I wish The Atlantic would stop interviewing Republicants (yes I spelled it that way) like Schweikert using mealy mouthed excuses like "One side is using their rage at DHS to raise money and the other side—my side—is often terrified to actually have detailed, mathematically honest conversations about population and immigration."
I think he probably qualifies as a rarer type of establishment: progressive/left establishment. People like sen Warren or Baldwin fall under this category too, to some degree, I think.
I guess Bernie does, too, then? But is merely being a multi-term elected official ipso facto establishment? I don't think so. So what distinction are you making?
I wasn't thinking establishment in the sense of elected official, but in how much are they willing to work with existing power structures within the party versus trying to supplant or work outside of those.
Warren doesn't 100% do that and is willing to work outside of those structures, but unlike Sanders she is generally willing to work within the party. Baldwin even more so.
These aren't people that are completely in lockstep with the party establishment but they're not as far outside of it as people like Sanders are. It's not a perfect label but compare Biss to some other candidates on the leftier side of the party like Platner. There's a clear gap between them on how establishment friendly they are.
I’m really tired of “establishment” becoming a catchphrase. All too often, its use is a lazy substitute for substantive discourse. The last thing we need is to reduce America’s political discourse to competing slogans and bumper stickers.
Lots more early voting (150%+ 2025 levels) in conservative far western counties than many other areas in the state. Is that engaged Rs or Ds who normally don't vote because most elections there are foregone conclusions, while this isnt?
That seems insane. I believe it will be high, but higher than 2025 seems.. unrealistic? Maybe more are voting early because it's a simple Y/N question with nothing else on the ballot and not much to persuade on.
This is basically reading tea leaves. Dems could for sure pull this off. But this is about as effective in terms of data as yard signs, which is to say it is not predictive
Caruso is only the incumbent because the Democratic incumbent resigned to become County Administrator, and Florida law (insanely, imo) allows the Governor to appoint replacements for county officials with no restrictions.
That's almost a 20-point downgrade from two years ago. If that holds or worsens this summer, it's going to be a bloodbath in the Sunshine State come November.
My guess is they're trying to encourage him to switch. With Vindman raising millions of dollars and clearly being the frontrunner in the race, it might not be a bad idea on Mujica's part.
Edit: It does sound like he's already seriously considering it, so maybe the poll is to "prime the pump" for donors, so to speak. From the article:
"While it’s a smart bet that Mujica’s entry to the CD 28 race is imminent, he’s not in it yet. Federal Election Commission records suggest Democrat Phil Ehr, a retired U.S. Navy pilot who unsuccessfully challenged Giménez in 2024, is the only active candidate running against the incumbent this cycle."
Completely agree. Also, the fact Mujica is Venezuelan-American could be an asset down the line when we consider surrogates to criticize Trump's handling of Venezuela.
Threatening Europeans, who the public generally likes (and why not also Canadians for good measure, who the public likes even more), ought to do the trick on turning this ship around!
I feel awful for all the Canadians whose sovereignty has been threatened, and I don't blame the ones I've seen for being pissed at the American people. You have every right. Americans aren't doing enough to fight back.
On that note, I know there are some Canadian commenters here, so I have a question for them: is there a way I, an American, can help Canada in fighting back against this mindless assault on their sovereignty? If the answer is "no" that's fine, I don't blame you, I just want to know if there's anything I can do, like buying Canadian products or something like that.
I actually have been to Canada before — I went to Toronto during spring break a couple years ago (and loved it). I’ve also been to Montreal and Vancouver — and Quebec City and Banff are on my list someday.
I would say to call your Senators and Congressperson to voice your concerns about how the regime is treating a close ally, neighbour, and trade partner. As far as personal actions:
1. Quebec maple syrup on everything. EVERYTHING!
2. Your Spotify/Apple playlist should be a heavy rotation of Gordon Lightfoot, Celine Dion, Anne Murray, Avril Lavigne, and Stompin Tom Connors.
3. When discussing baseball, loudly and confidently assert that in the 2025 World Series, the Dodgers got lucky and the better team lost.
