Campaign and Election News – Covering Key Races Around the Country
Weekly Open Thread: What Races Are You Interested In?
159 thoughts on “Weekly Open Thread: What Races Are You Interested In?”
Our family has have tried to help Congressmen Alan Grayson in FL 8 and Tom Perriello in VA 5; challengers Paula Brooks in OH 12, John Callahan in PA 15, Manan Trivedi in PA 6, and Tom White in NE 2; and open seat candidates Bryan Lentz in PA 7 and Trent Van Haaften in IN 8.
On this site we ran across this regarding a ham-handed stab at a right-cross by Lentz’s opponent: http://www.pa2010.com/2010/06/… (See, SSP Daily Digest: 6/17 (Morning Edition) … by: DavidNYC)
Here we also ran into this as to problems Republicans have unifying the right against Perriello: http://www.politico.com/news/s… Id. And this furthering a parallel theme: http://www2.newsadvance.com/ln… (See, SSP Daily Digest: 6/15 (Afternoon Edition) … by: Crisitunity) And this on more growing (up) pains for Perriello’s Republican still-flip-flopping opponent: http://www2.dailyprogress.com/… (See, SSP Daily Digest: 6/18 (Afternoon Edition) … by: Crisitunity)
On a hinterlands site we stumbled across this good news regarding White’s robust challenge: http://www.newnebraska.net/ (See, National GOP Knows … by: Kyle Michaelis …Jun 16, 2010)
On this site we ran across this regarding Brooks’ Emily’s List endorsement: http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/ey… (See, SSP Daily Digest: 6/16 … by: Crisitunity)
And on this site we found good news regarding Van Haaften and Trivedi: http://www.swingstateproject.c… (See, DCCC Expands … by: James L …Jun 14, 2010)
And here we came across a breaking story about the sudden and unexpected formation of a Republican/Tea Party/talk radio firing-squad-in-a-circle in Grayson’s district: http://www.politico.com/news/s… (See, SSP Daily Digest: 6/18 (Afternoon Edition) … by: Crisitunity)
1. Since 1950, who became a U.S. Congressman AND a U.S. Senator only following the deaths of his/her predecessors to both seats?
2. What is the first Canadian university to be accepted into the NCAA at any level?
3. What well-known media person was the emcee at the J.K. Rowling event at Carnegie Hall in 2007 when she revealed Dumbledore was gay?
4. Jon Stewart has worked in a film with someone who appeared in at least one of the Harry Potter movies, where their characters did interact with each other. Who is it?
5. In President Obama’s eulogy for Sen. Ted Kennedy, Obama mentions a “famous story” of how Kennedy won the support of a Texas Committee Chairman on an immigration bill with a manila envelope containing the Texan’s favorite cigars. Who was that Texan?
6. In the 2009 New York City mayoral race, what fictional character received the most write-in votes and technically finished in 9th place?
7. What poker professional on Full Tilt was fired by Ronald Reagan from his job as an air traffic controller in 1981?
8. After Roger Maris broke Babe Ruth’s home run record with 61 in the 1961 regular season as the Yankees won the AL pennant, how many did Maris hit in the postseason that year?
9. Sonia Sotomayor’s line about a “wise Latina” was used by the right-wing to criticize her when she was nominated to serve on the Supreme Court. At what law school did she give that speech?
10. Which state has voted the most consecutive times for the same party in Presidential elections? Bonus: How many times?
11. Who holds the record for consecutive free throws made in American professional basketball? (Note: This means ALL professional basketball, not just the NBA.)
12. Match these original birth names to the current celebrity.
a. Katheryn Hudson
b. Patsy McClenny
c. Joyce Frankenberg
d. Tara Patrick
e. Amanda Lee Rogers
f. Stefani Germanotta
g. Ilyena Mironov
h. Robyn Fenty
i. Alecia Moore
j. Caryn Johnson
1. Lady Gaga
2. Carmen Electra
3. Morgan Fairchild
4. Pink
5. Whoopi Goldberg
6. Portia de Rossi
7. Katy Perry
8. Jane Seymour
9. Rihanna
10. Helen Mirren
I know, I know, some of them can be easily found via Google and such.
