Election Race Diary Roundup (10/13 – 22 Days to Change)

PLEASE NOTE - This is not an open thread and is intended for diaries and discussion of downticket races.

For all the introductory stuff and links to previous diaries in the series, please look below the fold...

This Rescue Diary covers the period from 12:00 Noon, Sunday, 10/12 to 12:00 Noon EDT, Monday, 10/13

Today's Menu Includes :
38 Diaries Overall

- 14 On House races

- With 14 covering individual Districts in 8 states

- 4 On Senate races

- Representing 3 different states

- 6 On Various election races and ballot issues

- Encompassing Governor, Secretary of State, Local, and more

- 14 General election-related diaries

Follow us for more, come on in............

A few gentle guidelines to keep in mind:

Diary Titles - If you are doing a diary on a candidate or race, please be aware of the standard Daily Kos formatting. For House races, please start your title with the two-digit state abbreviation followed by the district number (example: NC-08: Kissell Rocks Again!). For Senate races, just use state-Sen (example: OK-Sen: Inhofe is Still a Moron). If you're doing a local race, try to use some version of this format. This immensely helps the people sifting through hundreds of diaries to more easily identify appropriate ones and minimizes the chances that we'll miss you (our Miners are almost perfect, but, alas, human after all).

"President-Diary-Free" Zone - We all know who's at the top of the ticket and how important that is. But the Presidential election is getting ample play in all venues and to try to rescue those diaries as well would be overwhelming. At this point, and our aim is to raise the profile of other races that stand to, hopefully, give our new President a better working majority.

"Sarah-Palin-Diary-Free" Zone - Unless it relates directly to one of the appropriate Alaska elections, or directly to another one somehow, we'll be ignoring all SP diaries out of hand.

Volunteers - While we have a pretty full crew on board, this project has always been about the opportunity to contribute and it's my aim to keep that door open for all who would like to be a part of it. If you have the time to spare and are interested, please email me (see my profile) and we'll get in touch with you.

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This is an attempt to compile a fairly comprehensive listing of election-related diaries that have recently been posted. Most of them are House or Senate races but there are also some local ones, as well as the occasional 'general info' diary.

For all the introductory stuff and previous diaries in the 2006 series, please see:
Election Race Roundup (11/11 - Final 2006 Edition)

And for this year's previous diaries:
Election Race Diary Roundup (9/17 - 48 Days to Change) (with links to 10 previous diaries from 9/7 to 9/16)
Election Race Diary Roundup (9/27 - 38 Days to Change) (with links to 10 previous diaries from 9/17 to 9/26)
Election Race Diary Roundup (10/7 – FOUR WEEKS TO GO!) (with links to 10 previous diaries from 9/27 to 10/6)
Election Race Diary Roundup (10/8 - 27 Days to Change)
Election Race Diary Roundup (10/9 - 26 Days to Change)
Election Race Diary Roundup (10/10 - 25 Days to Change)
Election Race Diary Roundup (10/11 - 24 Days to Change)
Election Race Diary Roundup (10/12 - 23 Days to Change)

Incredible thanks to all volunteers: Land of Enchantment, ukben, welso, drchelo, randallt, Joy Busey, TruthOfAngels, eeff, Alma, Sylv, Nightprowlkitty, Spedwybabs Turbonerd, cdale777, and Relevant Rhino.

(12:00 Noon, Sunday, 10/12 to 12:00 Noon EDT, Monday, 10/13):  (38 diaries)

(Alphabetical, starting from V)

***Special Notice***

If you want to be a part of FleetAdmiralJ’s Election Results Day Live Blog project, then check out this diary for more info. Those of us who followed this effort in ’06 will always remember it as an incredible part of an incredible night, and you can be a part of it!

   House (14)

(WI-06) WI-06 Another Republican for Obama by ruleoflaw - Diarist has a video of a life long Republican talking about change and ask for help in getting Roger Kittleson (D) to ride that change wave against incumbent Tom Petri (R).

(CA-02) Support Jeff Morris in California CD-02 by featherman - Conservative Repub Wally Herger has represented this red district for over 20 years. The diarist is excited about this year's Democratic challenge by Jeff Morris, which he argues is a serious run for the seat.

(CA-04) CA-04: My Evening with Charlie Brown and Madeline Albright by RandySF - Diarist recounts a fundraiser for Dem Charlie Brown (who is besting Repub Tom McClintock) that he attended at which former Secretary of State Madeline Albright discussed global issues that President Obama will face.

(CA-40) Just got my non-resident ballot by V in Tuff City – The diarist, a permanent non-resident, requests information on polling in the race between Dem candidate Christina Avalos and incumbent Repub Ed Royce.

(CA-49) Help Robert Hamilton (D) for Congress Run Against Darrell Issa by mondaymedia - Diarist has info on Robert Hamilton's (D) quest to unseat Darrell Issa (R) in this district.

(CA-52) Like Father, Like Son by Hannibal - Duncan Hunter, Jr. (R) is running to replace his father. Perhaps trading on his name, he's acting like incumbents often do, refusing to debate his Democratic challenger, Commander Mike Lumpkin.

(CO-02) Match Jared Polis' $1,000 Donation -- For A Progressive Congress by downwithtyranny - Join People For the American Way, the DCCC "Red to Blue" program, and Democratic candidate Jared Polis in raising crucial last-minute campaign contributions to help elect a genuine progressive to Congress.

(FL-05) Tampa PBS Affiliate WEDU Bows To Protect Incumbency by Sabre11 - The diarist calls "hypocrite" on Repub Ginny Brown-Waite for not being able to find time to debate Dem candidate John Russell, but still making the 45 drive to videotape a two minute statement at a Tampa television station.

