers to, and be the party of action.' It would be a while before Democrats decided that the voters who heard this message would get the first vote on their 2028 nominee, or a later vote. Clyburn was less concerned about that than Biden had been. 'The most important hitter on a baseball team is a clean-up hitter,' Clyburn said on Friday, 'and he comes in fourth place.' To riff on Harrison's remark, the modern role of South Carolina's primary has been a Democratic gut check. White liberals get their say in Iowa, secular white moderates vet the candidates in New Hampshire, and multi-racial progressive unions set their terms in Nevada. When Biden won the primary, black voters made up 56% of the electorate, and 83% of all voters said they attended church at least once a week, compared to 48% in New Hampshire. Half of the electorate called itself 'moderate,' or 'conservative,' groups that were in the deep minority in Iowa and New Hampshire. Biden thrived once he got away from protesters asking about Medicare-for-All and deportation moratoriums. That wasn't Biden's stated reason for rewarding that state. He cited its debt to black voters, and other Democrats cite its rich, painful civil rights history, as Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Ca.) did after he saw chatter about South Carolina moving down the calendar. But the remarks Moore and Walz gave, and the receptions they got, demonstrated why Democrats like campaigning here. They talked almost entirely about economic results and messaging and how their party would build out the safety net — the sweet spot that Republicans and protesters knock them off of. They did not talk about Biden, whose legacy here is complicated. 'The one thing about black voters that you should understand: They're pragmatic and they're loyal,' Harrison told me. No Democrat would benefit from criticizing Biden here, and the ongoing media/GOP study of the former president's choice to run again was seen as pure distraction. Still: Biden described his choice to put South Carolina first as a legacy project. His defeat strengthens the negotiating power of New Hampshire Democrats, who expect to vote first again, and other state parties that want to bid for an early calendar spot. In Politico, Brakkton Booker to Democrats who worry that the Biden hangover might give another southern state the plum primary spot: 'Some people just need to get over themselves and whatever issues they have with Joe Biden.' For CNN, Arit John and Jeff Simon South Carolina Democrats what they really want from the next candidate: 'I think South Carolina is looking for a person of the people, that can speak to the people without lowering and debasing themselves, like the current administration seems to be doing.'
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Business
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Gov. Tim Walz continues national tour in South Carolina head of potential 2028 run
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn talk to reporters at Clyburn's annual fish fry Friday, May 30, 2025. (Photo by Shaun Chornobroff/SC Daily Gazette) COLUMBIA — Minutes before 10 p.m. Friday, after Democratic speakers led the audience in jeers to Republicans' efforts to slash jobs and health care and encouraged people to get involved, line dancing broke out. That mix of politics and fun, mostly the latter, is what makes U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn's annual fish fry in the state's capital city so popular, attendees said. 'We all came out, and everybody's enjoying themselves,' said Shantell Zimmerman, 58, of Columbia. 'It brings out the community,' agreed Dionne Brown, 55, of Irmo, who's been attending the event for six years. 'Then we actually get to discuss our views and takeaways.' Hundreds of people attended the event that started in 1992, the year voters first elected Clyburn to the 6th Congressional District, as a thank you to the voters who couldn't afford the Democratic Party's high-dollar fundraisers. Over time, the 'World Famous Annual Fish Fry' — which includes free food and drinks — has become a must-attend event for Democrats seeking local, statewide and national office. This year was no different, even if Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz — Kamala Harris' 2024 running mate — said they're not running for the 2028 nomination. 'I know I'm not running,' Moore told reporters Friday. 