Trump’s mixed results and election wild cards

Plus: CPAC in Budapest; more free COVID tests

View this email online May 21, 2022 This week, we looked at primary election results, CPAC in Hungary and a new subpoena from the Jan. 6 committee. Plus, more free COVID tests. The Big Picture: Election Wild Cards Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images Former President Trump’s endorsements were again tested in this week’s round of primaries. (His results were mixed.) And we got a first measure of how abortion rights could impact this year’s elections. There are still races we are waiting on, like in the GOP primary in the key Pennsylvania Senate race and who prevails in a congressional race in Oregon that pitted a long-time Democratic incumbent with President Biden‘s backing against a progressive who is well ahead. Both offer indications of the strength and limitations of both parties’ leaders — Trump and President Biden. Meantime, abortion rights are quickly becoming a wild card in these midterms. A new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll found evidence that Democrats are fired up by the issue after the Supreme Court’s leaked draft opinion earlier this month showed the conservative majority ready to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark case that made abortion legal in this country almost 50 years ago. Republicans have been heavily favored to take back the House and possibly the Senate this year and would much rather be talking about rising inflation. — Domenico Montanaro, NPR’s senior political editor/correspondent Newsletter continues after sponsor message ICYMI: Top Stories Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP CPAC in Hungary. The Conservative Political Action Conference is one of the biggest gatherings of conservatives in the world, and Budapest makes sense to host this year's annual big meeting when you consider that the keynote speaker — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban — is a hero to some American conservatives. Jan. 6 committee update. The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack is asking Georgia GOP Rep. Barry Loudermilk to voluntarily share information about a tour he led the day before the siege that could have helped insurrectionists.  2020 census miscounts. For the 2020 census, all states were not counted equally well for population numbers used to allocate political representation and federal funding over the next 10 years. Biden backs NATO bids by Sweden and Finland. President Biden threw his support behind Finland and Sweden joining NATO, a move he said is not a threat to Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin opposes NATO expansion, seeing it as directed at Russia and its borders. Sussman trial begins. The trial for Michael Sussman -- the first case from Trump-era special counsel John Durham to be heard by a jury -- kicked off this week. Sussman, a Washington attorney with ties to the Democratic Party, faces a single count of making false statements to the FBI in the weeks ahead of the 2016 election. More free COVID tests. Americans can once again order free COVID-19 tests from the federal government by visiting COVIDtests.gov. In this round, the U.S. Postal Service will deliver eight free rapid antigen tests to any household in the U.S. that wants them. Disinformation board on hold. A group within the Department of Homeland Security that was set up to focus on combating disinformation has been paused after a right-wing campaign was waged to discredit it. And its director, disinformation expert Nina Jankowicz -- also a target of those smears -- quit the same day. She told NPR's Shannon Bond that she's still committed to fighting disinformation: "I'm going to keep working on it as long as I have the energy to." — Heidi Glenn, NPR Politics digital editor The Shot: Domestic Terror Responses  Scott Olson/Getty Images The man accused of shooting 13 people, killing 10 of them, in a racially motivated attack at a Buffalo supermarket left behind a digital footprint, including a nearly 600-page chat log created over about six months. It paints a picture of a committed racist obsessed with the mechanics of planning and executing a deadly mass shooting. Experts who research extremism are combing through the document trying to answer a host of questions like: What red flags might have been missed by those around this individual? Where might there have been an intervention? And what insight might it offer on what differentiates someone who carries out a violent attack from others who may share similar extremist views? Read more about this online footprint and what experts are saying about it. Days after the shooting, the House approved a bill to fight domestic terror. The bill, the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act of 2022, would create offices at the departments of Homeland Security and Justice and the FBI specifically focused on investigating and tracking domestic terror threats.  Later in the week, the Justice Department is taking new steps to raise awareness about hate crimes and to help states develop hotlines for reporting bias incidents. Read more about the new guidelines and grants. — Heidi Glenn, NPR Politics digital editor Listen to your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to hear live radio from WBEZ (edit station). What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: nprpolitics@npr.org Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can sign up here. Looking for more great content? 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