Latest news with #Andy Beshear
CNN
6 days ago
- Politics
- CNN
Analysis: Democrats are making 2028 moves. Here's what to know
Democrats who will run for president in 2028 are already quietly, and not so quietly, making moves. They're visiting early primary states, workshopping material and formulating plans. This week, it's Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear in South Carolina. Last week, it was California Gov. Gavin Newsom. CNN's Edward-Isaac Dovere is closely watching all of it. We talked in DC about the list of potential candidates, their strengths and weaknesses, and what are the signs they're actually serious about stepping in the ring. The conversation, edited for length, is below. WOLF: The next general election isn't until 2028. Why are we paying attention to this right now? DOVERE: First of all, because some people want us to be paying attention. Gavin Newsom didn't go to South Carolina just as any state to go to. He picked a state — a presidential primary state — so that we talk about it, as others have done. JB Pritzker was in New Hampshire at the end of April; Pete Buttigieg went to Iowa, even though it's not quite a presidential state anymore. This is an ongoing process of the candidates trying to get people to pay attention and to workshop some of their material. But you also see among a lot of Democrats a deep desire to get past the Donald Trump era, even though the Trump era is still very new. One of the things even that Newsom was saying in South Carolina was, 'We can put an end to this in 18 months.' He's talking about the midterms, but it's that thought that Democrats don't need to just wallow in the horror and misery that they've been in since Election Day of 2024. WOLF: Biden forced a lot of changes in the primary process for Democrats, including Iowa not really being an early state for them anymore. What's the early map going to look like? DOVERE: Biden did push through some changes, especially making South Carolina first. But some of the other changes, particularly moving Iowa off of the early-state calendar, were very much supported by a lot of other people in the Democratic National Coalition. We'll see what the calendar ends up looking like. The chances that Iowa gets back to a primary position seem very low. That said, the chances that New Hampshire gets back to the first-in-the-nation spot that actually is required by New Hampshire state law seem much higher. We won't know the full answer on the calendar until at least sometime in 2026, and there is a lot of wrangling and back-and-forth among the states and among the DNC members. What is definitely true, though, is that no matter what arrangement will come, it seems that New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada will remain early. Where exactly they are is a little bit unclear. WOLF: Why could he win and why would he have trouble? DOVERE: Newsom had a real breakout moment over the response to what was going on in Los Angeles a couple weeks ago, and that very quickly identified him in people's minds as the face of the actual resistance to what Trump was doing, rather than just talking about it. He is a very skilled retail campaigner and speaker. But there are obstacles he'll have to overcome — people who think that he's maybe too California. He was the mayor of San Francisco, too liberal in some people's minds. Too slick. Just having a California air to him — all that stuff is what he needs to overcome. Other than Kamala Harris, there's never been a Democratic nominee from the West Coast. WOLF: OK, Kamala Harris. Could she do it again in a crowded primary? DOVERE: She's obviously thinking about running for governor of California, and I've done reporting that says that she's leaning in that direction. What is also clear is that she and her closest advisers realize that it's one or the other — you can't run for governor and then turn around and run for president right away. WOLF: Unless your name is Richard Nixon. DOVERE: Well, he ran for governor in 1962, lost, and then didn't end up running for president again until 1968. Her goal, if she runs, would be to win and not repeat the Nixon thing. WOLF: Moving east, in the middle of the country, there's JB Pritzker and Rahm Emanuel in Illinois; there's new Michigan resident Pete Buttigieg and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Let's start with Buttigieg, someone who actually won an early contest in 2020. DOVERE: The Bernie Sanders folks would still protest this, but Buttigieg did win the Iowa caucuses, and he came in a healthy second in the New Hampshire primary. He has spent the first six months of Trump's second presidency doing a lot of podcasts and outreach to what would be classified these days as the 'manosphere,' or the Republican-leaning or low-propensity voters. He regularly is embraced by Democrats for the way that he's able to break down Democratic arguments and break apart Republican arguments. That said, his jobs leading up to now have been to be the mayor of a pretty small city — South Bend, Indiana. And then he was transportation secretary. But part of his theory from when he was running in 2019, and he and I talked about it then, was that we are living in an age of Donald Trump's politics, where it's more about what you're able to do and how you're able to communicate what you're doing than about exactly what job you've had in government. Maybe that's an opening for him. I think that most people assume that he would be a reasonably strong contender, at least if he runs. WOLF: Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is an obvious choice, but she's said she's not running. DOVERE: A lot of people say they won't run for president until they do. Barack Obama insisted he wasn't running. Whitmer has a lot of strength in Michigan, obviously a key state for Democrats. She's won two tough races