Democrats flipped a Republican seat in Pennsylvania’s state Senate, continuing their run of overperformances in special elections. James Malone, a mayor in the Lancaster County district that was vacated by Sen. Dave McCormick’s new chief of staff, narrowly beat a Republican county commissioner; the same district had voted for Donald Trump by 15 points last year.

Angela Lang is about to send her canvassing teams door knocking. But first, a moment to outline the stakes:

“Fair maps, abortion, voting rights,” is Lang’s list. “It’s not a seat we can afford to lose because if Republicans and conservatives gain control of the court, that’s Elon Musk and that’s a through line to the Trump agenda.”

The Democratic Party is obsessed with Donald Trump and Elon Musk right now. They want to slit the throats of the Senate Democratic leadership. The leader of House Democrats, Hakeem Jeffries, looks like a draft bust, incapable of doing anything but making cringy videos where he’s all alone outside the Capitol Building and repeating shoddy DNC talking points. This party is so lost and preoccupied with niche matters that they stare at Armageddon and don’t even know it.

The Nation’s justice correspondent Elie Mystal argued on “Morning Joe” Monday that all U.S. voter registration laws should be eliminated.

Mystal argued that any American should only have to meet eligibility requirements, such as age, in order to cast a ballot during elections, suggesting that voter registration has a racist and anti-immigrant undertone. He stated that voting rights need to be expanded in order to help more Democrats vote.

President Donald Trump is standing by Department of Government Efficiency leader Elon Musk in spite of criticism from Democrats from Illinois and around the country.

Union leaders led rallies on Sunday to protest potential changes to the U.S. Postal Service. Trump has suggested a move to privatize the agency or merge it into the Department of Commerce.

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, posted a video on X from a downtown Chicago rally on Sunday. Durbin said he opposed Musk and others who want to privatize USPS.

Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said he's "not stepping down" from leadership in an interview aired Sunday amid mounting pressure from within his party to abandon his post.

Why it matters: He's remaining defiant as Democratic lawmakers and outside groups pile on calls for him to step aside. But Schumer, who dealt a key blow to former President Biden's reelection bid, argued he's "absolutely" not making the same mistake Biden did when he hesitated to step down.

A quirky podcast conversation between Govs. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) and Tim Walz (D-MN) revealed an important divide within the Democratic Party as it seeks to regain power.

Newsom kept urging Democrats to find ways to win back the voters they lost to President Donald Trump and the Republicans. Walz, the unsuccessful 2024 Democratic nominee for vice president, suggested the party find new ways to fight Trump and his allies.

Republicans are not the only lawmakers facing confrontational town halls over the congressional recess. Democratic lawmakers are increasingly facing the ire of the party’s liberal base over their response to the Trump administration. 

Democrats looked like fools Tuesday night. We don’t need to dwell on how they sat grim-faced, seething, or walked out while the president spoke. One stood, yelled, brandished his cane and was removed by the sergeant at arms. Others held up little paddles bearing little insults. Some wore special color-coded outfits. Almost all refused to show normal warmth or engagement. From my notes, as the camera turned and dwelled on the furious faces: “They look like the green room in hell.”

All while Donald Trump romped.

I’ve been spending some time recently with top Democrats as they think about how to rebuild after the 2024 loss. And in the 20-some years I’ve been covering politics, I have never heard Democrats so confused: about who they are — aside from their opposition to Donald Trump — as well as how and why they lost.

Democrats are losing working-class voters. They’re seeing their margins among nonwhite voters erode and vanish. They’re losing young voters. Something is wrong in the Democratic Party.