Senate 2018

Texas' primary was March 6. Incumbent Ted Cruz coasted to victory in the Republican contest-- 1,315,146 votes (85.35%) and El Paso Congressman Beto O'Rourke coasted to victory in the Democratic race, 640,769 votes (61.82%). 1,036,467 people voted in the Democratic primary and 1,540,890 voted in the Republican primary. As of the February 14 FEC reporting date Cruz had raised $17,452,363 and spent $11,906,543 to Beto's $8,708,746 (and $4,168,970 spent). Cruz's war chest, as of that date, has $6,025,231 and Beto's has $4,938,475. Media is expensive in Texas for statewide races.

Late Monday Thad Cochran's office announced that the 80 year old Mississippi Republican will resign on April Fools Day, due to rapidly deteriorating health. When Cochran first won his Senate seat in 1978 he was the first Republican to win any statewide seat in the state since Reconstruction. Gov. Phil Bryant will appoint an interim senator and then both seats will be voted on in November.

About half a year ago, many Americans-- including many Wisconsinites-- met Kevin Nicholson for the first time. He popped up, seemingly out of nowhere, to try to grab the GOP nomination to run against Senator Tammy Baldwin.

Although Bannon is apparently sidelined from electoral politics and Miss McConnell and the Senate Republicans are trying to persuade Señor Trumpanzee to kiss and make up with Romney [Update: it worked, at least

The Texas general election ballot in November?Beto O'Rourke, a Democratic congressman from El Paso, hasn't been encouraged to run against Ted Cruz by Chuck Schumer and his DSCC. They haven't targeted Cruz or Texas and O'Rourke's independent way of thinking and anti-PAC stand frighten a Wall Street-owned hack like Schumer.

On Thursday the Senate Majority Super-PAC, which is controlled by Schumer released 2 videos essentially the same, one for Indiana conservative Joe Donnelly and one for Missouri conservative Claire McCaskill (above). The message of the 2 ads is that the GOP tax scam that both voted against gives 83% of the benefits to the richest one percent of the population while adding $1.5 trillion to the national debt. And the Republicans plan to pay for it by cutting Medicare.

According to a Gallup survey released a week ago, Trump's overall jon approval is 38% and his disapproval is 56%. What does that tell us for the midterms 9 months from now? Not all that much, primarily because despite Trump's overall poor showing, it's in states that senators and governors are elected and in congressional districts where House members are reelected, not nationally.

"How many sats are the Democrats going to pick up in November," one of the savviest campaign managers I know asked me. I don't know, I told him. Between 60 and 70, something like that. "Why are you losing faith?" he asked. "Last time I asked, you said 75." Oh, it could be 75... or 60 or 70 but you're gonna win for sure. He's worried. They're always worried. Good. They need to be.

Greg Giroux penned an essay for Bloomberg News, All Signs Point to Big Democratic Wins in 2018, which is a hell of a lot more reality-based than the tepid Beltway prognosticators who "think" the Democrats "may" win the 24 seats they need to t

Thanks to Schumer, Arizona won't have a good choice in NovemberOn Thursday, after the FISA vote, we saw how the whole Republican wing of the Democratic Party abandoned the Democrats and voted with Trump and Paul Ryan to expand spying.