The political story of the year, so far, is a leftward lurch inside the Democratic Party. New York City has a socialist mayor. Candidates backed by the Democratic Socialists of America have toppled moderates in primaries across the country. And Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has emerged, according to prediction markets, as the front-runner for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination.
Ocasio-Cortez has not said whether she will run. But Washington analyst Mark Halperin argues she 'might have the cleanest and clearest path to the nomination of any Democrat.' Whether that path leads to the White House is a separate question — one that depends, in part, on whether the country is moving with her or simply watching her party move.
The latest data point came this week in Florida, a state long defined by Cuban and Venezuelan communities whose families fled socialist governments. Voters there chose state representative Angie Nixon over her establishment-backed opponent in the Democratic Senate primary. Audrey Fahlberg reports on how Nixon won and what it signals about a state that was supposed to be immune to this particular wave.
Elsewhere in the news: President Trump pulled back on his threat of 50 percent tariffs on Canada, with the reversal coming just 90 minutes before the Wednesday deadline — keeping negotiations between the two countries alive. The president also said Wednesday that the United States might return to negotiations with Iran 'at some point,' though he added the 'situation is so good' that such talks are unlikely soon.
The United Arab Emirates announced it is severing all trade and financial ties with Iran, after accusing Iran of launching ballistic missiles toward the UAE — another sign of escalating regional conflict.
On the domestic front, President Trump decided to nominate White House aide Heidi Overton as the next head of the Food and Drug Administration. Overton appeared next to the president last week when he signed an executive order overhauling the childhood vaccine schedule.
And in science: a new mRNA vaccine showed positive results in a trial for skin cancer patients. The companies called it a 'landmark moment' — the first successful late-stage trial of an mRNA-based cancer treatment. Moderna and Merck are among the companies involved.
Meanwhile, Vinay Prasad — who was one of the most prominent contrarian voices during the pandemic and later became the FDA's head vaccine regulator — has now read Anthony Fauci's personal diaries in full, released last month by Kentucky senator Rand Paul. Prasad says he feels more vindicated than ever.
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Say it plainly: a socialist primary win in Florida is not a rounding error. It is evidence that the institutional Democratic Party has lost control of its own base — and that the energy, the money, and the candidates now belong to a faction that views markets, borders, and private enterprise as problems to be solved rather than foundations to be defended.
For voters who care about incentives, investment, and the rule of law, the 2028 race is shaping up as a clarifying contest. The question is not whether the far left can win a primary. This week confirmed it can. The question is what happens when that program meets a general electorate — and a record.
