Ken Rudin's Political Junkie

Donald Trump had an extraordinarily successful month of endorsing winning challengers to Republican incumbents in the primaries.  Laura Merrifield Wilson of the University of Indianapolis discusses the defeats of five Indiana state senators who opposed Trump’s redistricting plan.  Tyler Bridges of The Advocate/The Times-Picayune reports on how Sen. Bill Cassidy’s 2021 vote to convict T...

The meteoric rise — and dramatic fall — of Congressman Eric Swalwell is the subject of this episode.  Seema Mehta , a political reporter with the Los Angeles Times, recounts how he went from media darling to alleged sex offender, ending what had initially been an improbable bid to become governor of California.  And, for good measure, George Skelton , the veteran L.A. Times columnist,...

Kathryn Pearson of the University of Minnesota explains the scandal that may have ended Gov. Tim Walz’s political career, and the expected decision by Sen. Amy Klobuchar that she would seek to succeed him this year. And Lou Cannon , the chief White House correspondent during the Ronald Reagan presidency and a superb Reagan biographer, died last month at the age of 92.  He was last on the Pol...

Matthew Wilson , political science professor at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, sets up the fierce primaries, Democratic and Republican, for the Senate in Texas.  Incumbent Republican John Cornyn is facing a battle from his right from state Attorney General Ken Paxton, and firebrand liberal Rep. Jasmine Crockett is challenging James Talarico for the Democrats.  No Democrat has won a Texas...

Congressional analyst Jack Pitney assesses the meaning of Marjorie Taylor Greene’s upcoming resignation from Congress, and weighs whether the Georgia Republican still has a future in politics, given her seeming banishment by President Trump. And we remember Mark Mellman , the Democratic pollster who died last month, by replaying an interview we had with him in November of 2016, when Hillary...

Maine Public Radio’s Steve Mistler focuses on what may be the Democrats’ best chance at a Senate pickup in 2026, the seat of five-term Republican incumbent Susan Collins.  Establishment Democrats in Washington have come up with who they feel would be the strongest opponent, popular Gov. Janet Mills; earlier this year she made a name for herself by standing up to President Trump at a go...

Journalist and historian Chris Whipple , author of the new book “ Uncharted: How Trump Beat Biden, Harris, and the Odds in the Wildest Campaign in History ,” talks about how the Democratic Party, the Biden campaign and the candidate himself decided to ignore the reality of Biden’s mental acuity and insist on running against Trump until it was too late — and handing the Whit...

Chicago Tribune political correspondent Rick Pearson sums up the career of Dick Durbin, the Illinois Democrat who is retiring after five terms in the Senate. PLUS:  George Santos can continue to lie, only this time in prison … Remembering Donald Trump’s tirades against Barack Obama for his executive orders and golf playing … A farewell to our old friend Alan Simpson … and l...

Joe Gerth , columnist for the Louisville Courier-Journal , takes us through the long Senate career of Mitch McConnell, the Republican from Kentucky, who announced he will not seek an eighth term. PLUS:   The stunning shouting match between President Trump, cheered on by Vice President Vance, and Ukrainian President Zelensky. The post Episode #422: How Mitch McConnell Enabled The Party Takeover By...

Jeff Greenfield remembers how Presidents Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush consoled the nation during crisis and trauma, and compares their actions to those of Donald Trump, whose response to a deadly plane crash was one of blame and nastiness. Rick Pluta of Michigan Public Radio discusses the retirement of Sen. Gary Peters (D) and the battle in 2026 to succeed him — a battle th...

Donald Trump’s election opened up two Senate seats — in Ohio, where JD Vance was elected vice president, and in Florida, where Marco Rubio joined the Trump Cabinet as Secretary of State.   Jeremy Pelzer , a political reporter with Cleveland.com and the Cleveland Plain Dealer , talks about new Sen. Jon Husted, who had been Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s lieutenant governor.  And Susan Ma...

Republican strategist Terry Holt explains what happened on November 5th and dissects some of Donald Trump’s more controversial Cabinet picks. Aubrey Jewett of the University of Central Florida handicaps who will succeed Secretary of State-designate Marco Rubio in the Senate. Former Congresswoman Jill Long Thompson (D-IN) has a new book filled with essays from Democrats and Republicans alike...

