Graham Cracked

It is hard for us to understand how someone with skeletons as numerous and as large in their closet as Graham Platner could think they could run for an extremely high profile public office and not have them come out and haunt him. But he threw caution to the winds, was lucky they didn't come out until after the primary, then was unlucky that afterward they followed him home. The jig was clearly up, and yesterday, Platner bowed to reality and dropped out of the race.

Platner made his announcement via a video. He starts out by announcing that he is out. Then he immediately blames the establishment for his travails. Not his repeated horrible behavior toward women, not his disgusting postings to social media, not his Nazi tattoo. The whole thing was someone else's fault, not his. Nothing like taking responsibility for your actions.

Inasmuch as Platner could have dug in and refused to withdraw, he felt he had some leverage and could use that to force the Democrats to switch to his chosen successor. They were having none of it. The executive director of the Maine Democratic Party, Devon Murphy-Anderson, tweeted: "The integrity of this process is just as important as the outcome, and we are committed to ensuring that Democrats across our state can have confidence in both. Unfortunately, Graham Platner's team has repeatedly reached out to us in an attempt to put their thumb on the scale of what this process looks like." She made it abundantly clear that he would have no role whatsoever in selecting the new candidate.

Picking a new candidate will be tricky. The Party needs someone inches from Platner politically but a million billion zillion miles from him personally. One of the things the Republicans are going to do is say the new candidate is "just like Platner." If challenged by reporters to explain, they will say the replacement is another socialist, but they will hope that voters also think the new candidate is also a rapist. If Platner comes within a country mile of the selection process, that will be the kiss of death for the candidate. And country miles are really big in Maine.

Further, Democrats are going to be very leery of a process that looks like an anointment. The Brits are OK with allowing, like, 12 people to choose new prime ministers, but Americans, not so much. The blue team just put that to the test with Kamala Harris, and look how that turned out. So, there's gotta be a mini-primary/convention/caucus/whatever even if most rank-and-file voters don't actually get to cast ballots. There were 215,000 votes cast in the recent Democratic gubernatorial primary. Having all 215,000 Democrats showing up in a big empty field (say, the state fair in D.C.) and raising their hands for their respective choice is not a good idea. Some other process will be needed.

Murphy-Anderson is not really the person in charge. She is more the operations person, the one who carries out party decisions. The chairman of the Maine Democratic Party is a progressive 72-year-old lawyer from Leeds, ME (Pop. 2,285), Charles Dingman. We hope he is ready for his 15 minutes of fame, because it is going to be wild and woolly. Here he is along with Murphy-Anderson. Dingman is on the left.

People who know Dingman say he is very liberal, very kind, and a consensus builder. He is a small-town lawyer, not a politician. Nevertheless, he was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in 2016 and 2020. He is expected to really try to make the process transparent.

Dingman was on vacation when all hell broke out and hastily headed back to Maine to lead an emergency meeting of the Maine Democratic Party's central committee. Late last night, the committee approved a plan for choosing the new nominee. First, the county-level committees will meet and choose delegates to a mini-convention. A total of 500 delegates will be elected in this way. If each county gets the same number, then 500/16 = 31.25. Guess that would require a little rounding. Alternatively, they could (and probably will) weigh things by population. In that case, the lion's share of the delegates would go to Cumberland and York Counties, which together form the southwestern corner of Maine.

How the county committees will pick their delegates is not yet decided, but very important. Since Dingman knows how crucial it is to make the process open and transparent, he will have to figure this out fast. Maybe allow any registered Democrat in the county fill out an online form giving his or her background (education, occupation, birthplace, length of residence in Maine, etc.) plus a pitch of not more than, say, 300 words, as to why they should be chosen. Maybe allow a photo to be uploaded. Then every Democrat in the state will have a voice.

Thereafter, the 500 county-level delegates, and the 100 already-exiting state-level delegates, would meet and choose the new nominee. The Maine Democrats have not decided exactly what that convention will look like, or when or where it will be held (though it has to be complete by July 27). It is even less clear if there will be some sort of campaigning (e.g., town halls or a televised debate) or if there will be a good way for voters to convey their views to the delegates who will represent them at the convention.