(FL-08) FL-08 Truth Test Catches Keller Trashing Grayson by annie em - TV station WESH finds the latest attack ad from incumbent Repub Ric Keller has some issues with the truth.

(FL-25) FL-25: New Poll -- Garcia 42, Diaz-Balart 45 by JoeGarcia08 - The Joe Garcia (D) campaign weighs in with good news - internal polling shows Orange to Blue candidate Garcia within striking distance of incumbent Repub Mario Diaz-Balart.

(IA-05) Chickens Coming Home to Root for Rob Hubler by 2laneIA - The large rural district which makes up the western part of Iowa has caught the attention of the DCCC, which has included it in its "Races to Watch" category. Repub Steve King, first elected in 2002, is being challenged by Hubler (D).  

(IN-06) IN-06 A Tale of Two Websites! by Congressional Candidates Wife - The candidate’s wife from stops in to give a ground report of the race between Kossack Barry Welsh (D) and Mike Pence (R).

(NJ-05) NJ-5: Updates from the Dennis Shulman Field Campaign by jakri2 - Diarist has a day on the ground in race between Dennis Shulman (D) and Scott Garrett (R).

(PA-09) PA09 A bucket full 0f Bill (Shuster) by DvilleDem – Dem challenger Tony Barr showed up for a debate but Repub incumbent Bill Shuster didn’t show so Tony’s doing a Q&A.

   Senate (4)

(Var-Sen) Senate Race Updates by davidshor - Democrats improve their position in the Senate and Governor races, while maintaining an enormous lead in the Presidential race.  Graphs and numbers included.

(GA-Sen) Saxby Economics : Root of Problem (GA-Sen) by alpolitics - Features a new ad from Orange to Blue Democratic candidate Jim Martin, as he points out that incumbent Republican Saxby Chambliss' vote to deregulate the financial markets led to the current economic crisis.

(OK-Sen) OK-Sen: Reality sets in by Andrew for Oklahoma - This diary, from a staffer Democrat Andrew Rice' US Senate campaign, explains how incumbent Republican Jim Inhofe's support for "trickle down" economic policies and deregulation have impacts on the Oklahoma economy.

(OR-Sen) OR: Jeff Merkley's gutsy call on the Bailout by bob zimway – A review of the debate between Dem challenger Jeff Merkley and incumbent Gordon Smith (R), with a particular focus on the candidates’ respective positions on the recent bailout bill.

   Various Races (2)

(WA-Local) Heck to Compensation: WA-LD10-Pos1, Tim Knue by  ManageWA - This is a diary written to promote a State House candidate towards winning a supermajority in the state legislature. It also takes a concern troll tone to dismiss Christine Gregoire's chances at re-election as Governor of the Evergreen State.

(GA-Var) Georgia -- Atlanta Region Impact on Elections by oceanstar17 - Diarist does some great in-depth research on the counties in the Atlanta metro region with voting history in each as well as totals.

   Ballot Initiatives (4)

(CA-Prop 8) CA Prop 8: Message to my priest by sathyan – A parishioner’s response to electioneering propaganda.

(CA-Prop 8) Sacramento Bee Newspaper Endorses No on Prop 8 by BlueBeaumontBoyz - A major California newspaper has editorialized against the anti-gay marriage proposition, joining numerous others from throughout the Golden State.

(CA-Prop 8) An interesting email from a pastor about Prop 8 by msgalnca - This first time diarist shares a thoughtful argument about what's shaping up to be the hottest item on the ballot in California.

(CA-Prop 8) OCT 17: Mormons to deliver Prop 8 letters, petition to LDS Church HQ by Chino Blanco - Diarist had a story of Mormons that are going against their church with a petition against the church's posturing in California.

   General (14).

I voted today. by Timroff – Waiting in line to vote early in Ohio.

Obama Canvass Diary - Week 10 by Heidiho610 – Hopeful story of canvassing and early voting in Ohio.

GOTV: WA volunteer training experience by idclare – I love this point - Should we go to a battleground state instead? (no - fight for Gregoire!).

I voted for Obama twice today by zenbowl – There’s still time to register new voters in many states.

Ohio canvassing diary by Comrade Brad - Diarist gives an afternoon canvassing on a beautiful fall day in Ohio.

Stealing the election, disenfranchising voters by wade norris - Diarist has info of disenfranchising voters in Colorado and the fight to stop it.

PA Canvass: "Our vote doesn't matter, Obama will win" by glutz78 - Diarist tells about canvassing in Pennsylvania in Bucks County.

A Clear Delineation by hcc in VA - A training session for volunteer poll observers in Fairfax County Virginia, provides a clear differentiation between the Republican and Democratic Election Day strategies.

DeKalb County, GA Polls are PACKED today by dharmadyke - One Kossack had to wait in line nearly 30 minutes to vote in Georgia's version of early in-person voting.

Diary of a Vermont ballot counter by itzik shpitzik - One of the election workers responsible for actually counting votes describes his experiences performing this vital function.

Information on how to Vote Absentee in Northern Virginia by acluka - Informative diary on how to exercise the right to vote early, with links for in-person early voting locations in Northern Virginia.

Registering voters in Las Vegas, Volume One by FightingRegistrar - The diarist recounts his experience in Las Vegas, and calls for support for an upcoming registration drive in Los Angeles.

Some Truth About ACORN by therealcervantes - The diarist shares his experiences as an organizer for ACORN in Philadelphia in the late 1980s, and points out the reason the Republicans are concerned about the group has nothing to do with voter fraud, and everything to do with empowerment.

VA: I voted Saturday... and there were many of us by chechecule - A report from Northern Virginia on how the early voting process is working.