Cody Johnson’s post-show photo opp. and Ella Langley’s aftershow interview are two important things you missed. Plus, the full story of Ashley McBryde’s speech. Continue reading…Country Music News – Taste of Country
Day: May 18, 2026
At a time when hard-fought primary elections in Georgia, Kentucky and Indiana and Ohio are making national news, perennial battleground Pennsylvania seems to be nodding through one of the sleepiest primary seasons in a long time.
I’m an associate professor of political science at the University of Pittsburgh. My research focuses on how political institutions like political parties and state and local governments affect political representation.
In statewide races, only the Republican lieutenant governor slot is contested, a race between GOP-endorsed attorney Jason Richey and newcomer John Ventre. In the state Senate, less than a third of incumbents drew a challenger. Only 21 of the 203 state Assembly seats see an incumbent facing an in-party challenge. So why does Pennsylvania, usually a hotbed of political strife, appear to be sitting this midterm primary season out?
Uncontested primaries are normal
According to political scientists Shigeo Hirano and James M. Snyder Jr., uncontested primaries, and uncontested elections in general, are normal – and can even be a good thing. They argue it’s because high quality candidates do not tend to draw a challenge. This means that an uncontested primary signifies the district has no potential candidates who both want the job and think they can win against the incumbent.
The biggest reason challengers stay home is because of a well-dug-in incumbent, and Pennsylvania had plenty of those this cycle. Unlike in Indiana, no wave of anti-establishment energy is giving long-shot challengers a fighting chance.
Mark Makela/Stringer Collection via Getty Images
Interestingly, the moderate Trump foe and incumbent Brian Fitzpatrick, a Republican state representative from Bucks County, managed to avoid a primary challenge this year. Fitzpatrick was one of only two Republicans to vote against the H.R. 1 Act – also known as President Donald J. Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill.”
The only other dissenting vote came from Kentucky’s Thomas Massie — and the President responded by personally recruiting a primary challenger to run against him.
Why Pennsylvania’s Fitzpatrick got a pass
So how did Fitzpatrick manage to avoid Trump’s notice? It helps to compare his political fortunes with Massie’s.
Massie’s district is solidly red. He typically wins at least 60% of his general election vote. In 2024, no Democrat even ran against him.
Fitzpatrick, on the other hand, hails from a decidedly “purple” district where the vote could go in either party’s direction. He rarely wins more than 55% of the vote, and is perennially on the list of the most at-risk Republican incumbents.
In other words, in a midterm election in which Republicans face strong competition and fear losing the House of Representatives, Republicans need Fitzpatrick more than they need Massie. Without Fitzpatrick, his district is much more likely to fall in the Democratic column. Without Massie, Republicans can still expect to keep the seat red.
Pennsylvania parties hold the key
Pennsylvania incumbents have mostly been able to avoid finding themselves part of a larger conflict.
Some of the most contested primaries this election cycle stem from disputes centered on President Trump’s push for Republican-led states to redraw their congressional district lines. But the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, with its closely divided state legislature, is not going to change its electoral map anytime soon. So the Commonwealth was left out of partisan gerrymandering disputes.
Pennsylvania remains one of only 13 American states that holds closed primary elections. That means voters must already be registered as party members to vote in that party’s primary. In an open, or even semi-open, primary state like Michigan and Iowa, potential challengers can try to win a primary election by relying on new voters choosing to align with the party only for that election day, or even for that specific election.
ANGELA WEISS/AFP Collection via Getty Images
A closed party system gives party regulars, and the party organization itself, enormous sway over who gets nominated. Potential candidates in closed-party states are much better off working within the party organization and waiting for an incumbent to step down before throwing their hats in the ring.
Pennsylvania is a closed-party state and a swing state. In an election cycle in which political parties from West Virginia’s Republicans to California’s Democrats seem to be turning on their own members, Democrats and Republicans in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania have managed to keep their parties more unified.
