elections

Libbing out, or, what happened last night

Vote Sign

Election nights sure feel better when the evil people don’t win, don’t they? It’s a big relief, seeing decent people win in a variety of races around the country, instead of an overwhelming deluge of losses to the worst people you have ever heard of. Just focusing on the executive races, we first had Abigail Spanberger winning the governorship of Virginia. Then we had Mikie Sherrill winning the governorship of New Jersey. Then, to cap it off, we had Zohran Mamdani winning the mayorship of New York City. It was nice that Virginia closed polls at 7pm,...

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RCV when

Well thank goodness DC may have ranked choice voting in 2026 because this is absurd. Expelled former DC council member Trayon White wins his seat back despite 70.55% of the albeit small electorate voting against him (probably on account of the crimes). You may think being a criminal would be a problem for people running for election, but that’s just not the case anymore, if it ever was. I mean at least he’s not an adjudicated sexual abuser who was found guilty of a ton of felonies and is no longer allowed to run a foundation in...

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Alabama candidate for governor McFeeters gets an owie

Dirt bike riders motocross race

Ken McFeeters (maybe should stick to his McFeeters from now on) had a little mishap with a dirt bike. Okay, you see, he’s a guy who ran for the U.S. House and I guess lost, and I don’t care enough to look up whatever the hell else he has done, but he is currently running for governor of Alabama in the Republican primary against Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Stupidest Senator Who Has Ever Lived). Anyways, he decided to try a stunt where he would do a sweet jump (wheelie) with his dirt bike and call out Tuberville for...

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What we learned from Cantor’s loss and what it means

Yesterday, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor lost the Republican primary in his district in Virginia. It’s the first time since 1899 that a sitting House majority leader lost reelection, and probably the firs time ever it was because of a primary. That’s mostly because primaries as the democratic vehicles we know them as us a relatively new invention of the past few decades. So, you’d think with such a newsy event that seems historical, there would be a lot to write about it. What lessons have we learned? How does this “titanic” political shift change the landscape? OMG WHAT DOES...

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The Stakes

Forget for a moment about Speaker of the House Boehner or Senate Majority Leader McConnell, or the likelihood of complete legislative stalemate. Often overlooked down-ticket races have even bigger consequences that affect races for the next decade: Republicans are within reach of gaining control of eight or more chambers in statehouses around the country this fall, according to interviews with Republicans, Democrats and independent political analysts. That would give Republicans the power to draw more Congressional districts in their favor, since the expected gains come just as many legislatures will play a major role in the once-a-decade...

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Sharron Angle versus Alvin Greene

Sharron Angle does not believe unemployment insurance helps anyone. In an interview with conservative radio talk show host Heidi Harris (she really does only interview with conservatives, and it really does seem it’s only radio), she raised her game a little from before, where she just claimed that unemployment benefits “spoil” the unemployed: “People don’t want to be unemployed,” she explained. “They want to have real, full-time, permanent jobs with a future. That’s what they want, and we need to create that climate in Washington, D.C. that encourages businesses to create those full-time, permanent jobs with a...

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Larry Sabato predicts huge wins for Republicans in November

Republicans are undoubtedly going to have a good November, but University of Virginia political science professor Larry Sabato makes a pretty bold claim: Given what we can see at this moment, Republicans have a good chance to win the House by picking up as many as 47 seats, net. This is a “net” number since the GOP will probably lose several of its own congressional districts in Delaware, Hawaii, and Louisiana. This estimate, which may be raised or lowered by Election Day, is based on a careful district-by-district analysis, plus electoral modeling based on trends in President Obama’s Gallup...

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Republicans Supporting Non-Republicans

Interesting news from the Pennsylvania senate race today: Former Senator Chuck Hagel will endore Joe Sestak. Hagel was a Republican; Sestak is a Democrat running against Republican Pat Toomey. Hagel told The Associated Press on Monday that Sestak has demonstrated during his two terms in Congress that he puts what’s best for the country before the interests of his party. He said Sestak’s courage and integrity as a legislator are qualities the nation needs more of. This just shortly after we’ve learned that Bob Dole, former Republican senator and presidential candidate, has thrown a $1,000 check to...

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On Women & This Week's Primaries

Rachael Larimore over at DoubleX is bemoaning the lack of excitement among feminists over the recent electoral victories for Republican women.  She writes that “it is disappointing that many liberal women don’t even seem to want the GOP to have strong female candidates.” I don\’t think she’s got it quite right.  It’s not that I don’t want the GOP to have strong female candidates, it’s that I’m not going to get giddy over candidates whose platforms I totally disagree with, regardless of their gender.  Just like Sarah Palin doesn’t get points in my book for being a...

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Champions and Also-Rans

The British Parliament is holding elections on Thursday, with perennial majority Labour looking certain to lose 10 Downing St. to the Tories, or perhaps the Liberal Democrats. Today, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City — the English football teams supported by Ghost of Hemingway’s Gun and Estes, respectively, square off in Manchester to potentially decide who finishes fourth in the English Premier League, reaping the financial windfall (and prestige bump) of appearing in the Champions League, in which neither has appeared for at least a decade. Estes and I are here to guide you through both of these...

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