The following diaries are examples of this week's Election Diary Rescue. This post features a collection of 50 diaries.
(NE-Sen) Here's Your Chance to Help a Guy Who Saved the World by Nancy Meyer - Dave Domina (D) has worked in court to keep the KXL pipeline from going through in Nebraska. His Koch backed opponent is Ben Sasse (R).
(HI-01) Progressive Primary Strategy 101. Case Study Hawaii. by RL Miller - In Hawaii's deep blue and progressive First Congressional District, they're about to unify behind a DINO-Lite, Mark Takai instead of the viable progressive choice, Stanley Chang. There's also a DINO running, Donna Kim. The diarist examines the positions of the each and makes a convincing case for unifying behind Stanley Chang.
(MD-County) Not Just Whistling 'Dixie': Peroutka Stands Up for Southern Secession - UPDATED X2! by jhutson - Michael Peroutka, the Republican candidate for Anne Arundel County Council, stood up for secession and the white nationalist League of the South, at a hastily called, standing-room-only press conference on July 30 in Glen Burnie, Maryland.
An Unexpected (and Wonderful) Result of the GOP "Lawsuit": Democrats Raise a Cool $7.6 Million by Scientistocrat. GOP boneheaded blunders and nihilistic irresponsibility is being noticed; members of the donor class are speaking with their paychecks.
This is the 30th weekly edition of Election Diary Rescue. It covers rescued down-ticket election diaries published from Sunday, July 27 through Saturday, August 2. We hope you enjoy the following gems dug up by our dedicated team of miners.
VOLUNTEER ALERT! As the election approaches we will be switching back to our traditional daily schedule for producing this blog. We will need a few good Kossacks to join the team.
Please e-mail us if you would like the opportunity to contribute to this legacy project. DKosEDR@gmail.com.
Diaries: (50)
Senate: (12) posts, (10) states
House: (13) posts, (7) states, (6) districts
State and more: (20)
General: (5)
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 be otherwise 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 very helpful 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, Joieau, Land of Enchantment, randallt, sylv, suejazz and turbonerd. Special thanks to Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse.
Senate - 12
(HI-Sen) Coal Emissions Flare Up in Hi-Sen Race by Karen from Maui - Colleen Hanabusa is doubling down on her support for dirty coal emissions in her challenge against environmental champion, Senator Brian Schatz. Hanabusa broke with most Democrats and all of the Hawaii delegation (including the Representative from Maui) and voted for the GOP's "Regulatory Relief" act - yet another GOP attack on the EPA.
(IA-Sen) IA-Sen: Bruce Braley (D) Hits Joni Ernst's (R) Opposition For Raising The Minimum Wage In New Ad by poopdogcomedy - Democrat Bruce Braley has launched the first in a series of ads highlighting populist economic messages: raising the federal minimum wage, supporting Medicare and Social Security, and keeping the Renewable Fuel Standard.
(KS-Sen) Is kansas Looking at a 4Way Senate Race? by tmservo433 - An interesting primary is shaping up in the Senate race in Kansas on August 5th. A Republican, a Tea Party candidate, a Democrat and an Independent are all vying for the seat. Anything could happen. As Rachel would say, "Watch this space".
(KY-Sen) Mitch McConnell's Tea Party Problem. by Rural Progressive - What might Tea Party anger at Mitch McConnell (R) after the primary plus a Libertarian candidate on the ballot and Democrat Alison Lundergan Grime's strong fund-raising and polling lead to?
(KY-Sen) Wow! Alison Lundergan Grimes burns the barn down at Fancy Farm by NewDealer - Democrat Alison Grimes delivered a barn burner of a speech at the famous Fancy Farm Picnic in western Kentucky in her bid to unseat Mitch McConnell from the U.S. Senate.
(KY-Sen) Grimes and Fancy Farm Funnies... by Riterzbloc - Diarist offers the video of Grimes' barn-burning speech.
