Hi, my name is Marta Jorgensen, and I'm the Democratic Nominee for U.S. House of Representatives in California's 24th CD.

My opponent, Republican Elton Gallegly, has a long history of ignoring the views and concerns of the people in our district. He is a captive of the special interests and lobbyists who are destroying our country. Gallegly must GO!!!

I am getting my information, and therefore am giving a shoutout to Democrats.com.

Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) read his Articles of Impeachment on Monday.
Robert Wexler (D-FL 19) co-sponsored on Tuesday.
Lynn Woolsey (D-CA 06) co-sponsored on Wednesday.
Barbara Lee (D-CA 09) co-sponsored today.

I like it!

Every State. Every race. Right here.

This is number 15 in a planned series of 50 entries between now and November, looking at each of the 50 states in terms of every race on that state's ticket--Presidential, Gubernatorial, Senate, House, State legislatures--the whole list of Oscar nominees.  Special attention paid to identifying and promoting the most important contests per state.

California, Part Two (Southern Cal House Districts, and Redistricting plan) continues below the cut.

This is a two-part diary, the first of which is about me and the second of which is about a fellow Kossack's (and my friend's) victory in the CA-24 Democratic primary.  Prior to yesterday night I was an undecided Democratic voter, despite voting for Obama in Florida's primary in January and initially supporting him after realizing Gore was not jumping in - heck, I would've even considered myself a "lean Clinton" for most of the past couple of months.  I have a tremendous amount of respect for the former First Lady, both in terms of policy positions and her tenacity to continue in the face of long odds, calls for her to get out of the race, and tremendously unfair media treatment.

Results are finalized in the Western states now, of course:

California

CA-04: Conservative Icon Tom McClintock beat Doug Ose by a fairly comfortable margin, 54% to 39%, after a nasty primary (McClintock's races generally are nasty).

The Conservative Icon now faces down Democrat Charlie Brown, who nearly won the district in 2006 against the scandal-ridden John Doolittle. McClintock is an unabashed extremist, and carpetbagged 400 miles to run in this district, and I am certainly glad that he and not Ose is the nominee against Brown.

CA-26: After an embarrassing primary loss in 2006, Russ Warner has redeemed himself with a commanding victory over 2006 candidate Cynthia Matthews. Warner enjoys the backing of the national and state Democratic establishments, and faces powerful Republican David Dreier in the general.

CA-24: Both Jill Martinez and Mary Pallant wound up on the losing end of this primary race, to Marta Ann Jorgensen.

CA-42: Kossack Ron Shepston sadly fell short in his bid for the Democratic nomination, as he finished third with 25%. Ed Chau will be the Democratic nominee against Gary Miller.

New Mexico

NM-Sen: With 99% of results in, it appears Steve Pearce has won a squeaker over Heather Wilson in the Republican primary for US Senate, 51% to 49%.

Democrat Tom Udall ran unopposed, and has a commanding lead over Pearce going into the general.

NM-01: Unsurprisingly, Democrat Martin Heinrich and Republican Darren White are the nominees in New Mexico's First District.

White is one of the Republicans' best recruits this cycle. That usually isn't saying much, but there's a tough race ahead for Heinrich. Best of luck to him.

NM-02: Democrat Harry Teague, backed by Bill Richardson, narrowly won his primary over Bill McCamley. He faces GOP nominee Ed Tinsley in the general, and he has been quoted pretty good odds despite the district's Republican tilt.

NM-03: In this solidly Democratic district, Ben Ray Lujan won the nomination over Don Wiviott, and will almost certainly be the district's next Representative.

Montana

No one was expecting fireworks in Montana's downticket primaries, but it seems that things have gone rather awry.

The Republican nominee against Sen. Max Baucus is a perennial candidate who makes John McCain look like a kid. More on this from Georgia10.

Meanwhile, the Democratic nominee against Rep. Denny Rehberg is...well, a perennial candidate who makes McCain look like a kid. His name is John Driscoll, and he did serve as Montana House Speaker...back in the 1970s.

Somewhere, the ghost of Fred Tuttle is smiling.

South Dakota

As expected, State Rep. Joel Dykstra will be the man who goes down to a crushing defeat at the hands of Senator Tim Johnson.

Well, one thing's for sure: Democrats are tired of big business and the insurance industry.  So much so, in fact, that Democrats in CA-24 elected to vote in landslide numbers for Marta Jorgensen, a candidate who did little traditional campaigning to speak of--including, apparently, not even purchasing the state voter file--simply on the basis of the ballot designation "educator".

The Democratic primary race in CA-24 to challenge perennial do-nothing Republican Elton Gallegly was a 3-way contest between progressive favorite Mary Pallant, the previous Democratic contestant Jill Martinez, and political neophyte Marta Jorgensen.

But, it's not who you think.

First off, this one did hurt.  Kossack Ron Shepston (CanYouBeAngryAndStillDream) finished third in the CA-42 primary, finishing behind a virulent anti-immigrant Minuteman-type guy who for some reason filed as a Democrat, and eventual winner Ed Chau.

But in a turn of events even us bloggers weren't expecting, Kossack Marta Jorgensen (pcmedia) won her 3-way primary race in CA-24!  (She had originally announced her campaign on DailyKos back in March.)

