Pete Hegseth’s unusual campaign stops

Plus, ousted transgender CIA officer speaks with MS NOW |

VIEW IN BROWSER MS NOW DAILY Understand today's news Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026 Florida primaries offer clarifying moment for Democrats and Republicans By Hunter Woodall Florida primaries offer clarifying moment for Democrats and Republicans By Hunter Woodall A conservative shift and Democratic decline brought opportunity and burden to Florida’s primary races. The results were clarifying about the directions each party is headed. The GOP nominated a Black conservative for governor while handing a clear share of its vote to a man who campaigned against him in explicitly racist terms. President Donald Trump’s endorsement couldn’t carry a safe red seat. And the favorite to win a Democratic Senate nomination raised $16 million and lost to a democratic socialist few saw coming. The Sunshine State used to have bitterly close statewide elections. Now it’s reliably red terrain.  But Tuesday’s elections still offered several key takeaways.   This is a preview of an article by Hunter Woodall. Read the full article here. Respond directly to Hunter Woodall’s article by submitting a letter to the editor through this form. Read our submission guidelines here.  Respond directly to Hunter Woodall’s article by submitting a letter to the editor through this form. Read our submission guidelines here.  TOP STORIES ZEESHAN ALEEM Pete Hegseth’s effort to campaign for GOP lawmakers makes zero sense It’s not just inappropriate. It’s also politically self-destructive. Read more. KEY TAKEAWAYS Florida primary election results 2026: Nixon topples Vindman, and Donalds and Jolly set for governor’s race Florida’s new congressional map is being tested at the polls after Republicans’ aggressive mid-decade redistricting push gave the party four new House pickup opportunities. Read more. JULIA JESTER Where’s Marco? Rubio steps back from three top foreign policy crises Secretary of State Marco Rubio leads on U.S. policy in Latin America but leaves the ongoing wars in Ukraine and the Middle East to Trump’s envoys. Read more. KEVIN FREY Why gas prices are a particularly potent attack against this GOP senator In Alaska, high gas prices stick around for rural communities much longer than anywhere else in the United States — and Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan may have trouble convincing his voters he's doing enough. Read more. PRIYA SRIDHAR AND LINDSEY PIPIA The USS Lincoln is coming home. But the destroyers with it may not be. As another carrier replaces the Lincoln in the Iran war, the destroyers alongside it — facing the same long deployment and supply shortages — still don’t know if they will be heading home, too. Read more. LETTER OF THE DAY Paul Grajciar of Chicago Illinois, writes: Regarding Hayes Brown’s Aug. 13 opinion column, “Trump is corruptly turning the White House into his billion-dollar dream home”:  When Trump finally leaves office, it will take some time to repair the damage he has done. Trump’s atrocious mangling of the White House and its grounds will be an eyesore for years to come unless we restore this national treasure to its former state. Trump wants these edifices and the monuments he proposes to build to be part of his legacy in order to glorify his “achievements.”  You can read the rest of Paul Grajciar’s letter here, where you’ll also find a submission from MS NOW reader Don Thompson. To send your own letter to the editor, review our submission guidelines and use this form. TOP VIDEOS ON THE LINE WITH ALICIA MENENDEZ ‘I just wanted to do the job’: Ousted transgender CIA officer speaks with MS NOW WATCH NOW THE BEAT WITH ARI MELBER ABC sues Trump’s FCC over broadcast license challenge WATCH NOW DEADLINE: WHITE HOUSE ‘A hot mess’: Nicolle reacts to Trump Cabinet scrambling to distract from his tanking polls WATCH NOW MONEY, POWER, POLITICS WITH STEPHANIE RUHLE U.S. bond selloff drives 30-year yields to highest point since 2007 WATCH NOW MORE FROM MS NOW On Saturday, September 26th, don’t miss the chance to attend “Together in Texas: We the People 2026,” our annual live community event. As the country heads toward the 2026 midterm elections, we’re bringing conversations with top newsmakers and insights from your favorite MS NOW hosts to the place at the center of it all: Texas. Buy your tickets now. This week on “The Best People,” Nicolle Wallace is joined by author and historian Timothy Snyder to discuss how we make ourselves more vulnerable by assuming this democracy will continue to thrive on its own, and the need to protect it and fight for it. Listen now and subscribe to MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts for early access, ad-free listening, and bonus content. 229 West 43rd St. New York, NY 10036 PRIVACY | CONTACT | UNSUBSCRIBE