Politics

BOSTON (AP) — A federal judge on Tuesday ruled against President Donald Trump’s executive order that sought to create a federal voter list and directly involve the U.S. Postal Service in election operations in a way that would limit mail voting.

U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani had already halted the order Trump signed in March, his second one attempting to set national election rules. On June 25, she sided with Democratic state attorneys general in granting summary judgment, preventing the core parts of Trump’s order from taking effect.

Tuesday’s ruling creates another legal hurdle for the Trump administration to overcome should it get the initial injunction lifted by the U.S. Supreme Court.

“That it is now less than 90 days before the November 3, 2026 midterm elections underscores the critical need for an injunction to prevent Defendants from changing election rules on the eve of the election,” she wrote.

The Trump administration in late July requested that the Supreme Court halt lower court decisions that have blocked the sweeping changes in nearly half the country.

In the latest lawsuit, Talwani, who was nominated by Democratic President Barack Obama, sided with the League of Women Voters and other voting rights groups.

Her ruling granting a preliminary injunction barred the Postal Service from taking any steps to implement the order for this year’s midterm elections. She said the administration has so far declined to defend the constitutionality of the executive order.

“The executive branch has no authority to regulate elections,” she wrote.

In response to the ruling, the White House noted that Trump has called for Congress to pass a stalled bill to restructure American elections,

“The entire Trump Administration will continue lawfully enacting the agenda President Trump was elected to enact — which includes the safety and security of American elections,” White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis said in a statement. “This campaign pledge from the President is why millions of Americans sent him back to the White House.”

Voting rights groups hailed the decision.

“This ruling is a victory for voters and for the Constitution,” Marcia Johnson of the League of Women Voters said in a statement. “Neither the president nor the U.S. Postal Service has the authority to rewrite election rules.”

Plaintiffs argued in two lawsuits, both filed in federal court in Boston, that the Republican president’s order should be found unconstitutional because the states and Congress, not the president, have the power to set election rules. The League of Women Voters also argued that Trump lacked the authority to issue his order and the U.S. Postal Service and other defendants lack the authority to carry it out.

Trump’s Republican administration, in its motions to dismiss the lawsuits, argued that the plaintiffs lacked standing to bring their claims. They also argued that the motions are premature and that plaintiffs lack the legal basis to bring their claim based on the Administrative Procedure Act, which governs how federal agencies develop and issue regulations.

Stephen Pezzi, a lawyer for the Trump administration, said the harms the plaintiffs referenced were subjective, because much can change with the voting list before it is made final. He also said no one would be prosecuted for violating the order.

Trump’s executive order, the second one aimed at elections during his second term, comes as he continues to suggest that there is widespread voting by noncitizens. Along with his executive orders, Trump is pushing legislation in the Republican-controlled Congress to create a proof-of-citizenship mandate. The SAVE America Act has passed the House but has stalled in the Senate.

States already have detailed processes aimed at keeping their voter rolls accurate, and voting by noncitizens has been shown to be rare. It also is a felony that can be punishable by deportation.

Trump issued the order in March after a bill he supported to overhaul voting stalled in Congress. The order would have had the federal government create a list of eligible voters and then directed the U.S. Postal Service to deliver mail ballots only to those on the list. Election officials argued that it was ripe for abuse and could cause chaos, and the postal union has objected to the idea of mail carriers policing ballots.

The Postal Service had published a proposed rule required by Trump’s executive order in the Federal Register, but it was put on hold by Talwani’s first ruling.

In a separate lawsuit filed against the executive order, a federal judge in Washington in May agreed with the Trump administration that it was too early to block the order because it had yet to be implemented. That lawsuit was brought by Democratic and civil rights groups. In July, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia upheld the May ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Carl J. Nichols that said an injunction against the order was premature.

Other rulings have gone against the Trump administration’s first executive order on elections, signed just months after he took office in his second term. That order would have required people to show documents proving their citizenship when registering to vote, among other changes.

Since his 2020 presidential election loss to Democrat Joe Biden, Trump has groundlessly claimed mail voting is rife with fraud and has launched a federal investigation into that year’s vote, even though repeated audits and investigations, including ones run by Republicans, found it was free of widespread fraud. Trump also has said he wants to “take over” election administration in Democratic areas.

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Riccardi reported from Denver.

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It’s possibly the most important job of any Israeli prime minister: maintain good relations with the United States while pushing back on demands seen as undermining Israel’s security.

No one has managed the balancing act longer than Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving leader. But with the Iran war at a stalemate, and U.S. President Donald Trump looking to advance peace efforts elsewhere, Netanyahu’s task is getting harder less than three months away from Israeli elections.

On Sunday, Netanyahu rejected Trump’s latest plan to advance the stalled ceasefire in Gaza, saying Israel will not withdraw from any of the roughly 60% of the territory it controls until Hamas has been completely disarmed — something the militant group controlling the other 40% has long resisted.

Netanyahu risks angering Trump, who he has repeatedly said is the greatest friend Israel has ever had in the White House. But even a hint of compromise with Hamas could be fatal for Netanyahu’s reelection in a country deeply traumatized by the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that happened on his watch.

Trump, meanwhile, is under pressure to deliver on his promise of being a global peacemaker as talks with Iran stall and gas prices stay elevated ahead of U.S. congressional elections in November.

The Gaza plan announced by Trump last month grew out of his October ceasefire deal, which ended major Israeli military operations there and brought about the release of all remaining hostages but has otherwise largely stalled.

