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Browse major news stories and see what officials have said.

Sep 15, 2026· Updated

A Streamer Tells His Audience That American Jews Are Inviting Violence on Themselves — and Ten Weeks Before the Midterms the Democrat He Campaigned For, Michigan's Senate Nominee, Ends Up Apologizing for a Synagogue Attack He Called "Context"

On August 20, 2026, the Twitch streamer Hasan Piker told his audience that "if Jews in America keep putting this idea out there that they are singularly invested in Israel, eventually someone is going to come around and take action, not against the state of Israel, mind you, but against American Jews." Within a week at least thirteen elected Democrats — including the House Democratic leader, three sitting senators and the DNC chair — had condemned the remark. The condemnations landed hardest on Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for Michigan's open Senate seat, who had campaigned with Piker after beating Rep. Haley Stevens in a primary in which AIPAC-aligned groups spent at record levels against him. Rep. Hillary Scholten, who had already broken with El-Sayed over the appearances, singled out Piker's naming of Michigan state Sen. Jeremy Moss — the Democratic nominee for Stevens's House seat, who is Jewish and openly gay — and called Piker "a hack who thrives on hate, shock and awe because he lacks substance." Moss answered that he would not "be lectured by a California podcaster." Sen. Elissa Slotkin, who is Jewish, said crimes against Jews for being Jews are "antisemitism plain and simple." Hakeem Jeffries called the claim dangerous and antisemitic. Rep. Josh Gottheimer went further and said anyone campaigning with Piker is "part of the problem." Sens. Cory Booker, Jacky Rosen and Jon Ossoff and Reps. Ritchie Torres, Jared Moskowitz, Brad Schneider, Greg Stanton, Jake Auchincloss and Haley Stevens also condemned the remarks. El-Sayed distanced himself from Piker without disavowing him, saying "nobody speaks for this campaign besides me and my campaign spokespeople." Then, on Saturday, August 29, at the Michigan Democratic Party's nominating convention in Lansing, he went to the state party's Jewish Democratic Caucus and apologized for something older: his response to the March 2026 attack on Temple Israel, a suburban Detroit synagogue, where a man crashed a vehicle into the building and opened fire, wounding a security guard before being killed. El-Sayed had condemned the attack but added "hurt people hurt people," noting the attacker had lost relatives in an Israeli airstrike days earlier. "I made a mistake," he told the caucus. "What I was trying to do was offer context for why it happened, but it wasn't the time for context." Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, who is Jewish and had criticized El-Sayed for making excuses for domestic terrorism, did not attend the convention, citing antisemitic harassment directed at her.

“Even if you didn't vote for Abdul, you need to support up and down the ticket this November.”
Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) · Sep 15, 2026

A Sitting Democratic Senator Turns Up on the Screen at the Republican Midterm Convention — John Fetterman Introduces Dave McCormick, Says He Will "Work With President Trump," and Rejects "the Extremes and Socialism," While Three Pennsylvania Democrats Call Him Lazy and a "Benedict Arnold"

On the first night of the Republican Party's midterm convention in Dallas — September 9, 2026 — a one-minute video played on the arena screens in which Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), filmed standing in front of a steel mill, introduced his Pennsylvania colleague Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA) as "a great American and friend." Fetterman said he would "work with President Trump to fight and defend the steel way of life," and rebuked his own party's left flank: "I'm always going to reject the extremes and socialism and that anti-American way of life." McCormick took the stage to ask the crowd, "How great is John Fetterman?" No sitting senator of the opposing party had appeared in a party convention program in modern memory, and the video immediately fueled speculation that Fetterman might switch parties. Fetterman issued a statement the next morning insisting he would not: "I'm a lifelong Democrat who votes overwhelmingly with my party — and should the Senate flip in November, I will still be the 51st vote that I ran on." Pennsylvania Democrats did not take it well. Rep. Chris Deluzio needled him for phoning it in, state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta called him "Benedict Arnold, but lazy," and Rep. Brendan Boyle said the video proved a label he had applied a year earlier.

“I'm a lifelong Democrat who votes overwhelmingly with my party — and should the Senate flip in November, I will still be the 51st vote that I ran on.”
John Fetterman (D-PA) · Sep 10, 2026

Ten Weeks Before the Midterms, House Democratic Leaders Hand the Middle East Subcommittee to One of the Chamber’s Most Pro-Israel Members — and Rashida Tlaib Says They Are "Ignoring the Base of Our Party"

On Tuesday, August 25, 2026, House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Gregory Meeks (D-NY) announced that Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) would become the top Democrat on the committee's Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee, with Rep. Jonathan Jackson (D-IL) succeeding Moskowitz as ranking member on the Oversight and Intelligence Subcommittee. Meeks also welcomed three new Democrats to the full committee: Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Mark Pocan (D-WI) and Wesley Bell (D-MO). The MENA assignment is the one that lit the fuse. Moskowitz is among the most consistently pro-Israel Democrats in the House; Wasserman Schultz has taken roughly $1.5 million from pro-Israel PACs over her career, and Bell won his seat by beating a Democratic Socialists of America-backed candidate. The slate landed two days after The New York Times reported that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), who signed off on the assignments alongside Meeks, had met privately with Jared Kushner. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), the only Palestinian American in Congress, said leadership was elevating "a genocide denier" and ignoring a party base that wants U.S. funding for the war in Gaza to end. Georgia state Rep. Ruwa Romman, a Palestinian American Democrat running for governor, tied the pick directly to the Kushner meeting. The committee Moskowitz will help steer also seats members moving the other way: Pocan recently backed a failed amendment to cut $3.3 billion in U.S. military assistance to Israel, and Jackson has sponsored legislation restricting arms transfers. The fight is a proxy for the larger question facing House Democrats before November — whether a caucus whose voters have moved sharply on Israel will move with them.

