Before we start today, I just wanted to mention today is my birthday! Last year, I had people ask me how they could send me a few bucks for my birthday & to thank me for my work. If you would like to do that, here’s the best places to do so:
Venmo - @DPrice1820
PayPal - indeethought@gmail.com
For months now I’ve been saying the same thing, over and over again - it’s not good enough to just defeat the fascist MAGA Republicans, we must also remove Democratic politicians who have been weak against fascism, or enabled it directly.
I’ve spent countless posts asking all of you to vote in your primary elections & oust these weak incumbent Democrats who haven’t shown up for us.
Tuesday night, New York City voters did just that.
As all 3 of the Democrats that were endorsed by NYC Mayor, Zohran Mamdani, won their primary elections. Two of these candidates, ousted incumbent Democrats in the process.
Brad Lander, who ran for NYC Mayor last year, but dropped out & threw his support behind Mamdani, won his race on Tuesday, blowing out an incumbent Democrat by 30 points. Truly unheard of.
Claire Valdez was running in an open seat, against a candidate that had the backing of every establishment figure in D.C., including the outgoing Representative, but lost by 21 points.
And in the biggest shocker of the night, Darializa Avila Chevalier, who has never held office before, defeats 5 term incumbent Adriano Espaillat. Chevalier said she only entered the race, because she approached her Representative last year (Espaillat), and asked him to speak up for people being detained by ICE within the city, and he declined to do so. It was then, that she decided to challenge the incumbent, openly calling for the abolishment of ICE.
Incumbents also saw defeat in state legislative races as well last night, so the message is clear - the people want change.
If you haven’t had a chance to vote yet - please make sure to show up to your primary election. We need to oust more incumbents! We need to reform this Democratic Party.
Here’s a list of the remaining primary elections this cycle:
Colorado - 6/30
Arizona - 7/21
Washington - 8/4
Kansas - 8/4
Missouri - 8/4
Michigan - 8/4
Tennessee - 8/6
Hawai’i - 8/8
Vermont - 8/11
Connecticut - 8/11
Minnesota - 8/11
Wisconsin - 8/11
Wyoming - 8/18
Florida - 8/18
Alaska - 8/18
Massachusetts - 9/1
New Hampshire - 9/8
Rhode Island - 9/8
Delaware - 9/15
Finally, Mayor Mamdani was asked on MS Now what role Israel has played in the elections this year. Watch the video above to hear his response. You can watch the video by downloading the Substack app.
Please share this post on Facebook, Bluesky, Threads, or text it to a friend
We had 22 people share our last article outside of Substack. Can we get that number up to 30 this time?
Additional stories I wanted to share:
Joy Behar: “They’re not afraid of the term Democratic Socialism. I’m not scared of the term” -
“Social Security is Democratic Socialism. Unemployment insurance, the people who pick up your garbage, the people who take the fire out at your house. All of these things are Democratic Socialism. People have had it with this right-wing nasty politics that we’ve had to subject ourselves to since this guy got into office”
Zohran Mamdani defends backing challengers to Democratic Incumbents in MS Now interview -
Democratic House Leader Hakeem Jeffries says Zohran Mamdani has serious “work to do in terms of the conversations that he’s going to have with members of Congress moving forward.” - While Jeffries warned Mamdani the Democratic establishment may be looking for apologies when speaking to CNN in the halls of Congress. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) says New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is going to have to smooth things over with congressional Democrats after backing several progressive candidates who ousted incumbents during Tuesday’s primary elections. (I usually don’t make comments in this section, but I can’t help but be grossed out at this. This is so unbelievably weak and soft on Jeffries’ part. We really deserve a better leader of the Democratic Party). Reported by Huff Post
Representative André Carson just introduced the AI Data Center Moratorium Act in the House - The bill would ban the construction of data centers until Congress addresses the economic, environmental, and safety impacts of AI. Additionally, Carson also introduced the AI Data Center Site Selection Transparency Act of 2026, which would require data centers “to be transparent and to make neighborhood input central to any new development.”
“Data centers cannot come at a cost to American families, who are already facing high grocery, gas, and housing costs.” Reported by Yahoo
Israel's Defence Minister: Israel will not withdraw from South Lebanon, even if the US demands it -
Israeli Defence Minister - Israel Katz
“The IDF is prepared… and we are not retreating,” Katz said in an onstage interview at the Muni Expo conference for local officials in Tel Aviv. “We announced that in any case we are not withdrawing.”
Israel controls a security zone in southern Lebanon that stretches across the entire length of the shared border, and extends up to 10 kilometers (six miles) into Lebanese territory, in some areas crossing the Litani River and reaching the outskirts of Nabatieh.
Katz said that “200,000 [Lebanese] residents will not return [to the homes they evacuated]. Because what happened in the past in security zones where there was also a civilian population [present] was roadside bombs and attacks against the soldiers, and therefore we will not allow that.”
Iran has repeatedly tied a ceasefire in Lebanon to its understanding with the US.
“For us, a ceasefire in Lebanon is as important as a ceasefire in Iran, and further, an end to the war in Lebanon is as important as an end to the war in Iran,” Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said in Baku during a meeting of the Parliamentary Union of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. Reported by the Times of Israel
Final Note
If you made it to the end of this article, please comment your favorite meal to eat on your birthday in the comments section. I have no idea what I want to eat for my birthday today & could use some ideas!
Until next time,
Desmond
