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Sen. Mark Kelly says Democrats have to 'do a better job'

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Cite

Danzis, I. (2026, September 27). Sen. Mark Kelly says Democrats have to 'do a better job'. ABC News (US). https://abcnews.com/Politics/sen-mark-kelly-democrats-job-good-midterm-showing/story?id=136794739

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

ABC News (US) · collected 2026-09-27 · by Isabel Danzis

Quick Summary

Sen. Mark Kelly, a Democrat from Arizona, stated on "This Week" that Democrats need to do better if they want to win control of Congress in November's midterms. He emphasized the importance of passing legislation and addressing voter frustrations over Republican leadership and President Trump’s policies, particularly the ongoing war with Iran which has led to increased oil prices and casualties. Kelly argued that the current situation is a result of poor strategic planning by the administration.
Written by AI on 2026-09-28, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Sen. Mark Kelly, a Democrat from Arizona, stated on ABC’s "This Week" that his party needs to do a better job in passing legislation if they aim to win control of Congress in November's midterm elections. According to Charlie Cook, founder of the Cook Political Report, Democrats could potentially secure victories in both the House of Representatives and Senate, though he described this outcome more as a "red undertow" than a traditional "blue wave." Cook noted that voter sentiment is largely anti-Trump rather than pro-Democrat, with polls suggesting tight races across many districts. Kelly emphasized the importance of addressing issues like Iran to increase voter turnout and effectiveness in November's midterms.

Written for “Democratic Party Criticism” on 2026-10-30, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Democratic Party Criticism
Politics · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 8% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
New York Post
Hedges 1 of 27 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles discuss different speakers and viewpoints regarding Democratic actions if they win control of Congress in midterms, indicating distinct events.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
38
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
8%
3 of 38 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
70/100
ABC News (US)'s corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-28 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

ABC News (US) · 1251 article(s) · 3 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 3 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Isabel Danzis
3 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 “We've seen just innumerable harms come from the unchecked domination of these big tech companies, and so now as we face new horizons with these advanced AI systems, it would be an enormous mistake to repeat that playbook," Khan continued.
🔮 Hopefully, if it benefits the American people, he will sign it,” Kelly told “This Week” co-anchor Martha Raddatz.
🔮 President Trump announced on Friday that he would be barring reporters from MS Now, CNN and Politico from the White House.
Also by Isabel Danzis
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

Topics

American Congress Democrats Iran Republicans

Subjects

Kelly PERSON · 13× Democrats NORP · 4× Iran GPE · 4× Trump PERSON · 4× American NORP · 3× China GPE · 3× Republicans NORP · 3× Americans NORP · 2× Congress ORG · 2× Mark Kelly PERSON · 2×

Narrative

Charlie Cook, founder of the Cook Political Report, also appeared on “This Week” Sunday and predicted that Democrats would win both the House of Representatives and the Senate -- something he said earlier this week would be less a as “blue wave,” but rather a “red undertow.”
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-28
🔮 Hopefully, if it benefits the American people, he will sign it,” Kelly told “This Week” co-anchor Martha Raddatz.
2026-09-28 · ABC News (US)
Sen. Mark Kelly says Democrats have to 'do a better job' · assertive framing

Claims (38 extracted, 3 hedged)

Sen. Mark Kelly says Democrats have to 'do a better job' if they have good midterm showing asserted
they → say → midterm
“I think there's going to be a big turnout" for midterms, Kelly said. asserted
Kelly → think → midterms
Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz, said Sunday that the Democratic party needs to do a “better job” if they were to win control of Congress in November’s midterm elections. “I think we have to have answers. asserted
we → say → answers
We have to have, we have to pass legislation. asserted
we → have → legislation
We have to send it to the president's desk. asserted
We → have → desk
Hopefully, if it benefits the American people, he will sign it,” Kelly told “This Week” co-anchor Martha Raddatz. asserted
Kelly → benefit → Raddatz
Many of November’s elections are shaping up to be tight races, with some recent polls indicating Democrats could come out on top. uncertain
Democrats → shape → top
Charlie Cook, founder of the Cook Political Report, also appeared on “This Week” Sunday and predicted that Democrats would win both the House of Representatives and the Senate -- something he said earlier this week would be less a as “blue wave,” but rather a “red undertow.” asserted
he → appear → wave
“It's hitting some places more than other places, but it isn't pro-Democrat. asserted
it → hit → places
It's anti-Trump basically, and Republicans that have been supported by the president,” Cook said. asserted
Cook → support → president
Kelly said that many Americans are frustrated with the Republican party and administration. asserted
Americans → say → party
“I think there's going to be a big turnout. asserted
I → think → ?
I think some of these races are going to be close, and it really comes down to the fact that the American people are just struggling and Republicans and this president don't have an answer,” Kelly said. asserted
Kelly → think → answer
Kelly also cited the war with Iran as a big factor that could be driving voters to pull the lever for Democrats. uncertain
that → cite → Democrats
“War and tariffs caused by Donald Trump and enabled by the Republicans in the United States Congress are just killing the American people. asserted
War → cause → people
I mean, they cannot afford their lives, and when you can't, when you're having a hard time feeding your kid, I mean, nothing else really matters,” Kelly said. asserted
Kelly → mean → kid
The war with Iran has severely limited the flow of oil through the critical Strait of Hormuz, spiking oil prices. asserted
war → limit → prices
This week at the United Nations, Iran’s president proposed a seven-day plan to reopen the strait, which President Trump rejected. asserted
Trump → propose → which
“Well, I'm rejecting their deal. asserted
I → reject → deal
They want to make a deal where we open the Strait immediately because they're losing so badly,” said Trump on Saturday. asserted
Trump → want → Saturday
“The president got into this without a strategic goal, without a plan, without a timeline, without an exit strategy. asserted
president → get → strategy
He's stuck,” said Kelly. asserted
Kelly → stick → ?
“This thing has been a disaster and it's been a mistake, and it's because of the failed leadership of this president,” Kelly added. asserted
Kelly → fail → president
Prior to the war with Iran, "the straits were open and we didn't have" dead and wounded service members, Kelly further said. asserted
Kelly → have → members
"This thing has been a disaster, and it's been a mistake, and it's because of the failed leadership of this president.” asserted
it → fail → president
Raddatz also asked Kelly about artificial intelligence and Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. asserted
Raddatz → ask → Jinping
In a lavish state visit last week, Xi met with the president in Washington, D.C., with many hoping progress would be made on a deal to regulate the development of AI. asserted
progress → meet → AI
Kelly said that he thinks the two leaders instead agreed to set up “sort of a working group.” asserted
leaders → say → group
It doesn't look like they had a serious discussion about this. asserted
they → look → this
This technology is moving very, very quickly. asserted
technology → move → ?
It could be very disruptive to hardworking Americans, could lose their jobs,” said Kelly. uncertain
Kelly → lose → jobs
“There's safety concerns about this, and the White House, specifically the president, doesn't seem to think we should put any guardrails in place." asserted
we → ' → place
Kelly also expressed the desire to stay ahead of China in AI development -- a sentiment echoed by Trump. asserted
Kelly → express → Trump
In a post on social media, the president claimed in part "there is a SICK conspiracy going on against AI and Data Centers, and the only one that is happy about it is China. asserted
that → claim → it
WHOEVER WINS AI, WINS! asserted
WHOEVER → win → AI
We are leading China, and all others, and will continue to do so. asserted
We → lead → China
"At the same time, we can't allow the Chinese to win the race to getting the best AI technology. asserted
Chinese → allow → technology
That would be a mistake," Kelly added. asserted
Kelly → add → ?
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