The following diaries are examples of this week's Election Diary Rescue. This post features a collection of 37 diaries.
(ME-Sen) ME-Sen: Is it winnable? by Trosk. Efforts to unseat Joe Lieberman's pal, Republican Susan Collins, haven't gotten anywhere in the past. Obama won Maine by 17 points in 2008; at the same time, Collins won by 23. The diarist makes a case for why the outcome could be different for Democratic challenger Shenna Bellows in 2014.
(NY-22) NY-22: Credible tea partier challenges GOP incumbent Richard Hanna by devtob - Tea Party Assemblywoman Claudia Tenney announced that she will primary fellow Republican Rep. Richard Hanna for being insufficiently conservative. Hanna voted for the debt ceiling increase twice, and is perhaps the only pro-choice Republican left in Congress. But Tenney is no dittohead yahoo, and may well win both the primary and the general.
(CA-StSen-10) LIGHT A CANDLE OR CURSE THE DARKNESS? Roman Reed Builds a Senatorial Campaign Around Biomedicine by diverdonreed - When you vote for a Senator, you are not just selecting a member of a party, or supporting a set of political beliefs; you are choosing someone whose entire life has prepared them for this day. - Diarist tells of how life has prepared and propelled his son Roman Reed (D) to run for the California State Senate District 10 seat.
The First Fifty by Horace Boothroyd III - Horace is looking for fifty good Kossacks to commit to election reporting and organize states for down-ticket coverage. Since that's what EDR is all about, let's hope he succeeds!
This is the 12th weekly edition of Election Diary Rescue. It covers rescued down-ticket election diaries published from Sunday 3/23/14 through Saturday 3/29/14. We hope you enjoy the following gems dug up by our dedicated team of miners.
Diaries: (37)
Senate: (7) posts (5) states
House: (6) posts (6) states (6) districts
State and more: (11)
General: (13)
EDR has compiled, described and linked
down ticket election related diaries since 2006.
EDR chronicles the passion, power and effectiveness of political engagement and shines a light on candidates and issues that might otherwise be missed. It gives quick access to races, hopefully inspires people to write about contests that interest them, and has become an archive for thousands of election related diaries over the years.
Archive links
Format and Tags
Diarists can help the EDR mining team by identifying the race in the diary title, for example: (FL-14) or (GA-Gov) or (NY-Sen). Using the "Elections" tag is also appreciated and keep in mind that your first sentence or two can be what you would like to see in the EDR description.
This edition of EDR was made possible by the following miners and editors: Alma, eeff, edrie, Joieau, Land of Enchantment, randallt, sylv, suejazz and turbonerd. Special thanks to Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse.
Senate - 7
(GA-Sen) GA-Sen: Paul Broun (R), "Boehner Fast-Tracking Doc Fix Bill Was Putin-esque" by poopdogcomedy - The usual copy-paste of campaign emails detailing Georgia Senate race goings-on, highlighting Paul Broun's (R) disagreement with the current Republican leadership. So far, Broun polls only at 15% in the crowded Republican primary, with strong opposition. Michelle Nunn is the strongest Democratic candidate.
(IA-Sen) IA-Sen -- Joni Ernst (R) Tries to Outdo Ann Coulter by Eternal Hope - Tea Party candidate Joni Ernst unveils the least probable qualification on her resume with her instant classic "pig castration" spot.
(KY-Sen) KY-Sen: Bevin (R) Ad Puts McConnell (R) In Duke Jersey Ahead Of Louisville-Kentucky Matchup by poopdogcomedy - Tea Party challenger to Mitch McConnell (R) spent $40,000 to air a new ad during the Louisville v. Kentucky game that features McConnell in a Duke jersey to highlight the McConnell gaff last week. This kind of in-fighting could be good for Democrat Allison Lundergan Grimes.
(ME-Sen) ME-Sen: "GOP Senator Susan Collins Will Not Cruise To An Easy Election Victory This November" by RandomNonviolence - Diarist has info on the Maine Senate race between incumbent Susan Collins (R) and Shenna Bellows (D).
(ME-Sen) Breaking: DSCC endorses Bellows for ME-Sen by slakn1 - The Democratic Senate Campaign Committee announces its support for Shenna Bellows' bid to unseat Sen. Susan Collins (R).
(ME-Sen) ME-Sen: Is it winnable? by Trosk. Efforts to unseat Joe Lieberman's pal, Republican Susan Collins, haven't gotten anywhere in the past. Obama won Maine by 17 points in 2008; at the same time, Collins won by 23. The diarist makes a case for why the outcome could be different for Democratic challenger Shenna Bellows in 2014.
