Democrats for US Senate in 2020

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Thursday June 20, 2019 · 2:15 PM PDT

2019/06/20 · 14:15

Many have opined, and I agree, that taking the US Senate is as important as the presidency next year. A couple of times someone here has asked if we have candidates for all the seats and I almost put this information in a comment in response. However, that comment would end up too long and a bit off topic so here is a diary instead. Almost all of what follows comes from Politics1.com. Italicized names are undeclared potential candidates, though in my experience Politics1 sometimes lists potential candidates on the flimsiest of gossip or speculation. Websites are linked where available. Please forgive formatting inconsistencies which arose from the copy/paste process and I could not figure out how to fix. Please feel free to use this as a semi-open thread regarding your favorite 2020 US Senate races or candidates, or to add any names I may have missed.

ALABAMA

Doug Jones (D)* - (Campaign Site)
John Rogers (D) - State Rep., College Administrator & USAF Veteran

ALASKA (incumbent Dan Sullivan)

Val Davidson (D) - Ex-Lt Governor, Ex-State Health Commissioner & Attorney

ARIZONA (incumbent Martha McSally)

Chris Deschene (D) - Ex-State Rep, Engineer, Attorney, USMC Veteran & ''10 Sec of State Nominee
Mark Kelly (D) - Retired Astronaut, Retired Navy Officer, Businessman & Gun Control Activist
Juan Vasquez (D) - Physician

ARKANSAS (incumbent Tom Cotton)

Josh Mahony (D) - Nonprofit Group Executive & '18 US Rep Nominee

COLORADO (incumbent Cory Gardner)

Dan Baer (D) - Ex-US Ambassador & Ex-Depy Asst US Secretary of State
Diana Bray (D) - Psychologist & Envinronmental Activist
Ellen Burnes (D) - College Professor, Economist & Ex-Boulder County Democratic Chair
Kerry Donovan (D) - State Sen.
Lorena Garcia (D) - Nonprofit Group Executive
Stan Garnett (D) - Ex-Boulder County District Attorney
Jena Griswold (D) - Secretary of State & Attorney
Mike Johnston (D) - Ex-State Sen., Businessman & Ex-High School Principal & '18 Gov Candidate
Dustin Leitzel (D) - Critical Care Pharmacist
Alice Madden (D) - Ex-State House Majority Leader, Attorney, University Official & Ex-Gubernatorial Aide
Andrew Romanoff (D) - Ex-State House Speaker, Attorney, '10 Candidate & '14 US Rep Candidate
Joe Salazar (D) - Ex-State Rep., Attorney & '18 Atty Gen Candidate
Stephany Rose Spaulding (D) - Baptist Minister, College Professor & '18 US Rep Nominee
John Walsh (D) - Ex-US Attorney
Angela Williams (D) - State Sen., Ex-State Rep & Insurance Agency Owner
Trish Zornio (D) - Research Scientist

DELAWARE

Chris Coons (D)* - (Campaign Site) - no GOP challenger listed

GEORGIA (incumbent David Perdue)

Sarah Riggs Amico (D) - Businesswoman & '18 Lt Gov Nominee
Akhenaten Amun (D) - Teacher & '18 Lt Gov Candidate
Jason Carter (D) - Ex-State Sen, Attorney, Grandson of Pres Carter & '14 Gov Nominee
Marckeith DeJesus (D) - Financial Consultant, '16 St Rep Candidate & '17 St Sen Candidate
Scott Holcomb (D) - State Rep., Attorney & Army Veteran
Jon Ossoff (D) - Investigative Journalist & '17 US Rep Nominee
Teresa Tomlinson (D) - Ex-Columbus Mayor & Attorney
Raphael Warnock (D) - Pastor & Civil Rights Activist
Elaine Whigham Williams (D) - Pastor & '16 Pres Candidate

IDAHO (incumbent Jim Risch)

Nancy Harris (D) - Businesswoman & Liberal Activist

ILLINOIS

Dick Durbin (D)* - (Campaign Site)

IOWA (incumbent Joni Ernst)

Kimberly Graham (D) - Attorney
Theresa Greenfield (D) - Real Estate Executive & '18 US Rep Candidate
Eddie Mauro (D) - Insurance Broker, Community Activist & '18 US Rep Candidate
Stacey Walker (D) - Linn County Supervisor & Ex-Nonprofit Group Executive

KANSAS (Pat Roberts is retiring.)

