Good afternoon,

The 2026 midterm elections are approaching, and Democrats and Republicans alike are using all the tools at their disposal to try to gain control of the House of Representatives. With a nationwide redistricting battle, both parties are changing congressional maps to gain an advantage. A special election for a Texas state senate seat this weekend is showing that Democrats may have a leg up. Democrat Taylor Rehmet won a special election on Saturday, <a href='[link removed]'>flipping a district that Trump won by 17 points</a> in 2024. Rehmet defeated his Republican opponent by more than 14 points.

Democrats have been <a href='[link removed]'>overperforming </a>in special elections since Trump took office last January. This has encouraged party leaders who have said it is evidence that <a href='[link removed]'>voters are motivated to reject GOP candidates</a> and their policies. However, it is also possible that Republican voters are unmotivated to vote in local and special elections. Democrats may have momentum heading into November, but their advantage could be fragile if Republican turnout rebounds. For now, each special election serves as a warning about what either party risks by taking 2026's voters for granted.

Here are a few important updates...

STANDING UP TO ICE

Over the weekend, <a href='[link removed]'>protesters across the country</a> took to the streets to call for the end of the ICE crackdown. A nationwide strike on Friday prompted a shutdown of schools, workplaces, and businesses. Saturday marked the second day of rallies and marches and Americans continue to voice their solidarity with Minneapolis. While most media has covered the protests in major cities across the country, rural communities are taking action as well, protesting against ICE's detention of children. Last week, peaceful protesters were blocked from accessing the South Texas Family Detention Center and fired at with pepper balls by state troopers. As one of the organizers of the protest <a href='[link removed]'>said</a>, 'Rural resistance matters because it challenges the idea that harm is acceptable as long as it happens far from public view.' Protesters traveled from across the state to stand up for due process.

Additionally, Native Americans have become a visible front line in resisting the current ICE crackdown, even though they are citizens whose ancestors have lived on the land before the U.S. borders existed. In Minneapolis, Indigenous residents who fear being detained are now <a href='[link removed]'>carrying their tribal citizenship cards</a> everywhere they go. Tribal residents have described the bitter feeling of needing to show proof of belonging in their own homeland as ICE relies on racial profiling to question Americans. Organizers argue that this moment is not just about immigration enforcement, but about who belongs and is recognized and protected under U.S. law. In standing up to ICE, rural and Native Americans alike insist that no one should have to prove their identity.

<h3>NATIONALIZED ELECTIONS WOULD DISENFRANCHISE HALF OF RURAL VOTERS</h3>This week, President Trump ratcheted up his election conspiracies to a higher level. Trump is now demanding Republicans in Congress take over elections in at least 20 states – conveniently, states he lost and is projected to do terribly in during the midterm elections – by seizing voter rolls, eliminating absentee voting, vote-by-mail, and early in-person voting; and administering elections at the Federal level.

It must be stated again there is no legal basis for any of these actions to take place. Effecting any of these actions would be a clear violation of the 10th Amendment, which reserves the power for how to manage elections to the states. There is one very clear ideological reason for demanding these actions, but we will revisit that later.

If Trump's election scheme was enacted in all jurisdictions – including rural communities, it would effectively eliminate half of the voting power of rural Americans. Approximately 47% of rural voters cast their ballots before Election Day – either by mail or early in-person.

Anyone who has ever voted by mail would know that absentee and mail-in voting is at least as secure as voting in person on election day, and is arguably more secure. Absentee ballots are all paper ballots filled out by hand. Those ballots are delivered in safety-sealed envelopes that contain a safety envelope for the return mailing as well. Ballots require the voter to sign them, and that signature must match the signature on file for that voter before the ballot will be opened. Ballots are tracked – and that tracking is publicly available – from request to delivery to return to tabulation. Mailed ballots contain security seals and printing that ensures no imposter ballots would be accepted.

In many rural counties, there is a single Election Day polling location, often an hour or more drive away from many voters. The likelihood of any voter effectively taking the entire day off work and driving several hours to then stand in a line waiting to vote is practically zero. That also does not take into account the significant number of rural workers that work 12-hour shifts and would not be available during voting hours. It ignores workers who travel for work like nurses, truck drivers, construction workers, and many more professions. It ignores the impact of illness, deaths in the family, and any other potential emergencies that could prevent someone from making it to a ballot box. And that is just scratching the surface of the practical reasons why this idea is, to put it bluntly, stupid.

However, the practicality of conducting an election is not the reason behind Trump's call for nationalized elections. This scheme shares the same animating principle as Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller's goal of deporting 100 million people. To do everything possible to make Election Day – and American public life – a whites only affair. It's an obese Jim Crow waddling down the street with a fresh coat of orange bronzer smeared on his face desperately trying to turn back the progress this nation has made over the last 100 years.

<h4>NUMBER OF THE WEEK</h4>$3 trillion: The amount of money Mehmet Oz claims that American workers working more years would bring to the U.S. economy each year. That additional economic activity being taxed would then eliminate the national debt.

A much easier path to eliminating the national debt would be rolling back the massive tax giveaways that have gone to the wealthiest few Americans through the four tax cuts championed by George W. Bush and Donald Trump. The tax cuts from those two presidents have added a minimum of $10 trillion to the national debt.

DATES TO WATCH

February 28, 2026<li aria-level='2'>What to watch: The President and First Vice Presidents of the 12 regional Federal Reserve Board Banks <a href='[link removed]'>five-year terms expire</a> on this date.

<li aria-level='2'>Why it matters: The new term begins on March 1, 2026 for a list of pre-approved Presidents and First Vice Presidents. If Trump wants to escalate his war on the Federal Reserve, he could attempt to block these orderly appointments.

WHAT WE'RE READING

CNN: <a href='[link removed]'>5-year-old Liam Ramos returns home as Trump administration shifts tone amid nationwide anti-ICE protests </a>Reuters: <a href='[link removed]'>Texas Democrats win a 'wake-up call' for Republicans ahead of 2026 elections</a>Fox Business: <a href='[link removed]'>New SNAP work requirements take effect in more states under Trump-backed law </a>ABC News: <a href='[link removed]'>Jeffries: DHS should be 'dramatically reformed' after Democrats delay government funding bill</a>The Baltimore Sun: <a href='[link removed]'>Maryland Democrats will learn that redistricting comes at a cost</a>CBS News: <a href='[link removed]'>Poll shows Virginians back policy changes, divided on mid-decade redistricting</a>The National Desk: <a href='[link removed]'>Trump administration delays jobs report release</a>Southern Farm Network: <a href='[link removed]'>Strengthening Rural America Will Take Advocacy | Southern Farm Network</a>

Be sure to follow the One Country Project on <a href='[link removed]' target='_blank'>Bluesky</a>, <a href='[link removed]' target='_blank'>Twitter</a>, <a href='[link removed]' target='_blank'>Facebook</a> and <a href='[link removed]' target='_blank'>Substack</a>, and listen to&nbsp;<a href='[link removed]' target='_blank'>The Hot Dish</a> podcast.

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