Disclaimer: I volunteer as the Netroots Outreach Coordinator for the Mary Pallant Campaign

Mary Pallant's campaign (which I have written about here, here, here and elsewhere) got a big new boost today: the endorsement of progressive CA State Senator Sheila Kuehl.

Full disclosure: I serve as a the (volunteer) Netroots Coordinator for the Mary Pallant campaign

If we learned nothing else from Travis Childers' incredible victory in the R+10 MS-01, it is that all but the verry most conservative Republican House seats are in play and winnable this election cycle.  Democrats who may not have had a legitimate shot in other election years have a decent shot of taking over otherwise impossible districts this year.

What that also means is that many Democrats in swing districts that are trending blue may actually be favored to win this year--even if they're not technically on the front radars of organizations like Blue Majority or the DCCC's Red to Blue list.  Of course, demographics aren't everything: the candidates themselves have to be capable, determined and charismatic.

(So I do these every month for Calitics, but it occurs to me that I've never cross-posted it here.  So, um, here.)

Getting this one in under the wire.  On the last day of April, with just over a month to go until the June primaries, and six months to go until Election Day, there's a lot going on all over the state in the Congressional races.  Of the 19 seats in California currently held by Republicans, 17 will be contested in the fall, and some strongly so.  And we now have a full 34 Democrats with the election of Jackie Speier early in the month, and only one of them is a serious challenge.  We also have the first quarter of 2008 fundraising numbers, which will raise some eyebrows.  You can track these races yourself with the 2008 Race Tracker wiki.

A note: I'm mainly getting my numbers on cash-on-hand competitiveness from the Swing State Project.  Fundraising information comes from the FEC.

Here we go...

Okay I don't do this often... except when it seems right.

There a diary on the Recent list that is in danger of scrolling off.

Please help us here in Ventura, CA

It's a diary about Mary Pallant, a 44-year-old Dem candidate for CA-24 which includes Simi Valley. Simi, if you don't already know, is known as the home of the Ronald Reagan Library... and you have to take the Ronald Reagan Freeway to get there.

What could be sweeter than seeing a progressive Dem take Simi. It's a tough battle but a deeply symbolic one.

I'll 'fess up - I never heard of Mary Pallant until I read thereisnospoon's diary... but she deserves a look.

As most of us progressives sit on pins and needles helplessly watchful on the eve of the eagerly awaited Pennsylvania primary, I want to ask you for your help.  I have often written in support of Barack Obama, but tonight there is little I or other Obama supporters can do to help Obama.

What we can do, however, is support Democrats looking to fulfill Obama's vision: expand the map, compete everywhere against the Republicans, stand unabashedly for Democratic values, and win in races that we should win, but that no one thought possible before.

Here in Ventura where I live, we have just such a Democrat, and her name is Mary Pallant.

I met Darcy Burner for the second time last night.

It was pretty exciting, meeting a future president.  If you have to ask why I would say that, why, then, you haven't had the pleasure of meeting Darcy Burner.  

As a responsible citizen and congressional candidate I have decided to endorse the Responsible Plan to end the occupation of Iraq. This plan encompasses more than withdrawal from Iraq: it addresses other imperative issues that have arisen as a result of our invasion. Iraq is one of the worst foreign policy debacles in the history of our nation and has resulted in far more devastating consequences beyond Iraq.  The Responsible Plan is a responsible course of action with steps to be taken that we as a nation must embrace in order to ensure that when we leave Iraq we restore more than Iraq.

Hello all!  This is actually thereisnospoon, and I'm writing today on behalf of Mary Pallant, the candidate I believe is best-suited to take CA-24 by storm and turn this district a bright shade of Progressive blue!  I've had several meetings with Mary over the last few years, and she has impressed me greatly with her tough-mindedness, can-do spirit, strong knowledge of the issues, organizational prowess, and personal charisma and charm.  I believe in Mary and her ability to win this seat--and now that I live and work in Ventura County, I've signed on to be the Netroots Coordinator for her campaign.  From now until November, you'll see Mary and I posting under this account to give you updates on the progress of our campaign to get rid of Elton Gallegly, one of the worst rubber-stamp Republicans in the Congress.

Hi, my name is Marta Jorgensen and I'm running for Congress...

Today, I am championing my candidacy for Congress to all of you here at Daily Kos, because it is time the citizens of California's 24th Congressional District had someone to fight for them, not for lobbyists and special interests.  My opponent, Elton Gallegly – R, has a long history of ignoring the views and concerns of the people in our district, and I've decided that enough is enough.

The Democratic campaign to take back the 24th Congressional district's House of Representatives seat from long time Republican and absentee Congressman, Elton Gallegly has begun...

Politics... The New Reality Show

Greetings, Gentle Readers of one of the most lovely Congressional districts in the country, CA- 04, accursed with one of the most scandal - encrusted representatives, the Abramoff linked Republican who wouldn't give the money back, John Doolittle. As you've heard, Doolittle is retiring in Dec of 2008, mired deeply in defense lawyer debt and polling so badly behind Democratic challenger Charlie Brown, the local Repubs are running out of area talent auditions. (criteria: anonymous person with money. Apply now. Operators are standing by.)

This diary is going to be a bit different. Nobody gets arrested or indicted. It's about California's housing market/ mortgage foreclosure meltdown.  We're going to look at the situation in two different districts.

(Huh? 4 ? Ventura?  Don't you mean 24, ARC?  Yeah. Keep reading. )