October 1, 2017

Trump dedicates Presidents Cup golf tournament trophy to those affected by hurricanes

https://twitter.com/NBCNews/status/914613694822195200

October 1, 2017

Asshole just told State Department to forget diplomacy. We're heading for war.

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/914497877543735296


https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/914497947517227008


https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/914565910798782465

October 1, 2017

Keep an eye on Mississippi special election this Tuesday

FLIP OPPORTUNITY

Having defeated two Republican candidates in September, Democrat Kathryn Rehner is now in a runoff election battle for the Mississippi House, where she could flip a seat from red to blue (and break the Republican supermajority).

As a social worker, Kathryn has been a proven fighter for economic opportunity and access to health care in underserved areas
Will push for fully-funded educational opportunities for all, from pre-K to college.

Major flip opportunity.




https://races.dlcc.org/races/kathryn-rehner/

October 1, 2017

DLCC Announces Partnership with Run For Something

WASHINGTON -- Today during a call with reporters, the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC) Executive Director Jessica Post announced a partnership with the group Run For Something, which works to recruit and support passionate young people interested in running for elected office.

"This strategic partnership of our two organizations will boost our combined efforts to accomplish a shared and very important goal – getting more local Democrats elected to state legislatures around the country,” said Jessica Post. “As we head into the 2018 cycle and prepare to flip chambers ahead of crucial 2020 redistricting, we’re joining forces to help recruit the next generation of progressive leaders and equip them with the training, infrastructure, and resources they need to be successful."

"We are so excited to be working with the DLCC to ensure that young, diverse, progressive folks can access the resources at the Democratic Party's disposal,” said Ross Morales Rocketto, one of the co-founders of Run For Something. “This is a demonstration that many in the Party understand the moment that we are in and are taking action to capitalize on it."

The DLCC is highlighting seven Run For Something-endorsed candidates on its Spotlight Races page at https://races.dlcc.org. These candidates are not just representative of the next generation of progressive leaders; their success is also critical to the expansion of Democratic strength in statehouses nationwide.



http://www.dlcc.org/press/dlcc-announces-partnership-run-something

October 1, 2017

Arizona Senate: Sinemas Candidacy Puts Race in Toss Up

Republican U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake is getting challenged from both the right and the left in his bid for a second term. The first hurdle will be a competitive primary. If he clears that obstacle, he will likely face a competitive challenge from Democratic U.S. Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, who announced her candidacy via YouTube video last night.

Late last year, Kelli Ward, a former state Senator, announced that she would challenge Flake in the GOP primary. Ward ran against U.S. Sen. John McCain in the 2016 primary, taking 40 percent of the vote. That percentage says more about the very conservative nature of the state’s Republican primary electorate and its dislike of McCain than it does about Ward or the campaign she ran. While Ward didn’t get much support from national conservative groups in 2016, she has gotten their attention in this race, which has improved her fundraising. President Trump is no fan of Flake because the incumbent has been critical of him and some of his proposals. In response, Trump has gone after Flake on Twitter and has name-checked Ward on several occasions; it’s something short of an endorsement, but has boosted her standing nonetheless. It hasn’t helped that Flake recently authored a book – Conscience of a Conservative: A Rejection of Destructive Politics and a Return to Principle – that has not been well received by some conservatives (although few voters primary voters are likely to have read it). State Treasurer Jeff DeWit, an avid Trump supporter, and former state party chairman Robert Graham have also been mentioned as possible primary challengers. It would actually help Flake if one or both decided to run since they would split the anti-Flake vote with Ward.

