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Not a lot of good news for Trump lately. The more bad news he gets, the more he tries to distract voters with foreign adventures.

Rachel Maddow recaps a number of federal court decisions unfavorable to Trump which were handed down on the last few days.

She places these in the context of Trump defeats from last week.

And she caps it all by mentioning that Mary Peltola has announced that she will run for the US Senate from Alaska this year. She is the Democrat given the best chance of flipping the seat held by incumbent Republican Dan Sullivan.

A related reminder that as of January 13th...

Exactly 42 weeks until the 2026 midterm elections!

Alex Samuels at Daily Kos:

Democrats got the kind of news they’ve been waiting for out of Alaska on Monday, when former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola announced she’s running for the Senate. In a cycle with few obvious openings, her entry gives the party a credible chance to compete in a state it hasn’t seriously contended at the Senate level in years.  Peltola served a term and a half as Alaska’s at-large House member, first winning a 2022 special election before securing a full term that fall. She narrowly lost reelection in 2024 by about three points—even as President Donald Trump carried the state by about 13. 

Democrats see that split as evidence of her crossover appeal—and a reason to believe Alaska could again defy national trends. This time, she’ll take on Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan, who is seeking a third term. Peltola had also weighed a run for governor, a seat that will open due to term limits, but national Democrats quietly pushed her toward the Senate instead. With Republicans holding a 53–47 edge and the 2026 map offering few friendly targets, party leaders are eager to compete anywhere the terrain looks even slightly forgiving. In her launch video, Peltola focused on kitchen-table issues like the cost of living and the health of the state’s fishing industry, reviving her House-era slogan—“fish, family and freedom”—and calling for congressional term limits.

“Growing up, Alaska was a place of abundance. Now, we have scarcity,” Peltola said. “The salmon, large game, and migratory birds that used to fill our freezers are harder to find. So we buy more groceries, with crushing prices.” Her decision caps a year of aggressive recruiting by Senate Democrats, led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chair Kirsten Gillibrand. Favored candidates are now running in North Carolina, Maine, and Ohio, with Democrats nudging contenders in several other states—even as some of those races head toward primaries.

Former Congresswoman Mary Peltola (D) will run for Senate against incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK). This is a seat that could aid in the quest to turn the Senate blue.

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