there by, in the end, pretty comfortable margins. She is quite popular in Michigan, as far as one can be in these polarized times. And she has, in these first six months of Trump, taken a different route than a lot of other Democrats. She's tried to find ways to work with Trump, and she feels like that is a good way of being the governor and also delivering for swing areas of the state. Of course, that has frustrated a lot of Democrats who feel like she's been used by Trump and turned into a prop by him, whether it was at the Oval Office when they had that meeting a couple months ago, or when he then flew to Michigan to announce this new shipbuilding investment and had her come to the podium. She would say she did get the investment, and it makes a big difference for Michigan shipbuilding. WOLF: Let's go across the lake to Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, the only billionaire on the list, yes. Would the democratic socialist wing of the Democratic Party go for a billionaire? DOVERE: I sat in New Hampshire at the end of April when Pritzker was there to speak to the big Democratic dinner there, and I asked him that exact question. When there was such a push among a lot of Democrats against the wealthy and oligarchs and all that, how would they vote for a billionaire? He said to me, it's about values, and he feels like he's been pushing the values. He's not apologetic about his family wealth. In fact, he says that he has used it toward helping other Democrats win, and through his personal political donations and a PAC he has put quite a few dollars into everything from state parties to specific campaigns to ballot initiative efforts. His strength would be that he's running for reelection now to a third term. A lot of things that he has done as governor fall into the category of Trump-proofing the state, and some fall into the category of just trying to make the state a center-left laboratory for all sorts of things. WOLF: There is a former mayor of Chicago who is clearly trying to set up the idea that he would run. Is Rahm Emanuel (a CNN contributor, former White House chief of staff, former ambassador and former congressman) actually serious? DOVERE: He is talking about running more in terms of the concept of what he would bring to the argument, or to the debate of how Democrats should be moderate and how they should talk about things in a different way than in the normal way of a potential candidate. WOLF: Moving South, what about a moderate governor from an otherwise-red state? DOVERE: That's Andy Beshear's argument: that he's won, and won comfortably, among the types of voters that most Democrats have given up even trying to appeal to, and done it in a state — Kentucky — that hasn't had a Democrat other than him and his father competitive statewide for years. He's done it while not shying away from Democratic positions on issues like abortion rights and even trans kids, but as he also spends some time in South Carolina this week, he's unabashedly starting to test how much appetite there is for his lower key — in both positions and personality — approach. WOLF: Let's go to the mid-Atlantic. Let's talk about Wes Moore (governor of Maryland), and then Josh Shapiro (governor of Pennsylvania). DOVERE: Wes Moore is clearly a very charismatic, appealing figure who has caught the eye of a lot of the Democratic intelligentsia for having a motivational, optimistic approach to how he speaks. He does not have as much of a legislative record as some of the other governors, which is notable in that Democrats have full control of the legislature in Maryland. So there may be some questions about what he has done and what he has been able to actually make happen when he's up against other governors, although he has also said he's not running for president. WOLF: Josh Shapiro clearly is somebody that everybody is watching. Will he run? DOVERE: We don't even have an official announcement that he's running for a second term as governor, although he obviously will. What he has managed to do, from when he was attorney general through when he was running for governor, through three years as governor, is have extremely high popularity ratings in Pennsylvania. That's among Democrats and Republicans, and in a state that has become such a swing state. For someone who is an unabashed Democrat to have that kind of reception is really a demonstration of the way that he approaches his governing and his outreach to the state. He has been very low-profile in terms of national politics over the course of these first six months of the Trump term. Most people probably haven't heard from him at all, other than that terrible incident with the arson of the governor's mansion when he was there with his family on the first night of Passover. That is a deliberate effort for him to stay focused on Pennsylvania. One of the questions over the next year or two, as he runs through reelection, is how much does he start to pop onto the national radar? WOLF: Usually a list like this is full of senators. Who could be on it? DOVERE: I would put Cory Booker from New Jersey, Chris Murphy from Connecticut, Mark Kelly from Arizona and Ruben Gallego from Arizona. WOLF: We've had Bernie Sanders as a very popular alternative in recent elections. He must be too old at this point. Who inherits his mantle? DOVERE: Who are we to say who is too old? He will turn 87 by Election Day 2028 — that would make him by far the oldest president that we've ever had, even outdoing the Biden and Trump records. Most people do not expect that he will be running for president again. The question of who inherits his mantle is a big one, and most people would put their money on Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who is going to have some decisions coming up about whether she sets her eyes on running for president or running for