Congress

Iowa looks competitive, according to new Dem poll

Published

2 months ago

April 13, 2026

Iowa looks to be seriously in play for Democrats in November up and down the ballot, according to a new survey from a Democratic group that backs moderate candidates.

Iowa State Auditor Rob Sand holds an eight-point lead in the governor’s race, and Republicans hold slim leads in both the Senate race and the generic statewide ballot for Congress, according to the survey conducted by Democratic pollster GBAO for the center-left ModSquad, a group led by Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, who endorsed Turek.

The poll found President Donald Trump is underwater in the red state, with 50 percent unfavorable and 45 percent favorable ratings. Sand led GOP Rep. Randy Feenstra by 50 percent to 42 percent, while Democrats trailed in the generic ballot by 46 percent to 44 percent.

In the Senate race, GOP Rep. Ashley Hinson leads state Sen. Zach Wahls by 47 percent to 44 percent and state Rep. Josh Turek by 47 percent to 43 percent. The poll surveyed 1,200 likely voters from March 10-16 with a 2.8 percent margin of error.

Democrats have been regularly let down in recent years by other polls showing them in a stronger position than the reality in Iowa, and partisan polls should always be taken with a grain of salt. And so far, there has been scant independent public polling of these contests. But Republicans have indicated that they see a potentially competitive race shaping up in Iowa this time around: The Senate Leadership Fund, Senate Republicans’ main super PAC, already reserved $29 million in ad spending there in the fall, making it one of five GOP-held states where they’ve made a major investment as they fight to keep the majority.

The memo’s aim is to show that their preferred candidate, Turek, would be the stronger general election candidate. After sharing favorable and critical messages on the three candidates, the poll finds that Hinson maintains her lead on Wahls, while Turek pulls ahead of Hinson.

“In this environment, Democratic candidates Josh Turek and Zach Wahls both begin within striking distance of Republican Ashley Hinson,” the polling memo notes. “But Turek emerges as the stronger general election candidate: after balanced messaging, he moves ahead of Hinson, while Wahls continues to trail.”

Hinson begins the race underwater, with a 23 percent favorable to 31 percent unfavorable rating. Turek and Wahls are less well-known, with 34 percent and 49 percent name recognition.

After voters hear positive messages and attacks on each candidate, Turek moves ahead while Wahls still falls short. “Notably, Turek makes substantial gains among independents over the course of the survey, shifting the net vote margin 7 points in his favor and opening up a 17-point lead with them,” according to the polling memo.

The memo says Turek, a basketball Paralympian, has more room to grow after voters hear his profile: 62 percent say Turek’s profile is a convincing reason to vote for him compared with 51 percent for Wahls and 48 percent for Hinson.

But the memo didn’t share the messages the poll tested, making it impossible to discern if that message test is a fair or accurate test of how the general election might play out.

Congress

House Oversight requests Alan Dershowitz testify in Epstein probe

Published

15 hours ago

June 12, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

The House Oversight Committee requested that Alan Dershowitz, the lawyer who once represented Jeffery Epstein, testify as part of its investigation into the federal government’s handling of the Epstein files.

The interview is tentatively slated for 10 a.m. on July 9, with a video and transcript of the testimony being released “as expeditiously as practical,” Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) wrote in a letter to Dershowitz on Friday.

“Due to public reporting, documents released by the Department of Justice, documents obtained by the Committee, and your former role as Mr. Epstein’s attorney, the Committee believes you have information that will assist in its investigation,” Comer wrote.

Comer told reporters on Wednesday that he wanted to hear from Dershowitz, who helped Epstein secure a controversial plea deal in his 2008 sex abuse case.

“I’m looking forward to testifying,” Dershowitz wrote in a text message to Blue Light News on Friday, adding that he is “trying to adjust my schedule” for July 9.

Congress

Cornyn tells Mike Lee to lay off John Thune

Published

17 hours ago

June 12, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Sen. John Cornyn isn’t a card-carrying member of the Senate GOP’s growing YOLO caucus. But with less than seven months left in office after losing his primary, the Texas Republican appears to be feeling newly free to speak his mind.

The latest clap-back came Thursday night and the early hours of Friday morning, when Cornyn called a conservative influencer a “grifter” and told Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) on social media to stop publicly blaming fellow Republicans — including Senate Majority Leader John Thune — for the fact that the GOP elections bill doesn’t have support to pass inside the party.