Sinema, 41, was first elected in 2012 to represent the 9th congressional district, which encompasses east Phoenix, Tempe and parts of Scottsdale. Her first race for what was then a newly created seat was a nail-biter that she won with 49 percent; she was re-elected in 2014 and 2016 with 55 percent and 61 percent of the vote, respectively. Sinema is a more centrist Democrat and a member of the House’s Blue Dog Coalition, which may earn her a challenge to her left in a primary. Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton has been mentioned as a potential candidate, but has also said he might run for Sinema’s House seat. To date, retired administrative law judge Richard Sherzan and attorney Deerdra Abboud have announced their candidacies, but neither pose a threat to Sinema. Senate Majority PAC, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s leadership PAC, released a poll conducted by Gerstein Bocian Agne Strategies (August 30-September 7 of 600 likely voters and an additional 500 likely GOP primary voters) that showed the depths of Flake’s vulnerability. Among primary voters, Flake’s job ratings were 34-approve to 59-percent disapprove. In a primary trial heat, Ward was ahead by a wide 58-percent to 31-percent margin. Among general election voters, Sinema was ahead of Flake, by seven points, 47 percent to 40 percent.

Flake’s challenge seems to be getting much more difficult now that there is a first-tier Democratic candidate in the race. The contest moves to the Toss Up column.



http://cookpolitical.com/analysis/senate/arizona-senate/arizona-senate-sinemas-candidacy-puts-race-toss

October 1, 2017

BET did a story about Sarandon harassing @bravenak & Twitter responded in the most racist way.

https://twitter.com/AlGiordano/status/914347079920766976

October 1, 2017

Sorry, but Neo-Nazis marching on Yom Kippur needed to have the shit beat out of them.

https://twitter.com/Reuters/status/914326519731953665

October 1, 2017

Election 2017: Who needs $20?

It's October and every year is election year. San Francisco is quiet, there are no California ballot initiatives and I already gave $20 to Doug Jones in Alabama. But I know there are important local and state-level elections across the country that don't grab headlines. So, I am looking for places where candidates can stretch $20 and a difference (preferably from red to blue, or at least right wing to sane). Where can I get the biggest bang for the buck?

September 29, 2017

California Voters Want Feinstein to Retire

PERSONAL NOTE: I wish Gavin Newsom would consider the Senate if Feinstein retires becayse he is a better policy wonk than executive.


A new Public Policy Institute of California poll finds that 50% of California’s likely voters think Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-CA) should not run for re-election in 2018, while 43% support another run.

Still, the poll found that Feinstein remains popular. More than half of likely voters — 54% — approve of the job she’s doing, compared with 38% who disapprove.


https://politicalwire.com/2017/09/29/california-voters-want-feinstein-retire/

September 29, 2017

Why Virginia's Delegate Races Could Be the Most Telling 2017 Elections

Democrats have made a lot of hay out of special election upsets this year in deep red legislative districts in New Hampshire and Oklahoma. But, those races have featured infinitesimal turnouts. For example, on Tuesday, Democrats flipped a state House district east of Manchester, New Hampshire, that gave Trump 59 percent of the vote last fall. But only 1,804 voters cast ballots in a district that cast 10,023 ballots last November.

As those elections show, Democratic voters are hyper-motivated right now. But their chances fall as turnout rises. On June 20, Republican Karen Handel defeated Democrat Jon Ossoff in Georgia's 6th CD after a $50 million contest that generated 56 percent turnout. The very same day, Democrat Archie Parnell came within three points of a shocking upset in a South Carolina race that attracted a fraction of the money and generated 19 percent turnout.

Virginia's House of Delegates races are a better proxy of what's to come in 2018. Turnout won't be too hot (as in Georgia) or too cold (as in New Hampshire). It will be driven by the governor's race, which better approximates what a midterm turnout looks like.

Moreover, there are plenty of vulnerable GOP Virginia delegates sitting in districts where Clinton outperformed Obama. Republicans like Dels. Jim LeMunyon (67th), Scott Lingamfelter (31st) and Tag Greason (32nd) all fit that bill - just as there are plenty of House Republicans sitting in districts where Trump is uniquely unpopular. Their races will test voters' inclination to send a message to Trump regardless of whether they know and like the local GOP candidates.



http://cookpolitical.com/analysis/house/virginia-house/why-virginias-delegate-races-could-be-most-telling-2017-elections