(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Election News Digest : June 12 [1] ['Greg Dworkin', 'Angela Marx', 'Excorpflunky', 'Zct.Life'] Date: 2026-06-12 Ohio poll could portend trouble for Republicans One doesn’t need to have worked in mineral extraction to take note of a dead canary on the floor of a coal mine. While certainly the bird could have died of old age or some avian disease, there is a distinct possibility that it died from the presence of carbon monoxide or some other dangerous gas. In politics, a reputable poll showing multiple danger signs in a state that should be more favorable to one party can be a canary in a coal mine. A Fox News poll of 1,015 registered voters in Ohio, released on Thursday, could well be the canary in the midterm coal mine, suggesting far greater danger for Republicans in November than was previously evident. The analysis by Dana Blanton, who heads the Fox polling unit, as well as the poll’s topline results and crosstabs, are all worth reading. When reading the numbers that follow, you should know that unreleased, private, high-quality polls conducted for both sides show similar results; this poll is not an outlier. And while Fox News has its fans and detractors, its polling is first-rate. Interestingly, no other state has a better track record of voting for the winning presidential candidate than Ohio: it’s done so 18 times out of 20 since the end of World War II. The only exceptions were 1960, when Richard Nixon carried the state but John Kennedy narrowly won both the popular vote and the Electoral College; and 2020, when Donald Trump won Ohio but Joe Biden prevailed nationwide. https://www.charliecookpolitics.com/p/ohio-poll-could-portend-trouble-for? Schumer backs Stevens, sees ‘multiple paths’ to majority Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer effectively endorsed Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) on Wednesday in the contentious three-way Democratic primary to take on former GOP Rep. Mike Rogers. “I think she has the best chance to win,” Schumer said of Stevens during an interview with Punchbowl News. Behind the scenes, Schumer was known to prefer Stevens, but this was by far his most direct signal so far in the critical Michigan primary, which includes state Sen. Mallory McMorrow and former health official Abdul El-Sayed. Stevens is far from a shoo-in, and the primary isn’t until Aug. 4. Late cash for Cait Conley Former National Security Council official Cait Conley is the beneficiary of what Punchbowl News reports is a $500,000 ad buy from the political arm of the centrist New Democrat Coalition ahead of the June 23 Democratic primary. The spending comes two weeks after VoteVets launched what it said was a $1 million ad buy to help Conley win the nomination to take on Republican Rep. Mike Lawler in New York’s 17th District. So far, it’s disclosed expenditures of more than $800,000. Third-party groups have not reported spending to aid any of the other four Democrats running to represent this competitive constituency in the Hudson Valley. https://www.the-downballot.com/i/201663885/ny-17 Weiser leads Bennet, particularly among voters who are disillusioned with the Colorado Democratic Party A new statewide survey of likely Colorado Democratic primary voters reveals a defining dynamic in the governor’s race: Phil Weiser has built an apparent lead over Michael Bennet by consolidating a large bloc of voters who express deep frustration with the current state and direction of the Colorado Democratic Party. The statewide survey, conducted by Colorado Community Research from May 22 to May 28, 2026, finds Weiser leading Bennet 36–28 among likely voters (and 41–34 when allocating leaners). Despite Weiser’s apparent lead, Bennet may have an outside PAC spending advantage going into the final 2.5 weeks, which could allow him to overcome the current deficit. The underlying survey data reveal a stark divide in how voters’ views of the current Colorado Democratic Party impact their gubernatorial preference. Voters describing Democrats as “ineffective” support Weiser over Bennet at a 2:1 ratio, with 48% supporting Weiser, 24% supporting Bennet, and about 29% remaining undecided. Over half (51%) of voters who view Democrats as “effective” support Bennet; however, only 21% of likely voters currently view the party as effective. This finding suggests that Bennet is successfully capturing the more established-aligned, satisfied wing of the primary electorate, while Weiser is consolidating the change-seekers. https://www.coloradocommunityresearch.com/past-polls-surveys/weiser-leads-bennet-particularly-among-voters-who-are-disillusioned-with-the-colorado-democratic-party Espaillat challenger leads 39-35 in poll A democratic socialist backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani leads Rep. Adriano Espaillat in this month’s Democratic primary for New York’s 13th Congressional District, according to polling conducted for Justice Democrats by Data for Progress. Darializa Avila Chevalier, a grad student and organizer of the Gaza protests at Columbia University, leads Espaillat 39-35; the interviews with 319 likely primary voters were conducted June 3-9, during which time Mamdani released an ad supporting Avila Chevalier, and Espaillat responded with an ad claiming his challenger deleted tweets that called Joe Biden a “rapist” and used a four-letter word to attack Kamala Harris. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries is standing with Espaillat, and the congressman’s allies have cried foul on Mamdani for endorsing against a Democrat who supported him after the 2025 primary, when others stuck with former Gov. Andrew Cuomo or stayed neutral. https://www.semafor.com/newsletter/06/11/2026/semafor-washington-dc-path-of-least-resistance?utm_source=nowshare&utm_medium=principals&utm_campaign=flagshipnumbered7#h [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/6/12/800054133/community/election-news-digest-june-12/ Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/