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Democrats trying to unseat each other IV

 
 
 
Without Elon Musk, Wisconsin’s Supreme Court Justice Election Goes Quiet - The New York Times - "Elections for the Wisconsin Supreme Court have previously brought record-breaking spending and national attention. Tuesday’s race has been a more muted affair."
Last spring, on the eve of a heated Wisconsin Supreme Court election, Mr. Musk stood grinning onstage at a rally in Green Bay, urging the crowd to support the conservative judge in the race.

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Two little-known appeals court judges are vying to replace Justice Rebecca Bradley, a conservative who is retiring: Chris Taylor, a liberal who previously served in the State Assembly and worked as a director at Planned Parenthood, and Maria Lazar, a conservative former litigator and assistant state attorney general. The state Supreme Court is officially nonpartisan, but the ideological bent of its justices is no secret and has become increasingly apparent in recent decades.

...
A win by Judge Taylor would give liberals a 5-to-2 majority on the court, likely cementing liberal control for a decade.

In the 2025 State Supreme Court election, then-Judge Susan Crawford, a liberal, handily beat Brad Schimel, a conservative, despite Mr. Musk, partly though his super PAC, pouring $25 million into the race.
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Who Is Ahead in the Supreme Court Race in Wisconsin? Latest 2026 Polls - The New York Times
Marquette University Law School:
  • Feb. 11-19 -- Taylor +7 -- 22% Taylor • 15% Lazar
  • March 11-18 -- Taylor +8 -- 30% Taylor • 22% Lazar

Chris Taylor, a Liberal Judge, Wins Race for Wisconsin Supreme Court - The New York Times - "With Judge Chris Taylor’s win, liberals increased their hold on the court. Races for the Wisconsin Supreme Court often draw national attention, but not this year."

Wisconsin Supreme Court 2026: Live Election Results - The New York Times
  • Chris Taylor (D) - 60.1%
  • Maria S. Lazar (R) - 39.8%
  • Total write-ins - 0.1%
CT beat ML by over 20% - that's 10% better than the poll margins.
 
Also in Wisconsin, Waukesha, Wis., Mayor 2026: Live Election Results - The New York Times
Waukesha, a historically Republican-leaning Milwaukee suburb, is electing a new mayor. State Representative Scott Allen, a Republican, is facing Alicia Halvensleben, a Democrat who is the president of the city’s Common Council. Mayor Shawn Reilly, an independent who left the Republican Party and who endorsed Kamala Harris in 2024, is not seeking re-election. The election is officially nonpartisan.
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  • Alicia Halvensleben (D) - 51.2%
  • Scott Allen (R) - 48.8%
Victory by 2.4%.

Republicans Keep Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Seat, but Democrats Narrow the Gap - The New York Times
In GA-14, which Marjorie Taylor Greene resigned from, the Republican beat the Democrat by 55.9% - 44.1%. Though the Republican won by 12%, back in 2024, the margin was 29%, with 17% added. The Presidential margin had 25% added, giving 37%.

  • GA-14 - R 11.8 - R 28.8 - Pres R 37
  • TN-07 - R 8.8 - R 21.5 - Pres R 22
  • AZ-07 - D 39.5 - D 26.8 - Pres D 23
  • VA-11 - D 50.4 - D 33.8 - Pres D 33
  • FL-01 - R 14.6 - R 32.0 - Pres R 38
  • FL-06 - R 14.0 - R 33.0 - Pres R 30
 
AM won by a margin of 20%, while MS won by 15% back in 2024 and Kamala Harris won by 8% against Donald Trump, also back then.

AM's first speech in Congress - April 20, after being sworn in?
Yesterday, I spoke to my new colleagues in Congress about our responsibility to fight back against authoritarianism.

On its 250th anniversary, America is under siege by Trump and MAGA Republicans.

In Congress, I’ll stand up for what’s right. I’ll build an economy that works for all of us, defend our freedoms, and protect immigrants from rogue ICE agents terrorizing our communities.

Thank you, New Jersey, for trusting me with this responsibility. I’m proud to represent you in Congress.
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AOC now has another endorsement: Sam Forstag for MT-01. He is described as a  Smokejumper - "... a specially-trained wildland firefighter who provides an initial attack response on remote wildfires. They are inserted at the site of the fire by parachute. This allows firefighters to access remote fires in their early stages without needing to hike long distances carrying equipment and supplies."

Schvitzing with Montana congressional candidate Sam Forstag – The Pulp - "The Missoula smokejumper and union organizer running for Congress thinks Democrats forgot about the working class. We sat down to talk — in his backyard sauna."