Nancy Boyda (D) - Ex-Congresswoman & Retired Pharmaceutical Researcher
Sharice Davids (D) - Congresswoman & Attorney
Barry Grissom (D) - Ex-US Attorney
Sarah Smarsh (D) - Journalist & Author
Adam Smith (D)
Robert Tillman (D) - Retired Court Services Officer, National Guard Veteran & Frequent Candidate
Brent Welder (D) - Attorney, Ex-Political Organizer & Sanders Campaign Activist & '18 US Rep Candidate

KENTUCKY (incumbent Mitch McConnell)

Jimmy Ausbrooks (D) - Educator & LGBT Counselor
Steven Cox (D) - Drugstore Manager
Kevin Elliott (D)
Greg Fischer (D) - Louisville Mayor & Businessman
Jim Gray (D) - Ex-Lexington Mayor, Businessman, '16 Nominee & '18 US Rep Candidate
Matt Jones (D) - Sports Radio Show Host
Andrew Maynard (D)
Amy McGrath (D) - Retired USMC Lt Col, Iraq/Afghan War Veteran & '18 US Rep Nominee

LOUISIANA (incumbent Bill Cassidy)

Antoine Pierce (D) - Community Activist, '16 Baton Rouge Council Candidate & '15 St Rep Candidate

MAINE (incumbent Susan Collins)

Shenna Bellows (D) - State Sen, Ex-ACLU State Exec Director & '14 Nominee
Seth Berry (D) - State Rep., Ex-House Majority Leader, Businessman & Ex-Teacher
Michael Bunker (D) - Travel Agent
Matt Dunlap (D) - Secretary of State, Ex-State Rep, Ex-Teacher & '12 Candidate
Sara Gideon (D) - House Speaker, Ex-Freeport Town Councilwoman & Advertising Sales Executive
Jim Howaniec (D) - Ex-Lewiston Mayor, Attorney & '94 US Rep Candidate
Bre "Bee Kay" Kidman (D) - Attorney & LGBT Rights Activist
Daniel Kleban (D) - Brewery Owner
Cecile Richards (D) - Ex-Planned Parenthood President
Zak Ringelstein (D) - Teacher, Businessman & '18 Nomnee
Rosa Scarcelli (D) - Businesswoman, Community Activist & '10 Gov Candidate
Betsy Sweet (D) - Progressive Activist, Lobbyist & '18 Gov Candidate

MASSACHUSETTS

Ed Markey (D)* - (Campaign Site)
Shannon Liss-Riordan (D) - Attorney
Juana Matias (D) - Ex-State Rep., Attorney, AmeriCorps Veteran & '18 US Rep Candidate
Steve Pemberton (D) - HR Executive & Author
Michelle Wu (D) - Boston City Councilor & Attorney

(Diarist’s note: This is my home state. Liss-Riordan is definitely campaigning. Not sure what Pemberton’s status is. I don’t expect Matias or Wu to enter the race.)

MICHIGAN

Gary Peters (D)* - (Campaign Site)

MINNESOTA

Tina Smith (DFL)* - (Campaign Site)

MISSISSIPPI (incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith)

Jensen Bohren (D) - Retail Employee, Sanders Campaign Activist & '18 Candidate
Mike Espy (D) - Ex-US Agriculture Secretary, Ex-Congressman, Attorney & '18 Nominee

MONTANA (incumbent Steve Daines)

Wilmot Collins (D) - Helena Mayor & Navy Veteran
Linda McCulloch (D) - Ex-Sec of State & Ex-State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Angela McLean (D) - Ex-Lt Gov, Ex-State Board of Regents Chair & Educator
Michael Punke (D) - Ex-US Ambassador & Novelist

NEBRASKA (incumbent Ben Sasse)

Chris Beutler (D) - Lincoln Mayor, Ex-State Sen, Attorney & Army Veteran
Sara Howard (D) - State Sen. & Attorney
Chris Janicek (D) - Bakery Owner & '18 Candidate

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Jeanne Shaheen (D)* - (Campaign Site)

NEW JERSEY

Cory Booker (D)* - (Campaign Site); also running for President
Lisa McCormick (D) - Businesswoman, Progressive Activist & '18 Candidate

NEW MEXICO (Tom Udall is retiring.)

