Axios

Herschel Walker has won Georgia's Republican Senate primary and will face incumbent Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock in November, the AP reported.

Why it matters: Republicans view Warnock's seat as a top pick-up opportunity to help take control of the upper chamber. Public polling has shown the November matchup to be extremely close.

Emboldened Republicans plan to double down on a nationwide "election integrity" push after Georgia saw record early voting in today's primary.

Why it matters: President Biden and other Democrats had attacked the state's new ballot restrictions as "Jim Crow 2.0." But early voting came in at nearly triple Georgia's 2018 level.

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) slammed his colleagues for doing "nothing" to address gun violence on Tuesday, hours after a gunman shot and killed at least 14 kids and one teacher at a Texas elementary school.

The backdrop: Murphy was the representative for the district that included Newtown, where a gunman killed 26 people, 20 of whom were children ages 6 and 7, at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012. Tuesday's shooting comes on the heels of a string of recent mass shootings, including incidents in Buffalo and Laguna Woods.

Fred Guttenberg, father of Parkland school shooting victim Jaime Guttenberg, said that politicians who do not support gun control legislation “led us to” Tuesday's mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, where at least 14 students and one teacher were killed during an attack on an elementary school.

What they're saying: "They f***ing failed our kids again, OK? I'm done. I've had it. You know, how many more times?" Guttenberg said on MSNBC.

Indiana lawmakers voted to ban transgender girls from competing in girls' sports in schools on Tuesday, overriding Gov. Eric Holcomb's veto of a bill.

Driving the news: Holcomb, a Republican, unexpectedly vetoed the legislation in March saying that it "falls short" of providing "clarity" regarding "fairness in K-12 sports in Indiana."

A three-judge panel for the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily blocked the select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot from receiving the Republican National Committee's (RNC) fundraising records leading up to the day of the attack, court documents show.

Why it matters: The select committee subpoenaed Salesforce, the customer relationship management software provider, and the RNC as part of its efforts to determine if the party's fundraising efforts after the 2020 election contributed to the attack.

Voters head to the polls in Georgia, Texas, Alabama, Arkansas and Minnesota on Tuesday as the 2022 primaries heat up.

Why it matters: Tuesday will be a test of former President Trump's dominance over the Republican Party and also will feature several battles in the ongoing war between progressives and moderate Democrats.

A commission established by Congress has submitted recommendations to rename nine Army bases that currently bear the names of Confederate military officers, the Washington Post reports.

Why it matters: The proposal follows a broader push to denounce Confederate memorials, a move that has been amplified in recent years amid the Black Lives Matter movement and a national reckoning with the country's racist history.

Southern Baptist Convention said during a public meeting Tuesday that it will release a list of alleged sex abusers after it ensures the names of survivors are not disclosed in the process.

Why it matters: The announcement comes just days after a bombshell report from an independent firm contracted by SBC’s administrative arm, the Executive Committee, alleged that the leaders of the country's largest Protestant denomination repeatedly mishandled sexual abuse claims over several years.

An Iraqi man in the U.S. with alleged links to ISIS has been taken into custody after he plotted to assassinate former President George W. Bush, said the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern District of Ohio on Tuesday.

Driving the news: Shihab Ahmed Shihab Shihab, an Iraqi citizen living in Columbus, Ohio, allegedly looked to smuggle four people from Iraq into the U.S. via the Mexican border to kill Bush.

Former White House counselor Kellyanne Conway's new memoir, "Here's the Deal," offers an inside look into former President Trump's administration and includes a roster of charged statements about individuals both within and outside the administration.

Driving the news: One of the book's most notable moments comes when Conway — who remains loyal to the former president — admits that Trump lost the 2020 election.

Netflix has found itself at the center of controversy again over transphobic jokes made during a recent comedy special from comedian Ricky Gervais.

Why it matters: This is the second time Netflix faces backlash over comedians including transphobic jokes in their specials and comes as a wave of anti-trans legislation is hitting states across the country.

From the American Southwest to New England, Latino candidates are seeking to break barriers in statewide races and flip seats traditionally held by opposing parties.

Why it matters: If successful, the up-and-coming candidates could quickly become the faces of their parties and catapult themselves onto the national stage.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Tuesday criticized San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone's decision to bar her from receiving Communion over her support for abortion rights, saying on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" that the church is inconsistent in its decisions to deny Communion over certain beliefs.

Why it matters: Cordileone has been one of the most vocal U.S. bishops advocating for the denial of Communion for politicians supportive of abortion rights, including President Biden.

Tuesday’s congressional runoff between two South Texas Latino Democrats with opposing views on abortion could shape how their party fares in November.

