Retiring Democratic Rep. Jared Golden is breaking ranks with his own party again — this time by endorsing a Republican in one of the most closely watched House races of the 2026 midterms.

Golden, who represents Maine’s 2nd Congressional District, announced his support Monday for Republican Rep. Mike Lawler of New York, delivering a rare cross-party endorsement as Lawler fights to hold onto his Hudson Valley seat against Democratic challenger Cait Conley.

Golden made his case in an opinion piece published by The Journal News, arguing that his firsthand experience working alongside Lawler convinced him that the Republican deserves another term.

The endorsement is particularly notable because Democrats are actively trying to defeat Lawler and capture his seat as part of their broader effort to win control of the House.

Golden is going in the opposite direction.

Rather than automatically backing his party’s nominee, the retiring Democrat pointed to Lawler’s bipartisan record and their work together in Congress as the reasons he is supporting the Republican incumbent.

The endorsement is also the latest example of Golden separating himself from Democratic leadership.

Earlier this month, Golden crossed party lines on procedural votes connected to legislation affecting the lobster industry as well as a package of sanctions against Russia.

Now he is taking the considerably more unusual step of endorsing a Republican congressional candidate over a Democrat.

Golden specifically highlighted Lawler’s work on collective bargaining rights for federal employees and Affordable Care Act premium tax credits.

But one issue appears to have carried particular weight for the Maine Democrat: the lobster industry.

Golden and Lawler worked together on the Northeast Lobstermen Protection Act, legislation designed to extend the current regulatory framework governing the American lobster and Jonah crab fisheries through 2035.

The legislation centers on a long-running dispute involving federal protections for the endangered North Atlantic right whale and the regulations imposed on commercial fishing operations in response.

For Maine, where the lobster industry represents an important part of the state’s coastal economy and identity, the issue has carried enormous political significance.

For Lawler, whose district is in New York’s Hudson Valley, there was far less obvious political upside.

That was precisely Golden’s point.

Lawler joined Golden in championing the legislation despite representing a district without Maine’s direct economic dependence on lobster fishing.

The House ultimately approved the measure in a bipartisan 219-196 vote on September 1. The legislation was subsequently sent to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.

Golden argued that Lawler’s involvement demonstrated the kind of cross-party cooperation he believes has become increasingly uncommon in Washington.

“He got no votes in this and no headlines back home,” Golden wrote. “He signed on because a historic American industry, thousands of fishing families, and the principle that federal rules should be built on facts were all on the line.”

The endorsement carries additional significance because Golden himself has developed a reputation for departing from his party on some high-profile votes and policy disputes.

He announced last year that he would not seek a fifth term in Congress, meaning he is making the endorsement during the final months of his House career.

Golden has said political hostility and dysfunction contributed to his decision to leave Congress, and his endorsement of Lawler centers heavily on his stated belief that lawmakers should be willing to work across party lines.

Lawler represents New York’s 17th Congressional District, a politically competitive Hudson Valley seat that both parties view as important in the fight for control of the House.

The district supported Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election even as voters returned Lawler to Congress, underscoring its competitive political makeup. Current race ratings have likewise treated the Lawler-Conley contest as highly competitive.

That makes Golden’s decision particularly consequential politically.

This isn’t an endorsement of a Republican running in a district Democrats have effectively conceded.

It’s an endorsement in a seat Democrats are actively trying to flip.

And it comes from a sitting Democratic member of Congress.

Golden’s decision therefore gives Lawler something relatively uncommon in today’s deeply divided political environment: a Democratic colleague publicly making the case for his reelection.

Golden’s reasoning ultimately comes down to what he says he personally witnessed while serving alongside Lawler.

The two lawmakers worked together on legislation that directly affected Golden’s constituents even though Lawler had relatively little immediate political incentive to become involved.

For Golden, that was enough to cross party lines once again.

This time, however, he isn’t simply joining Republicans on a congressional vote.

He’s asking voters in one of America’s competitive House districts to send one of them back to Washington.

President Donald Trump is preparing to jump directly into the final six weeks of the 2026 midterm battle, as Republicans deploy a massive campaign war chest and an aggressive turnout operation in their fight to maintain control of Congress.

James Blair, Trump’s political director and one of the president’s top midterm strategists, laid out the Republican closing strategy during an interview with Breitbart News Saturday.

The plan combines a national political message, direct contrasts between candidates, a major push to reach less-frequent Republican voters and hundreds of millions of dollars potentially flowing into some of the country’s most consequential House and Senate contests.

Blair described the strategy as “twofold,” arguing that Republicans cannot treat congressional races as purely national elections or entirely local contests.

“Elections are not all national and they’re not all local,” Blair said. “It’s a little bit of both.”

Republicans plan to tie Democratic candidates to positions taken by the national Democratic Party while simultaneously forcing voters to compare the records and positions of the individual candidates running in their districts and states.

The strategy is designed in part to prevent Democrats competing in politically divided states and districts from distancing themselves from unpopular positions associated with their national party.

But perhaps the biggest weapon Republicans intend to deploy during the closing stretch is Trump himself.

Blair said the president will become “extremely active” during the final six weeks before Election Day, with Trump’s appearances and political activity increasingly coordinated with the beginning of early and mail voting across the country.

The GOP isn’t planning to wait until Election Day to mobilize its voters, either.

Republicans are encouraging supporters to cast ballots as soon as voting becomes available in their states, representing a continued shift from the party’s historical emphasis on Election Day voting.

“Vote now by mail if you want to. Vote in person early if that’s your preference. Don’t wait till Election Day,” Blair said.

A major target of that operation will be what Blair described as “low- and mid-propensity” Republican voters.

Those are voters who turned out for Trump during presidential elections but historically have been less reliable participants when his name isn’t directly on the ballot during midterm elections.