In addition, the Maine Democrats haven't yet wrestled with the other side of the equation, namely the candidates. People interested in running will have to file to run with the Maine Division of Elections in the usual way and be vetted on age, citizenship, and residency, the only constitutional requirements for the Senate. But what if 80 people file, including some people with a special interest in rodent reproduction? This is all about to be on Dingman's plate. To keep things manageable, he and his colleagues could say, for example, that anyone who currently holds or previously held, elective office in Maine as a Democrat and people who hold or held any nonpartisan office in Maine are eligible. Outsiders who file petitions with at least, say, 500 signatures of registered Maine Democrats are also eligible. That would keep most people from signing up on a lark, though it probably wouldn't stop all the Republicans who want to throw a monkey wrench in the gears. How many people named Dan Sullivan live in Maine?

The candidate who comes out on top will have to unify Maine Democrats and attract independents. Some die-hard Platner fans may be hard to convince, especially young men who don't think a mere allegation of rape is disqualifying. After all, Platner vigorously denies it. If the process ends up with someone as working class as Platner and as left-wing as Platner, they may be mollified somewhat.

Already, three candidates have thrown their hats into the ring. The first is former state Senate President Troy Jackson (D), who is blue-collar (a former logger), pretty lefty (at least now; he was once more socially conservative), and has run for office many times and is less likely to have undiscovered skeletons in his closet. However, he is not as charismatic as Platner, and is also older (57 vs. 42). Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) has already switched from being Platner's biggest fan to being Jackson's biggest fan. Unfortunately, Khanna's district is about 2,700 miles from Maine. However, if some members of Congress from closer states, say, Vermont and Massachusetts, make their preferences known, that could really help Jackson.

The second declared candidate, is Dan Kleber (D). He also has a blue-collar résumé, as he is founder and owner of a brewery. He's a bit closer to Platner than Jackson is when it comes to charisma and age (48). And he's definitely closer to Platner when it comes to lack of experience, because Kleber also doesn't have any, except for a Senate run this year that he ended very early in the process. Kleber's problem, when it comes to Platner's base, is that he's hemmed and hawed on Israel/Hamas, and also that when he dropped out of the Senate race, he endorsed Gov. Janet Mills (D-ME). The populists and progressives aren't going to like those things. And his problem, when it comes to moderates, is the lack of vetting. We suspect most Maine Democrats, knowing they are most definitely on their last chance, are going to be very leery of going down this same road.

The third official candidate, at least at the moment, is 29-year-old social worker Paige Loud (D). She is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, which probably matters more in, say, Oklahoma than it does in Maine. She ran a progressive campaign for the U.S. House in Rep. Jared Golden's (D-ME) soon-to-be-vacated district, and came in fourth, at least in part because she was a very poor match for that electorate.

Time, of course, is of the essence here. So, any person who's going to try to make a run at it will surely make their intentions known in the next couple of days. The Maine Democratic Party would be very pleased if they only have to consider a small number of candidates. The more candidates there are, the more that people will get attached to a particular favorite, and the more chance that some of those voters who don't get "their" candidate will be angry, and maybe skip November's election.

There is already one data point. As Platner decided whether or not to fall on his sword, his campaign commissioned a flash poll to see where voters were at. With the rape allegation out there, Platner was trailing Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) by 5 points, 42% to 47%. The pollster (PPP) also polled five other candidates. Jackson led Collins, 49% to 44%. Secretary of State Shenna Bellows (D-ME) and 2026 gubernatorial candidate Rajiv Shah were both tied will Collins. Mills trailed Collins by 11 points, 37% to 48%, while progressive activist (and failed Senate candidate) Jordan Wood trailed Collins by 9 points, 38% to 47%.

Could this disaster have been foretold? Well, yes, and Politico's Jonathan Martin did the foretelling. On Oct. 22, 2025, he wrote a column with the headline: "Democrats Keep Falling for Political Fantasies. When Will They Learn?" It was about the Democrats' brand-new heartthrob, an oysterman named Graham Platner. Tough guy, progressive, working class, the whole nine yards. Just like Sen. John Fetterman (D?-PA). What could possibly go wrong? Martin argued that having experienced party leaders, like Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), do the picking tends to avoid having this kind of disaster with unvetted candidates. Schumer's pick in Maine, Gov. Janet Mills (D-ME), was a poor choice because she is too old and her heart wasn't in it, but Schumer's pick in North Carolina, Roy Cooper, is running away with it despite being old and moderate. His picks in Ohio (Sherrod Brown) and Alaska (Mary Peltola) are doing pretty well, given the redness of their states. Hopefully (but unlikely) Democrats will learn the lesson that the Senate is not an entry-level job and picking candidates who have been through the wringer at least once is a good idea. But this runs head-first into the view of some progressives that all politicians suck and what the Democrats need are "real" people from outside the system. But that can lead to Fettermans (Fettermen?) and Platners. Politics ain't beanball.

