THE END OF THE BEGINNING (OR WHAT’S LEFT OF PRIMARY SEASON)
By Lisa Desjardins, @LisaDNews
Correspondent
 
Nature provides sustenance, shelter and beauty. Add to that: a glaring metaphor. 
 
The heat pulsing across the country is rising as our politics are revving into a much more intense gear. Last week, we looked at the dense layers of agenda in front of Congress. This week, the choices are making their way to your ballot.
 
We are nearing the end of a highly competitive primary season, staring down the road at an even more heightened general election. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi herself wrote to Democrats yesterday that the next few months will be “intense.”
 
We thought it would be a good time to look at what remains of the primary season.
 
Today: Just one state is holding primaries today: Maryland.

• What to watch? The Republican race for governor is a symbolic face-off between current Gov. Larry Hogan, who is retiring from office, and former President Donald Trump. Each has endorsed a separate Republican candidate, and it is seen as one of the more high-profile tests of the power of Trump versus the sway of respected centrists.

Early August: While much of America goes on vacation in August, a whopping 16 states hold primaries.

• Six of those are right out of the gate, on Aug. 2. Those are: Arizona, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Washington and Ohio, which is holding a primary election for some state legislative offices. 
• Abortion in Kansas. In what will no doubt be one of the most watched votes of the summer, if not year, voters in Kansas will decide how the state approaches abortion. A statewide referendum would remove the state constitution’s protection of abortion as a right. The ballot measure has been long in the works from anti-abortion activists, but dynamics have changed significantly following the Supreme Court’s decision returning abortion oversight to states.   
• Arizona Senate and election denial. The Grand Canyon state will showcase a particular twist on the GOP-identity fight: Trump v. Pence. The former president and vice president have each endorsed separate candidates in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate in Arizona.  Trump’s choice, Kari Lake, has openly repeated false claims that the 2020 election was stolen. Pence instead has backed Karrin Taylor Robson, who is running as a more traditional pre-Trump conservative. (The state’s attorney general, Mark Brnovich, was once seen as the likely frontrunner in this race, but is now behind in polls.)
• Missouri’s epic Senate battle, GOP. An open Senate seat in Missouri (Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., is retiring) means fascinating primaries on both sides of the aisle – and decisions that could determine the fate of the U.S. Senate itself. Republicans must choose between increasingly conservative former Gov. Eric Greitens (who released a recent, violent campaign ad that drew heavy criticism), conservative Rep. Vicky Hartzler and Attorney General Eric Schmitt, who is running as a Trump-style “disrupter.”  
• Missouri, Democrats. The three candidates here are likewise varied. Trudy Busch Valentine, an heiress talking unity and better political speech; Lucas Kunce, a retired Marine with more direct talk; and Spencer Toder, an entrepreneur talking better economics.
• Aug. 16: Wyoming and Alaska. Cheney and Palin. Two cinematic landscapes will be the setting for larger-than-life female politicians and battles where the past and future of the Republican Party are on the ballot. Republicans in the Cowboy State will vote on whether Rep. Liz Cheney should return to Congress. No one has taken on former Donald Trump more pointedly in her party and few fights are higher priority for him. On the same day, voters from both parties in Alaska will decide if former Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin should get her first job in Washington. She and three others are on the ballot in a ranked-choice election to replace Rep. Don Young who died in March.

September, onward: Four states hold primaries in September. They are: Massachusetts, Delaware, New Hampshire and Rhode Island.

• Technically, Louisiana is the last state to hold a primary, on Nov. 8. The state has a majority-vote system where all candidates, regardless of party, appear on the same ballot. If no candidate wins a majority of votes, then the top two candidates then move to a Dec. 10 general election.

THE JAN. 6 COMMITTEE RETURNS TO PRIME TIME
By Joshua Barajas, @Josh_Barrage
Senior Editor, Digital
 
There have been seven Jan. 6 hearings so far. And the next hearing – this Thursday – is scheduled for prime time.
 
It’s also the House committee’s last planned public hearing. For now, at least.
 
Since early June, more than a dozen in-person witnesses and an array of recorded testimonies from people close to former President Donald Trump’s inner circle – members of his legal team, former high-level administration officials, and even Trump family members – have popped up in the committee’s presentations.
 
The evidence the House committee has presented outlines how a series of advisers told Trump that the 2020 presidential election was not stolen and that he lost the election fairly. And yet, Trump sought to stay in power, advancing thoroughly debunked voter fraud claims.
 
“The president’s lie was – and is – a dangerous cancer on the body politic,” said Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., at the fourth hearing.

The eighth Jan. 6 hearing will be on Thursday, July 21 at 8 p.m. EDT. It’s expected to focus on Trump’s three hours of inaction during the Capitol insurrection, and his resistance to calls to tell his mob of supporters to stop the attack. Check your local listings to find the PBS station near you, or watch online here or in the player below.

Before Thursday’s hearing begins, digital anchor Nicole Ellis will host a pre-show that provides a look back at the last seven hearings, starting at 7 p.m. EDT.

You can also follow our live coverage on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook, and see highlights on our Instagram.

Who is testifying during this week’s hearing?

The PBS NewsHour has confirmed that the following people will testify at Thursday’s hearing:

• Matthew Pottinger, former deputy national security adviser
• Sarah Matthews, former deputy press secretary

The committee has been regularly releasing more details a day before each hearing. For the latest and greatest on the Jan. 6 hearing schedule and who’s expected to testify, check out this page. We’re updating that story as soon as we learn more.

What happens after Thursday’s hearing?

When the committee first laid out its goals for these sessions, a second prime-time hearing was anticipated as the end to the public presentations of the investigation’s findings.
 
However, the committee’s members have continued to find new evidence throughout the summer. (After all, this is what prompted the June 28 surprise hearing.)
 
Thompson told reporters Monday that the committee will now aim for a “scaled back” preliminary report on its findings before issuing a final report by September. A hearing may be held for each report. 
 
“We're just getting a significant amount of information we didn't have access to,” Thompson said.
 
This includes the committee’s subpoena of the Secret Service for deleted text messages around Jan. 6, 2021.
 
For major takeaways, here’s what we learned from the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh hearings.


#POLITICSTRIVIA
By Matt Loffman, @mattloff
Politics Producer
 
Today, the U.S. House of Representatives voted on the Respect for Marriage Act, which would repeal the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act and guarantee that same-sex marriages are recognized across state lines in the event the Supreme Court overturns its 2015 decision in Obergefell v. Hodges that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.
 
Several Republicans said they would vote for the bill, but none were sponsors.
 
This is not the first time the U.S. Congress has considered the Respect for Marriage Act. It was last introduced in January 2015, before the Supreme Court’s Obergefell decision.
 
Our question: How many Republican representatives co-sponsored the Respect for Marriage Act during the 114th Congress?
 
Send your answers to [email protected] or tweet using #PoliticsTrivia. The first correct answers will earn a shout-out next week.
 
Last week, we asked: Who proposed the idea of making Statuary Hall, and what year was it signed into law?
 
The answer: Rep. Justin S. Morrill. His proposal to create a National Statuary Hall became law in 1864.
 
Congratulations to our winners: Neal Rabinowitz and Jackie Austin!
 
Thank you all for reading and watching. We’ll drop into your inbox next week.