Senate. There's an election in 2028 — that is Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's seat, whether he decides to run, or she runs against him, or whether she just builds up her power by gaining seniority in the House. She's obviously quite young, and she has done more with her House seat already than almost anybody ever has in that amount of time. If not her, then I think there is a big open question about who it would be. Rep. Ro Khanna, the congressman from California who was a co-chair of Sanders' campaign in 2020, has been making clear that he is exploring a presidential run and hoping to have some of that support. If she doesn't run and he doesn't get that kind of support, then I think there would be a question of whether there's someone else that could be the right vessel for that, or whether it would diffuse between multiple candidates. WOLF: What about a complete outsider? There's a boomlet of interest in the ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith. Is there room for a wild card? DOVERE: Trump is the first person in history to be president without having served in a military or government role beforehand. So who knows. There are a lot of people who you could see thinking that they would be that person. There was some reporting four years ago that Bob Iger, the Disney CEO, talked about maybe he should run. Whether it would be businesspeople or celebrities, Trump has made it clear that you could come from outside the political scene and do it. Other people who have thought about it have turned away because they have not wanted to have their lives picked over the way that we do to political candidates. There's even a new movie in which John Cena plays the president of the United States, and the gimmick is that he is an action hero who then just gets elected because of that. WOLF: Arnold Schwarzenegger, if he'd been born in the US. Or the Rock. DOVERE: Who was born in the US. WOLF: What sets off your spidey sense that somebody is getting serious about a run? DOVERE: The early state visits. If they start talking about national politics a lot more. Shapiro is a good example of somebody who gets talked about a lot but doesn't actually discuss national politics that much. If, all of a sudden, he's talking about Donald Trump a lot more, or what Democrats should stand for, that would be a reason to start thinking about him or whoever else is starting to do it. Then there are the things that happen behind the scenes — starting to reach out to interested donors or the sort of Democratic elders, brain trust, whatever you want to call it. As we get closer to 2027, when people will start launching their campaigns, there'll be outreach to staff and things and quiet invitations to reporters to come and meet the candidate. WOLF: So when you have an interview with one of these guys, we know that they're running. DOVERE: When I was sitting with Pritzker in New Hampshire, we were talking and at the end of the interview I said so can we just fast-forward through this and to say like you're running for president? He said, no, not yet.
Al Arabiya
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
‘Who's got next?' Democrats already lining up for 2028 presidential race in early voting states
The first presidential primary votes won't be cast for another two and a half years. And yet over the span of 10 days in July, three Democratic presidential prospects are scheduled to campaign in South Carolina. Nearly a half dozen others have made recent pilgrimages to South Carolina, New Hampshire, and Iowa–states that traditionally host the nation's opening presidential nomination contests. Still other ambitious Democrats are having private conversations with officials on the ground there. The voters in these states are used to seeing presidential contenders months or even years before most of the country, but the political jockeying in 2025 for the 2028 presidential contest appears to be playing out earlier, with more frequency, and with less pretense than ever before. California Gov. Gavin Newsom was referred to as a presidential candidate at one stop in his two-day South Carolina tour last week. Voters shouted '2028!' after he insisted he was there simply to strengthen the party ahead of the 2026 midterms. South Carolina has virtually no competitive midterm contests. Term-limited Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, who acknowledges he's considering a 2028 bid, will spend two days touring South Carolina this week. He will focus on the states Black community while drawing an implicit contrast with Newsom on cultural issues, according to excerpts of his planned remarks obtained by The Associated Press. California Congressman Ro Khanna, a progressive aligned with the Bernie Sanders wing of the Democratic Party, will target union members and Black voters when he's in the state a few days later with the son of a civil rights leader. And former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is having private conversations with key South Carolina Democrats, including presidential primary kingmaker Rep. Jim Clyburn, in which Emanuel indicated strong interest in a presidential run. That's according to Clyburn himself, who said he's also had direct contact with Beshear and Khanna after appearing alongside Newsom last week and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore in May. 