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Month: March 2026
A blue wave may already be cresting.
Democrats have flipped 28 Republican-held seats in state legislatures across the country over the past 14 months, a sign that the GOP is indeed at risk of losing control of the House, and maybe even the Senate, in the midterms.
Democratic wins have come even in deep red states, including Texas, Arkansas and Mississippi, and often by margins that make Republican leaders uneasy.
“I’m ringing the alarm bell,” said Brendan Steinhauser, a Texas GOP consultant who has run campaigns for Republicans in the state, including Sen. John Cornyn and Rep. Dan Crenshaw.
The results of these state-level elections reflect the immediate concerns of the electorate, provide a launching pad for the next generation of national leaders and could influence the future makeup of Congress through redistricting. They may also give both Republicans and Democrats a preview of the midterm battles to come.
For Republicans, the results are a sign that they must do more to motivate low-propensity voters who helped carry President Donald Trump back to the White House, said a senior GOP campaign operative, who was granted anonymity because he didn’t have permission from the party to speak freely about the losses.
“We’re the party of low propensity voters now,” said the operative. “How do we turn out these Republican voters in a midterm election?”
One of the first signs that Democrats were building momentum came in August, when an Iowa Senate district swung more than 20 points to elect Democrat Catelin Drey. It was the second seat Democrats flipped in the state last year, and the moment that broke the Republican Senate supermajority in the General Assembly.
Then in November, Democrats did it again: They flipped three of the six Republican-held districts in a Mississippi special election, again breaking a GOP Senate supermajority.
“You are seeing people just vote for change,” said Brian Robinson, a GOP consultant in Georgia, where Republicans lost a seat in December.
Robinson, an outside adviser for the state House GOP caucus, says Republicans are blamed for high prices because they’re in charge.
“If it’s any one thing, it is [the] cost of living.” Robinson said, arguing that Trump will do something to reduce prices before the midterms. In recent weeks, the president has indeed taken steps, including by touting a pledge from tech companies to reduce energy costs associated with data centers and releasing 172 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The Iran war, which has sent global oil prices skyrocketing, complicates that effort.
After Democrats flipped 13 Virginia seats and five New Jersey seats in November, the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee went back to reassess state races around the country. They expanded their 2026 target map to 42 chambers and invested $50 million in changing the makeup of state legislatures — the widest map and largest single-year budget DLCC has ever approved.
Legislatures in Arizona and New Hampshire are now on the “flip” list, and the DLCC hopes to break or prevent GOP supermajorities in red states across the South and Midwest. Their success could give Democrats more state power over judicial nominees, protect the veto power of Democratic governors in states with GOP-led legislatures and hand Democrats greater influence over redistricting.
Republicans, meanwhile, are waiting for the funding to hit. As of January, the RNC has just over $100 million and Trump’s MAGA Inc. PAC has $300 million. State Republicans say when that cash flows into midterm races, it will enable them to get low-propensity voters to vote.
Turnout was a major point of discussion at an RNC conference call that Wisconsin GOP Chair Brian Schimming attended Tuesday, and he says Republicans will dedicate a lot of resources to motivate voters in November.
“We’ve met with the White House more than once, and they keep track of the target states pretty closely,” said Schimming, adding he also expects Trump and Vice President JD Vance to stump in key Wisconsin congressional districts closer to the election. “They are big base motivators.”
In the meantime, Democrats keep flipping state seats. The latest came Tuesday night, when Bobbi Boudman beat Republican Rep. Dale Fincher in a New Hampshire Senate seat that Trump won by 9 points.
On March 24, voters will decide in a special election who represents the Florida state House seat that includes Mar-a-Lago. Democrat Emily Gregory, a small business owner who is running against Republican Jon Maples, a businessman, saw her total campaign earnings jump by nearly 75 percent between Jan. 9 and Feb. 12.
In November, a national PAC connected Gregory with Drey, who flipped the Iowa seat in August. Drey advised Gregory to find the affordability issue that matters most to her district — the way energy costs resonate in New Jersey and property insurance does in Florida.
“In this moment, we have all of the issues on our side. We have all of the momentum on our side,” Gregory recalled Drey telling her. “It’s just up to you as a candidate to get in front of every single voter you can and communicate that message.”