Under the latest agreement, Hamas would gradually give up its weapons while Israeli forces halt their attacks and begin withdrawing from Gaza. Hamas accepted the deal, even as the group linked the surrender of its heaviest weapons to the creation of a Palestinian state, something Israel’s current government and most of its political class adamantly reject.

Netanyahu rejected the plan, saying Israel would not retreat from any of its positions in Gaza until Hamas has been completely disarmed. That would leave other elements of the ceasefire, including the deployment of international forces and any reconstruction of the devastated territory, on hold.

At the same time, the Israeli military seems to have eased off on its strikes on Gaza that have killed over 1,250 people since the ceasefire came into effect, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

Israeli media reported that the authority for carrying out strikes has been limited to the army’s chief of staff, apparently in a quiet gesture toward Trump’s ceasefire efforts. The Israeli military did not respond to a request for comment.

“We are focused on actions, not rhetoric or politics,” an official with the Board of Peace, the Trump-led entity overseeing the ceasefire, told The Associated Press. “There have been some results on the ground in the last few days,” the official added, including “restraint from strikes” and new Israeli military procedures.

“There is constructive cooperation behind the scenes and our conversations continue,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk about the ongoing discussions.

In his election campaign, Netanyahu has boasted of Israel’s military achievements in the wars that followed the Oct. 7 attack. Israeli forces have seized territory in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria, and launched two major air wars against Iran and its disputed nuclear program.

But the “total victory” Netanyahu promised in Gaza has yet to materialize. Many Israelis blame him for the security failures that led to the initial attack, as well as previous attempts to contain Hamas that at times included allowing Qatar to deliver suitcases filled with cash to Gaza.

Netanyahu’s far-right allies, who will likely be crucial to his Likud party’s ability to form a government after the elections, have welcomed his rejection of the Trump plan.

Trump “wants to see real steps taken toward rehabilitating Gaza, while Netanyahu’s two right-wing partners and the Likud’s faltering election campaign is keeping him from yielding even a millimeter,” wrote Jonathan Lis, the diplomatic correspondent for Israel’s Haaretz newspaper.

Ghaith al-Omari, a former Palestinian negotiator who is now a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said that even if the White House ignores Netanyahu’s rejection of the plan, Trump is still stuck unless he can persuade the Israeli leader to change course.

Hamas is meanwhile winning the “blame game” by appearing to be the more reasonable of the two sides, he said.

Trump was wildly popular in Israel during his first term, when he lent unprecedented support to Israel’s claims to territory seized in war, including by moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem.

The trend continued in his second term, as he backed Israel’s actions in Gaza and joined it in bombing Iran. The alliance was particularly beneficial to Netanyahu, whose political future remained uncertain. The prime minister relied on Trump to improve his image at home.

But the allies’ interests diverged last spring, as Israel pressed for further strikes on Iran and against Hezbollah in Lebanon, while Trump looked to wind down the regional conflict in order to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to ease pressure on the world economy.

Since then, Trump has said that he would “likely” endorse Netanyahu ahead of the Israeli election but has not yet given his full backing. And while a formal endorsement from a U.S. president still carries weight in Israel, the rift between the two leaders suggests it could also complicate Netanyahu’s campaign.

“A few months ago, a significant majority of Israelis assumed that when President Trump is making decisions, he’s taking Israeli security interests into account. This is no longer the case,” said Yohanan Plesner, head of the Israel Democracy Institute, a think tank in Jerusalem.

The closeness between Netanyahu and Trump “used to be an asset,” he said, but not anymore.

Netanyahu has a long history of defying U.S. presidents, particularly Democratic ones. During his first term, in the late 1990s, he resisted efforts by President Bill Clinton to resolve the conflict with the Palestinians. He clashed publicly with President Barack Obama over the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran.

But that approach carries greater risks now, as Israel’s military campaigns have left it increasingly isolated diplomatically and upended its historic support among Democratic voters in the U.S., leaving Trump as one of Israel’s few strong allies.

Netanyahu’s dependence on Trump is “tremendous,” Plesner said, and voters will punish him if he is seen as mismanaging the key relationship.

“If Trump will insist on carrying on, I think Netanyahu will have no choice but to tag along rather than take on the president, since he’s left Israel with very few diplomatic cards to maneuver.”

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Associated Press writers Sam Mednick in Tel Aviv, Israel, and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed.

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EDITOR’S NOTE: Joseph Krauss has reported on the Middle East for more than 20 years, including postings in Cairo, Baghdad and Jerusalem.

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Connecticut Democrats are choosing whether to stick with U.S. Rep. John Larson, a longstanding fixture in the state’s politics, or embrace a generational change by choosing a far younger replacement.

Larson, 78, has represented the Hartford and central Connecticut-based 1st Congressional District since 1999. After largely avoiding serious Democratic opposition during his time in Congress, Larson is now facing concerns about his health and age after he abruptly stopped speaking during a speech on the House floor last year.

His office has since said Larson suffered a complex partial seizure, maintaining that he’s fit to seek a 15th term and is taking medication to help control the condition.

With Democrats expected to hold the seat in November, the fight over who becomes the Democratic nominee in the 1st Congressional District isn’t critical to the party’s effort to take back control of the House. However, it does reflect the growing willingness of younger Democrats to take on some of their party’s most stalwart figures in Washington.

