jungleprimary

jungleprimary https://www.dailykos.com/news/jungleprimary News Community Action Copyright 2005 - Steal what you want Sun, 26 Jan 2020 10:27:48 +0000 Sun, 26 Jan 2020 10:27:48 +0000 Daily Kos rss@dailykos.com (Daily Kos) Daily Kos rss@dailykos.com (Daily Kos) California's Top Two (aka Jungle) Primary Needs To Add Rank Choice Voting https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/6/6/1769955/-California-s-Top-Two-aka-Jungle-Primary-Needs-To-Add-Rank-Choice-Voting In this diary I would like to propose that California add rank choice voting to its top two primary system. Some background: <ul> <li>I am a California resident living in San Francisco and have been voting in the same district for decades. I therefore have experience using the “top two” (aka jungle) primary system implemented by CA voters with Proposition 14 in 2010 and used since the 2012 general election across the state. I also have experience using rank choice voting as San Francisco implemented this for all local elections with Proposition A in March 2002 and used in the city since the November 2004 election.</li> <li>What is a top two primary system and how does it work? Here is a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonpartisan_blanket_primary" target="_blank">wiki link to the history of the top two primary system</a>. A short explanation is that all voters get the same ballot and all candidates for an office are listed together and only the top two candidates advance to the general election. The candidate’s party is listed along with their name. The only choices in the general election are the top two from the primary. No write-in is possible.</li> <li>What is rank choice voting and how does it work? Here is a <a href="http://archive.fairvote.org/sfrcv/RCVcomestoSF.htm" target="_blank">link to information about San Francisco’s rank choice voting</a>. A short explanation is that rank choice voting allows voters to make three choices for each office being voted on. They pick a first choice candidate, a second choice candidate and a third choice candidate. When the votes are being counted, the first round of counting counts all the first choice votes. Then, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and the votes for that candidate are then given to whomever the voter had as their second choice. After this round of counting, the candidate with the fewest votes is again eliminated and the process is repeated. For those who have their second choice eliminated, their votes are then given to their third choice unless that candidate has already been eliminated. This repeats until only 2 candidates are left. The candidate with the most votes is then declared the winner.</li> </ul> What are these systems trying to achieve? <ul> <li>A top two primary system is supposed to theoretically elect more moderate candidates, as winning could require appealing to voters of both parties. It also supposedly makes the general election more competitive. As an example, suppose you are a Democrat living in a very Republican district where the Democrat has no chance of winning a general election. In the primary, you now can still vote for the Democrat like you normally would in the primary, but in the general election when the top two Republicans are the choice, you can vote for the more moderate Republican and have an influence on the election.</li> <li>A rank choice voting system theoretically elects the most appealing candidate to the majority of the voters and it achieves this without the cost of having to hold multiple elections. The current San Francisco mayoral election is an example of rank choice voting in the works. London Breed is a centrist Democrat who attracted the majority of those voters, while Mark Leno and Jane Kim are progressive Democrats who were splitting the progressive vote. In the first round of counting, Breed garnered the most first place votes with 35.6% while Leno got 25.9% and Kim got 22.8%. However, after further rounds of counting, most of Kim’s votes went to Leno and he now barely leads Breed with mail-in and provisional ballots still being counted.</li> </ul> What problem are you trying to solve? <ul> <li>As anyone watching the California top two primary elections this week can tell you, the problem with the top two system is that when you have too many candidates involved, it can lead to results where the top two candidates going to the general election are not necessarily a reflection of the two most appealing candidates to the majority of the voters.</li> <li>For example, a district where there are only two Republican candidates and ten Democratic candidates who are evenly supported can produce a general election where the top two are Republicans, but where the voters who voted for one of the ten Democrats would have preferred another Democrat over a Republican. The consensus, most popular top two would have been one of the Republicans and one of the Democrats, but we end up with two Republicans.</li> <li>It sure would be nice if we had a way to pick the top two consensus candidates in this single primary election, wouldn’t it? I sure wish we could come up with something like that, don’t you?</li> <li>Thankfully, we have ranked choice voting that perfectly fits what we need and can be used to get the top two candidates much like it is used to get the top candidate in a single election.