(NM-Sen) NM-Sen & Gov: PPP Has Udall (D) & Martinez (R) In The Lead by poopdogcomedy, Karl Rove is betting on beating Democratic Senator Tom Udall this fall, but he's leading all his potential Republican challengers by 20 points or more. It's highly likely Rove's expenditures will be wasted. Meanwhile, Republican Governor Susana "la Tejana" Martinez is leading in the same polls, but not by as much.
House - 6
(CA-31) CA -31; Eloise Gomez Reyes can flip it to blue by Shockwave – Introducing, Eloise Gomez Reyes, a “better Democrat”, running in the Democratic primary on June 3. Good on the issues, endorsed by Emily's list, Hilda Solis and Xavier Beccera, the first Latino woman to open a law practice in her district is a promising candidate.
(CO-04) CO-04: New Ad from Democratic Candidate Vic Meyers on the Issues (Video) by BoxMachine - Video from the campaign of Democrat Vic Meyers lays out the candidate's stand on the issues. Meyers is running for open seat in Colorado's 4th CD.
(MD-01) Is Maryland-01 a Possibility? by JamieG from Md - Diarist has info on Maryland's US House District 1 Primary.
(NJ-05) NJ-05: Sen. Cory Booker (D) & Rep. Patrick Murphy (D. FL) Endorse Roy Cho (D) For Congress by poopdogcomedy - Democrat Roy Cho picks up several major endorsements in his bid to unseat Tea Party Congressman Scott Garrett.
(NY-22) NY-22: Credible tea partier challenges GOP incumbent Richard Hanna by devtob - Tea Party Assemblywoman Claudia Tenney announced that she will primary fellow Republican Rep. Richard Hanna for being insufficiently conservative. Hanna voted for the debt ceiling increase twice, and is perhaps the only pro-choice Republican left in Congress. But Tenney is no dittohead yahoo, and may well win both the primary and the general.
(TX-19) Texas Dem Candidate, Veteran, Gets Congresses Responsibility by jimstaro - District 19 challenger Neal Marchbanks (D) slammed incumbent Randy Neugebauer (R) for his call to slash veteran's benefits.
State, local and more - 11
(AZ-Gov) Sheriff Joe Arpaio soliciting money for gubernatorial race (maybe) by Mother Mags - Sherrff Joe "Sheriff Joe" Arpaio wonders in an email if his supporters can raise $4 million, at which point he may decide to climb into the clown car that is the Arizona Republican gubernatorial primary. Arpaio is already running against the US Department of Justice, the courts, Rev. Sharpton, George Lopez, Linda Ronstadt and "a gaggle of other celebrity lefties," as well as a "hostile" national and local press, so what's a few more comers at this point? On the other hand, this may be one last, hearty fleecing before the 81 year old decides to retire. Finally.
(CA-StSen) Contact the Six California State Senators Against California Single Payer by linkage – Campaign for a Healthy California is leading the effort to contact five of the six California Senators and ask them to stop blocking SB-810-single payer health coverage. The 6th Senator has recently resigned.
(CA-StSen-10) LIGHT A CANDLE OR CURSE THE DARKNESS? Roman Reed Builds a Senatorial Campaign Around Biomedicine by diverdonreed - When you vote for a Senator, you are not just selecting a member of a party, or supporting a set of political beliefs; you are choosing someone whose entire life has prepared them for this day. - Diarist tells of how life has prepared and propelled his son Roman Reed (D) to run for the California State Senate District 10 seat.
(FL-Gov) Rick Scott's Crappy, Orwellian Friday by saintpetersblog - Poor Rick Scott had a bad Friday. First his campaign finance chairman resigned, then the campaign offered the job to another GOP rainmaker only to rescind the offer abruptly. A Bloomberg report on the pay-to-play nature of Scott's administration didn't help matters any.
(FL-Gov) Florida Officials Retaliate Against FSU Professor Who Criticized Rick Scott by SemDem - More evidence of Republican governor Rick Scott's corrupt administration and the lengths he'll go to silence criticisms even as his campaign's hired guns are resigning right and left in protest of his administration's blatant racism... er, "culture of insensitivity."
(FL-Gov) Rick Scott Campaign Now Insulting Rich Hispanic Fundraiser; But Defends the Bigoted Staffers by SemDem - If your finance co-chair - responsible for already raising over $35 million dollars and making the largest single personal political donation in Florida's history - quit the campaign over an ethnic slur by campaign staffers, would you apologize? Not if you're Rick Scott.
(GA-Gov) GA-Gov: Jason Carter (D) To Andrea Mitchell, "Georgia is ready for new leadership" by poopdogcomedy - A poll from the campaign of Jason Carter (D), grandson of the former President and governor of Georgia, shows him leading incumbent Republican Gov. Nathan Deal by three points.