4. Visit our many wonders, like Magnetic Hill in Moncton, the Big Nickel in Sudbury, and West Edmonton Mall. The Rockies and Niagara Falls are okay too, I suppose.
5. Do you drink alcohol? Ask your local liquor store to stock up on Canadian whisky, ice wine, and microbrews. Then order some, you probably need it for the next couple of years
6. Tired: American as apple pie. Inspired: Canadian as buttertarts. But only the ones with pecans, because raisins are gross. Nanaimo bars are also acceptable.
7. Watch more Canadian content. This isn't difficult, most of the shows and movies set in your country are filmed in Ontario and B.C., but go ahead and look up shows by the CBC and NFB (National Film Board) if you want true Canadiana.
if you're in the nyc metro area like me, we don't even need mention the world series, I just casually mention hey remember when Toronto smoked the yankees last year? captained by maga aaron judge
REMINDER: APRIL FOOL'S JOKES ARE PROHIBITED ON THIS SITE.
Do not share or make any such jokes. And please be extra mindful tomorrow when sharing links, tweets, etc., because it's too easy to mistake a poorly executed "joke" for the truth. This is a longstanding rule in this community. Thank you for complying.
The banner headline on a key Norwegian news site is that Trump is threatening to withdraw the USA from NATO. And no, that unfortunately is not an April fool’s joke – although it might be argued that it is the April utterance of a fool.
He’s mad his vass- err, allies won’t clean up the mess he made so he can extricate himself from it sans consequences and make it somebody else’s problem.
Just dandy that the Congressional GOP has no interest in checking this madness
Trump does not have the authority to withdraw the U.S. from NATO. It is another desperate attempt by Trump to claim power he does not have, as he gets slapped down by the courts for other such attempts.
Historians in the future will be baffled at how the U.S. decided to just voluntarily relinquish its hegemony because half of its political system got high on its own supply of esoteric culture war bullshit mixed in with jingoism
To be clear: It would require a two-thirds vote of Congress to withdraw the U.S. from NATO. That law was passed under President Biden with bipartisan support. It was supported by Marco Rubio in his previous incarnation.
The 2020 election conspiracy theorist candidates have now lost the SoS GOP primaries in both Michigan and now Arkansas in the past week. Reassuring to see. Those are the ones that would potentially challenge the results of elections down the road
Has anyone done an Excel sheet for all the state legislative seats up this year and added that D+10-12 shift we saw in the IA, FL and TX special elections?
Because I think Rs are going to lose way more seats there than they will for the Congressional ones.
Okay, first does anybody else find “complete and total endorsement” something that belongs in the Department of Redundancy Department?
Second, this is two polls now showing Roy Cooper with a double digit lead, and while the last one I could kind of write off as an outlier by a new polling company, YouGov is anything BUT that And Catawba College has been at this a while too. AND is on the ground in NC. So maybe rating Cooper’s odds at a Half-Stein was overly cautious or maybe Trump is putting a drag on Whatley’s (who has his “complete and total endorsement”). If Cooper pulls the Full Stein in this race, nobody will be happier than me, and nobody will be more nervous thanTed Budd.
Third… wasn’t Danny Tarkanian the basketball coach at UNLV back in the 80s? Seems like I remember his ugly mug on the sidelines when the Cardiac Pack of NCSU dropped them in the ‘83 NCAA Tournament on their way to the most improbable title in Final Four history.
Danny Tarkanian is the son of the basketball coach. He is not my favorite Armenian-American politician. A perennial candidate, he finally won a job as a county supervisor (or commissioner) in a small Nevada county.
In the old Soviet Union, state-funded (or "State-allowed-to-live / stay out of prison) authors & scientists used to bury their state criticisms in the footnotes. Sometimes quite extensive, but apparently rarely read by the censors.
Even if Cooper wins by a massive margin, I don't think Ted Budd will moderate his positions or votes.
He probably thinks the 2028 presidential election turnout will help him stay in the Senate. Be nice to see him and those three MAGA state Supreme Court judges washed out despite that.