Gerrymander of Kentucky based on the Senatorial results from Lunsford’s 2008 race against McConnell and Mongiardo’s 2004 race against Jim Bunning.
Among the various politicians who are up for election this fall who will play a major part in the future? What I really want to know is, who is young enough and talented enough to run for statewide office, and maybe even the presidency, should they lose in November. I’ll posit that Jack Conway and Marco Rubio will be big players in Kentucky and Florida, respectively, for years to come, and could very well end up on a national ticket in 2016, 2020 and beyond.
Yet she wasn’t in Congress yet to vote on it, and actually campaigned on voting FOR it.
Apologies for linking to a conservative blog, know you guys aren’t too fond of them, but this is actually pretty legit. She may have meant that she’d voted against the auto bailout taken from TARP, but she actually voted for that.
When Kansas political phenom Sean Tevis jumped in the race in KS-02 at the last second last week, filling the last glaring hole in what’s now become a pretty formidable slate (for KS Dems, anyway), he promised a Big Idea.
Now he’s begun to roll it out and from what I can understand–it’s a Big Idea. Frankly, it’s big and complex enough that I kinda don’t get it. Though his official website, SeanTevis.com, is short on details at the moment, this story in the “local” alt-weekly paper/blog, The Pitch, begins to explain it:
Please, look at it. Because this might be the most interesting political idea of the 21st century. And it could literally save America from itself. Or it could be crazy, impractical and even threaten the entire essence of our government. Help me figure it out if you have a second… Also, comics!
It doesn’t matter, because she’s not up for re-election again until 2012, but I don’t know why you would put a spammy website link on your Twitter profile.
The one I really want to know is White’s Fav/Unfav/and UNKNOWN.
Perry’s stuff would be good too, as well as anything else, who subscribes to this stuff?
Gov race is tightening and Christ is ahead of Rubio and Meek 42-31-14 according to this poll. It seems to be accurate although the cross-tabs aren’t available at this point.
If Crist wins, I could see him caucusing with the Democrats (he’ll probably make a show of looking into both sides first). The GOP totally let him down and just twiddled their thumbs while he was getting rolled by Rubio. Crist was easily the best choice for the GOP ticket. Popular, liked by both parties, and charismatic. Rubio is charismatic, but he has more baggage and is much more divisive.
The surprising thing is, Crist has picked up in the polls following going Independent when some thought (myself included) that his campaign would just fizzle. He’s restaffing his campaign and he has 22k+ followers on Facebook (not like that really means anything).
She said on Fox News that “If somebody’s gonna smoke a joint in their house and not do anybody else any harm that the police should just leave them be.
If Palin joins the ranks of those advocating decriminalization of Marijuana I will have new respect for her and might actually root for her!
I think if California’s Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010 prop passes in Nov it will be a game changer for the issue of legalization and decriminalization of marijuana.
If someone like Sara Palin thinks people should be able to smoke pot in their homes without criminal penalties know this issue is starting to go mainstream.
Not at all really interested in the race, but this shows the stupidity of fiscal conservatism!
since the speech, it appears that Obama didn’t get a bounce if you look at Gallup and Rasmussen.
That suggests to me that democrats are pretty much at their high water mark right now considering that Obama may not have too many more opportunities until the midterms to raise his own numbers.
The latest endorsement. Makes sense.
leads Lee by nine points. I think Bridgewater is the more sane one correct?
… just by a few seats? Will surviving Blue dogs force out Pelosi? Would any switch parties to give Republicans control? We could be in store for some real intense backroom politicking.
FWIW I see the Dems losing 15-25 seats and current leadership being safe.
gives Fiorina the finger and what does she have to say about it?
“It isn’t surprising that a three-term incumbent senator is supported financially by many in the tech industry,” said Amy Thoma, a spokeswoman for Fiorina. “Carly enjoys a broad range of support both from the Silicon Valley and throughout the state, and now that the primary has ended we expect that support to continue to grow.”