</li> </ul> What do you think? rss@dailykos.com (According to Fish) California jungleprimary RankChoice Voting _1769955 Thu, 07 Jun 2018 01:35:55 +0000 Proposal for California: Top Four Jungle Primary + IRV General Election https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/6/6/1769927/-Proposal-for-California-Top-Four-Jungle-Primary-IRV-General-Election The arguments made by proponents of the “top two” jungle primary used in California are simple: they claim to believe that it encourages voter participation and makes it harder for extreme ideological candidates to be elected. This appeals to voters who think of themselves as moderates and view both parties as the problem. <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/06/california-top-two-jungle-primary-democrats-republicans/561689/" target="_blank" title="">John Opdycke, the president of the national advocacy group Open Primaries, claims</a> , “One of the most positive features of the California system is that both political parties hate it.” In an era where anti-establishment fervor helped Donald Trump win the White House, this sentiment cannot be ignored. From the numbers I have looked at, it seems like California voters don’t long to go back to the days of partisan primaries, so I suspect that any improvement in the near future will have to be a modification of the current system. In some diaries and comments, posters have argued for<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranked_voting" target="_blank" title=""> ranked-choice</a> primaries. How would that have worked in a large field such as the ridiculous 100+ candidates who ran in the California governor recall election? Instead, I propose keeping the jungle primary where all candidates run each other, but expanding the field of candidates advancing to the general election from two to four. Under this scenario, it would be hard to prevent Democrats and Republicans from getting at least one candidate to advance to the general election, while giving independents and third-party backers the hope that they might cast a meaningful vote for someone outside the two major parties, so no one should feel the need to drop out to ensure that a Democrat is on the final ballot. Instead, the primary functions as a way of generating a shortlist of viable candidates for further consideration. I have chosen the number four because I think that is a reasonable number that can be accommodated in a multi-candidate debate. You want to give voters more than two options, but you don’t want to give them so many options that it becomes too much of an effort to process all the information about the candidates. Having narrowed the field down to a final four, the general election should be conducted by ranked-choice voting, with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instant-runoff_voting" target="_blank">instant run-off voting</a> being a very reasonable way to do that. IRV with 10+ candidates becomes a chore and voters will often rank only some of the candidates. With a field of four, voters become more likely to rank all candidates. The major parties get a system where they are highly unlikely to be shut out of the general election. Third parties get to feel like they have a chance to be relevant on Election Day. Independents have a chance to make a relevant choice for a candidate who wasn’t the top choice of either major party establishment. rss@dailykos.com (Anthony de Jesus) California Elections instantrunoffvoting irv jungleprimary Primaries RankedChoiceVoting rankedvoting Voting _1769927 Wed, 06 Jun 2018 22:32:58 +0000 Thanks to Hundreds of Volunteers, Democrats Dodge a Bullet in the So Cal Congressional Jungle https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/6/6/1769844/-Thanks-to-Hundreds-of-Volunteers-Democrats-Dodge-a-Bullet-in-the-So-Cal-Congressional-Jungle Despite crowded fields in the “jungle” primaries of several flippable Southern California Congressional districts, Democrats managed enough votes to avoid the disaster of not advancing candidates to the general election. There were many of us affiliated with Indivisible/Inland Valley, Swing Left Inland Valley, Swing So Cal Left, PUSH and Swing Left CA-39, in cooperation with other local groups, who had been phone banking and canvassing precincts in CA-25, CA-39, CA-48 and CA-49 since at least September of last year. Hundreds of us knocked on thousands of doors, focusing mostly on registered Dems and NPPs, talking to those who would listen, registering new and recently moved residents, and sending them postcards, in an effort to get them to vote. Swing Left supplied us with paper turf lists which were uploaded manually after each canvass. For the last push we ran two shifts a day, Saturday through Tuesday, and used the PDI app for our phones, which provided us with names, addresses, contact history and maps for the neighborhoods of registered Dems, instantly updating our results. Saturday and Sunday alone our volunteers knocked on 1014 doors. We were obviously concerned when so many quality Democrats entered the races, and none of them seemed to pull far enough ahead of the pack to gain party endorsements. Except for CA-48, Dana Rohrabacher’s district, where the California Democratic Party endorsed Dr. Hans Keirstead, while the DCCC endorsed Harley Rouda. Arrgh! At this writing the two are separated by 73 votes in a battle for second place and a spot in the general. Republican challenger, Scott Baugh, who entered the race at the last minute, remains in fourth place, a couple hundred votes behind the Democrats. With