Downballot 2020

[bubblesort]

Taking a cue from the 2020 US Presidential Elections thread, where this was posted:

As far as I know, before your mention, nothing at all was said on VVO about Jamaal Bowman's upset victory. Bernie supporters were calling it the AOC mement of 2020. When it appeared that he had won I came to VVO to see if he had been mentioned. I came days later when it was more certain he had won. I came here when his victory was official. Crickets.

I thought for sure that a group of people who were both progressive and informed by more than MSNBC would know about Jamaal and would be excited by his victory. Crickets.

I came here just now to see if Cori Bush rated a mention. Crickets.

That resulted in a conversation where people said we need a thread for downballot contests.

I agree with this. Downballot contests don't get enough scrutiny, and they really should. Not just congress, but smaller offices are important, as well. When you are in serious trouble, or want signals at an intersection fixed, do you contact the president of the united states, or your senator, or do you contact your local officials? National politics is about philosophy, local politics is about how we live, day to day.

To get started, lets look at congressional races in 2020...

Here is an article about how progressives like Alexandria Occasio-Cortez, Ayana Pressley, and Marie Newman won their primaries.

Here is an article about how Jamaal Bowman, Monderie Jones, and Cameron Webb did well.

McGrath defeated the progressive Charles Booker in Kentucky.

Where I live, we are focused on getting rid of congressman Scott Perry. Perry married an old high school friend of mine, so he might be a nice guy, but politically, he is just pure evil. I'm backing Eugene DePasquale, who is the democratic nominee against him. DePasquale is the Auditor General of Pennsylvania. Here's an opinion piece about Perry that DePasquale published yesterday in the Patriot News. I am not actively political class any more, but people who are tell me there are insane amounts of money pouring into our district for this contest right now. RCP is currently calling this contest a toss up.

So what are the downballot contests looking like where you are? Which contests are important to you?

 

[Cristalle]

Taking a cue from the 2020 US Presidential Elections thread, where this was posted:



That resulted in a conversation where people said we need a thread for downballot contests.

I agree with this. Downballot contests don't get enough scrutiny, and they really should. Not just congress, but smaller offices are important, as well. When you are in serious trouble, or want signals at an intersection fixed, do you contact the president of the united states, or your senator, or do you contact your local officials? National politics is about philosophy, local politics is about how we live, day to day.

To get started, lets look at congressional races in 2020...

Here is an article about how progressives like Alexandria Occasio-Cortez, Ayana Pressley, and Marie Newman won their primaries.

Here is an article about how Jamaal Bowman, Monderie Jones, and Cameron Webb did well.

McGrath defeated the progressive Charles Booker in Kentucky.

Where I live, we are focused on getting rid of congressman Scott Perry. Perry married an old high school friend of mine, so he might be a nice guy, but politically, he is just pure evil. I'm backing Eugene DePasquale, who is the democratic nominee against him. DePasquale is the Auditor General of Pennsylvania. Here's an opinion piece about Perry that DePasquale published yesterday in the Patriot News. I am not actively political class any more, but people who are tell me there are insane amounts of money pouring into our district for this contest right now. RCP is currently calling this contest a toss up.

So what are the downballot contests looking like where you are? Which contests are important to you?

In my corner of Floriduh, Margaret Good is starting to outpace used car salesman Vern Buchanan in donations, one of the wealthiest members of Congress and on the Ways and Means committee. But that doesn't mean much; this area is tilted in favor of Trumptards and Republicans generally speaking. We'll see if she can pull off the upset.

I'm also watching Alex Morse in MA-01, if he can knock off Richard Neal, also on Ways and Means.

There is also, of course, Shahid Buttar seeking to unseat Nancy Pelosi in CA-12.

Ilhan Omar in MN-05 is next week, but she is pretty popular and I'm more confident that she will keep her seat.

 

[Aeon Jiminy]

Definitely a bright spot in the dark political tunnel of 2020. She seems genuine and humane. A glimmer of hope.

 

[Cristalle]

This one was pretty amazing.


In Tennessee, no less!!

$8400 to $2.1M, and he came in THIRD!! lmao. I just hope that she can get some traction and beat the Republican. People have to stop settling for dirty air and water just so someone else can hoard millions.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

 

[bubblesort]

Oh, thank god. I hope Tulsi quits government and goes private sector so I don't have to hear about her any more. Some of my friends became huge pro- Tulsi activists after she spoke at the American Atheists conference, and that just blew my mind. She's basically a Hindu supremacist. That's where her cozy relationship with Modi and her maliciious homophobia comes from.

Here's another article about how lots of 'leftists' won down ballot constests on Aug 4.