Giovanni Haqani (D) - Policy Analyst, Author & '18 State Rep Nominee
Ben Ray Lujan (D) - Congressman & Ex-State Public Regulation Commissioner
Maggie Toulouse Oliver (D) - Secretary of State & Ex-Bernalillo County Clerk

NORTH CAROLINA (incumbent Thom Tillis)

Janet Cowell (D) - Ex-State Treasurer, Ex-State Sen. & Ex-Raleigh City Councilwoman
Cal Cunningham (D) - Ex-State Sen, Attorney, Iraq War Veteran & Candidate
Trevor Fuller (D) - Charlotte, Mecklenburg County Commissioner & Attorney
Jeff Jackson (D) - State Sen, National Guard Officer, Afghan War Veteran & Attorney
Eric Mansfield (D) - Ex-State Sen., Physician, Minister, Army Veteran & '12 Lt Gov Candidate
Richard Moore (D) - Ex-State Treasurer, Ex-State Rep., Banker, Attorney & '08 Gov Candidate
Deborah Ross (D) - Ex-State Rep., Attorney & '16 Nominee
Erica Smith (D) - State Sen., Ex-School Board Member, Pastor & Mechanical Engineer

OKLAHOMA — RED ALERT! NO DEM LISTED TO CHALLENGE JIM INHOFE IN 2020!

OREGON

Jeff Merkley (D)* - (Campaign Site)

RHODE ISLAND

Jack Reed (D)*- (Campaign Site) — no GOP challenger listed

SOUTH CAROLINA (incumbent Lindsey Graham, with a few GOP challengers)

Matthew Knights (D) - Musician, Singer & Songwriter
Jaime Harrison (D) - Ex-State Democratic Chair, Attorney, Lobbyist & Ex-Congressional Aide
William Stone (D) - Attorney
Gloria Bromell Tinubu (D) - Ex-State Rep, Ex-College Pres, Economist & Frequent Candidate
Justin Wooten (D)

SOUTH DAKOTA — RED ALERT! NO DEM LISTED TO CHALLENGE MIKE ROUNDS IN 2020!

TENNESSEE (Lamar Alexander is retiring.)

James Mackler (D) - Attorney, Air National Guard Officer & Iraq War Veteran
Jeff Yarbro (D) - State Sen. & Attorney

TEXAS (incumbent John Cornyn)

Rafael Anchia (D) - State Rep.
Chris Bell (D) - Ex-Congressman, Ex-Houston City Councilman, Attorney & Frequent Candidate
Michael Cooper (D) - Pastor, Civil Rights Activist & '18 Lt Gov Candidate
Amanda Edwards (D) - Houston City Councilor & Attorney
MJ Hegar (D) - Business Consultant, Afghan War Veteran, Author & '18 US Rep Nominee
Sema Hernandez (D) - Businesswoman, Sanders Campaign Activist & '18 Candidate
Clay Jenkins (D) - Dallas County Judge
Adrian Ocegueda (D) - Financial Consultant & '18 Gov Candidate
Mark Strama (D) - Ex-State Rep. & Google Executive
Royce West (D) - State Sen., Ex-State Senate President Pro Tempore & Attorney

VIRGINIA

Mark Warner (D)* - (Campaign Site)

WEST VIRGINIA (incumbent Shelley Moore Capito)

Richard Ojeda (D) - Ex-State Sen., Iraq/Afghan War Veteran & '14/'18 US Rep Candidate
Paula Jean Swearengin (D) - Environmental Activist & '18 Candidate

WYOMING (Mike Enzi is retiring.)

James Byrd (D) - Ex-State Rep., Geophysicist, Software Engineer & '18 Sec of State Nominee
Chuck Jagoda (D) - Teacher, Actor & California Resident
Yana Ludwig (D) - Community Organizer & Progressive Activist
Mary Throne (D) - Ex-State Rep., Attorney & '18 Gov Nominee
Gary Trauner (D) - Ex-Teton Co School Board Chair, Businessman & Frequent Candidate

Outraged? Think Twice Before You Post.

vadem165

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Saturday May 25, 2019 · 4:59 PM PDT

2019/05/25 · 16:59

There is plenty of outrage to go around in the era of Trump, who seems to have unleashed more blatant racism than we have seen in a long time. Daily Kos has plenty of examples of posts highlighting and shaming examples of this behavior. However, every once in a while the viral videos get it wrong, and the mob manages to ruin the reputation of the alleged racist of the day. I’ve seen that on DK and I personally am not completely immune to this mentality, though I’ve tried to do better asking for context and the other side of the story. Next time you see an example of racism you just have to share, please consider this story.

