Midwest political correspondent at @TheGuardian.com. Lots of Arizona journalism before this. Based in Minneapolis. Email: rachel.leingang@theguardian.com. Find me on Signal: rachelleingang.21.
A dispatch from the campaign trail in Michigan, where swing-state primary voters are deciding on a crucial test of the Democratic party’s progressive rise www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Democrats face most contentious – and crucial – test yet with Michigan primaryVoters are faced with the thorny question of electability: who can win this purple state in November and potentially push Democrats toward a US Senate majority?www.theguardian.comWhile in Michigan to cover the US Senate primary, I talked with @warren.senate.gov and @vanhollen.senate.gov about the Iran war. “The Republicans have all had their spines surgically removed. I mean, they’re just gelatinous blobs," Warren said. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Senators accuse Republican ‘gelatinous blobs’ of caving to Trump on Iran warDemocrats Warren and Van Hollen attack Republican ‘rubber stamps’ in Congress for ceding authority to Trumpwww.theguardian.comI’m all over the Midwest covering the primaries and then the general during this midterms year. If you have candidates or issues or ballot measures or anything you think deserves coverage, hit me up: Rachel.leingang@theguardian.com
Thrilled to see Mary Jo Pitzl's byline in the Guardian in this dive into the fracture (and fragile truce) between the Maricopa county board of supervisors and the county recorder in Arizona, a key battleground and a fixation of Trump www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
‘The biggest threat is the president’: election fears in Arizona as Trump sows fresh doubtsExperts warn election denialism could bubble up again in November, despite truce in bitter power strugglewww.theguardian.comMonarca, a project of Unidos MN, trained tens of thousands of Minnesotans on constitutional observing to respond to ICE activity. Now, they're training people - block by block - on defending democracy, anticipating efforts to undermine voting access and results. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Anti-ICE organizers shift focus to defend democracy from Trump assaultCitizens in Minnesota using lessons learned from migrant crackdown to protect elections from president’s threatswww.theguardian.comStateside, the new podcast at @us.theguardian.com, with hosts @cartersherman.bsky.social and Kai Wright, focuses on big, in-depth conversations about our country right now. It's so well done on every level. The first episode dives into the gutting of voting rights. www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6iG...
Stacey Abrams on why the gutting of the Voting Rights Act is 'evil'YouTube video by Stateside Podcastwww.youtube.comMothers built the backbone of the resistance during Minnesota's ICE surge this year. The current moment builds on decades of mothers harnessing their organizing power and working to improve their communities. On mothers and resistance, with @anrao.bsky.social: www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
‘I see every child like I see my children’: why US mothers are on the frontlines of resistance movementsMothers’ experiences often intersect with federal policy battles over gun violence, immigration and childcarewww.theguardian.com“Donald Trump’s demand to tear up political norms has been met by Republican states eager to dust off a segregation-era playbook that maximizes the political power of white voters.” www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026... via @neonflag.bsky.social
‘This is not democracy’: voting rights activists shocked by speed of US states moving to stifle Black votersAlabama, Mississippi, Tennessee and other southern states stun residents with all-out charge to redraw congressional maps to favor white voters after supreme court rulingwww.theguardian.com"It is information funded by taxes, and that belongs to the American people. This data is often how the government decides what to do: what is a problem, what is a policy priority, what should be funded. It tells the story of America." theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
The Trump administration is deleting government data. From infant deaths to hunger, here are five ways it’s hurting AmericansThis information was used to understand the problems Americans face. The consequences of its erasure, experts warn, could affect generations to cometheguardian.comGeorgia Fort, an award-winning Minnesota journalist, filmed a protest in a church during the ICE surge. The federal government is charging her for it. We talked about how the case has affected her, her family, her work - and what it means for journalism. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
A journalist filmed an ICE protest at a Minnesota church. Then federal agents showed up at her doorAfter Georgia Fort and Don Lemon reported from a church whose pastor reportedly works for ICE, agents arrested Fort in front of her childrenwww.theguardian.comLittle Joy, a coffee shop in Northfield, MN, created a raspberry danish latte. They made a video about how to make it for a "DIY or buy" series, which went viral. Then they encouraged other coffee shops to copy the recipe - and hundreds worldwide did. www.theguardian.com/food/2026/ap...
