The most surprising result in the batch of primaries held this week over the vast stretch of America from Florida through Wyoming to Alaska was the defeat of famed anti-Trump whistleblower Alexander Vindman by state Rep. Angie Nixon in the contest for the Democratic nomination against appointed Republican U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody in Florida.
— This year, 30 states are holding elections for attorney general. Currently, the GOP holds 27 attorney general offices to 23 for the Democrats (counting an independent in Hawaii who was appointed by Democratic Gov. Josh Green).
— Our analysis suggests that eight AG races this year are currently competitive, up from seven when we last looked at these races a year ago. Two are Toss-ups, down from five a year ago, with three of last year’s Toss-ups shifting to Leans Democratic.
— All the shifts we’ve made in this analysis benefit the Democrats. In addition to the three races that switched from Toss-up to Leans Democratic, two races shifted from Safe Republican to Likely Republican and two races shifted from Likely Republican to Leans Republican.
— In an upset last night, Florida Democrats nominated state Rep. Angie Nixon over the much better funded, and less progressive, Alex Vindman.
— Without Vindman’s fundraising capacity, Democrats will probably have an even harder time against appointed Sen. Ashley Moody (R), so we are moving the race from Likely Republican to Safe Republican.
— In the 7th District, Rep. Cory Mills (R) became the 12th member this year to lose a primary; his defeat actually leaves the GOP better-positioned to hold his seat.
— South Florida Democrats also made an electorally wise choice of their own, opting to renominate Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D) in the marginal FL-25 over his more progressive primary opponent.
Don't believe the Democratic National Committee's official storyline -- the DNC's decision to make South Carolina the first Democratic presidential primary in 2028 isn't about introducing more racial diversity into the early contests.
It was only a few years ago when the climate change alarms and green energy fad were all the rage at the White House and corporate board rooms. Former President Joe Biden's policies were all tilted to ending fossil fuels, and many of America's biggest corporations embraced the concept of net-zero fossil fuels. This was the movement during the Biden years to eliminate virtually ALL oil, natural gas and coal production, and replace these energy sources with windmills, solar panels and electric vehicles.
It's worth poking around the entrails of the returns for the agonizingly close and, given the pre-primary polls, surprising results of recent Democratic primaries in the key swing Midwestern states of Michigan and Wisconsin, with a side look at Minnesota.
— Last week, Abdul El-Sayed captured the Democratic nomination for Senate in Michigan over Rep. Haley Stevens (D, MI-11).
— That El-Sayed narrowly won the nomination running as a progressive was one of the many parallels this primary had to the state’s 2016 Democratic presidential contest.
— However, there was considerable change between the two Democratic primaries, as El-Sayed fared better than Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in metro Detroit but worse in rural areas.
A Faustian bargain is a deal with the Devil, trading principle for power, prestige, or personal ambition. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Anthony Fauci appeared to make such a bargain – exchanging the skepticism and humility that define sound science for the adoration, celebrity, and political influence that transformed him into “America’s doctor.”
— Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley (D) did just enough down the stretch of the Wisconsin Democratic gubernatorial primary to edge out far-left state Rep. Francesca Hong (D).
— Crowley enters the fall campaign as a modest favorite to hold the Wisconsin governorship for Democrats. If Hong had won, the race would have remained a Toss-up.
— The tally of House incumbent primary losers, already high, increased on Tuesday as Rep. John Larson (D, CT-1) was swamped. Meanwhile, South Carolina Republicans set up a Senate runoff in two weeks as appointed Sen. Darline Graham (R) attempts to hang onto her late brother’s seat.
— The Montana Senate race moves further toward Republicans, while Rep. Max Miller’s (R, OH-7) embattled reelection bid becomes a Toss-up.
Nothing is more natural when buying a house than looking into how safe the neighborhood is, and, if you have or plan to have children, whether the schools are any good.
New inventions and technologies, from the lightbulb to the farm tractor to the automobile to the laptop computer to Uber drivers, cause serious job market disruptions. They also cause a backlash, as horse and buggy operators, cab drivers, video rental stores and typewriter makers inevitably predicted chaos and job losses.
A recent Rasmussen Reports survey finds that 54% of likely U.S. voters believe that, in hindsight, President Donald Trump’s decision to enter the war in Iran was the wrong one, while only 35% believe it was the right one.
Can I claim to have predicted, way back in 1988, the result of Michigan's fiercely contested Democratic primary for U.S. senator this week?
— While Kamala Harris generally leads 2028 national primary polls, she trails several potential opponents in New Hampshire and has even been behind in her home state of California.
— Although defeated presidential nominees have occasionally won a subsequent nomination, and sometimes even the White House, Harris’s trajectory is more similar to those who eventually gave up their comeback attempt.
— Looming over all of this is the question of whether the Democratic electorate is willing to nominate a woman for a third time in 12 years, as that glass ceiling remains stubbornly unshattered.
Just two years ago, the United Nations secretary general announced, "Global warming has ended ... The era of global boiling has arrived!"
COVID-19 was a traumatic experience for our families, small businesses, schools and country. Understandably, people don't like thinking or talking about it. But we must. We now know, thanks to Sen. Rand Paul's doggedness and Anthony Fauci's supreme arrogance that he freely expresses in his diary, almost every decision made by the medical industrial complex was exactly the wrong thing to do.
If The Onion or Babylon Bee or another satirical publication wanted to spoof the absurdity of DEI -- the ideology of "Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion" -- they couldn't have invented a character as unbelievable as Jason Arday.
The emergence of the Democratic Socialists of America and their political victories, from New York City across the fruited plains of Michigan and Wisconsin, all the way to Colorado, strikes many as a new thing in U.S. politics.