Budd is high on his own supply. That guy has absolutely nothing on offer except his blind fealty to Tangerine Cthulhu, and that’s becoming more a liability than an asset lately. I hesitate to call two polls a trend, but two points do determine a line, if not a pattern and the last two polls showed Whatley trailing Cooper by a Full Stein. If that’s not just noise, then a Trump endorsement might turn out to be kryptonite by the time November arrives, and it’ll probably only get worse from there.
Oh, if Budd loses in 2028, I will rub my MAGA brother's nose in it. (He worked at the Greensboro airport and met Budd there while he was slumming it in the House.)
He lives in TX now, so if Cooper AND Talarico win in November, I will be sending him memes and crowing big time.
One thing that would make me happier than Budd losing re-election in 2028 would be Newby, Barringer, and Phil's nepo baby son all losing their state Supreme Court seats to progressive Democrats.
Hall of Fame basketball coach Tark the Shark was Jerry Tarkanian. He died in 2015. In addition to UNLV he also coached at Long Beach State and Fresno State, as well as 3 high schools, two community colleges and an NBA team (20 games as head coach for the Spurs in 1992).
Note the NCAA admitted that part of why they settled the suit he brought against them, is that their prep included multiple mock trials which they lost.
From a North Carolina perspective, I don’t think there’s any real shot Stein will go for Senate in 2028. He can cakewalk to reelection by another double digit margin based on his current approval ratings. I think he could be talked into a Senate run when Roy Cooper retires, either in 2032 or 2038, though. 2032 would make sense if Cooper is planning only a single term, and Stein is term-limited then. But 2028 is too early—he seems to love being governor too much. He’d probably easily beat Budd though, you’re right.
Jackson is pretty widely seen by state Democrats as the 2028 Senate frontrunner, and I like his odds against Budd this far out. He’s proven his ability to win a significant number of Trump voters already, and his political instincts are phenomenal.
I was using “Full-Stein” (and “Half-Stein”) as a unit of measure equaling roughly 15 points in the polls (Stein’s margin over Mark Robinson). If you weren't here yesterday when the poll came out putting Cooper a Full-Stein ahead of Whatley’s, the reference isn’t as clear. For what it’s worth, I think a lot of that margin is owed to … Mark Robinson. I think Stein would have won *anyway*, but he wouldn't have won in a walk like he did. I like Stein a lot. He was my state senator when I still lived in Raleigh and before he ran for AG, and I walsh thought he did a good job repping the district.
And I wouldn’t mind seeing him run for Senate, but not in 2028. I could see him following Cooper though, since Cooper’s term would be up at the same time Stein’s would see him term-limited out. My gut tells me Cooper’s only in this for one lap. He’ll be 75 when this term runs its course, and running for another term would make him 81 when it ended.
And I agree about Jackson. He’s got the energy, the popularity and experience with the DC machine because of his time in the House (brief as it was).. My only hesitation is who would replace him as AG?
I don’t know about Easley Jr.. Full disclosure, I didn’t know there WAS an Easley Jr. but I can picture the attack ads already. The sins of thre father and all that. What he was investigated for and led to was downright quaint by today’s standards, but that won’t matter.
What if we revived Darren Jackson? He has the pedigree, and the NCDP bona fides, and the only knock against him really is that he lost the election for a full term on the Court of Appeals. He was my NC House rep when I lived in east Wake County, and then was appointed to Berger Jr’s seat on the CoA when Berger Jr. was elected to the NCSC. He was a USCM JAG, legislator NC House Minority Leader and judge, and is a partner in his own firm. AG would suit him if he can generate the name recognition.
Would like someone younger tbh. The options in the legislature aren’t great. Ideally you’d have someone who was a prosecutor or worked in the AG’s office at some point like Stein and Jackson did. I don’t think any attacks against Easley Jr. would stick aside from nepotism, but I don’t think many would care. It doesn’t seem to matter in other states, and his dad was governor so long ago at this point that many probably don’t even recognize the name.
Darren Jackson’s not exactly a fossil at 55, and has a broad range of legal experience on both sides. He has one thing in common with Easley Jr, though, in that a lot of people won’t recognize the name — unless they live in Wake County. If your’ looking at the legislature, Jay Chaudhuri might be a good choice, though I can’t speak to his legal chops.
