Everything We Missed While We Obsessed Over Graham Platner

Healthcare, housing, and more issues that mattered.

You’ve seen the news by now that Sen. Lindsey Graham has passed away – conspiracy theories are already abound, given that just three days ago, he was in Ukraine on a mission to force Russia to end its four-year war.

Politics moves fast. And it reminds us of an important point: it’s easy for BIG stories to disappear overnight.

Which brings us to Maine.

Over the weekend, the state Democratic Party detailed its process for selecting a new U.S. Senate nominee: 601 delegates including state committee members and delegates appointed by each county party will come together on July 25 to conduct multiple rounds of voting until a candidate gets a majority.

Our congratulations to the Maine Democrats for putting together such a transparent process under these circumstances. Whoever the new candidate is, they’ve got time to win this thing in November. Godspeed!

That’s also the last time we’re mentioning Maine in this column.

Because while we were melting down over this, a lot happened that matters for November. Yes, there was room to talk about Trump: his plane snafu and his on-again-off-again war in Iran dominated headlines too. But we’re talking about the other issues: new reporting on Republican cuts to healthcare. The bipartisan housing bill that Trump won’t sign. And even in the world of elections, some great news for Democrats that came and went without the fanfare it deserved.

We get why folks are anxious about finally defeating Susan Collins. But let’s not miss the forest for the pine trees.

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1. Republicans’ cuts to healthcare are already hurting families

You remember the GOP’s healthcare plan: slash $1 trillion in healthcare funding – the “biggest rollback in federal support for health coverage ever” – but hide it in provisions of the “Big, Beautiful Bill” that don’t kick in until 2027 so you can stay in power after the midterms.

Brutal but brilliant, right?

Well, it’s not really working out that way.

We saw headline after headline this week about how Republican cuts to healthcare are already being felt by patients and doctors:

• New CMS data showed Obamacare enrollment is plummeting in states like Arizona, Ohio, and Michigan, part of a national drop of 13%, or 3 million people, since last year.

• A KFF analysis revealed that ACA premiums could increase as much as one-third over the next two years. That’s coming after premium tax credits expired last year, leading to a 58% average increase in premiums and deductibles of about $1,000 more per person.

• Reuters reported on rural health clinics that are already shutting down before the cuts kick in, including in battleground Iowa, and pointed to a recent poll showing healthcare was the cost voters most wanted Congress to address.

This is not acceptable. It is outrageous. But don’t take our word for it – that’s what Nancy Pelosi wrote in USA Today this week. She pointed out that these Republican cuts will see 16 million Americans lose their health insurance by 2034, and that while people suffer, Trump is focused on tax breaks and Iran. She sees what the rest of us must: that this is a top, maybe even the top, midterm issue.

2. Trump refused to sign an important housing bill

Housing affordability keeps defining elections: 80% of voters said they were concerned about housing costs in the 2024 election; it was the centerpiece of Mayor Mamdani’s win in New York City last year; it even became a top issue in New Jersey and Virginia.

Trump was literally elected on promises to “make America affordable again” and “get the prices down.”

That brings us to June, when Congress approved the 21st Century Road to Housing Act by a 358-32 vote. The AP called it the “broadest federal effort in decades” to address housing affordability: it aims to lower the cost of housing by reducing regulations, streamlining environmental reviews, speeding up construction and reducing the influence of corporate landlords.

Is it a silver bullet for housing costs? Absolutely not. But it’s a huge step in the right direction, and one the president could’ve taken credit for – had he not thrown a tantrum over it. First he canceled a ceremony for it, then, this week, he said he’d refuse to sign it altogether, in “PROTEST” over his stalled voting bill.

(The bill will become law anyway, because under the Constitution, bills that pass both houses of Congress become law without a presidential signature or veto within 10 days).

It is an extraordinary own-goal: a president refusing to sign a landmark housing affordability bill that more than 200 Republicans in Congress sent his way. Dems have a pretty obvious argument to make: the President is more interested in meddling with elections than he is with getting you into a home.

3. Democrats are breaking fundraising records

Healthcare and housing should be top of mind for Democrats this November. But even if you just want to talk about winning the race… team blue had a good week on that front too!

Two of our most important Senate candidates smashed through fundraising records:

• In Alaska, a must-win flip for a Democratic majority, former Rep. Mary Peltola raised $7 million. Her campaign called it a record second-quarter haul for any Senate candidate in the state.

• In Texas, state Rep. James Talarico has a record of his own: a whopping $30 million, the most any U.S. Senate candidate has raised in the second quarter of an election year, and more than triple Ken Paxton’s sum.

Both these candidates have recent polling news to celebrate too: Peltola is within the margin-of-error in the NYT/Siena poll in Alaska (45% to Sullivan’s 47%) and, from the same pollster, Talarico is dead even with Paxton in Texas (47%-47%).

Good news at the national level too, as the Senate Majority PAC, aligned with Sen. Chuck Schumer, had its best-ever second quarter at $147 million. As the New York Times reported this week, Dems are still playing catch up with the GOP, but the party is far along that road.

These races are winnable. The House and Senate are winnable.

But in order to get that victory, we need to stay focused on what matters. $1 trillion in Republican healthcare cuts. A president who cares more about holding onto power than he does about housing or inflation. And yes, even when it comes to elections, we have to remember we’re playing to win in nearly ten states, including Alaska and Texas, where our candidates are crushing it.

Good luck to our Democratic friends up north. We’ll talk again later.