(LA-Sen) LA-Sen: Chamber Of Commerce Planning On Backing Mary Landrieu (D) Over Bill Cassidy (R) by poopdogcomedy. Apparently, the Chamber of Commerce is reluctant to follow the GOP to the depths of its Heart of Darkness, at least in the case of incumbent ConservaDem Mary Landrieu.
(ME-Sen) ME-Sen: Bellows contribution match thru tomorrow July 31 by emorej a Hong Kong - An offer to match July 31 Bellows contributions through Blue America page is posted here. The linked Down With Tyranny posting emphasizes that most Mainers do not yet have either negative or positive impressions of Bellows.
(MS-Sen) Mississippi GOP: Hey, maybe crossover voting is legal anyway by Hunter - Mississippi sore loser Chris McDaniel continues to froth over his primary loss to incumbent Thad Cochran, but the GOP's attorney agrees with the attorney general that it's not actually illegal for citizens of the state to vote in both primaries.
(NE-Sen) Here's Your Chance to Help a Guy Who Saved the World by Nancy Meyer - Dave Domina (D) has worked in court to keep the KXL pipeline from going through in Nebraska. His Koch backed opponent is Ben Sasse (R).
(NH-Sen) Mayday PAC's first two candidate choices: Does the left hand know what the right hand's doing? by DocDawg. Laurence Lessig is directing funds from his MayDay PAC, dedicated to campaign finance reform, to Scott Brown's republican primary rival, Jim Rubens. The second of 5 candidates MayDay PAC will support is the Democrat in IA-03, Staci Appel.
(VA-Sen, LA-Sen) VA-Sen: Mark Warner (D) Seeks To Split GOP On Export-Import Bank by poopdogcomedy Sens. Mark Warner (D-VA) and Mary Landrieu (D-LA) are using the Export-Import Bank as a campaign issue to highlight government actions that create and sustain good jobs.
House - 13
(AZ-07) Endorsement: Ruben Gallego, a Climate Hawk in Arizona by RLMiller - It's a rare chance to elect a climate hawk in the House from Phoenix. Climate Hawks Vote has endorsed Ruben Gallego in the Democratic primary later this month.
(Congress - various) StephenCLE's Baseline House Rankings - The Great Lakes by StephenCLE - Diarist rates the Congressional races in the Great Lakes states (OH, MI, IN, IL, WI).
(FL-Gen) Florida Judge Orders Special Session to Redraw Congressional Map by ericlewis0 - Circuit Court Judge Terry Lewis ruled Friday that the Florida legislature must immediately revise its flawed congressional map and gave it until August 15th to submit it. The judge even suggests Florida may have to push the general election date back in order to allow for the necessary special election in affected districts. Fun, fun!
(FL-Gen) Florida Primary Headed For Chaos? by lunachickie - Diarist offers coverage and a pdf of the ruling in the Florida redistricting bruhaha.
(HI-01) Progressive Primary Strategy 101. Case Study Hawaii. by RL Miller - In Hawaii's deep blue and progressive First Congressional District, they're about to unify behind a DINO-Lite, Mark Takai instead of the viable progressive choice, Stanley Chang. There's also a DINO running, Donna Kim. The diarist examines the positions of the each and makes a convincing case for unifying behind Stanley Chang.
(HI-01) HI-01: Mark Takai takes lead by Karen from Maui - Sierra Club and Vote Vets appear to be working some magic on Mark Takai in the HI-01 race. Takai was down 6 points from DINO Donna Mercado Kim for the Democratic primary, is now in the lead after the endorsements.
(HI-01) HI-01: Dem Donna Mercado Kim enunciates a picture perfect Republican agenda by Karen from Maui - Hawaii's State Senate President, Donna Mercado Kim (DINO) rates balancing the budget as her top priority, and offers word salad for the most salient issues facing the country. She is running against progressive Democrat Mark Takai in the primary for the open seat being vacated by Colleen Hanbusa.
(KS-01) Tim Huelskamp (R-KS) Starts a public feud with Renewable Energy CEO by tmservo433 - Huelskamp's problems with employers and PACs in western Kansas opens an opportunity for Democrat Jim Sherow to take the seat.
