Haley Stevens Launches Bid for Michigan Senate Seat by Jared Gans
April 22, 2025
Introduction:
(The Hill) Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) launched her candidacy Tuesday for Michigan’s Senate seat next year, becoming the third prominent Democrat to throw their hat in the ring to succeed retiring Sen. Gary Peters (D).
Stevens joins a quickly busy Democratic primary for the seat after state Sen. Mallory McMorrow (D) and former health director Abdul El-Sayed entered earlier this month. The four-term House member who was first elected in 2018 emphasized her background growing up in Michigan and experience advocating for the state’s workforce in her announcement video.
“Growing up in Michigan meant being surrounded by innovation, ingenuity, and pride in hard work,” she said in the video. “And from our farmers to our nurses to our manufacturers, Michigan has the best workers in the world.”
Stevens pointed to her time as chief of staff to then-President Obama’s auto rescue task force as helping to save 200,000 Michigan jobs amid the Great Recession. She slammed President Trump’s wide-ranging tariffs as “reckless,” arguing they put “tens of thousands” of Michigan jobs at risk.
Conclusion:
The nonpartisan election handicapper Cook Political Report rates the race as a “toss-up.”
Illinois Sen. Richard Durbin is retiring at the end of next year after more than four decades in Washington in a move that also will set off a leadership fight among his colleagues in the Senate Democratic caucus.
"The decision of whether to run for re-election has not been easy. I truly love the job of being a United States Senator. But in my heart, I know it’s time to pass the torch," the 80-year-old Durbin said in a video posted on April 23 to social media.
Durbin, the longtime second-ranking Democrat in the Senate, was elected to serve in the U.S. Senate in 1996 after spending 14 years in the House. He is the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., commented quickly on the announcement.
"Dick Durbin has been more than a colleague—he’s been a trusted partner, one of the most respected voices in the Senate for decades, my dear friend, and, of course, my former roommate," Schumer said in a statement.
Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) is running for governor of Alabama in 2026, Yellowhammer News reports.
“Back in state while Congress is in recess, Tuberville told a group of donors at a private event on Wednesday night that his mind is officially made up.”
Democratic Rep. Angie Craig Launches Senate Run In Minnesota
Source: Huff Post
Apr 29, 2025, 05:55 AM EDT
Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) announced her campaign for Senate in Minnesota on Tuesday, becoming a top contender to fill the seat being vacated by Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) at the end of next year. The 53-year-old congresswoman cited disarray in President Donald Trump’s administration as reasons for jumping into the race, including Trump’s efforts to profit off the presidency and his and billionaire Elon Musk’s attempts to dismantle the federal government.
“There’s chaos and corruption coming out of Washington, crashing down on all of us every day,” Craig said in a video released by her campaign. “An out-of-control unelected billionaire trying to take over our government and burn it to the ground. A president trampling our rights and freedoms as he profits for personal gain and a cowardly Republican Party rolling over and letting it all happen. It’s time to fight back.”
Craig is the first openly LGBTQ member to serve in Congress from Minnesota. The centrist Democrat was elected to the House in 2018 in what was then a GOP district and quickly rose in the ranks, becoming the top Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee. She was also the first swing-district Democrat to call on President Joe Biden to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race.
“I grew up in a mobile home park — raised by a single mom, nobody gave us much of a chance,” Craig said in her launch video. “I worked my way through college. Started my career as a newspaper reporter. Then helped lead a major Minnesota manufacturing company. My wife Cheryl and I fought like hell to be the parents of our four wonderful boys, as some people — even a state government — tried to stop us.”
Poll Results Show Democrats Could Win First Texas Senate Race in 33 Years by James Bickerton
May 1, 2025
Introduction:
(Newsweek) Democrat Colin Allred could defeat Republican Ken Paxton in a hypothetical battle for the U.S. Senate seat currently occupied by John Cornyn, according to GOP polling obtained by the Houston Chronicle.