Holly Michels of the Montana State News Bureau for Lee Newspapers reports on the tough re-election battle facing Sen. Jon Tester, a Democrat seeking a fourth term in an overwhelmingly Republican state … and this time, with the very popular Donald Trump on the ballot. And Rob Schofield of NC Newsline is covering the race for governor in North Carolina, where we have learned that the Republica...

Dan Morain , a journalist who spent decades at the Los Angeles Times and the Sacramento Bee , and who is the author of “Kamala’s Way,” the first biography of Vice President Kamala Harris, talks about her rise in California politics that has led her to the doorsteps of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. PLUS :  A look back at the Harris-Trump debate, the intrusion of Taylor Swift into the...

Anti-Trump Republican strategist Mike Murphy tries to sum up a surreal month of politics, starting with Joe Biden’s debate from hell and ending with the president’s withdrawal and the likely anointment of Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee for president.  On her VP selection, Murphy offers a prediction … and a preference. And Matt Arco , a political reporter f...

Alan Schroeder , author of the definitive book on presidential debates, takes us on a tour of memorable debates over the years and tries to assess how next week’s “bash” (CNN pun intended) between President Biden and former President Trump may affect the November vote — if at all. NPR’s Ron Elving adds up the pros and cons of Trump’s many potential running mates...

Republican and Never-Trump strategist Mike Murphy joins us to discuss the state of politics in the aftermath of Donald Trump’s conviction on 34 felony counts, the first time a former president was ever convicted of a crime.  He also talks about the Joe Biden campaign and what he must do if he is to win re-election. PLUS :  The RNC disses Larry Hogan, Bob Good may have a bad primary, and the...

Pamela Wood of the Baltimore Banner sets up Tuesday’s Democratic primary in Maryland to succeed retiring Sen. Ben Cardin.  David Trone and Angela Alsobrooks are engaged in an increasingly heated contest for a seat Republicans haven’t won in 44 years.  But the presence of popular former Gov. Larry Hogan on the November ballot has given the GOP unexpected hope. PLUS :  Kristi Noem’...

NPR’s David Folkenflik sorts out the brouhaha NBC News found itself in when it hired Ronna McDaniel as a paid commentator — a hire that lasted all of four days.  An all-staff mutiny followed her new employment, given her role as a Trump enabler in his effort to overturn the 2020 election.  David also weighs the advantages, if any, in hiring partisan voices in news organizations —...

The announcement by Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, a Democrat-turned-independent, that she would not seek a second term was hardly a surprise.  But it shook up a key Senate race in a body where Republicans are closing in on a majority.  Ron Hansen of the Arizona Republic lays out what’s ahead between likely nominees Ruben Gallego (D) and Kari Lake (R). And Jacob Rubashkin , the deputy editor o...

Mark Z. Barabak of the Los Angeles Times sets up Tuesday’s California Senate primary for the seat once held by Dianne Feinstein.  A race long dominated by three Democratic House members — Adam Schiff, Katie Porter and Barbara Lee — the campaign suffered a jolt when a Republican, former Dodgers star Steve Garvey, got in the race.  Now there are accusations that Schiff, the acknowl...

Yale Prof. Kathryn Lofton explores the whole Taylor Swift rumor mill lunacy and explains the pitfalls celebrities encounter as they decide whether to use their fame for political ends. And Spectrum News New York political director Bob Hardt dissects the upcoming race to succeed George Santos in New York’s Third Congressional District. PLUS :  The House GOP effort to impeach Alejandro Mayorka...

We speak to two veterans of New Hampshire politics, former Republican state chair F ergus Cullen and longtime Democratic state lawmaker Lou D’Allesandro .  Cullen maintains that despite sizable dissatisfaction among Republicans with Donald Trump, Nikki Haley does not look like she is in a position to pose a threat to the former president.  And D’Allesandro acknowledges unhappiness with...

Former Partner-in-Crime Ron Elving returns to the Political Junkie for a review of 2023 and what to expect in 2024 when, by most accounts, the presidential contest will be a repeat of four years ago:  Joe Biden vs. Donald Trump. The post Episode #407: Farewell To 2023, Bracing For 2024 appeared first on Ken Rudin's Political Junkie .

Jonathan Alter , author of a great biography about Jimmy Carter, talks about the significant role played during his life by Rosalynn Carter, his life partner and first lady, who died last month at 93. We replayed a 2019 interview with Evan Thomas , the author of a biography of Sandra Day O’Connor, the nation’s first female Supreme Court justice, who died on December 1st. And we heard a...