“A supermajority of Democratic voters have made it clear they want to end U.S. support for Israel's genocide in Gaza and Trump's assault on Iran. By elevating a genocide denier who has said he is 'to the right' of JD Vance on the war on Iran, Democratic leadership is once again ignoring the base of our party who want the funding of the genocide to end.”
Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) · Aug 27, 2026

Ten Weeks Before the Midterms, Hakeem Jeffries Met Privately With Jared Kushner — and Told the Left That "No One From the Trump Cartel Is Getting a Pass"

The New York Times reported on Sunday, August 23, 2026 that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries had met privately with Jared Kushner in New York, in space lent by a mutual acquaintance, to look for common ground with the White House on housing, immigration and the cost of living. Kushner requested the meeting and suggested Jeffries follow up with White House chief of staff Susie Wiles. The reaction inside the Democratic Party was immediate and split. Members and aides questioned why the man who would be Speaker if Democrats take the House in November was sitting down with a presidential son-in-law who holds no formal position in the administration and whom House Democrats have said they intend to investigate. Jeffries answered in a video posted Monday evening and in a written statement to TIME, insisting the affordability crisis "is not a hoax" and that "no one is going to get a pass." Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) waved the meeting off on Fox News, saying Kushner is "not really directly involved" in the administration day to day. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) said on Meet the Press he had no objection to the meeting itself but wanted to see something come of it. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, asked at a Monday press conference whether the meeting changed his view, kept his backing for Jeffries — and drew criticism from progressives for it. The episode is the latest flashpoint between Jeffries and his party's left flank ahead of a November election that could hand him the Speaker's gavel and, with it, the decision on whether to impeach Trump.

“No one is going to get a pass. We’re going to hold every single member of the Trump cartel accountable, beginning on Day 1.”
Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) · Aug 24, 2026

Trump’s Pick Byron Donalds Routs the DeSantis Camp by 20 Points to Win Florida’s Governor Primary — and Will Face David Jolly, the Republican Congressman Who Became a Democrat

On August 18, 2026, Florida Republicans nominated U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds for governor, handing President Trump's hand-picked candidate a victory of more than 20 points over a crowded field that included Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, the candidate widely understood to be Gov. Ron DeSantis's preferred successor. Donalds took roughly 48 percent of the Republican vote. DeSantis, who has an icy relationship with Donalds and whose wife Casey had been floated for the race, declined to endorse anyone before the primary, saying he was "not involved in any Primaries." On the Democratic side, former U.S. Rep. David Jolly — who represented Florida's 13th District as a Republican from 2014 to 2017 before leaving the party and registering as a Democrat — won his primary with about 61 percent. Jolly used his primary-night remarks to claim a cross-party "new coalition" and to attack Donalds as purchasable, saying Donalds "will sell his governorship for a buck." Donalds, who is seeking to become Florida's first Black governor, called for Republican unity and predicted Jolly would lose again in November. The Republican Governors Association, chaired by Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte, congratulated Donalds the next day and attacked Jolly's party switch. The general election is November 3, 2026, for the seat term-limited Gov. DeSantis must vacate.

“Congratulations to Byron Donalds on his primary victory. He has the vision, experience, and the right plan for lowering costs, protecting law and order, and defending the American Dream. Hardworking families and the next generation of Floridians have a fighter on their side in Donalds. Democrats continue to prove they can't gain ground in Florida with David Jolly campaigning as a so-called moderate while voters know he's just another career politician they can't trust. From switching parties to promoting far-left woke policies like irreversible gender transition surgeries for minors, Florida voters will reject Jolly in November.”
Greg Gianforte (R-MT) · Aug 19, 2026

Aug 19, 2026· Updated

Mary Peltola Finishes First in Alaska's Senate Primary — Ahead of the Incumbent — and Dan Sullivan, Whose Ballot Line Was Shadowed by a Second Dan Sullivan, Says Democrats Tried to "Steal an Election"

