Let’s Take a Look-See at What ‘Far Left’ vs. ‘Far Right’ Candidates Actually Want

Whose Narrative Is It Anyway? Political labels are increasingly meaningless. As Josh Marshall has been writing, fewer people these days are inclined to identify as “centrist” or “moderate.” So-called independent voters often espouse wildly incoherent views (see: those insane-making New York Times voter surveys). Donald Trump even accused Joe Biden of being a socialist. As we’ve seen in this year’s primary contests, there’s also a maddening tendency among elected officials and the political press to equate “far left” and “far right” candidates as occupying equally extreme, dangerous ends of the political spectrum, though those in the former camp mostly want universal healthcare and affordable housing while the latter is more likely to endorse the forced deportation of non-white people from the United States. Commenting on a Wisconsin gubernatorial field that included DSA-backed state lawmaker Francesca Hong and the election-denying congressman Tom Tiffany, University of Wisconsin professor Mark Copelovitch noted, “The @nytimes hasn’t written a single article asking if ‘voters will think Tom Tiffany is too radical’ because he is an election-denying, pro-ICE, authoritarian extremist. Somehow, his position on the political spectrum has disappeared completely from the National and State Conversations.” After Hong lost her bid by just 3,000 votes, the New York Times ran a piece headlined “A Stunning Loss in Wisconsin Shows the Limits of the Left” and declaring it a possibility that “the democratic socialist wave cannot reach beyond urban centers.” (The Wall Street Journal, Politico and Axios were similarly quick to diagnose Hong’s loss as a terminal failure of the “far left,” with CNN even declaring, “Democratic establishment roars back.” Tiffany, meanwhile, won his race. The Times headline: Tom Tiffany Wins Wisconsin’s Republican Primary for Governor.) Below, we take a look at some of the policies proposed by 2026 primary candidates in the “far right” camp versus those coming from candidates who’ve been labeled “far left.” Some of these things are not like the others. On immigration Candidate: Darializa Avila Chevalier, Democratic nominee to represent New York’s 13th Congressional District The immigration proposals on Avila Chevalier’s campaign website include calls to mandate free legal representation for immigrants — an issue that several states are currently working to address, as TPM has reported. She also promises to fight to ”abolish ICE and the deportation machine,” which some 48% of Americans want to do, according to a July YouGov poll. Candidate: Mike Collins, Republican Senate nominee in Georgia Collins sponsored the first piece of legislation that Trump signed in his second term: the Laken Riley Act, which targets undocumented immigrants charged with nonviolent crimes for deportation. He also sponsored a bill to end birthright citizenship. On reproductive rights Candidate: Francesca Hong, Democratic gubernatorial candidate in Wisconsin Among a lengthy list of policy priorities, Hong, who lost her bid on Aug. 11, advocated for enshrining reproductive rights into Wisconsin’s constitution and for providing universal childcare and paid leave programs to allow people to access reproductive care. Candidate: James Fishback, Republican gubernatorial candidate in Florida Fishback’s campaign website credits him for recognizing “what too few establishment Republicans are willing to say: life begins at conception and abortion is murder.” The candidate pledges to shut down Florida’s remaining 53 abortion clinics (legality of that TBD!) and replace them with crisis pregnancy centers because “abortion is never the answer.” He’ll also establish paid maternity leave, since “welcoming a child into the world is one of the most important things a family can do.” Generous. On taxes Candidate: Donovan McKinney, Democratic nominee to represent Michigan’s 13th congressional district The Michigan lawmaker and DSA member’s campaign site is a bit thin on details, but he proposes raising taxes on billionaires and corporations in order to “fund crucial investments our community needs for housing, education, clean air & water, fair paying jobs and healthcare.” He also endorses a universal basic income. Candidate: Mike Lindell, Republican gubernatorial nominee in Wisconsin Better known as “the MyPillow Guy,” Trump ally and conspiracy theorist Lindell proposes eliminating Wisconsin’s in-person retail sales tax “so working families, small businesses, farmers, and retirees can keep more of what they earn.” Lindell lost his bid on Aug. 11. On national security Candidate: Abdul El-Sayed, Democratic Senate nominee in Michigan El-Sayed’s support for Palestine and opposition to funding Israel’s military was one of the defining issues of the Michigan Senate primary. On