2025/26/27/28 Primaries & General Elections

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Democrats see a path to the Senate through Alaska

Democrats believe former Alaska Rep. Mary Peltola could bring them one step closer to controlling the Senate in 2027. On Tuesday, Peltola advanced to November’s general election, where CNN’s Decision Desk projects she will face Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan. Peltola, a former congresswoman, has centered her campaign on protecting Alaska’s fisheries and seafood economy. She had considered running for governor but was urged by national Democrats to enter the Senate race as the party works to gain four seats and retake the chamber. Alaska last elected a Democrat to the Senate in 2008, but the state has long had an independent streak, leaving the door open for a competitive race.

+ Read more: Key takeaways from Tuesday’s primaries in Florida, Alaska and Wyoming

+ Video highlights: MAGA has mixed record in Trump’s home state + Democratic socialists see another victory

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Takeaways from Tuesday’s primaries Democratic voters elevated Angie Nixon, a progressive Senate candidate in Florida, while President Donald Trump’s chosen candidate in his adopted home state, Republican Rep. Byron Donalds, won the nomination as he vies to be the state’s first Black governor. Read more.

Why this matters: It was a mixed bag for incumbents in Florida, where Republican-led redistricting efforts scrambled congressional maps. Meanwhile, longtime U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz won a diverse, redistricted Florida seat. Voters in Alaska, Wyoming and California were also choosing their nominees.

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RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Full results Sen. Sullivan, former congresswoman Peltola will face off for Alaska US Senate seat in November Sen. Darline Graham in debate: ‘I’m not that informed on national security’ AP Interview: Ralph Norman questions Trump’s endorsement of Darline Graham in South Carolina runoff Fake polling from mysterious company highlights danger of unvetted election surveys Governors’ races are being increasingly buffeted by the toxic politics of data centers Senator presses Hegseth, Caine for commitment to keep US military out of the midterm elections

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Donalds, Jolly emerge from primaries   Donalds took 48% of the vote in a crowded primary that included nine other Republicans, Christine Sexton reports. Jolly easily defeated five opponents in the Democratic primary, earning 61% of the vote. Jolly is a former GOP U.S. House member and Trump dissident who switched to the Democratic Party last year and appeared on the path to his own competitive primary against Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings. But Demings dropped out of the race after being diagnosed with cancer. Related: Despite being outspent 10-to-1, Jolly likes his chances of becoming governor

Nixon advances to face Moody in U.S. Senate race with decisive win over Vindman   Her victory concluded a primary that had some wondering whether progressive Democrats’ wins around the nation would carry into Florida. Nixon, carrying endorsements of several of Florida’s progressive Democratic legislators, enjoyed a significantly smaller campaign account compared to competitor Alex Vindman. Nixon is best known for her in-your-face progressivism — for example, staging a sit-in in the governor’s office to protest his congressional gerrymander.

Wasserman Schultz, Moskowitz advance in their congressional primary races   In one of the most watched congressional primaries this year, longtime Florida Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz won in a Broward County-based seat held by a Black representative since the early 1990s. Meanwhile, two-term U.S. Rep. Jared Moskowitz crushed his Democratic Socialists of America-backed opponent, Oliver Larkin, 63%-37%. Republican Cory Mills, facing allegations of dating violence and campaign finance law violations, lost his primary in CD 7, in Seminole and Volusia counties. Democratic Florida House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell held off fellow Democratic Rep. Michele Rayner in state Senate District 16 in the Tampa Bay area, 60%-40%.

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Arizona AG declines to charge Gov. Katie Hobbs over pay-to-play allegations

PHOENIX (AP) — State prosecutors declined to file criminal charges against Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs over allegations that she took part in a pay-to-play scheme with a group home company that received a rate increase from the state after contributing $100,000 to her inaugural celebration, Attorney General Kris Mayes announced Friday.

https://apnews.com/article/katie-hobbs-sunshine-pay-to-play-kris-mayes-6bb26a982bbdf2775da83484f175bf1f?

