Primary Race Results, Trump's Plane Swap Ruse, Disarming Iraq's Iran-Backed Militias

August 12, 2026

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Primary Race Results, Trump's Plane Swap Ruse, Disarming Iraq's Iran-Backed Militias

Results from Tuesday's primary races in six states sent mixed signals about voter sentiment heading into the midterm elections, while new details emerged about President Trump's secret plane swap in Turkey last month and Iraq's new prime minister faces a daunting challenge in disarming Iran-backed militias on the government payroll.

Mixed Results in Democratic Primaries

In Wisconsin's closely watched Democratic primary for governor, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley — considered a more moderate candidate — narrowly defeated state Representative Francesca Hong, who identifies as a Democratic Socialist. The outcome stood in contrast to neighboring Michigan, where progressive Abdul El-Sayed recently won the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, suggesting Democratic voters remain divided between establishment and progressive wings.

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What you'll learn

1 (00:02) **Primary Election Results in Six States** - Overview of the mixed results from primary races, setting up the difficulty in gauging voter sentiment ahead of the midterms.
2 (04:36) **Trump-Backed Candidates' Performance** - Report on how President Trump's endorsed candidates fared in key primaries.
3 (05:33) **Trump's Plane Swap Ruse in Turkey** - Confirmation that President Trump secretly switched planes in Turkey due to an alleged Iranian threat, using Air Force One as a decoy.
4 (07:59) **Context on Press and Presidential Security** - NPR's Tamara Keith explains the unusual nature of the deception and its implications for press coverage.
5 (09:34) **Iraq's Plan to Disarm Iran-Backed Militias** - Iraq's new prime minister promises to disarm powerful Iran-backed paramilitary groups that are on the government payroll but not under its control.
6 (10:27) **Iran's Influence and U.S. Leverage in Iraq** - Explanation of Iran's deep influence in Iraq post-2003 invasion and the U.S. leverage via control of Iraq's oil revenue.
7 (12:54) **Kurds' Concerns and Iraq's Future** - The Kurdish semi-autonomous region is worried as U.S. forces withdraw amidst the ongoing war with Iran.

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Guests on this episode

David Crowley Francesca Hong Abdul El-Sayed Peggy Flanagan Angie Craig Mike Lindell Lisa Damuth

Show Notes

Results are in from primary races in six states. How did progressive candidates fare against more moderate Democrats in this run-up to the midterm elections? And President Trump has confirmed he secretly swapped planes as he left a NATO summit in Turkey last month. How unusual was this ruse? Plus, Iraq’s new leader wants to disarm the country’s Iran-backed militias that have hit U.S. military installations across the region in recent months. How challenging will that be?

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Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Alice Woelfle, Arezou Rezvani, Padma Rama, Rebekah Metzler and Tina Kraja.

It was produced by Ziad Buchh and Milton Guevara.

Our director is Christopher Thomas.

We get engineering support from Neisha Heinis. Our technical director is Zac Coleman.

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(0:00) Introduction
(01:54) Primary Race Results
(05:35) Trump's Plane Swap Ruse
(09:48) Disarming Iraq's Iran-Backed Militias

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