"Complete and total endorsement" is not only tautological, but it's not even accurate these days, what with them being moved on a whim and/or shared with an opponent.
Hmmm, "nobody will be happier than me" suggests that we'll need a happy-dance contest or something between you and MPC to know for sure. 🙂 MPC might be 23 votes ahead at the moment.
They didn't seem to push leaners in NC, and Cooper still isn't breaking 50. It seems like Cooper is still the frontrunner, but the race will be closer than this spread. Stein-type numbers strike me as awfully optimistic
That’s what I was saying yesterday, when I gave him a Half-Stein. I still think he’ll win, and I don’t think it’l be especially close*, but he’s not running against Mark Robinson (more’s the pity… THAT would be a bloodbath!)
Is the Wisconsin judicial decision a surprise? How damaging is it? And how long does this delay a more-equitable distribution of political representation for the State of Wisconsin?
As for the Congressional redistricting, I think if Dems win a state trifecta in WI this year, they will redraw theirs to be 50-50 in 2027 for the 2028 cycle.
They also have to put independent an independent redistricting commission like Michigan’s on the ballot so they don’t get locked out of the process after 2030 again like they did in 2010. Either that or redraw the legislative maps to make the Dem legislative majorities wave proof, which seems less likely. They’d have to have several more districts that have strips going into Madison and Milwaukee, which may end up being quite risky and could spark a backlash in a state where Dems are more likely to be held to the “good government” standard.
A state trifecta can rein in the lawless NCSC by shortening the mandatory retirement age for judges and allowing the governor to appoint replacements he/she chooses -- and not from a list of 3 provided by the party of the outgoing one.
If we win both houses of the NC legislature, one thing we could do is reinsert the Governor into the redistricting process (the removal of which is a massive own-goal by Democrats, although not quite as much of one as putting redistricting commissions in place in deep blue states).
I wish The Atlantic would stop interviewing Republicants (yes I spelled it that way) like Schweikert using mealy mouthed excuses like "One side is using their rage at DHS to raise money and the other side—my side—is often terrified to actually have detailed, mathematically honest conversations about population and immigration."
God I hope he loses (re) election.
Isn’t he running for governor?
Wouldn't she have run for Congress against Moskowitz?
IL-9 is a tough one since I wouldn’t consider Biss that “establishment” of a figure
I think a former state senator, runnner-up for Governor in 2018 primary, and incumbent Mayor is definitely establishment, and it's not a bad thing.
I guess
I think he probably qualifies as a rarer type of establishment: progressive/left establishment. People like sen Warren or Baldwin fall under this category too, to some degree, I think.
I guess Bernie does, too, then? But is merely being a multi-term elected official ipso facto establishment? I don't think so. So what distinction are you making?
I wasn't thinking establishment in the sense of elected official, but in how much are they willing to work with existing power structures within the party versus trying to supplant or work outside of those.
Warren doesn't 100% do that and is willing to work outside of those structures, but unlike Sanders she is generally willing to work within the party. Baldwin even more so.
These aren't people that are completely in lockstep with the party establishment but they're not as far outside of it as people like Sanders are. It's not a perfect label but compare Biss to some other candidates on the leftier side of the party like Platner. There's a clear gap between them on how establishment friendly they are.
We have no way of knowing how much or how little Platner may work through establishment channels if he's elected to the Senate.
The key difference between Warren and Sanders is that Elizabeth Warren actually gets stuff done!
Sanders was very effective in negotiations for the ACA.
I’m really tired of “establishment” becoming a catchphrase. All too often, its use is a lazy substitute for substantive discourse. The last thing we need is to reduce America’s political discourse to competing slogans and bumper stickers.
I was one of those donors. I like her.
Best outcome is that all the bellyaching was wrong.
Wasn't intended to single anyone out in particular, apologies if that felt targeted :D
Lots more early voting (150%+ 2025 levels) in conservative far western counties than many other areas in the state. Is that engaged Rs or Ds who normally don't vote because most elections there are foregone conclusions, while this isnt?
That seems insane. I believe it will be high, but higher than 2025 seems.. unrealistic? Maybe more are voting early because it's a simple Y/N question with nothing else on the ballot and not much to persuade on.
