May 19 -- Political Strategy Notes

Reads of the Week include:

In “Billionaire Trump’s Secret Trading Spree Alarms Wall Street,” Laura Eposito writes at Daily Beast: “Donald Trump’s Wall Street side hustle is starting to look like a full-time job…During the first three months of 2026, the billionaire president pocketed tens of millions of dollars through 3,700 investment trades involving companies with direct ties to his administration…“This is an insane amount of trades,” Matthew Tuttle, chief executive officer of Tuttle Capital Management, told Bloomberg, which first obtained the 79-year-old president’s financial disclosures…Overall, Trump disclosed at least $220 million in financial transactions earlier this year, including trades in securities tied to major U.S. companies…“I’m baffled,” said Eric Diton, president at The Wealth Alliance, an investment advisory firm, told Bloomberg. “In the 40-plus years of my time on Wall Street, this is an unusual amount of trading by any standards.”…Trump’s frequent trading doesn’t bode well in the eyes of Americans.

May 18 -- Oren Cass Interviews Ruy Teixeira

At commonplace.org, Oren Cass interviews Ruy Teixeira:

The Democratic Party continues to reel from its 2024 electoral defeat and struggles to connect with the American people. But the party remains captured by special interests and sacred cows that its leaders refuse to confront.

Few understand this dynamic better than Ruy Teixeira, author and senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, and founder of The Liberal Patriot, a now-defunct newsletter. 

May 15 -- Jungle Primaries Under Renewed Attack

by Ed Kilgore

The messy and unpredictable California gubernatorial primary is causing renewed heartburn among Democrats about non-partisan “jungle” primaries like that state’s top-two system, as I explain at New York.

For decades, many Democratic and Republican centrists (along with good-government types) have blamed partisan primaries for a lot of our political system’s ills. In 2009, one Republican centrist from California, Abel Maldonado, had a chance to do something about it, as CalMatters recently explained:

“In a top-two system, labeled a ‘jungle primary’ by its opponents, all candidates for an office are listed on the same ballot and the two top finishers, regardless of party, then duel in the November general election.

“It came about because in 2009, Democratic leaders of the state Senate desperately needed one more vote to pass a controversial budget and turned to moderate Republican Sen. Abel Maldonado to provide it. However, Maldonado — with the support of then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger — insisted that his vote hinged on placing the top-two primary before voters.

“Democrats eventually agreed and Proposition 14, creating the top-two system, appeared on the June 2010 primary ballot with Maldonado and Schwarzenegger contending that it would give moderates and pragmatists in both parties better chances of winning legislative and congressional seats. The leaders of every political party opposed the measure but voters passed it handily.”

May 15 -- Re-energized Civil Rights Movement Cranks Up This Weekend

From “The New Civil Rights Movement Starts Now” at The Contrarian:

Democracy is not a spectator sport. Whether you want to exercise your right to vote, join a protest, call your elected officials, run for office, or keep tabs on the week’s hottest issues and protests, The Contrarian has you covered.



Here are our top suggestions for getting involved in the days ahead. These are heated times; we encourage non-violent and lawful activism.

Republicans across the South are using the cover of the Supreme Court’s execrable Callais decision to dilute the power of Black and Brown voters. In response, voting rights advocates are organizing an All Roads Lead to the South day of protest and action on Saturday, May 16.

May 14 -- More Political Strategy Notes

by J. P. Green

More Reads of the Week include:

From “Working Class Weekly: Cracks Emerge Among White Working Class Voters in North Carolina” at The Working Class Project: “In late April, we conducted two virtual focus groups with white working class swing voters in North Carolina– one with women, one with men. Most participants voted for Trump in 2024…As one of two Republican-held U.S. Senate seats rated “tossup,” North Carolina is a top-tier battleground in the midterms. And following Senator Thom Tillis’ retirement, the state is one of Democrats’ best pickup opportunities. The race is between former Gov. Roy Cooper and RNC Chair Michael Whatley after both secured their nominations. The state also boasts several competitive House races and several that are on the cusp of being competitive if conditions continue to shift against President Trump and Congressional Republicans…

May 13 -- GOP Will Pay Very High Price for Its Assault on Black Representation

by Ed Kilgore

Watching with horror the Supreme Court-enabled assault on majority-Black districts made me tremble with fear for the 2026 midterms, but also tremble with fury at the GOP, as I explained at New York:

Republicans from Donald Trump on down are excited that the landmark Supreme Court ruling in Louisiana v. Callais has invited a wave of partisan gerrymanders in states they control. This could save GOP control of the House in November’s elections, and lead to even bigger gains over the next few election cycles. The Virginia Supreme Court’s shock decision on Friday invalidating a voter-approved retaliatory pro-Democratic gerrymander in that state has added to their excitement. But Republicans would be wise to take a beat to think about what the gerrymandering frenzy is likely to do to their efforts to shed their reputation as a lily-white party hostile to minority voters.

May 13 -- Trump’s Ballroom – A Perfect Symbol for Republican Candidates

by J. P. Green

The guys at “Pod Save America” have a mission for Democrats, especially 2026 candidates. It is to make the Republicans, particularly their candidates, repeatedly own Trump’s ballroom. The Pod guys insist, with good reason, that the ballroom is the perfect symbol to highlight GOP arrogance and coddling the super-wealthy.

Trump’s Ballroom may be the biggest gift Republicans have ever presented to Democrats. Its funding should be a relentless theme repeated by Democrats every day from now until the midterms. But it is important, indeed mandatory, to lay it at the feet of the G.O.P., not just the president, again and again.

Democrats waste a lot of time and effort just bashing Trump, while allowing all of his enablers to avoid blame. It’s been like shooting a fish in a barrel. Yes, just one fish, the one who is already drowning in his own sinking approval ratings, while enabling the party’s minnows to swim around with no accountability. But it is the minnows who are running for Congress this year.