After President Joe Biden’s drawn-out decision to ultimately step aside in 2024 at 81, which helped pave the way for Donald Trump’s second term in the White House, the Democratic Party’s veterans have increasingly been targeted as part of the problem.

Larson’s leading challenger is former Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin, who won the state’s Democratic Party endorsement earlier this year.

Bronin, 46, is a Rhodes scholar, lawyer and U.S. Navy Reserve officer. He was a sophomore at Yale when Larson was first elected to Congress.

Bronin has said that the Democratic Party’s reluctance to embrace generational change, including Biden’s failed reelection campaign, was the leading factor in his decision to challenge Larson.

“I think we would be a stronger Democratic Party if more of our leadership recognized that part of leadership is knowing when it’s time to pass the torch,” Bronin said during a July 29 debate.

Larson has pushed back against the criticism surrounding his long time in office, saying experience is a virtue and leaning on his willingness to fight against President Donald Trump.

“I’ve called for his impeachment because of his violation for the rule of law, this president ignores the rule of law,” Larson said during the July 29 debate.

Other candidates running for the congressional seat are state Rep. Jillian Gilchrist, 44, and Ruth Fortune, 38, a lawyer who immigrated to the U.S. from Haiti.

Connecticut’s remaining four congressional seats are held by Democrats not facing a primary challenge. Republicans will hold a primary for the state’s 4th and 5th Congressional Districts.

Separately, the only statewide race on Tuesday is the Democratic primary for governor. Current Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont is seeking a third term against state Rep. Josh Elliott, 41, who is running left of Lamont.

Lamont, 72, a wealthy former cable entrepreneur, has developed a reputation as a fiscal moderate, signing a major tax cut and paying down unfunded state pension liabilities. He has also supported access to abortion through safe harbor laws and greater protections for immigrants.

No Connecticut governor has served three consecutive terms in modern times.

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This story has been updated to correct Lamont’s age to 72 instead of 71.

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Primary elections are taking place in six U.S. states on Tuesday — Alabama, Connecticut, Minnesota, South Carolina, Vermont and Wisconsin.

Minnesota voters will settle a moderate-versus-progressive Democratic U.S. Senate primary between centrist U.S. Rep. Angie Craig and progressive Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan. In the race for governor, Mike Lindell, known as the MyPillow Guy, leads a crowded Republican primary with President Donald Trump’s endorsement, while Sen. Amy Klobuchar faces minimal opposition for the Democratic nomination.

The Democratic primary for Wisconsin governor is another high-profile clash between the party’s establishment and progressive wings, as democratic socialist Francesca Hong tries to rise above establishment candidate David Crowley. In a Republican primary for U.S. House, Trump-backed candidate Michael Alfonso, the 26-year-old son-in-law of U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, is seeking to win Duffy’s former district.

And Republicans in South Carolina are casting ballots in a special primary election to replace the late U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham on the state’s general election ballot. The crowded race has attracted top party members, including two congressmen and a former governor — but Trump has endorsed Graham’s sister, Sen. Darline Graham, a political unknown appointed to serve out the final months of her late brother’s current term.

Here’s the latest:

President Donald Trump endorsed Sen. Darline Graham’s candidacy even before she said she was running in South Carolina’s special GOP Senate primary. But voters who said they were voting for her seemed split over whether the president’s buy-in mattered.

“He’s the greatest president ever as far as I’m concerned,” Frank Bohn said after casting his ballot early last week for Graham. “President Trump means a lot.”

But for fellow early voter Scott Brown, who also said he was a Trump supporter, Graham’s debate performance won his support and meant more than the president’s endorsement.

“It never does,” Brown said when asked if Trump’s endorsement swayed him toward Graham.

Standing in the afternoon heat outside the western Wisconsin fire hall where she’d voted, Sarah Atkins Hoggatt said she wished she could have voted for Hong.

“I embrace her ideology,” she said, ticking off issues like reproductive rights and “Medicare for All.” “I would have wanted to vote for her.”

But she also believes that Hong’s deeply progressive politics, combined with concerns among some voters with democratic socialist candidates, make a November victory much harder for her.

“I voted for someone who I think has a better chance” to beat Tiffany, said Atkins Hoggatt, 61, who sells construction material and drain systems. She voted for Crowley.

“I didn’t vote my heart,” she said.

A former Democratic fundraiser and small business owner is vying to face the Republican representative for a second time in a competitive Wisconsin congressional district.

Rebecca Cooke faces a primary challenge from former Eau Claire City Council President Emily Berge. Berge has run an underdog, insurgent campaign against Cooke, who is more well-known and better financed.

Cooke narrowly lost to Van Orden in 2024. She also ran in 2022 but lost in the Democratic primary.

Van Orden is one of President Donald Trump’s biggest supporters but will face a tough reelection bid in the narrowly divided 3rd Congressional District and in a year where the president’s approval ratings are low in Wisconsin.

Frank Bohn said an interaction with Sen. Darline Graham in a parking lot was part of what tilted the scales in her favor in terms of his vote in South Carolina’s special Senate primary, when he cast his vote early last week in Horry County.

“She’s not a politician, but she was kin to probably one of the greatest senators ever,” Bohn said, reflecting on his impression of the political newcomer and the service of her brother, the late

Sen. Lindsey Graham. “Being not a politician, and just being able to follow the path of her brother … she could do no harm.”

Susan Bohn said her husband’s recollection helped make up her mind to vote for Darline Graham, too.