an anemic 30%, incumbent, Rohrabacher looks vulnerable in the general as the combined total Democratic votes, 63,265, are significantly above the total Republican vote of $55,842. In CA-39, retiring Republican, Ed Royce’s district, the DCCC “promoted” but not endorsed, Gil Cisneros appears to have convincingly secured second place, just a 2% behind Royce’s hand picked successor, Young Kim. While Cisneros finished strong against Kim, the aggregate totals favor Republicans 45,933 to 37,557. Hopefully, Cisneros, a wealthy lottery winner, former Republican Iraq war veteran will have what it takes to prevail in this district that Hillary won in 2016. In the race for Darrell Issa’s open 49th seat, Republican Diane Harkey came out on top with 25.5% over a closely packed trio of Democrats, Mike Levin (17.1%), Sara Jacobs (15.5%) and Doug Applegate (13.2%). Issa only won in 2016 by about 1600 votes, and yesterday’s aggregate vote totals favor Democrats 55,972 to 53,343. Since there was no Republican Challenger for Steve Knight in CA-25 the only real question was whether front running Katie Hill or Bryan Caforio would face Knight in November. It appears that Emily’s List endorsed Hill has prevailed over Caforio. Unlike 48 and 49, the aggregate Democratic vote total lags behind Knight 36,895 to 41,310, So even if the Democrats unite behind Hill, she will have an uphill climb. I was somewhat discouraged when the <a href="http://www.latimes.com/opinion/la-ol-enter-the-fray-did-california-democrats-sleep-through-1528289469-htmlstory.html" target="_blank">LA Times</a> reported this morning that overall voter turnout was not improved over the previous midterm in 2014. <blockquote> Final numbers on voter participation won’t be in for a while, but turnout seems unexceptional. With more than 97% of the precincts reporting, less than 21% of registered voters had cast ballots. That’s in line with the anemic turnout in the 2014 primary, and far, far below the five previous midterm election primaries. </blockquote> Curious as to whether our specific activism had any effect on voter turnout, I was encouraged when I read these numbers from CA-49 shared by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=swing%20socal%20left" target="_blank">Dan Auerbach</a> of Swing SoCal Left. <blockquote> CA-49 2018 Primary ballots cast for party compared with 2014: ____________2014______2018______Change Dem:......34,849......55,927............+60% - AWESOME! Rep:.......56,558......53,343...............-6% - So sad CA-49 Dems received more votes in 2018 primary then Reps. Bodes quite well for November since Reps as a percentage of vote historically do worse in the November general election. </blockquote> And here are some numbers from Sharon Cohen, who along with Debra Mendez spearheaded our effort in CA-49, which was focused only on the Orange County portion of the district. CA-49 (Orange Cnty ONLY) 2018 Primary ballots cast for party compared with 2014: ____________2014______2018______Change Dem:.........1,858.......11,584...........+523% - YOWZA!! Rep:........ 15,162......15,593................+3% - Awww, cute Way to go Sharon, Deb et. al. If anybody has any more relevant data please share in the comments below. rss@dailykos.com (Doctor Jazz) CA-25 CA-39 CA-48 CA-49 California DanaRohrabacher DarrellIssa GiCisneros jungleprimary MikeLevin socal _1769844 Thu, 07 Jun 2018 00:19:02 +0000 Marine Colonel Doug Applegate for Congress - Unite for CA-49! https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/6/4/1769363/-Marine-Colonel-Doug-Applegate-for-Congress-Unite-for-CA-49 Remember this guy? Marine Colonel Doug Applegate came within 1,600 votes of defeating Darrell Issa back in 2016, and ultimately chased poor Darrell — the richest member of Congress — out of the race. Check out Doug’s interview on local TV today: <a href="http://www.kusi.com/doug-applegate-running-for-49th-district-of-congress/" target="_blank">www.kusi.com/...</a> Several other Democrats jumped into the “jungle primary” for CA-49 but I’ve stuck with the Colonel because I like and trust him. Here’s what I wrote today on my local political Facebook page: <div> <blockquote> <div>Doug Applegate is a smart, genuine, and compassionate person who has served our country honorably in combat. The longer I know him, the more I like him. He has a strong work ethic and solid core values. On top of that, he's just nice. I'm proud that he has run a positive message-based campaign without attacking his Democratic opponents, and I would not hesitate to sign up to help him in the future, for whatever elected position he seeks.</div> </blockquote> Whistle Stop Tour with Doug Applegate, June 2, 2018. Photos by talented local photographer Joe Dusel. </div> <div class="align-center"> <figure class="image-captioned"><img alt="doug_crowd.jpg" src="https://images.dailykos.com/images/549662/large/doug_crowd.jpg?1528140146" title="doug_crowd.jpg"> <figcaption></figcaption> </figure> </div> <div class="align-center"> <figure class="image-captioned"><img alt="doug_w_family.jpg" src="https://images.dailykos.com/images/549664/large/doug_w_family.jpg?1528140156" title="doug_w_family.jpg"> <figcaption></figcaption> </figure> </div> <div class="align-center"> <figure class="image-captioned"><img alt="Doug_on_train.jpg" src="https://images.dailykos.com/images/549661/large/Doug_on_train.jpg?1528140137" title="Doug_on_train.jpg"> <figcaption></figcaption> </figure> </div> <div class="align-center"> <figure