Axios Hill Leaders

October 13, 2026
🔥 Welcome back! Tonight's edition is 885 words, 3.5 minutes.
- 🔎 Dems' newest target
- 📉 Johnson's Latino problem
🧏‍♀️ Scoop: Former Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.), who was a Democrat just four years ago, told business and political leaders in Arizona that she chose to vote in the Republican primary for House candidate Jay Feely, Stef Kight has learned.
1 big thing: 🔎 Dems' newest target
House Democrats have a new addition to their sprawling 2027 oversight agenda after federal agents searched the D.C. home of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.).
Why it matters: The search set off alarm bells among Democrats that "more October surprises" could be coming, as one senior Democrat told us.
- "We expect more of this kind of thing," Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vt.) told us.
What they're saying: "We will deliver full accountability for the rogue abuse of power from the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a joint statement with his top two deputies, Reps. Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) and Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.).
- Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, said in a statement of his own: "We will be demanding transparency and accountability as to who authorized this abusive search and who carried it out."
- Raskin argued the search fits into a string of federal investigations and prosecutions over the last two years of Democratic members of Congress and other Trump critics, including former FBI Director James Comey.
- Raskin has vowed to investigate what he says is a clear pattern.
Catch up quick: Homeland Security Investigations "executed a judicially authorized search warrant" at Omar's home yesterday, a Justice Department spokesperson said.
- Fox News reported the investigation concerns Omar's immigration paperwork. She came to the United States in 1995 as a 12-year-old refugee from Somalia.
- Omar's office denounced the move as an "abuse of power" by the Trump administration and said she has "done nothing wrong."
What we're hearing: House Democrats' private text chains lit up with fear and anger after the search, with the senior House Democrat telling us "people are outraged."
- "[This is] what authoritarian tyrants and dictators do," the lawmaker said.
- Another House Democrat told us that "the chatter on texts" is that "folks are irate."
- The White House, DOJ and DHS did not respond to a request for comment.
Between the lines: Democrats worry this is just the start of a brutal few weeks leading up to the midterm elections. They allege Trump has proven more than willing to use government resources to advance his political ends.
- "President Trump will keep trying to intimidate and bully Americans ahead of the midterms," said Balint.
- Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) told us that "of course there will" be more incidents like the Omar raid because Trump "can't help himself."
- Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) said he also expects more of what he described as "hate-baiting bullshit."
— Andrew Solender
2. 📉 Johnson's Latino problem
House Speaker Mike Johnson needs Latino voters to stick with Republicans as they did in 2024. But new polling shows they're drifting back toward Democrats at levels not seen in years.
- Why it matters: Latino voters souring on President Trump has been part of the mood music of the president's second term. Democrats hope this helps them replicate the landslide from Trump's first midterm in 2018.
The big picture: Democrats have their widest lead of the year against Republicans, 57% to 31%, on the generic congressional ballot, according to new polling from Equis Research.
- In battleground districts, Democrats lead 62%–38% among likely Latino voters in two-way races, ahead of the party's 2022 level of 57%.
- That's well above the 49% of Latinos who voted Democratic in 2024, but below the 67% who backed Democrats in 2018, according to Equis, a leading authority on Latino voting behavior.
Zoom in: Republicans were convinced that Trump's undeniable gains in 2024 represented the beginnings of a real realignment, but poll after poll this year has indicated that Latino voters haven't found a permanent home in the GOP.
- In Florida, GOP Rep. MarĂa Elvira Salazar has addressed Trump directly in a campaign ad about his immigration crackdown.
- The Equis survey, conducted Sept. 23–Oct. 2, provides fresh evidence of Trump's declining support among Latino voters.
- Trump's approval rating stands at just 30%, compared with 65% disapproval. That's a 35-point deficit — and a new low in Equis surveys.
Between the lines: Economic concerns — and rising gas prices — are driving much of the dissatisfaction, particularly the cost of living.
- 76% of Latino voters disapprove of Trump's handling of the cost of living, which 52% identify as their top issue.
- 54% trust Democrats more on the economy, compared with 33% who trust Republicans.
- That gives Democrats a 21-point advantage on the economy, up from just 7 points in February.
The bottom line: Latino voters helped put Trump back in the White House. The Equis survey is the latest indication they could help Democrats take back Congress.
Note: The Equis survey was conducted Sept. 23–Oct. 2 via phone and text-to-web with 1,800 registered voters who identify as Hispanic or Latino nationally.
- The sample was weighted to match the composition of registered voters modeled as Latino by state, gender, age, education, vote history, voter registration date, VCH score and 2024 vote recall.
— Hans Nichols
This newsletter was edited by Justin Green and copy edited by Kathie Bozanich.
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