Politics
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When Mauricio Pochettino names the U.S. men’s national team roster next Tuesday for two high-profile tuneups in Atlanta against European powerhouses Belgium and Portugal, the temptation will be to assume it will be identical to the coach’s eventual World Cup squad. By definition, they’re different. One will be announced in late March. The other one — the 26-man group that will compete in the planet’s biggest event on home soil this summer — is scheduled to drop with great fanfare on May 26. And while most of those who are included for the March 28 test versus the Belgians and Portuguese are well-positioned to stick around for the World Cup itself, there is likely to be a few who don’t make it. We’ll know a lot more about Pochettino’s player pool by April 1. For a team that hasn’t played together in four months, these upcoming contests will provide one final, crucial set of pre-tournament data points for the Argentine and his staff. We don’t have that luxury. Not yet, anyway. The Americans kick off their World Cup campaign exactly three months from today, when they face Paraguay on June 12 in Los Angeles. Who is most likely to be in Pochettino’s starting lineup that night? Here is my projection based on what we know today. STRIKERS Starter: Folarin BalogunBackups: Ricardo Pepi, Haji Wright, Patrick AgyemangJust missed out: Damion Downs, Brian White, Josh Sargent Even when his production was down during the middle part of Monaco’s season, Balogun was the odd-on choice to be the spear of the USA’s World Cup attack. Now Balogun is playing his best ball of the 2025-26 campaign, having scored five goals — three of them against Champions League titlists Paris Saint-Germain — in his last five games. Pepi, Wright and Agyemang are also all scoring regularly for their clubs. Were Pochettino picking his World Cup squad today, all four would be deserving of the honor. With 26 available places, there’s no reason the former Chelsea, PSG and Tottenham Hotspur boss can’t take them all so long as that remains the case. All four have different strengths, and the U.S. can never have too many goalscorers. Especially at the World Cup. ATTACKING MIDFIELDERS Starters: Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennieBackups: Brenden Aaronson, Diego Luna, Malik Tillman Just missed out: Gio Reyna, Alex Zendejas Pulisic has to be a lock despite not having a goal or assist for AC Milan in 2026. Same for McKennie, whose career season with Juventus is showing no signs of slowing down. The hard-running Aaronson keeps starting for Premier League Leeds United, and while Tillman has been slowed by an ankle injury lately and used mostly off the bench for Bayer Leverkusen, his body of work for club and country over the last year won’t be forgotten. Same goes for Luna, who hasn’t played for Real Salt Lake in 2026 because of injury, one that will probably cost him a call-up this month. Zendejas could replace Luna in Atlanta. Another goal, like the one he scored in September’s 2-0 win over Japan, would give the coaches something to think about. But the little lefty has been in just one camp under Poch over the last year and has also been dinged up; Zendejas hasn’t gone 90 minutes in any game this calendar year. He’s still playing way more than Reyna is, though. The 2022 World Cup veteran is coming up on two months without an appearance for Borussia Mönchengladbach. HOLDING MIDFIELDERS Starters: Tyler Adams, Tanner Tessmann Backups: Sebastian Berhalter, Johnny Cardoso, Cristian Roldan Just missed out: Aidan Morris, Yunus Musah Adams is a no-brainer, obviously. But Tessmann’s performances for Lyon have been up and down lately — he came off the bench for the final five minutes of Thursday’s 1-1 Europa League tie with Spain’s Celta Vigo — could also be losing his gip on a starting spot for the U.S. The 24-year-old Cardoso has been in Atlético Madrid’s XI in six of the Spanish giants’ last eight La Liga outings. He’s also started Atleti’s last two Champions League matches, including 90 minutes in Tuesday’s 5-2 walloping of Tottenham in the round of 16 first leg that Pochettino watched in person. It’s true that Cardoso has never played well for the USMNT in his 22 appearances. But he figures to get one last long look during at least one of the two March games. If he performs well and Tessmann doesn’t, it could suddenly become Johhny’s spot to lose. By scoring his first two goals for Italian club Atalanta in early March, Musah is also making a late push. It could be too little, too late for a player who has now gone almost 12 full months without an international cap. The 2022 World Cup standout, who is still only 23, might not even be next man up. Morris featured in the final four USMNT games of 2025 and started two of those — including the year-ending 5-1 rout of Uruguay. Meantime, Berhalter and Roldan have picked up where they left off in the fall with their MLS teams. The former scored his first goal of the season for Vancouver last weekend, while Roldan has logged every minute through three games in Seattle. The pair face off on Thursday night, when the Whitecaps host the Sounders in the Concacaf Champions Cup (10 p.m. ET on FS2). WINGBACKS Starters: Sergiño Dest, Antonee “Jedi” Robinson Backups: Max Arfsten, Alex Freeman Hurt playing for PSV last weekend, Dest will miss the March window but is expected to recover in time to start a second straight World Cup. It’s also possible that Jedi — another known quantity who has been sidelined recently — could remain this month with Fulham, for which he’s only played in twice in six games since mid-February. The news here is Freeman, who has struggled to get on the field for Villarreal