Sarah Palin today endorsed, for Tuesday’s runoff, state representative Tim Scott to respresent South Carolina’s First Congressional district. Scott, who is black, is also endorsed by The Club for Growth, several GOP Congressmen, and Mike Huckabee. I think the main reason for the endorsements is race. They presumably are, to adapt a phrase Limbaugh made infamous in talking about Donovan McNabb, very desirous that a black Republican do well. Scott’s competitor in the runoff, Paul Thurmond, seems to be the better candidate. He is open to accepting earmarks. Scott is opposed to this and has similar views on other issues, ergo he received the Club’s endorsement. With the First district dependent on government funds due to the Charleston harbor and the planned Interstate-73 that will run to Myrtle Beach, having a strict constructionist position on earmarks appears tin-eared. Thurmond also has been characterized as knowing the Myrtle Beach area better than Scott (they served together on the Charleston County Council and Thurmond continues to do so). Thurmond has been endorsed by five candidates who lost in the primary to Scott’s one. The candidates that endorsed Thurmond include the top place votegetter in Horry County where Myrtle Beach is located and the third place finisher in the primary. Other than Scott’s race, I only see his uncompromising stance on earmarks and the frontrunner status he’s assumed because of his race as reasons for the endorsements. With the GOP not having a black Congressman since ’03, (J.C. Watts who represented Oklahoma’s 4th Congressional district) it seems eager to elect one so it can have someone it can promote for the sake of diversity. (Something else about the race is interesting. Thurmond is the son of Strom Thurmond, a former South Carolina governor and United States Senator who was known for the segregationist views he for a long time held. Scott, in Thurmond’s last run for Senate, served as the Chairman of Thurmond’s campaign.)
The GOP is going to be red-faced if Scott doesn’t win. Both candidates are Charleston-based, so no one really knows how Horry County (Myrtle Beach) is going to break. Easily the one to watch with interest.
While I expect Haley to win the GOP Governor nod, the margin could be very telling. Anything less than 60% will be a let down for her, IMO.
The Lt-Gov. race is one to watch too. Bill Connor is the Haley/Tea Party ally, against more mainstream opponent Ken Ard. The Dems have a strong candidate in this race (Ashley Cooper) and neither GOP candidate has a very big local base to draw from in the general (Orangeburg for Connor and Florence for Ard) versus the big swing area of Charleston for Cooper. If Sheheen can pull it out in the Governorship, he could bring in Cooper as well. Cooper could help Sheheen carry Charleston as well.
As political gambles go, it’s a big and risky one: $50 million to test the proposition that the Democratic Party’s outreach to new voters that helped make Barack Obama president can work in an election where his name is not on the ballot.
The standard rule of midterm elections is that only the most reliable voters show up at the polls, so both parties have traditionally focused on the unglamorous and conventional work that turns out their bases. But this year, the Democrats are doubling down on registering and motivating newer voters — especially the 15 million heavily minority and young, who made it to the polls for the first time in the last presidential election.
There does not seem to be a similar effort within the GOP. A spokesman would not discuss its operations and scoffed at the bet that Democrats are making this year. “When that announcement was made, it just wasn’t taken very credibly,” says Republican National Committee spokesman Doug Heye. “Those voters just aren’t going to be there this time.”
He’s not alone in thinking that.
Some veteran Democratic Party operatives are also skeptical that the $50 million investment will pay off — except, perhaps, in keeping the grassroots operation alive for Obama’s reelection bid two years from now. Some even suggest that the president’s team has put his long-term interests ahead of his party’s immediate struggle for survival.
“I have zero confidence that they’re heading in the right direction here,” says one longtime Democratic organizer who didn’t want to be quoted by name criticizing his party’s major midterm election initiative. Added another: “I think they’re going to come in for a very rude awakening. It’s going to be brutal.”
If that turns out to be the case, the doubters say, Democrats will wake up the morning of Nov. 3 wishing they had spent that $50 million on more traditional methods, like television ads, for reaching their base and persuading independents.
On the face of it, my reaction is that this is a good thing to spend money on, but only provided this spending doesn’t cause the party to give short shrift to the kinds of traditional appeals to more reliable base voters that are described in the article.
