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Russell Payne

Russell Payne

Salon

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The fight for the Epstein files isn’t over

Here's the various ways the Trump administration could still block their release

26.11.2025 4

Salon

Russell Payne

Why Mitch McConnell helped kill the hemp buzz

The Kentucky senator helped end a loophole in hemp law he championed. Now a $28 billion industry could be destroyed

25.11.2025 6

Salon

Russell Payne

“Always put the people first”: Progressives get a new candidate in New York City

Darializa Avila Chevalier, a community organizer in Manhattan, is challenging Rep. Adriano Espaillat in Harlem

21.11.2025 30

Salon

Russell Payne

Cori Bush on midterms: “Woke isn’t dead — woke is fighting”

The former Missouri congresswoman, seeking to return to Washington, argues progressives are built for this moment

07.11.2025 20

Salon

Russell Payne

The National Guardsman who won’t take orders from Trump

Dylan Blaha, an Illinois congressional candidate, says “I was just following orders” is no excuse

06.11.2025 2

Salon

Russell Payne

Mamdani wins: How a democratic socialist toppled the Empire State machine

The biggest turnout in a mayoral election in 30 years was a victory for Democrats

05.11.2025 20

Salon

Russell Payne

Panic in the Hamptons: The fight to stop Zohran Mamdani

Behind closed doors, rich donors plotted to stop a movement reshaping NYC politics — and exposed their deeper fears

30.10.2025 5

Salon

Russell Payne

“It’s a 100% bluff”: Cuts hamper Stephen Miller’s war on the left

Experts say Trump deputy chief of staff's “war” on the left is more performance than policy

24.10.2025 7

Salon

Russell Payne

Efforts to avenge Charlie Kirk’s death have fallen apart everywhere — except where it counts

Organizations that cropped up in the wake of Charlie Kirk's death, promising to dox his critics, have evaporated

23.10.2025 3

Salon

Russell Payne

Amy McGrath isn’t sorry for trying again

McGrath tells Salon "no one got rich" off her last Senate campaign, but that she could step aside for someone else

20.10.2025 20

Salon

Russell Payne

Tennessee’s last House Democrat, facing progressive challenger, vows to fight

Veteran Memphis congressman Steve Cohen says he won't quit, despite challenge from member of "Tennessee Three"

14.10.2025 2

Salon

Russell Payne

Federal agencies go MAGA amid shutdown

The Hatch Act bars federal employees from taking part in political campaigns, but critics say it's not enforced

10.10.2025 4

Salon

Russell Payne

Progressives see an opening in Tennessee

The Memphis-area state Rep. Justin Pearson tells Salon he wants Democrats to center the working class again

08.10.2025 3

Salon

Russell Payne

Why the ACLU is backing a GOP lawmaker at the Supreme Court

For technical reasons, the group is backing a Republican in a Supreme Court case related to mail-in ballots

08.10.2025 3

Salon

Russell Payne

Conservative Democrat Jared Golden gets a serious challenger

Maine Auditor Mathew Dunlap tells Salon that Rep. Jared Golden's vote for a GOP funding bill was the final straw

06.10.2025 4

Salon

Russell Payne

Anti-trans activists pray SCOTUS upholds “conversion therapy”

Opponents of transgender rights hope they will benefit when the Supreme Court rules on conversion-therapy bans

02.10.2025 4

Salon

Russell Payne

Watchdog pushes for release of Jack Smith’s Trump report

The public has still not seen special counsel Jack Smith's full report on Trump's handling of classified documents

30.09.2025 3

Salon

Russell Payne

DNC backs drive for Missouri gerrymandering referendum

The Democratic National Committee said it's supporting a drive to put the Missouri GOP's new map up for a vote

29.09.2025 3

Salon

Russell Payne

Republicans keep pushing unconstitutional flag-burning ban

Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Pa., is floating the idea of imprisoning "radical left" flag burners

25.09.2025 4

Salon

Russell Payne

Mamdani campaign vets are starting to help other Democrats

The team behind Zohran Mamdani's viral videos is now working to elect more progressives from coast to coast

24.09.2025 2

Salon

Russell Payne

Fox News “expert” says Hitler went to heaven

Karlyn Borysenko, a self-described fascist, is gaining influence — and getting liberals fired

23.09.2025 10

Salon

Russell Payne

Emails suggest that a Trump-friendly business is getting special treatment from the government

Emails show a Trump official intervening to help a Florida business owner who has been pictured with the president

18.09.2025 20

Salon

Russell Payne

Lindsey Graham’s challenger says Democrats can’t give up on red states

Annie Andrews, a pediatrician challenging Sen. Lindsey Graham, told Salon "it's always worth" challenging the GOP

17.09.2025 3

Salon

Russell Payne

“Take away your freedom”: MAGA plots to use Charlie Kirk’s death to go after the left

Right-wing activists are compiling anti-Kirk posts as admin officials threaten to weaponize law enforcement

16.09.2025 4

Salon

Russell Payne

MAGA activists are cancelling Charlie Kirk’s insensitive critics

Activists like Chaya Raichik are trying to get liberals fired over insensitive remarks in the wake of Kirk's death

