We've got a roundup of results from this week's primaries, where all of the progressives backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani won over establishment-backed Democratic candidates.
Elsewhere, two opposing factions of the artificial intelligence industry spent millions on a House race that became a proxy fight over tech regulation.
And in South Carolina, where I've been covering the governor's race, a candidate with President Donald Trump's backing won the GOP nomination. That fact alone wasn't a surprise — Trump ended up endorsing both of them, hedging his bets after his picks in other states lost.
Plus, a look at tonight's America 250 rally on the National Mall, polling on American pride and Trump's NATO whisperer. |
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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani celebrates with Democratic congressional candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier and organizer Carmen Rojas during an election night watch party Tuesday, June 23, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) |
Mamdani proves his power in New York House races, plus more takeaways from Tuesday's primaries — By Jesse Bedayn, Thomas Beaumont and Humera Lodhi
When Mamdani took the stage in Brooklyn on Tuesday night, the crowd chanted “DSA,” the initials for the Democratic Socialists of America.
It was just the latest sign of an ascendant political movement, and two of the candidates successfully backed by Mamdani are democratic socialists.
All three victors are expected to win their blue districts, which would also place three Mamdani allies in Congress come January.
In the primary for retiring U.S. Rep. Nydia Velázquez’s seat, state Assembly Member Claire Valdez beat out Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso. Democratic U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat lost his reelection bid to Darializa Avila Chevalier, another Mamdani-backed democratic socialist who once helped organize pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University.
And former city comptroller Brad Lander defeated U.S. Rep. Dan Goldman by running to his political left, in a race that partly revolved around the war in Gaza. In the Manhattan district held by retiring Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler, Assembly member Micah Lasher won a Democratic primary over fellow Assembly member Alex Bores, whose proposals to regulate artificial intelligence triggered tech industry blowback. South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson won the GOP gubernatorial nomination over Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, the candidate Trump initially endorsed in the primary two weeks ago. But after Wilson gained momentum headed into the runoff, Trump hedged his bets, said either would be a good pick, and Wilson routed Evette. Read more from Bedayn, Beaumont and Lodhi on Tuesday's results. |
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Trump opens America 250 festivities with campaign-style rally |
President Donald Trump dances on stage at a Mack Trucks facility, Tuesday, June 23, 2026, in Macungie, Pa. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) |
Trump turns America 250 kickoff into a campaign-style rally on the National Mall — By Josh Boak Trump sees America’s 250th anniversary as a chance to get the country excited again — about Trump. The president has said the rally he's hosting Wednesday on the National Mall in Washington will be replete with a military flyover by stealth bombers, military bands, singer Lee Greenwood of “God Bless the USA" fame and a speech by Trump. It comes as Trump works to convince Americans ahead of critical November midterm elections that he's put the unpopular Iran war in the rearview mirror, with oil prices easing as the Strait of Hormuz has started to reopen in the wake of an interim deal to end the war with Tehran. The rally is designed to kick off weeks of celebrations about America and its 1776 founding as part of “The Great American State Fair” on the mall, the national park that stretches from the U.S. Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial.
But Trump’s appearance onstage was only announced after several musicians — including Young MC, Martina McBride and the Commodores — canceled their concerts because of concerns the event had become politicized. The president stepped into the void as he hyped his own ability to command a crowd. Read more from Boak on Wednesday's rally on the National Mall. |
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A Ferris wheel is seen on the National Mall for the 250 Anniversary celebration, Tuesday, June 23, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) |
How Americans are feeling about the country's 250th anniversary, according to new polls — By Linley Sanders About 4 in 10 U.S. adults feel “proud” about the country's 250th anniversary, according to a new survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Roughly 3 in 10 say “excited” describes their emotions.
The milestone will be marked with events across the country, and Trump has planned several for the nation’s capital, including a fair on Washington’s National Mall.
But as the celebrations begin, many Americans also feel indifferent or conflicted about celebrating the country. Other Gallup polling shows that most Americans now feel the signers of the Declaration of Independence would be disappointed with how the U.S. has turned out, a substantial increase from 25 years ago. Most Republicans say that “proud” or “excited” describes how they are feeling about the United States’ 250th anniversary. About 7 in 10 Republicans say pride describes their emotions, compared to about 3 in 10 independents and roughly 2 in 10 Democrats. More Democrats and young people say “conflicted” or “indifferent” describes their feelings about America 250. About 4 in 10 Democrats and roughly 3 in 10 adults under 30 say “conflicted” describes their feelings “extremely” or “very” well. About 3 in 10 in each case feel “indifferent.” Read more from Sanders on polling about American pride.
View the AP-NORC Polling tracker. |
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NATO's Trump whisperer visits him at the White House |
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte speaks after a meeting of NATO defense ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Thursday, June 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo) |
NATO's Trump whisperer heads to the White House to soothe the president ahead of next month's summit — By Michelle L. Price
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte will check in face-to-face with Trump on Wednesday, visiting the volatile U.S. leader two weeks before the annual summit of the military alliance at a time when the Pentagon is reviewing the size of the U.S. military footprint in Europe. Trump has long been critical of NATO, arguing the U.S. carries more than its fair share of military spending. But his grievances have been louder since the Iran war as he fumed over some member countries ignoring his call to help him restart oil trade through the shuttered Strait of Hormuz.
Trump has renewed his threats to leave the 77-year-old military alliance, raising the stakes ahead of the NATO leaders' summit in Turkey next month. But Rutte, who has become known as a Trump whisperer for his ability to charm the president, is expected to use Wednesday’s White House meeting to try to appease him. Read more from Price about the stakes for the Rutte-Trump meeting. |
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