What was once a no-brainer for both parties has fallen to election-year politicking. In Barack Obama’s final year as president, it seemed as if Democrats and Republicans might finally pass a criminal justice bill cementing a rare bipartisan victory. That momentum was a culmination of statewide efforts in places like Texas, Louisiana and Minnesota, where Democrats sought to end the punitive policies of the discriminatory war on drugs, and Republicans saw a fix to the ballooning costs of housing prisoners in what had become the most incarcerated nation in the world. Those efforts first stalled when Donald Trump barnstormed his way to the White House in 2016, promising to crack down on crime. Now, they’re unraveling. Despite rhetorical feints toward reform — including last week’s Oval Office meeting with rapper Kanye West — the Trump administration has favored the tough-on-crime style of Attorney General Jeff Sessions. And it’s now dripping down to the states, where the decadelong trend toward a rehabilitation-focused justice system is faltering as governor races nationwide become a referendum on Trump and his policies. From Georgia to Virginia to Maryland, the seeming truce on criminal justice is splitting at the seams, that rupture playing out in key races. | 