Do any of you have more insight into how things are actually working within the Democratic Party now?
Our family has have tried to help Congressmen Alan Grayson in FL 8 and Tom Perriello in VA 5; challengers Paula Brooks in OH 12, John Callahan in PA 15, Manan Trivedi in PA 6, and Tom White in NE 2; and open seat candidates Bryan Lentz in PA 7 and Trent Van Haaften in IN 8.
On this site we ran across this regarding a ham-handed stab at a right-cross by Lentz’s opponent: http://www.pa2010.com/2010/06/… (See, SSP Daily Digest: 6/17 (Morning Edition) … by: DavidNYC)
Here we also ran into this as to problems Republicans have unifying the right against Perriello: http://www.politico.com/news/s… Id. And this furthering a parallel theme: http://www2.newsadvance.com/ln… (See, SSP Daily Digest: 6/15 (Afternoon Edition) … by: Crisitunity) And this on more growing (up) pains for Perriello’s Republican still-flip-flopping opponent: http://www2.dailyprogress.com/… (See, SSP Daily Digest: 6/18 (Afternoon Edition) … by: Crisitunity)
On a hinterlands site we stumbled across this good news regarding White’s robust challenge: http://www.newnebraska.net/ (See, National GOP Knows … by: Kyle Michaelis …Jun 16, 2010)
On this site we ran across this regarding Brooks’ Emily’s List endorsement: http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/ey… (See, SSP Daily Digest: 6/16 … by: Crisitunity)
And on this site we found good news regarding Van Haaften and Trivedi: http://www.swingstateproject.c… (See, DCCC Expands … by: James L …Jun 14, 2010)
And here we came across a breaking story about the sudden and unexpected formation of a Republican/Tea Party/talk radio firing-squad-in-a-circle in Grayson’s district: http://www.politico.com/news/s… (See, SSP Daily Digest: 6/18 (Afternoon Edition) … by: Crisitunity)
Any hopeful news as to Callahan?
Well, after Stephen Colbert’s piece last night, I’m interested in Bob Inglis’s runoff, which admittedly does not look good for him.
But, I guess we’ll see what the true power of the Colbert Bump is now. 🙂
I love this one. And Nancy Pelosi just looks so delighted throughout. And they again make fun of Chuck Grassley’s stupid charts.
The only one they’ve done that’s better than this one is when they actually got T-Pain to join in, and had Joe Biden singing about America.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v…
Some political, some media, some sports.
1. Since 1950, who became a U.S. Congressman AND a U.S. Senator only following the deaths of his/her predecessors to both seats?
2. What is the first Canadian university to be accepted into the NCAA at any level?
3. What well-known media person was the emcee at the J.K. Rowling event at Carnegie Hall in 2007 when she revealed Dumbledore was gay?
4. Jon Stewart has worked in a film with someone who appeared in at least one of the Harry Potter movies, where their characters did interact with each other. Who is it?
5. In President Obama’s eulogy for Sen. Ted Kennedy, Obama mentions a “famous story” of how Kennedy won the support of a Texas Committee Chairman on an immigration bill with a manila envelope containing the Texan’s favorite cigars. Who was that Texan?
6. In the 2009 New York City mayoral race, what fictional character received the most write-in votes and technically finished in 9th place?
7. What poker professional on Full Tilt was fired by Ronald Reagan from his job as an air traffic controller in 1981?
8. After Roger Maris broke Babe Ruth’s home run record with 61 in the 1961 regular season as the Yankees won the AL pennant, how many did Maris hit in the postseason that year?
9. Sonia Sotomayor’s line about a “wise Latina” was used by the right-wing to criticize her when she was nominated to serve on the Supreme Court. At what law school did she give that speech?
10. Which state has voted the most consecutive times for the same party in Presidential elections? Bonus: How many times?
11. Who holds the record for consecutive free throws made in American professional basketball? (Note: This means ALL professional basketball, not just the NBA.)
12. Match these original birth names to the current celebrity.
I know, I know, some of them can be easily found via Google and such.