“I was going to vote for somebody else, but I changed my mind,” said Susan Bohn, who had been considering U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman.

Debra Dowd said she was deciding between two candidates in the South Carolina Senate primary, U.S. Rep. Russell Fry and Sen. Darline Graham, but ended up going with the latter in part because she admired the late Sen. Lindsey Graham’s service.

“I just think her brother did a wonderful job for all the time he’s been in the Senate, so I went for her,” Dowd said after casting her ballot for the late senator’s sister in Conway during early voting last week.

It wasn’t all about Lindsey Graham’s service, though. Dowd said she considered President Donald Trump’s endorsement of Darline Graham, as well as her performance earlier this month, in which the candidate voiced strong support for the president’s agenda.

“Watching the debate, I liked her answers,” Dowd said. “Her debate performance was really good.”

The longtime South Carolina Republican lawmaker had been seeking a fifth term when he died suddenly a month ago, and the campaign to pick a new GOP nominee has been a whirlwind.

State law sets out the timeline that officials must follow for a special election when a seat becomes vacant. Candidates had about two weeks to file for the contest, then two weeks to campaign.

Graham’s sister was swiftly appointed to serve out the remaining months of his current term. In a move that surprised many political watchers in the state, Darline Graham also launched a primary bid, something she said came at the urging of President Donald Trump, with whom her late brother had been closely aligned.

Preliminary medical findings note Lindsey Graham died from an aortic tear.

After casting his ballot during early voting in Conway last week, George Mitford said he picked U.S. Rep. Russell Fry in the special Senate GOP primary because he favored the two-term congressman’s experience over current Sen. Darline Graham, appointed last month to serve the rest of her late brother’s current term.

“I just thought he’d probably had more experience in this than she would have had,” Mitford said, adding that he had supported Sen. Lindsey Graham’s tenure in the Senate.

“I’m a conservative and a Republican, and I just think he was the best choice,” said Mitford, who lives in Fry’s district along South Carolina’s northern coastal area.

The Democratic primary features a race between economist Amanda Janoo and Aly Richards, a former child advocacy organization CEO.

Richards, 40, grew up in Newbury, Vermont, and has received endorsements from former Vermont governors Howard Dean and Madeleine Kunin. She previously worked for former Gov. Peter Shumlin and on former President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign.

Janoo, 38, was born on a farm in Strafford, Vermont. She began her career working with the United Nations and international development organizations.

Scott, who has served five terms and is one term away from becoming the state’s longest-serving governor, is running unopposed.

Vermont is one of two states, along with neighboring New Hampshire, that hold a gubernatorial election every two years.

Republicans redrew Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District after the U.S. Supreme Court severely weakened the Voting Rights Act earlier this year.

The redraw added a Republican-leaning seat to the state’s congressional map by shifting the boundaries of one represented by a Black Democrat.

The seat is now held by Democratic Rep. Shomari Figures, who was unopposed in his primary and has said he plans to aggressively defend the seat.

Six Republicans are competing in the special congressional primary for the chance to challenge Figures in November.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has placed Figures on its list of “frontline” candidates for extra support in what they consider the most pivotal districts. The National Republican Congressional Committee has similarly put the district on its list of targets for 2026.

In the Wisconsin governor’s race, software engineer Cody Chandler said he didn’t worry about electability when he cast his ballot for Hong.

“In the past I’d think about who could win,” said Chandler. “But this time I’m voting for who I want to win.”

He’s thrilled by Hong and the progressive movement around her.

“She’s probably the most exciting candidate I’ve seen,” said Chandler, 35, who voted in the town of Hudson. He sees himself as a progressive, someone inspired a decade ago by Sen. Bernie Sanders, and volunteered for Hong’s campaign.

“She seems to be like a real working-class person. Sure, she stumbles over her words sometimes — but so do I,” he said, laughing. “She feels like one of us.”

Linda Biles believes Hong’s politics will frighten voters like her — a Republican in a largely rural area who votes Democratic because she dislikes Trump and politicians who back him.

“I think just the word ‘socialism’ is turning off Republicans,” said Biles, a 71-year-old retired home economics teacher, after casting her ballot in the western Wisconsin town of Hudson. “It scares them away.”

Crowley, she said, was an obvious choice: “He’s got more of a chance of beating Tiffany,” she said.

Michele Tafoya is seeking the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate.

She strode into a suburban Minneapolis church with a phalanx of reporters and photographers watching. She checked in with poll workers, filled out her ballot and fed it into the counter.

“How are you?” she asked the top election official on site.

“I’ll be glad when you’re done,” the stressed-out official responded with a laugh.

In the parking lot out front, she argued that this will be the year voters end a 20-year losing streak for Republicans running statewide in Minnesota. Voters, she said, are fed up after widespread reports of fraud in public assistance programs.

“Minnesotans are ready. We’ve had a crisis of leadership here,” Tafoya said. “We’ve seen what career politicians have done in this state. They’ve brought us to a place of national embarrassment, and this state is ready for change.”

Asked if she would have handled anything differently about the sprint of a special Senate primary, Graham said she had no regrets.

“I don’t think I could have done anything any differently,” Graham told reporters outside the Lexington church where she and her family voted. “It was my priority to be in Washington as your representative, working hard, and I got back here just as soon as I possibly could.”

With the Senate staying in session until early Saturday morning, Graham — as South Carolina’s interim senator — was in Washington for votes during much of the campaign.

