Raising the Barr

In The New York Times this morning, a top headline reads, “Republicans Reel on the Midterm Map as Deep-Red Areas Come Into Play.” The article discusses the battleground of Georgia, but also vulnerabilities for Republicans in Kansas and Nebraska. The story doesn’t include Montana’s House race in the western district, where new polling shows Democrat Sam Forstag in a dead heat with Republican Aaron Flint. It also doesn’t mention Michigan’s first Congressional district, where Callie Barr is waging a rematch of her 2024 race against Republican incumbent Jack Bergman.

Barr is a lawyer, former high school English teacher and a military spouse who took care of her husband when he returned from Iraq and Afghanistan with PTSD and a brain injury.

Barr lost by more than 20 points in 2024, but she tells us why she thinks voter sentiment will work in her favor this time around, with her own internal polling showing a close race.

“Folks can’t even go to work because gas is too high. You know, they’re having problems buying groceries. This is real stuff,” Barr said. “And it’s just kind of the basic necessities of life that folks can’t afford. And it’s rising costs because of corruption.”

Barr says voters in her district care deeply about those rising prices, but also rural hospital closures, and veterans issues. And with all of that in play, you won’t believe what most people write to her complaining about.

Plus, JT gets pretty spicy over the headlines. 47 days to go.