The desire for party fealty is strong, but not as strong as the need to win in the general election. Pennsylvania parties are powerful, and they are staying cautious until November. An uncontested primary, in other words, isn’t a sign of apathy. In Pennsylvania, it’s strategy.
Kristin Kanthak does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Politics + Society – The Conversation
Last night Miranda Lambert added two more ACM Awards to her already stacked collection of trophies, further extending her reign as the winningest artist in the history of the Academy of Country Music Awards.
Throughout the star-studded night, Lambert proudly took to the stage to be recognized for her work on Ella Langley’s No. 1 hit, “Choosin’ Texas.” She earned a trophy for Single of the Year as a producer on the track as well as Song of the Year as a co-writer alongside Luke Dick, Joybeth Taylor and Langley.
While delivering her acceptance speech for Single of the Year, the Texas native announced that that the 2026 award show marked her 20th year attending the star-studded event. She made sure to express her gratitude towards Langley for allowing her to have a part in bringing “Choosin’ Texas” to life and highlighted the “amazing” work of the song’s co-producer, Ben West, who also joined Lambert and Langley in producing the Alabama native’s Dandelion album.
“I’m just so thankful that Ella trusted me with her art and Ben is amazing. He’s an amazing producer and all the songwriters, musicians, everybody that played on this song and the whole record Dandelion was such a blessing to get to do that. Thank y’all for loving a country song. We love you so much for it,” she said in front of the live audience.
With the two new trophies, Miranda Lambert’s grand total of ACM Awards now comes to 40, including special awards earned throughout her career.
The Song of the Year trophy marked her eighth win in the category, further extending her ACM record. Over the years, she’s earned the same honor for “The House That Built Me,” and snagged trophies as both an artist and songwriter on “Over You,” “Automatic,” and “Tin Man.”
Her latest Single of the Year victory also tied the ACM record for the most wins in the category with four total. Lambert previously claimed the title with “The House That Built Me” (2011), “Over You” (2013) and “Mama’s Broken Heart” (2014). This year’s honor also served as her first ACM win as a producer.
This achievement means Lambert now joins an elite group of artists who have won Single of the Year four times, alongside Alan Jackson, George Strait, and Tim McGraw.
Adding to her already memorable night, the female superstar also took the stage to perform her newest release, “Crisco.” To say it was a dazzling delivery would be an understatement. As a curtain of shimmering silver tinsel lifted, Lambert appeared center stage in a rhinestone denim dress, surrounded by sparkling disco balls and even a fully rhinestoned saddle hanging overhead.
The venue transformed into the kind of “country and disco” “rhinestone world” she sings about in the track, while the crowd got to their feet and danced along to the playful, feel-good energy of the tune, which effortlessly blends classic country charm with retro disco flair
Overall, the entire night was something to remember. Lambert proved she has no plans of slowing down soon while her collaborator Ella Langley claimed the most awards of the night with a whopping seven trophies.
2026 ACM Awards Performance Lineup
The 61st Academy of Country Music Awards also featured performances by Avery Anna, Carter Faith, Dan + Shay, Cody Johnson, Jordan Davis, Blake Shelton, Kacey Musgraves, Kane Brown, Lainey Wilson, Little Big Town, Ella Langley, Riley Green, The Red Clay Strays, Thomas Rhett, Tucker Wetmore, and Zach Top.
Other highlights include collaborations between Thomas Rhett and Jordan Davis, Parker McCollum and Lee Ann Womack and a special closing performance of Kenny Rogers’ “The Gambler” by Blake Shelton as a tribute to the late Nashville songwriter, Don Schlitz, who passed away on April 16, 2026.
Ashley McBryde, Keith Urban, Lauren Alaina, Michael Bublé, Shaboozey, The War And Treaty, and TJ Osborne were among the night’s many presenters.
Shania Twain hosted the nearly 2.5-hour event, which streamed live to a global audience in over 240 countries and territories exclusively on Prime Video. The show returned to Las Vegas and aired from the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
A complete list of winners can be found HERE.
