In case you weren’t aware, when the Roadrunner isn’t dodging that crafty coyote, or that old Chrysler LeBaron with the antiquated “Goldwater for President” bumper sticker, roadrunner is a bid of a bird nerd and likes to crunch political data.
Roadrunner also would like to see Congress look more like America and is partial to rural representations that don’t view wide open spaces as predominately white spaces.
In that vein, Roadrunner is particularly interested in the recent political strength of indigenous House candidates, and in supporting Native candidates in the 2024 Election cycle in competitive races.
Rep. Sharice Davids KS-3
Our journey begins in Kansas-3 where Ho-Chunk Nation member Sharice Davids is seeking her 4th term in Congress. Davids’ along with Deb Haaland in 2018 became one of the first two Native American women elected to Congress and has put forth a stellar record in the House, which has resulted in overperformances in her re-election bids.
Her mostly suburban, with some rural counties, district was drawn to give Republicans a shot to unseat her in 2022. Biden carried its boundaries by a narrow 51.2-46.7 edge in 2020, but Davids had no problem dispatching Republican Amanda Adkins 54.9 — 42.8 in 2022, over a 12-point margin and almost a 7.7-point overperformance from the Biden-Trump 2020 margin.
Still, this is a challenging district (the 8th most red leaning of Dem held seats) so helping her continue to represent her constituents in Kansas would be a good move and you can do so, here:
shariceforcongress.com
Rep. Mary Peltola Alaska At Large
When it comes to winning tough districts, no current Democratic House candidate has been more remarkable than Mary Peltola, a Yup’ik member whose nearly 10-point margin of victory in Alaska in 2022 is a 20-point overperformance from Biden’s 43.0 to 53.1 loss to Trump in 2020. She represents the reddest House District held by a Democrat, the state of Alaska, and while she is an incredibly strong candidate who won a special election and a general election in 2022, her seat can never be taken for granted. You can help her here:
www.marypeltola.com
Jonathan Nez Challenger in AZ-2
For those of you familiar with the Painted Desert’s avian blogger, it should come as no surprise that former Navajo Nation President, and now Congressional candidate Jonathan Nez, is the 3rd entry on this list. Nez is challenging ultra-MAGA incumbent Eli Crane, lover of uranium mines, 50-caliber bullets, compulsory childbirth for incest and rape victims, and of referring to African Americans as “colored people”, AZ-2 is a 53.2 to 45.3 (+7.9 point) Trump 2020 district, which initially might seem daunting, but keep in mind its bluer than Alaska, and if you average Peltola (+20) and Davids (+7.7) overperformances as indigenous candidates, a +8 or better outcome isn’t at all outside the range of possibilities for Nez as an insurgent House candidate.
To help Jonathan Nez unseat Eli Crane you can help here:
secure.actblue.com/…
or
www.jonathannezforaz.com
