About this episode
The episode discusses the Democrats' potential to win back Congress amid internal divisions and features insights from key adviser Jim Messina.
Excitement has been building among some Democrats after the party won a special election in Florida last week in a district that includes Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach. This win, along with several others recently, suggests the party may have the momentum heading into November’s midterm elections, when they’ll be looking to reclaim control of the House, and possibly even the Senate. Despite the optimism, some Democrats are cautious about the party’s progress as frustration builds over internal divisions within the party. In today’s episode, Justin and Sumi sit down with key Democratic adviser Jim Messina, who was deputy chief of staff to Barack Obama and the mastermind behind his successful 2012 presidential campaign. He gives his thoughts on how the party needs to approach the midterm elections and the main contenders to take over leadership of the party. Presenter: Justin Webb, Radio 4 presenter and Sumi Somaskanda, BBC chief presenter Producer: Emma Close with Alix Pickles and led by George Dabby Technical producer: Mike Regaard Senior news editor: Sam Bonham Get in touch: * Join our online community: discord.gg/qSrxqNcmRB * Send us a message or voice note via…
People in this episode
Host: Justin
Guest: Jim Messina
Topics covered
- Democrats
- Congress
- midterm elections
- internal divisions
- leadership
Keywords
- Florida special election
- momentum
- House
- Senate
- Barack Obama
Mentioned in this episode
Products: Americast
Books & works: Americast
Places: Florida, Palm Beach, US
More episodes of Americast
- The battle in rural America against AI data centres · June 12, 2026 · 38 min
- The Democrats fight back Trump-style in Maine… but have they messed up? · June 11, 2026 · 40 min
- Americanswers… on 5 Live! Why did Trump walk out of his TV interview with Meet The Press? · June 8, 2026 · 29 min
- The most expensive World Cup ever? (With Football Daily, part 3) · June 5, 2026 · 32 min
- Will War Overshadow the World Cup? (With Football Daily, part 2) · June 5, 2026 · 25 min
- Will this be the Donald Trump World Cup? (With Football Daily, part 1) · June 5, 2026 · 30 min
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Americast podcast page.