Elections in Indiana, Ohio and Michigan on Tuesday reinforced a picture that's becoming increasingly clear — while President Donald Trump still dominates the Republican Party, Democrats seem to have the momentum ahead of November's midterm elections. Plus, the latest polling on immigration, resurgent redistricting efforts and Washington bureau chief Anna Johnson's weekly picks. |
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A note to our readers:
Ground Game is taking a break next week, as I travel to Houston for a procedure related to my ongoing care at MD Anderson Cancer Center. Don’t worry! I am coming up on 5 years of having no evidence of disease, but there are lingering effects that must be treated.
I often say it on social media, and I'll say it here:
Self-exam. Get a mammogram. Advocate for yourself. (And that last part is the most important. If you don’t know how to advocate for yourself — reach out to me.)
See you on May 18 —
Meg |
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President Donald Trump speaks before signing a proclamation in the Oval Office at the White House, Tuesday, May 5, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) |
Takeaways from Indiana, Ohio and Michigan: Trump's flex pays off and Democrats win special election — By Jonathan J. Cooper, Humera Lodhi & Simran Parwani
The biggest test of Trump's power came in Indiana, where he backed primary challenges against seven Republican state senators who rejected his redistricting plan in December. His intervention mostly paid off: Five of the president's candidates won with the help of an avalanche of cash. One incumbent won, and a seventh contest was too close to call on Tuesday night.
The races were a test of Trump's enduring grip over his party as Republicans grow increasingly anxious about the midterm elections. By winning most of them, Trump sent a signal to Republicans everywhere that they can still get thrown out of office if they distance themselves from him even as his popularity fades. And they show the president that he can still credibly threaten consequences for Republicans who cross him.
Democrats believe their path back to a U.S. Senate majority runs through Ohio, and they're putting their hopes behind former Sen. Sherrod Brown, who lost Ohio's other Senate seat to Bernie Moreno in 2024. Brown easily won the Democratic nomination Tuesday and will face off with Republican Sen. Jon Husted, who was appointed last year to fill the vacancy created when JD Vance became vice president.
In the campaign for governor, Republican Vivek Ramaswamy won his primary decisively, after largely ignoring GOP rival Casey Putsch and focusing his rallies and television ads on the general election.
Democrat Chedrick Greene won a state Senate seat in a closely matched district. It's just one special election months out from the midterms, but in a preeminent battleground like Michigan, all political tea leaves are carefully analyzed. The state has one of the top U.S. Senate contests this November and is crucial in deciding presidential elections.
And Greene's victory gives Democrats a firm majority in the state Senate, while a Republican win would have deadlocked the chamber in a 19-19 tie.
Read more from Cooper, Lodhi & Parwani on Tuesday's results. |
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An abortion-rights activist holds a box of mifepristone pills as demonstrators from both anti-abortion and abortion-rights groups rally outside the Supreme Court in Washington, March 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades) |
Abortion pill rulings bring the issue back to the forefront in a midterm election year — By Ali Swenson
— Ali takes a deeper look at how recent abortion pill court rulings could put the contentious political issue back in the spotlight during the midterms.
Redistricting is rampant ahead of the US House midterm elections. What states are taking action? — By David A. Lieb
— As more states take up redistricting, David takes a step back and provides a comprehensive view of where things stand across the country — and the story includes a helpful map.
Vice President Vance woos Iowa Republican voters ahead of 2028 — By Michelle L. Price
— Michelle traveled with Vance on Air Force Two for this on-the-ground look at his first trip as vice president to Iowa (which will be the first state to choose a Republican nominee for president in 2028). |
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Demonstrators march down Fifth Avenue during a protest against war in Venezuela and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Jan. 11, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa) |
For many Americans, Trump's immigration crackdown is personal, new AP-NORC poll shows — By Linley Sanders, Tim Sullivan & Mike Catalini
Most U.S. adults say the United States is no longer a great place for immigrants, according to a new AP-NORC poll, as about one-third of Americans report knowing someone impacted by the Trump administration's aggressive immigration enforcement.
A new survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research of more than 2,500 U.S. adults finds about 6 in 10 say the country used to be a great place for immigrants but is not anymore.
About one-third of U.S. adults — and more than half of Hispanic adults — say that over the last year they, or someone they know, have started carrying proof of their immigration status or U.S. citizenship, been detained or deported, changed travel plans, or significantly changed routines, such as avoiding work, school or leaving the house, because of their immigration status.
The poll comes as the Supreme Court is considering whether the Trump administration should be allowed to restrict birthright citizenship, as well as following months of sweeping immigration enforcement and mass deportations of immigrants. About two-thirds of U.S. adults in the poll say automatic citizenship should be granted to all children born in the country, a view that most Democrats and independents back.
Republicans are more doubtful: just 44% support birthright citizenship. The poll also shows that some people are conflicted, saying in general that they support birthright citizenship but also that they oppose it in some specific circumstances. Read more from Sanders, Sullivan and Catalini on the new polling.
View the AP-NORC Polling tracker. |
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Rep. Justin J. Pearson, D-Memphis, center, marches with protesters before a special session of the state legislature to redraw U.S. Congressional voting maps, in Nashville, Tenn., Tuesday, May 5, 2026. (AP Photo/George Walker IV) |
Nashville-based photographer George Walker IV was there as protesters marched on the Tennessee state capitol ahead of a special legislative session that could carve up a majority-Black district in Memphis.
As civil rights advocates protest, Republican lawmakers in several Southern states are seizing on the opportunity afforded by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling to redraw congressional districts ahead of the November midterm elections.
Read more of our reporting on redistricting debates across the South. |
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