From the interview:
The average member of Congress is worth 3 to 4 million bucks. And you wonder why poor and working people get left behind every year. It’s a fundamental problem of representation. There’s no actual representation for poor and working people right at the highest levels of office.
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There are some such people, but not very many. AOC and Maxwell Frost, for instance.
We got artificial intelligence that can write legal briefs and code. You know what it can’t do? Stomp around in the woods with a saw and cut the tree before it’s costing you a million bucks to cut that tree.
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Except that AI could control a robot that does these things. So blue-collar workers are also not safe.
We talk of grievance politics as if grievances are something that shouldn’t exist within politics. But if you’re making less than your dad did and everything costs more, that’s a legitimate grievance politics is supposed to address. That’s what politics is supposed to be, right? To sublimate violence.
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New York Times:
The effective coronation of Mr. Platner as the Democratic nominee is a blow not only to the two-term sitting governor but also to Senator Chuck Schumer of New York and the Democratic Party establishment that he leads. Mr. Schumer, the minority leader, has for almost two decades chosen his party’s Senate candidates with little internal opposition, and he encouraged Ms. Mills to enter the race.
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NBC:
Mills, 78, sought to quell concerns about her age by pledging to only serve one term in the Senate. But some Democratic voters were still concerned about her age and viewed Platner as the candidate with the best chance at beating Collins, 73, despite a slew of controversial social media posts from his past that generated headlines in recent months.
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Politico:
“While I have the drive and passion, commitment and experience, and above all else — the fight — to continue on, I very simply do not have the one thing that political campaigns unfortunately require today: the financial resources,” Mills said in a statement Thursday morning.

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Her exit from the race is a major loss for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who recruited Mills and saw her as the most viable option to defeat Collins. On Thursday, Schumer and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chair Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) released a statement bashing Collins and promising to support Platner.
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Well, this can go two-ways. Platner feels like a bad GOP'er Senate Candidate that'd give the Dems a chance to win an otherwise lost seat... but the other way around. Platner is running for Senate, has no experience in Federal Government. He has a sketchy social media history. He was going to win the Primary, but is he a General Election candidate? In Maine, Gov. Mills was the right candidate... though admittedly her age was a problem.
 
I wish to note a Republican, Thomas Massie of KY-04. He lost to former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein 45% - 55%.
AIPAC and two like-minded groups contributed about $15.8 million to oppose him, with total spending in this primary $32M, the most expensive in history.

The previous champion was the D-NY-16 primary in 2024, with $25M total, and $14.5M spent by AIPAC to unseat Jamaal Bowman. He lost 41% - 59%.

After that was the D-MO-01 primary in 2024, with $19M total, and $9M spent by AIPAC to unseat Cori Bush. She lost 46% - 51%.

Two years ago, in an interview with Tucker Carlson, House Republican claims every GOP colleague has an ‘AIPAC babysitter’ pressuring them to cast pro-Israel votes - MR Online

He also supported releasing the Epstein files, and he opposes aid to Israel because he opposes *all* foreign aid.

Another opponent was Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who showed up in his district to campaign against him.
 
lpetrich said:
NBC:
Mills, 78, sought to quell concerns about her age by pledging to only serve one term in the Senate. But some Democratic voters were still concerned about her age and viewed Platner as the candidate with the best chance at beating Collins, 73, despite a slew of controversial social media posts from his past that generated headlines in recent months.
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Can you not find younger candidates? I am sure both are worthy but given the recent and continuing history with older ( Attn Mods: can I say elderly without being pinged?) candidates a more younger focus would not necessarily be bad.
 
Tigers! said:
lpetrich said:
NBC:
Mills, 78, sought to quell concerns about her age by pledging to only serve one term in the Senate. But some Democratic voters were still concerned about her age and viewed Platner as the candidate with the best chance at beating Collins, 73, despite a slew of controversial social media posts from his past that generated headlines in recent months.
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Can you not find younger candidates? I am sure both are worthy but given the recent and continuing history with older ( Attn Mods: can I say elderly without being pinged?) candidates a more younger focus would not necessarily be bad.
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Yes, but the problem is those already in office. They don't want to give up their seats. Being in office a long time means getting seniority, and that is good for one's career, like getting to become the head of a committee. It also means being able to deliver more goodies to the people back home. Yes, that's pork barrel, but to its receivers, it is bringing home the bacon.

Not wanting to give up one's seat? Even if one is in very obviously poor health, like Dianne Feinstein or Kay Granger. Late in 2024, KG was absent from Congress for a long time, and she was discovered to be living in a nursing home. DiFi often used a wheelchair in the last months of her life.

Superannuated members continuing to serve makes the US Congress resemble the leadership of the Soviet Union in its last years. Like leader Yuri Andropov, who spent the last years of his life out of public view, supposedly suffering from a "bad cold".
 
I find it good that Chris Rabb won in PA-03. That district is in West Philadelphia and Center City, and he will join Summer Lee, in Pittsburgh, in bookending Pennsylvania.