Republicans smell an opportunity here. Even before the Democrats have decided on their candidate, Republicans have put together a budget of $8 million to take that person down. Of course, since the GOP doesn't know who the candidate will be, they will have to produce multiple ads, each one targeting one of the likely candidates, so the ads are ready to go unless the Democrats go with a dark horse moose. All of this said, anonymous members of Collins' campaign were honest enough to admit that it would have been easier for them if Platner had remained the candidate.

The Maine fracas has already spread beyond Maine, all the way to Michigan. There, Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) has dinged her progressive primary opponent for the Senate nomination, Abdul El-Sayed, for not calling on Platner to exit the race, as she has. Stevens said: "Voters in Maine deserve a choice for U.S. Senate that doesn't force them to make a moral compromise between sexual violence or corporate servitude." Any candidate or officeholder who was keeping his or her Platner powder dry, for whatever reason, is pretty much stuck with that choice now. It doesn't mean a whole lot to call for someone to drop out after they have already done so. That Stevens condemned an alleged rapist and El-Sayed did not could help her with Michigan women.

We're going to run our own, not terribly scientific, flash poll today. We've put together a list of every candidate whose name we've heard mentioned. Click here to rank up to three candidates you think would be the strongest choice(s) for the Democrats. Please get your vote in by 9:00 p.m. PT; We'll have the results tomorrow. (V & Z)

Trump's Latest Gambit: The Ceasefire Is Over

It is hard to take anything Donald Trump says either literally or seriously. However, he is now like a cornered animal and could soon do something unpredictable, so we should keep an eye on him. Iran has regularly been striking at ships in the Strait of Hormuz and in return, the U.S. has been attacking Iran. This tit-for-tat, not-war-not-peace, has been going on since the memorandum of understanding was signed. Both sides accuse the other one of violating it.

The most recent tweet from the U.S. Central Command was on Tuesday, and stated that U.S. forces hit 80 Iranian targets with precision munitions. The targets include air defense systems, command and control networks radar sites, and anti-ship missile sites. Nevertheless, Iran still has thousands of cheap, long-range Shahed drones

Yesterday, following all of this exchange of fire, Trump declared that the ceasefire is over. He also said that the negotiations can continue, but they are a "waste of time." J.D. Vance, who is the lead negotiator for the U.S., is surely happy to know that nothing he says or works out with the Iranians matters. The problem here is that all Trump cares about is getting gas prices down and all Vance cares about is escaping with his presidential hopes intact. Neither one cares about Iran or the war.

Then, yesterday afternoon, Trump ordered more strikes. The attacks were on three port cities and intended to reduce Iran's capability to threaten ships in the Strait. That is not going to help. The smallest drone Iran uses, the Shahed-131, has a range of over 400 miles. The largest drone, the Shahed-136, has a range of over 1,200 miles. What Trump has learned from years in the real estate business is that his opponents prize economic success above all else, and if you can hurt them economically, they give in. However, the Iranian regime is not in the real estate business and is willing to accept huge economic losses for political reasons. It cannot be bombed into submission. Trump doesn't understand that (yet)

At the NATO summit in Turkey, Trump said: "I don't want to deal with them anymore. They're scum." (English translation: The damn Iranians won't submit to my will.) Actually, he originally said he was tired of dealing with the "Islamic Republic of Japan," but people figured out what he meant, since Japan is not Islamic and is not at war with the U.S., while Iran is both of those things. Shortly after Trump said that, the price of oil shot up, with the Brent crude hitting $79. That is not far above the pre-war price, despite the fact that the flow of oil through the Strait is not back to normal and many production facilities in neighboring countries have been damaged by Iranian drones.

In reality—which Trump considers to be optional—he has few cards. One of his few cards was the ability to reimpose the sanction on Iran selling oil. He did that, but: (1) Iran may continue to sell oil anyway, forcing Trump to take military action to stop it and (2) to the extent it succeeds, it will drive up oil prices. The national average now is $3.74/Gal., about a dollar a gallon higher than it was in January.

Incidentally, when Trump flew back from the NATO conference, he switched planes. To get to Turkey, he took Qatar Force One, but to get home, he took the old Air Force One. His official explanation is that Qatar Force One is going to be taken on a tour of U.S. military bases in Europe. This makes no sense, since (1) if a tour is needed, can't the old Air Force One (ostensibly now the backup plane) serve just as well, and (2) is Trump really likely to give up his shiny new toy just a week in?

