2022 Congressional & State Elections

[LFC]

Once again Republicans turn to a non-politician, i.e. somebody completely unqualified for congressional office, to try to snag a seat. It makes sense. They get their MAGAts to vote for an unqualified person and then tell that person what to say and how to vote. They become puppets who think they have power and are doing something. Sounds like the entire Trump family.

Week by week, the Republican field to take on Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) in 2022 keeps developing the way Donald Trump wants: into a would-be coronation for football legend and Trump family favorite Herschel Walker.

On Monday, former Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA) announced he would not run for U.S. Senate, becoming the latest and most high-profile figure to bow out of consideration. GOP circles considered the stalwart Trump ally to be a likely candidate for the office. He sought the Senate seat just last year, after all, when he unsuccessfully challenged his fellow Republican, then-Sen. Kelly Loeffler.

But even with no GOP incumbent in his way this time, Collins ruled himself out—and he did it surprisingly early. Some Georgia insiders say that Walker didn’t play a role in Collins’ calculus, but the former University of Georgia football great is casting an undeniable shadow over the GOP primary as he decides whether to run.

And that is because it is abundantly clear to all Republicans how badly Trump and his family want Herschel Walker to run.

[goldenvalley]

Celebrity candidate Kaitlyn Jenner's run for governor in the related recall election.

‘UNDER CONSTRUCTION‘: That may as well describe Republican Caitlyn Jenner’s much heralded gubernatorial campaign these days. It’s a bit ironic: the reality TV star showcased and broadcast every intimate aspect of her daily existence on “Keeping Up With the Kardashians.“

But Jenner has gone into radio silence since she sent America into a tizzy a week ago with her announcement that “I’m in” and would join the Republicans running again Gov. Gavin Newsom. While East Coast media like the CBS This Morning team gushed that Jenner will be Newsom’s biggest concern in the coming recall election, a lot of California veteran insiders say so far, Jenner’s move has been met a big yawn. (Campaign strategist Mike Madrid calls the Jenner reveal “a dud.”)

WHY? So far, there’s been nothing — as in zilch, nada — with California media in terms of appearances, statements or policy positions regarding why she wants to head the world’s fifth largest economy.

JENNER ANNOUNCED HER FIRST BIG MEDIA GIG yesterday — surprise, Fox News’ “Hannity” show on May 5. Sources familiar with Jenner’s campaign say she’s been making the rounds on the political front in small meetings, and they say not to worry — she’ll be doing some “major” events next week that will grab attention — and give voters more of a formal reveal on her campaign.

[LFC]

It sounds like there are a lot of people who prefer the policies of Biden and the Democrats to nothing burgers topped in outrage provided by Trump and the Republicans and they're saying so in cash. Lots of cash.

The Democratic National Committee raised $15.4 million in online donations during President Joe Biden’s first 100 days in office, more than double what it raked in during ex-President Donald Trump’s first 100 days, according to Axios.

Axios reports that the average donation for this year’s 100-day period was $23.

The DNC’s cash haul surpassed that which the committee raised during Trump or Barack Obama’s first 100 days in office, which was $4.7 million and $427,000, respectively.

A committee spokesperson told Axios that “organic online contributions” skyrocketed by over 700% on the day of Biden’s speech to Congress last Wednesday from contributions given to the DNC the day before.

Biden’s address saw the President lay out his progressive goals in his sweeping $2 trillion infrastructure plan, including universal preschool and large tax hikes on corporations.

I suspect companies are reassessing their political support as well. The Republicans have provided a huge pile of risk to the equation of which party to support that companies didn't have to really take into account before.

[goldenvalley]

It's gettin' serious in the California recall election (which still has some technical hurdles to cross but will probably make it)  The Republican that ran against the current governor is in the race.  He's opened his campaign with the help of a bear, a live one.   Watch the video. (hope it isn't paywalled)

Cox didn't use the bear in the 2018 campaign for governor. 

[goldenvalley]

Follow up to the bear in California story. The bear was a Kodiak bear, not native to California. And the candidate now bemoans the fact that all the coverage was about the bear and not about the horrible issues making California unlivable and dangerous. Hey he wanted the "unearned media" that comes with a stunt.

