Senate Republicans find their secret weapon as they try to navigate midterm ‘headwinds’ with Palm Beach getaway
Same show, different day.
Welcome to Washington Secrets, which will be leaving the Bad Bunny discourse to others. Instead, we have a look inside the Republican Senate retreat to Palm Beach (including who won the pickleball tournament) and we take the temperature of the mess that is the GOP nomination race in Texas. Hot, damn hot, is the answer. …
Senate Republicans fled Washington for a weekend of sun, pickleball, and strategy in Florida, where they gathered to plot just how to hold the upper chamber in difficult midterm elections in November.
Last week, they were warned they faced “national headwinds” and tougher-than-expected matchups in typically red states such as Alaska and Iowa, amid lingering questions about what support they could expect from Donald Trump and his cash-rich super PACs.
But Secrets is told that the mood was upbeat among senators, candidates, and strategists at the luxury Breakers hotel (where a stay tonight would cost you $1,525 plus taxes), just a pebble’s throw from Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach.
(And it wasn’t just Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio who was in a good mood, for it was he who triumphed in the pickleball tournament.)
Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, left, and Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., participate in a congressional Pickleball Match held on the National Mall on Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)
The reason? An attendee said the retreat was buoyed by the impact of last week’s New Jersey Democratic primary, where a progressive stands on the brink of seizing the House nomination ahead of Tom Malinowski, the former congressman.
You can always rely on Democrats, said the attendee.
“If New Jersey was any indication this weekend, they’re on track to nominate some real crazies,” he said.
The gathering was sent back to Washington with three reasons for optimism: A huge fundraising haul and a solid campaign infrastructure; the chance to campaign on White House wins; and the constant ability of Democrats to shoot themselves in the foot.
READ MORE: Battle for the soul of Democrats seen through prism of bitter Senate primaries
Yet Republicans have their own problems in Texas, where Sen. John Cornyn is under pressure from Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wes Hunt. (You can read more about that mess below.)
And Democrats have overperformed in a series of special elections.
But in panel after panel in Palm Beach, Secrets is told that the 30 senators plus candidates, officials, and strategists — making it the largest …
Same show, different day.
Welcome to Washington Secrets, which will be leaving the Bad Bunny discourse to others. Instead, we have a look inside the Republican Senate retreat to Palm Beach (including who won the pickleball tournament) and we take the temperature of the mess that is the GOP nomination race in Texas. Hot, damn hot, is the answer. …
Senate Republicans fled Washington for a weekend of sun, pickleball, and strategy in Florida, where they gathered to plot just how to hold the upper chamber in difficult midterm elections in November.
Last week, they were warned they faced “national headwinds” and tougher-than-expected matchups in typically red states such as Alaska and Iowa, amid lingering questions about what support they could expect from Donald Trump and his cash-rich super PACs.
But Secrets is told that the mood was upbeat among senators, candidates, and strategists at the luxury Breakers hotel (where a stay tonight would cost you $1,525 plus taxes), just a pebble’s throw from Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach.
(And it wasn’t just Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio who was in a good mood, for it was he who triumphed in the pickleball tournament.)
Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, left, and Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., participate in a congressional Pickleball Match held on the National Mall on Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)
The reason? An attendee said the retreat was buoyed by the impact of last week’s New Jersey Democratic primary, where a progressive stands on the brink of seizing the House nomination ahead of Tom Malinowski, the former congressman.
You can always rely on Democrats, said the attendee.
“If New Jersey was any indication this weekend, they’re on track to nominate some real crazies,” he said.
The gathering was sent back to Washington with three reasons for optimism: A huge fundraising haul and a solid campaign infrastructure; the chance to campaign on White House wins; and the constant ability of Democrats to shoot themselves in the foot.
READ MORE: Battle for the soul of Democrats seen through prism of bitter Senate primaries
Yet Republicans have their own problems in Texas, where Sen. John Cornyn is under pressure from Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wes Hunt. (You can read more about that mess below.)
And Democrats have overperformed in a series of special elections.
But in panel after panel in Palm Beach, Secrets is told that the 30 senators plus candidates, officials, and strategists — making it the largest …
Senate Republicans find their secret weapon as they try to navigate midterm ‘headwinds’ with Palm Beach getaway
Same show, different day.
Welcome to Washington Secrets, which will be leaving the Bad Bunny discourse to others. Instead, we have a look inside the Republican Senate retreat to Palm Beach (including who won the pickleball tournament) and we take the temperature of the mess that is the GOP nomination race in Texas. Hot, damn hot, is the answer. …
Senate Republicans fled Washington for a weekend of sun, pickleball, and strategy in Florida, where they gathered to plot just how to hold the upper chamber in difficult midterm elections in November.
Last week, they were warned they faced “national headwinds” and tougher-than-expected matchups in typically red states such as Alaska and Iowa, amid lingering questions about what support they could expect from Donald Trump and his cash-rich super PACs.
But Secrets is told that the mood was upbeat among senators, candidates, and strategists at the luxury Breakers hotel (where a stay tonight would cost you $1,525 plus taxes), just a pebble’s throw from Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach.
(And it wasn’t just Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio who was in a good mood, for it was he who triumphed in the pickleball tournament.)
Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, left, and Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., participate in a congressional Pickleball Match held on the National Mall on Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)
The reason? An attendee said the retreat was buoyed by the impact of last week’s New Jersey Democratic primary, where a progressive stands on the brink of seizing the House nomination ahead of Tom Malinowski, the former congressman.
You can always rely on Democrats, said the attendee.
“If New Jersey was any indication this weekend, they’re on track to nominate some real crazies,” he said.
The gathering was sent back to Washington with three reasons for optimism: A huge fundraising haul and a solid campaign infrastructure; the chance to campaign on White House wins; and the constant ability of Democrats to shoot themselves in the foot.
READ MORE: Battle for the soul of Democrats seen through prism of bitter Senate primaries
Yet Republicans have their own problems in Texas, where Sen. John Cornyn is under pressure from Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wes Hunt. (You can read more about that mess below.)
And Democrats have overperformed in a series of special elections.
But in panel after panel in Palm Beach, Secrets is told that the 30 senators plus candidates, officials, and strategists — making it the largest …
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