The post Miranda Lambert Maintains Status As Most-Awarded Artist in ACM Awards History appeared first on Country Now.
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The bridge that will allow vehicles to pass over the Pretty Rocks landslide at Denali National Park is seen in early August 2025 as it was being slowly pulled into place. The onoing thaw-induced landslide, which accelerated and made the road impassable late in the summer of 2021, prompted the bridge project. The bridge project is expected to be completed in 2026. (Photo provided by the National Park Service)
The Interior Department is taking public comment on a proposal that would allow up to 160 vehicles per day on a restricted section of the Denali Park Road during the peak summer tourist season.
Public comments on the idea are being accepted through July 17, according to a public notice filed Thursday that announced the change.
The current limit, set in 1986, allows 10,512 vehicles from the Saturday before Memorial Day to the second Thursday after Labor Day. That’s roughly 100 vehicles per day.
Tour buses do not count against the current seasonal limit, but they would count against the new daily limit, reducing the practical effect of the change.
The new limit was proposed in a vehicle management plan finalized in 2012. Under that plan, the 160 vehicle-per-day limit represents the “maximum level” of vehicle use that could be supported while maintaining the park’s quality.
Last year, President Donald Trump issued an executive order directing Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to “review all of the Department’s recreational access rules and take steps to rescind any that unnecessarily restrict recreation in national parks.”
In a news release announcing the proposed Denali Park Road rules, Burgum said, “Denali is one of America’s crown jewels, and Americans should have every reasonable opportunity to experience it. This proposed rule removes outdated restrictions, improves transparency, and ensures access decisions are driven by sound management rather than unnecessary bureaucracy.”
All park visitors can access the first 15 miles of the Denali Park Road, but the stretch beyond the Savage River checkpoint is restricted during the tourist season. Permits apply to that stretch, which continues to Kantishna, a community at the end of the road, 92 miles from its start.
Since 2022, the road has been blocked at Mile 43 by a slow-moving landslide at a location known as Pretty Rocks. A bridge bypassing that landslide is expected to be complete this summer.
Until that bridge reopens, tour buses will travel no farther than Mile 43. Eielson Visitor Center is closed, as is Wonder Lake Campground.
Trips to Mile 42 will begin May 20; until then, traffic is limited to the Teklanika Rest Area at Mile 30.
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If you’re a fan of Amy Schumer’s work, then you know that the comic has never shied away from revelations about her personal life that might be labeled TMI.
So it should come as no surprise that Amy is discussing the ways in which her recent colonoscopy impacted her sex life.
Yes, Amy is opening up about a recent health setback, revealing that a “botched colonoscopy” has had a lasting and unexpected impact.
During a recent “Not Skinny But Not Fat” podcast live event with, Schumer got candid about how she’s really doing these days.
“I feel happier than I’ve ever been before,” Schumer said (via Us Weekly). “I actually had, kind of, a botched colonoscopy, so I’m not feeling very sexual.”
That’s certainly one way to give a health update!
Amy didn’t elaborate on exactly what went wrong during the procedure, but she might be saving that for her next standup special.
The revelation is just the latest in a long line of refreshingly unfiltered confessions from the 44-year-old mother of one.
Over the past few years, Schumer has spoken openly about everything from cosmetic procedures to weight-loss medications and her diagnosis with Cushing syndrome, a hormonal condition she said developed after steroid injections.
Amy previously revealed she lost 50 pounds after addressing the disorder, saying the illness had caused significant swelling in her face.
The comedian has also been navigating major personal changes.
In late 2025, Schumer and husband Chris Fischer announced the end of their marriage after nearly eight years together.
The former couple share one son, Gene, and have reportedly continued living under the same roof while prioritizing co-parenting.
Despite all the chaos of recent months, Schumer insists she’s in a good place emotionally.
But we don’t think anyone would blame her if she reschedules her next colonoscopy.
Amy Schumer Reveals ‘Sexual’ Side Effect of ‘Botched’ Colonoscopy was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.
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