Michelle Cottle

So it's in their view, because there's always a good spin, character matters, just not in the way that you might think.

So, okay, so now I want to switch to the Democrats, who, like the Republicans, are kind of trying to figure out which way their party is headed and who's going to lead them there.

So, on Tuesday, the progressive organizer, Annalilia Mejia, declared a slim victory in a special election in New Jersey for the House.

So, Jamal, why don't you just kind of give us a take on...

What was going on with this race?

Because she was not the favorite by any stretch.

And what does her victory tell us about the mood of Democratic voters there?

So here's the interesting thing.

The party's very angry, and they're very angry at the failures of the establishment.

And in a couple of cases, you have progressives who come out swinging, but then you also have moderates in different places, you know, like the governors, Mikey Sherrill and Abigail Spanberger in Virginia, who were not super progressive candidates, but they were still very critical of...

kind of the failures of the establishment and Washington and things needing to change.

We are seeing that all over.

And I do think there is a kind of movement that kind of transcends your spot on the ideological spectrum of like they just want people who clearly get that something has to change.

It's very anti-status quo.

It's also very kind of willing to push back at a –

kind of corrupt and disturbing administration.

So I do wonder, like, the degree to which people will kind of drill down on the progressive versus centrist when I think more of this is coming down to, are you willing to throw some punches and be honest about the failures of, you know, your team and the other team in terms of establishment?

Yeah, so Jasmine Crockett, just to be clear, Jasmine Crockett and James Tallarico on the Democratic side.

Yes.

Nobody has a scandal, and nobody has gone super nuclear on the other at this point.