“You don’t have the votes” for the SAVE America Act, Cornyn posted on X. “@LeaderJohnThune can’t change that. It is math.”

He was directing his comments at Lee, who had just penned a post telling Thune, “let’s do this!”

Cornyn continued, “Try focusing on Democrats instead of Republicans. Republican on Republican attacks are hurting our chances to win the majority in November.”

Lee responded to ask, “on what planet is this an attack on Republicans?” and appeared to suggest a staffer was tweeting on Cornyn’s behalf: “Once my friend John Cornyn realizes that you’re saying this in his name—whoever you are—I don’t think he’ll be happy with you.”

Cornyn, however, is known for posting himself on his social media accounts in a chamber where many Senate accounts are run solely by staff. And he’s been making it clear all week that he will push back on Trump and his party when he thinks it’s needed.

In multiple conversations with reporters in the Capitol, Cornyn said that Republicans need to “stop the circular firing squad.” And he added that he won’t intentionally be “a thorn in [Trump’s] side,” but he’s also “not going to go out of my way to try to appease him.”

“I want him to succeed, I want the Republican Party to succeed, I want the country to succeed,” Cornyn said this week. “But on a case-by-case basis, when I think there’s been overreach or just a bad idea, I’m not going to hesitate to weigh in.”

The four-term senator’s comments come after he lost his primary last month to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who Trump endorsed in the final days of the runoff.

Cornyn said in an interview with The New York Times that he was not a “wounded bear” but that he believed Trump’s insistence on “slavish adherence” was going to backfire for Republicans in the midterms and result in “the most miserable two years of his life” if Democrats flip the House or Senate.

“I think it is going to be a pretty bumpy ride for the next seven months,” Cornyn said.

Congress

Capitol agenda: What Schumer told us about AI

Published

21 hours ago

June 12, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Chuck Schumer wants Congress to pass AI legislation. But he’s casting doubt on it happening this year.

“In this Congress, it’s hard,” the Senate minority leader said in an interview Thursday.

Schumer’s reality check isn’t a complete door-slam. But it underscores the steep climb lawmakers face to bridge a slew of intra-party and inter-chamber divides about what Washington’s approach should be toward the emerging opportunities and risks from the rapidly developing technology.

The problems are multi-pronged.

The White House, whose posture toward AI has shifted dramatically in recent weeks, is angling to enact legislation that would preempt state laws in favor of a national standard. Most recently, administration officials have been exploring a plan to attach preemption legislation to bills designed to shore up kids’ safety online. But there are issues — House Republicans aren’t in love with the Senate GOP’s kid safety bills and Senate Majority Leader John Thune has warned that many senators have concerns “about not trampling states’ rights in the process.”

Democrats aren’t unified on what to do next, with the public broadly skeptical about AI.

Some House and Senate Democrats are leery of state preemption and want to wait until next year to tackle AI, when they might be in power. Opposition from key Democrats is a major factor derailing an attempt by Reps. Lori Trahan and Jay Obernolte to strike a deal on legislation that would set nationwide safety and transparency rules while restricting state action. And Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have proposed a moratorium on AI data centers pending stricter government oversight.

Schumer is striking a balanced tone on how to proceed, arguing that there are “tremendous benefits” from AI but that “we also have to have guardrails.”

“We should get something done on AI, and it’s … got to be balanced — keep innovation strong, but have guardrails to prevent the dangers,” he said. “That’s a hard needle to thread, but I would very much like to see that get done the sooner the better.”

What else we’re watching:

— FISA LAPSE, CLAYTON NOMINATION: Thune is vowing to move “fairly quickly” to confirm Jay Clayton as director of national intelligence, with the FISA Section 702 spy authority set to lapse at midnight thanks to a stalemate between Democrats and the White House over the position.

— GOP ADVANCES BIG DEFENSE BOOST — Republicans have taken the first steps toward granting President Donald Trump’s request for the largest budget ever for the Pentagon. Senate Armed Services members on Thursday approved a draft of their annual defense authorization bill outlining priorities for $1.14 trillion in defense spending next year. The House Appropriations defense subcommittee advanced $1.1 trillion in fiscal 2027 funding for the Defense Department in a closed-door markup.

Calen Razor and Connor O’Brien contributed reporting.