The US small town coffee shop that created a viral drink: ‘I still don’t understand how it went so far’The raspberry danish latte is making its way around the world after its inventors decided to share the recipewww.theguardian.comThe ICE surge in Minnesota extended into rural western Wisconsin, where more than 50 people were taken from a town of about 4,000. While agents haven’t taken people in a few weeks, the people in St Croix county are still grappling with the aftermath. www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
Trump’s mass deportation plan breaks the quiet of small US towns: ‘We have to take care of each other’Immigration agents have spread into rural western Wisconsin, taking dozens of people from towns in more politically conservative areaswww.theguardian.com“We’re not trying to propose that people stop paying taxes because taxation is wrong. We believe our taxes should be going towards the best use for people in this country, and that’s unfortunately not happening.” www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Meet the Americans withholding their federal income tax to protest against TrumpSome US taxpayers are refusing to pay the federal government amid ICE surges, the war with Iran and morewww.theguardian.com“We know the most impactful elected position right now is the Democratic AG,” said Andrea Campbell, the attorney general of Massachusetts. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
‘We were ready’: Democratic attorneys general lead fight to stop TrumpAs some elected leaders choose to play nice with the president, Democratic AGs have done the opposite – to impressive effectwww.theguardian.comThe 23 Democratic attorneys general have brought dozens of lawsuits against Trump, blocking or stalling policies that would’ve cost their states billions of dollars. An inside look at how they prepared to fight Trump and work collectively: www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
‘We were ready’: Democratic attorneys general lead fight to stop TrumpAs some elected leaders choose to play nice with the president, Democratic AGs have done the opposite – to impressive effectwww.theguardian.comThis photo essay shows the disruptions to daily life in Minnesota because of ICE - from people staying home to mutual aid distributions to taking kids to school to going to work. www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
How daily routines in Minneapolis and St Paul have changed amid 3,000 federal immigration agents – in picturesMany people have been sheltering at home. Protests have become part of the daily rhythm. Community networks continue to patrol and document agents’ interactionswww.theguardian.comSince the ICE surge started, I’ve asked nearly everyone why they thought Minnesota was the target, beyond immigration or fraud claims. Basically, the state is anathema to the Trump administration - strong social safety net, open to immigrants, collective culture. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
What is it about Minnesota that made it a target for Trump’s ICE crackdown?The Democratic-leaning midwestern state where federal agents killed two citizens is in many ways anathema to the administrationwww.theguardian.comICE's surge in Minnesota menaced the suburbs and rural areas, too - and the response in those areas can look different and is less dense geographically. People all over the state stood up response networks and mutual aid www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Quiet Minnesota suburbs turned into conflict zone by ICE crackdownActivity of immigration agents has left no part of the state unscathed even as border czar says surge would be endingwww.theguardian.comThe federal government’s surge into Minnesota is hurting small local businesses, especially those run by immigrants, tremendously. “It’s terrifying. All my employees are legal. I’m 100% legal. But that doesn’t mean anything anymore.” www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026... via @laurenaratani.bsky.social
‘These are people’s livelihoods’: Minnesota’s economy in crisis amid ICE surgeLocal businesses across the Twin Cities are suffering and owners say ‘ Metro Surge’ could be worse than Covid-19www.theguardian.comA look at the families in Minnesota stuck inside for their safety, from @maanvisingh.bsky.social: "They’ve played hide-and-seek and tag in the wide hallways of their building – but they won’t go past the lobby." www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
The Minnesotans trapped at home, too terrified of ICE to go outside: ‘Our house is like a jail’The surge of federal immigration agents has forced many families to remain inside for weeks, living in fear of roving ICE patrols snatching people off the streetwww.theguardian.com