class="image-captioned"><img alt="doug_w_lady.jpg" src="https://images.dailykos.com/images/549666/large/doug_w_lady.jpg?1528140163" title="doug_w_lady.jpg"> <figcaption></figcaption> </figure> </div> <div class="align-center"> <figure class="image-captioned"><img alt="doug_w_guy.jpg" src="https://images.dailykos.com/images/549665/large/doug_w_guy.jpg?1528140159" title="doug_w_guy.jpg"> <figcaption></figcaption> </figure> </div> <div class="align-center"> <figure class="image-captioned"><img alt="Applegate_beach.jpg" src="https://images.dailykos.com/images/549667/large/Applegate_beach.jpg?1528140167" title="Applegate_beach.jpg"> <figcaption></figcaption> </figure> </div> <a href="http://applegateforcongress.com" target="_blank">ApplegateforCongress</a> rss@dailykos.com (WildLilac) 90for90 CA-49 California Congress DougApplegate flipthe49th jungleprimary Recommended Veterans _1769363 Mon, 04 Jun 2018 19:40:01 +0000 Washington's primary is just fine, thank you. https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/8/25/1563650/-Washington-s-primary-is-just-fine-thank-you <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/8/23/1563149/-The-top-2-primary-system-is-as-ridiculous-as-ever-So-end-it" target="_blank" title="">Some prominent posters</a> think that Washington’s (state) primary system is <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/8/22/1562741/-Washington-s-screwed-up-primary-system-yields-all-Republican-general-election-for-state-treasurer" target="_blank" title="">“screwed up”</a>. As an actual Washingtonian (who mostly votes for progressive candidates), I beg to differ. That kind of thinking seems to be coming from a place that a Democrat and a Republican deserve a spot on every ballot. Sorry… I don’t see it that way. Does the Green Party, Libertarian Party, Social Justice Party, Flying Spaghetti Monster Party and every independent candidate deserve a spot also? I vote for candidates that I believe will produce the best outcomes for my city, county, state and country. I heartily supported a progressive state legislator that was nominally a Republican, but reflected my interests better than the corporate Democrat. I wish I could take back my vote for the Democratic State Auditor who was recently indicted for financial crimes. Washington isn’t an “always blue” state. Our statewide races are typically about 52% Democrat and 48% Republican. The quality of the candidates sometimes sways that majority. Our <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secretary_of_State_of_Washington" target="_blank" title="">Secretary of State has been Republican since 1964</a>, two of the last three I have happily voted for. So yes, this State Treasurer “top two” primary had a rare result with two Republicans finishing one and two. As was pointed out, <a href="http://results.vote.wa.gov/results/current/State-Treasurer.html" target="_blank" title="">the combined vote percent for the two Republicans was 48.4% and the three Democrats was 51.6%</a>. But I put that on the state Democratic Party. The “top two” primary was approved by nearly 60% of Washingtonians and <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/07pdf/06-713.pdf" target="_blank" title="">upheld by the US Supreme Court</a> (7-2 with only Scalia and Kennedy dissenting). The law allows a party to hold a convention or other nominating contest if it’s so dang important to them to ensure one of their candidates is on the general election ballot. As this race unfolded, the state party made no endorsement, the majority of unions backed one candidate, the majority of county parties backed another candidate, one county party and the <a href="http://progressivevotersguide.com/?src=err403#1232" target="_blank" title="">Progressive Voter’s Guide</a> backed all three Democrats! And the <a href="http://www.sos.wa.gov/elections/Top2PrimaryFAQ.aspx" target="_blank" title="">general election ballot will still have a write-in</a>. So if the state Democratic party gets it’s act together, we may still see a Democratic State Treasurer. rss@dailykos.com (NXFan) 2016 Elections jungleprimary Primary Top2Primary Washington watreasurer _1563650 Thu, 25 Aug 2016 07:40:20 +0000 The top-two primary system is as ridiculous as ever. So end it! https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/8/23/1563149/-The-top-2-primary-system-is-as-ridiculous-as-ever-So-end-it So <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/8/22/1562741/-Washington-s-screwed-up-primary-system-yields-all-Republican-general-election-for-state-treasurer" target="_blank">this</a> just happened. <blockquote> Thanks to Washington's top-two primary, <a href="http://results.vote.wa.gov/results/current/State-Treasurer.html">a pair of Republicans will advance</a> to the November general election, meaning no voter will be able to cast a ballot for a Democrat—this in a state that hasn't voted for a Republican for president since the Reagan landslide of 1984 … In fact, Washington hasn't elevated a Republican to the treasurer's office <a href="http://www.sos.wa.gov/elections/results_report.aspx?e=62&c=&c2=&t=955&t2=2&p=&p2=&y=">since 1952</a>. </blockquote> Supporters of this ballot amendment <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Washington_Top_Two_Primaries,_Initiative_872_(2004)" target="_blank">claimed</a> that this top-two system would get people to “vote for the person—not the party," it would "increase participation,” and it would “return control of the primary to