12.09.2025 20

Salon

Russell Payne

She took on Moms for Liberty. Now she’s aiming for the Senate

Jennifer Jenkins, who fought right-wing efforts to take over Florida schools, spoke to Salon about her new campaign

10.09.2025 10

Salon

Russell Payne

Progressive Dems pick their latest primary target — and it’s a modest surprise

Rep. Jimmy Gomez says he's a progressive — but Justice Democrats want to take him down over pro-Israel money

05.09.2025 5

Salon

Russell Payne

“Big Beautiful Bill” goes to the Dumpster: GOP now claims it’s a tax cut

Vance, Republicans roll out a messaging switchback — but for many households, there's no tax cut coming

04.09.2025 5

Salon

Russell Payne

New Texas maps: Doom for Democrats — or do they hold a hidden prize?

New House maps in Texas are meant to help GOP in DC — but they could benefit Democrats in big statewide races

30.08.2025 10

Salon

Russell Payne

Republicans thought they could escape the Big Beautiful Bill. It’s not working

Republicans delayed many of the worst cuts until after the 2026 midterms — but the voters aren't fooled

28.08.2025 5

Salon

Russell Payne

Newsom promises “new Democratic Party” amid GOP redistricting push

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said his party needs to take a new tack to fight Republican schemes

21.08.2025 3

Salon

Russell Payne

Democrats probably can’t win the redistricting wars

Democrats simply do not have as many opportunities to pick up seats through gerrymandering

19.08.2025 10

Salon

Russell Payne

California’s top Democrats aren’t convinced a progressive can win

Democrats think they can flip California's 22nd District and take back the House, but they can't agree on how

16.08.2025 6

Salon

Russell Payne

Texas Democrats signal likely end of gerrymander battle

"We are about to suffer the blunt force of Governor Abbott's weakness,” state lawmaker says

15.08.2025 3

Salon

Russell Payne

The GOP plot to gain 40 seats without winning any more votes

Party operatives think gerrymandering, a new Census and a friendly Supreme Court can help keep Republicans in power

14.08.2025 30

Salon

Russell Payne

Texas Democrats face a “complicated” long game

The odds are stacked against state lawmakers who broke quorum in an effort to stop a GOP gerrymander

11.08.2025 3

Salon

Russell Payne

GOP power grab puts voting rights advocates in a bind

Good government groups say they oppose redistricting in Democratic states, even if Republicans do it first

08.08.2025 8

Salon

Russell Payne

Texas Dems to DC: “Do something — or get out of the way”

Democrats who fled Texas to block a Republican gerrymander told Salon that national leaders need to step up next

06.08.2025 3

Salon

Russell Payne

Are Democrats blowing it? A “blue wave” is no sure thing

Democrats are confronting the possibility that a backlash to Trump won't be enough for them to take back Congress

05.08.2025 5

Salon

Russell Payne

“Vote blue no matter who,” unless it’s Mamdani?

Some supporters of Zohran Mamdani are wondering whatever happened to rallying behind the Democratic nominee

03.08.2025 30

Salon

Russell Payne

Mamdani’s Democratic critics want to ruin his shot at winning

Former New York Gov. David Paterson, a Democrat, insists he's not alone in hoping that his party loses in November

31.07.2025 30

Salon

Russell Payne

American democracy is crashing out and it will be hard to reverse, international rights group warns

The Trump administration is acting like "dictatorial regimes do," according to the global rights monitor CIVICUS

30.07.2025 40

Salon

Russell Payne

ICE is about to go on a hiring spree

Former ICE officials think the Trump administration will have to lower standards and hire private contractors

26.07.2025 10

Salon

Russell Payne

Meet the young Republicans who want to deport Zohran Mamdani

NYC's Young Republican club cosplays as a deadly political weapon, but may be less ferocious than it appears

21.07.2025 3

Salon

Russell Payne

Pressure grows to unmask ICE

Democrats in California, New York and other states are trying to prevent ICE agents from concealing their identity

19.07.2025 10

Salon

Russell Payne

“Cried every night”: ICE detains child with leukemia

The Trump administration is going after easy targets, including sick children, to meet its deportation quotas

16.07.2025 100

Salon

Russell Payne

Judge pauses Trump’s effort to abolish birthright citizenship

A federal judge granted class action status to plaintiffs who accuse Trump of violating the U.S. Constitution

11.07.2025 10

Salon

Russell Payne

Taking on "the language police" and taxing the rich: Tom Suozzi has a vision for moderate Democrats

Rep. Tom Suozzi wants to pair progressive economics with centrist takes on trans rights

18.06.2025 10

Salon

Russell Payne

"A blueberry in a bowl of tomato soup": One Democrat's plan for beating Joni Ernst in deep-red Iowa

JD Scholten, professional athlete and Democrat, spoke to Salon about how his party can win even in Trump country

17.06.2025 30

Salon

Russell Payne

Do WelcomeFest Democrats even know what's popular?

WelcomeFest speakers said they want Democrats to take popular positions, but their own agenda is controversial

10.06.2025 5

Salon

Russell Payne