Gerrymander of Kentucky based on the Senatorial results from Lunsford’s 2008 race against McConnell and Mongiardo’s 2004 race against Jim Bunning.
To lose by an even BIGGER margin. http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/ey…
Among the various politicians who are up for election this fall who will play a major part in the future? What I really want to know is, who is young enough and talented enough to run for statewide office, and maybe even the presidency, should they lose in November. I’ll posit that Jack Conway and Marco Rubio will be big players in Kentucky and Florida, respectively, for years to come, and could very well end up on a national ticket in 2016, 2020 and beyond.
Yet she wasn’t in Congress yet to vote on it, and actually campaigned on voting FOR it.
http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archive…
Apologies for linking to a conservative blog, know you guys aren’t too fond of them, but this is actually pretty legit. She may have meant that she’d voted against the auto bailout taken from TARP, but she actually voted for that.
When Kansas political phenom Sean Tevis jumped in the race in KS-02 at the last second last week, filling the last glaring hole in what’s now become a pretty formidable slate (for KS Dems, anyway), he promised a Big Idea.
Now he’s begun to roll it out and from what I can understand–it’s a Big Idea. Frankly, it’s big and complex enough that I kinda don’t get it. Though his official website, SeanTevis.com, is short on details at the moment, this story in the “local” alt-weekly paper/blog, The Pitch, begins to explain it:
“Sean Tevis to Save America, Starting With Kansas’ 2nd District”
Please, look at it. Because this might be the most interesting political idea of the 21st century. And it could literally save America from itself. Or it could be crazy, impractical and even threaten the entire essence of our government. Help me figure it out if you have a second… Also, comics!
Btw, to see what set the netroots afire for a simple state representative race in Kansas of all places, here’s a comic from the 2008 Sean Tevis campaign that you guys will appreciate: Running for Office: It’s Like a Flamewar with a Forum Troll, but with an Eventual Winner.
I saw that the Rollins campaign was at Delaware State University. I couldn’t find the Carney camp.
Does anybody with familiarity of the Carney campaign want to share their thoughts of this race?
Speculating about Terry Branstad’s running mate and talking about Chet Culver’s first general election tv ad, which goes negative on Branstad.
Branstad started running a negative ad on Culver during the GOP primary a few weeks ago.
Check out this Republican in the Iowa Senate, who has protected her tweets. I kind of thought the whole point of Twitter for elected officials was to get as many followers as possible.
I also like how her Twitter profile leads to what seems like a campaign website, but really has a bunch of junk.
It doesn’t matter, because she’s not up for re-election again until 2012, but I don’t know why you would put a spammy website link on your Twitter profile.
The one I really want to know is White’s Fav/Unfav/and UNKNOWN.
Perry’s stuff would be good too, as well as anything else, who subscribes to this stuff?
http://blogs.tampabay.com/buzz…
Gov race is tightening and Christ is ahead of Rubio and Meek 42-31-14 according to this poll. It seems to be accurate although the cross-tabs aren’t available at this point.
If Crist wins, I could see him caucusing with the Democrats (he’ll probably make a show of looking into both sides first). The GOP totally let him down and just twiddled their thumbs while he was getting rolled by Rubio. Crist was easily the best choice for the GOP ticket. Popular, liked by both parties, and charismatic. Rubio is charismatic, but he has more baggage and is much more divisive.
The surprising thing is, Crist has picked up in the polls following going Independent when some thought (myself included) that his campaign would just fizzle. He’s restaffing his campaign and he has 22k+ followers on Facebook (not like that really means anything).
http://www.fec.gov/DisclosureS…
Critz had under 30k on hand as of June 7th.
She said on Fox News that “If somebody’s gonna smoke a joint in their house and not do anybody else any harm that the police should just leave them be.
If Palin joins the ranks of those advocating decriminalization of Marijuana I will have new respect for her and might actually root for her!
Here is the link to the story
http://dailycaller.com/2010/06…
I think if California’s Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010 prop passes in Nov it will be a game changer for the issue of legalization and decriminalization of marijuana.