Opportunity for 2020 Presidential Geeks Next Monday

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Sunday April 14, 2019 · 6:55 PM PDT

2019/04/14 · 18:55

Tonight I’ve been watching a lot of CNN (Town Halls for Marianne Williamson and Andrew Yang, plus “Tricky Dick” later) and they have been advertising a marathon of Presidential Town Halls scheduled for next Monday night (4/22) live from New Hampshire. Here is the schedule (all times Eastern Daylight):

Amy Klobuchar at 7PM

Elizabeth Warren at 8PM

Bernie Sanders at 9PM

Kamala Harris at 10PM

Pete Buttigieg at 11PM

Relatedly, Bernie Sanders is taking his case to a Fox News Town Hall tomorrow at 6:30 PM, which oddly I know about because it was advertised on CNN. I’m beginning to think these Town Halls may be more useful than the debates which are likely to be joint press conferences. Questions from voters are IMO more valuable than those from debate moderators and we can hear more detailed answers. Also, a true debate would have the candidates asked all the same questions so we can compare answers, but we usually get a lot of how are you going to win rather than policy questions.

Weld to Challenge Trump for GOP Nomination

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Friday February 15, 2019 · 4:24 PM PST

2019/02/15 · 16:24

My former Governor, His Excellency William Weld, has announced that he will challenge Donald Trump’s quest for renomination in 2020. He served as Governor of Massachusetts from 1991 to 1997, challenged John Kerry for the Senate in 1996, then stepped down to fight ultimately unsuccessfully for confirmation as Bill Clinton’s appointee to be Ambassador to Mexico. In 2016 he was the Libertarian nominee for VP, but toward the end of the campaign advocated the election of Hillary Clinton as the only viable alternative to Trump. He has also run way behind for Governor of New York. Unlike the DNC which is bending over backwards to not show the slightest hint of bias the RNC is squarely behind Trump and state parties have threatened to cancel primaries and just award delegates to Trump. Current MA Governor and Secretary of Administration & Finance under Weld Charlie Baker has not committed his support. I don’t see this candidacy getting very far, but IMO it’s good to give any GOP voters not full Trump cultists someplace to go.

Senator Warren's Big Announcement

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Saturday February 09, 2019 · 11:47 AM PST

2019/02/09 · 11:47

For days, my senior Senator has been hyping a “big announcement” she was planning to make this morning about her 2020 plans just downriver from me in Lawrence, Massachusetts. Since she formed an exploratory committee on New Year’s Eve those of us not born yesterday of course knew what was coming. Though I have not committed to a candidate (and leaning Biden) since I love having her as Senator and it was local I went ahead and attended (and froze my toes off). She also sent the following email to supporters which includes the same main points as her speech (bold in the original).