'But the thing I'm also very clear about is that anyone who's talking about 2028 is not taking 2025 very seriously.' Moore and Walz, as well as Clyburn and former Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison of Columbia, emphasized the importance of focusing on what's happening now in Washington, D.C. Proposed cuts to government safety nets like Medicaid and billionaire Elon Musk's efforts to rapidly slash federal spending were among the topics the governors touched on Friday during speeches at the fish fry, as well as the Blue Palmetto Fundraising Dinner the same night. 'I taught school long enough to know it's because they're weak and they're bullies, and when you stand up to them, they fade away,' said Walz, a former high school geography teacher. Their addresses at the events in South Carolina — which last year got promoted from holding the Democratic Party's first-in-the-South to first-in-the-nation presidential primary — sounded a lot like campaign speeches. Walz also spoke at the South Carolina Democratic Party's annual convention on Saturday. Lucy Owens, an Anderson County delegate to the state convention, discounted the governors' refusals, saying the 2028 presidential campaign has clearly begun. 'They're all going to come through here. They're the first ones,' she said. In 2019, the fish fry drew 21 potential candidates hoping to appeal to South Carolina Democrats. The following year, Joe Biden won the South Carolina Democratic primary, a victory that ended up vaulting him to the presidency, aided by Clyburn's endorsement. South Carolina's primary was elevated for 2024 as Biden's thank you to the state. With Biden gone, the Democratic party in flux, and Harrison no longer leading the national party, South Carolina maintaining its first-in-the-nation status is in question. Clyburn's comments Friday suggest he knows the state won't keep it. He doesn't care if the state is first, he said, just that it's early. 'The most important hitter on a team is the cleanup hitter. He comes in fourth place,' Clyburn told reporters at his event. 'I'm not concerned about whether or not we're first, second, third,' he said. 'Please, let us be at least four.' That would take South Carolina back to having the first primary in the South, potentially behind contests in Iowa, New Hampshire, and Nevada. In the aftermath of Trump's landslide victory and the Republican Party gaining control of both chambers of Congress, the Democratic Party is in a reset. Walz and Moore, the first Black governor in Maryland's history, are among the early faces of it. Winning South Carolina, which changed the trajectory of Biden's 2020 presidential run, will be crucial for Democratic hopefuls. Owens, the Anderson County delegate, pointed to the stage where Walz and Moore spoke, saying every Democrat who wants to be president will eventually appear in that exact spot. 'They got to come through here. Not South Carolina. They got to go right there,' she said. Both governors received raucous ovations from South Carolina Democrats, drawing cheers, standing ovations and even a few laughs as they took shots at the GOP. Owens said 'they're both very great candidates,' and she's 'excited' to hear more from them over the coming years. That was the general consensus from attendees who spoke with the SC Daily Gazette. However, they were significantly more familiar with Walz because of his time on the campaign trail last year with Vice President Harris. 'I know less about Wes Moore than I do about Tim Walz, but I think he's a good speaker,' said Laura Lowery, a 69-year-old from Fountain Inn. 'I think he's done a good job in his state as well.' Moore has recently come under fire for vetoing a bill that would establish a commission to examine state and federal policies from 1877 to 1965 and come up with recommendations for reparations. South Carolina Rep. John King, D-Rock Hill, asked the state party to remove Moore as the keynote speaker of Friday's Blue Palmetto Dinner. Party leaders never responded to questions about that request. But for at least some attendees, the veto perturbed them too. 'I didn't understand why he would do that,' said Tonya Winbush of Anderson. But once Winbush, a 50-year-old Army veteran, heard Moore speak about his time in the Army, as well as his pardoning of 175,000 cannabis convictions, her opinion changed. 'I think when you don't know the whole story and you just listen to sound bites, which is what we do a lot, we'll make brash judgments about people, when we are really fighting the same fight,' she said. This story first appeared in South Carolina Daily Gazette, a sibling site of the Minnesota Reformer and part of the States Newsroom nonprofit news network.
Indianapolis Star
12 hours ago
- Politics
- Indianapolis Star
André Carson has been in Congress since 2008. Could his 2026 primary be competitive?