(MI-11) MI-11: McKenzie trails Kumar; Time for Labor to Reconsider Skinner! by Nancy4MI11 - Diarist lists Democrat Nancy Skinner's pro-union and pro-environmental record, good reasons to support her in the upcoming primary for the District 11 seat.
(MI-11) You'll be Shocked to know what Anil Kumar, 'Democrat' running for Congress in MI-11, Supports.... by Nancy4MI11 - Just a week before Michigan primary voters go to the polls on Aug. 5th, comes a shocking development in the race for Michigan's 11th Congressional District.
(VA-10) VA-10: Barbara Comstock, "Personhood" Supporter by kindler - It's not enough to tell people that Barbara Comstock (R) is too extreme for the 10th district. Better to cite some examples...
(WA-08) WA-08: Meet Jason Ritchie (D) Sat 8/2 in Ellensburg. Vote. Donate. GOPer Reichert has got to GO!! by ParkRanger - Diarist has info on how to help Jason Ritchie (D) in Washington's 8th District Primary.
(WA-08) WA-08: There is no Republican wave. Take action now for 8/5 primary, Jason Ritchie (D) for the win! by ParkRanger - This is not 2010. There is no sign of a Republican wave in 2014. Jason Ritchie and his team are working hard and running an aggressive campaign against five-term incumbent GOPer Dave Reichert.
State, local and more - 20
(CA-State Assembly) November 2014 elections in California Part 3: State Assembly by kurykh. Part of the diarist's ongoing series about downticket races in California. This post finishes coverage of the State Assembly.
(CA-Gov) California GOP Guv Hopeful Poses As Job Seeker, Ends Up At Homeless Shelter by librarising - Republican gubernatorial hopeful and former investment banker Neel Kashkari details his sojourn as a job seeking poser. It apparently didn't teach him anything.
(CA-Gov) CA-Gov: Kashkari spends a week homeless, learns nothing, hurts Republican Party by Dante Atkins - Incumbent Dem governor Jerry Brown is being challenged by business-friendly Republican Neel Kashkari. Who has basically no chance to unseat Brown, 20 points ahead in the polls.
(CO-SD30) CO-Sen Finally! The Awful Chris Holbert Has A Dem Opponent! by BadKitties - Colorado voters in State Senate District 30 will have choice between the Obamacare repealing, personhood amendment-sponsoring, school-voucher-pushing, climate-change-denying, creationism spewing, open-carry-advocating State Rep. Chris Holbert (R-Crazytown); and a sane person, Democrat Bette (no, really) Davis.
(IA-Gov) Friends Don't Let Friends Vote Branstad by scifiowa - The diarist compares the positions of the incumbent governor Terry Branstad (R) and Jack Hatch (D), his challenger, and urges Iowans not to forget that the state has a proud tradition of electing Democrats to public office.
(KS-Gov) Dueling Kansas Governor's Polls by jazzhawk2004 - Diarist has some polling numbers on the Kansas Governors race between incumbent Sam Brownback (R) and Paul Davis (D).
(KS-Gov) Sabato moves Kansas Governor to "toss-up". I think he's being kind to Brownback by SantaFeMarie - Larry Sabato, director of UVA's Center for Politics has moved the Kansas Governor race to "toss-up". Moody's, however, has downgraded Kansas' credit rating...
(MD-County) White Hot Controversy for a White Nationalist GOP Candidate by Frederick Clarkson - Diarist has coverage of a GOP Candidate for Anne Arundel County, Maryland counsel seat.
(MD-County) Not Just Whistling 'Dixie': Peroutka Stands Up for Southern Secession - UPDATED X2! by jhutson - Michael Peroutka, the Republican candidate for Anne Arundel County Council, stood up for secession and the white nationalist League of the South, at a hastily called, standing-room-only press conference on July 30 in Glen Burnie, Maryland.
(MI-HD60) All Politics is Local: Jon Hoadley for MI State representative, 60th District by alevel - The diarist supports the candidacy of Jon Hoadley for the Michigan State legislature. Hoadley's top priorities include public re-investment in education and infrastructure, women's reproductive rights and the rights of working people and families.