I just got off the stage in Lawrence, Massachusetts, where I made a big announcement:
I’m running for President.
Let me tell you why. It starts with a story about Lawrence.
A little over 100 years ago, the textile mills in Lawrence employed tens of thousands of people, including immigrants from more than 50 countries.
Business was booming. The guys at the top were doing great. But workers made so little money that families were forced to crowd together in dangerous tenements and live on beans and scraps of bread. Inside the mills, working conditions were horrible. Children were forced to operate dangerous equipment. Workers lost hands, arms, and legs in the gears of machines.
One out of every three adult mill workers died by the time they were 25.
But one day, textile workers in Lawrence – led by women – went on strike to demand fair wages, overtime pay, and the right to join a union.
It was a hard fight. They didn’t have much. Not even a common language. But they stuck together.
And they won. Those workers did more than improve their own lives. They changed America. Within weeks, more than a quarter of a million textile workers throughout New England got raises. Within months, Massachusetts became the first state in the nation to pass a minimum wage law.
And today, there are no children working in factories. We have a national minimum wage. And worker safety laws. Workers get paid overtime, and we have a forty-hour work week.
The story of Lawrence is a story about how real change happens in America. It’s a story about power – our power – when we fight together.
Today, millions and millions of American families are also struggling to survive in a system that has been rigged by the wealthy and the well-connected.
And just like the women of Lawrence, we are ready to say enough is enough.
We are ready to take on a fight that will shape our lives, our children’s lives, and our grandchildren’s lives: The fight to build an America that works for everyone.
I am in that fight all the way. And that’s why, today, I declared that I am a candidate for President of the United States of America. I can only build this campaign if you’re with me – chip in and be a part of our movement from Day One.
The truth is, I’ve been in this fight for a long time. I grew up in Oklahoma, on the ragged edge of the middle class.
When my daddy had a heart attack, my family nearly tumbled over the financial cliff. But we didn’t. My mother, who was 50 years old and had never worked outside the home, walked to Sears and got a minimum-wage job answering phones.
That job saved our house, and saved our family.
I ended up at a commuter college that cost $50 a semester. And that is how the daughter of a janitor managed to become a public school teacher, a law professor, a United States Senator, and now a candidate for President.
I’ve spent most of my life studying what happens to families like mine. Families caught in the squeeze. Families that go broke.
And what I found was that year after year, the path to economic security had gotten tougher and rockier for working families, and even tougher and even rockier for people of color.
I also found that this wasn’t an accident. It wasn’t inevitable. No. Over the years, America’s middle class had been deliberately hollowed out. And families of color had been systematically discriminated against and denied their chance to build some security.
The richest and most powerful people in America were rich, really rich – but they wanted to be even richer – regardless of who got hurt.
So, every year, bit by bit, they lobbied Washington and paid off politicians to tilt the system just a little more in their direction. And year by year, bit by bit, more of the wealth and opportunity went to the people at the very top.
That’s how, today, in the richest country in the history of the world, tens of millions of people are struggling just to get by.
This disaster has touched every community in America. And for communities of color that have stared down structural racism for generations, the disaster has hit even harder.
We can’t be blind to the fact that the rules in our country have been rigged against people for a long time – women, LGBTQ Americans, African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, immigrants, people with disabilities – and we need to call it out.
When government works only for the wealthy and well-connected, that is corruption – plain and simple. It’s time to fight back and change the rules.
First: We need to end corruption in Washington. That’s why I’ve proposed the strongest and most comprehensive anti-corruption law since Watergate.
Second: We need to put more economic power in the hands of the American people. Make it quick and easy to join a union. Make American companies accountable for their actions and raise wages by putting workers in those corporate boardrooms where the real decisions are made. Break up monopolies when they choke off competition. Take on Wall Street so that the big banks can never again threaten the security of our economy.
And when giant corporations – and their leaders – cheat their customers, stomp out their competitors, or rob their workers, let’s prosecute them.
Let’s make real investments in child care, college, Medicare for All, creating economic opportunity for families, housing, opioid treatment, and addressing rural neglect and the legacy of racial discrimination.
Stop refusing to invest in our children. Stop stalling on spending money – real money – on infrastructure and clean energy and a Green New Deal. Start asking the people who have gained the most from our country to pay their fair share.
That includes real tax reform in this country – reforms that close loopholes and giveaways to the people at the top, and an Ultra-Millionaire Tax to make sure rich people start doing their part for the country that helped make them rich.
Third: We need to strengthen our democracy. That starts with a constitutional amendment to protect the right of every American citizen to vote and to have that vote counted.
Let’s overturn every single voter suppression rule that racist politicians use to steal votes from people of color. Outlaw partisan gerrymandering – by Democrats and Republicans. And overturn Citizens United. Our democracy is not for sale.
Real democracy also requires equal justice under law. It’s not equal justice when a kid with an ounce of pot can get thrown in jail while a bank executive who launders money for a drug cartel can get a bonus. It’s not equal justice when, for the exact same crimes, African Americans are more likely than whites to be arrested, charged, convicted, and sentenced. We need criminal justice reform and we need it now.
To get all this done, we’ve got to fight side by side. We must not allow those with power to weaponize hatred and bigotry to divide us.
More than 50 years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. went to Montgomery and warned us about the danger of division. He talked about how bigotry and race-baiting are used to keep black Americans divided from white Americans so that rich Americans can keep picking all their pockets.
That playbook has been around forever. Whether it’s white people against black people, straight people against gay people, middle-class families against new immigrant families – the story is the same. The rich and powerful use fear to divide us.
We’re done with that. Bigotry has no place in the Oval Office.
We come from different backgrounds, but our movement won’t be divided by our differences. It will be united by the values we share.
We all want a country where everyone – not just the wealthy – can take care of their families. Where everyone – not just the ones who hire armies of lobbyists and lawyers – can participate in democracy. Where every child can dream big and reach for opportunity. And we’re all in the fight to build an America that works for everyone.
This won’t be easy. A lot of people will tell us it isn’t even worth trying. But we will not give up.
I’ve never let anyone tell me that anything is “too hard.”
People said it would be “too hard” to build an agency that would stop big banks from cheating Americans on mortgages and credit cards. But we got organized, we fought back, we persisted, and now that consumer agency has forced these banks to refund nearly $12 billion directly to people they cheated.
When Republicans tried to sabotage the agency, I came back to Massachusetts and then ran against one of them. No woman had ever won a Senate seat in Massachusetts, and people said it would be “too hard” for me to get elected. But we got organized, we fought back, we persisted, and now I am the senior Senator from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
So, no, I am not afraid of a fight. Not even a hard fight.
Sure, there will be plenty of doubters and cowards and armchair critics this time around. But we learned a long time ago that you don’t get what you don’t fight for. We are in this fight for our lives, for our children, for our planet, for our futures – and we will not turn back.
So here is the promise I make to you today: I will fight my heart out so that every kid in America can have the same opportunity I had – a fighting chance to build something real.
This is our moment in history to dream big, fight hard, and win.
And here’s a big piece of how we’ll get it done: We’ll end the unwritten rule of politics that says anyone who wants to run for office has to start by sucking up to rich donors on Wall Street and powerful insiders in Washington.
I’m not taking a dime of PAC money in this campaign or a single check from a federal lobbyist. I’m not taking applications from billionaires who want to run a Super PAC on my behalf. And I challenge every other candidate who asks for your vote in this primary to say exactly the same thing.
We’re going to keep building this campaign at the grassroots. Right now, I’m on my way to an organizing event in New Hampshire, and in the next week, I’ll hit the road to Iowa, South Carolina, Georgia, Nevada, and California.
Person to person, face to face – that’s how we’ll win. And that’s how we’ll put power back in the hands of the people. It’s a long way to Election Day. But our fight starts here. It starts with you, and its success is up to you. Donate $3 or more right now to make it happen.
Thanks for being a part of this,
Elizabeth