Anticipating a runoff to follow Tuesday’s crowded GOP Senate primary, Graham told reporters that she would “get out and work really hard to earn” voters in the ensuing two-week period.

Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar has had a successful career in Washington, but she’d prefer to head back home to Minnesota. She’s the leading candidate for governor in the state’s Democratic primary.

She’s not alone. Four senators ran for governor this year, underscoring how sharply the balance of political ambition has shifted away from Washington.

Although the Senate was once seen as the capstone of a long political career or a premier perch for launching presidential bids, it has become increasingly stagnant and dysfunctional.

Sens. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama both won Republican gubernatorial primaries this year.

But Colorado Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet wasn’t as fortunate. He lost to state Attorney General Phil Weiser.

Bronin was a sophomore at Yale University when Larson was elected to the U.S. House in 1998.

Now he’s standing in the way of Larson getting a 15th term representing Connecticut. The two face off in another contest that pits the party’s old guard against a younger generation.

Bronin, 46, is the former mayor of Hartford. He’s a lawyer, former Rhodes scholar and U.S. Navy Reserve officer.

Larson is 78. While he has been popular in his central Connecticut district throughout his time in office, concerns about his health arose when he suffered a partial seizure during a speech on the House floor last year.

In a flip of the usual script for primary challengers, Bronin can lay claim to be the establishment candidate. He won the Democratic state party’s endorsement at a nominating convention earlier this year.

The interim senator and her 17-year-old daughter Nicole Nordone voted midday Tuesday at a Lexington County church.

“It was a hard choice,” Nicole said jokingly to her father, as they walked out of the voting area so that Darline Graham could speak with reporters.

After she fed her ballot into a reader machine, Graham told poll workers that she typically votes at another location. Many polling sites have been changed for Tuesday’s special election due to several factors, including classes beginning this week at many schools typically used for voting.

South Carolinians who are 17 years old but will be 18 before the general election can vote in primaries.

Michael Alfonso has leaned into his endorsement from Trump in the five-way Republican primary for Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District.

The 26-year-old Alfonso has faced blowback from some Republican leaders in the district who question whether he is too young and inexperienced for the job.

Alfonso is counting on Trump’s endorsement carrying the day in the deeply red district.

Duffy held the congressional seat from 2011 until 2019, when he resigned mid-term. He returned to politics last year when Trump tapped him to serve as transportation secretary. Alfonso is married to Duffy’s daughter, Evita Duffy.

After losing a top Senate advocate when the South Carolina Republican suddenly died, Trump has angled to play a role in picking his replacement, too.

Trump heralded the selection of Darline Graham as “a fabulous tribute” to serve as her brother’s interim replacement. And he urged her to run in the special primary, endorsing Graham before she’d made her candidacy official.

In forging a relationship with Darline Graham, Trump could be angling to develop another ally to help steer his agenda through the Senate.

So far, Darline Graham has been doing just that. Repeatedly stressing to voters her intent to support Trump’s policy positions, she often references in particular her co-sponsorship of a voting bill that’s become a key priority for the president.

Trump relied on Lindsey Graham in the Senate and has endorsed Darline Graham to replace him.

She had already been known as Lindsey Graham’s sister and lifelong supporter, but since her brother’s death a month ago, Darline Graham has been thrust into the political spotlight.

A day after the late senator’s sudden death was announced, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster named Darline Graham to serve the remaining months on his current term, which expires in January. She was sworn in the next day and took his spot on powerful committees, including Judiciary.

Days later, Darline Graham was among the candidates jumping into a special GOP primary to replace her late brother on November ballots. She’s appeared at various stump events and one debate, although Senate business kept her off the campaign trail as other hopefuls traversed the state.

U.S. Rep. Angie Craig has support from the party’s establishment, while Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan is backed by prominent figures on the left including Sen. Bernie Sanders.

The primary will again take the temperature of Democratic voters a week after progressive Abdul El-Sayed won a bitter and divisive primary in Michigan that fired up the left and fueled anxiety among party leaders that Democrats will alienate moderate swing voters.

Craig says her record of winning repeatedly in a battleground House district will ensure the seat stays in Democratic hands. Flanagan says Craig hasn’t stood firm enough against President Donald Trump and wealthy donors.

Wisconsin voter Jesse Heer said Hong understands “what it’s like to live here and have to afford to live here.”

Heer, a 32-year-old business owner from Madison, said Hong’s focus on affordability issues was the top reason he voted for her. And he’s not buying the argument from other Democrats, including Hong’s more moderate challenger, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, that she will have a harder time winning in the general election.

“I think she’s a good candidate,” Heer said. “I think a lot of people agree.”

Hong voter Kelly McClurg, 40, of Sun Prairie, says Hong has shown “she’ll be able to push back more” on issues that Democrats care about, like affordability.

McClurg said if fellow Democrats believe in her, and don’t assume she can’t beat Republican Tom Tiffany, “she can win.”

Wisconsin voters who cast their ballots Tuesday for the gubernatorial candidate favored by more mainstream Democrats say they are confident the party will unite even if the progressive challenger wins.

David Zimmerman, a 79-year-old retired industrial engineering professor, voted for Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley. Crowley is endorsed by Gov. Tony Evers and is seen as the pick of more moderate Democrats.

Zimmerman says he worries “a lot” about progressive candidate Francesca Hong’s ability to defeat Republican Tom Tiffany in November.

“I think she’s going to have trouble winning,” Zimmerman said.