Alaska's nonpartisan top-four primary on August 18, 2026 sent Republican Sen. Dan S. Sullivan and Democratic former Rep. Mary Peltola to a November general election that the Cook Political Report rates a toss-up. Peltola led on primary night with roughly 48 percent to Sullivan's 42.8 percent — a first-place finish for the challenger over a two-term incumbent, though Alaska's primary sends the top four candidates forward regardless of margin and Peltola led the 2024 House primary before losing that November. The race was dominated by the presence of a second Republican candidate named Dan Sullivan — a Petersburg man who filed as Dan J. Sullivan and drew 2.4 percent. Sen. Sullivan and President Trump called the candidacy a Democratic trick; Trump posted on Truth Social two days before the primary that "the Crooked, Radical Left Dumocrats have put up another man named 'Dan Sullivan'" and told voters on primary day to pick the incumbent. Peltola's campaign said it had no involvement with either Dan Sullivan. Peltola, who has outraised Sullivan roughly $18 million to $12 million and campaigns on "fish, family, freedom," attacked the senator's votes as service to "corporate greed" and to the reconciliation law she says pushed 10,000 Alaskans off Medicaid. Sullivan, who won Trump's endorsement, dismissed the primary-night numbers, renewed his objection to Alaska's ranked-choice system, and accused national Democrats and the Peltola campaign of complicity in trying to trick Alaska voters. Democrats need a net four seats to take the Senate.

“The Democratic Party is talking about "we care about fair elections." It's bulls---. The Democrats in D.C., the Peltola campaign, are complicit in trying to trick Alaskans.”
Dan Sullivan (R-AK) · Aug 19, 2026

A Democratic Socialist Who Raised Under $1 Million Beats a $16 Million Impeachment Witness: Angie Nixon Upsets Alex Vindman for Florida's Democratic Senate Nomination

On August 18, 2026, Florida state Rep. Angie Nixon — a Jacksonville Democrat and former union organizer who joined the Democratic Socialists of America during the campaign — defeated Alex Vindman in the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate seat Marco Rubio vacated, winning roughly 56% to 44%. The margin was the story. Vindman, the retired Army lieutenant colonel who became nationally known as a witness in President Trump's 2019 impeachment, raised more than $16 million; Nixon raised under $1 million, a spending gap of roughly 16 to 1. She ran on Medicare for All, opposition to U.S. military aid to Israel, and an economic message aimed at working-class voters, and was endorsed by Reps. Maxwell Frost, Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar and Ayanna Pressley — but not by Sen. Bernie Sanders or Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the left's best-known national figures. Nixon will face Republican Sen. Ashley Moody, who took roughly 75% of her own primary vote and was appointed to the seat by Gov. Ron DeSantis in January 2025. No Democrat has won a Florida Senate race since 2012. On the same night, Rep. Byron Donalds won the Republican gubernatorial nomination and former Rep. David Jolly won the Democratic one, and Rep. Jared Moskowitz turned back a DSA-backed primary challenger in Florida's 25th District — making the night a split verdict for the left rather than a sweep. Senate Democratic leaders moved quickly to embrace Nixon, while the National Republican Senatorial Committee said Florida "will never elect a socialist to the US Senate."

“Angie Nixon has dedicated her career to fighting for Florida. A lifelong native of Jacksonville and a former union organizer, Angie's dedication to put working families first runs deep — and now, she's running to take that fight to the Senate. Ashley Moody's votes have cost Florida, from her siding with private insurance companies over Floridians to ripping away health care. In November, Florida will have a clear choice at the ballot.”
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) · Aug 18, 2026

DNC Locks In South Carolina as the First 2028 Primary and Cuts Iowa From the Early Window, as New Hampshire's Entire Delegation Vows the Granite State Will Vote First Anyway

On Saturday, August 15, 2026, the Democratic National Committee, meeting for its summer session in Austin, Texas, gave final approval to the party's 2028 presidential nominating calendar. The vote ratified a July 24, 2026 decision by the DNC's Rules and Bylaws Committee and ends Iowa's run at the front of the Democratic calendar, which began in 1972. The approved schedule runs six contests over six weeks: South Carolina on January 22, 2028, Nevada on February 1, New Hampshire on February 8, New Mexico on February 15, Michigan on February 22, and Virginia on February 29 — all before Super Tuesday. Party leaders framed the order as an effort to front-load states with large Black and Latino electorates, a coalition Democrats lost ground with in 2024. DNC Chair Ken Martin called it the most diverse calendar in the party's history. New Hampshire is the flashpoint. State law requires the New Hampshire secretary of state to schedule the presidential primary at least seven days before any similar contest anywhere in the country, which sets the statute on a collision course with the DNC's February 8 slot and raises the prospect that New Hampshire again holds an unsanctioned first primary and has its delegates penalized. The state's four Democratic members of Congress — Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan and Reps. Chris Pappas and Maggie Goodlander — condemned the decision in a joint statement when the Rules and Bylaws Committee acted in July, and Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte and the Republican leadership of the New Hampshire House said the state would hold the first primary regardless. Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart urged DNC members to reject the calendar, warning that abandoning a rural Midwestern state cedes ground Republicans intend to occupy — the Iowa GOP plans to caucus first in 2028 regardless of the Democratic schedule. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez welcomed New Mexico's addition to the early window.

“We need a Midwest and a truly rural state to be among the first four states if we hope to build sustainable and lasting majorities that enact real and meaningful change.”
Rita Hart (D-IA) · Aug 15, 2026