(MO-Gen) My Missouri Primary Primer: 2014 Edition by JGibson - Diarist offers his projections for Tuesday's Democratic primary in Missouri.
(NY-Gov) The New York Anti-Corruption Candidate For Governor by El Bloguero - There is a choice of Democratic candate for governor in New York whose name is not Cuomo. The worthy underdog is Zephyr Teachout. Here's why.
(OK-Gov) Shock poll: Okla Gov (R-ALEC) leads unknown Dem 45-40 (Rasmussen) in reelection bid. by Churchill - A new poll from Rasumssen shows incumbent Oklahoma Republican Gov. Mary Fallin in a surprisingly close contest for reelection with nearly unknown State Rep. Joe Dorman.
(OR-BM-92) OR Right to Know Petition by occupystephanie - The Oregon Right to Know campaign is preparing for the huge onslaught of out-of-state money from giant Biotech corporations in opposition to GMO labeling Ballot Measure 92. As a grassroots organization, the campaign is counting heavily on Oregonian-to-Oregonian interactions to dispel well-financed misinformation.
(PA-Gov) PA-Goc: Tom Wolf (D), "Wealthy should pay more to cut school taxes" by poopdogcomedy - Diary contains a wealth of information on the Pennsylvania gubernatorial race between incumbent Tom Corbett (R) and Democrat Tom Wolf, the current poll leader. Links to help Wolf, State Senator Mike Stack's (D. PA) Lt. Governor campaign, and the Pennsylvania Democratic Party also included.
(TX-HD133) Meet the candidate ... me! by LauraNicol, in which we get a brief, concise introduction from the candidate.
(TX-Gov) Weekend of Action: Make calls for Wendy Davis, even if you live out-of-state! by nomandates - Battleground Texas has organized a statewide Weekend of Action to make calls for Democrat Wendy Davis.
(VA-HD13) Retire Bob Marshall by DonShaw - Democrat Don Shaw announces his candidacy for the Virginia legislature. Shaw is challenging the loathesome Bob Marshall (R) for the 13th State House district seat. The election will take place in November 2015.
(WI-Gov) Mary Burke's new ad: Walker's Jobs Fail (WI-Gov) by JVolvo - Democrat Mary Burke's newest ad goes right after Teapublican Gov. Scott Walker's (in)famous 2010 pledge of adding 250,000 new jobs in WI if elected governor.
(WI-Gov) WI-Gov: Governor Scott Walker's Poor Job-Creation Record by RandomNonviolence - Governor Scott Walker promised to create jobs, but his record is poor as documented by several recent diaries and this CapTimes article (with a cool interactive graph).
General - 5
Daily Kos Elections power rankings: The states (Mid-summer edition) by Steve Singiser - One of an ongoing series, this diary lists the top ten states to watch in November and the competitive contests in each.
A state-by-state look at 2014's attorneys general races by Jeff Singer - State attorneys general elections are almost always overshadowed by gubernatorial, Senate, and House races, but they are incredibly important. State attorneys general's powers vary from state to state, but they often have a good deal of influence over major policy issues. Attorneys general are often sought out as candidates for higher office, with many current governors and senators previously serving as their state's top lawyer. This diary is a state-by-state look at each of 2014's attorney general races.
ALEC Agenda Suppresses Voting Rights in Texas, Nationally by JayRiestenberg. The Koch-funded organization continues to be right in the middle of efforts to make it harder to vote, especially for Democrat-leaning sectors of the electorate.
An Unexpected (and Wonderful) Result of the GOP "Lawsuit": Democrats Raise a Cool $7.6 Million by Scientistocrat. GOP boneheaded blunders and nihilistic irresponsibility is being noticed; members of the donor class are speaking with their paychecks.
The People’s Pledge: An Immediate Opportunity for Cleaner Elections by akennedy07 - Diarist has info on the People's Pledge which is an effort to get money of politics and elections.