the voters.” Of course, none of that has happened. What it means that Washington voters will be deprived of a real choice this November. Same in California, where Republicans won’t have any one to vote for in the state’s Senate race (even though in California, no Republican was ever going to win that seat anyway). The top-2 system has certainly not increased voter participation, as <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/07/23/1315806/-Chuck-Schumer-wants-to-ruin-voting-with-his-worst-idea-ever" target="_blank">I noted</a> back in 2014 when Chuck Schumer was flirting with the idea (something he stopped doing, to his credit). Furthermore, if anyone hoped that this system would end legislative polarization, an argument made in California, well then, that didn’t happen either. <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/7/25/1316598/-Confirmed-Chuck-Schumer-couldn-t-be-more-wrong-in-his-wrong-attempt-to-break-voting" target="_blank">It made it worse</a>. Really, none of the supposed benefits ever accrued in Washington or California, but now we have a situation where voters are being deprived of a real choice. It was an experiment, nothing wrong with that. But it failed. It’s time to revert to a system that gives general election voters a real choice. rss@dailykos.com (kos) 2016 California Elections jungleprimary Primary Recommended Top2Primary Washington _1563149 Tue, 23 Aug 2016 18:46:01 +0000 Why California’s Senate Race Is Even Worse News For CA Republicans https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/8/13/1559305/-Why-California-s-Senate-Race-Is-Even-Worse-News-For-CA-Republicans For the first time since the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913, Californians will have a general election vote for the U.S. Senate without a Republican on the ballot. Much has already been written about how the first and second place finishes in our state’s unusual “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonpartisan_blanket_primary#California_open_primary" target="_blank">jungle primary</a>” by two Democrats, State Attorney General Kamala Harris (D-San Francisco) and Congress Member Loretta Sanchez (D-Orange County), demonstrates the complete collapse of the Republican Party in California. California Republicans blamed their poor showing on having too many GOP candidates in the race. But when I dove into the nitty-gritty details of the election returns, I found some really dire news for the GOP. rss@dailykos.com (RoyalScribe) 2016Election blanketprimary CA-Sen California californiasenaterace2016 DarrellIssa Election2016 GOP jungleprimary KamalaHarris LorettaSanchez NoPartyPreference PeteWilson Republicans Senate _1559305 Sat, 13 Aug 2016 17:10:21 +0000 Washington State's Primary Disaster https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/8/4/1556988/-Washington-State-s-Primary-Disaster Edit: I was very hasty getting this posted up, and in the interest of clarity, the election I am referring to is the election for State Treasurer. The state of Washington, in what increasingly looks like an act of extreme foolishness, adopted the top two primary system (or “jungle primary” as I have occasionally heard it called) back in 2004. The system was implemented in 2008. Since then it has been dodgy, but this year we got a really great picture of how awful it came be. As the results came in from our August 2nd primary, it became apparent that both Republican candidates, who split about 49% of the vote, will advance to the general election, whereas none of the three Democratic candidates, who split about 51% of the vote, will advance to the general election. Admittedly I am partially responsible for this, since I voted for the Democrat in fourth place (I suppose it is some small consolation that I did not vote for the Democrat in fifth place, but it is a vanishingly small consolation indeed). Okay, first order of business, we need to organize a write-in campaign. This result is ridiculous, and I think the best (and probably only) way to overturn it is by a massive organized write-in campaign in the general election. Is there anyone here familiar with Washington state law on write-in candidates? Second order of business, this result, as previously mentioned, is ridiculous. We got to this result thanks to the terrible, ridiculous system that is the top two primary. I had previously been agnostic on it in the past. I didn’t think it was a good system, I had grave misgivings about it, but I had been willing to tolerate its existence. I had never fully realized before how terrible it could be. Now, that terribleness is staring me straight in the face. Barring the aforementioned organized write-in campaign, a Republican will be running Washington’s finances next year. I have many quarrels with the Democratic Party, but I trust them more than the Republicans, and anyway my quarrels with the Democratic Party are beside the point. We should not have general elections in which both candidates belong to the same party. That should never occur under any circumstances, and it certainly should not occur thanks to ridiculous chicanery like this. So, initiative item for 2017, 2018, whenever we can get it up there but as soon as possible: abolish the top two primary and revert to some more sane system that does not allow this sort of situation to come up again. I think even the most ardent Democratic partisans would agree that it is better to deal with third party candidates in the