[goldenvalley]

WaPo has an interesting story on the origins of the Trump claims that voting machines were manipulated.  This stuff is the basis for the release the kraken stuff of Sydney Powell and Rudy Giuliani.  A losing candidate combined with someone sniffing the scent of money in this all leads to:

The enduring myth that the 2020 election was rigged was not one claim by one person. It was many claims stacked one atop the other, repeated by a phalanx of Trump allies. This is the previously unreported origin story of a core set of those claims, ideas that were advanced not by renowned experts or by insiders who had knowledge of flawed voting systems but by Ramsland and fellow conservative activists as they pushed a fledgling company, Allied Security Operations Group, into a quixotic attempt to find evidence of widespread fraud where none existed.

It's a long read but an interesting one. 

[LFC]

Georgia's Lt. Governor has had enough.

Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan (R), one of ex-President Donald Trump’s few Republican critics, announced on Monday that he will not be seeking reelection in 2022.

“The national events of the last six months have deeply affected my family in ways I would have never imagined when I first asked for their support to run for Lieutenant Governor in 2017,” Duncan said in a statement. “Through all the highs and lows of the last six months they have never left my side and are once again united behind me in my pursuit of a better way forward for our conservative party — a GOP 2.0.”

As one of the handful of GOP officials who have pushed back against Trump’s lies about the 2020 election, Duncan has been a target of the ex-president’s rage against “RINOs” (Republicans In Name Only) who won’t play into his false narrative that the election was tainted by voter fraud.

[goldenvalley]

May 17, 2021 21:16:18 GMT LFC said:

Georgia's Lt. Governor has had enough.

Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan (R), one of ex-President Donald Trump’s few Republican critics, announced on Monday that he will not be seeking reelection in 2022.

“The national events of the last six months have deeply affected my family in ways I would have never imagined when I first asked for their support to run for Lieutenant Governor in 2017,” Duncan said in a statement. “Through all the highs and lows of the last six months they have never left my side and are once again united behind me in my pursuit of a better way forward for our conservative party — a GOP 2.0.”

As one of the handful of GOP officials who have pushed back against Trump’s lies about the 2020 election, Duncan has been a target of the ex-president’s rage against “RINOs” (Republicans In Name Only) who won’t play into his false narrative that the election was tainted by voter fraud.

Got tired of the death threats and general harassment directed towards him and them?  

[LFC]

Marco Rubio has a likely opponent.

Rep. Val Demings (D-FL) is planning to challenge Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) in the 2022 midterms, Politico reports.

Demings is reportedly choosing a bid for Senate rather than a gubernatorial campaign against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) because she was more frustrated with Senate Republicans’ “obstruction,” particularly in the case of President Joe Biden’s massive COVID-19 relief package.

“If I had to point to one thing, I think it’s the COVID bill and the way Republicans voted against it for no good reason,” one of Demings’ advisers told Politico. “That really helped push her over the edge.”

The adviser said there was a “98.6 percent chance” Demings will aim for Rubio’s seat. The Democrat reportedly expects to make a final decision next month.

[LFC]

Look who wants to be governor of NY.

Andrew Giuliani, son of former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, has announced his candidacy for governor of New York in 2022, he told CNN on Tuesday.

Giuliani will run for the GOP nomination in his bid to take over the position from embattled Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, who has been ensnared in scandals involving sexual harassment allegations and information-sharing pertaining to nursing home Covid-19 deaths. But Giuliani will face a steep uphill battle in the heavily Democratic state, and his candidacy could help hand another win to the party as his proximity to former President Donald Trump would likely be seen as a liability in a state where the former President is widely unpopular.
While Giuliani is running as a Republican, he tells CNN, "we're running for all New Yorkers."

"This is for any New Yorker that believes that in 2022 we need to save New York," he said.

For those wondering whether New York will "come back," he says, "I believe we can stay and fight and we will win."

Giuliani has never served in elected office, but he touts his work under in the Trump administration's White House's Office of Public Liaison -- saying on his website that during his tenure he was "directly involved with several initiatives that saved millions of American jobs amid the coronavirus pandemic."

When asked how he decided to run, Giuliani described his time after leaving the White House working to get the former President settled in Florida and says he felt an "intangible optimism" akin to "that feeling I used to get" walking through NYC and NY state.

