The Supreme Court’s decision gutting the Voting Rights Act two months ago was a devastating blow to American democracy, but it didn’t emerge out of the blue. Instead, it was the culmination of a decades-long effort on the right to capture the courts so that partisan jurists could enshrine minority rule.

On this week’s episode of The Downballot podcast, author David Daley takes us on a 60-year journey that began just weeks after the VRA first became law, when reactionaries first began plotting to sabotage it. Daley, a senior fellow at FairVote, explains how, after initial challenges failed, conservatives mobilized to ensure favorable outcomes by reshaping the judiciary—a strategy that ultimately worked to perfection.

But nothing in politics is permanent. Daley tells us what supporters of democracy must do to reform the Supreme Court, including how they must make the case for radical changes to both the public and politicians. He also details his wish-list for legislation that would protect voting rights, end gerrymandering, and restore the majority rule in America—measures that only stand a chance under a new-look SCOTUS.

Tuesday’s primary runoffs in Georgia were not good news for Donald Trump—or termed-out Gov. Brian Kemp. On this week’s episode of The Downballot podcast, co-hosts David Nir and David Beard explain how the campaign of Trump’s pick to lead the Peach State campaign imploded so badly, and why that in turn helped kill a push by Kemp to further gerrymander the state’s electoral maps.

The Davids also recap this week’s other races in Oklahoma, D.C., and Alabama before diving into a preview of all the major contests coming up in the second half of the month. In South Carolina, Trump could get another black eye as his choice for governor stumbles toward her runoff, while in New York, Democrats are hosting a variety of House primaries that have exposed notable divides—both ideological and geographic. And we’ve got Utah, Maryland, Louisiana, and Colorado all on tap as well!

South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace’s political career imploded in astonishing fashion on Tuesday night when she finished fifth in the GOP primary for governor—one of the most notable results that co-hosts David Nir and David Beard recap on this week’s episode of The Downballot podcast. There’s also Lindsey Graham, who needed $15 million in outside help to survive a race against a guy who advocated for “medical cocaine,” plus several important uncalled races in Maine, where ranked-choice tabulations will determine the winners next week.

State Sen. Mike Gianaris also explains how New York Democrats are moving to counteract the GOP’s new turbocharged gerrymanders. Gianaris tells us why the state’s redistricting system, which was designed to prop up Republicans, is so broken, and how a new constitutional amendment would allow Democrats to enact a new congressional map before 2028. But, he cautions, the vote on that amendment—likely in November of next year—will be a difficult and expensive battle.