Trump’s political team believes the president has a unique ability to reach those voters, making his involvement a central piece of the Republican turnout operation.

The stakes could hardly be higher.

Republicans are fighting to maintain their congressional majorities in an intensely competitive political environment, particularly in the House.

The Cook Political Report’s September 11 ratings classified **21 House races as Toss Ups**, along with nine Lean Democratic and seven Lean Republican contests.

A Cook survey conducted September 8-11 among 1,052 likely voters across 37 competitive congressional districts found Democrats ahead 49% to 47% on the generic congressional ballot in those districts.

That makes the battle for turnout especially consequential.

But Republicans enter the closing stretch with another major advantage: money.

The National Republican Congressional Committee raised **$13.5 million in August** and finished the month with roughly a **$13 million cash advantage** over its Democratic counterpart.

Axios reported that it represented the largest cash advantage the NRCC has ever held at this stage of a midterm election cycle.

And considerably more money could soon enter the fight.

Earlier this month, Trump said his MAGA Inc. super PAC could direct between **$400 million and $500 million** toward helping Republican candidates during the midterms.

“I’m going to spend whatever amount o

Former President Barack Obama is making another major move in the media world, returning to podcasting with a new series focused on literature as he and former First Lady Michelle Obama continue expanding the media operation they built after leaving the White House.

Obama announced Monday that he will host a six-episode podcast titled **“A Great Book With Barack Obama,”** with the series set to debut this month.

The podcast will explore six books that Obama says helped shape his views on politics, race, faith and American society, giving the former president another platform to discuss the ideas and cultural issues that have defined much of his public career.

“At a time when fewer people are able to sit down with a book, it’s important to remember the joy and power that can come from reading,” Obama wrote in a social media post announcing the project.

“And some books don’t just tell a story — they change the way we see the world,” he added.

Each episode will center on a different book, with Obama and his guests discussing why the works continue to resonate and what lessons they believe readers can draw from them today.

The six books selected for the series are James Baldwin’s **“The Fire Next Time,”** Toni Morrison’s **“Song of Solomon,”** Cormac McCarthy’s **“All the Pretty Horses,”** Marilynne Robinson’s **“Gilead,”** Robert Penn Warren’s **“All the King’s Men”** and John le Carré’s **“Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.”**

Obama said the series will also feature conversations with invited guests.

“I invited some friends to explore why these books resonate, how they can shape our understanding of ourselves and each other, and why literature matters now more than ever,” he said.

The subject matter is hardly disconnected from Obama’s years in politics.

Several of the authors on his list wrote extensively about race, political power, morality and American identity — subjects that have also occupied a central place in Obama’s speeches, books and political career.

Obama also had a personal connection with Toni Morrison.

As president, he awarded the Nobel Prize-winning author the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012. Following Morrison’s death in 2019, Obama described her as a close friend.

The new podcast will be distributed through Audible and produced in partnership with **Higher Ground**, the media company Barack and Michelle Obama launched in 2018.

It marks yet another expansion of the Obamas’ sizable post-White House media presence.

Higher Ground has already assembled a growing collection of films, documentaries and audio programs. Previous projects include Michelle Obama’s **“The Light Podcast,”** the documentary **“American Factory,”** the Netflix film **“Leave the World Behind”** and **“Rustin,”** the biographical drama centered on civil rights leader Bayard Rustin.

Barack Obama has also remained closely associated with books since leaving the White House in 2017, regularly publishing annual lists highlighting his favorite books, movies and music.

The new podcast takes that tradition significantly further.

Instead of simply publishing a reading list for his millions of followers, Obama will now have an entire episode to discuss each selected work, the ideas contained within it and why he believes those ideas remain relevant.

His selections stretch across decades and genres.

They range from Baldwin’s examination of race in America and Warren’s novel about political power to McCarthy’s Western fiction and le Carré’s Cold War espionage story.

But Obama’s return to the microphone also comes at a politically consequential moment.

The 2026 midterm elections are rapidly approaching, and an enormous financial battle is already underway over control of the United States Senate.

The Senate Leadership Fund, the powerful Republican super PAC aligned with Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota, says it and its affiliated organizations have raised more than **$500 million** ahead of the 2026 elections.

According to SLF, that represents more money than any previous Senate-focused political effort.

The organization alone has already committed more than **$350 million** to supporting Republican Senate candidates across the country.

Republican groups have spent months assembling a massive financial operation aimed at defending the GOP Senate majority while forcing Democrats to compete across an increasingly expensive electoral map.

SLF is targeting pivotal Senate contests in states including **Alaska, Iowa, Maine, Michigan and North Carolina**, while directing additional resources toward other competitive races.

Republicans are seeking not only to defend their existing majority but potentially add seats.

“Thanks to Leader John Thune and our generous investors, Senate Leadership Fund and its affiliated groups have raised more resources than any other Senate effort in history,” SLF Executive Director Alex Latcham said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

The original report also pointed to financial pressure facing Democrats, noting that the Democratic National Committee used its headquarters building as collateral for a $15 million loan over the summer.

For Republican groups, the fundraising numbers are being presented as evidence that there is no reason to ease up as Election Day approaches.

“However, we cannot slow down as Chuck Schumer and Radical Democrats seek to take our nation back to open borders, rampant crime and crushing inflation,” Latcham added.

Against that backdrop, Obama is once again expanding his public platform.

Nearly a decade after leaving the White House, the former president continues to maintain a prominent presence through books, speeches, political appearances and the growing entertainment operation he and Michelle Obama have built through Higher Ground.

Now, he is adding another microphone.

And with the battle for Congress intensifying ahead of the 2026 midterms, Obama’s latest media venture arrives at a moment when the political fight over the direction of the country is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.