"NY deserves someone who is going to fight and change New York," Giuliani said.
Giuliani said should he run against Cuomo in the general election, he would "look forward to pointing out how New York failed" under him for the last 10 years.

"The President said to me, he said, you know 'Holy smokes Giuliani -- Cuomo, that's like Ali-Frazier,'" Giuliani said.
"I think it will be the biggest race in the country if it's the two of us," Giuliani said.

This little shit has quite the high opinion of himself despite having no claim to fame other than being a Trumpsucker whose daddy is a f***ing nutjob criminal who lied repeatedly, sweated shoe polish in public, made a presentation at Four Seasons Landscaping that's still a running joke, and touched himself on camera in a Borat movie. Yeah, like that's what ANYBODY needs right now.

[Deleted]

May 18, 2021 17:02:44 GMT LFC said:

Look who wants to be governor of NY.

This little shit has quite the high opinion of himself despite having no claim to fame other than being a Trumpsucker whose daddy is a f***ing nutjob criminal who lied repeatedly, sweated shoe polish in public, made a presentation at Four Seasons Landscaping that's still a running joke, and touched himself on camera in a Borat movie. Yeah, like that's what ANYBODY needs right now.

Are you suggesting he's under qualified? Well, he wishes he could put those accomplishments in his own resume. For now, it'll be reflected glory.

Andy's sole motivation is to pardon his daddy.

[LFC]

May 17, 2021 21:16:18 GMT LFC said:

Georgia's Lt. Governor has had enough.

More details. He has received hundreds of death threats. Welcome to Republican fascism.

Georgia's lieutenant governor Geoff Duncan says he received disturbing threats from fellow Republicans for refusing to endorse Donald Trump's election lies.

The twice-impeached one-term president pressured Georgia's GOP governor, Brian Kemp, and secretary of state Brad Raffensperger to overturn his loss in that typically Republican state, and Duncan told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" that he paid a personal price for refusing to go along with the scheme.

"Look, i've got three kids -- three boys [ages] 19, 15, 10, I'm married to my high school sweetheart," Duncan said. "These have been some very interesting times for us. I'm proud to have them on my team, they've been very supportive. But when you receive death threats from hundreds of Republicans from around the country, that's a problem, when you're only sitting there telling the truth."

[goldenvalley]

May 18, 2021 19:08:43 GMT LFC said:

May 17, 2021 21:16:18 GMT LFC said:

Georgia's Lt. Governor has had enough.

More details. He has received hundreds of death threats. Welcome to Republican fascism.

Georgia's lieutenant governor Geoff Duncan says he received disturbing threats from fellow Republicans for refusing to endorse Donald Trump's election lies.

The twice-impeached one-term president pressured Georgia's GOP governor, Brian Kemp, and secretary of state Brad Raffensperger to overturn his loss in that typically Republican state, and Duncan told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" that he paid a personal price for refusing to go along with the scheme.

"Look, i've got three kids -- three boys [ages] 19, 15, 10, I'm married to my high school sweetheart," Duncan said. "These have been some very interesting times for us. I'm proud to have them on my team, they've been very supportive. But when you receive death threats from hundreds of Republicans from around the country, that's a problem, when you're only sitting there telling the truth."

I hope all the Republican office holders who have been threatened because they don't support the Big Lie to come together with details on what they are being threatened with, how often it happens, and to call on any sane Republicans out there in state houses and legislatures to join them in condemning those who threaten people who are following the law and doing their jobs.  It won't make the wing nut media news coverage, but it might move some folks who thought they just needed to humor Trump in his fantasy for a little while.  The undertone of violence that is bubbling up is very concerning and needs to aired in daylight. 

[LFC]

May 18, 2021 19:55:47 GMT goldenvalley said:

May 18, 2021 19:08:43 GMT LFC said:

More details. He has received hundreds of death threats. Welcome to Republican fascism.

I hope all the Republican office holders who have been threatened because they don't support the Big Lie to come together with details on what they are being threatened with, how often it happens, and to call on any sane Republicans out there in state houses and legislatures to join them in condemning those who threaten people who are following the law and doing their jobs.  It won't make the wing nut media news coverage, but it might move some folks who thought they just needed to humor Trump in his fantasy for a little while.  The undertone of violence that is bubbling up is very concerning and needs to aired in daylight. 