She was joined on stage by the mayor and a couple of other elected officials who worked on her Senate campaigns, her MA colleague Ed Markey, Congresswoman Trahan who represents Lawrence, and Congressman Joe Kennedy III, who introduced her.

A Modest Proposal for the 2020 Presidential Primary

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Saturday January 12, 2019 · 2:32 PM PST

2019/01/12 · 14:32

The midterms are now in the rearview mirror and presidential hopefuls feel free to stop being coy about their ambitions. We have announcements from Julian Castro, John Delaney, Tulsi Gabbard, and Elizabeth Warren and the list of potential candidates runs into the 20s. Eventually, some sooner, some later, Kossacks will pick their preferences and I look forward to the POSITIVE diaries making the case for those candidates.

However, what I am most definitely not looking forward to are intraparty attacks, claims that my candidate is the only one who is truly progressive, that someone else might as well be a Republican based on some vote way back when. Former MA Congressman Barney Frank has been known to say the only candidate he ever voted for with whom he 100% agreed was himself, and even that was just in his first election. We would do well to remember that and my proposal is that here at DK we adopt the Democratic version of Ronald Reagan’s 11th commandment in our diaries.

This doesn’t mean never state a disagreement or raise a concern about how a campaign is being run, or that a positive diary won’t provoke a comment about how someone else isn’t sold on the subject of that diary, but let’s at least start with the assumption that anyone considering the Dem nomination is worlds better than the incumbent and we must keep an eye on that ball. We must also commit to vote, and to the extent we are able donate and work for, the Democratic nominee. This is the absolute worst time for purity to get in the way of patriotic duty. Let’s also be on guard against any who make it their business to try to stir things up and divide us. However our nomination contest shakes out, I do not want repercussions spilling over into the next year.