general election than to risk having a general election come up with two Republicans and no Democrats on the ballot. I suppose we have a hill to climb, considering that the top two primary was approved with nearly 60% of the vote back in 2004. Well, we’ll just have to deal with that. On a semi-related note, I would like to offer my regrets to DK’s own Angela Marx, who will not be the standard bearer of the Democratic Party in Washington’s third congressional district this November. Although at least in that case, there will be a Democrat running against the Republican incumbent — it just won’t be Angela Marx. rss@dailykos.com (kakumeiji maru) jungleprimary nonpartisanprimary Primary toptwoprimary Washington WashingtonPrimary WashingtonState WashingtonStatePrimary washingtontreasurer watreasurer _1556988 Fri, 05 Aug 2016 05:58:32 +0000 Confirmed, Chuck Schumer couldn't be more wrong in his wrong attempt to break voting https://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/7/25/1316598/-Confirmed-Chuck-Schumer-couldn-t-be-more-wrong-in-his-wrong-attempt-to-break-voting <div class="dkimg-c"><img src="http://images.dailykos.com/images/96525/large/schumer.jpg?1406298172" alt="Senator Schumer Speaking At Gun Safety Rally" width="550" height="367" /> <div class="dkimg-cap">Wrongitty wrong wrong wrong.</div> </div> As <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/07/23/1315964/-Schumer-blames-primaries-for-gridlock-so-he-wants-to-duplicate-California-s-nbsp-dysfunction">Paul Hogarth</a> and I <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/07/23/1315806/-Chuck-Schumer-wants-to-ruin-voting-with-his-worst-idea-ever">noted</a> a few days ago, Sen. Chuck Schumer's new push for a "top-2" jungle primary was an abject disaster. As I summarized: <blockquote>The top-two primary system is a plague, removing the ability of voters to choose their party's nominee, electing unrepresentative officials, reducing candidate choice, and crushing voter participation.</blockquote> The system is a huge boon for corporatist candidates, so maybe that's Schumer's motivation. But in any case, we now have data showing that his idea is even more wrong than previously thought. Here is Schumer: <blockquote>California, which probably mirrors the diversity of America more than any other state, was racked by polarization until voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2010 that adopted a “top-two” primary system.</blockquote> Got that? California was polarized, now it's not! That is what Schumer thinks. So let's see what the data has to say about that: <blockquote>America’s state legislatures are polarized–just like Congress–between liberals and conservatives, Democrats and Republicans [...] The state that sticks out like a sore thumb is my current home state, California. It is incredibly polarized; Democrats are extremely liberal, and Republicans are extremely conservative. In fact, California’s polarization is considerably larger than that in Congress. </blockquote> So not only is California "incredibly polarized", it is—by far!—the most polarized state in the country. Even more polarized than the U.S. freakin' Congress! So why would Schumer claim otherwise? Probably because despite that polarization, California is finally getting shit done, and it is finally getting shit done because Democrats have the governor's office and a super-majority in the legislature. It's amazing what can get done when Republicans are erased from the picture. But that's not all. Guess what state clocks in as the third most polarized state in the country? Washington.And you know what Washington has in common with California? Yup, a top-2 jungle primary system. So if it's polarization that Schumer fears, then he should run far, far away from the top-2 system he claims will solve all. In fact, he should be advocating for its repeal. rss@dailykos.com (kos) ChuckSchumer Elections jungleprimary Primaries Wall Street WallStreet _1316598 Fri, 25 Jul 2014 15:15:02 +0000 LA-Sen: Mary Landrieu's (D) Father Appears In New Ad, Calls Her "Hardheaded" Fighter For LA https://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/5/14/1299045/-LA-Sen-Mary-Landrieu-s-D-Father-Appears-In-New-Ad-Calls-Her-Hardheaded-Fighter-For-LA <iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/o57WvwHJMS0" frameborder="0" defang_allowfullscreen=""></iframe> I respect a great campaign ad strategy and this is a very good one: <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2014/05/hardheaded-sen-mary-landrieu-and-dad-team-up-for-cute-campaign-ad/">http://abcnews.go.com/...</a> <blockquote><iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/DHjlbgjcJRg" frameborder="0" defang_allowfullscreen=""></iframe> Sen. Mary Landrieu is getting an assist from her father, former New Orleans Mayor Maurice “Moon” Landrieu, in a new TV campaign ad rolling out today. A little family branding may provide a needed boost to the Louisiana Democrat as she faces a tough re-election bid against leading Republican opponent Rep. Bill Cassidy, as well as tea party underdog Rob Maness. In the ad – filmed in the senator’s childhood home – Moon Landrieu makes the case that his “hardheaded” daughter has used her stubbornness to fight for Louisiana. “When you have nine children, you’re bound to have one who’s hardheaded,” Landrieu, 83, says to the camera as his daughter sits down beside him. “Dad, you’re one to talk,” says Sen. Landrieu, who chairs the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Moon Landrieu goes through a series of issues for which he says Landrieu has used her “hardheadedness” in Louisiana’s favor: standing up to BP after the oil spill that devastated the state’s coastline in 2010 and breaking with President Obama to call for the approval of the controversial Keystone oil pipeline. At the ad’s end, the father leans in and whispers to the camera: “And now you know why Putin won’t let her into Russia.” Sen. Landrieu, 58, simply shakes her head in response. - ABC News, 5/13/14 </blockquote> Now this isn't the most original strategy but it's still a good one: <a href="http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2014/05/new_mary_landrieu_ad_features.html">http://www.nola.com/...