Indianapolis U.S. Rep. André Carson has seen plenty of primary challengers throughout his 17 years representing Indiana's 7th Congressional District, but his Democratic opponent for 2026 could be his toughest race yet. The political attacks are already starting between the 17-year incumbent and his 34-year-old primary opponent. George Hornedo, a political strategist and attorney, said he is running against Carson because he wants to be a representative that delivers results to the community and builds Democratic power across the state. Indianapolis needs a change from Carson, Hornedo said. 'I respect Congressman Carson,' Hornedo said. 'Up until this, I had a good relationship with him, but sometimes we have to tell the truth.' Hornedo's campaign is part of a current trend across the country of younger candidates challenging longtime Democratic incumbents in Congress, arguing the party needs change after President Donald Trump's election in 2024. Those running could get financial support. David Hogg, the embattled Democratic National Committee Vice Chair, in April said he planned to spend $20 million through his organization Leaders We Deserve to support primary challengers to safe-seat Democratic incumbents as well as young candidates running for office in current red districts. This trend of challenging safe-seat incumbents is likely due to the rise of frustration about Trump administration policies and a lack of action from Democrats, who are in the minority, said Mike Wolf, chair of the Mike Downs Center for Politics at Purdue University Fort Wayne. There is likely also resentment among the party about the end of former President Joe Biden's 2024 campaign and time at the White House, Wolf said. "If you're in a blue district, this is maybe one of the only actions you can take to really do something about it," Wolf said. But Hornedo faces the same challenges Carson's past Democratic and Republican opponents have run into for more than a decade. Not only does Carson have the name recognition advantage from being a 17-year incumbent in deep blue Indianapolis, he shares the last name of his late grandmother Julia Carson, who served in the Indiana General Assembly before becoming the first Black woman from Indianapolis elected to Congress in 1996. In 2024, Carson defeated his closest primary challenger by 85 percentage points and closest general election opponent by 39 percentage points. Despite that, Hornedo said Carson has not provided proper leadership to the 7th Congressional District or helped grow Democratic power. He points to recent low voter turnout in Marion County and the congressman's low legislative effectiveness ranking of 197/220 by the Center for Effective Lawmaking. Caroline Ellert, a spokesperson for Carson's campaign, dismissed the critiques. Voter turnout is "a multifacted issue" and Marion County is a Democratic stronghold due to "a strong ground game" Carson has built over the years, Ellert said. Additionally, one website does not reflect the congressman's career or indicate the support of his constituents. "It doesn't take into account Congressman Carson's classified work with the House Intel committee, grant funding secured for the district, and community project funding— which is funding that goes directly to Indianapolis projects," Ellert said. Hornedo grew up in Indianapolis and attended Park Tudor School. He received an undergraduate degree at Cornell University, a master's degree from Harvard University and a law degree from George Washington University Law School, according to his campaign website. While his political resume doesn't yet include elected office, Hornedo said he worked in communications for the Department of Justice during former President Barack Obama's administration and as a delegate director for then-South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg's 2020 presidential campaign in addition to other policy roles in the nonprofit and private sectors. Last year, Hornedo founded a political group called Next Gen Hoosiers to support and elect 'a new generation of leaders.' Federal campaign finance reports show the group raised and spent $20,000 in last year, but has not yet directly donated to any political candidates. While Hornedo may have more political experience than some of Carson's past primary challengers, Carson has handily defeated his primary opponents over the years. Still, Hornedo said he views a win over Carson and change in party leadership as "inevitable." "I see this as a really pivotal point in the city of Indianapolis, not just for the seat in 2026, but for the mayoral seat in 2027 of how do we get new leadership that is a break from the past," Hornedo said. "Leadership that actually has a forward looking vision for the community and the ability to execute and the desire to take on that leadership part of building role, and the desire to be the connector and the convener." Indiana's primary election is nearly a year from now, but Hornedo has already begun attacking Carson. In posts on social media Hornedo criticized an early May event Carson held at the Center Township Government Center with U.S. Rep. Katherine Clark, a top House Democrat. Hornedo said Clark's visit was a sign Carson was "scared" about Hornedo's campaign. (Carson dismissed the comments and said Hornedo "probably doesn't remember" past Democrats visiting Indianapolis "because he wasn't living here at the time.") More: Why a top House Democrat joined Rep. André Carson for an event in Indianapolis Hornedo in early May also posted a video on X saying he was turned away from a "local Democratic community organizing meeting," which he said was another sign the party is uncomfortable with change. The director of the Indiana House Democratic Caucus disputed Hornedo's description of the event in a response on X, saying he tried to attend a ticketed political fundraiser he had not RSVP'd to. Federal campaign finance reports, which are due in July, will begin to signal what direction the primary might head in the coming months. But the early start of political swipes is a sign the 7th Congressional District primary could shape up to be a contentious race. Indiana's primary election is May 5, 2026. Contact IndyStar state government and politics reporter Brittany Carloni at Follow her on Twitter/X @CarloniBrittany.
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
André Carson has been in Congress since 2008. Could his 2026 primary be competitive?