The big picture: Democrats bracing for a loss of the House majority in November are rallying voters nationally around fears the Supreme Court is about to overturn abortion rights — but in a general election, this message may not work as well in socially conservative districts with Democratic incumbents.

The Justice Department is updating its use-of-force policy to direct federal agents to intervene if they witness any law enforcement official using "excessive force" in a way that violates the law.

Why it matters: The department's policy has not been updated since 2004, Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a memo. The addition comes after years of protests over police killings, particularly involving Black people.

MSNBC on Tuesday announced that former White House press secretary Jen Psaki will join the network to host a new streaming program that's set to debut in the first quarter of 2023.

Why it matters: It's part of a broader effort by MSNBC to bring on partisan pundits that appeal to the network's progressive base.

Chalkbeat, the nonprofit news outlet that covers education at the local level, has raised $3.1 million to permanently launch a separate newsroom called Votebeat that will be dedicated to covering voting at the local level.

Why it matters: Votebeat is the only outlet in America that covers local voting exclusively. It will launch in four states to start on Tuesday, but plans to eventually expand to all 50 states with up to three reporters in each, its editor in chief Chad Lorenz told Axios.

Colorado Hispanics who aren't registered to vote say they may not register before November, citing discontent with both parties and the economy, according to a study from Emerson College's nationwide initiative on Latinos.

Why it matters: The new survey and focus groups show the challenges that Democrats and Republicans face long-term with one of the nation's fastest-growing voting blocs.

Companies that once seemed immune from partisan backlash are seeing their reputations plunge in response to political drama, according to new rankings from the annual Axios/Harris Poll 100.

Why it matters: The findings suggest that companies that are slow to respond to political crises, or do it inconsistently, suffer the most in terms of consumer reception and trust.

This survey is the result of a partnership between Axios and Harris Poll to gauge the reputation of the most visible brands in America, based on 20 years of Harris Poll research. From Trader Joe's to Disney, here's how this year's class stacks up.

Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers has found a new target for his war on inflation: President Biden's "hipster" antitrust policies.

Why it matters: National gas prices reached another record high Monday and inflation hit 8.3% last month. Top administration officials are super-sensitive to criticism from Summers, a former Harvard president who served in senior economic roles in the last two Democratic administrations.

Russian forces intensified attacks in southern and eastern Ukraine as the invasion entered its 90th day Tuesday, per U.K. intelligence and Ukrainian military officials.

The big picture: Russia's military didn't expect to fight for this long when it first invaded on Feb. 24. "Strong Ukrainian resistance" continued Tuesday in the Donbas region, the U.K. defense ministry said. Russian forces aim to encircle Severodonetsk, Luhansk province's last major city under Ukrainian control.

President Biden met with the leaders of Japan, Australia and India in Tokyo on Tuesday for a second in-person summit of the Indo-Pacific Quad countries.

Driving the news: While the leaders discussed the importance of issues including climate change, trade, supply chains and the pandemic, Russian forces' invasion of Ukraine remained a key focus for Biden — who noted the world was "navigating a dark hour in our shared history," per pool reports.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a sanctions law Monday enabling officials in the country to seize and sell Russian assets related to Russia's military invasion in order to support Ukraine's war efforts.

Driving the news: The law is designed to rapidly resolve cases and targets Russian oligarchs, covering offenses including donating to the Kremlin and setting up puppet governments or elections in Russian-controlled parts of Ukraine, per an NPR translation. It'll remain in effect while Ukraine remains under martial law.

Go deeper... Watch: Volodymyr Zelensky interviewed by Jonathan Swan

On the eve of Georgia's primary, Gov. Brian Kemp and former Sen. David Perdue, two former allies, made their closing arguments to Republican voters.

The intrigue: They did so with their most prominent surrogates, who are also two former allies — former President Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence.

U.S. Senate candidate David McCormick has filed a lawsuit in a Pennsylvania court to make sure all Republican mail-in ballots submitted without a handwritten signature can be counted in the tightly contested primary race.

Why it matters: If successful, the move could help close the gap between McCormick and his opponent Dr. Mehmet Oz in the primary showdown, which is on the verge of a potential recall.

Former Sen. David Perdue closed out his bid for the GOP's nomination for governor of Georgia by seizing on comments by Democrat Stacey Abrams over the weekend with a racist retort, accusing Abrams of “demeaning her own race.”

What he's saying: “She said that Georgia is the worst place in the country to live. Hey, she ain’t from here," Perdue said during a radio appearance Monday. "Let her go back to where she came from. She doesn’t like it here.”