But both Zimmerman and fellow Crowley voter Julie Martinson, 69, predict Democrats will come together even if Hong wins. They said they would vote for her in November.

“There’s no reason we can’t galvanize around her and get her in there,” Martinson said.

No Connecticut governor has served three consecutive terms in modern times. Former Republican Gov. John G. Rowland was elected to a third consecutive term in November 2002 but he resigned in 2004 amid a corruption scandal.

In Tuesday’s Democratic primary, Lamont, 72, takes on state Rep. Josh Elliott, 41, who is running left of the current governor.

One of two Democratic governors who attended President Donald Trump’s inauguration, Lamont has carefully chosen which issues to criticize the Republican president on. That tactic has prompted complaints from more liberal Democrats in Connecticut.

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This post has been updated to correct the ages of Lamont and Elliott. Lamont is 72, not 71. Elliott is 41, not 42.

The state is holding special primaries in four congressional districts after it won permission from the U.S. Supreme Court to change its congressional maps. The state tossed out the results of May primaries and scheduled the Tuesday special primaries using the new map.

Turnout for party primaries is typically low. It was 23% in the May primary and 10.7% for the June runoff. It is expected to be particularly low in a special late-summer primary, when people are unaccustomed to voting.

Six Republicans are seeking the GOP nomination in the redrawn 2nd Congressional District. The winner will challenge Democratic Rep. Shomari Figures in November.

Republican candidates and party officials have been trying to promote the special primary and get voters to the polls. The primaries will be decided without a runoff.

Polling places opened across the state at 7 a.m. EDT, and voters have until 7 p.m. to cast their ballots.

It’s only been two months since South Carolina voters made their picks in the primary elections in June. But Graham’s sudden death last month set into motion a special primary to pick a Republican replacement for the general election ballot in November.

Candidates have only had a matter of weeks to campaign.

There were three days of early voting last week, and Tuesday’s special election also coincides with the first day of school in some areas, so polling places have changed for many who typically are assigned to vote at schools for summertime primaries.

The topsy turvy race pits democratic socialist Francesca Hong against the governor’s endorsed candidate David Crowley.

Hong has ridden a wave of support from liberals to bolster her insurgent campaign. Crowley had quit the race but got back in — with Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ endorsement.

Crowley rejoined the race after Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez dropped out last month amid a campaign finance scandal.

Former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes had the highest name recognition after a 2022 U.S. Senate run, but he also dropped out less than two weeks before the primary amid questions about inappropriate behavior.

In the Republican primary for governor, U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany has Trump’s endorsement and faces nominal opposition.

Progressive candidates for governor in Wisconsin and U.S. Senate in Minnesota are increasing the pressure on a Democratic establishment that has spent the year on its heels.

Today’s primaries come a week after Abdul El-Sayed narrowly defeated Rep. Haley Stevens in Michigan’s divisive and costly U.S. Senate primary. El-Sayed’s victory has energized the left while stoking fears among Democratic Party leaders that the shift to the left, particularly in battleground states like Michigan and Wisconsin, will make it more difficult to win in November.

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Aug 11 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he was assessing whether the federal government could mount a legal challenge to avert a progressive surcharge on luxury second homes in New York City.

Trump called New York’s new “pied-a-terre” tax “dangerous political experiment” in a social media post.

The new tax – named after a French term for a secondary residence that translates as “foot on the ground” – was passed into law as part of the New York state budget in May.

“I am looking to see if the Federal Government has any legal right to avert this disaster,” Trump said.

The tax has already been challenged in state court and a Staten Island judge on Monday temporarily blocked its rollout, according to U.S. media.

(Reporting by Ryan Patrick Jones and Ismail Shakil; Editing by Doina Chiacu)

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(SRN NEWS) – A top Trump administration official says Iran may fear American economic pressure more than military force.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz says that Tehran’s greatest concern right now is not Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, but Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, whose sanctions campaign is putting significant strain on the Iranian economy. Waltz made his comments to Fox News this weekend.

Secretary Bessent is at the center of a new push described by officials as “Operation Economic Fury,” an aggressive campaign aimed at tightening economic pressure on Iran. The effort focuses on restricting Iran’s access to financial resources, disrupting transactions, and escalating actions against entities that help fund the Iranian regime and its network of partners.

The strategy reportedly includes targeting Iranian-linked assets held abroad, with an emphasis on freezing or seizing money and financial holdings. Treasury officials say the campaign is designed to reduce the regime’s ability to operate effectively—particularly by limiting revenue streams that support regional activities.

The operation also highlights the financial system’s vulnerabilities, including the role played by overseas banking relationships. Officials say they are increasing scrutiny on institutions that process transactions connected to Iranian networks.

Cryptocurrency has also emerged as a major focus. Reporting indicates that the U.S. is pursuing digital assets believed to be connected to Iranian financial activities, aiming to prevent funds from moving through channels that can be harder to trace.

At the same time, the campaign carries broad warnings for international business. Treasury officials have signaled that companies and buyers that continue engaging with Iranian oil or revenue-linked arrangements could face escalating consequences, including intensified sanctions enforcement.

Officials say Operation Economic Fury is meant to maximize pressure while encouraging Iran to change course. The U.S. has not provided detailed timelines in public briefings, but officials emphasize that the campaign will expand as new leads and enforcement opportunities arise.

The economic squeeze comes as President Trump continues to press Tehran for a new agreement aimed at curbing Iran’s nuclear ambitions and limiting its regional activities.

