Democrats Sweep Elections in Crucial Swing State |
Democrats Sweep Elections in Crucial Swing State
Democrats also had a strong showing in Georgia.
Up north, Wisconsin Democrats increased their state Supreme Court majority to 5–2 and won a mayoral race in the typically Republican city of Waukesha.
Down south, a Georgia Democrat narrowly lost a house district Donald Trump carried by 34 points in 2024.
In all, Tuesday was an election night that bodes well for Democrats come midterm season.
In Wisconsin—a swing state that Trump won by less than a percentage point in 2024—liberal judge Chris Taylor crushed her GOP-backed opponent, Maria Lazar, by 20 points. It was about double the margin of victory that Susan Crawford, another liberal judge, had attained in a Wisconsin Supreme Court election last year.
Lest one think the Wisconsin Supreme Court is a nothingburger of a political entity, that 2025 race became the most expensive state Supreme Court race in U.S. history after Elon Musk funneled millions into backing the GOP candidate, Brad Schimel, in an attempt to flip what was at the time a 4–3 liberal lean. After Musk’s candidate lost, he quietly moved on to his other passions, such as being racist on social media and tax evasion.
Without a majority on the line this year, it was a less extravagant affair: $6.5 million was spent on advertising, compared to $85 million in 2025. (It should also be noted that Taylor greatly outspent Lazar.) Nonetheless, the margin of victory was surprisingly one-sided. Taylor even won the reliably Republican Ozaukee County.
In Waukesha, after a Republican mayor who declared himself an independent in 2024 decided not to run for reelection, Democrat Alicia Halvensleben bested Republican Scott Allen in a race decided by 2.4 percentage points. Trump had won the city by six points in 2024.
In Georgia, Shawn Harris was not as lucky as those up north; the Democrat lost by 12 points to Republican Clay Fuller for the House seat vacated by Marjorie Taylor Greene. But in some ways, Harris’s performance was the most impressive of all. Trump won rural Chattooga County by 37 points in 2024, meaning Harris shifted the district a stunning 25 points to the left.
“The takeaway is this: If Democrats, independents, and Republicans can do this in a ruby-red district, the Democrats can win anywhere,” Harris said in his concession speech. “Nobody ever thought that we would ever be this close.”
Republicans Set to Let Bondi Get Away Without Testifying on Epstein
The Justice Department has abandoned its plan to have Pam Bondi testify—and it doesn’t look like Republicans are going to make her.
Republicans may let former Attorney General Pam Bondi out of her subpoena to testify before the House Oversight Committee.
In a statement Wednesday, a spokesperson for the committee said, “The Department of Justice has stated Pam Bondi will not appear on April 14 for a deposition since she is no longer Attorney General and was subpoenaed in her capacity as Attorney General. The Committee will contact Pam Bondi’s personal counsel to discuss next steps regarding scheduling her deposition.”
Five Republicans voted with every Democrat on the committee to issue the subpoena last month, only for President Trump to fire Bondi last week. Now her testimony before Congress seems to be in jeopardy. House Oversight Chair James Comer has remained silent on the issue, as others on the committee try to pressure him to still hold Bondi accountable.
“Now that Pam Bondi has been fired, she’s trying to get out of her legal obligation to testify before the Oversight Committee about the Epstein files and the White House cover-up,” said Democratic Representative Robert Garcia, the committee’s ranking member, in a statement. “She must come in to testify immediately, and if she defies the subpoena, we will begin contempt charges in the Congress.”
In a statement Wednesday, Republican Representative Nancy Mace said that Bondi was still required to testify.
“The subpoena requires Pam Bondi to appear for a sworn deposition regarding the Department of Justice’s handling of the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein and his associates and compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Bondi’s removal as Attorney General doesn’t erase her obligation to testify and does not end Congressional oversight,” Mace posted on X.
Mace and Democratic Representative Ro Khanna sent a letter to Comer Tuesday urging him to reaffirm Bondi’s obligation to testify. But if the statement from the committee’s spokesperson is any indication, Bondi won’t have to answer under oath for how she has handled various scandals within the Department of Justice, including her handling of the Epstein files, the mass resignations, and how the DOJ repeatedly ignored court orders.
JD Vance Proves Irony Is Dead as He Calls Out “Preposterous” Behavior
Vance made one heck of a comment while campaigning for the right-wing Viktor Orbán in Hungary.
On Wednesday, Vice President JD Vance declared that it would be “scandalous,” “preposterous,” and “unacceptable” to threaten the leadership of an allied nation—something President Trump has done multiple times in his second term.
Vance was commenting on a flippant remark last month by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy—who is currently beefing with Hungary’s authoritarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán—who suggested Ukrainian soldiers could show up at Orbán’s home to “communicate with him in his own language.”
“I wasn’t even aware that Zelenskiy said that he was gonna send private soldiers to the prime minister’s residence until yesterday.… Almost couldn’t believe it’s true, but it’s true. It’s completely scandalous,” Vance said while speaking at a panel at a Hungarian university as part of his diplomatic support tour for Orbán. “You should never have a foreign head of government … threatening the head of government of an allied nation.”
JD Vance in Hungary: "You should never have a foreign head of state threatening the head of government of an allied nation. It's preposterous, it's unacceptable." pic.twitter.com/5Wk9zPUT6s— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 8, 2026
JD Vance in Hungary: "You should never have a foreign head of state threatening the head of government of an allied nation. It's preposterous, it's unacceptable." pic.twitter.com/5Wk9zPUT6s
This comment is “preposterous.” Trump spent the first months of his second term........