Making terroristic threats is illegal. They should be demanding investigations and pressing charges.

[goldenvalley]

May 18, 2021 20:05:29 GMT LFC said:

May 18, 2021 19:55:47 GMT goldenvalley said:

I hope all the Republican office holders who have been threatened because they don't support the Big Lie to come together with details on what they are being threatened with, how often it happens, and to call on any sane Republicans out there in state houses and legislatures to join them in condemning those who threaten people who are following the law and doing their jobs.  It won't make the wing nut media news coverage, but it might move some folks who thought they just needed to humor Trump in his fantasy for a little while.  The undertone of violence that is bubbling up is very concerning and needs to aired in daylight. 

Making terroristic threats is illegal. They should be demanding investigations and pressing charges.

That too, but the media doesn't necessarily pick up on individual cases.  If they bring attention to them in the aggregate it will have more impact on the psyche of those who think this is all just political maneuvering and empty words.

[LFC]

Arizona's Democratic Secretary of State, the one who Republicans are trying to strip of power with a bill that only goes until her term expires, just announced she's going to run for governor. You go, girl!

Democratic Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, who is at the forefront of the battle over the state Senate GOP’s bogus 2020 election results “audit,” launched a bid for governor on Wednesday.

In the video announcing her campaign, Hobbs highlights her efforts to combat Trump-loyal Republicans’ attacks on the 2020 election in Arizona-which has made her a target in MAGAland.

“When you’re under attack, some would have you believe you have two choices: fight or give in,” Hobbs says in the video. “But there’s a third option: Get the job done.”

She asserts that “the other side isn’t offering policies to make our lives better,” just “conspiracies that only make our lives worse,” as she touts her office’s success in running the election during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We did our job. They refuse to do theirs,” Hobbs says. “And there’s a lot more work to be done. That’s why I’m running for governor.”

[Deleted]

May 4, 2021 22:18:02 GMT goldenvalley said:

It's gettin' serious in the California recall election (which still has some technical hurdles to cross but will probably make it)  The Republican that ran against the current governor is in the race.  He's opened his campaign with the help of a bear, a live one.   Watch the video. (hope it isn't paywalled)

Cox didn't use the bear in the 2018 campaign for governor. 

I'm a bit behind on my reading but that's one crazy ad especially if you watch it with no sound ( right wing lies hurt my delicate ears )

[LFC]

Jun 3, 2021 17:29:42 GMT @islander said:

I'm a bit behind on my reading but that's one crazy ad especially if you watch it with no sound ( right wing lies hurt my delicate ears )

Maybe he was inspired by this old commercial.

[Deleted]

Good grief! Some ads can be very clever but that one is in WTF were they thinking territory (and, yeah, I realize that was not a real bear ...... it wouldn't have lost that fight )

[LFC]

Yes, NJ's gubernatorial election is in November 2021 but I didn't want to start a new thread. Besides this is a good look at things to come. All of the Republicans gunning for Phil Murphy's seat are going pretty full metal Trump and that's in a state where Trump isn't very popular. Actually one is trying to sound more reasonable.

Republican gubernatorial candidates are trying to act like Donald Trump to win their primary races, but that could cost them in the November general election.

Three candidates -- Jack Ciattarelli, Phil Rizzo and Hirsh Singh -- are vying for the GOP nomination to run against Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, who remains popular despite criticism over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, reported Politico.

"I believe if the other two were to win the primary, the focus is less on Phil Murphy and New Jersey," said Ciattarelli, who holds a major fundraising advantage over his GOP rivals. "So let's make it all about New Jersey. That's what I will do, and I'll be very very disciplined in that sense. Phil Murphy is going to want to continue to talk about [former Republican Gov.] Chris Christie and Donald Trump."

Compare that to Singh.

"[Trump was] the greatest president of my lifetime," Singh said during last month's debate, and repeated his election lies. "We all know Trump won."

And Rizzo.

Rizzo tweeted out a photo of himself with Trump at a Mar-A-Lago fundraiser for another candidate and held a fundraiser at a Trump-owned golf course in Monmouth County, although he still has spent only $442,000, compared to $510,000 for Singh and $6 million for Ciattarelli.

But Ciattarelli is far from normal and he's going to get crushed for his support of both The Big Lie and extremists.