</a> <blockquote> <div class="dkimg-c"><img src="http://images.dailykos.com/images/83775/large/13751818-mmmain.jpg?1400076688" alt="" width="550" height="366" /></div> Moon Landrieu's son, Mitch, now has his old job as mayor of New Orleans. The new commercial, and a second father/daughter ad appearing on the internet, is designed to improve Landrieu's approval ratings after release last week of Southern Media & Opinion & Opinion Research poll found that 58 percent of the 600 likely voters surveyed rated the three-term Democrat's performance as either poor or "not so good," while 39 percent rated her performance excellent or good. Landrieu isn't the only candidate to run a campaign ad with her dad. Michelle Nunn, the Democratic candidate for the Senate in Georgia, recently ran a TV commercial  with her dad, former Sen. Sam Nunn, D-Ga. Michelle Nunn is trying to keep being a senator part of the family business. - Times-Picayune, 5/13/14 </blockquote> And this new ad strategy couldn't come at a better time: <a href="http://www.latimes.com/nation/politics/politicsnow/la-pn-landrieu-father-campaign-ad-20140513-story.html">http://www.latimes.com/...</a> <blockquote> <div class="dkimg-c"><img src="http://images.dailykos.com/images/83784/large/GTY_bill_cassidy_sk_140121_16x9_608.jpg?1400077845" alt="" width="550" height="309" /></div> Landrieu’s chief opponent, Republican Rep. Bill Cassidy, has disputed her claims that she is indispensable to Louisiana. He has noted that the administration delayed a decision on approving the pipeline despite an effort by Landrieu to organize a group of senators to send the White House a letter pressing for approval. After her effort to secure a vote on the pipeline failed in the Senate last week because of a partisan standoff, Cassidy’s spokesman scoffed that Landrieu’s “PR machine screams about how vital her role will be for Louisiana’s energy economy, but so far it’s only been vital for promoting herself.” The new ad featuring Landrieu and her father — which ends with a “to be continued” tag line — is the first in a series that will feature the popular former mayor. The Landrieu campaign, which spent about $200,000 to air the ad across the state, has already posted the second installment online. - Los Angeles Times, 5/13/14 </blockquote> Of course Republicans like Cassidy will hit Landrieu on Obama's decision to delay the Keystone XL Pipeline but Landrieu is pushing to turn the blame on the Republicans: <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2014/05/mary-landrieu-republicans-keystone-pipeline-106517.html">http://www.politico.com/...</a> <blockquote> <div class="dkimg-c"><img src="http://images.dailykos.com/images/83778/large/140508_mary_landrieu_605.jpg?1400077211" alt="Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., talks on a cell phone, on Capitol Hill in Washington Monday, Dec. 13, 2010, before voting on a procedural vote on the tax cut legislation. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)" width="550" height="298" /></div> Democrats say they don’t believe that Landrieu’s election-year prospects will be hurt, reasoning that Republicans will shoulder the ire of public opinion. “They’re able to now hit Republicans for blocking it,” said a senior Democratic aide. “Now they can call on Obama to approve the pipeline and blame Mitch McConnell.” And that’s exactly what Landrieu has been doing. “If Mitch McConnell wants to have a vote on Keystone straight up or down, where he may get 60 votes, he most certainly has the power in his caucus to make that happen,” she said Wednesday as the negotiations for energy legislation ground to a halt. “They’re going to probably blow the opportunity to get a vote on Keystone because they just can’t help themselves.” On Thursday she was even more blunt: “This is in Mitch McConnell’s hands.” The senior Democratic aide added that leadership hasn’t ruled out holding a future vote on Keystone, particularly if it proves useful as a bargaining chip with Republicans. 5/9/14 </blockquote> And Landrieu may be in for one long fight: <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/sen-mary-landrieu-faces-a-long-slog-to-re-election/">http://www.cbsnews.com/...