The truth is that the rush job that got Qatar Force One "ready" for service may have cost $400 million-plus, but it did not cause the plane to be equipped with the necessary security measures. And since Trump was going to be traveling in the vicinity of Iranian airspace, well, that's not a chance he wanted to take. He somewhat admitted to this, albeit in braggadocio form, saying that he's "Iran's #1 target." That's probably not correct (we'd guess Benjamin Netanyahu), but he's certainly high on the list. Trump also said that he is not worried about dying, because he's just doing his job. That is a flat-out lie. If there's one thing that is certain about The Donald, it's that he's a giant narcissist. And if there's one thing a narcissist can't bear, it's the thought of a world without them in it.

It is hard to tell what is going to happen next with Iran. The Iranians have shown that they are capable of absorbing a vast amount of punishment from the air without yielding. This frustrates Trump no end. In his mind, if a country is subjected to a merciless bombardment, they are supposed to surrender. But the Iranians are not one inch closer to a surrender now than on the day before the war started. Vance can try to keep negotiating, but it is doubtful the Iranians will give in on anything. Then what? (V & Z)

Everybody Loves Turkey

And not just at Thanksgiving. Turkey, the country, is also getting a lot of love these days. The NATO summit there puts Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the spotlight. He is a strongman that Trump admires very much and is jealous of because Erdoğan is much more successful at becoming an authoritarian with no opposition than Trump is.

During the two-day lovefest, Trump let it be known that Turkey is a better ally than any of the European countries. He also said: "If you could have seen the respect and the love in the room, and it's love really for the country, for our country. But they do, they like the job I'm doing. They said: 'We love, sir, we love you.'"

Now, it is possible that they did actually say that because they know they have to treat him like a spoiled toddler with a gun. But all of them actually think he is a moron. They just have to keep that to themselves.

Erdoğan did such a good job of licking Trump's... boots, that Trump said he would consider selling F-35 fighter jets to Turkey, something Erdoğan has long wanted. Many members of Congress do not want that, so a deal is by no means certain. Members of Congress are unhappy with Erdoğan's close relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Erdoğan's purchasing the Russian S-400 air defense system. They are also concerned that Erdoğan could use the S-400 to collect vital information about the F-35s and then pass it on to Putin. In response to Trump's proposal, Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) tweeted: "I hope this is wrong." That doesn't sound like a "yes" vote to us.

Meanwhile, the European NATO countries are also courting Erdoğan. They are well aware that Turkey, which has a population of 88 million, more than any European country other than Russia, has the second biggest army in Europe, again after Russia. It also has a large and well-respected defense industry that makes tanks, warships, missiles and drones. And it is a member of NATO. As the European NATO countries are preparing for a NATO without the U.S., Turkey becomes a real possibility as an arms supplier and defense partner. There is some potential here, since each side has something the other wants. Europe wants Turkish weapons and Turkey wants to be a member in the European Union, something the far-right European parties are fanatically against. They envision millions of Muslims flooding Christian Europe and will do everything they can to prevent it.

Another problem is Greece, which is not especially keen on Turkey, especially after Turkey invaded northern Cyprus in 1974. As a consequence, Europe in not united in its approach to Turkey. Bilateral deals are being made with Turkey, but there is no grand European "Turkish strategy." On top of this, Turkey is no longer a functioning democracy, which rankles all the European leaders. But given a choice between Trump and Erdoğan, more and more of the leaders consider Erdoğan the lesser of two evils and are willing to work with him and do business with him.

This creates another internal conflict. Mark Rutte, the secretary general of NATO, has a plan to keep the U.S. in NATO. His plan is placate Trump by telling him that all the NATO members are going to raise defense spending to 5% of GDP, such as he ordered, and will spend all that money on American weapons—provided the U.S. stays in NATO and honors its commitments. Obviously, this is in conflict with the alternative plan of buying weapons from Turkey in the short run and building up home-grown defense companies in the long run. It will take some time for this to get sorted out. (V)

ACA Healthcare Premiums Will Skyrocket Next Year

Insurance premiums on the Affordable Care Act marketplace are set to go up by an average of 14% next year—on top of a double-digit jump this year. This could cost families thousands of dollars more next year. Insurers say that the cost of health care services has gone up and the expiration of ACA subsidies has forced them to raise premiums.