since moving to La Liga in January. The former Orlando City standout came off the bench three times in February for the Yellow Submarine but has been an unused sub in three straight games. Freeman has played just 31 total minutes since scoring twice against Uruguay back on Nov. 18. CENTER BACKS Starters: Chris Richards, Tim Ream, Tim Weah Backups: Mark McKenzie, Miles Robinson Just missed out: Tristan Blackmon, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Auston Trusty, Walker Zimmerman Per well-sourced German publication Kicker, Noahkai Banks – the 19-year-old Hawaii-born, Germany-rasied defender who’s having a breakout season for Bundesliga side Augsburg, will miss the March camp as he considers which country to represent. “I’m very torn, Banks said this week. “I’m in contact with both the U.S. and Germany, and both national team coaches…I don’t want to make my decision dependent on a World Cup.” Because Banks represented the U.S. at the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup, he’d have to petition FIFA for a one-time switch of national association to play for Die Mannschaft – something he hasn’t yet done, a source with knowledge of the situation told me on Wednesday. But it’s hard to see Poch handing a World Cup roster spot to him if he’s not ready to make a commitment. That’s true even though there are legitimate concerns that the 38-year-old Ream, Pochettino’s go-to captain, is finally showing his age with Charlotte FC early this MLS season. How he fares against two all-world attacks with the USA in Atlanta will reveal plenty about his current level ahead of the World Cup. With Freeman idling, Weah is a more than adequate replacement. No, he’s not a center back. Neither is Freeman. But he’s occupied a similar role often for Marseille since moving from Juventus last August, even if he’s more likely to be deployed at right wing this month with Dest unavailable. GOALKEEPERS Starter: Matt Freese Backups: Matt Turner, Patrick Schulte Just missed out: Chris Brady, Roman Celentano, Ethan Horvath, Jonathan Klinsmann, Diego Kochen, Zack Steffen Freese started the final 12 games of 2025 for Pochettino. Will he man the nets in both games this month? Or will Turner, the USMNT’s No. 1 in Qatar, get one final chance to reclaim the top job? Either way, Freese is the clear incumbent as things stand today. Who ends up as the Americans’ third World Cup keeper is far murkier. The best American backstop through the first three weeks of the MLS season has been San Diego’s 19-year-old Duran Ferree, but there’s no reason to think that the U.S. U-20 national teamer is in the running. We still think Schulte has the inside track. The Ohio native is a proven winner who has spent more time with Pochettino than any of his direct rivals. He also has valuable tournament experience, having helped the Olympic team reach the quarterfinals at the 2024 Summer Games in France.Latest Sports News from FOX Sports
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Is there any truth to the rumor that Sydney Sweeney and Zendaya are feuding?
What initially seemed like a wild internet rumor is looking more and more plausible amid the media tour for Euphoria Season 3.
Yes, there was a time when it looked like Euphoria S3 would never happen, but now it’s just a few weeks away.
But don’t tell that to Sydney, who has allegedly decided to skip the show’s press tour.
Are Sydney and Zendaya really beefing over politics?
In case you’re somehow unaware, Sydney has become a darling of the MAGA movement in recent months.
Now, she’s never endorsed Donald Trump or spoken publicly about who she voted for in 2024.
But Sweeney’s American Eagle jeans controversy (and her subsequent refusal to push back against the far-right interpretation) of its message gained her a large GOP following.
The revelation that Sydney is a registered Republican only added to the perception that she holds highly conservative views (which she’s neither confirmed nor denied).
Zendaya, on the other hand, has been an outspoken progressive throughout her career, and many jumped to the conclusion that the costars must not get along.
There were even rumors that Sydney was refusing to promote Euphoria due to her bad blood with Zendaya.
And pics and video posted by HBO earlier today seemed to support that theory:
Here were Zendaya, Hunter Schafer, Alexa Demie, and Maude Apatow posing together — with Sydney conspicuously absent.
Countless fans and influencers concluded that the rumors of a politically charged feud must be accurate, and Sweeney decided to skip the media tour.
But TMZ is refuting that rumor, reporting that the shot was taken behind the scenes and was not part of a planned promotional event.
Still, it’s significant that the photo included most of the female stars of the show, except for, arguably, the most famous one.
Even so, the outlet insists that Sydney’s “absence had nothing to do with an alleged feud between the two superstar actresses.”
So we guess folks who are thirsty for more Euphoria drama will just have to wait until the show returns to HBO Max on April 12.
The cast has followed an interesting arc over the years:
When the series began, Zendaya was the only household name.
Now, Jacob Elordi is nominated for an Oscar, and Sydney is one of the most famous people on the planet.
Another of the show’s regulars, Eric Dane, passed away from ALS last month, but was able to film his final scenes for Euphoria ahead of his death.
Needless to say, it’s been quite an emotional journey for this show, and the third and final season promises to pack a punch.
Sydney Sweeney vs. Zendaya Feud Rumors Heat Up Amid ‘Euphoria’ Press Tour was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.
The Hollywood Gossip