2016 congressional races

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez-- Not A Garden Variety Democratic Back-Bencher

I couldn't vote in my own Twitter poll, but if I could have, I would've picked "inspirational." Maybe I should have offered "inspiring" instead. One respondent suggested "fierce" should've been an option. Another castigated me for not making "courageous" an option. As you can see, it was a battle between those who see her as inspirational and those who see her as brilliant.

Bad News For Congressional Republicans-- Followed By More Bad News For Congressional Republicans

That tweet from the wee hours of Friday morning will be the GOP midterm campaign platform. I don't think Democrats are shaking in their boots. It's a single-minded Trump-base strategy-- something to appeal to the low-IQ people who go to his rallies for a night of entertainment and meaning. He must have been all worked up after his exhilarating rally in Great Falls, Montana.

Marianne Williamson's Love America Tour

Our old friend and comrade in arms, Marianne Williamson, is starting a tour of the U.S. in which she'll be-- among other things-- introducing some of the Blue America candidates to her followers. She's just setting the dates now. In fact this morning she started working with Kaniela Ing to set up an event in Honolulu. So far though, these are the set dates:

A Good Campaign Video Isn't Enough-- Staten Island

Two of the most outstanding campaign videos so far this cycle were the ones introducing Randy Bryce (WI) and Amy McGrath (KY). Bryce immediately proved himself an even better candidate than the one his video showed. He built a powerful populist brand that is going to bring him all the way to Congress and make history by taking down Paul Ryan, the Speaker of the House and a darling of the Beltway media. McGrath, on the other hand, was anything but ready for prime time.

Self-Funding Republicans Often Win; Self-Funding Dems Lose-- But That Doesn't Stop The DCCC From Recruiting Them

DCCC 2018 mascot-- "ex"-Republican lottery winner and self-funder Gil CisnerosLast year, creepy Texas Blue Dog Vicente González bought himself a South Texas congressional seat. There were 14 very entitled multimillionaires who spent over a million dollars each on congressional campaigns last cycle.

Indiana Has A Congressional Candidate With An Extraordinary Record Of Accomplishment-- Meet Dan Canon

IN-09 stretches from the suburbs north of Louisville and The Ohio River-- New Albany, Clarksville, Jeffersonville-- north through Bloomington and Martinsville and into the suburbs south of Indianapolis like Greenwood, Needham and New Whiteland. There are 13 counties in the district, although most of the votes come out of Johnson (south of Indianapolis), Clark (across from Louisville) and Monroe (Bloomington). Before the 2010 gerrymander, it was a swing district that would regularly replace Republicans with Democrats and Democrats with Republicans.

Who Wants More Republican-Lite Candidates? The DCCC Has One For Minnesota

There are six counties that make up MN-02 but the vast majority of voters are in the suburbs and small towns just south of Minneapolis and St Paul in Dakota County. Obama took Dakota County both times he ran and won MN-02 both times as well. Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken won those suburbs as well-- and the congressional district.

Happy July 4th! Will 2018 Mark The End Of Darrell Issa's Political Career?

CA-49 is a district that includes the northern part of San Diego County and the southern part of Orange County. It stretches from the UC San Diego campus, through Del Mar, Solana Beach, Rancho Santa Fe, Encinitas, Carlsbad, Oceanside and Camp Pendleton and up through San Clemente to Dana Point, San Juan Capistrano and Ladera Ranch. It's a traditionally Republican district, although Obama narrowly beat McCain 50-49%. Romney won it 4 years after, 52-46% and last year the voters were repulsed by Trump and gave Hillary the win, 50.7% to 43.2%.