Lauren Egan

How Maine Became a Fight for the Soul of the Democratic Party Upstart Graham Platner disavows his shitposting past; Gov. Janet Mills’s establishment allies insist she’s not too old.

Is Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner's populist campaign too good to be true? We are about to find out.

The latest edition of The Opposition from @lauren-egan.bsky.social: www.thebulwark.com/p/maine-sena...

Are Dems Gonna Wimp Out on Redistricting? Beneath the bravado are signs the party is skittish.

"Beneath the surface, there are already signs that the party may not be up for the fight, that the tough talk is bluster, that the gun they may bring to the fight is filled with blanks."

@lauren-egan.bsky.social on the fight over Texas Republicans' redistricting: www.thebulwark.com/p/are-dems-g...

Buttigieg Returns to Iowa—With Beard and Baggage He’s no longer the mayor from out of nowhere. He’s an ex-cabinet official now. But with that resume comes some burdens.

"Buttigieg Returns to Iowa—With Beard and Baggage."

@lauren-egan.bsky.social reports from Cedar Rapids:
www.thebulwark.com/p/pete-butti...

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TONIGHT: We’re hosting a Bulwark+ ONLY emergency briefing on the major changes to our nation’s healthcare system that Trump and his Republican allies are pushing.

Subscribe now and join @citizencohn.bsky.social and @samsteindc.bsky.social at 9 PM ET: www.thebulwark.com/subscribe?co...

The Hard Calls Dems Must Make to Regain Power Democrats want to win over more moderate voters. But are they willing to adopt moderate positions?

Democrats want to win over more moderate voters. But are they willing to adopt moderate positions?

Read my latest:

www.thebulwark.com/p/hard-calls...

The Hard Calls Dems Must Make to Regain Power Democrats want to win over more moderate voters. But are they willing to adopt moderate positions?

"Tim Walz said he was 'pessimistic' about the party’s chances to win back the chamber....But what stood out for me beyond Walz’s dark assessment was how little he had to say about what 'change' for Democrats should look like."

New from @lauren-egan.bsky.social: www.thebulwark.com/p/hard-calls...

JB Pritzker, aka Coconutbigboy, Is Ready to Be Memed The Illinois governor is subtly embracing his online persona as Genghis Khan.

This weird online culture that has begun to develop around Pritzker is more than just bad photoshops designed to generate a few chuckles and more than a few shares. It could really matter.

New from @lauren-egan.bsky.social: www.thebulwark.com/p/jb-pritzke...

Pro-Palestinian Activists Gave Trump a Boost. They Have No Regrets. Groups that rallied against Biden and Harris say they’d do it all over again.

"Biden could hardly step outside... without being confronted by pro-Palestine activists," notes @lauren-egan.bsky.social. But "Trump rarely, if ever, faces a heckle."

And most "pro-Palestine voters and groups who called for opposing" or ditching Biden and Harris don't "feel even a tinge of regret."

Biden World Starts Its Rehabilitation Tour And not everyone is thrilled.

Losing elections doesn’t mean politicians and their top aides are cast off to political Siberia never to be heard from again. But the re-emergence of these Biden figures is coming at a delicate time.

@lauren-egan.bsky.social on the end of Biden World's hibernation:

SCOOP: Two Democratic aides and a lawmaker told @adriancarrasquillo.bsky.social that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has discouraged further member excursions to El Salvador

America Always Sucked: A Case for Optimism Morgan Bulkeley and how to make yourself feel better by realizing that the wheels are always falling off the cart.

Man, do I have a story for you today . . .
www.thebulwark.com/p/america-al...

Help us break 100K Hey guys, it’s Sarah.

Most of what we do, we give away totally free. That’s because we believe that you can’t save democracy from behind a paywall.

But if you support this mission, if you want to ride with us here at The Bulwark, now is the time to do it.

Inside the Democrats’ Attempts to Stave Off Financial Death Major efforts are underway to plan for Trump killing the party’s main online giving platform, even as the committees rush to defend it.

Democrats’ instinct to rally around ActBlue might be in part due to their belief that they must stand up to Trump. But it also betrays the fact that they do not currently have a good alternative to the service. New from @lauren-egan.bsky.social: www.thebulwark.com/p/actblue-in...

Dems Want New Blood. But at Whose Expense? Some of the party’s most revered members are octogenarians facing primary challenges from a younger generation.

Some of the party’s most revered members are octogenarians facing primary challenges from a younger generation. How badly do Dems want that?

The latest edition of The Opposition from @lauren-egan.bsky.social:

Dems Fumble the Tariff Gift Trump Gives Them The Democratic party agrees that Trump’s tariff agenda is bad. It just can’t agree how to talk about it.

When the topic of a recent speech turned to tariffs, Senator Warren’s fire and brimstone suddenly gave way to circumspection and nuance. Maybe right now isn't the time for that.