(NY-StSen-43) NY-SD-43 - FBI Begins Investigation of State Senator Kathy Marchione by Upstate Blue - As part of an ongoing investigation of current and former elected officials in the town of Halfmoon, New York, a suburb of Albany in southern Saratoga County, both the FBI and the New York State Attorney General's Office are now inquiring about a 3.3 acre parcel of land acquired by New York State Senator Kathy Marchione (R - Saratoga County) and her husband in 2007 adjoining their primary residence in Halfmoon. No Democrat has yet filed to run against Marchione this November.
(OH-Gov) OH-Gov: Sheldon Adelson Becomes John Kasich's (R) New Bestie by poopdogcomedy - In what could be a sign his sights are set on the Oval Office, Gov. John Kasich (R) flies to Las Vegas to beg for campaign cash from conservative sugar daddy Sheldon Adelson.
(TX-Gen) TX Democrats: Forcing the Issues by TexasLeftist - Despite long odds in the statewide election cycle, gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis' (D) campaign is learning fast and forcing issues. Will this translate down the tickets to other Dems fighting to change the Texas government for the better?
(WA-Gen) WA State - More Bad Demographic News for Republican Party by nirbama - Diarist looks at the shifting rural vs. urban demographics in Washington State, and how that helps Democrats while marginalizing Republicans.
General - 13
Memo to Democrats: Start embracing Obamacare by Alyson Chadwick - Diarist explains why Democrats should run on, not from, Obamacare.
MUST-SEE: Bill Maher explains the power of language framing and how Democrats can use it by BruinKid - Bill Maher explained how Democrats must win back the battle of language framing from the Republicans. Video inside.
Stop Running Away From Obamacare by pierre9045 - Conventional wisdom states that Democrats will be on the defensive in 2014. I am not a fan of conventional wisdom. Stop Running Away From Obamacare. Supporting evidence for candidates to support Obamacare is inside the diary.
Rand Paul will not be President but the Democrats don't have a lock on the White House in 2016 by slatsg - If the Republicans nominate someone who appears reasonably sane, who doesn't self-destruct ala Romney, and if they reach out to the conservative segments of demographic blocs such as young people and Latinos, and if the Democrats nominate a DLCer like Mrs. Clinton and continue using the Third Way playbook, the Democrats could very well lose the White House in 2016.
Watch: Who's Buying Our Midterm Elections by Bill Moyers - This week Bill speaks with investigative journalists Kim Barker and Andy Kroll about the role of dark money — and the wealthy donors behind it — in this year’s midterm elections. With full embedded video.
Democratic allies launch $8 million counter attack against the Koch brothers by David Nir - In response to the Koch brothers' manic spending spree, two major groups of Democratic allies are launching their own counter-attacks. The Senate Majority PAC is preparing to shell out $3 million to help Democrats in Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, Michigan, and North Carolina, nearly as much as the $3.6 million the group had previously spent all cycle. Around $1 million is targeted for the Tarheel State; the rest will each get $500,000.
Democrats' 2014 Strategy: Make it Rain on the Ground Game by mikeygornza – The diarist reminds us what we need to do to win in November: Target voters. Register voters. Make sure voters show up on election day.
Nate Silver's Grim Forecast with questions by jamesleo – Nate Silver currently believes that the GOP are slight favorites to win 6 seats and capture the Senate. But the diarist has questions.
Faux Dems Exposed and Expelled by mdmslle - “This seeming pattern is happening with greater frequency. And of course, who can blame them? Voter knowledge and engagement is low, confusion is easy (as we have seen with the Kesha "LaRouchie" Rogers-David Alameel runoff for US Senate in TX) and the GOP brand is mud. It's simply easier to switch parties and run as a "democrat" than to swim against the tide.”
Effective Immediately by VoteRiders - “In 34 states you need an acceptable form of identification to vote. Now in four states, you need proof of citizenship to even register to vote.”
Fighting Fire with Cash: How Liberals are Playing into the Koch Brother Battle against Democracy by ThisIsProgress - Democratic PACs seem to be using the Koch Brothers' government buying game plan too much to heart, illustrating the corruption of democracy by rich people and corporations with unlimited funds.
Democrats' $60 Million Code Name "Bannock Street Project" Set to Destroy Kochs & Goposaurs in 2014 by ericlewis0 - The Democratic 2014 strategy to keep its majority in the Senate is to get voters who usually sit out midterms to the polls in November.
The First Fifty by Horace Boothroyd III - Horace is looking for fifty good Kossacks to commit to election reporting and organize states for down-ticket coverage. Since that's what EDR is all about, let's hope he succeeds!