5 Stories You'll Care About in Politics This Week

What the ABC News political team will be tracking in the week ahead.

Here’s a look at the stories the ABC News political team will be tracking in the week ahead:

ANCHORS AWAY

MAIL MESS

Add a federal judge to the list of those who say Hillary Clinton violated government policy by establishing her private email server. Add to that reports of additional classified material that traveled through that server, plus scattered aides’ emails that are subject to lawsuits, and it’s a recipe for more headaches than a quirky Outlook setup could ever provide. Democrats are beginning to voice public frustration, as polls show Clinton’s honesty and trustworthy ratings taking a nosedive as the stories linger. Waiting just offstage remains Vice President Joe Biden, whose end-of-summer deadline for 2016 is approaching, if slowly.

TRUMP TOWERING

The Trump show rolls on, drawing bigger crowds and sucking more energy in and around one the man who plays by nobody’s rules but wears awesome hats. Iowa and South Carolina are next on Trump’s travel agenda, as the candidate forgoes traditional retail campaigning -- really, he avoids traditional anything -- in favor of big rallies and near-constant media appearances and tweets. What’s beginning to change is the sense that Trump may be for real -- and that his lead isn’t evaporating any time soon. Jeb Bush has chosen to engage Trump more directly, as he seeks to build up institutional support and burnish his own conservative credentials. But he can’t stay out of Trump’s vortex, and a campaign trip Monday to the border area in Texas is sure to bring more Donald-inspired questions Bush’s way.

PLAYING THE FIELD

BACK TO WORK