Whip (politics)

Democrats won control of the U.S. House in Tuesday's elections, a result expected to make Hakeem Jeffries speaker and Massachusetts Representative Katherine Clark majority leader, with Pete Aguilar as whip. The incoming majority spans battleground-district moderates and a newly elected wave of progressives, some of whom defeated incumbent Democrats in primaries on issues like abolishing ICE and criticizing Israel's war conduct. Leadership says the caucus will unite around "affordability," pledging to roll back Medicaid cuts and restore Obamacare subsidies, with further proposals to come from new working groups on health care, housing, and costs. The party now faces the challenge of balancing its ideological divides while governing opposite President Trump ahead of 2028.

California's 2026 race for insurance commissioner has become a proxy battle within the Democratic Party, as progressives push to claim a regulatory post with outsized influence over the nation's largest insurance market. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) campaigned across California over the weekend, rallying support for Jane Kim, a former San Francisco official and progressive candidate, alongside a renewed push for a billionaire tax.

The insurance commissioner role, though less visible than governor or senator, carries significant power to regulate rates and policy in a state grappling with an insurance affordability crisis tied to wildfire risk. For progressives, the race offers an alternative path to influence after Tom Steyer's billionaire-backed run for governor collapsed in the primary. The contest highlights growing tension between the party's establishment wing and a progressive bloc energized by anti-billionaire messaging ahead of the 2026 midterms.

Jon Kyl, a longtime Arizona Republican who served in Congress for nearly three decades, has died. His death came months after he announced he was withdrawing from public life following a dementia diagnosis disclosed last December.

Kyl represented Arizona in the U.S. House from 1987 to 1995 and in the Senate from 1995 to 2013, at one point serving as Senate minority whip. After leaving the Senate, he joined the lobbying firm Covington & Burling. In 2018, then-Gov. Doug Ducey appointed him to temporarily fill the seat left vacant by the death of Sen. John McCain, before Kyl returned to lobbying. In that role, he helped steer the Senate confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Ducey and Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell were among those honoring Kyl, citing his legislative leadership and advocacy for victims of sex crimes.

Michigan Republicans gathered in Mount Pleasant on Aug. 22 for their nominating convention, finalizing a statewide ticket ahead of a November midterm that will decide the governorship, a U.S. Senate seat and other key offices. The event ratified April's endorsement convention picks, confirming Anthony Forlini and Doug Lloyd as nominees for secretary of state and attorney general, and formally nominated state Rep. Jay DeBoyer as gubernatorial candidate John James' running mate. James and Senate nominee Mike Rogers used the stage to attack Democrats over antisemitism, socialism and economic issues, with Rogers casting Democratic Senate rival Abdul El-Sayed as untrustworthy. Party figures emphasized unity and a "positive" tone after past fractures within the state GOP.

James will face Democratic nominee Jocelyn Benson, who recently named state Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks as her running mate. Despite the enthusiasm, Republicans trailed Democrats in primary turnout and face fundraising gaps down-ballot. Chairman Jim Runestad said Michigan remains competitive and must be "earned," while Democrats countered that voters will hold Republicans accountable for economic conditions. Democrats hold their own convention the following weekend to confirm their ticket.