The latest primary elections delivered another setback for Donald Trump, a man who has long fancied himself a kingmaker. Instead, the number of his endorsed candidates who have now lost this year has climbed to ten.
Donald endorsed Republican Congressman Cory Mills, who lost his primary to former news anchor Ryan Elijah. Mills was already under investigation by the House Ethics Committee over allegations of sexual misconduct and campaign finance violations, while the Department of Justice was separately examining his finances.
Rather than accept responsibility for backing another losing candidate, Donald attempted to rewrite history. This morning, he posted the following to his failing social media site:
I told Congressman Cory Mills of Florida, a friend of mine, to get out of the race, but he wouldn’t listen.
Way to signal what a pathetic loser you are, Donald, when a compromised, corrupt congressman would not even listen to the President of the United States.
Two more of Donald’s endorsed candidates also lost last night: Catalina Lauf in Florida and Megan Degenfelder in Wyoming. Whatever influence Donald once had over Republican primaries appears to be weakening, despite his constant efforts to portray himself as the decisive force in American politics.
On the Democratic side, two progressive challengers in Florida fell short against Democratic House incumbents Jared Moskowitz and Debbie Wasserman Schultz. The biggest surprise of the night, however, came in Florida’s Senate race, where Democratic socialist Angie Nixon scored a massive upset by defeating former National Security Council aide Alex Vindman for the Democratic nomination despite being outspent by roughly sixteen to one.
After her victory, Nixon made it very clear where she stands: Medicare for All and working people over corporate interests.
This is what Angie Nixon said during an interview with CNN:
This is not just a big issue for me. It’s a big issue for Floridians and Americans everywhere. Medical debt is the leading cause of bankruptcy right now in our country. So think about it. People are literally going bankrupt simply because they’re trying to stay alive. And so what we heard and we’re witnessing right now is the fact that there are corporate established Democrats who are now beholden to these corporations that are making it harder for people to have access to quality healthcare. They’re actually denying claims because they don’t want to pay them out because it’s going to impact their bottom line. I don’t care about corporations’ bottom lines. I care about people. The needs of the people need to be met. That is my first priority.
Well done.
You would like to think that the Democratic leader who, if Democrats win the House majority in November, would become Speaker of the House, would agree. But no. Hakeem Jeffries, as it said on the chyron during the interview, does not support Medicare for All.
My question is: why?
Medical debt remains one of the leading causes of bankruptcy in the United States. People continue to delay treatment, ration medication, and make impossible financial choices simply because healthcare remains tied to a system that prioritizes profits over patients. If Democrats truly want to distinguish themselves from Republicans on issues of affordability and economic justice, this seems like a remarkably straightforward place to begin.
Meanwhile, Florida Republicans selected Byron Donalds as their nominee for governor to replace the term limited Ron DeSantis. Hallelujah.
Former Republican Congressman David Jolly won the Democratic nomination. But despite campaigning for more than a year, receiving Donald Trump’s endorsement, and raising more than $100 million, Byron Donalds failed to reach 50 percent of the vote.
Quick aside: we need to get money out of politics.
This morning, Byron Donalds appeared on Newsmax with a familiar explanation for today’s high prices, including the skyrocketing cost of healthcare.
Byron Donalds: That’s the same Kamala Harris, the same David Jolly that still supports men in women’s sports, that supports transgendering our kids. And when it comes to affordability, all we’ve ever seen from Democrats is a lot of promises, but higher prices. Look at healthcare today. That’s Democrat policy under Barack Obama. What have we seen? Premiums are higher, deductibles are higher. The costs are out of control, and families are struggling as a result.
First of all, it is Democratic, you ignoramus.
Second, the only thing Byron Donalds did not do there was blame Joe Biden, so I suppose that represents progress. Instead, he blamed Barack Obama, who, last I checked, has not been president since what feels like the Pleistocene era, and Kamala Harris, who, tragically, was never president at all.
Republicans have perfected this strategy. No matter what is happening today, regardless of who currently occupies the White House or controls Congress, the blame always belongs to somebody else. Years after leaving office, Barack Obama continues to serve as one of the Republican Party’s favorite political scapegoats, while Donald Trump, despite sitting in the Oval Office, remains somehow permanently absolved of responsibility for anything that happens under his own administration.
