2016 congressional races

A few years ago Blue America's list of endorsed candidates had the biggest success rate of any PAC recruiting and endorsing candidates. We beat NARAL, the Sierra Club, the Human Rights Campaign and the League of Conservation Voters that year-- not to mention the NRA and Club for Growth. I laughed when I read the stats. Blue America isn't about picking candidates who will make the PAC look good.

As far as I can tell, aside from 2 run-offs in Louisiana-- between 2 Republicans in the 3rd district and between a Democrat and a Republican in the 4th district (Boustany and Fleming both having given up their House seats for unsuccessful Senate runs)-- there's only one House race still undecided: CA-49 where tens of thousands of votes are still being counted to determine whether incumbent Darrell Issa (R) or challenger D

Why wouldn't you want to vote for a crook like Joe?Last night we saw how Hispanic voters in Southern California helped two progressive women, Nanette Barragan and Eloise Reyes, beat heavily favored establishment Democrats, respectively Isadore Hall and Cheryl Brown.

-by Zack Lyke“You will not win.” Well, that's awfully nice of you to say the day after the primary (in March). “It can't be done.” Again, thanks for the encouragement. “You're wasting your time.” Thanks, I needed that. “Do you even know what you're up against?”I was the campaign manager for Tom Wakely's bid against Lamar Smith, and as one of the congressman's constituents for nearly two-thirds of my life, yeah. I knew damn well what I was up against.

Our last post on Tuesday night was about how Latinos tried but couldn't do it on their own. In two little discussed California races Blue America was active in, though, Latinos, helped progressives beat two truly horrible and corrupt conservatives. Nanette Barragán appears to have come from way behind to beat state Senator Isadore Hall for the congressional seat the Democratic Party Establishment tried to give him.

Failure-- baked into the cakePelosi's failed DCCC underperformed... as usual. She blames James Comey. These are the districts the DCCC and the House Majority PAC spent the most money in-- at least a million dollars in each-- along with the results for the Democratic candidate:

This morning at 10:30 I walked down the hill to my polling station and there was a line, first I ever saw there, but that was more because of an illiterate poll worker who was non-functional than because of voter enthusiasm per se. The whole process from arming my home alarm to disarming it took 19 minutes-- and that was a tough walk back up in the hill in the hot sun.

Let me start by saying it's not a conspiracy. It's just that all the Beltway types live in the same bubble. So when, for example, Cook does their House ratings, they don't look further than the districts the DCCC and NRCC have identified as battlegrounds. Media follows along happily and a kind of a prophecy starts becoming self-fulfilling.

This morning weather is conducive to voting... just about everywhere except Ohio. And there was a big earthquake in Fracklahoma that may keep people in Pawnee and Payne counties, near Tulsa, from voting. (In 2012 Romney won both-- Pawnee with 70% and Payne with 64%-- but Trump will win Fracklahoma by a wide margin. It's his kind of state.)If you're a regular reader of this blog-- or even an occasional reader-- you know this is Bernie Sanders territory.

Tomorrow's the big day here in California. Let me remind you, that all of our endorsements for the 17 statewide propositions are here. There are no Republicans worth voting for anywhere in the state-- not for any office. In the U.S.