Jennifer Ellis is the face of the movement that handed Donald Trump his biggest defeat of the year. She leads Take Back Idaho, a political action committee founded last year to beat back the growing tide of extremist candidates in Idaho.

Ellis’s main target on Tuesday was Janice McGeachin, the state’s far-right lieutenant  governor, whom Trump backed in her gubernatorial primary challenge to incumbent Gov. Brad Little.

Trump’s candidate lost by almost 21 points.

For this week’s episode of Playbook Deep Dive, we sat down with Jennifer Ellis at her cattle ranch in eastern Idaho to understand how the state’s GOP establishment delivered this stinging rebuke to Trumpism.

Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO.
Jennifer Ellis is a cattle rancher and co-founder of Take Back Idaho.
Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio.
Brook Hayes is a producer for POLITICO audio.
Adam Allington is senior producer for POLITICO audio.
Jenny Ament is executive producer for POLITICO audio.

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This week on “Playbook Deep Dive,” we sat down over Zoom with Steve Schmidt, the architect of the late Sen. John McCain’s 2008 presidential run, to hear what amounts to an untold chapter of that exhaustively chronicled campaign. It’s a story about regret and disillusionment that we are confident you will want to hear. 

Schmidt has long maintained that the roots of Trumpism, which he has spent the last seven years fighting, can be found in the movement that first gathered around Palin in 2008. But Schmidt has always been more circumspect about McCain, his one time hero and the man who actually picked Palin. 

Recently, though, he took to Substack to unfurl a surprising new chapter about the legendary senator and his failed 2008 campaign.

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This week on Playbook Deep Dive, POLITICO’s Peter Canellos talks with our own Josh Gerstein, who broke this week’s massive news that the Supreme Court’s conservative majority has drafted an opinion to overturn Roe v. Wade. Peter and Josh nerd out on everything from the history of the court, to potential implications of the draft opinion — both for the country and the judiciary itself.

Peter Canellos is POLITICO's managing editor for enterprise.
Josh Gerstein is POLITICO's senior legal affairs reporter.
Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio.
Brook Hayes is a producer for POLITICO audio.
Adam Allington is senior producer for POLITICO audio.
Jenny Ament is executive producer for POLITICO audio.

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The White House Correspondents’ Dinner is back for the first time since 2019. Journalists, A-list celebrities and Washington’s power players will pack the cavernous ballroom at the Washington Hilton. That means brunch is back too. On this week’s episode, Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza gets a tour from Tammy Haddad at the site of her annual garden brunch, one of the most sought after invites of the weekend. Plus, insights from comedian and WHCD alum Elayne Boosler and Ed Solomon of Anthony's Tuxedos in Georgetown.

Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO.
Tammy Haddad is CEO & President of Haddad Media. 
Elayne Boosler is a comedian and the performer at the 1993 WHCD.
Ed Solomon is the owner of Wedding Creations & Anthony's Tuxedos of Georgetown.
Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio.
Brook Hayes is a producer for POLITICO audio.
Adam Allington is senior producer for POLITICO audio.
Jenny Ament is executive producer for POLITICO audio.

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This week Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza is in Arizona to dig into a few big plotlines ahead of this year’s elections. Trump narrowly lost the state in 2020, Senator Mark Kelly – the Democratic incumbent – is one of the most vulnerable senators up for reelection this year and strategists are already looking at the 2024 Senate election to see who will run against Kyrsten Sinema. On this week’s Playbook Deep Dive Episode, Ryan joins Rep. Ruben Gallego for a long dinner and a few drinks. They discuss Gallego’s fraught history with Sinema, a potential campaign against her in 2024, the political environment in Arizona ahead of midterms and his deployment in the Iraq war.

Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO.
Rep. Ruben Gallego is the congressman for Arizona's 7th district.
Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio.
Carlos Prieto is a producer for POLITICO audio.
Brook Hayes is senior producer for POLITICO audio.
Jenny Ament is executive producer for POLITICO audio.

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In the coming weeks and months, the Playbook team will be out covering the key districts and states that will decide the outcome of the midterm elections. This week, co-author Ryan Lizza was in Las Vegas to interview John Anzalone, who is best known as President Joe Biden’s pollster, but who is also a top adviser to Gov. Steve Sisolak, who is up for reelection this year. In Nevada, two of the Democrats’ biggest political challenges collide: Democrats’ Hispanic voter problem is their working-class voter problem.

Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO.
John Anzalone is the founder of Impact Research.
Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio.
Carlos Prieto is a producer for POLITICO audio.
Brook Hayes is senior producer for POLITICO audio.
Jenny Ament is executive producer for POLITICO audio.

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Congressman Ro Khanna is one of the most influential progressives inside the house democratic caucus. He represents California’s 17th district – a large chunk of Silicon Valley. It’s wealthy, influential and home to companies like Apple, Intel, and Cisco Systems.

Today, Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza asks Representative Khanna what went wrong trying to pass Biden’s Build Back Better plan and what he thinks progressives’ influence on Biden has been. Khanna also suggests how Democrats can improve their prospects going into the midterms.

Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO.
Rep. Ro Khanna is the congressman for California's 17th district.
Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio.
Carlos Prieto is a producer for POLITICO audio.
Brook Hayes is senior producer for POLITICO audio.
Jenny Ament is executive producer for POLITICO audio.

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Doug Sosnik is a man whose deep dive political memos are considered essential reading in Washington. He's best known as a former senior adviser to then-President Bill Clinton. His latest memo dissects the new center of political power in America and argues that the most important battlegrounds are fought in the suburbs.

Today, Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza has dinner with Sosnik to find out why he thinks a lot of conventional wisdom about the politics of American suburbs is wrong. 

Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO.
Doug Sosnik is a political strategist and former Clinton administration adviser.
Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio.
Carlos Prieto is a producer for POLITICO audio.
Brook Hayes is senior producer for POLITICO audio.
Jenny Ament is executive producer for POLITICO audio.

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When you look at the major diplomatic events of the last thirty years, Derek Chollet has experienced them all. He’s worked with legends like James Baker, Strobe Talbott and Richard Holbrooke and served in some of the highest echelons of the White House, the Pentagon and the U.S. Department of State. From Bosnia to Syria — and now Russia — Chollet has helped to shape America’s approaches to its policy abroad.

Today, Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza sits down with Chollet, who’s currently the Counselor of the Department of State, to dig into Foggy Bottom’s approach to helping Ukraine and handling Putin.

Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO.
Derek Chollet is the Counselor of the U.S. Department of State.
Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio.
Carlos Prieto is a producer for POLITICO audio.
Brook Hayes is senior producer for POLITICO audio.
Jenny Ament is executive producer for POLITICO audio.

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Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.) pioneered the playbook that helped Democrats flip the House in 2018. Less than four years later, she announced her retirement. Her experience has raised alarms about the Democratic Party going forward.

Today, Playbook co-author Rachael Bade sits down with Rep. Murphy to talk about how the Democratic House leadership’s insistence on absolute party unity is fracturing the Dems and putting their congressional majority at risk.

Rachael Bade is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO.
Rep. Stephanie Murphy is the congresswoman for Florida's 7th District.
Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio.
Carlos Prieto is a producer for POLITICO audio.
Brook Hayes is senior producer for POLITICO audio.
Jenny Ament is executive producer for POLITICO audio.

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