This is basically reading tea leaves. Dems could for sure pull this off. But this is about as effective in terms of data as yard signs, which is to say it is not predictive
great fit for the district, im definitely further left than she is but I nonetheless a proud, regular donor to her campaign
That is very interesting. If they manage a higher sample for a future poll, I'd like to see that.
Caruso is only the incumbent because the Democratic incumbent resigned to become County Administrator, and Florida law (insanely, imo) allows the Governor to appoint replacements for county officials with no restrictions.
That's almost a 20-point downgrade from two years ago. If that holds or worsens this summer, it's going to be a bloodbath in the Sunshine State come November.
Worth noting that Mujica is currently running for Senate. He'd have to drop down to FL-28 for this poll to be worth much.
My guess is they're trying to encourage him to switch. With Vindman raising millions of dollars and clearly being the frontrunner in the race, it might not be a bad idea on Mujica's part.
Edit: It does sound like he's already seriously considering it, so maybe the poll is to "prime the pump" for donors, so to speak. From the article:
"While it’s a smart bet that Mujica’s entry to the CD 28 race is imminent, he’s not in it yet. Federal Election Commission records suggest Democrat Phil Ehr, a retired U.S. Navy pilot who unsuccessfully challenged Giménez in 2024, is the only active candidate running against the incumbent this cycle."
Completely agree. Also, the fact Mujica is Venezuelan-American could be an asset down the line when we consider surrogates to criticize Trump's handling of Venezuela.
Non-Cuban Hispanic voters will be more critical to South Florida in the future.
Will be interesting to see how hard the FL GOP goes with redistricting with numbers like these out there
Threatening Europeans, who the public generally likes (and why not also Canadians for good measure, who the public likes even more), ought to do the trick on turning this ship around!
I feel awful for all the Canadians whose sovereignty has been threatened, and I don't blame the ones I've seen for being pissed at the American people. You have every right. Americans aren't doing enough to fight back.
On that note, I know there are some Canadian commenters here, so I have a question for them: is there a way I, an American, can help Canada in fighting back against this mindless assault on their sovereignty? If the answer is "no" that's fine, I don't blame you, I just want to know if there's anything I can do, like buying Canadian products or something like that.
I actually have been to Canada before — I went to Toronto during spring break a couple years ago (and loved it). I’ve also been to Montreal and Vancouver — and Quebec City and Banff are on my list someday.
Thanks for the tips!
Oh definitely. There’s tons of places I’d love to travel to.
I’ve heard Banff is supposed to be absolutely stunning
As a Seattleite I’m doing my part this month going to both Victoria and Nelson (the latter less happy of circumstances, it’s for a funeral).
British Columbia is a great place to visit - I’ve had a great time everywhere I go
Don't forget Whistler!
I would say to call your Senators and Congressperson to voice your concerns about how the regime is treating a close ally, neighbour, and trade partner. As far as personal actions:
1. Quebec maple syrup on everything. EVERYTHING!
2. Your Spotify/Apple playlist should be a heavy rotation of Gordon Lightfoot, Celine Dion, Anne Murray, Avril Lavigne, and Stompin Tom Connors.
3. When discussing baseball, loudly and confidently assert that in the 2025 World Series, the Dodgers got lucky and the better team lost.
4. Visit our many wonders, like Magnetic Hill in Moncton, the Big Nickel in Sudbury, and West Edmonton Mall. The Rockies and Niagara Falls are okay too, I suppose.
5. Do you drink alcohol? Ask your local liquor store to stock up on Canadian whisky, ice wine, and microbrews. Then order some, you probably need it for the next couple of years
6. Tired: American as apple pie. Inspired: Canadian as buttertarts. But only the ones with pecans, because raisins are gross. Nanaimo bars are also acceptable.
7. Watch more Canadian content. This isn't difficult, most of the shows and movies set in your country are filmed in Ontario and B.C., but go ahead and look up shows by the CBC and NFB (National Film Board) if you want true Canadiana.
Manitoba is basically the backbone of most Hallmark content too, no?