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The "everything's in play" election

Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios. Stock: Getty Images

Ten weeks (72 days) from Election Day, the Senate battlefield is sprawling — and stretching deep into Trump country. Why it matters: In a normal year, Republicans wouldn't think twice about Alaska, Kansas, Iowa, Mississippi, Nebraska or Texas. This isn't a normal year, Axios' Hans Nichols and Stef W. Kight report. Republicans expect all six states to revert to their MAGA mean. But the party isn't betting on it. Democrats have more openings to attack, leaving Republicans with more states to defend. 👂 Here's what we're hearing: Democrats are within striking distance in Iowa, Alaska and Texas. They're longer shots in Mississippi and Kansas. An independent candidate in Nebraska refuses to go away. Democrats' clearest path to 51 starts with holding Michigan and picking up North Carolina and Ohio. Maine is probably next on their list. Then they need just one more. Driving the news: On Thursday afternoon, the Texas and Iowa Senate races were moved to "toss-up" by Cook Political Report. They were "lean Republican." That makes six GOP seats rated toss-ups or lean Democratic. 👀 The bottom line: At the start of the cycle, Cook Political Report called Democrats' path to a Senate majority "herculean." Last week, Cook's Jessica Taylor declared the battle for the Senate a "toss-up, but one in which Republicans may still hold the slimmest of advantages — especially given Democrats' headache in Michigan." More on each close race.

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AP Decision Notes: What to expect in South Carolina’s special U.S. Senate primary runoff

South Carolina Republicans will return to the polls Tuesday for the fourth time since June to replace the late U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham on the fall general election ballot. Read More.   AP Decision Notes: What to expect in Georgia’s special congressional runoff Residents of Georgia’s 13th Congressional District outside of Atlanta will get a new representative to Congress after a special election runoff Tuesday to replace the late Democratic U.S. Rep. David Scott, who died April 22. Read More.   AP Decision Notes: What to expect in Oklahoma’s state primary runoff Oklahoma Republicans will return to the polls Tuesday to settle an expensive nomination fight for governor, while Democrats will pick a nominee for U.S. Senate. Voters will also decide two statewide ballot measures, including one that would add a voter identification requirement to the state constitution. Read More.   MAGA Inc. spends $827,000 to back Darline Graham on final day of South Carolina GOP Senate runoff The final day of South Carolina's Republican U.S. Senate runoff campaign on Monday came with a major cash infusion for Sen. Darline Graham from MAGA Inc., the super PAC that supports President Donald Trump and aligned Republicans but has spent little thus far on the president's midterm candidate picks. Read More.

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Two elections to watch

Georgia voters will cast their ballots today in a special election that will further narrow Republicans’ already slim majority in the House. Democrats Marcye Scott and Everton Blair are vying to serve out the term of Scott’s father, the late Rep. David Scott, who died in April. Separately, Republican voters in South Carolina will decide a closely watched Senate runoff between Sen. Darline Graham and Rep. Ralph Norman. Graham was appointed to fill the seat of her brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham, who died in July, and she has President Trump’s endorsement. The winner will face Democrat Annie Andrews in November.

+ Read more: Darline Graham’s race in South Carolina is a test of Trump’s chutzpah

+ Video: Trump to GOP: ‘Pretend, please, that I’m on the ballot’

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Darline Graham wins South Carolina GOP nomination to replace her late brother in US Senate

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — U.S. Sen. Darline Graham won the Republican nomination to replace her late brother on South Carolina’s general election ballot, notching another win for President Donald Trump after he threw his support behind the political novice.

https://apnews.com/article/south-carolina-election-lindsey-graham-03899983c3702842039e99d62e16ddad?

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As midterm elections approach, Republican candidates weigh how closely to align with Trump

“AIR FORCE VETERAN. SMALL BUSINESSMAN. TRUMP CONSERVATIVE.” Read More.

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AP Decision Notes: What to expect in the Massachusetts state primary

Massachusetts Democrats will decide the latest head-to-head matchup between the party’s moderate and progressive wings in a state primary Tuesday, but this time, top progressives are backing the incumbent against a more moderate challenger. Read More.

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📺 Scoop: Transgender ad attack

A super PAC working to reelect Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) is plowing $1.1 million into an ad campaign attacking Democrat Troy Jackson for supporting state legislation that allows transgender women to be housed in women's prisons.

Why it matters: The ad is the latest example of Republicans using visceral attacks on transgender policies to draw sharp contrasts with Democrats on a hot-button cultural issue.

• But for the first time this cycle, Republicans are taking the transgender issue into a blue-state Senate race.

🚗 Driving the news: The strategy behind the two-week blitz from Pine Tree Results is clear: drive Jackson's negatives higher.