'That's what candidates have to do: position themselves and be ready when lightning strikes,' Clyburn said. The unusually early jockeying is playing out as the Democratic Party struggles to repair its brand, rebuild its message, and fill a leadership vacuum after losing the White House and both chambers of Congress in 2024. Democrats are decidedly more optimistic about 2028. Republicans will not have the advantage of incumbency in the next presidential contest; the Constitution bars President Donald Trump from seeking a third term. And the race for the Democratic nomination appears to be wide open even as 2024 nominee Kamala Harris and running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz have left open the possibility of running again. With no clear front-runner, some Democratic operatives believe upwards of 30 high-profile Democrats could ultimately enter the 2028 primary–more than the party's overpacked 2020 field. And as Democrats struggle to stop Trump's power grabs in Washington, some report a real sense of urgency to get the 2028 process started. Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a rising Democratic star, told the AP earlier this year that presidential prospects need to be more visible earlier as party officials look to take cues from a new generation of leaders. 'What freaks most Democrats out is not really understanding who's up next. Like, who's got next?' she said. 'And I think that that is really what people want most; they want their presidential nominee now.' Beshear, Kentucky's 47-year-old two-term governor, is scheduled to make his first visit to South Carolina on political grounds on Wednesday and Thursday. He will promote his appeal among red-state moderates and Black voters in a Thursday speech hosted by the Georgetown County Democrats in a region that voted three times for Trump and has a large Black population. 'Democrats have a huge opportunity to seize the middle and win back the voters who have been increasingly skeptical of the Democratic brand. But it's going to take focus and discipline,' Beshear is expected to say, according to speech excerpts obtained by the AP. There are no direct jabs at Newsom in the excerpts, but Beshear is expected to continue drawing contrasts with the California governor, who earlier this year suggested his party went too far in embracing woke priorities. In his prepared remarks, Beshear doesn't shy away from such progressive cultural issues. He will note he made Juneteenth an executive branch holiday for the first time in Kentucky, signed an executive order that prohibits discrimination against state workers for how they wear their hair, and ordered the removal of a statue of Jefferson Davis, who served as the president of the Confederacy during the Civil War. 'The current federal administration wants to make diversity a dirty word,' Beshear plans to say. 'They want people to believe that equity means everyone isn't worthy of opportunities.' Already this year, Walz of Minnesota and Moore of Maryland have addressed South Carolina Democrats. Biden Cabinet member Pete Buttigieg, a 2020 presidential candidate, hosted a town hall in Iowa in May. The month before, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker headlined a Democratic fundraiser in New Hampshire. Others are moving more cautiously. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro has avoided any early state travel this year, focusing instead on his 2026 reelection. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has also focused largely on her day job. Both would be top-tier presidential candidates should they decide to run. Khanna has been working to build his national profile since before the last election with frequent trips to New Hampshire, among other early voting states. The California congressman is scheduled to host two town-hall style meetings in South Carolina this weekend with Illinois Rep. Jonathan Jackson, the son of civil rights leader the Rev. Jesse Jackson. Khanna casts his lower profile–at least compared to potential competitors like Newsom and Shapiro–as an asset when asked about his party's early 2028 field. 'I think it's very different than in the past when you've had clear defined leaders of the party. I think that's healthy. There is no status quo person,' Khanna said. 'My guess is the last thing the party is going to want is more of the same.' Newsom spent much of last year denying interest in a presidential run. But with his final term as governor set to expire at the end of next year, his 2028 ambitions are starting to emerge more publicly. During his recent South Carolina tour, Newsom only smiled when voters shouted '2028!' after he referenced his focus on the 2026 midterms. Clyburn said openly what the California governor would not. Appearing with Newsom, Clyburn encouraged local Democrats to be energized by the visits of presidential candidates coming early and often to their state. Newsom looked around, seemingly seeking the object of Clyburn's remark, as the crowd laughed. In an interview afterward, Clyburn said he doesn't have an early favorite in the 2028 Democratic nomination contest. Pritzker headlined a key state fundraiser in New Hampshire in May, and state Democratic leaders are privately encouraging other 2028 prospects to visit the state. Unlike South Carolina, New Hampshire features two competitive House races and a top-tier Senate election next year. Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, campaigned Friday in the state with Rep. Chris Pappas, who is expected to represent Democrats on the Senate ballot next fall. In a brief interview, she insisted her only purpose was backing Pappas' campaign. 'I am here to help my friend,' she said. 'I know a lot of people here, and I want to put it to use in a good way.' It may be early, but some Democratic voters and local officials say they're ready to get the cycle started. Jody Gaulin, the Democratic chair of a deep-red South Carolina county, is hoping the energy that comes along with potential candidates could boost her party's ranks. 'This is exactly what we've been waiting for,' Gaulin said. It's much the same in New Hampshire. Democrat Jane Lescynski, who works at the manufacturing facility Klobuchar toured Friday, had a quick answer when asked her thoughts about the 2028 presidential election. 'I can't wait,' she said.
