Dave Weigel

Things Dave Says on Podcasts

National political reporter for Semafor. Mostly post about what books I'm reading.

Where to Find Them

Dave Weigel hosts Money, Power, Politics with Stephanie Ruhle , writes Central Air , writes Know Your Enemy and writes Why Is This Happening? The Chris Hayes Podcast . They have also been a guest on Plain English with Derek Thompson , The Bulwark and Fast Politics with Molly Jong-Fast . They also write for Nova Express on Substack.

Recently: “How the October surprise is impacting the Alaska Senate race” on Money, Power, Politics with Stephanie Ruhle (October 2026); “Elon Musk’s record spending on the midterms, and the impact it could have now and after Election Day.” on Money, Power, Politics with Stephanie Ruhle (October 2026); “Life in America could soon get even more expensive. Want to know why?” on Money, Power, Politics with Stephanie Ruhle (October 2026); “Polls show Americans think Trump's enriching himself, but Vance denies seeing any evidence” on Money, Power, Politics with Stephanie Ruhle (October 2026); “Inflation that will not quit” on Money, Power, Politics with Stephanie Ruhle (October 2026); “Charlie Sykes & Dave Weigel” on Fast Politics with Molly Jong-Fast (October 2026).

What They Said

“He's the face, Husted, according to the Brown campaign, the face of data centers.” — Dave Weigel on Jon Husted, Fast Politics with Molly Jong-Fast

Dave Weigel of Semafor on Fast Politics, October 2026, on how Democrat Sherrod Brown is campaigning against Sen. Jon Husted in Ohio's Senate race.

Fast Politics with Molly Jong-Fast · 2026-10-15 Permalink → Listen →
Fast Politics with Molly Jong-Fast Around 49:32 into the episode
Dave Weigel

…not going to win that. But if they lose that by two or three points instead of 15 points, that will indicate that they rolled the Trump wave back. And this is a This is like the wave in the second planet in Interstellar, very slow moving, gigantic wave that just kept crushing them for 10 years.

Molly Jong-Fast

But don't you don't you think that if anyone can do it, Sherrod is neatly qualified?

Dave Weigel

…has his record. For example, Democrats get blamed for shipping jobs overseas. That was never Sherrod Brown. He's always a trade protectionist. He's very comfortable bashing big corporations and saying that the government's being rigged to benefit them. Just there are Democrats have to learn that. That's not how he has to learn that. And he has that argument with Trump now and with John Husted. He's the face, Husted, according to the Brown campaign, the face of data centers. And that is something Republicans have adjusted. So an argument I was seeing in Ohio is that Houston saying Brown's a lot of talk, but he didn't achieve the things that we've been able to achieve. For example, the main example, he says, is Brown wanted to stop private equity from buying up homes. And I stopped that. That's my bill. I did it. You saw the same thing in May. As Susan Collins said…

Molly Jong-Fast

Right. I mean, it's very hard for them to make that case. What other what other like stories of the midterm are you watching besides Ohio states where you are? You know, where you think Democrats really have a shot, where we might be surprised in Iowa, Kansas or in Alaska or where you don't think…

Dave Weigel

And you think, well, you mentioned you mentioned most of them. The we're at the point where, again, Republicans are triaging and we're seeing who falls off. I am. We're also the fun part of the election. People overanalyze early voting and mail voting.

Charlie Sykes

Right.

Speaker names come from our own diarization. The position is estimated from where the line sits in the episode.
“Democrats have Dr. Amy Acton, who's from Youngstown, who had a very working class, poor background, and is not as eloquent a speaker or as dynamic a campaigner as Vivek, but it just has been an easier sell. … Vivek is associated with the tech industry … He's on tape saying data centers are great. He wants more in Ohio.” — Dave Weigel on Dr. Amy Acton and Vivek Ramaswamy, Fast Politics with Molly Jong-Fast

Dave Weigel of Semafor on Fast Politics with Molly Jong-Fast, October 2026, after a reporting trip to Youngstown, assessing the Ohio governor's race between Republican Vivek Ramaswamy and Democrat Amy Acton.

Fast Politics with Molly Jong-Fast · 2026-10-15 Permalink → Listen →
Fast Politics with Molly Jong-Fast Around 48:46 into the episode
Dave Weigel

But are they committed to coming out and voting for Trump because he's going to change everything? They don't think that anymore. They've seen what kind of president he is.

Molly Jong-Fast

So do you think from being out, do you think that that chariot has a chance? Do you think that what is your sense on the ground there?

Dave Weigel

…speaker or as dynamic a campaigner as Vivek, but it just has been an easier sell. But Democrats are not saying, nobody was saying, we're really excited to get a bunch of white voters who don't like the Indian candidate. It's more that at this moment in time, Vivek is associated with... the tech industry, which was more popular than it was in, more popular in 2004 than it is now. It's understate. He's on tape saying data centers are great. He wants more in Ohio. And there's below the surface with the vague too, there is, you saw this with Republicans over the last month, our conservative influencers, this kind of anti-immigrant sentiment that is spread far beyond people who crossed the border illegally and are committing crime to H1B holders. You've got the irony of JD Vance being the vice president who's trying to stop the brain drain from India, keep…

Molly Jong-Fast

But don't you don't you think that if anyone can do it, Sherrod is neatly qualified?

Dave Weigel

Yes, that was the idea behind recruiting him. So Tim Ryan ran for Senate against J.D. Vance and lost. He lost this area, too, even though this has been the story. No Democrat is able to hold on to Moaning County, Moaning Valley. They win Youngstown, but not by enough. Brown, he has a better…

Molly Jong-Fast

Right. I mean, it's very hard for them to make that case. What other what other like stories of the midterm are you watching besides Ohio states where you are? You know, where you think Democrats really have a shot, where we might be surprised in Iowa, Kansas or in Alaska or where you don't think…

Speaker names come from our own diarization. The position is estimated from where the line sits in the episode.

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