New York Times chief political analyst Nate Cohn considers Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed’s chances of victory in Michigan in November. “If there’s any good news for Dr. El-Sayed, it’s that he ought to have a lot of room to underperform and still win. With Democrats ahead by an average of seven points on the generic ballot nationwide — in which people are asked which party they’ll support for Congress in November — Democrats ought to be favored to win an open Senate race in Michigan by a similar margin. Most of the candidates of the progressive left haven’t underperformed by so much. To lose, he would need to be one of the worst electoral performers in the party. But if the early polls are any indication, it’s possible he will be.”

The New York Times’ Charles Homan does a deep dive into the Democratic Socialists of America’s resurgence, as the group seeks to reshape the Democratic Party. “Offline communities built around shared interests — the sort once found in bowling alleys, all-ages punk-rock venues, church basements or radical bookstores — are rare now, and D.S.A. chapters fill this role. They offer not just a different politics but a different model for what participating in politics means. Chapter operations are heavily D.I.Y. affairs, which adds a giddy unreality to their victories, as if a group of college friends started a record label in their dorm room and somehow ended up using it to unseat an eight-term congressman.”

The Washington Post’s editorial board argues that a policy of containment vis-a-vis Iran is a better approach than making a deal with the Islamic Republic. “The U.S. should adapt its blockade to be more sustainable, lowering the number of ships conducting direct interdictions while sanctioning anyone who buys Iranian oil that gets through. The regime’s frozen assets should also stay frozen. And Iran’s proxies should be relentlessly suppressed in Yemen, Iraq, Lebanon and Gaza. Crucially, Trump needs to keep the threat of significant escalation on the table, especially if Iran takes even the smallest step toward reconstituting its nuclear program.”

In The Wall Street Journal, Moshe Davis, who served as the inaugural ​​executive director of the New York Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism under former Mayor Eric Adams, makes the argument for the federal Right to Worship Act, which he helped to craft. “While existing laws cover harassment and obstruction, they don’t reach the organized disruption that actually makes Americans feel afraid to enter their houses of worship. Courts have repeatedly upheld buffer-zone protections for funerals, polling sites and other places where people deserve to be left in peace; a law addressing disruptive behavior at houses of worship is on solid constitutional ground.”

The Atlantic’s Arash Azizi considers how the new mutual defense pact between Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan impacts Iran’s calculus in the region. “The symbolism can’t be lost on Tehran. The parties to the Mecca pact include some of the world’s most powerful Muslim-majority countries: the two with the biggest economies in the region (Turkey and Saudi Arabia, which also spend the most on their militaries), and the Muslim world’s sole nuclear power (Pakistan). … [Iran] can go on supporting militias and destabilizing the region, which will further isolate it. Or it can embrace the regional consensus on economic development, diplomatic reconciliation, and a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict. The Islamic Republic can either militate against Mecca, in other words, or give up its revolutionary ambitions at last.”

Nathan Diament, executive director of the Orthodox Union Advocacy Center, considers in The Detroit News whether Michigan’s Jewish community will support Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed in November’s election. “Jewish voters in Michigan could decide the election in the U.S. Senate race, but it’s not about one race, one state or even control of the U.S. Senate. This year, American Jews have watched some leaders in both the Democratic and Republican parties accept antisemitism as part of a ’big tent’ coalition. There are leaders in both — like Sen. John Fetterman, D-Penn., and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas — who are sounding the alarm. But ultimately, it is voters who will decide what, and who, is acceptable in American politics. In one of the most closely watched Senate races this cycle, Michigan’s Jewish community has the rare opportunity to send a national message: Our votes cannot be taken for granted.”