But despite ongoing contacts between the two sides, there is little evidence that Iran is prepared to accept the administration’s key demands.

Instead, Iranian negotiators continue to push for broad sanctions relief, access to frozen assets, compensation related to recent conflicts, and an end to U.S.-led naval pressure in the region.

So far, Tehran has offered few significant concessions in return.

For now, the battle between Washington and Tehran appears to be centered as much on economics as on military power.

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WASHINGTON, Aug 10 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday told reporters the future of the proposed “weaponization” fund would be up to U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche.

Blanche, who previously served a personal attorney for the Republican president and deputy attorney general, was sworn in as Washington’s top lawyer earlier on Monday.

He was confirmed on Saturday after the U.S. Justice Department rescinded an order that would have established a $1.776 billion fund to pay people who said they had been the ​subject of government abuse.

The fund was created as part of a legal settlement to resolve a $10 billion lawsuit Trump filed against his own government. Blanche’s confirmation initially faced roadblocks by some Republicans in Congress over the proposed measure, which was widely criticized as a ‌slush fund for supporters of Trump.

(Reporting by Steve Holland; Writing by Jasper Ward;Editing by David Ljunggren)

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COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Just two months after nominating Lindsey Graham to return to the U.S. Senate, South Carolina Republicans are casting ballots Tuesday in a special primary to pick a replacement following the sudden death of the president’s close ally.

Graham’s sister, Darline Graham, a political unknown tapped to serve out the final months of her brother’s term, is trying to overcome skepticism about her lack of experience in her campaign to replace him. She picked up President Donald Trump’s swift endorsement though the rare open Senate seat has attracted a broad field, including some of the state’s top Republicans.

For decades, South Carolina voters have reliably returned Lindsey Graham to Washington despite periodic primary challengers who accused the dealmaker and foreign policy hawk of being insufficiently conservative.

Tuesday’s contest features one of Lindsey Graham’s foes from earlier this year, as well as two U.S. House members as well as Mark Sanford, the former governor and congressman who is seeking a political comeback in a field crowded with familiar faces.

Lindsey Graham suffered a tear in his aorta at his Washington home and died on July 11.

Before funeral observances for Lindsey Graham in Washington and South Carolina had even concluded, the campaign was on. State law proscribes a compressed timeline that forced candidates to navigate the decorum of mourning the senator’s death while also jockeying to replace him.

A day after Graham’s death was announced, his sister accepted Republican Gov. Henry McMaster’s appointment to succeed her brother in an interim capacity. She was sworn in with her family and late senator’s staff standing behind her.

A week later, Darline Graham launched into the campaign herself, encouraged to run and then endorsed by Trump.

While the millions in the president’s campaign account aren’t funds that Darline Graham could directly access in a run of her own, there was no limit to how much could be transferred to the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which is already paying for advertising to support her.

In addition, a super PAC that once supported Lindsey Graham said it would spend $900,000 backing Darline Graham’s candidacy, including mailers touting her as “President Trump’s choice” and saying she’s “Prepared to Carry on Lindsey’s Legacy.”

More familiar to South Carolina voters in their own right are two U.S. House members in the race, one of whom already has a statewide profile.

Fresh off an unsuccessful primary run for governor, U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman entered the Senate contest and has snapped up endorsements from other lawmakers, including Sens. Rick Scott of Florida and Mike Lee of Utah, as well as South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace.

One of the most conservative members in the House, Norman is well-known across South Carolina for being a fiscal conservative. At times, however, he’s been at odds with Trump and backed former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley in the 2024 presidential primary.

Also in the running is Rep. Russell Fry, who appeared poised to gain Trump’s backing after Lindsey Graham’s death. Despite lacking the president’s endorsement, he announced his own candidacy and has been trying to boost his name recognition beyond his pro-Trump district in the Myrtle Beach area.

The former South Carolina congressman and governor whose political ascendency was stalled by a 2009 extramarital affair is making yet another attempt to return to public office.

Sanford’s Senate bid comes just three months after he ended a bid to retake his former U.S. House seat, saying then he was quitting the race to set up a nonprofit to address the national debt, his signature issue.

Sanford had entered that contest on the last day of filing, when the race already was full of other Republican candidates, many of whom had spent months laying the groundwork for their campaigns. He’s been crisscrossing South Carolina in his Senate bid, reintroducing himself to voters after more than a decade out of statewide office.

Mark Lynch, a Greenville businessman who tried to oust Graham in the regular Republican primary last month, swiftly relaunched his campaign following Graham’s death. Calling himself an “America First” candidate, Lynch has campaigned as a Trump supporter, but during the June primary, the president on social media called him a “lunatic” and a “disaster for the Republican Party.”

Dr. Annie Andrews, a Charleston physician, won her party’s primary in June outright. Having set up her entire campaign based around challenging Graham, Andrews has been forced to pivot to a broader critique of the Republican contenders.

No Democrat has won a U.S. Senate seat here in decades. And when Graham last ran in 2020, he defeated his Democratic opponent, Jaime Harrison, by a 10 percentage point margin.

That contest was the most expensive in state history, and among the country’s most expensive congressional races, ever.

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Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP

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‘Low-Keying It’: President Trump Reportedly Shifts From Military to Economic Pressure on Iran  

President Donald Trump said the United States is “low-keying it” in its confrontation with Iran and is focusing on the Islamic Republic’s mounting economic problems, backing away from the threat of renewed large-scale military action he raised more than a week ago.  