</a> <blockquote> <div class="dkimg-c"><img src="http://images.dailykos.com/images/83786/large/landrieu.jpg?1400077923" alt="ST/LANDRIEU LOCATION: WASHINGTON, DC DATE: 09/08/05 NEG: &nbsp;CAPTION: &nbsp;Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and Democratic leadership during a press conference to address "the Senate&#x27;s third day of legislative business without passing a single measure to provide immediate relief to the victims and survivors of Hurricane Katrina" Thursday, September 08, 2005 on Capitol Hill. &nbsp;.. StaffPhoto imported to Merlin on &nbsp;Thu Sep &nbsp;8 17:18:06 2005" width="550" height="386" /></div> Landrieu's re-election race is expected to be a long one for the Democrat, and not just figuratively. Because of Louisiana's "jungle" primary system, candidates from both parties running for Senate all compete against one another in November. Whoever clears the 50 percent threshold wins outright. But if no one does, the top two candidates compete in a December runoff. Polls show Landrieu well under that threshold -- the latest puts her at 36 percent, with Republican Rep. John Cassidy just one percentage point behind. (The RCP Average has her at 42.3 percent, trailing Cassidy's 44.5 in a hypothetical runoff matchup.) Analysts in the state are predicting a runoff, given the polling trends and the fact that four people are in the race. That means Landrieu's fate might not be decided until December. And since the Louisiana contest is one of the marquee races this year, control of the Senate may not be decided until then either. Landrieu is no stranger to long, tough campaigns, and operatives on both sides of the aisle applaud her survival instincts. She won by six points in 2008, when Obama lost Louisiana by 19 points (there was no jungle primary that year). In 2002, two years after her state voted for George W. Bush, she beat her Republican opponent in a runoff by four points. She won her first Senate race in a 1996 runoff by less than one percentage point. She is also part of a political dynasty in the state, headed by her father, Moon Landrieu. Her brother Mitch is the popular mayor of New Orleans who could run for governor in 2015. This campaign could be her toughest yet, with Louisiana becoming increasingly unfriendly territory for statewide Democrats. Despite -- or perhaps because of -- that changing local landscape, Landrieu wields her chairmanship like a top re-election tool. - CBS News, 512/14 </blockquote> But Landrieu recently received a shout out from the First Lady herself: <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2014/05/vulnerable-democrat-sen-mary-landrieu-gets-a-shout-out-from-first-lady/">http://abcnews.go.com/...</a> <blockquote> <div class="dkimg-c"><img src="http://images.dailykos.com/images/83782/large/16x9.jpg?1400077695" alt="" width="549" height="309" /></div> Mrs. Obama and Sen. Landrieu met with spouses of military veterans during a joint appearance at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans on Saturday. Though the meeting with military spouses was a decidedly non-political event, it might be Michelle Obama’s first (albeit unofficial) foray into the 2014 midterm elections. The first lady, known for her ability to rouse support in campaign appearances, is sometimes referred to as “the closer” and is a sought after campaign surrogate. The meeting came after Mrs. Obama and Sen. Landrieu both received honorary degrees at the graduation ceremony at New Orleans’ Dillard University. And during her remarks, Mrs. Obama made a point to recognize Landrieu. “I also want to recognize Senator Mary Landrieu, who is here.  Let’s give her a hand,” Mrs. Obama said to the crowd. “She has been a strong supporter of this university.” - ABC News, 5/13/14 </blockquote> I'll give Landrieu and Senator Mark Pryor (D. AR) this: They know when not to run away from the Obamas.  If you want to donate and get involved with Landrieu's re-election campaign, you can do so here: <div class="dkimg-c"><img src="http://images.dailykos.com/images/80706/large/Sen.-Mary-Landrieu-speaks-at-DNC-in-2008-Flickr-user-studio08denver.jpg?1398752917" alt="" width="550" height="309" /></div> <a href="http://www.marylandrieu.com/">http://www.marylandrieu.com/</a> rss@dailykos.com (poopdogcomedy) 2014 2014election 2014LouisianaU.SSenateRace 2014midterms BillCassidy Democrats Election Election 2014 Election2014 GOP jungleprimary KeystoneXLPipline LA-Sen Louisiana MaryLandrieu MichelleObama MoonLandrieu NewOrleans Republicans Senate Tea Party TeaParty Veterans Vote Vote 2014 Vote2014 _1299045 Wed, 14 May 2014 14:36:09 +0000 CA-SEN: Dianne Feinstein's Democratic Opponents https://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/5/24/1094466/-CA-SEN-Dianne-Feinstein-s-Democratic-Opponents I believe in protest voting, at least in the primary.  It's a small way of letting the world know that there are people who, even if they will fall into line in the fall, do want something better. California's "Top-Two Primary" experiment will make protest voting in the fall impossible.  Only two names will be on the ballot for each race except for President; no write-ins will be allowed.  So, fellow Californians, if you're going to cast a protest vote, it's going to have to be in June! I'll vote for the re-election of California's Senator Dianne Feinstein in November, even with some misgivings.  (I'll do so even if she's not running against Orly Taitz, for whom some mischevious Democrats who ignore warnings about "playing with fire" are casting their ballots.)  But in June?  I'd like to cast my protest vote, please! Is there a Democrat worth supporting?  Last night, I decided to find out.  And -- there is!  Join me below the gnocchi for more. rss@dailykos.com (Seneca Doane) CA-Sen California ColleenFernald ColleenSheaFernald DavidAlexLevitt DavidLevitt Democratic Party DemocraticParty DianeStewart DianneFeinstein jungleprimary MikeStrimling NakShaw OrlyTaitz StateoftheStates top-twoprimary _1094466 Thu, 24 May 2012 16:52:06 +0000