Washington Post
10-07-2025
- Business
- Washington Post
Democrats try to flip the script on red tape
Good morning, Early Birds. Are we really debating Superman's immigration status? Send tips to earlytips@ Thanks for waking up with us. In today's edition … Trump's fiction about gas prices … Democrats are already publicly angling in the 2028 presidential fight … Republicans in Congress are warming to a sanctions bill against Russia … but first … President Donald Trump's red-tape event in 2017 was not subtle: Stacks of paperwork. Large golden scissors. And a massive piece of red tape. The message was clear. Trump, a Republican who campaigned on ending regulatory burdens and cutting government regulations, was physically cutting red tape in office. 'The never-ending red tape in America has come to a sudden, screeching and beautiful halt,' Trump said. Trump's so-called Big Beautiful Bill, which the president signed into law earlier this month, does anything but that for many Americans — and Democrats have taken notice. 'It is doubling what you have to prove every year that you qualify for Medicaid. It is not just able-bodied adults who now have to do that much more or that much more often. … It is everyone,' said Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat who has led the charge against this additional paperwork. 'What you see in the projections are the expectations that people will make mistakes on double the paperwork and thus lose their coverage for a period.' Red tape and additional paperwork are central to this bill's attempt to cut the federal government's spending on Medicaid, the government health care program for a range of low-income Americans. Direct cuts to Medicaid benefits pose significant political risks for Republicans, and many have pledged not to support them. However, to cut the federal government's costs, the bill imposes a slate of additional paperwork on all Medicaid recipients, including stricter work requirements that require recipients to prove they are working and eligible for the program. As Michelle Miller-Adams and Beth C. Truesdale, researchers at the nonpartisan, nonprofit W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, put it: 'The reality is that requirements like these move people off programs not by requiring work but by requiring more reporting of work. Similar state-level policies have reduced the number of Medicaid recipients — but only by increasing the administrative burden on recipients, not by increasing the share who are employed.' The researchers noted that Arkansas implemented work requirements in 2018. While more than 95 percent of recipients either met the state's work requirement or qualified for an exemption, the required steps to prove so led to 17,000 individuals losing their Medicaid coverage. Republicans deny that the new requirements are merely a means to remove eligible people from Medicaid, arguing that verification requirements are a fair measure to protect the program. Kush Desai, a Trump spokesperson, said Democrats are 'either too disingenuous or too dumb' to differentiate between regulations on businesses and 'the current federal government ensuring that thousands of dollars' worth of taxpayer benefits meant for America's most vulnerable aren't being fraudulently funneled to illegal aliens or able-bodied adults.' But Democrats, like Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York), are rejecting that Republican view. 'They really aren't work requirements. These are red tape requirements,' Jeffries said this week on the What A Day podcast. 'These are paperwork requirements that are trying to deny people … who have earned the benefits. … Republicans are trying to find ways to disqualify them.' Democrats now plan to use the new regulations against a party that has long championed less red tape and regulation for businesses. 'No amount of cynicism or shameless spin will change the fact that more Republican red tape will result in 17 million people losing their health insurance — and we will make these frauds own that reality for the next 15 months,' said Justin Chermol, a spokesperson for the Democratic campaign committee tasked with taking back the House. The political messaging from Beshear and others turns conventional political wisdom — that Democrats favor a bigger government and Republicans are against red tape — on its head, said Donald Moynihan, professor at the University of Michigan's Ford School of Public Policy. 'This is a case where conventional wisdom fails,' Moynihan said. 'In fact, Republicans are much more supportive of a larger, more intrusive government — when it comes to accessing safety net benefits, you have to provide more information, you have to provide it more frequently, you have to spend more of your life interacting with bureaucracies.' He added: 'For a long time, that paradox or contradiction was not clear in the way it has become very clear with the passage of the Big Beautiful Bill. It has just become harder and harder for Republicans to say, 'We are the party of small government.'' Beshear, who has now won two competitive gubernatorial campaigns and may run for president in 2028, said he is now urging his administration to 'use every bit of information we have to ensure those who qualify for Medicaid stay on it' and to find ways to 'help people fill out that paperwork right.' Politically, however, the governor said he thinks this additional red tape on Americans is part of a broader Democratic messaging strategy aimed at countering the newly signed bill, one that he hopes will focus on real people's stories. 