AOC has been stumping for Ruwa Romman, running for Georgia State Senate district 7. She advanced to a runoff that will be next month.
 
lpetrich said:
Tigers! said:
lpetrich said:
NBC:
Mills, 78, sought to quell concerns about her age by pledging to only serve one term in the Senate. But some Democratic voters were still concerned about her age and viewed Platner as the candidate with the best chance at beating Collins, 73, despite a slew of controversial social media posts from his past that generated headlines in recent months.
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Can you not find younger candidates? I am sure both are worthy but given the recent and continuing history with older ( Attn Mods: can I say elderly without being pinged?) candidates a more younger focus would not necessarily be bad.
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Yes, but the problem is those already in office. They don't want to give up their seats. Being in office a long time means getting seniority, and that is good for one's career, like getting to become the head of a committee. It also means being able to deliver more goodies to the people back home. Yes, that's pork barrel, but to its receivers, it is bringing home the bacon.

Not wanting to give up one's seat? Even if one is in very obviously poor health, like Dianne Feinstein or Kay Granger. Late in 2024, KG was absent from Congress for a long time, and she was discovered to be living in a nursing home. DiFi often used a wheelchair in the last months of her life.

Superannuated members continuing to serve makes the US Congress resemble the leadership of the Soviet Union in its last years. Like leader Yuri Andropov, who spent the last years of his life out of public view, supposedly suffering from a "bad cold".
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We have less of a problem like that is Australia.
One of the advantages of a Westminster parliamentary system is that 'dead wood' (age or infirm based) members are moved on. They cannot dig in so easily.
The corresponding disadvantage is that jealously/envy along with the tall poppy syndrome can remove capable members who are considered a threat to others. Another innovation from Australia we are not proud of.
 
WATCH: Rep. Thomas Massie's full concession speech after defeat in Kentucky GOP primary | PBS News
"I would have come out sooner, but I had to call my opponent and concede and it took a while to find Ed Gallrein in Tel Aviv," Massie told the crowd.

Massie has voted against U.S. aid to Israel and faced accusations of antisemitism. He has denied the charges, arguing that he is generally against all foreign aid.

The race drew in millions of dollars against Massie from pro-Israel interest groups, including from the Republican Jewish Coalition Victory Fund.
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As to Republican politicians having AIPAC babysitters, something that Rep. Massie claimed to Tucker Carlson, at least one Democrat has one: Fetterman Loses Third Chief of Staff Since 2023
New York Magazine is reporting that Fetterman is isolating himself from colleagues or other advisers, but has become close with David “Dovi” Safier, a writer whose work focuses on modern Jewish history as well as a fundraiser for Orthodox causes. According to several current and former staffers, New York reported, Safier has attended sensitive meetings, including calls with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
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Endorsements mark final days of 3rd Congressional District race - WHYY
U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez made an appearance in Philly on Friday afternoon to endorse state Rep. Chris Rabb in his bid for the 3rd district.

...
The question here is not whether this community will elect a Democrat, the question is, What kind of Democrat will this community elect, Philadelphia?” Ocasio-Cortez told the audience. “And if you want to change the Democratic party, we’ve got to change the kind of Democrats that get elected and elect Democrats like Rep. Rabb if you want our nation to change.”

Ocasio-Cortez spoke to familiar themes, telling the group that Rabb, as a state representative, never took “money from corporate lobbyists” and that he is “unbought and unbossed.”
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CR's main opponent, Sharif Street:
U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., also made a trip over the river to stump for state Sen. Street. Booker called Street a fighter appropriate for the current political era, saying he’s “someone that knows what it is to keep fighting even when you’re tired.”

“We have a fight in Washington right now and it’s no time for the timid,” Booker said. “I feel blessed today that I get to stand with a brother that has not just stood with me, but has stood with the people.”

Booker joined prominent locally elected Democrats, including Mayor Cherelle Parker, Pa. Speaker of the House Joanna McClinton, Philadelphia City Council President Kenyatta Johnson, state Sen. Vincent Hughes and Philadelphia Democratic Party Chair Bob Brady at the Church of Christian Compassion in Cobbs Creek.
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But about another out-of-state politician,
Cory Booker won't endorse Mamdani and dismisses 'defund the police' rhetoric
Cory repeatedly dodged CNN's Manu Raju questions regarding whether he supported Mamdani, a self-described Democrat socialist. Raju's questioning comes as Mamdani has failed to garner the endorsement of top party leadership including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) or House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY).
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A bit later,
“I have learned a long time ago: Let New York politics be New York politics,” Booker responded. “We’ve got enough challenges in Jersey. I got a governor’s race. I’m supporting Mikie Sherrill. I got legislative races. That’s where my energy is going to go going into November.”

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“New York City, I love you," Booker said. "You’re my neighbor. You’re about 10 miles from where I live. You guys figure out your elections. I’m going to focus on mine."
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