Stef Kight

I'm back on the Hill for @axios! Looks like I missed a couple things while on mat leave... catch me up at stef@axios.com or DM for my cell Will pay for scoops with baby photos

New: SLF has $238 million in the bank — more than double what it had at this point in the last election cycle axios.com/2026/07/13/sen…

🇺🇸🇮🇱🇸🇦Senator Lindsey Graham, who died suddenly Saturday, spent his final weeks laying the groundwork for an ambitious new push for Israeli-Saudi normalization, he told me in multiple conversations over the past several weeks. My story on @axios axios.com/2026/07/12/lin…

Scoop: Graham Platner privately told staff that he is planning to officially file paperwork to end his Senate campaign on Monday — the drop-dead deadline for him to exit the race. axios.com/2026/07/09/gra…

Platner: "We're suspending campaign operations."

Graham Platner told staff he is suspending his campaign on an 8pm call, according to a source on the call.

NEWS: Ken Griffin said at the super-exclusive Allen & Co conference today that he'd back Rubio over Vance in '28 Comments came during a Q & A w/@andrewrsorkin axios.com/2026/07/08/ken…

NEWS: the Maine Democratic State Committee overwhelming voted in favor of a 600+ person nominating convention to replace Graham Platner in #MESEN DSC had a long emergency meeting Wednesday then took a vote

New: A senior Graham Platner campaign aide told his team at a 1 p.m. meeting today that Platner would speak later tonight, ostensibly to them, according to a person on the call. The person described the call as “odd” and “stilted.”

Scoop: Republicans juice spending to protect Senate "red wall" axios.com/2026/07/08/gop…

New w/ @hollyotterbein: Platner was a walking time bomb long before the rape allegation he denied this week. The cracks in Platner's well-crafted image were evident from the beginning if Dems were willing to see them — especially progressives axios.com/2026/07/08/tru…

McConnell & Barrasso had ~20 min call early this afternoon per Barrasso spox Kate Noyes: “They caught up about the latest news impacting Senate races, the Graham Platner scandal, and the recent Supreme Court ruling on coordinated spending limits. They also discussed the Senate’s July work period, including the need to pass the NDAA and confirm President Trump’s nominee for Director of National Intelligence. Senator McConnell was fully engaged and is eager to get back to the Senate.”

I spoke to my old friend Mitch McConnell this morning, the senior Senator from Kentucky. He’s still recovering in the hospital. We talked for just shy of 20 minutes … about IRAN, UKRAINE, the unfolding situation in MAINE, my visit to the TR Presidential Library, and even a little bit of Senate history. I told him we want to see him back at work as soon as possible.

Sen. Bernie Sanders calls on Platner to drop out: “I have spoken with Graham Platner about the best path forward for Maine. In light of these very serious allegations, I have recommended that he step aside.”

A sign of how the politics of data centers have quickly shifted. Sherrod Brown up with an ad attacking Husted as the “face of data centers.”

“PLEASE MAKE ARRANGEMENTS TO RETURN TO THE US BY OTHER MEANS.” Incredible story from @Eleanor_Mueller. If you read one thing today, make it this: semafor.com/article/07/07/…

A woman who dated Graham Platner says he sexually assaulted her. “I just want the truth out there. I just want people to have a whole scope of who he is as a person," she said of the Maine Dem, who has faced a string of scandals over past offensive online comments and accusations of mistreating women. Platner responded: "These allegations are troubling, serious, and false. Any accusation of non-consensual behavior is categorically untrue." politico.com/news/2026/07/0…

"Regardless of the inaccuracy of the reporting but mindful of political reality will inflict, we are taking the time to reflect on the best path forward for the state that I love, the people that I love, the movement I belong to and the goal of defeating Susan Collins"

New: Thune and NRSC chair Tim Scott to attend Paxton fundraiser later this month Comes after months of fighting Paxton's primary bid against Cornyn axios.com/2026/07/06/joh…

Stef Kight joined @ShannonBream's panel to discuss Georgia and Maine's Senate races. 📺: @FoxNewsSunday | @StefWKight | @axios

Republicans' reliance on mega-donors and their cash-flush committees positions them to benefit more than Democrats from the SCOTUS ruling — which allows committees to spend unlimited sums in coordination with candidates — as they push against electoral headwinds axios.com/2026/06/30/sen…