'When you remove health care from at least 200,000 Kentuckians, people die, people suffer,' said Beshear. He added later, 'People are going to lose their coverage because they fail to check this box or that box, and that is just wrong.' Republicans in Congress are showing openness to a sanctions bill against Russia for dragging its feet to make peace in Ukraine. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) told reporters yesterday that he would take up the issue with Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-South Dakota) next week. Trump has strengthened the push for sanctions by making his frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin increasingly obvious, as we wrote about yesterday. He said he was open to a bill by Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) that would sanction the country's energy and defense industries and impose a hefty 500 percent tariff on any country that buys Russian energy. The bill has wide support across the Senate, with 80 co-sponsors. The United States already imposed sanctions on Russia following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine and encouraged allies to diversify away from Russian energy. Several European countries, including Germany, were heavily reliant on Russian natural gas before the invasion but have made efforts to wean themselves off it. China and India are both still large consumers of Russian energy. Trump, once again, falsely claimed that gasoline costs $1.99 a gallon in multiple states and accused his opponents of lying about price increases during his second term in office. 'Yesterday, … two states, three states were selling gasoline at $1.99. You haven't seen that for a long time,' Trump said during a meeting with African leaders at the White House. 'I brought costs way down, just about every cost. I can't think of a cost that went up.' Then, referring to his opponents, Trump added: 'So what they do is they lie and say prices are going up. It's such a lie.' There is zero evidence that any state is selling gas at $1.99 a gallon. According to the AAA Fuel Prices metric, the lowest average gas price can be found in Mississippi at $2.705. The average price nationwide is $3.162. We asked the White House which three states Trump was referring to but did not receive a response. Some have noted that Trump may be referring to the wholesale price of gas, but even that price is higher than $1.99, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Is the race to be the next Democratic presidential nominee heating up? Yes, it's early. Yes, people are still tired from 2024. And yes, Democrats have a lot to focus on in opposing Trump. But, also yes, things seem to be heating up. Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego, often mentioned as a possible 2028 Democratic candidate, will travel to Iowa next month. He plans to visit with voters at the famed Iowa State Fair, a frequent stop for presidential candidates, and hold a town hall with Iowa Democrats. While Iowa has fallen out of favor with Democrats in recent years, trips to the state often stoke presidential speculation. Gallego even touted the visit with a polished hype video, featuring resplendent footage of barns and corn and people chanting the senator's name, all set to Queen's 1977 hit, 'We Will Rock You.' California Gov. Gavin Newsom, another Democrat who may run, made a visit Tuesday to South Carolina, the state that led off the Democratic nominating process in 2024. 'I think it's really important for Democrats that we spend time in parts of our states, parts of our country, that frankly, we haven't spent enough time in, and so that's why I'm here,' Newsom said during his trip. Our colleague Maeve Reston tracked Newsom across South Carolina and found Democrats excited, but also worried, about another Californian at the top of their presidential ticket. There are ages between now and the 2028 presidential election, but the possible contenders are already making moves. Minnesota Reformer (Minnesota): Preppers are an interesting, yet growing, bunch, and they will be gathering soon in Minnesota. This shirt is worth the click alone: 'Noah was a conspiracy theorist … then it rained.' LebTown (Lebanon County, Pennsylvania): Rep. Dan Meuser, a Pennsylvania Republican, announced he will not run for governor in 2026, declining to challenge popular Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro. Atlanta Journal Constitution (Atlanta): Can you hear the ripeness in a watermelon? Is this why people are always knocking on watermelons in the grocery store? And, as the story asks, should you pat or slap? The Dallas Morning News (Dallas): Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said yesterday that he would convene a special session of the state legislature to respond to the devastating flooding in Texas and, among other things, to raise the possibility of redistricting the state's congressional delegation as Republicans fight to hold their House majority. We wanted to say thank you for responding to our questions about the local media you would like to see featured in our newsletter. We even included one suggestion above! Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize. What do you think of the award? Is there someone you feel should receive the honor? Let us know what you think at earlytips@ Thanks for reading. You can follow Dan and Matthew on X: @merica and @matthewichoi.