• ✍️ "As Senate president, Jackson signed the bill requiring state prisons to house biological men if they identify as female with women prisoners," the narrator says.

The other side: "Susan Collins and her allies are desperately trying to change the subject because she can't defend her own record," said Dan Gottlieb, a spokesperson for Jackson.

• "She voted with Donald Trump 96% of the time," Gottlieb said. "No amount of dishonest fearmongering is going to distract Mainers from that."

🌎 Zoom out: In Texas, Republicans have recirculated a 2021 floor speech from state Rep. James Talarico in which he declared that "God is nonbinary" and expressed his love for trans children.

• In Iowa, Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa) welcomed state Rep. Josh Turek to the general election with an ad accusing him of supporting children changing gender without parental consent.
• And in Ohio, Sen. Jon Husted has accused former Sen. Sherrod Brown of supporting "boys in girls' sports," reprising an attack that Sen. Bernie Moreno successfully used against Brown in 2024. 

— Hans Nichols

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Sen. Ed Markey, 80, wins Mass. Democratic primary over opponent who called for generational change

U.S. Sen. Ed Markey secured the Democratic nomination in Massachusetts’ Senate primary Tuesday, once again fending off a push for generational change as he seeks a third term.

https://apnews.com/article/massachusetts-senate-primary-election-markey-moulton-7968135279320c758b0fd4750d864db9?

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AP Decision Notes: What to expect in New Hampshire’s state primary

Two former Republican U.S. Senators eyeing a return to Washington will compete in New Hampshire’s state primary Tuesday for a seat they’ve both sought previously with mixed results. In the Democratic primary for the same U.S. Senate seat, a four-term congressman faces an increasingly competitive challenge on his left flank from a democratic socialist candidate. Read More.

AP Decision Notes: What to expect in Rhode Island’s state primary

Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee faces a tough Democratic primary challenge Wednesday in his bid for a second full term. Ocean State voters will also choose nominees for a full slate of federal, state and local offices. Read More.

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💵 J Street's AIPAC-backed targets

Illustration: Sarah Grillo / Axios

The liberal pro-Israel group J Street is launching a $3 million offensive against five AIPAC-backed Republicans in some of the nation's most competitive midterm races, we've learned. Why it matters: The battle over Israel, which roiled Democratic primaries and fueled tens of millions of dollars in outside spending, is spilling into the general election and pitting two pro-Israel groups against each other. 🚗 Driving the news: The J Street Action Fund is targeting Georgia Senate candidate Mike Collins, Reps. Max Miller of Ohio, Derrick Van Orden of Wisconsin, Ryan Mackenzie of Pennsylvania and Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Iowa. 🥊 It's the first time J Street has gone on offense against AIPAC-backed incumbents across a significant number of competitive races. 💰 And the investment is the largest super PAC expenditure in J Street's history. (Collins has received AIPAC's support in the past, but so far not in his current Senate bid.) Between the lines: AIPAC and J Street have long represented competing visions of what it means to be pro-Israel, but their rivalry has intensified this cycle as divisions over Israel deepen in both parties. Both are pro-Israel, but J Street is more critical of the Israeli government than AIPAC. — Alex Isenstadt

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This week in the pre-campaign

