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Artwork for Party Lines with Kurt & Erin
Party Lines with Kurt & Erin · August 13 · 28 min

27: Split Decision: Inside This Week's Primaries

Erin Maguire and Kurt Bardella break down a split-decision primary week — Democrats dodging a bullet in Wisconsin, a razor-thin race in Michigan, and what it all means for the establishment-versus-socialist fight inside the party. Then they debut a new segment, "Half-Baked," digging into ideas that don't hold up: the WNBA's refusal to define who qualifies as a woman, and Mike Lindell's unsupported fraud claims after getting blown out in his Minnesota primary. They preview the next wave of primaries (Alaska, Florida, Wyoming and beyond), including the "Dan versus Dan" dirty trick in Alaska's Senate race. Plus: speculation on who replaces outgoing White House Press Secretary Caroline Levine, and a very silly debate about whether Abdul El-Sayed's one-on-one football challenge to Mike Rogers is even a real sport. Topics Covered Split primary results in Wisconsin and Michigan, and what they signal about the Democratic Party's direction Whether pollsters missed the real story of the primaries The "enthused socialist base" versus black voter turnout concerns, per Rahm Emanuel's warnings James Carville, Hasan Piker, and the Democrats' "big tent" contradictions AOC's attempt to walk back some of her "woke" positioning ahead of 2028 New segment debut: "Half-Baked," starting with the WNBA's refusal to define biological womanhood Caitlin Clark's on-court treatment and the WNBA's business decisions Mike Lindell's blowout primary loss in Minnesota and his fraud claims Wisconsin's Milwaukee USB drive controversy versus Lindell's unsupported allegations Why TV ad spending mattered more than ideology in deciding several primaries Preview of upcoming primaries: Alaska, Florida, Wyoming, then Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Delaware The "Dan versus Dan" spoiler tactic in Alaska's Senate primary Speculation on Caroline Levine's replacement as White House Press Secretary — Scott Jennings, Katie Miller, Trisha McLaughlin, Anna Kelly, and a wildcard Spencer Pratt pitch Why the next press secretary may need to handle a wave of congressional investigations Abdul El-Sayed's one-on-one football challenge to Mike Rogers, and whether that's even a real sport

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show notes

Erin Maguire and Kurt Bardella break down a split-decision primary week — Democrats dodging a bullet in Wisconsin, a razor-thin race in Michigan, and what it all means for the establishment-versus-socialist fight inside the party. Then they debut a new segment, "Half-Baked," digging into ideas that don't hold up: the WNBA's refusal to define who qualifies as a woman, and Mike Lindell's unsupported fraud claims after getting blown out in his Minnesota primary. They preview the next wave of primaries (Alaska, Florida, Wyoming and beyond), including the "Dan versus Dan" dirty trick in Alaska's Senate race. Plus: speculation on who replaces outgoing White House Press Secretary Caroline Levine, and a very silly debate about whether Abdul El-Sayed's one-on-one football challenge to Mike Rogers is even a real sport.

Topics Covered

  • Split primary results in Wisconsin and Michigan, and what they signal about the Democratic Party's direction
  • Whether pollsters missed the real story of the primaries
  • The "enthused socialist base" versus black voter turnout concerns, per Rahm Emanuel's warnings
  • James Carville, Hasan Piker, and the Democrats' "big tent" contradictions
  • AOC's attempt to walk back some of her "woke" positioning ahead of 2028
  • New segment debut: "Half-Baked," starting with the WNBA's refusal to define biological womanhood
  • Caitlin Clark's on-court treatment and the WNBA's business decisions
  • Mike Lindell's blowout primary loss in Minnesota and his fraud claims
  • Wisconsin's Milwaukee USB drive controversy versus Lindell's unsupported allegations
  • Why TV ad spending mattered more than ideology in deciding several primaries
  • Preview of upcoming primaries: Alaska, Florida, Wyoming, then Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Delaware
  • The "Dan versus Dan" spoiler tactic in Alaska's Senate primary
  • Speculation on Caroline Levine's replacement as White House Press Secretary — Scott Jennings, Katie Miller, Trisha McLaughlin, Anna Kelly, and a wildcard Spencer Pratt pitch
  • Why the next press secretary may need to handle a wave of congressional investigations
  • Abdul El-Sayed's one-on-one football challenge to Mike Rogers, and whether that's even a real sport

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