If someone like Sara Palin thinks people should be able to smoke pot in their homes without criminal penalties know this issue is starting to go mainstream.
Not at all really interested in the race, but this shows the stupidity of fiscal conservatism!
http://politicalwire.com/archi…
since the speech, it appears that Obama didn’t get a bounce if you look at Gallup and Rasmussen.
That suggests to me that democrats are pretty much at their high water mark right now considering that Obama may not have too many more opportunities until the midterms to raise his own numbers.
The latest endorsement. Makes sense.
leads Lee by nine points. I think Bridgewater is the more sane one correct?
http://www.deseretnews.com/art…
… just by a few seats? Will surviving Blue dogs force out Pelosi? Would any switch parties to give Republicans control? We could be in store for some real intense backroom politicking.
FWIW I see the Dems losing 15-25 seats and current leadership being safe.
this is MUCH closer than I expected.
http://www.deseretnews.com/art…
gives Fiorina the finger and what does she have to say about it?
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/…
Too bad Whitman has no problem raking in the Silicon Valley money, not that she really needs it anyway.
http://www.politico.com/news/s…
Sarah Palin today endorsed, for Tuesday’s runoff, state representative Tim Scott to respresent South Carolina’s First Congressional district. Scott, who is black, is also endorsed by The Club for Growth, several GOP Congressmen, and Mike Huckabee. I think the main reason for the endorsements is race. They presumably are, to adapt a phrase Limbaugh made infamous in talking about Donovan McNabb, very desirous that a black Republican do well. Scott’s competitor in the runoff, Paul Thurmond, seems to be the better candidate. He is open to accepting earmarks. Scott is opposed to this and has similar views on other issues, ergo he received the Club’s endorsement. With the First district dependent on government funds due to the Charleston harbor and the planned Interstate-73 that will run to Myrtle Beach, having a strict constructionist position on earmarks appears tin-eared. Thurmond also has been characterized as knowing the Myrtle Beach area better than Scott (they served together on the Charleston County Council and Thurmond continues to do so). Thurmond has been endorsed by five candidates who lost in the primary to Scott’s one. The candidates that endorsed Thurmond include the top place votegetter in Horry County where Myrtle Beach is located and the third place finisher in the primary. Other than Scott’s race, I only see his uncompromising stance on earmarks and the frontrunner status he’s assumed because of his race as reasons for the endorsements. With the GOP not having a black Congressman since ’03, (J.C. Watts who represented Oklahoma’s 4th Congressional district) it seems eager to elect one so it can have someone it can promote for the sake of diversity. (Something else about the race is interesting. Thurmond is the son of Strom Thurmond, a former South Carolina governor and United States Senator who was known for the segregationist views he for a long time held. Scott, in Thurmond’s last run for Senate, served as the Chairman of Thurmond’s campaign.)
The GOP is going to be red-faced if Scott doesn’t win. Both candidates are Charleston-based, so no one really knows how Horry County (Myrtle Beach) is going to break. Easily the one to watch with interest.
While I expect Haley to win the GOP Governor nod, the margin could be very telling. Anything less than 60% will be a let down for her, IMO.
The Lt-Gov. race is one to watch too. Bill Connor is the Haley/Tea Party ally, against more mainstream opponent Ken Ard. The Dems have a strong candidate in this race (Ashley Cooper) and neither GOP candidate has a very big local base to draw from in the general (Orangeburg for Connor and Florence for Ard) versus the big swing area of Charleston for Cooper. If Sheheen can pull it out in the Governorship, he could bring in Cooper as well. Cooper could help Sheheen carry Charleston as well.
and Buck lead primaries by wide margins.
Buck holds a narrow lead in the general.
http://www.denverpost.com/news…
But I’m curious to get your reactions to this article:
Democrats spend big to lure Obama’s minority and young voters back to the polls
Here are some excerpts:
On the face of it, my reaction is that this is a good thing to spend money on, but only provided this spending doesn’t cause the party to give short shrift to the kinds of traditional appeals to more reliable base voters that are described in the article.
Do any of you have more insight into how things are actually working within the Democratic Party now?