Certainly Republicans have not fared well in New Jersey during the Trump era," Ciattarelli said, "so while his policies worked at the national level, there were policies on which I disagreed with the president."

But Murphy's campaign will remind voters that Ciattarelli attended a "Stop the Steal" rally in the fall and refused to disavow a right-wing Oath Keeper who's running for the General Assembly.

"The question New Jerseyans need an answer to is: How far is Ciattarelli willing to go to placate the far-right?" said Phil Swibinski, spokesman for the New Jersey Democratic State Committee. "He's apparently fine being on the ballot with an Oath Keeper, so how about a Proud Boy? Or a KKK member? Or a neo-Nazi?"

[Deleted]

Contemplate this!

I really like Ben Dreyfuss and this post about understanding that most people aren’t monsters, but rather just normal, flawed people, is lovely.

But late last week he did another post trying to game out the worst-case scenario for 2024:

The nightmare scenario for Democrats is that they lose the House in 2022 and in 2024 Joe Biden wins by a large popular vote, but by just a few states in the electoral college, and that then the Republican legislatures in a bunch of states Biden won cite voter fraud as an excuse to award their electoral votes to Trump and the House GOP goes along with it. . . .

Let’s just indulge our worst nightmare for a second and assume this happens, that Biden wins the popular vote and the electoral college but has it stolen by a GOP congress. In this scenario people will rightfully be very upset! And there will indeed be protests! Lots of them! The biggest ones in history! And then what?

[W]hat do people do after the protests don’t achieve anything? They’re supposed to grit their teeth and start working to win elections? After the election is wholesale stolen?

What Dreyfuss is missing here is that in such a scenario, Republicans would not be “stealing” the presidential election. They would be claiming power via one of the pathways explicitly allowed by law.

If you took nothing else from the last five years, it should be this: Democracy runs on the honor system.

Once people decide that they are only constrained by what the law explicitly says may not be done, then everything else is on the table.

And let me promise you this: All those Republicans and professional conservatives who roll their eyes at this now and chuckle, saying it couldn’t possibly happen? When the chips are down, they’ll excuse it. They’ll say, Sure, it’s not my preference. But it IS in the law. What we supposed to do? And I have to go along with this because we need responsible people on the inside to constrain the really bad actors.

[LFC]

If Breyer doesn't resign and allow Biden to name a successor before the end of 2022 and McConnell becomes Senate leader again he has already told us he will block any nominee. No shock but at least he's quasi-admitting it out loud.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) on Monday previewed what could become the latest iteration of his “no Supreme Court justices for Democratic presidents” rule.

In an interview with conservative radio personality Hugh Hewitt, the minority leader said that if Republicans regain the Senate majority in 2022, it’s “highly unlikely” he would allow Joe Biden to fill a Supreme Court vacancy that opened during the 2024 presidential election.

“I think in the middle of a presidential election, if you have a Senate of the opposite party of the president, you have to go back to the 1880s to find the last time a vacancy was filled,” McConnell said. “So I think it’s highly unlikely.”

Hewitt pushed further — what about a forced 18-month vacancy?

“Again, if you were back as the Senate Republican Leader, and I hope you are, and a Democrat retires at the end of 2023, and there are 18 months, that would be the Anthony Kennedy precedent,” he said. “Would they get a fair shot at a hearing, not a radical, but a normal mainstream liberal?”

“Well, we’d have to wait and see what happens,” McConnell said.

[AnBr]

McConnell is such a cancer on our body politic. There will be much rejoicing when he dies. Others that might replace him may be worse, but most are far more incompetent.

[pnwguy]

Jun 15, 2021 14:00:00 GMT AnBr said:

McConnell is such a cancer on our body politic. There will be much rejoicing when he dies. Others that might replace him may be worse, but most are far more incompetent

Beez, what's your boss waiting for?

[RichTBikkies]

Jun 16, 2021 1:45:48 GMT pnwguy said:

Jun 15, 2021 14:00:00 GMT AnBr said:

McConnell is such a cancer on our body politic. There will be much rejoicing when he dies. Others that might replace him may be worse, but most are far more incompetent

Beez, what's your boss waiting for?

"The Devil looks after his own". Beez is shackled by his job description.