Analysis: A Look at the Midterms and 2028 NH Primary 6-22-26

Morning. This is Hampshire today. I am Chris Ryan. I'm joining us for the show. Vice President JD Vance has wrapped his portion of peace talks between the U.S. and Iran in Geneva, Switzerland, and spoke with the media earlier this morning. This is not a deal. that the United States is imposing on the region. This is a deal that the region has desperately asked the United States to put in place. Obviously, the headlines have been very focused about what's been going on between the United States and Iran, but this region has been a basket case for a very long time. Here's the latest from the region this morning, and Trey Yankst in Tel Aviv with this report. Iran, according to Vice President JD Vance, has agreed to allow... inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency back into their country. This is huge. And it's very important as it relates to the detailed discussions on Iran's nuclear program so that these inspectors can get a list of what the Iranians still have and what the Americans want them to get rid of. The second headline here, Special Envoy Jared Kushner was able to work out a deal with the Qataris. that some of these unfrozen Iranian funds are actually going to be used to purchase American farm products and then feed the people of Iran. And so again, the inspectors heading into Iran and also the purchase of American farm goods. Tomorrow, more elections as primary elections continue across the country in the lead up to the midterms. Fox's Kristen Goodwin has this report. In South Carolina's GOP gubernatorial runoff, Lieutenant Governor Pamela Evitt faces Attorney General Alan Wilson. The winner will take on Democratic State Representative Jermaine Johnson, all vying to replace GOP Governor Henry McMaster, who is term limited. President Trump throwing his support behind Utah representatives Blake Moore, Celeste Malloy, and Mike Robert F. Kennedy Jr., three incumbent Republicans running for re-election. New York voters will select candidates in several congressional districts. And in Maryland, a crowded field of challengers, including nine Republicans, are hoping to replace Democratic Governor Wes Moore, who is running for re-election. Kristen, Goodwin, Fox News. We bring in now Dean Spilliotis to Hampshire's political Zen Master. Dean, what have been the lessons so far from the primary elections as we stare ahead at the midterms, which are now just a little over four months away? Yeah, I mean, we've talked about this on and off in recent months, and it's certainly going to ramp up once we get through the next to, you know, the peak of summer in July and August. I think September is going to be quite busy. I think that there's a real, as we've discussed before, I think there's a real push for generational change. I think to some extent, you know, people always favor outsiders over the status quo over, you know, sort of long-term politicians. We're seeing more of that. But the status quo usually, yes, status quo usually wins. The name brand, the money usually wins. The question is, will that change this time? Yeah, it might. I mean, you know, obviously a lot of us are watching the main race. It's a classic example.

example of that and a certain a lot of pressure from the bases in both parties uh you know to some extent we'll see you know president trump has a lot of excess a lot of success endorsing candidates in the GOP primaries. Some of those candidates don't always do quite as well in the general election. So a lot of the, you know, a lot of these forces have been building for a while, given challenges to the economy. And just a sense among rank and file voters that the system works very well for a small number of people at the top of the economic food chain. And those benefits are not really more widely dispersed to members of the middle class, et cetera. It's going to be a lot about the economy. To some extent, it's always going to be a referendum on the incumbent administration. And so we'll see. But there is a sort of real kind of populist pressure from the outside that is building among Democrats, much in the same way that it has built among Republicans in previous cycles. Despite the fact that two U.S. senators are vying for the Republican nomination, it appears that the most interesting races are actually in CD1 on the both Democratic and Republican side. Stephanie Jeanne Shaheen, Morris Dan Sullivan, at the top of the pack. It appears right now among Democrats, but both are viewed as... centrists and mainstream candidates. We have a group of progressives that are not as well known beneath them at this point in time. And then kind of the same deal on the Republican side, Holly Nevsky, who has won before and businessman Anthony D. Lorenzo at the top of the heap there. And then some other candidates. beneath them. What do you see there? Yeah, I mean, that kind of gets to what we were just discussing, that certainly in the Democratic primary, there are these lesser-known progressives. That's where the energy seems to be in the base of the party. You know, will any of those folks be elevated in some way, some sort of a surprise up against, you know, kind of more traditional? I mean, Stephanie Jeanne Shaheen, she's new to elective office, but obviously part of this. sort of dynastic family in the state, the Jeanne Shaheen's. And so there's a lot of built-in kind of institutional support for her. And Morris Dan Sullivan has worked, you know, she ran in the primary against when Chris Pappas was first selected again, did well, came in like second, and then she got involved in the party as a vice chair. So she's really kind of diligently done the, the, laid the groundwork for her candidacy and Stephanie Sheehan getting in a little bit later has kind of changed that calculation for her. So again, all around the country we're going to see these sorts of competing dynamics of real kind of outsider pressure on the progressive left among Democrats and then the sort of idea of whether or not incumbents are you know the classic saying you know people in a mood to so-called throw the bums out as they say

the end of the day, the Republican primary is going to be held in Donald Trump's head. And that is the first and foremost thing. So he has to navigate this. And you may not like some of the things he says publicly or whatever, but. For him politically, he has to navigate this to make Donald Trump happy. Right. And the irony of all this is advanced is one of the people who didn't want to go into Iran. And now he's stuck with settling the outcome. And Kamala Harris did not like a lot of the Biden border type of policies and the things she had to say. Remember when she did the do not come to illegal immigrants or people who wanted to come to the country? Do not come. If you were thinking about coming to America, do not come. I don't think she agreed to that. She had to deal with that, just as JD Vance has to deal with trying to negotiate a conclusion to a war that he didn't want. Yeah, and she had that opportunity. Remember, was it on the view where they asked her, like, is there anything you disagree with at all? That was... And she said no, and that was like, I mean... That was a huge mistake. That was her chance. And I agree with you on Harris and the Democrats. I don't think that the Democrats are going to want to go back to somebody that lost to Trump. I don't... Relating Biden, I think that that's its own separate piece. But I think losing to Donald Trump and losing that election and having... having him come back into office, regardless of what type of situation she was put in and excuses and all that. I don't think that I don't, I think that that is the non-starter, more so even than relitigating Biden. I am Chris Ryan. That is Dean's bonus. This is Hampshire today. Meet Bob Minetti. My wife and I just celebrated 45 memorable years together. She and my daughter, Katie, are my anchors. Bob and Wendy spent time fundraising for health care causes. I guess I liked it so much. I decided to become a patient. In 2016, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. I assumed that there was no hope for people with my diagnosis. Bob participated in a clinical trial that included cutting edge radiation therapy and surgery. He's been in remission since completion. I'm so glad that I learned about what was possible for me. I'm Keisha Sharp since losing my mother to pancreatic cancer. I've been working to ensure that everyone facing this diagnosis knows about the immense progress being made. Stand up to cancer and Lust Garden Foundation are working together to make every person diagnosed into a long-term survivor.