Illustration: Brendan Lynch / Axios

A look at what potential 2028 Democratic presidential contenders are up to: 👌 California Gov. Gavin Newsom sat down with Don Lemon while touring South Carolina and other Southern states. Newsom said he thinks House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is doing an "incredible job" and said he has "great respect" for the energy the Democratic Socialists of America are bringing to the party despite disagreements on some issues. He declined to weigh in on the Senate candidacy of DSA member Angie Nixon in Florida, saying he didn't know enough about the race. 🤖 Newsom also signed several state bills regulating AI and social media (to varying degrees). One bill bans addictive social media features for children under 16. ✝️ New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez traveled to Florida to campaign for Nixon and attend the National Baptist Convention, which bills itself as one of the "nation's oldest and largest African American religious organizations." She said she's "been amazed watching how God works" in the last two years and argued that the country is going through a "great realignment." Ocasio-Cortez's office did not advise reporters about the visit ahead of time. Former Vice President Kamala Harris will campaign with Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff at the end of October and keynote a Democratic Party dinner, CNN reported. 🦀 Maryland Gov. Wes Moore further teased a potential 2028 run, telling Bakari Sellers, "The truth is that I am going to be part of a bigger conversation going forward, because I think the state of Maryland, and what we've done, has justified that." See the full episode of "The Bakari Sellers Show" here. Moore also announced a raise in the minimum wage to $18 an hour for some Maryland Aviation Administration contract workers at Baltimore's main airport. Buttigieg continues to be one of the only 2028 contenders who's welcomed by fellow Democrats in the most competitive House districts this year. He'll campaign next week in New York's Hudson Valley with Cait Conley, who's trying to beat Republican Rep. Mike Lawler. 🥊 Pritzker's PAC Ready for the Fight announced $20 million in spending to help House candidates, Politico reported. 🤠 Pritzker also traveled to Dallas as part of a Democratic counterprogramming effort to Trump's midterm convention. Pritzker argued that any Republican who attended is "probably going to be disqualified in 2028." Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly told 12News KPNX in Phoenix that he will make a decision about 2028 after the midterms, but that his wife, former Rep. Gabby Giffords, is "very supportive" of him running. "She is a public servant through and through," he said. Kelly also walked in the Navajo Nation Parade in New Mexico and Arizona. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro spoke at Shanksville, Pa., on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in remembrance of the victims of United 93. Shapiro called the field where the hijacked flight crashed "hallowed ground." Watch his full speech here. Buttigieg said on "Meet the Press" that he believes the country is ready for a gay president. "I wouldn't have run for president in the first place if I didn't believe that. Of course," he said via a remote interview from New Mexico. Booker encouraged his followers on X to watch an ad by former Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez, who's running for an Arizona House seat.

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AP Decision Notes: What to expect in Delaware’s state primary

Delaware’s Democratic U.S. senator, U.S. representative and state attorney general will go before voters in a state primary Tuesday as they seek reelection. Voters also will choose nominees for state Legislature and for an open seat for state treasurer. Read More.

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2026 primary season comes to a close

The 2026 primaries ended Tuesday in Delaware after more than six months of contests. Along the way, voters offered a glimpse of the changing dynamics within both parties as the midterms quickly approach. Notably, President Trump’s endorsement remained influential in some races but showed signs of weakening, with 10 of his endorsed candidates losing GOP contests. On the Democratic side, self-described democratic socialists remain a small share of the party’s nominees but scored several high-profile victories, including against House incumbents. The question now is whether that momentum carries into the fall when candidates face a broader electorate.

+ Takeaways: The 2026 primaries taught us a lot about what’s to come in the midterms

+ Midterms Q&A: Drop your questions for CNN’s political experts here

Editor’s note: Sign up for 20/26 Vision, a weekly newsletter focusing on this year’s midterms. Each week, CNN’s Aaron Blake cuts through the political noise with sharp analysis of the races, candidates and trends that could decide control of Congress.

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Republican Mike Rogers courts Michigan Democrats and Trump voters as GOP hopes to hold the Senate

Mike Rogers stood outside Cody High School on Detroit’s west side on a recent drizzly morning and decried Michigan's decline in reading achievement. Read More.

Alaskans will decide fate of ranked choice voting system after chaotic end to state's primary

Even after the last votes were counted from Alaska's primary election, the final slate of candidates was far from settled. Read More.

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"Red undertow" threatens GOP midterm map

Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios

President Trump told voters to pretend he's on the ballot. Apparently they're listening: With midterms 38 days away, Republicans coast to coast are getting pulled under by a violent undertow fueled by Trump's unpopularity, Axios' Marc Caputo, Hans Nichols and Alex Isenstadt report. Why it matters: It's looked bad for Republicans all year, but this week felt different — like the political environment was disintegrating in real time, one ominous data point after another. Most worrisome for the GOP, there's virtually no chance the war ends, inflation cools, interest rates fall, consumer confidence rises, and economic optimism surges before the Nov. 3 election. 💡 Lingo du jour: Cook Political Report founder Charlie Cook writes that while "many have long predicted that Democrats will enjoy a 'blue wave' election, I think of it more as a 'red undertow,' which will pull many Republicans under and significantly trim the margins for many others." That's an implied reminder that Democrats' favorability ratings aren't good. They're just better than those of Republicans. 👂 Start with mood music: This week, Trump's disapproval rating hit 60.5%, the worst mark of his two terms in office, including the aftermath of the Jan. 6 riots. Gas prices rose to $4.49 a gallon, diesel has hit $6.50 and no relief is in sight. Seven months in, the U.S. is locked in a standoff with Iran with no apparent exit strategy. Grocery prices are still rising year over year. Mortgage rates hit 7%, and the cost of borrowing across the economy continues to climb. 🗳️ Enter the elections: The problems for the GOP are everywhere. In the battle for the Senate, once ruby-red Texas looks more in play than ever, and Florida isn't far behind. Nor is Alaska. North Carolina and Georgia look lost. Maine is problematic. The Senate GOP campaign arm is begging donors for another $8.9 million to defend Senate seats in three states that Trump won by double digits two years ago — Alaska, Iowa and Ohio. "We're having problems just getting Republican voters to respond to polls," a national Republican pollster told us. "At what point do we think these guys aren't showing up at the actual polls on Election Day?" Only in Michigan do Republicans see glimmers of hope to pick up a Senate seat because Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed is seen by some as so radical that he has "scared the shit out of our people to want to vote," the GOP pollster said. "But even then, in this environment, who knows?" What once looked like a longshot for Democrats — taking control of the Senate by flipping four Republican-held seats on a map favoring the GOP — looks increasingly plausible. ⚡ On the House side, Cook Political Report moved 15 House races toward Democrats yesterday. They need to net just three seats to win control of the chamber. Republicans are now playing defense deep in red America. GOP-aligned groups are spending money in more than a half-dozen districts that Trump won by at least 15 points in 2024. State of play: More and more lately, Republican incumbents are running for cover from Trump. In Iowa, two House Republicans have switched their positions to support a war powers resolution on Iran. Sen. Chuck Grassley, who rode the 1980 Republican wave to the Senate, and Rep. Ashley Hinson, who's running for Iowa's other Senate seat, are demanding restrictions on diesel exports. 💰 The other side: A Trump adviser downplayed the GOP tremors, pointing to the Republicans' massive cash advantage. "If we execute and our people show up, it's a different ballgame," the adviser said. "There's more than a month to go."

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🚫 Swing-state Dems shun AOC

Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo / Axios. Photo: Tom Williams / CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images

Democrats in some of this year's most critical congressional battlegrounds are sending a clear message to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: We don't want you to campaign for us. Why it matters: If they continue, the snubs could hurt AOC's standing as a potential contender in the 2028 Democratic presidential primary, when many voters will prioritize electability. Ocasio-Cortez and her allies argue that her unapologetic advocacy for big progressive policies like Medicare for All would make candidates like her more electable than moderate liberals, but many Democrats in tight races this fall have disagreed. 🛑 She was welcomed by several Democrats in competitive primary races, but now some of those candidates have distanced themselves as they've moved to the center to take on Republicans in the Nov. 3 election. 🔎 Zoom in: Sam Forstag, a progressive House candidate in Montana who rallied with AOC in May en route to winning the Democratic primary, suggested he doesn't want her to campaign for him in the conservative state for the general election. "I don't intend to be having a lot of folks from out of state campaigning with me over these next 40 days," he told Axios when asked about AOC stumping for him. Forstag has scrubbed Ocasio-Cortez's endorsement from his campaign's website. Driving the news: Some Democrats in other close races have explicitly asked Ocasio-Cortez's team to stay away, party officials told Axios. 📉 "The polling is atrocious for her," said a senior Democratic strategist working in a key swing district. "She's a lightning rod." AOC doesn't always tell national media about her events in advance, so we asked her team whether she's campaigned in person for any of the Democrats' top House or Senate candidates this cycle. They didn't point us to any. "Call us on Nov. 3," said her chief of staff, Mike Casca, suggesting she may do more events before Election Day. Zoom out: In June, CNN reported that AOC's aides were "putting together a fall schedule meant to beta-test her appeal beyond a base that adores her." So far, that hasn't happened nationally. In contrast, several of AOC's potential 2028 rivals for president — including former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly and former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel — have been welcomed by Democratic candidates in competitive districts and states during the past month. Even former Vice President Kamala Harris — whose help has been resisted by some battleground candidates — has been welcomed by others. Harris was in Michigan with left-wing Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed last week and plans to campaign for statewide candidates in Georgia and Nevada. 👀 The intrigue: In the final weeks of the Senate Democratic primary last month in Michigan — a key presidential swing state — El-Sayed had AOC campaign with him. He and his allies spent almost $1 million in TV ads featuring her, according to the ad-tracking firm AdImpact. But since winning the Democratic nomination, El-Sayed has spent almost nothing on ads featuring AOC. El-Sayed's campaign said they'd welcome Ocasio-Cortez back in the coming weeks. "There are a lot of Michiganders who can't wait to have AOC back in town," a spokesperson told us. AOC did launch a campaign swing this week throughout New York with stops in Buffalo and Ithaca, but she's not campaigning in one of the country's most competitive House districts — the 17th District in the lower Hudson Valley. Cait Conley, a former Army officer and national security official in the Biden administration, told CNN this month that she wouldn't campaign with AOC. 🗣️ What they're saying: We asked Ocasio-Cortez what she thinks of Republicans using her name in a new ad to try to hurt Conley. "I invite them to spend even more money … because they're just setting it on fire," Ocasio-Cortez said, arguing that the GOP has been running the same anti-AOC playbook since she first was elected to Congress in 2018. Read more. — Alex Thompson, Holly Otterbein

