Judge allows Trump’s mail-in ballots plan to proceed, at least for now
By Lawrence Hurley WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Wednesday allowed President Donald Trump, at least temporarily, to move forward with his effort to exert federal control over mail-in ballots ahead of the midterm elections. Boston-based U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani lifted an injunction that applied nationwide after a Supreme Court decision favored Trump in a similar case Monday. But with litigation moving swiftly, there remains a strong chance that key aspects of Trump’s mail-in ballots executive order will be blocked at some stage, possibly as soon as this week. The executive order directs the U.S. Postal Service to, among other things, track mail-in ballots
Pete Buttigieg Courts Black Voters In SC Visit To Church, HBCU And NAACP Dinner, Fueling 2028 Speculation
Former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg visited South Carolina over the weekend, meeting with key Democratic figures and visiting various community institutions in the state. And while his visit ostensibly focused on the important 2026 midterm elections, many are viewing the trip as a potential ground run for a presidential campaign and an opportunity to establish an outreach to Black voters. After disappointing primary performance in 2020, Buttigieg returns to South Carolina Buttigieg visited South Carolina this weekend, the Associated Press reported, in a multistep trip across the state. Buttigieg’s trip included a Friday fundraiser in Charleston for U.S. House candidate Nancy Lacore, a former
Nothing changes yet with the Supreme Court’s order on elections. But it could open door to ‘chaos’
By Nicholas Riccardi The Supreme Court’s decision giving preliminary approval for President Donald Trump’s order restricting mail voting may not lead to a single election procedure changing during the November midterms, but it has already thrown into uncertainty the method that nearly one-third of the country uses to vote. Rather than saying that Trump’s order is legal, the high court said Monday it was too early for Democratic-run states to challenge it in June, when they convinced a federal judge in Boston to freeze the order for November’s election. That effectively restarts the legal fight over the order in an incredibly compressed timeline, with initial
Trump’s trade war with Canada could rattle economies in states with key Senate races
By Bill Barrow President Donald Trump’s trade war with Canada is escalating as the midterm elections approach, threatening Republican efforts to address voters’ economic concerns in a year when control of the U.S. Senate hinges on states along the border between the United States and its northern neighbor. The dispute flared over the weekend after negotiations broke down, leading Trump to raise tariffs on $20 billion in Canadian imports. Canada plans to announce tariffs of its own on Tuesday, and the spiraling conflict could lead to higher prices and scrambled supply chains for Americans already aggravated at the president’s management of the economy. Republican Sen. Susan
Hakeem Jeffries and Jared Kushner meet in NYC to discuss how Democrats and Trump could cooperate
By Scott Wong and Megan Brand House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., recently met privately with Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and informal adviser, and they discussed possible areas of cooperation, a source familiar with the meeting confirmed to NBC News. The private meeting, which was first reported by The New York Times, took place in Manhattan, the source said. The meeting was an unusual instance of a top Democrat and a close Trump confidant coming together to discuss common ground. Jeffries, the top Democrat in the House, is one of Trump’s most prominent critics. Meanwhile, Kushner is a close relative of Trump’s and
North Carolina election board denies voting site at nation’s largest HBCU for second time
By Natalie Hausmann North Carolina’s state board of elections once again refused to provide an accessible early voting location at North Carolina A&T State University, the nation’s largest historically Black college or university. With student activists in the front row, the GOP-controlled board rejected student pleas for an on-campus polling place in November’s general election during a Thursday vote. Earlier this year, the board voted along party lines to deny students a voting site on their campus. Brian Kennedy of Democracy North Carolina told Democracy Docket at the time that the vote served as a “blueprint for what voter suppression across the nation
New federal legislation would aid HBCU art programs
by: Sarah Davis A new piece of legislation would bring more support to college art and culture programs. United States Senator Jim Justice (R-W.Va.) paid a visit to West Virginia State University, one of the two historically Black colleges and universities in the state, to discuss a new act that would benefit students. The HBCU Arts Act was introduced by Justice and Senator Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.) in May. If passed, the act would give more uses for federal grants to historically Black colleges and universities, like financial assistance for students in art and cultural programs and maintaining African American art collections.
Republican Byron Donalds and Democrat David Jolly set to square off for Florida’s governorship
By Matt Dixon ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida’s primary voters went with the favorites in both parties Tuesday night, setting up a long-expected clash to determine who will be the state’s next governor after eight years of Ron DeSantis. On the Republican side, Rep. Byron Donalds, who has been endorsed by President Donald Trump, outran a crowded GOP field to win his party’s nomination, NBC News projects, while Republican-turned-Democrat David Jolly, a former member of Congress, won his primary. Both outcomes, which were expected, officially kick off a general election showdown in which Republicans are trying to extend their decadeslong grip on
Two Trump-backed candidates lose, Debbie Wasserman Schultz wins in Tuesday’s House primaries in Florida
By Ben Kamisar and Matt Dixon Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz has won her party’s nomination for re-election, NBC News projects, while two Republican House candidates backed by President Donald Trump lost their primary bids in Florida on Tuesday. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and other party leaders redrew Wasserman Schultz’s current district and three other Democratic seats into four new GOP-leaning districts the party hopes to flip in November. The move prompted Wasserman Schultz, a former chair of the Democratic National Committee, to run in the 20th District, which has long been represented by Black Democrats and is vacant because Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick resigned after
Democratic socialist Angie Nixon scores upset in Florida’s Democratic Senate primary
By Matt Dixon Progressive state Rep. Angie Nixon scored a major upset over former National Security Council aide Alex Vindman in the Florida Democratic Senate primary, NBC News projects, setting up a general election race against Republican Sen. Ashley Moody. Vindman, a retired lieutenant colonel and Iraq War veteran who rose to prominence as a witness during President Donald Trump’s 2019 impeachment hearings, was viewed as a heavy favorite against Nixon, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, heading into Tuesday’s contest. Vindman raised more than $16 million for his campaign, a significant number for a Democrat in red-leaning Florida,