Axios: “Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) met with Gov. Brian Kemp on Monday as the GOP lobbies the Georgia Republican to run for Senate in 2026. Why it matters: Georgia is a top pickup opportunity for Senate Republicans, and the popular Kemp is seen as the party’s strongest potential candidate. Kemp’s wife, Marty, also attended. Thune was joined…

Politico: “Former Democratic Rep. Wiley Nickel is kicking off a bid to challenge North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis. The attorney and former Obama administration staffer, who served one term in the House before redistricting made his seat much redder, is getting ready to nationalize the race by hitching Tillis to President Donald Trump. “We…

North State Journal: “North Carolina’s Supreme Court ruled on Friday that tens of thousands of cast ballots challenged by the trailing candidate in November’s unresolved election for a seat on the court must remain in the election count. The decision partially overturns last week’s ruling by a panel of the intermediate-level Court of Appeals that had favored Republican Jefferson…

North State Journal: “The Cabarrus County Executive Committee of the Republican Party submitted their pick to Gov. Josh Stein of Christopher Allen Measmer to complete the remainder of Sen. Paul Newton’s term representing the 34th Senate District. Newton resigned in April and was later named vice chancellor and general counsel at the University of North Carolina at…

AL Political Reporter: “In less than five minutes — with no debate and no amendment — Alabama lawmakers advanced a bill that could criminalize legal products, gut small businesses, and send people in need to the black market. They say it’s about safety. But HB445 is a blunt instrument disguised as protection — and the…

WKRN: “A bill that would give pesticide companies more legal protections regarding civil lawsuits over labeling is moving through the [TN] legislature despite Republicans and Democrats having different interpretations of the proposal. If the proposed legislation is passed, pesticide manufacturers and sellers would not be held liable for civil action related to the labeling of the pesticide…

WaPo: “Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil’s attorneys were stunned when an immigration judge in Jena, Louisiana, announced this week that she would rule on whether he should be deported at a hearing Friday — three days after his initial court appearance. “That is, in my opinion, contrary to every notion of due process,” Marc Van…

NOTUS: “With a wave of retirements complicating Senate Democrats’ prospects in the 2026 midterms, the party has its eye on Republican Sen. Thom Tillis’ seat. Not only do Democrats suspect the two-term senator is vulnerable, they also believe they’ve got just the right guy to take it: former Gov. Roy Cooper. Pressure on politicians like…

WFAA: “It might just be the toughest job in Texas politics, leading the state Democratic Party. And after its shellacking last November, the party is looking to reinvent itself. Enter Kendall Scudder, who thinks he’s the right person, at the right time, for the job. And Scudder wants to completely reform the party, not just…

NY Times: “In the 1970s, when the Upstate region of South Carolina was known as the textile capital of the world, Adolphus Jones would clock in for grueling summer shifts at one of the many mills in Union, his hometown. Trains roared around him, transporting materials around the country. Chimney stacks on the red brick…