Were this to happen at next year's election, it would make Allred the first Democratic Senator from Texas since Robert Krueger in 1993. Allred, who lost a bid for Ted Cruz's Texas Senate seat in November 2024, has said he is considering joining the race.
Newsweek contacted Allred, Cornyn and Paxton for comment via email and online inquiry form on Thursday outside of regular office hours.
Why It Matters
There are currently 53 Republican Senators against 47 who are either part of or caucus with the Democrats. If the Democrats manage to secure a Senate majority at the November 2026 midterm elections, it would dramatically restrict the Trump administration's ability to pursue its agenda.
What To Know
In an article published on Wednesday, the Houston Chronicle said it has seen an internal Republican poll which found 52 percent of Texan likely voters would back Allred in a hypothetical contest against, against 37 percent for Paxton, the current Texas attorney general.
Former Maine Gov. Paul LePage running for Congress
Source: Roll Call
Posted May 5, 2025 at 5:46pm
Former Maine Gov. Paul LePage, who once described himself as “Donald Trump before Donald Trump became popular,” announced Monday that he was running for Congress. “The entrenched interests are fighting President [Donald] Trump at every turn as he works to fix problems,” the former two-term Republican governor said on social media. “We need more straight talk to help take back Washington.”
A former businessman turned outspoken and divisive political figure, LePage is seeking the 2nd District seat held by Rep. Jared Golden, one of 13 House Democrats to hold seats in districts that Trump carried last fall. In fact, voters in the sprawling district, which includes much of the state outside of the Portland and Augusta areas, have backed Trump in all three of his presidential runs, as well as LePage in his three races for governor.
LePage won the first of his two terms as governor during the tea party wave of 2010. His tenure was marked by a highly adversarial relationship with Democrats and the press.
After Democrat Janet Mills succeeded him in 2019, LePage briefly moved to Florida with his wife, Ann, stating, “I am done with politics. I have done my eight years. It’s time for somebody else.” But he reestablished residency in Maine in 2020 and challenged Mills for his old job two years later.
Marjorie Taylor Greene Won’t Run for Senate by Brakkton Booker
May 9, 2025
Introduction:
(Politico) Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the Republican firebrand and ally of President Donald Trump, is passing on the Senate race in Georgia.
“I’m not running,” she said in a lengthy post on social media on Friday, citing her frustrations with the Senate as the main reason she didn’t want to run. “Even with a few good Republicans in the Senate, nothing changes.”
Trump carried Georgia by about 2 percentage points last year, after Joe Biden became the first Democratic presidential nominee to win the state since former President Bill Clinton in 1992.
New Jersey Governor Race Update: What Polls Say Four Weeks Ahead of Primary by Andrew Stanton
May 13, 2025
Introduction:
(Newsweek) New Jersey voters are four weeks away from making their pick in the state's gubernatorial primary election on June 10. Polls suggest that while one Republican candidate may have a lead, Democrats appear more divided about who they are supporting.
Why It Matters
New Jersey's governor race in November will be important for both major political parties. For Republicans, the race will be an early test of President Donald Trump's popularity ahead of the 2026 midterms, when they could find themselves on defense in key congressional elections.
For Democrats, the race may reveal whether they are winning back key voter groups that shifted toward Republicans in the 2024 election. Trump made inroads with young voters and Hispanic voters, culminating in a rightward shift in the Garden State. Vice President Kamala Harris won the state by fewer than 6 percentage points, compared to President Joe Biden's nearly 16-point victory there four years earlier.
What To Know
On the Democratic side, Representative Mikie Sherrill has held the lead in polls, but it is narrow in a race with a large number of undecided voters as other candidates hope to break through in the final stretch of the campaign.
Conclusion:
What Happens Next
After the June 10 primary, voters will head to the polls for the general election on November 4. The Cook Political Report currently classifies the race as leaning Democrat, meaning it is "considered competitive" but Democrats have an "advantage."