Indianapolis U.S. Rep. André Carson has seen plenty of primary challengers throughout his 17 years representing Indiana's 7th Congressional District, but his Democratic opponent for 2026 could be his toughest race yet. The political attacks are already starting between the 17-year incumbent and his 34-year-old primary opponent. George Hornedo, a political strategist and attorney, said he is running against Carson because he wants to be a representative that delivers results to the community and builds Democratic power across the state. Indianapolis needs a change from Carson, Hornedo said. 'I respect Congressman Carson,' Hornedo said. 'Up until this, I had a good relationship with him, but sometimes we have to tell the truth.' Hornedo's campaign is part of a current trend across the country of younger candidates challenging longtime Democratic incumbents in Congress, arguing the party needs change after President Donald Trump's election in 2024. Those running could get financial support. David Hogg, the embattled Democratic National Committee Vice Chair, in April said he planned to spend $20 million through his organization Leaders We Deserve to support primary challengers to safe-seat Democratic incumbents as well as young candidates running for office in current red districts. This trend of challenging safe-seat incumbents is likely due to the rise of frustration about Trump administration policies and a lack of action from Democrats, who are in the minority, said Mike Wolf, chair of the Mike Downs Center for Politics at Purdue University Fort Wayne. There is likely also resentment among the party about the end of former President Joe Biden's 2024 campaign and time at the White House, Wolf said. "If you're in a blue district, this is maybe one of the only actions you can take to really do something about it," Wolf said. But Hornedo faces the same challenges Carson's past Democratic and Republican opponents have run into for more than a decade. Not only does Carson have the name recognition advantage from being a 17-year incumbent in deep blue Indianapolis, he shares the last name of his late grandmother Julia Carson, who served in the Indiana General Assembly before becoming the first Black woman from Indianapolis elected to Congress in 1996. In 2024, Carson defeated his closest primary challenger by 85 percentage points and closest general election opponent by 39 percentage points. Despite that, Hornedo said Carson has not provided proper leadership to the 7th Congressional District or helped grow Democratic power. He points to recent low voter turnout in Marion County and the congressman's low legislative effectiveness ranking of 197/220 by the Center for Effective Lawmaking. Caroline Ellert, a spokesperson for Carson's campaign, dismissed the critiques. Voter turnout is "a multifacted issue" and Marion County is a Democratic stronghold due to "a strong ground game" Carson has built over the years, Ellert said. Additionally, one website does not reflect the congressman's career or indicate the support of his constituents. "It doesn't take into account Congressman Carson's classified work with the House Intel committee, grant funding secured for the district, and community project funding— which is funding that goes directly to Indianapolis projects," Ellert said. Hornedo grew up in Indianapolis and attended Park Tudor School. He received an undergraduate degree at Cornell University, a master's degree from Harvard University and a law degree from George Washington University Law School, according to his campaign website. While his political resume doesn't yet include elected office, Hornedo said he worked in communications for the Department of Justice during former President Barack Obama's administration and as a delegate director for then-South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg's 2020 presidential campaign in addition to other policy roles in the nonprofit and private sectors. Last year, Hornedo founded a political group called Next Gen Hoosiers to support and elect 'a new generation of leaders.' Federal campaign finance reports show the group raised and spent $20,000 in last year, but has not yet directly donated to any political candidates. While Hornedo may have more political experience than some of Carson's past primary challengers, Carson has handily defeated his primary opponents over the years. Still, Hornedo said he views a win over Carson and change in party leadership as "inevitable." "I see this as a really pivotal point in the city of Indianapolis, not just for the seat in 2026, but for the mayoral seat in 2027 of how do we get new leadership that is a break from the past," Hornedo said. "Leadership that actually has a forward looking vision for the community and the ability to execute and the desire to take on that leadership part of building role, and the desire to be the connector and the convener." Indiana's primary election is nearly a year from now, but Hornedo has already begun attacking Carson. In posts on social media Hornedo criticized an early May event Carson held at the Center Township Government Center with U.S. Rep. Katherine Clark, a top House Democrat. Hornedo said Clark's visit was a sign Carson was "scared" about Hornedo's campaign. (Carson dismissed the comments and said Hornedo "probably doesn't remember" past Democrats visiting Indianapolis "because he wasn't living here at the time.") More: Why a top House Democrat joined Rep. André Carson for an event in Indianapolis Hornedo in early May also posted a video on X saying he was turned away from a "local Democratic community organizing meeting," which he said was another sign the party is uncomfortable with change. The director of the Indiana House Democratic Caucus disputed Hornedo's description of the event in a response on X, saying he tried to attend a ticketed political fundraiser he had not RSVP'd to. Federal campaign finance reports, which are due in July, will begin to signal what direction the primary might head in the coming months. But the early start of political swipes is a sign the 7th Congressional District primary could shape up to be a contentious race. Indiana's primary election is May 5, 2026. Contact IndyStar state government and politics reporter Brittany Carloni at Follow her on Twitter/X @CarloniBrittany. Sign up for our free weekly politics newsletter, Checks & Balances, curated by IndyStar politics and government reporters. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: U.S. Rep. André Carson's 2026 primary opponent may be his toughest yet