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🗽 AOC's Senate test run

Photo: Aaron Schwartz / Bloomberg via Getty Images

BUFFALO, N.Y. — AOC's flirtation with a 2028 Senate bid is getting real — more real than the presidential buzz around her might suggest. 🏃🏼‍♀️ She's barnstorming through upstate New York, meeting with local officials and kicking off a voter turnout program that could help her collect valuable data for a possible Senate campaign. Why it matters: Whether she runs for Senate or the White House is one of the biggest questions hanging over the 2028 Democratic presidential primary. 🔬 Zoom in: Her swing through Buffalo and Ithaca the last few days was officially aimed at boosting Democratic turnout in the midterms. But it doubled as a way to test AOC's appeal far from her home base of Queens and the Bronx, and build relationships with locals. In Buffalo, she met privately with Mayor Sean Ryan, then held an impromptu press conference with him, generating coverage of the duo on local TV news. She and her team later kicked off a training session aimed at getting inactive voters to the polls, an operation that could help them gather information about the electorate outside New York City. "I want to be very forthright about our intentions here, which is to transform the state of New York," Ocasio-Cortez told activists at the event in a Buffalo arts center. In Ithaca, she appeared at an apple festival with Rep. Josh Riley (D-N.Y.) and today was scheduled to headline a "Students vs. Billionaires" town hall. It's friendly terrain: The city is home to several democratic socialist elected officials, and Ocasio-Cortez is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America. 🤔 The intrigue: AOC says she's genuinely undecided on whether to run for the White House or Senate. Her recent activities upstate suggested that wasn't a head fake. Ryan said Ocasio-Cortez has been talking with state officials about how help communities beyond New York City. Meanwhile, some influential Democrats in early presidential primary states have told us they haven't yet heard from AOC. Many political insiders believe that if Ocasio-Cortez were to run for an open Senate seat, she'd clear the Democratic field. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who's in his fifth term, hasn't said whether he'll run for reelection. Yes, but: Ocasio-Cortez also has taken several steps that could point toward a presidential run. She's toured the country, moderated her stance on some cultural issues, and opened up about her egg-freezing journey. She recently told the New York Times she'll consider whether to run for president after the midterms. Between the lines: One exchange we had with Ocasio-Cortez offered a window into how she is approaching her decision. We asked her how she's thinking about the future of the progressive movement as she weighs a White House run. In the last two open Democratic presidential primaries, there has been a clear progressive standard-bearer, and many on the left think she's their only hope for 2028. "The movement is so much bigger than any one person," she told us. Read more. — Holly Otterbein

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This week in the pre-campaign