Probably, a lot of small towns for them to use as settings for the main characters to leave the big bad city for.
if you're in the nyc metro area like me, we don't even need mention the world series, I just casually mention hey remember when Toronto smoked the yankees last year? captained by maga aaron judge
You are doing the Lord's work.
Jess Piper needs to be given her flowers for a large chunk of the MO candidate recruitment.
There is a real chance we break the supermajority. But most of the seats in places like Buchanan and Greene are pretty far gone.
I think we see some pleasant surprises in Clay, Platte, and northern Jefferson counties.
And at least one in St. Charles County (hopefully).
eugene is the man
He's been a tremendous upgrade from Sharif Street, who I sincerely hope does not win the PA-3 primary.
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THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER!
(I’ll see myself out…)
The banner headline on a key Norwegian news site is that Trump is threatening to withdraw the USA from NATO. And no, that unfortunately is not an April fool’s joke – although it might be argued that it is the April utterance of a fool.
He’s mad his vass- err, allies won’t clean up the mess he made so he can extricate himself from it sans consequences and make it somebody else’s problem.
Just dandy that the Congressional GOP has no interest in checking this madness
Actually, the congressional GOP has definitely been more willing to speak out against Trump than beforehand.
Trump does not have the authority to withdraw the U.S. from NATO. It is another desperate attempt by Trump to claim power he does not have, as he gets slapped down by the courts for other such attempts.
No, but his voiced intentions are reverberating like a 9.2-Richter-scale earthquake through the political leaderships of America’s allies.
Also, Trump has toyed with the idea of leaving NATO all the time. So this isn't exactly new ground for him.
No, but you can still render it effectively useless just by questioning it
And the USA abandoning NATO is a huge boon for Russia and China.
Historians in the future will be baffled at how the U.S. decided to just voluntarily relinquish its hegemony because half of its political system got high on its own supply of esoteric culture war bullshit mixed in with jingoism
To be clear: It would require a two-thirds vote of Congress to withdraw the U.S. from NATO. That law was passed under President Biden with bipartisan support. It was supported by Marco Rubio in his previous incarnation.
If that requirement was enacted via a law passed by Congress, they could just repeal the law though. But still, requires an extra step.
Republicans don't have the votes. The Democrats would not let it go through in the Senate.
Right
*galaxy brain voice* what if THIS is the April Fool's Joke?
Frankly, Trump becoming President again rendered all April Fools Jokes obsolete.
The 2020 election conspiracy theorist candidates have now lost the SoS GOP primaries in both Michigan and now Arkansas in the past week. Reassuring to see. Those are the ones that would potentially challenge the results of elections down the road
Has anyone done an Excel sheet for all the state legislative seats up this year and added that D+10-12 shift we saw in the IA, FL and TX special elections?
Because I think Rs are going to lose way more seats there than they will for the Congressional ones.
Election Twitter compiles them I’m pretty sure.
Some of the R-to-D shifts are simply incredible, while others are less dramatic.
Okay, first does anybody else find “complete and total endorsement” something that belongs in the Department of Redundancy Department?
Second, this is two polls now showing Roy Cooper with a double digit lead, and while the last one I could kind of write off as an outlier by a new polling company, YouGov is anything BUT that And Catawba College has been at this a while too. AND is on the ground in NC. So maybe rating Cooper’s odds at a Half-Stein was overly cautious or maybe Trump is putting a drag on Whatley’s (who has his “complete and total endorsement”). If Cooper pulls the Full Stein in this race, nobody will be happier than me, and nobody will be more nervous thanTed Budd.
Third… wasn’t Danny Tarkanian the basketball coach at UNLV back in the 80s? Seems like I remember his ugly mug on the sidelines when the Cardiac Pack of NCSU dropped them in the ‘83 NCAA Tournament on their way to the most improbable title in Final Four history.
Danny Tarkanian is the son of the basketball coach. He is not my favorite Armenian-American politician. A perennial candidate, he finally won a job as a county supervisor (or commissioner) in a small Nevada county.