He made no new military threats during a brief phone interview with Axios and instead pointed to Iran’s financial difficulties and the effects of the US naval blockade.  

“We are low-keying it,” President Trump said. “We are only semi-negotiating with them. We are just watching Iran with its huge inflation and the fact they have no money.”  

The shift in tone comes more than a week after President Trump threatened a massive military operation against Iran and appeared close to ordering a resumption of major combat operations.  

President Trump told Axios that Iran “is in very bad shape” economically and lacks the money to pay its troops. He said the US naval blockade has worsened the Iranian government’s economic crisis.  

The president also pointed to the decline in oil prices as reducing the impact of the conflict on Americans, saying oil had fallen to slightly more than $75 a barrel.  

“It will work out. It always works out. It’s like a chess game,” Trump said of the continuing exchanges with Iran.  

President Trump also did not appear angered by Tehran’s latest demands concerning the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, according to Axios.  

His comments followed the announcement over the weekend of a framework agreement between Iran and Oman concerning control over the strategic waterway.  

Iran and Oman are close to reaching a technical agreement establishing geographical coordinates for new inbound and outbound shipping lanes through the Strait of Hormuz.  

Tehran, however, has said that agreement on the shipping lanes would not result in the immediate reopening of the Strait. Iran maintains that restoring full passage through the waterway remains dependent on major US concessions and the lifting of naval blockades. 

 

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DOTHAN, Ala. (AP) — Republicans aiming to flip Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District after redrawing the heavily Black district in their favor will pick their nominee Tuesday to challenge U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures, the Democratic incumbent who is seeking a second term despite the political headwinds.

The district is one of several Democratic-leaning districts across the South that were reshaped to favor Republicans following a U.S. Supreme Court decision that severely weakened the Voting Rights Act. The race could help determine the balance of power in the House as Republicans try to hold on to a slim majority in November’s midterms. Both parties have put the district on their priority list.

“We need to win this seat back for the state and for the country. We need to turn it red again,” said state Rep. Rhett Marques, who was endorsed by President Donald Trump in the GOP primary.

Six Republicans are competing to challenge Figures, who is unopposed. Voters also will select nominees in three other Alabama districts affected by the Republicans’ redraw.

Democrat Terri Sewell, Alabama’s other Black representative, is unopposed and is expected to keep her 7th Congressional District seat in the fall.

Figures won the seat in 2024 after years of litigation under the Voting Rights Act. A federal court redrew the reliably red district after ruling that the GOP-controlled Legislature intentionally diluted the voting power of Black residents, who make up 27% of Alabama’s population.

The court said there should be a second Alabama district where Black people are a majority or near-majority. Figures’ election gave the state, for the first time in its history, two Black representatives. They’re the only Democrats in Alabama’s seven-member congressional delegation.

In April, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a majority-Black district in Louisiana as an unconstitutional gerrymander that relied too heavily on race. Alabama Republicans, like those in other Southern states, seized on the decision.

Seeking to implement a map previously drawn by the Legislature, lawmakers approved legislation to nullify the results of ongoing primaries and instead authorize Tuesday’s special primary elections. The Supreme Court in June granted Alabama permission to switch maps.

During a recent forum in Dothan, in the far southeastern corner of the state, the GOP candidates answered questions about the Iran war, data centers and the district’s needs. But much of the attention was on the general election.

“Shomari is going to have the money. He is going to have the opportunity to keep this district. If we get out to vote, we can win it, and we can take this seat back for the Republicans,” Marques said.

“It’s important to get out there and make your voices heard and be represented up in D.C.,” said candidate Hampton Harris, a lawyer.

Christian Horn, a business owner and the lone Black in the race, said Republicans need a candidate who can compete across the district, not just in traditional GOP communities. David Matthews, a former Trump appointee in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Joshua McKee, a former U.S. Army Green Beret, and former Marine James Richardson are also running.

Tom Heisner, a 79-year-old retired air traffic controller who attended the forum, said the GOP is more aligned with his views on border control and other issues.

“I’m fairly confident it will go Republican around here,” he said of the Dothan region. “I’m not so sure up in Montgomery.”

When Figures won the district, it stretched from his hometown of Mobile across the state’s Black Belt region and to the Georgia border.

Now the district is nestled in the state’s southeastern corner. It includes Montgomery and Tuskegee, both Democratic strongholds steeped in civil rights history. It sweeps through rural areas known for peanut and soybean farming. There is a heavy military presence, with an Air Force base in Montgomery and an Army base in Dale County.

The district’s Black voting age population dropped from 48% to 40% after it was redrawn.

Speaking at a community gathering at the Beulah Baptist Church, located not far from the path of the 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery voting rights march, Figures said Republicans won’t succeed in making the district “unwinnable” for him.

“That’s in large part because I’ve had the privilege to represent over half of this new district already. We’ve shown up in the communities. We’ve shown them how we can deliver results,” Figures said.

Some Black Alabamians see echoes of the past in the redistricting process.

Maggie Walker, an 80-year-old retired educator from Montgomery, said she interpreted the Supreme Court’s redistricting decision as an effort to install “as many Republicans as possible” in the House. But she is optimistic Figures can win.

“I think he represents us and the things that are important to our state,” Walker said.

“We’re going backward with everything,” said Isaiah Sankey, vice chairman of the Montgomery County Commission. “But it’s OK — we are used to the struggle. It’s move forward, you get pushed back.”

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