Given that people are already very upset about affordability, this is going to make it worse. This could work for the Democrats, especially since a major part of the cause was specific Republican legislation (reducing the subsidies). However, the enrollment period runs from Nov. 1 to Jan. 15 in most states. The election is Nov. 3. Very likely, many people will not be aware of their surging premiums until after they vote, and certainly not if they vote early or by absentee ballot. Democrats could point out that premiums will go up, but for many people that won't register until they see what they will personally have to pay.

The midterms aside, when people see their new premiums, healthy young people with not too much money may decide to wing it and not have health insurance. As long as they don't get sick, all is well. But if they get sick or have an accident, they could be in deep trouble. This year, ACA enrollment is 19 million, down from 22 million a year ago. Next year is will probably be lower still.

However, come January, all people using the ACA will know what their premium will be. Many will be mad as hell. While that won't matter for 2026, Democrats could already start talking about it for 2028. Affordability is not going to go away as an issue and higher health insurance costs are likely to be a big issue in 2028 as well and one the Republicans won't be able to escape due to lucky timing. (V)

Republicans Are Running Focus Groups Testing "Communism" as a Campaign Theme

It will be very difficult for Republicans to think of something to campaign on this fall. They can't talk about affordability because everyone is furious about it and most people blame them. They can't talk about foreign policy successes because there haven't been any "wins" (other than swapping one dictator for a different one in Venezuela) and the war in Iran isn't very popular. ICE is a selling point, but only among the hard-core base. The stock market is doing well but that is of interest to only people who have stocks, and increasingly many affluent stock-owning suburbanites are now Democrats. Jobs? More companies are laying off people than hiring new people.

So what is left? Republicans think they have a magic bullet. They are going to call the Democrats COMMUNISTS. Proof? Well, five Democratic Socialists won Democratic primaries in deep blue districts in deep blue states. Will it work? The GOP is field testing the idea now by running focus groups to see what people think of communists. The testing is ongoing, but some results are in. It seems that calling Democrats communists energizes the Republican base. If they can get every last one out there to vote, that is very valuable. On the other hand, it does not resonate with independents or young voters. It might actually resonate with some Democrats, but these are voters who like socialism and want more of it, which is not the effect the Republicans hope to achieve.

Since June 23, when three DSA members won primaries in NYC, Donald Trump has invoked "communism" 81 times, sometimes calling the victors hardcore, godless communists. The late Sen. Joe McCarthy would be proud of him. Trump doesn't need more focus groups. His gut knows enough. He is going to run against communists. He has always believed in a base-only strategy. He thinks that if he can get every last one of his supporters to the polls, he will win, even without independents.

The handful of Democrats who are actually socialists could try to come back by saying: "If you believe in taxing the rich, cutting wasteful military programs, and expanding social programs like Social Security, Medicare, and free school lunches, then you are a socialist." But Trump may be right that "communist" is such a loaded term that while an American politician might be able to survive being called a socialist, being labeled a communist could be fatal.

Of course, Republicans have been labeling Democrats as communists since the 1950s, with mixed success. In some specific districts, "communist" is particularly deadly. In Florida, where many people have escaped one communist regime or another in South America, calling someone a communist brings up memories of how it was back home before they escaped.

More generally, this strategy may not work, though. Amy Koch, a Republican strategist, said that communism has bad associations with voters over 55, but not with younger ones. Trump is 80, so he is very attuned to the Cold War and communism. This could put him out of step with the majority of voters. On the other hand, DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene thinks that voters care about kitchen table issues, not ideological labels. So the fall could consist of attacks on communism vs. attacks on affordability. (V)

Stevens and El-Sayed Debated in Michigan

On Tuesday, Michigan Democratic primary candidates Haley Stevens and Abdul El-Sayed had their third debate, but their first one without Mallory McMorrow, who has dropped out. It was more pointed that the earlier three-way debates, with the candidates vigorously challenging each other directly. Both are trying to pick up McMorrow's supporters.

Stevens, who is backed by almost the entire Democratic establishment, came out swinging. She needs to, since she is trailing El-Sayed in the polls. She said "I'm the only person running for United States Senate in Michigan who is not a millionaire. I am not trying to sell a book or a podcast. I'm the only one on this stage who doesn't have a talent agent trying to pitch me for paid speeches, and unlike my opponent, I'm not running at the first mic or camera I see. We do not need a celebrity senator, we need a workhorse." El-Sayed's pitch for the working class is weakened somewhat by his being a millionaire celebrity. He is not one of "the people."

