2020 congressional elections

Did you know there's a big special election on May 12, two weeks from yesterday? Remember when Katie Hill resigned after a sex scandal. This is the special election to replace her until the November election decides who represents CA-25 (the Santa Clarita Valley, most of the Antelope Valley and most of Simi Valley) for the next two years. The winner of the special win face the loser of the special again in November.This is the perfect opportunity for the GOP to steal back a blue seat-- no incumbent and a dreadful Democratic candidate in what is expected to be a super-low turnout election.

On Monday, John Heilemann told the Morning Joe crew "When you have a moment that becomes the fodder for universal late night comedy-- the kind of thing that everybody, even the most apolitical Americans understand-- that's a devastating moment... Even Trump, I think, has finally started to hear from enough Republicans-- 'Dude, you are killin' us. You are killing yourself politically and not only are you killing yourself but you are killing us. We could lose the Senate; we could lose the White House; we could lose it all'...

Some candidates-- whether incumbents or challengers-- are faring better than others during this pandemic. Candidates who have grown proficient on social media have vibrant campaigns up and running. Others don't. One candidate who has adapted well is Austin-based progressive Mike Siegel.

You wouldn't know from the way the mainstream media is constantly, incessantly harping on it, but ending social distancing-- backed by Trump-- is a fringe position among most Americans. Earlier today I was speaking with one of the Blue America-edorsed congressional candidates from Texas, Julie Oliver and she told me, defiantly, that "We aren't going to let Texas be defined by its smallest minds.

J.D. is running to represent a huge, mostly rural Iowa congressional district currently held by the most bigoted and far right Republican in the House, Steve King. But J.D.'s campaign isn't just about a referendum on King. He's far more concerned about offering voters a positive platform they can relate to.

Tom Guild & Kendra Horn-- guess which one is better on women's issuesYesterday the LGBTQ Victory Fund endorsed 25 new candidates around the country, including 5 for state legislative seats. Presumably they're all Democrats, but who knows? The Victory Fund doesn't mention what party their candidates are running on, let alone whether they are progressives or conservatives.

On Monday, we broke the story that one of Andrew Cuomo's top political operatives, Maggie Moran, is helping Michelle Caruso-Cabrera, a corporate hack Wall Street is running against AOC, to raise money and find staff for the June 23 primary. Moran has been working surreptitiously but the cat is out of the bag now.

And he wasn't ever really a liberal on civil rights and civil liberties eitherI really liked the two Jeff Sharlet books I read, The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power and C Street: The Fundamentalist Threat to American Democracy and his Netflix series, The Family (based on the two books).

"Die For Me" by Nancy OhanianA wide consensus is forming that the two worst governors in America are Trump patsies Ron DeSantis (R-FL) and Kristi Noem (R-SD). "Gov.

Over the weekend, you may have caught a Washington Post report by Jacob Bogage that Trump is rejecting a bailout for the U.S. Total Service. Conservatives have been trying to kill it off for years.