Illustration: Brendan Lynch / Axios. Stock: Getty Images

A look at what potential 2028 Democratic presidential contenders are up to: 🤔 Ocasio-Cortez talked openly about running for president or the Senate in 2028 in an interview with The New York Times' Shane Goldmacher. "There's an argument that some make that this is a very unique political window and, oftentimes in politics, you do only get one shot," she said. "… Life doesn't wait for you to be ready for things. Sometimes life just makes things ready for you." 🇺🇳 California Gov. Gavin Newsom made the rounds in New York City during the United Nations General Assembly, where some foreign officials treated him as a president-in-waiting. Newsom met and signed a climate agreement with the prime minister of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, who according to reports snubbed President Trump's reception. 👏 Besides campaigning for El-Sayed in Michigan this week, Harris went to an event held by the Detroit Branch of the NAACP and got a standing ovation from the crowd when she was asked about running in 2028, the Michigan Chronicle's Sam Robinson reported. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said on "CBS Mornings" that he was diagnosed with diabetes two years ago, and since then has lost 80 pounds using a GLP-1 drug. Pritzker previously had dodged questions about whether he used the drug in his recent weight loss. Democratic megadonor Alex Soros posted about meeting Pritzker in New York City this week. Buttigieg told Meidas Touch that the Biden administration made mistakes dealing with the southern border. "Democrats were slow to acknowledge that this was a problem. I'll admit that I did not understand the proportions of the problem at first," he said. 🥯 In a video with food influencer Jeremy Jacobowitz, Buttigieg also revealed his go-to bagel order: sesame bagel with lox, scallion cream cheese (or chive) and capers. Jacobowitz judged the order an 8.9. 🦀 Maryland Gov. Wes Moore put out an AI framework that would focus on regulating its use in housing, gambling, lending, in the workplace, and elsewhere. Read it here. 🤖 Kelly introduced AI legislation that would focus on making large tech companies pay to help workers displaced by the technology. Emanuel jabbed at AOC and Sen. Bernie Sanders in a New York Times profile by Shane Goldmacher. "Some people want to do oligarchy tours. I want to do majority tours. That's what I'm doing with my time," he said. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear dodged questions from CNN's Jake Tapper about committing money to the Texas governor's race (he also mistakenly said Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs was running for reelection in Ohio). California Rep. Ro Khanna said on "Meet the Press" that Democrats should hold impeachment investigations if they win the House in November, and that it wouldn't be a mistake to impeach Trump a third time.

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Supreme Court vote shadows Maine Sen. Susan Collins in her first race after abortion rights decision

For years, Planned Parenthood’s endorsement of Susan Collins was enough to persuade Erin Evans to vote for Maine's longtime U.S. senator, believing that the moderate Republican would protect abortion access. Read More.

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Speaker's 22-state dash

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is launching a five-week campaign blitz that will take him to more than 40 congressional districts across 22 states in the 36 days before Election Day, Axios' Kate Santaliz reports.

• Why it matters: Johnson is going all-in on defending his party's House majority as the political terrain disintegrates for the GOP.

🗳️ Zoom in: Johnson's campaign swing will be split evenly between Republican-held seats the party is fighting to defend, and Democratic-held districts the GOP hopes to pick up.

• The speaker begins his travel this week in Louisiana and New York.
• He'll also campaign in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.

Read on.

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🌽 GOP braces for Iowa pain

Iowa is on the verge of a farm crisis that threatens to wreck the agricultural heart of the state and hurt the fortunes of Republicans at the top of the midterm ticket, GOP strategists acknowledge to Marc Caputo and Axios Des Moines' Linh Ta.

• Why it matters: Democrats could win in several once-reliably Republican states in November. But President Trump's policies have caused such severe financial problems for farmers — especially those who grow corn — that Iowa appears particularly vulnerable.

A top GOP campaign consultant working in Iowa and other states tells us: "In Iowa, we should brace for losing everything, definitely the governor's race and maybe the Senate race and who knows what else."

• As his political operation watches Iowa with alarm, Trump yesterday held a White House press conference to announce plans for a massive steel plant in the state that would be one of the nation's largest.

🚜 Zoom in: Iowa farming has been difficult for years because of rising costs, consolidation trends and foreign competition. But farmers say two recent stressors are directly tied to Trump:

1. Tariffs increased costs of fertilizer, pesticides and farm equipment, and caused market instability. The related trade wars especially hurt U.S. relations with Canada, which buys about 30% of Iowa's exports.
2. The war in Iran increased the cost of diesel by nearly 80% in Iowa, forcing farmers to bleed money, consider taking loans just to survive and limit machine use to critical levels.

👀 What to watch: Trump won Iowa by more than 13 points in 2024. But in the current Senate race, Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson is essentially tied in polling averages with Democratic state Rep. Josh Turek.

• In the race for governor, state Auditor Rob Sand, a Democrat, leads Republican nominee Zach Lahn by larger margins.