Throughout the debate, El-Sayed hammered on the fact that he refuses to take corporate donations, which Stevens is willing to accept. When the moderator asked El-Sayed about how he would make life better for people in Michigan, he said he wants free health care, and to raise wages, improve schools, and fix roads. Of course, making the math work is impossible, but in a debate, who cares about math?

While El-Sayed talked about getting money out of politics, Stevens hit him on his own money. She released all of her tax returns long ago, and he is just getting around to it. The message here is: "What are you hiding?"

Another big issue is AIPAC. Stevens has been the (indirect) beneficiary of tens of millions of dollars of outside spending. She supports Israel but opposes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. El-Sayed attacked her over and over on this. That is likely to sit well with the state's 250,000 Muslims, the largest concentration of any state. AIPAC spending is clever, though. It rarely mentions Israel or the Middle East. It generally attacks its opponent on pure domestic issues, like the economy.

What didn't come up is electability. Some Democrats believe that the moderate Stevens is much more electable than the leftist El-Sayed in purple Michigan, which is not NYC. One of Stevens' best arguments is that she flipped a House seat that had long been held by a Republican. She can get Republican votes, something that El-Sayed is not going to be able to do.

The primary is Aug. 4. (V)

Judge Kills Trump's Plan to Collect Data about Election Workers

Donald Trump is continues to claim elections he lost have been rigged. However, he also claims that elections he won were rigged. He is trying to destroy the entire election process and have people lose faith in the very idea of free and fair elections. That gives him a basis for disputing any election whose outcome he disagrees with.

One of his many attempts to sabotage elections is his recent attempt to force Fulton County, GA, to turn over the names, addresses, and telephone numbers for thousands of election workers, presumably to harass them and scare off other people this year from signing up to be election workers. After all, if no one is willing to be a poll worker or drive a mobile voting van, then it won't be possible to hold elections, which is fine with Trump. He can then just rule by fiat.

Unfortunately for Trump, the DoJ's incompetence defeated him. His case for getting the information about the 2020 election workers was immediately thrown out by U.S. District Judge William Ray, one of his own appointees, because the request was made way after the statute of limitations had run out. The judge said the request was "staggering," but said the result might have been different had the suit been filed on time. At least it would have been considered on the merits then.

But it probably wouldn't have won even then. In his ruling, the judge wrote: "Thus, everyone, whether you support the President or you do not, or whether you believe the 2020 Election was fair or believe that it was not, should be concerned about the DoJ's ability to utilize the power of the Grand Jury to appropriate your private information without a legitimate purpose." In effect the judge saw no purpose in the request. After all, grand juries are there to indict people for crimes and the request did not assert any crimes. (V)

Maryland Starts the Redistricting Process for 2028

The redistricting wars are almost over for 2026, but they are just starting for 2028. In that round, blue states like California, Illinois, Maryland and New York are going to go for the max and try to eliminate (almost) every red district. It will be brutal and the district maps are going to make Elbridge Gerry roll over in his grave in horror.

It looks like Maryland will go first for 2028. Step 1 is to pass an amendment to the state Constitution that will pass constitutional muster when the legislature begins the gerrymandering circus next year. If the legislature passes the amendment it wants, it will go before the voters in November. If it passes, in January, the legislature will eliminate the one remaining red district and make Maryland an 8-0 shutout for the blue team. Other states are likely to follow then.

Gov. Wes Moore (D-MD) is fully on board with getting rid of all the red districts in the state. He said: "For months, I have said that inaction is not an option and we cannot sit on the sidelines while voting rights, fair representation and the foundations of our democracy come under attack across the country." To achieve this, he has called for a special session of the state legislature for August 3-5, to put the amendment on the ballot.

One obstacle to the redistricting is no more, thanks to the Supreme Court. The president of the state Senate, Bill Ferguson, blocked an earlier attempt to draw a new map But now that the Supreme Court helped the rest of the Voting Rights Act out of its misery and Southern states began planning on changing their maps for 2028, Ferguson has given up his resistance. It is now very likely that the amendment will be put on the ballot and pass and come January, Maryland will become another blue shutout state, along with Connecticut, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New Mexico, and Rhode Island. A number of the lower-population red states have all-Republican congressional delegations. The end-game here is the electoral college: States have an all blue or all red congressional delegation, making voting unnecssary. (V)

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