his campaign website, he calls for a “sensible foreign policy,” which includes ending the war in Iran; ending the “warlike pathway that the foreign policy establishment has pursued with China”; imposing an arms embargo on Israel; reinvesting in foreign aid; reengaging with international bodies like the World Health Organization and the Paris Agreement; and “spending our taxpayer dollars here at home” rather than on funding foreign militaries. Candidate: Bo French, Republican nominee for Texas Railroad Commissioner The man tapped by the GOP to help oversee the state’s largest industry (it earned $27 billion last year) has his Day 1 priority set: prohibiting the sale of Texas land to people from Muslim-majority countries because of their purported threat to state security. “America has been at war with Islam since the time of our Independence, and stopping the subversive influence of Islam in Texas by banning all Muslim countries from acquiring land and interfering in Texas Oil and Gas will be my top legislative priority,” French says. Trump Is Trashing the GOP’s Economic Edge Are voters finally starting to realize they can’t entrust the nation’s economy to a piss-poor businessman whose companies are still failing? Maybe that’s too hopeful a view. But ahead of a 2026 midterm election that will decide not only which party controls the legislative branch of government but the future course of American democracy, several surveys show President Donald Trump’s tanking approval rating comes amid record low sentiment about his handling of the U.S. economy. For the first time since Trump began to dominate American politics about a decade ago, voters trust Democrats with the economy more than Republicans, per a Reuters/Ipsos poll taken between the end of July and beginning of August. It’s crucial now, as voter dissatisfaction with affordability has catapulted progressive and Democratic Socialist candidates to mayorships and nominations for higher office nationwide. For his part, Trump refuses to acknowledge affordability as an actual problem. That strategy, based on polling — which, to be fair, has recently shown its limitations — appears not to be working for Trump specifically and the GOP at large. The president’s popularity has even slipped among his loyal MAGA base by 12 points since January 2025, according to an Economist/YouGov poll taken last week. Let’s take a quick look at how this not-actually-sentient being called the economy has been behaving as of late. The U.S. lost 23,000 jobs in July according to the most recent jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, while the statistical agency also revised its positive jobs numbers from the two months prior down by a cumulative 103,000 positions. Wednesday’s release of inflation data by the BLS showed a modest 0.1% bump in the consumer price index and might’ve been welcome news for the administration if not for a tandem BLS report finding real wages fell by the same amount price inflation rose. Overall, standing basically stagnant at around 3.4%, the annual inflation rate is stuck above the Fed’s 2% target, and people’s paychecks aren’t keeping pace. Data published at the end of July saw the U.S. GDP grow at 1.5%, representing a soft second quarter and lower-than-expected economic growth. Trump’s marquee policies of tariffs by any means necessary and a violent mass deportation scheme hurt all of these metrics, economists have repeatedly said. This is not to say all has been abysmal. The U.S. financial market remains resilient. In spite of Trump’s spasmodic policymaking, the stock market continues to reflect investors’ cautious optimism in AI and whatever else. The barrage of recent bad financial news started weeks before Trump Media & Technology Group — a large stake of which is held by Trump’s revocable trust — posted $238 million in losses. That’s 1,090% higher than the $20 million in losses the company took last year and contrasts ridiculously with the more than $2 billion Trump and his family earned in the first year of his presidency. Ironically, or perhaps by design, the lionshare of Trump’s 2025 gains came from crypto, as TMTG’s latest deep losses reflect a pivot away from the controversial industry. The data may sound conflicting — alarming economic indicators and unaffordable cost of living versus strong financial markets; an obviously failing business model versus a business owner who just keeps getting richer — but it’s of a piece with Trump’s entire modus operandi. Like the tax cuts enshrined in the One Big, Beautiful Bill; the myriad no-bid contracts going to unscrupulous figures and companies affiliated with Trump’s own family; and the president’s open exchange of favorable policy carveouts for corporations who give him gifts, the point seems never to enrich the lives of people living in America and always to enrich the president himself. Axios’s