Events Email Briefings
rotating globe
Privacy© 2026 Semafor Inc.
  • D.C.
  • BXL
  • Lagos
  • Riyadh
  • Beijing
  • SG
Events Email Briefings

Intelligence for the New World Economy

  • D.C.
  • BXL
  • Lagos
Semafor Logo
  • Riyadh
  • Beijing
  • SG
rotating globe
Intelligence for the New World Economy
Semafor World Economy
David Weigel

David Weigel

Politics Reporter, Semafor

Email David

Democrats recommend South Carolina to host first 2028 primary

The Democratic National Committee’s rules and bylaws committee recommended keeping the state at the front of their primary calendar.
Rep. James Clyburn
Brendan McDermid/Reuters

Manchin launches council to elect independents

“We’re trying to build a true independent network,” the former senator told Semafor.
Joe Manchin
David Swanson/Reuters

Democrats crash their own party

Democrats are tending towards do-overs that might create a problem for their base.
Ben Wikler, the chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, campaigns for Democratic presidential nominee and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris in Madison, Wisconsin, U.S. October 22, 2024.
Joel Angel Juarez/Reuters

Center-left Democrats seek distance from Medicare for All

The center-left Searchlight Institute is urging Democrats to work toward universal healthcare in ways that don’t disrupt private insurance.
Bernie Sanders
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., at a Medicare for All rally in 2019. Aaron P. Bernstein/Reuters

How Democrats learned to embrace Native American land acknowledgments

The party has kept to a formal custom that Republicans at times try to turn into a culture-war wedge issue.

Evers’ endorsement shuffles Wisconsin gubernatorial race

The endorsement capped days of chaos ahead of the August Democratic primary.
Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley
Daniel Steinle/Reuters

Progressive catches momentum in Maine Senate race

Maine Democrats appear poised to nominate Troy Jackson for Senate.

How Obama fits into Democratic centrists’ comeback plot

Recent campaigns have revealed how hard it is for the Democrats to fight an insurgency without a clear leader.

Sanders-backed progressives try to make AI the new AIPAC

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Tuesday moratorium on data centers follows a growing campaign on the left to harness grassroots opposition to the projects.

Gay Wyoming Republican sues members of his own party for ‘pedophile’ slur

“I’ve never experienced anything like this in my entire life,” said Reid Rasner, who’s running for Wyoming’s sole House seat.

A defiant Platner exits Maine Senate race

The Maine Democrat denied new allegations of sexual assault but conceding that he couldn’t keep running after his party abandoned him.

Why Platner’s implosion won’t singe the Sanders wing

The founding myth of the Sanders camp is that it sits outside the Democratic Party. But the reality is that he and his faithful are now inside.

The hunt is on for Platner’s replacement in Maine

Maine Democrats accused Graham Platner’s Senate campaign of putting a “thumb on the scale” in the debate over how to replace him.

Sanders ends his silence on Platner’s implosion

The Vermont senator declined to urge Maine Democrats to replace the beleaguered candidate with a like-minded progressive.

Democrats want a Platner replacement

Maine Democrats could choose another candidate by July 27 if Graham Platner quits by July 13.

Progressives see polling, candidate momentum in Michigan

State Sen. Mallory McMorrow dropped her Senate bid, narrowing the Democratic primary for an open seat to Abdul El-Sayed and Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich.

Israel emerges as new Democratic litmus test

Democratic incumbents trying to run on holding Trump accountable are losing to progressive challengers willing to criticize Israel support.

The decline of the impeachment voter, and other midterm lessons so far

The first half of the 2026 primary season has seen progressives — and Trump — win big.