Thank you for watching! In the face of unrelenting disinformation and authoritarian actions, clear truth-telling and independent media are a necessity. If you value pro-democracy journalism, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber to my newsletter. Paid subscribers empower this work and gain access to exclusive benefits. Your support makes a difference.
Charles Douglas just got back from Tennessee and California, leading teams of door-knockers. We had a lot of ground to cover. Six states held primaries Tuesday, and the results give us some insights into where the Democratic Party is heading, where it is still stuck, and what the midterm map actually looks like heading into November. We covered all of it.
The California results were messy, but we had some interesting takeaways. The Iowa results confirmed something else: Trump’s grip on his own party is not as iron-clad as the press keeps treating it. And New Jersey is quietly setting up one of the most important House flips on the board.
Then we got into Graham Platner. The live chat wanted to hear our takes. What followed was one of the most honest conversations I have had on this show about the impossible moral mathematics of electoral politics in an existential moment. Charles spoke from a place I cannot fully speak from: he is an organizer who has to make real decisions about where to deploy real people, sometimes in spite of his personal feelings. I spoke from my own perspective: someone who believes in redemption, but has my own hard moral lines, and my own frustrations with a candidate who I believe knew what was in his background and ran anyway. If you are looking for a nuanced discussion on the Graham Platner situation, you will find it here.
You can watch our full conversation above and read key takeaways below.
Primary Night Takeaways: California, Iowa & New Jersey
Six states voted Tuesday. Here are our takeaways:
California races were hit or miss. The catastrophic scenario of two Republicans in the top two did not happen. Becerra holds the second slot behind Hilton as votes are being counted. But the way it happened tells the real story: Swalwell dropping out and a Democratic Party that could not consolidate around one or two alternatives. When it comes to the LA Mayor race, the votes are still being counted, but how well Spencer Pratt is doing is more a referendum on Karen Bass’s leadership than a broad rebuke of the Democratic Party. The Randy Villegas result in Bakersfield is the bright spot nobody is talking about enough. He is outperforming the DCCC-backed candidate with AOC behind him, growing up in the city he is running in, and talking a Trump voter around at the door in 90-degree heat. That is the model California’s governor race was missing entirely.
Iowa was the real story of the night, and Trump lost it. Randy Feenstra, Trump’s endorsed pick for Iowa governor, lost to businessman Zach Lahn, making him the first statewide Trump endorsee to lose a primary in 2026. On the Democratic side, Josh Turek, a Paralympian with a remarkable biographical story, won the Senate primary and moved the race from likely Republican to leaning Republican. Rob Sand on the governor side gives Democrats two strong candidates in a state they had written off. Charles made the point that Chuck Schumer’s strategic read on red states is correct: moderate enough in Iowa, working class first everywhere, and let the further left energy live in the blue cities where it can pull the Overton window and give battleground candidates room to run as the reasonable alternative.
New Jersey’s Tom Kean Jr. is a ghost, and Democrats are taking that seat. He has missed over 100 votes, ran unopposed, and barely won last time in a state that is moving left. The Democratic candidate coming up is another populist challenger, a regular person giving voters something to vote for in addition to something to vote against. In a narrow House majority, this is one of the most important races on the board, and it is not getting the attention it deserves.
Graham Platner: Putting Dems In A Terrible Situation
The chat wanted us to talk about this. And we gave it the time it deserved: an honest conversation between two people who care about democracy and came at this from genuinely different places.
What we know about the controversies: The New York Times interviewed women who had been romantically involved with Platner, some of whom spoke highly of him. Others called his behavior “unsettling” and described their time with him as “toxic” or volatile. One woman, Lyndsey Fifield, a right-wing operative who worked at the Heritage Foundation, said Platner got rough with her physically. You can read the full New York Times piece for yourself in a gift link here.
This follows earlier controversies, including deleted Reddit posts and a tattoo on his chest that has a Nazi association. The most recent controversy stems from reports that he exchanged sexually explicit messages with multiple women during his marriage, an issue that campaign aides were reportedly aware of as his Senate bid was taking shape.
Charles has a hard line on violence, and he stated it clearly. Charles said violence is a philosophical non-starter for him. He believes people should be talked to and reasoned with. That is where he stands. He said it without hedging.
The operational reality is what it is, and Charles had to say that out loud too. Charles runs an organization that is charged with participating in this electoral moment and getting others to do the same. The math on the Senate is the math. There are a handful of viable seats that can flip the chamber, and Maine is one of them. Janet Mills halted her campaign in April, and much of the party establishment has consolidated behind Platner. You do not get to choose based purely on your feelings when the alternative is someone who will vote with an authoritarian administration most of the time. Charles said that plainly: it is a shitty reality, it is so messed up, but the people of Maine get to make their decision and then you push the better person over the line.
My personal reaction was different, and I want to be honest about where it comes from. I have talked on this show about struggling with alcoholism in high school and being sober for over a decade. I believe in redemption. I believe people can change. I have made arguments on this very show about giving people a pathway back after they have done terrible things. But the accumulation of what keeps coming out about Platner makes me wonder what else is still coming. And my personal take, separate from any political calculation, is that it was incredibly selfish of him to have run when he knew this stuff was in his background. I had to say it.
Republicans do not get to have this conversation, and I will not let them. This is a point I want to make clearly because I am going to be on national TV panels again soon, and this will come up. Democrats are struggling publicly with the moral side of a flawed candidate because we have moral standards and we are trying to reconcile them with existential political stakes. That is not hypocrisy. That is what people of conscience do. Republicans, on the other hand, do not deserve to be part of this conversation. They have no room to talk. They enthusiastically backed Trump after he was found liable for sexually abusing E. Jean Carroll among his mountain of depraved activity. They backed Roy Moore, a credibly accused child abuser. They back Ken Paxton, a man impeached by his own party. None of them apologized. None of them grappled with their conduct. This is an internal debate for the Democratic Party to have about who they are, what they will tolerate, and what winning actually costs.
The community found its own nuanced conclusion. The chat throughout this conversation was measured, thoughtful, and genuinely engaged. People came in with strong feelings and stayed with the complexity. That is what this show is for. The primary is Tuesday in Maine. The voters there will decide. Whatever they decide, that decision will come with real costs either way, and the people of Maine are the ones who get to make it.
Thank you all for sticking around for a nuanced conversation like this. It means a lot that you show up for each conversation with an open mind and assuming good faith from the guests I have on this platform. Thank you all and have a great weekend!
If this conversation mattered to you, I hope you consider becoming a paid subscriber to Ahmed Baba News. If you’re already a paid subscriber, thank you! Independent pro-democracy journalism only works if people back it. And if you’d like to get involved and knock doors this election year, I also highly recommend checking out Common Power.
