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Russell Payne

Russell Payne is a staff reporter for Salon. His reporting has previously appeared in The New York Sun and the Finger Lakes Times.

An image of US President Donald Trump hangs on the outside of the Department of Labor headquarters building in Washington, DC on October 7, 2025. (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)

Federal agencies go MAGA amid shutdown

Russell Payne
A resident drops off a vote-by-mail ballot in a secure drop box on October 2, 2020 in Chicago, Illinois. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Why the ACLU is backing a GOP lawmaker at the Supreme Court

Russell Payne
Democratic state Rep. Justin Pearson of Memphis speaks on his phone while being expelled from the state Legislature on April 6, 2023 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Seth Herald/Getty Images)

Progressives see an opening in Tennessee

Russell Payne
Former Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap fields a phone call at the Merrill Auditorium Rehearsal Hall voting location in Portland on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. (Carl D. Walsh/Portland Portland Press Herald via Getty Images)

Conservative Democrat Jared Golden gets a serious challenger

Russell Payne
Gender rights activists demonstrate outside the US Supreme Court on June 30, 2023, in Washington, DC. The court ruled on June 30 that some private businesses can refuse service to same-sex couples for religious reasons, in a landmark erosion of anti-discrimination laws. (OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images)

Anti-trans activists pray SCOTUS upholds “conversion therapy”

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Judge Aileen Cannon and Special Counsel Jack Smith (Photo illustration by Salon/Getty Images/US District Court for the Southern District of Florida)

Watchdog pushes for release of Jack Smith’s Trump report

Russell Payne
Activists display signs during a press conference inside the rotunda of the Missouri State Capitol Building on September 10, 2025 in Jefferson City, Missouri. (Michael Thomas/Getty Images)

DNC backs drive for Missouri gerrymandering referendum

Russell Payne
Protesters burn a Confederate battle on Aug. 12, 2018. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Republicans keep pushing unconstitutional flag-burning ban

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Zohran Mamdani speaks to supporters during a Democratic primary election night gathering after running on a platform of affordability. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Mamdani campaign vets are starting to help other Democrats

Russell Payne
A group of protestors who gather weekly, demonstrate outside News Corporation headquarters, the parent company of Fox News, in midtown Manhattan on March 18, 2025 in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Fox News “expert” says Hitler went to heaven

Russell Payne
A banner showing a picture of U.S. President Donald Trump is displayed outside of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) building on June 3, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Kevin Carter/Getty Images)

Emails suggest that a Trump-friendly business is getting special treatment from the government

Russell Payne
U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., holds up a hat that reads "Trump 2028" during an event at the Kennedy Center on August 13, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Lindsey Graham’s challenger says Democrats can’t give up on red states

Russell Payne
Vice President JD Vance continues to push the Trump diplomatic agenda. After an interview, social media takes sides with very different views of who won. (Andrew Harnik / Getty Images)

“Take away your freedom”: MAGA plots to use Charlie Kirk’s death to go after the left

Russell Payne
Residents of Lemont, Illinois, pay tribute to Charlie Kirk during a vigil on September 11, 2025. (Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images)

MAGA activists are cancelling Charlie Kirk’s insensitive critics

Russell Payne
Jennifer Pippin, president of the Indian River County chapter of Moms for freedom, attends a campaign event in Vero Beach, Florida on October 16, 2022. (GIORGIO VIERA/AFP via Getty Images)

She took on Moms for Liberty. Now she’s aiming for the Senate

Russell Payne
Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-Calif., outside the Roybal Federal building in Los Angeles, June 9, 2025. (Carlin Still/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Progressive Dems pick their latest primary target — and it’s a modest surprise

Russell Payne
Vice President JD Vance looks on as President Donald Trump speaks to the media in the Oval Office, Sept. 2, 2025. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

“Big Beautiful Bill” goes to the Dumpster: GOP now claims it’s a tax cut

Russell Payne
Rep. Marc LaHood, R-San Antonio, looks at a congressional redistricting map during debate of a congressional redistricting plan in the House Chamber at the Capitol in Austin. (Photo by Jay Janner/Getty Images)

New Texas maps: Doom for Democrats — or do they hold a hidden prize?

Russell Payne
Protesters outside Trump Tower in New York, July 4, 2025. (Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Republicans thought they could escape the Big Beautiful Bill. It’s not working

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The distraught wife and crying children of a man detained by federal agents outside the courtroom where his hearing took place at the New York Federal Plaza Immigration Court, August 20, 2025. (CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images)

“Who’s going to take care of your child?”: Parents reel from Trump ICE crackdown

Russell Payne
Governor of California Gavin Newsom attends a press conference in Beijing on October 25, 2023. (WANG ZHAO/AFP via Getty Images)

Newsom promises “new Democratic Party” amid GOP redistricting push

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California Governor Gavin Newsom speaks about California redistricting plans at a press conference at the Democracy Center, Japanese American Museum on August 14, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Democrats probably can’t win the redistricting wars

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Randy Villegas at HEAT Ultra Lounge on May 30, 2025 in Anaheim, California. (Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images for Connor Treacy)

California’s top Democrats aren’t convinced a progressive can win

Russell Payne
Texas House Democratic Caucus Chair Gene Wu speaks during a press conference in Marquette Park on August 13, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. (Jim Vondruska/Getty Images)

Texas Democrats signal likely end of gerrymander battle

Russell Payne
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