Apropos your Department of Redundancy Department, in one of my university math textbooks, the following entries were found in the index:
Circular definition – See Tautology
Tautology – See Recursive definition
Recursive definition – See Redundancy
Redundancy – See Circular definition
Even textbook editors have a sense of humor, you just have to dig to find it.
In the old Soviet Union, state-funded (or "State-allowed-to-live / stay out of prison) authors & scientists used to bury their state criticisms in the footnotes. Sometimes quite extensive, but apparently rarely read by the censors.
Even if Cooper wins by a massive margin, I don't think Ted Budd will moderate his positions or votes.
He probably thinks the 2028 presidential election turnout will help him stay in the Senate. Be nice to see him and those three MAGA state Supreme Court judges washed out despite that.
Budd is high on his own supply. That guy has absolutely nothing on offer except his blind fealty to Tangerine Cthulhu, and that’s becoming more a liability than an asset lately. I hesitate to call two polls a trend, but two points do determine a line, if not a pattern and the last two polls showed Whatley trailing Cooper by a Full Stein. If that’s not just noise, then a Trump endorsement might turn out to be kryptonite by the time November arrives, and it’ll probably only get worse from there.
Oh, if Budd loses in 2028, I will rub my MAGA brother's nose in it. (He worked at the Greensboro airport and met Budd there while he was slumming it in the House.)
He lives in TX now, so if Cooper AND Talarico win in November, I will be sending him memes and crowing big time.
OK, you might be the one person who’ll be happier to see Budd gone than me. But it’ll be a tight race.
One thing that would make me happier than Budd losing re-election in 2028 would be Newby, Barringer, and Phil's nepo baby son all losing their state Supreme Court seats to progressive Democrats.
As they say int he commercials, ¿Por que no los dos?
Hall of Fame basketball coach Tark the Shark was Jerry Tarkanian. He died in 2015. In addition to UNLV he also coached at Long Beach State and Fresno State, as well as 3 high schools, two community colleges and an NBA team (20 games as head coach for the Spurs in 1992).
Almost took the Lakers job too
Seriously? Wow.
Yeah… he was the one always chewing on a towel, right?
Yep. And notorious for coaching so-called student athletes at UNLV who couldn't read!
He got a $2.5 million dollar settlement from the NCAA for their multi-decade harassment campaign against him at three Div 1 schools.
I didn't know about that. What was the basis of the winning lawsuit? His students actually could read?
Accommodations for dyslexia are a thing.
https://www.nytimes.com/1998/04/03/sports/maverick-coach-wins-battle-and-collects-from-ncaa.html
Note the NCAA admitted that part of why they settled the suit he brought against them, is that their prep included multiple mock trials which they lost.
From a North Carolina perspective, I don’t think there’s any real shot Stein will go for Senate in 2028. He can cakewalk to reelection by another double digit margin based on his current approval ratings. I think he could be talked into a Senate run when Roy Cooper retires, either in 2032 or 2038, though. 2032 would make sense if Cooper is planning only a single term, and Stein is term-limited then. But 2028 is too early—he seems to love being governor too much. He’d probably easily beat Budd though, you’re right.
Jackson is pretty widely seen by state Democrats as the 2028 Senate frontrunner, and I like his odds against Budd this far out. He’s proven his ability to win a significant number of Trump voters already, and his political instincts are phenomenal.
I think Jackson is a GREAT candidate. If he runs against Budd, he'll probably announce it in January once Cooper is sworn in.
I was using “Full-Stein” (and “Half-Stein”) as a unit of measure equaling roughly 15 points in the polls (Stein’s margin over Mark Robinson). If you weren't here yesterday when the poll came out putting Cooper a Full-Stein ahead of Whatley’s, the reference isn’t as clear. For what it’s worth, I think a lot of that margin is owed to … Mark Robinson. I think Stein would have won *anyway*, but he wouldn't have won in a walk like he did. I like Stein a lot. He was my state senator when I still lived in Raleigh and before he ran for AG, and I walsh thought he did a good job repping the district.
And I wouldn’t mind seeing him run for Senate, but not in 2028. I could see him following Cooper though, since Cooper’s term would be up at the same time Stein’s would see him term-limited out. My gut tells me Cooper’s only in this for one lap. He’ll be 75 when this term runs its course, and running for another term would make him 81 when it ended.