Enhancing Congressional Representation

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Thursday December 13, 2018 · 3:02 PM PST

2018/12/13 · 15:02

There have been discussions lately lamenting the imbalance in Congressional representation among the states which has the effect of skewing the will of the voters in a conservative direction. The House is artificially capped at 435 while requiring at least one representative per state and the Senate is of course designed on the principle of equal representation. I believe this can be ameliorated by adopting the Wyoming Rule for the House and increasing the Senate to three per state. (Don’t even think about tying the Senate to population as Senate equality is explicitly excluded from the constitutional amendment process.) Therefore I propose the following amendment to the US Constitution:

SECTION 1: Pursuant to the decennial census next following the adoption of this article and those subsequent, the state determined to have the smallest population shall be entitled to one Representative. The population of each state shall be divided by the number of persons in the smallest state and the quotient of that equation rounded to the nearest whole number shall be the number of Representatives to which that state shall be entitled.

SECTION 2: During the federal biennial election next following the adoption of this article each state shall elect one Senator in addition to any Senator the state would have elected had this article not been adopted. The term of the additional Senator shall expire following the next biennial federal election for which the state would not have previously elected a Senator. Thereafter, each state shall be represented by three Senators for terms of six years, with one Senator per state being elected at each biennial federal election.

I believe the Senate piece is important because no state would have to sit out a wave year, and the House piece of course rectifies the situation of some states having much bigger districts than others even though they are supposed to be based on population. Out of curiosity I calculated how many Representatives each state would have if the above amendment applied to this decade. I just used the most recent population estimates from Wikipedia. The first number after each state is the current delegation and the second is the new delegation. I also put new electoral vote numbers next to each state and recalculated 2016 on that basis. (Spoiler alert: Trump still wins 409-307; the hard truth is we lost a few pretty good-sized states.) The bold states are Trump states and the italicized states are Clinton states.

WYOMING RULE REPRESENTATION

WY POPULATION = 579,315

Alabama – 7 to 8 (11)

Alaska – 1 to 1 (4)

Arizona – 9 to 12 (15)

Arkansas – 4 to 5 (8)

California – 53 to 68 (71)

Colorado – 7 to 10 (13)

Connecticut – 5 to 6 (9)

Delaware – 1 to 2 (5)

Florida – 27 to 37 (40)

Georgia – 14 to 18 (21)

Hawaii – 2 to 2 (5)

Idaho – 2 to 3 (6)

Illinois – 18 to 22 (25)

Indiana – 9 to 12 (15)

Iowa – 4 to 5 (8)

Kansas – 4 to 5 (8)

Kentucky – 6 to 8 (11)

Louisiana – 6 to 8 (11)

Maine – 2 to 2 (5)

Maryland – 8 to 10 (13)

Massachusetts – 9 to 12 (15)

Michigan – 14 to 17 (20)

Minnesota – 8 to 10 (13)

Mississippi – 4 to 5 (8)

Missouri – 8 to 11 (14)

Montana – 1 to 2 (5)

Nebraska – 3 to 3 (6)

Nevada – 4 to 5 (8)

New Hampshire – 2 to 2 (5)

New Jersey – 12 to 16 (19)

New Mexico – 3 to 4 (7)

New York – 27 to 34 (37)

North Carolina – 13 to 18 (21)

North Dakota – 1 to 1 (4)

Ohio – 16 to 20 (23)

Oklahoma – 5 to 7 (10)

Oregon – 5 to 7 (10)

Pennsylvania – 18 to 22 (25)

Rhode Island – 2 to 2 (5)

South Carolina – 7 to 9 (12)

South Dakota – 1 to 2 (5)

Tennessee – 9 to 12 (15)

Texas – 36 to 49 (52)

Utah – 4 to 5 (8)

Vermont – 1 to 1 (4)

Virginia – 11 to 15 (18)

Washington – 10 to 13 (16)

West Virginia – 3 to 3 (6)

Wisconsin – 8 to 10 (13)

Wyoming – 1 to 1 (4)

District of Columbia – 4EVs

TOTAL – 435 TO 562

EV TOTAL – 538 TO 716 (359 to win)

I am willing to “show my work” if anyone has any questions or disputes my math.

Deval Patrick will not run for President

vadem165

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Wednesday December 05, 2018 · 1:07 PM PST

2018/12/05 · 13:07

Subtract one from your list of potential 2020 WH candidates. His Excellency Deval Patrick, who served as Governor of Massachusetts (2007-2015) and Assistant AG for Civil Rights under Bill Clinton, will not be seeking the Democratic nomination for POTUS. He was a great campaigner and OK Governor, but then thoroughly disappeared it seemed. We see more of Michael Dukakis around here than we do of him. His assessment of there not being a place for him in this race is probably accurate.