I do think the down ballot is the way forward for social democrats right now. You hear people talk about splitting off and forming a 3rd party, and I think that's both impractical and insane. The rich neoliberal DNC leadership, who are trying to drive the party off a cliff, they can split off if they want to, but the social democrats will be just fine taking power from them when they are removed by the democratic process. Why believe in the process?

The DNC party elite lack the fortitude for down ballot races. They care about the federal government, but they kind of abandon everything below the level of president, congress, and supreme court in DC. They are so weak, even at that level, they can't even hold their congressional seats, as the articles in this thread have shown. The Clintonistas and neoliberals are clearly in decline. That means there are a lot of positions out there, ready for us to take away from sold out corporate flaks, whether they be democrat or republican. Right now, it's happening with congress, but next cycle, we are going to see a lot more social dems winning municipal, county and state contests. Removing Bernie did not stop the movement. Nothing can stop it.

 

[Free]

Republicans retrench in fight for the Senate

The party once thought of putting Democratic seats in battlegrounds like Michigan and Minnesota in play. Now it's fighting to protect incumbents.

www.politico.com

Senate Republicans have been forced into a defensive crouch as they head into the final weeks of their campaign to protect their endangered majority.

The party is plowing some $100 million — nearly all of its Senate war chest — into reelecting eight senators in tough races. The few GOP candidates with a shot at picking off a Democratic seat have been left to fend for themselves, with no significant air cover from the national party for now.

 

[Cristalle]

The smear job against Alex Morse is shameful and ridiculous. There are no victims, just consensual activity by people who met through dating apps. There is no harassment or pressure, and he should not have to apologize for anything. It's really a disservice to actual victims to coopt this language to weaponize his sexuality and normal social behavior. Me too is going off the rails.

 

[bubblesort]

Ilhan Omar just won her primary!

Ilhan Omar Wins House Primary in Minnesota (Published 2020)

Ms. Omar, a member of the “Squad” of progressive women of color elected to the House two years ago, topped a well-funded challenger in a victory for the left.

www.nytimes.com

 

[Jolene Benoir]

Ilhan Omar just won her primary!

Ilhan Omar Wins House Primary in Minnesota (Published 2020)

Ms. Omar, a member of the “Squad” of progressive women of color elected to the House two years ago, topped a well-funded challenger in a victory for the left.

www.nytimes.com

Just a note, there were almost double the votes cast in the 2016 primary, the majority by mail. They didn't specify how many voted in-person. I voted in-person and intend to do so as well for the Presidential election. I will crawl over broken glass if I must.

As the polls opened in the state’s first election since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 500,000 people had already cast ballots by mail, surpassing the entire turnout of nearly 295,000 voters in the 2016 primary election. Altogether, about 645,000 absentee ballots had been requested by Election Day.

 

[Free]

I will crawl over broken glass if I must.

To rephrase someone else who's said this, I will crawl over broken glass covered in coronavirus.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

 

[Cristalle]

And the setup against Alex Morse has been revealed.

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[Free]

 

[Cristalle]

Heh, but of course the Party was involved. These young people have a bright future in the DNC.

 

[Cristalle]

MassDems Leader Told College Democrats to Destroy Communication Records

Veronica Martinez had coordinated with the students prior to the release of allegations of sexual impropriety against Alex Morse.

theintercept.com

The dirt keeps getting deeper and Alex Morse is getting in striking distance of Richard Neal.

And:

Holyoke city councilor says another councilor shared fabricated allegations against Morse

 

[Cristalle]

Pelosi endorsed Kennedy. Surprised, not. They have no problems with primarying incumbents if they're progressive.

Nancy Pelosi Endorsing Joe Kennedy Over Ed Markey, Critics Charge, 'Reveals a Ridiculous Double Standard'

Progressives accused the House speaker of "proving she's not, in fact, against Dems primarying Dems, as long as it's to remove anyone who advances halfway progressive ideas."

www.commondreams.org

 

[Cristalle]

Alex Morse Was Accused, Condemned and Then Vindicated. Will His Experience Change Anything? (Published 2020)

Vague allegations against the Massachusetts congressional candidate offer a case study in how progressives navigate issues of sex and power in politics when judgment is often swift and unforgiving.

www.nytimes.com

 

[Cristalle]

This video is badass. And thanks to the kids that are getting behind Markey.

How 74-Year-Old Ed Markey is Stealing the Youth Vote from a Millennial Kennedy

The veteran senator was nobody's idea of a Gen Z icon—until some high school volunteers and a network of renegade stan accounts got busy.

www.politico.com

Go, Ed, go!

 

[Free]

Likely an outlier, but it's hard not to enjoy it.