And I agree about Jackson. He’s got the energy, the popularity and experience with the DC machine because of his time in the House (brief as it was).. My only hesitation is who would replace him as AG?
Easley Jr. or someone from the legislature I bet.
I don’t know about Easley Jr.. Full disclosure, I didn’t know there WAS an Easley Jr. but I can picture the attack ads already. The sins of thre father and all that. What he was investigated for and led to was downright quaint by today’s standards, but that won’t matter.
What if we revived Darren Jackson? He has the pedigree, and the NCDP bona fides, and the only knock against him really is that he lost the election for a full term on the Court of Appeals. He was my NC House rep when I lived in east Wake County, and then was appointed to Berger Jr’s seat on the CoA when Berger Jr. was elected to the NCSC. He was a USCM JAG, legislator NC House Minority Leader and judge, and is a partner in his own firm. AG would suit him if he can generate the name recognition.
Would like someone younger tbh. The options in the legislature aren’t great. Ideally you’d have someone who was a prosecutor or worked in the AG’s office at some point like Stein and Jackson did. I don’t think any attacks against Easley Jr. would stick aside from nepotism, but I don’t think many would care. It doesn’t seem to matter in other states, and his dad was governor so long ago at this point that many probably don’t even recognize the name.
Darren Jackson’s not exactly a fossil at 55, and has a broad range of legal experience on both sides. He has one thing in common with Easley Jr, though, in that a lot of people won’t recognize the name — unless they live in Wake County. If your’ looking at the legislature, Jay Chaudhuri might be a good choice, though I can’t speak to his legal chops.
Wiley Nickel?
"Complete and total endorsement" is not only tautological, but it's not even accurate these days, what with them being moved on a whim and/or shared with an opponent.
Hmmm, "nobody will be happier than me" suggests that we'll need a happy-dance contest or something between you and MPC to know for sure. 🙂 MPC might be 23 votes ahead at the moment.
I'm waiting for a triple redundancy, such as the infamous "new and novel innovations." (I think this was Alexander Haig in the Reagan administration.)
They didn't seem to push leaners in NC, and Cooper still isn't breaking 50. It seems like Cooper is still the frontrunner, but the race will be closer than this spread. Stein-type numbers strike me as awfully optimistic
That’s what I was saying yesterday, when I gave him a Half-Stein. I still think he’ll win, and I don’t think it’l be especially close*, but he’s not running against Mark Robinson (more’s the pity… THAT would be a bloodbath!)
*absent Shenanigans™
Is the Wisconsin judicial decision a surprise? How damaging is it? And how long does this delay a more-equitable distribution of political representation for the State of Wisconsin?
I'm not surprised by it.
As for the Congressional redistricting, I think if Dems win a state trifecta in WI this year, they will redraw theirs to be 50-50 in 2027 for the 2028 cycle.
They also have to put independent an independent redistricting commission like Michigan’s on the ballot so they don’t get locked out of the process after 2030 again like they did in 2010. Either that or redraw the legislative maps to make the Dem legislative majorities wave proof, which seems less likely. They’d have to have several more districts that have strips going into Madison and Milwaukee, which may end up being quite risky and could spark a backlash in a state where Dems are more likely to be held to the “good government” standard.
That and Pennsylvania, Nevada, and North Carolina if we somehow win the trifecta in the latter. Pass that shit immediately.
Yup. NC is tough since we need 60% of the legislature to put something on the ballot, which we almost certainly cannot get.
We can at least pass a bill and that would be good enough to hold through 2032 barring Republican supermajorities overturning a Stein veto.
Most realistic option towards un-fucking North Carolina state government remains winning back the NCSC in 2028 though.
A state trifecta can rein in the lawless NCSC by shortening the mandatory retirement age for judges and allowing the governor to appoint replacements he/she chooses -- and not from a list of 3 provided by the party of the outgoing one.
If we win both houses of the NC legislature, one thing we could do is reinsert the Governor into the redistricting process (the removal of which is a massive own-goal by Democrats, although not quite as much of one as putting redistricting commissions in place in deep blue states).