The reality, of course, is that Americans are still struggling with rising costs, particularly healthcare costs. Those problems exist now. They require solutions now. Simply blaming Democratic presidents from years ago does absolutely nothing to lower premiums, reduce deductibles, or make healthcare any more affordable for the millions of families trying to navigate a system that remains profoundly broken.
In Alaska, Republican Senator Dan Sullivan and former Democratic Congresswoman Mary Peltola, the first Alaska Native ever elected to Congress, both advanced to the general election in November. Democrats see Alaska as a key opportunity in their effort to gain the four Senate seats they need for a majority, and they believe Peltola can make the race competitive despite Alaska’s strong Republican lean.
She came remarkably close to an outright majority in the primary, receiving 48 percent of the vote. She has also outraised Sullivan so far, bringing in $18 million compared to his $12 million. That also shows you what a wildly different political environment Alaska is compared to a place like Florida, where campaigns routinely spend extraordinary sums of money just to remain competitive.
One of the most high profile disappointments of the night, however, belonged to newly appointed South Carolina Senator Darlene Nordone, the sister of the recently deceased Lindsey Graham.
I want to make something clear because this matters.
Darlene Nordone was born Darlene Graham. Like many women in America, after she got married she legally changed her last name to Nordone. Her name is Darlene Nordone. It is not Darlene Graham, even though you would never know that if you read most newspapers or watched many news programs.
Calling her Graham serves a political purpose. Graham has statewide name recognition in South Carolina. Nordone does not.
One week before South Carolina Republicans chose who would replace the late Senator Lindsey Graham on the November ballot, Nordone faced Congressman Ralph Norman in a debate. During that debate, her lack of preparation and experience became painfully obvious.
One of the moderators, Greta Van Susteren, asked a very basic national security question.
Greta Van Susteren: Senator, are Taiwan and the South China Sea national security issues for the United States? If so, why?
Darlene Nordone :I’m just going to be honest here. I’m not on national security. I’m not that informed on national security, but I do support the military. My brother was in the Air Force for 33 years, so I will do everything I can to support the military. My dad was in the Army. I’m not a polished politician up here. National security is not my thing, not my area of expertise, but I do support the military.
Do you really?
The United States is a nation at war. If you are serving in the United States Senate, or asking voters to allow you to remain there, you should understand the basic national security challenges facing this country. You should know something about Taiwan. You should know something about the South China Sea. You should understand America’s current adversaries and the threats we face now as well as those we may face in the future.
Saying, “I support the military,” is not an answer. I do not think anybody would publicly say they do not support the military. That is not enough.
Her brother’s military service does not compensate for her own ignorance. Her father’s military service does not compensate for her own ignorance. Those things may be admirable, but they do not qualify someone to help shape American foreign policy or oversee military operations as a United States senator.
What troubles me even more is her attempt to excuse that lack of knowledge by saying she is “not a polished politician.”
That has become a familiar Republican talking point. It is meant to suggest authenticity, as if experience, expertise, and preparation are somehow undesirable qualities in elected officials.
They are not.
Politicians are supposed to understand government. They are supposed to become experts in public policy. They are supposed to know enough to make informed decisions about war, national security, healthcare, the economy, and every other issue that affects the lives of hundreds of millions of Americans.
Pretending otherwise is precisely how we end up with people who have no business serving in public office.
When somebody says, “I’m not a politician,” what I increasingly hear is, “I don’t know what I’m talking about, but I’m a Republican, I’ll do whatever Donald Trump tells me to do, and somehow that makes me qualified.”
It does not.
We need to demand far more from the people who ask us to trust them with governing this country.
And by the way, referring to Darlene Nordone as Darlene Graham simply feeds into the cynical Republican strategy of confusing voters by borrowing Lindsey Graham’s name recognition. Nordone would almost certainly never have been appointed to the Senate were it not for the fact that her brother spent years serving as one of Donald Trump’s most sycophantic supporters.
That should never be enough to qualify anyone for one of the highest offices in the United States government. We need to do better.