Advancements in Reading The efficiency experts at Axios, whom writer Matt Pearce excellently identified as the minds behind the gamified paragraph, claim to have discovered an even better way to read. Advancing the idea that reading any kind of book is hard these days, but reading difficult books is especially hard, one vacationing Axios writer had a breakthrough. While struggling to read the dense prose of James Fenimore Cooper’s “The Last of the Mohicans,” presumably while rolling about on a beach blanket, the writer decided to ask his chatbot for help. This way after each challenging chapter, he could refer to a “spoiler free” cheat sheet that, and we’re just guessing here, broke the chapter into bullet points and answered the all-important question: “why it matters.” While Cooper is certainly a choice for vacation reading, it can hardly be a coincidence that the very first paragraph of “The Last of the Mohicans” speaks to the importance of struggle in preparing to handle adversity. If you’re thinking that this message seems to have gone over the head of the Axios writer (and his AI assistant), the writer does document the struggle of getting the AI to provide accurate information about the actual text, the AI having been trained primarily on ancillary data like book and movie reviews. To overcome this adversity, he suggests that those who wish to copy his methods ask their AI to seek out online versions of the book so that they can get more accurate answers about what they are “reading.” Color Me Reassured “Nothing bad can happen from what we’re doing.” -President Trump on his executive order dictating changes to the childhood vaccine schedule that run counter to guidance from major medical organizations. How Much of This Week’s News Do You Remember? - Lindsey Graham’s sister, Darline Graham Nordone, advanced to the Republican runoff in South Carolina’s Senate race. Which other candidate advanced along with her? - Donald Trump reportedly plans to spend how much on his White House vanity construction projects: a) $500 million, b) 750 million c) $900 million - Which public-facing member of the Trump administration announced this week that she’d be leaving her role? Answers below Help Us Wrap Up the Journalism Fund Drive! We’re in the final stretch of the annual journalism fund drive, with less than $15,000 of our $500,000 goal to go. You’ve no doubt seen our many pitches for the fund by now, but as a quick recap, your contributions go towards: - Funding reporting trips so our team can produce original, on-the-ground stories for you all - Hiring new staff (we’re in the final stages of bringing on a new team member! More soon!) - Backing new projects like the newsletters we’ve launched (and relaunched) this year and podcasts like the TPM Social Club - Helping us keep the lights on (and the walls painted) in our NYC headquarters - Covering free memberships for students and folks dealing with financial hardship - Allowing us to keep our reporting outside a paywall and accessible to all If you’re able, please help us get over the finish line. We appreciate you. Ah Yes, the Flesh of the Young The Blue State Retribution Campaign Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi drew attention to Emine Yücel and Josh Kovensky’s recent report documenting how the Trump admin is withholding grant money from blue states to punish them. “Federal funding should serve Americans, not Trump’s grudges,” the Illinois Democrat wrote on Bluesky. What If We Kept the Reflecting Pool Saga Going Forever? You might think the Trump administration would be sick of seeing negative headlines about the botched Reflecting Pool renovations. But the president doesn’t seem willing to let the whole drama go. Trump was, of course, super mad when U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeannine Pirro dropped the felony case against former Olympian David Hearn, admitting that damage to the pool’s surface was caused by a botched contracting job rather than vandalism. Pirro even hauled boxes of evidence over to the White House to try to explain her decision to Trump in person. Trump himself this week admitted to “some contractor error.” But now White House officials have asked the Justice Department to consider a new misdemeanor prosecution of Hearn, according to a Wall Street Journal report. So strap in for another round of unflattering media coverage of the president’s weaponization of the DOJ and absurd pursuit of expensive vanity projects in the nation’s capital. A real “I’m not owned! I’m not owned!!” moment. Trivia answers: 1) Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) 2) $900 million 3) Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt Any thoughts? Apparently, it’s akin to a method that has caught on with some of the regime’s cultural influencers: (@emptywheel.bsky.social on Bluesky) What book report? I don’t get this.