House Dems can and should simultaneously walk and chew gum.

vadem165

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Sunday November 18, 2018 · 7:02 PM PST

2018/11/18 · 19:02

The Democrats will control the House and only the House at the federal level, so they have to make the most of it. There is lots of appetite among the base to investigate the administration, but people are going to want to see legislation too.

If I were Nancy Pelosi (and yes, I am operating under the assumption that she will be Speaker), I would call all the incoming committee chairs together and tell them to come up with one investigation they want to conduct AND one major bill they want to push, which if it has the effect of undoing a Trump action so much the better. These bills would not likely get through the Senate or be signed, but the point is to show Americans what Dems are capable of if given fuller control. The investigations would not need Senate cooperation, and there’s enough misfeasance, malfeasance, and nonfeasance in this administration that just about every committee would find jurisdiction over something. They would need a full court press to communicate all of this.

Maybe my fellow Kossacks can use the comments to suggest what investigations and bills could be pursued.

MA Primary Finally Resolved

vadem165

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Monday September 17, 2018 · 8:15 PM PDT

2018/09/17 · 20:15

A while back a Kossack posted a diary looking for the websites of Democratic nominees for major offices, so I thought I would share those for Massachusetts now that the dust has settled for the 3rd Congressional District, so here goes:

Jay Gonzalez for Governor

Quentin Palfrey for Lt. Governor

(NB: Gov. and LG compete for nomination separately, then run as a ticket in the general.)

Bill Galvin for Secretary of the Commonwealth

Maura Healey for Attorney General (She has been a real rock star for progressive values and opposing Trump.)

Deb Goldberg for Treasurer and Receiver-General

Suzanne Bump for State Auditor

The four Constitutional Officers immediately above are incumbents.

Elizabeth Warren for US Senate (I assume she needs no introduction here!)

Richard Neal for CD1 (Likely Chair of Ways and Means with Dem majority.)

Jim McGovern for CD2 (Likely Chair of House Rules with Dem majority)

Lori Trahan for CD3 (Just today declared winner after recount; prevailed over closest competitor in 10-way primary for open seat by just over 100 votes; former CoS to Marty Meehan who held the seat, then numbered CD5, from 1993 to 2007; incumbent Niki Tsongas retiring.)

Joseph Kennedy III for CD4 (RFK’s grandson; no opponent in November)

Katherine Clark for CD5 (Seat held by Ed Markey until he became Senator)

Seth Moulton for CD6

Ayanna Pressley for CD7 (Defeated incumbent Mike Capuano in stunning primary upset; current Boston City Councilor and former staffer to Senator John Kerry; no opposition in November.)

Stephen Lynch for CD8 (No opposition in November, and not super progressive.)

Bill Keating for CD9

I believe MA boasts the largest single-party delegation to Congress of any state, but I would say our gubernatorial ticket could use the most help for those considering donations.

Massachusetts Democratic Convention

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Sunday June 03, 2018 · 6:25 PM PDT

2018/06/03 · 18:25

Massachusetts Democrats held their endorsement convention this weekend. Our rules provide that a candidate who gets a majority of delegate votes is the endorsed candidate for a given office, but anyone who gets at least 15% gets a spot on the primary ballot. The results of the primary determine the nominee the endorsement of the convention notwithstanding. Since no contest had more than two candidates a single ballot was sufficient to determine an endorsement. Here are the results:

GOVERNOR: Jay Gonzalez 70%, Bob Massie 30%

LT. GOVERNOR: Quentin Palfrey 59%, Jimmy Tingle 41%

SECRETARY OF THE COMMONWEALTH: Josh Zakim 55%, Bill Galvin 45%

Bob Massie was our LG nominee in 1994. You may know Jimmy Tingle as a political humorist. The SOC result was shocking for upsetting an incumbent. The following statewide incumbents were also endorsed for renomination unanimously without opposition:

Attorney General Maura Healey

Treasurer and Receiver-General Deb Goldberg

Auditor Suzanne Bump

Senator Elizabeth Warren

Primary is September 4th, which will include more contested races than previous years including an 11-way Dem primary for the open 3rd Congressional seat.

Trump's election "shook" President Obama.

vadem165

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Wednesday May 30, 2018 · 4:26 PM PDT

2018/05/30 · 16:26

I’m not much for elaborating on a link, but I ran across this NYT story regarding Obama’s reaction to Trump’s election, which I thought might be of interest.

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