Thursday, May 21: The contest to challenge Derrick Van Orden, election security fight intensifies, potholes overtake state and local road repair budgets, U.S. House Republicans go after ‘gender ideology,’ federal data show drop in violent crime
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Let me be very clear: local officials run elections. Voters decide elections. Donald Trump does not.“
– Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York), warning that Democrats will sue to prevent the Trump administration from trying to take over local election administration in November.
Democrats Emily Berge and Rebecca Cooke are vying for the nomination to run against Republican U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden in Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District. (Photo Illustration by Henry Redman/Wisconsin Examiner; photos courtesy of Cooke, Berge campaigns, Henry Redman and Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)
Republican U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden has held Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District for two terms, but Democrats have made winning back the district a national priority in 2026. Rebecca Cooke, who lost to Van Orden in 2024, is looking for a rematch and says her pragmatic approach will enable her to flip the district this year. Emily Berge, a former Eau Claire city council president, says she offers bold ideas that will appeal to more voters. Henry Redman reports on the coming Democratic primary contest between the two.
President Donald Trump is again demanding Congress pass a sweeping set of voting restrictions and refuses to rule out sending troops to the polls, as Democrats and voting rights groups assemble a sprawling effort to guard against federal election interference. Democracy reporter Jonathan Shorman, part of our Washington team, examines the intensifying fight over election security ahead of the November midterm elections.
From local streets in small towns to major urban corridors, transportation agencies are grappling with deferred maintenance, rising construction costs and limited revenue streams. Potholes are the visible symptom of aging state and local infrastructure, and some transportation officials say the need continues to outpace available funding. Amanda Watford of Stateline explains.
The U.S. House passed a bill Wednesday that would withhold federal funding from public middle or elementary schools that update a student’s pronouns, gender markers or preferred name on records without parental consent. Shauneen Miranda of our Washington bureau has the details.
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More from Washington:
ICYMI
A work crew fills potholes on Perring Parkway in Baltimore. Crews filled at least 32,000 potholes from late February through mid-March, and the city aims to fill another 25,000 potholes by mid-July. (Photo by J.J. McQueen/Baltimore City Mayor’s Office)
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