Maine Picks A Senate Nominee Today, The DNC's Early Primary Calendar Is Set, Whitmer Endorses Stevens In Michigan
Some new ads in North Carolina and Wisconsin too.....
Morning all. We have some news today……
Maine Democrats Have Their Nominating Convention Today - It looks like our friends Charlie Dingman and Devon Murphy-Anderson are on the verge of pulling off something remarkable - creating a successful process to pick a Senate nominee that will be seen as legitimate and fair by all; all done under extraordinary duress, with very little time; and giving us a nominee, Troy Jackson, who leads in early polling and has a real shot at beating Susan Collins.
When Maine announced this rushed and vital process this community rallied, raising 30% of the budget required to pull off this nominating process. These funds allowed the Maine Party to hire people immediately, and helped make this all happen. Really proud of this community, all of you. In a time of crisis Hopium world once again answered the call!
Now reupping the interview I did with Devon 12 days ago, still at the beginning of this process. Watch to hear what has become their successful plan and meet with one of the true rising stars of our party who stepped up big time when we really needed her:
If you want to kick a little money into the Maine Democratic Party today to help them now move on to their next big challenge - beating Susan Collins - you can do so here. For remember everyone - strong state parties matter!
We Have An Early Window Primary Calendar! - Here’s what the DNC adopted yesterday:
A fascinating cross section of America. To use Hopium language the DNC embraces the rainbow! Voting begins in 17 months! Here we go people!
We will have time to digest and discuss this new calendar. For today let’s celebrate that like with Maine the Democratic Party has produced a process that appears to have buy-in from all involved, giving it the legitimacy required for us pick our nominee and win the Presidency in 2028.
Governor Whitmer Endorses Haley Stevens - Here is a fun clip from a rally Governor Whitmer did last night with Rep. Stevens and Rep. Jim Clyburn:
This endorsement is likely to be very meaningful in this critical battleground Senate race. Here’s a summary of a recent poll showing how popular Whitmer is:
With that as a backdrop, the poll’s findings were particularly positive for Whitmer, who still hasn’t made her post-gubernatorial plans known. Glengariff polled 600 registered voters between April 28 and May 1 this year, and found that Whitmer’s approval rating is at 52.2% among those surveyed.
Only 39% of voters surveyed disapproved of Whitmer’s job performance as governor in the twilight months of her second term.
…….the average net approval rating of governors in their second terms declines by 13 percentage points. Whitmer’s approval rating has increased more than 15 percentage points since the start of her first term………
The Morning Consult survey also found that Whitmer ranks fifth-highest in terms of overall approval rating among the current 27 second-term governors across the nation.
As Shannon Watts posted on Twitter Whitmer is popular, remarkably popular, for she has fought for and delivered for the people of Michigan. Here’s a summary of what she’s done:
Whitmer approved the largest road funding package in Michigan history, building or repairing over 24,000 lane miles of roads and 1,900 bridges
She expanded Michigan’s Earned Income Tax Credit from 6% to 30% of the federal credit, providing larger refunds to hundreds of thousands of lower-income workers.
She made breakfast and lunch free for all public school students, expanded pre-K, increased access to free preschool for 4-year-olds, and expanded free community college.
She expanded collective bargaining rights for unions.
She repealed Michigan’s 1931 abortion ban and signed legislation expanding reproductive health protections.
She expanded the state’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
She signed universal background checks, safe storage requirements, a red flag law, and expanded restrictions on firearms at polling locations.
She passed one of the nation’s more ambitious state clean-energy packages requiring utilities to reach 100% clean electricity by 2040.
She codified Affordable Care Act protections into Michigan law, including protections for preexisting conditions), ended surprise medical billing, expanded mental health coverage requirements, and erased millions of dollars in medical debt.
Given Whitmer’s remarkable popularity her endorsement feels like a turning point in this race but we will see. Early voting has begun and the primary is a week from Tuesday.
Our great candidate Rebecca Cooke has released a new ad in WI-3:
The Senate Dem SuperPAC has placed this new brutal ad in North Carolina:
The endangered incumbent Rep. Zach Nunn (IA-3) showed us yesterday why state Senator Sarah Trone Garriott has such a good chance of beating him - here he is knocking the phone out of someone’s hand just trying to ask him a question:
Be sure to review the encouraging new polling we’ve gotten this week here, and catch my weekly video and written analysis that argues that as bad as things are now for Trump and the Rs they are going to worse:
To see one reason why they are going to get worse for Trump watch this short clip from Trump’s horrid, slurry remarks at the White House Correspondence Dinner last night. He repeatedly insults CNN’s Kaitlan Collins and compares her to a celebrity who has transitioned from male to female. He’s a misogynistic pig, and it’s critical we beat his ass this November:
Yes, My Friends, We Need To Beat His Ass!!!!!!!!!!