The latest edition of The Opposition from @lauren-egan.bsky.social: www.thebulwark.com/p/democrats-...

thank you for reading!!

Big Backlash at Big Law Democrats Major law firms have bent the knee to Trump—yet the influential Democratic attorneys who work at them keep collecting lucrative paychecks.

The ire directed at big-name lawyers for not resigning from their firms is the latest fissure to erupt inside Democratic circles over what type of protest this moment calls for.

@lauren-egan.bsky.social on the backlash against Big Law Dems:

Doomsday for the Dems? The 2030 census is expected to bring big gains in power for the South—which will mean big trouble for Democrats’ prospects in national politics.

"'It’s not by accident that I’m here in Florida right now actually canvassing in the Florida 6 election, or that I’ve been in Houston and Georgia already,' Ken Martin said in an interview with The Bulwark." That may not be enough.

The latest edition of The Opposition from @lauren-egan.bsky.social:

“I’ve been trying to tell the party that they need to start looking South, because the trends have been there for a while,” said former Alabama Sen. Doug Jones. “I don’t have a lot of confidence right now.”

Doomsday for the Dems? The 2030 census is expected to bring big gains in power for the South—which will mean big trouble for Democrats’ prospects in national politics.

NEW: Dems are scrambling to beef up their presence in the Southeast ahead of the 2030 census changes, when congressional power will move South and the Blue Wall will no longer be a viable path to the presidency for the party.

www.thebulwark.com/p/doomsday-f...

Some Weird Alliances Are Breaking Out Among Democrats When Conor Lamb came to AOC’s defense, it turned heads. In an interview, Lamb explained why it made complete sense.

ICYMI, @lauren-egan.bsky.social on the non-silence of Conor Lamb: www.thebulwark.com/p/some-weird...

Where Have All the Pussyhats Gone? Democrats embraced female activism during Trump’s first term. Can they find a new balance the second time around?

"Following Hillary Clinton’s loss in 2016 Democrats rallied around the notion that women were being marginalized and placed under a unique threat." Dems aren't sure how to talk about women anymore.

The latest edition of The Opposition from @lauren-egan.bsky.social:

Kari Lake Accosted Ruben Gallego at a Posh D.C. Club The incident says a lot about politics and immigration. So, too, did a town hall that Gallego held with Sen. Mark Kelly over the weekend.

NEW: Sen. Ruben Gallego says Trump "has failed at his goals of increasing deportations," so he's making a "dangerous" turn toward the "innocent" elements of the immigrant community. But Gallego worries Trump is setting a "trap" for Democrats.

New reporting from @adriancarrasquillo.bsky.social

you're gonna want to subscribe to the newest addition to the Bulwark newsletter lineup 👇

Veterans Group Wants to Make Elon the Supervillain of the Midterms A new ad campaign from VoteVets goes after vulnerable House Republicans by turning the spotlight on DOGE.

First in The Bulwark: VoteVets is targeting five vulnerable House Republicans in their home districts—focusing entirely on Elon Musk www.thebulwark.com/p/veterans-g...

The Democrats’ Authenticity Trap The party keeps trying to engineer viral moments and free-wheeling conversations. It’s self-defeating.

NEW: The first issue of our new newsletter, 'The Opposition'—about what the Democrats are up to—by @lauren-egan.bsky.social .

Here she tackles the difficulties Dems have connecting w/ voters, including on social media.
www.thebulwark.com/p/the-democr...

Democrats Are About to Eat Their Own The party is united in its belief that Trump is a villain. It’s what to do about him that’s tearing them apart.

"The situation facing Democrats is different from the first Trump administration, in which the grassroots was mostly in harmony with elected leadership." A common enemy is not enough.

Today's Morning Shots from @eggerdc.bsky.social, @lauren-egan.bsky.social, and @cathyyoung63.bsky.social:

Democrats Are About to Eat Their Own The party is united in its belief that Trump is a villain. It’s what to do about him that’s tearing them apart.

Dem voters are fed up with their party leadership. So much so, that there could be a wave of primary challenges in 2026.

www.thebulwark.com/p/democrats-...

The Washington Post and Autocracy’s Asymmetric Advantage Liberalism is afraid to take its own side.

I have a lot of thoughts about Jeff Bezos, the WaPo, and the asymmetric advantage autocracy holds over liberalism. www.thebulwark.com/p/the-washin...

The Washington Post and Autocracy’s Asymmetric Advantage Liberalism is afraid to take its own side.

MSNBC holds to the honor system and tries to be fair to Republicans. Fox News paid $787 million dollars so that it could knowingly lie about Democrats.

This asymmetry runs all the way through our media.

Today's Triad from @jvl.bsky.social: www.thebulwark.com/p/the-washin...