Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “The voting rights group Stacey Abrams founded after losing the 2018 election to Gov. Brian Kemp, Fair Fight, reported Thursday that it has raised another $6 million in the past five months. That’s more than any candidate running for office in 2022, and puts the group over $100 million raised in the past…

NY Times: “As Texas Republicans prepare to force votes next week on far-reaching legislation that would introduce new restrictions on voting, Democrats are left facing a gnawing question: Should they fight or flee? The issue dominated internal discussions on video calls among Democrats in the Texas Legislature this week as lawmakers began a special session, with…

Political Wire: “A new video shows Virginia gubernatorial nominee Glenn Youngkin (R) saying that he has to limit his antiabortion comments for fear of alienating independent voters, but that he would go “on offense” if he wins office and Republicans take a majority in the House of Delegates, the American Independent reports.”

WUNC: “In a detailed written statement, Hannah-Jones described her fond memories of studying journalism in Chapel Hill, but said she could not accept a professorship after how she was treated. She will instead accept a similar offer, with tenure, at Howard University, a private historically Black school. “I won the battle for tenure,” Hannah-Jones wrote. “But…

AP: “Indeed, the preacher-turned-politician spent the Independence Day recess hopscotching from an inland port in the conservative Appalachian foothills to liberal Atlanta’s urban microbreweries and sprawling public hospital, then the suburban defense contractors in between. At each stop, he highlighted the federal money he’s routed — or is trying to route — to his state…

The State: “Richard Quinn Sr., once a top South Carolina Republican consultant, told a state grand jury that Attorney General Alan Wilson was not paying him for drafting press statements and other documents — but that was a lie, according to a new indictment. The new 38-page indictment, issued May 20 and supervised by new…

TX Observer: “The worst may be still to come. Due to delays with the U.S. Census, lawmakers will reconvene this fall for a special session to redraw the state’s political districts.  Over the course of a decade, people move, population ebbs and flows, and demographics change. In theory, lawmakers redraw state political districts every 10…

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “Walker has only confirmed he’s still considering a bid, but his likely candidacy is an open secret in Georgia’s political world. In recent weeks, he’s lined up advisers and started building the foundation of a campaign. Senior Republicans who once heard zip from Walker now see him as a surefire contender. He would…

NBC News: “Republican Allen West, the former Florida congressman and firebrand who rode into office on the tea party wave a decade ago, said Sunday that he will run for governor of Texas in a bid to again seize on restless anger from the right. His odds are far longer this time around: Republican Gov. Greg…

Jacobin Magazine: “When Thomas Paine passed away at his small farm in New Rochelle, New York in 1809, he was impoverished and largely reviled. In the United States, then undergoing a dramatic religious revival, he was slandered as an “infidel” and a “drunk” for his attacks on Christianity and his rumored personal moral depravity. This, on top of his tirades against…