Winning The House and Senate In 2026
Our Winning The House Campaign - $1,006,100 raised, $1,250,000 goal (new stretch goal) - Donate | Donate to all twelve of our initial wave of House challengers with a single contribution split twelve ways | Get to know Jamie Ager (NC-11), Christina Bohannan (IA-01), Paige Cognetti (PA-08), Rebecca Cooke (WI-03), Elaine Luria (VA-02), Sean McCann (MI-04), Jo Mendoza (AZ-06), Chaz Molder (TN-05), Jonathan Nez (AZ-02), Janelle Stelson (PA-10), Shannon Taylor (VA-01), and Sarah Trone Garriott (IA-03) by watching our recently recorded Hopium interviews.
Friends, if these twelve courageous candidates win, the House will flip, even with Callais and their rancid mid-decade redistricting. So eyes on the prize here everyone!
Winning The House - The Second Wave Fund (Newly Expanded) - $202,100 raised, $500,000 goal - Donate | We’ve launched a second House fund, one supporting candidates who’ve emerged from recent primaries and need a bit more help. Our newly expanded list now features Rebecca Bennett (NJ-07), Bob Brooks (PA-07), Cait Conley (NY-17), Johnny Garcia (TX-35), Bob Harvie (PA-01), Dr. Richard Pan (CA-06), Denise Powell (NE-02), Bobby Pulido (TX-15), Manny Rutinel (CO-8), Dr. Amish Shah (AZ-01), Randy Villegas (CA-22), and Marni von Wilpert (CA-48).
A donation to the Second Wave Fund is split evenly among these twelve, and more as other worthy candidates emerge from their primaries. Our total above includes money we’ve raised for directly for each candidate. You can watch interviews with those who’ve interviewed so far here. We are off to a great start here everyone!
Winning The Senate - $511,400 raised, $1,000,000 goal - Donate | This new fund splits a single donation to our five candidates must likely to flip a Senate seat this November - Sherrod Brown (OH), Roy Cooper (NC), Mary Peltola (AK), James Talarico (TX), and Josh Turek (IA). Our working total includes what we’ve raised for these five so far through direct donations to their campaigns. You can watch our interviews with each of these great candidates and/or contribute directly to any of them here.
Expanding The Map - Investing And Winning In Key Battleground And Expansion States
Winning Georgia (New) - $13,100 raised, $250,000 goal - Donate | This new fund split a contribution three ways among Senator Jon Ossoff, gubernatorial candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms, and the Georgia Democratic Party | Watch my new interview with Georgia Dem Chair Charlie Bailey to get a terrific overview of the opportunities we have in Georgia this cycle
Winning Iowa - $26,100 raised, $250,000 goal - Donate | Our Winning Iowa fund splits a contribution three ways - to Josh Turek for Senate, to our gubernatorial candidate Rob Sand, and to the Iowa Democratic Party | Watch my new interview with the great Chair of the Iowa Democratic Party Rita Hart to get an overview of why this is a year of such opportunity in Iowa
Winning Maine (New) - $68,500 raised, $75,000 goal - Donate | Right now this fund is only supporting the Maine Democratic Party to help them get through this challenging process of selecting a new Senate nominee. It will expand in coming days to include both our gubernatorial candidate, Hannah Pingree, and our eventual Senate nominee too. Thanks to all of you who have rallied for the Maine Dems in the past few days - it’s a big deal! | Watch our new interview with the inspiring Executive Director of the Maine Dems Devon Murphy-Anderson
Winning Ohio - $181,100 raised, $250,000 goal - Donate | Our campaign splits contributions evenly among Sherrod Brown, the Acton-Pepper ticket, and the Ohio Democratic Party and its terrific Chair, Kathleen Clyde.
Hopium’s Audacious Expansion Fund - $637,100 raised, $1,000,000 goal - Donate | Join our campaign that has helped expand our map by investing in the Democratic Parties of Alaska, Florida, Iowa, Maine, and Texas, all now central battlegrounds in the 2026 election | Contribute to all five state parties with one contribution split evenly among these five critical battlegrounds | Catch interviews with the five intrepid state chairs leading their troops into battle this year - will get you fired up!
Please use the paid subscriber chat to self-report the good trouble you make each day.
Keep working hard everyone. We have a country to save, and elections to win, together! - Simon
I just sent some money to the Maine Democratic Party… Thank you Simon for facilitating such an easy and streamlined way to do something so deeply strategic… I’ve said this before, I don’t have tons of money to spread around… Usually just a few hundred bucks throughout the year, but because of Hopium I know that that money is being stacked with other small donor money and concentrated in places where it will go the farthest and help us the most in our prime objective of taking power away from Maga anywhere and everywhere that we possibly can. I never feel bad about a donation I send through the Hopium pipeline. Could not be more proud of the Maine Democratic Party… Talk about hitting a bump in the road and making a swift course correction in rough waters and getting right back into the race. Proud of my team! 🔵🇺🇸
MS NOW is broadcasting the Maine event today and it is great to see it getting a National audience.
It’s a beautiful day here at the Jersey Shore and I am headed to a vigil for the two ICE victims today as part of the national day of remembrance for Mr Araujo & Mr. Guerrero. It’s in a NJ town that’s as diverse as they come—the birthplace of Count Basie—& I’m so proud of how they’re standing up for their immigrant neighbors.
Keep going!