"Broke campaign" ? The one that went toe-to-toe with the Israel lobby and the establishment because of its grassroots donors and has ranked in ActBlue's top three for more than a month?
He's only "broke" (he's not) because they spent $63 million to boost his primary opponent. Those are general election numbers.
For contrast, in 2024's California race, Reps. Adam Schiff and Katie Porter only raised $35 and $31 million respectively, in the largest state with the largest markets and ideological tensions still brewing between them.
The amount of money spent to boost Stevens is mind-boggling, and it's even more mind-boggling that she lost with that kind of influence on the field.
Oh, and it's clearly so "ironic" for El-Sayed that the Democratic Party...which he is running under...is boosting his campaign. What a poor thing.
I'm no fan of AES and firmly believe he is putting a seat at risk unnecessarily, but advocating for people to vote against a Democratic candidate is against the rules for this site (and also stupid).
Exactly. Once the primary is over we have to all be on the same team as Democrats. And hope Independents don't do what polling shows them doing in MI-Sen so far.
i have several quibbles with their analysis, the biggest being they appear to ignore the junk polls that flooded the internet in 2022 and had blake masters, and a bunch of other idiots winning
Huge caveat on "four cycles in a row", and the choice to focus on summer polling is odd. As we all know *final* 2022 polling was way to the right of what showed up (just check the last several WA-Sen polls), this includes OH-Sen, one of his examples. Whereas yes basically all polling from 2018 to 2020 was showing blue tsunamis that overstated Dem margins, especially in 2020. What is Ruffini arguing this year, that polls will move to the right by November, thus retroactively making summer polling biased towards Dems? Or that polling stays the same but Republicans way outperform them?
A major problem here is treating "polling" as some fixed phenomenon year to year, and not a constantly changing playing field, comprised of actors honest and dishonest, trying to gauge shifting voter sentiment which may legitimately move to the right between summer and fall, or not. People were convinced 2022 polling was still overstating Democrats to the point that some groups like RCP started basically redoing the unskewed polls project again, with amusing results. https://x.com/averyhatestwt/status/1592425080604176386
It's a no-win trap trying to project polling errors of the past into the future. I simply don't believe it can be done with any confidence.
So many reasons to nitpick this, but the main one is that if you look at just the last 2 midterms (i.e. the ones in the Trump era) the polls were basically correct (off just a smidge in either direction). Nothing in the Obama era (coalitions, seat makeup, etc.) is releveant anymore
We lived in Mike Thompson's district which is now the 4th for 50 years and have known Mike for at least 30. A better man never lived. Yes he's gotten older in service to his constituents, but that mayonnaise ad is just cruel. If Jones has nothing to run on except Mike's age, I hope Mike pounds the pavement with him. We no longer live in the States, so I'm not as informed on the 4th District politics as I once was, but they look a lot uglier than they used to be and that's a shame.
I'm an outsider and don't live in California but I also feel like the mayonnaise ad is needlessly mean, especially for an intraparty contest and not against a Republican (in which case I say the Golden Rule reigns supreme)
Policy wise Mike Thompson isn't *my* cup of tea and Eric Jones' website says the right things... but at the same time it's *very* hard for me to trust a venture capitalist saying those things lol. I don't necessarily think being wealthy has to mean you're a moderate at best and far-right as the standard, JB Pritzker's done some good work and we all know about FDR, America's greatest class traitor. But typically, people like Eric Jones have to *earn* my trust. Until then, I can't help but be opposed to people like Eric, especially since he doesn't have a record or anything to indicate how much he truly believes in what he's saying.
Also, he kind of looks like that dude from legally blonde. Not important but something I noticed
Well like you said, he’s done good things as a wealthy man. Eric Jones doesn’t really have that history to the same extent. Looking at his biography I don’t think he’s evil or trying to trick people, but I still can’t help but feel reluctant about the wealthy getting into politics unless it’s very clear that they’re in it for the right reasons and with something to show for it, like Steyer or Pritzker. Maybe I’d feel differently if it was an open seat where he’d have to make better arguments than “the other guy is OLD!”
Josh Harder? He's a moderate House Democrat but it may be fitting for his district which is entirely in San Joaquin County (includes Lodi, Manteca, Stockton, and Tracy). He's also very much on board with medicare-for-all, universal healthcare and apparently has been working to try to address problems with doctor shortages.
Comparatively to Eric Jones, Harder might be more moderate than him but it depends on how Jones would evolve as a politician if he were to unseat Rep. Mike Thompson in November. Jones seems more liberal but he also has a business background.
Interesting that Eric Jones is endorsed by Our Revolution - Bernie Sander’s organization. Strange to imagine a candidate endorsed by both Bernie and a Republican
Jones' website has the entire progressive wish-list, so I'm not sure what any Republicans might see in him, other than personal wealth and success and not being part of the *current* Democratic establishment.
From his campaign website: "Thompson is a member of the Blue Dog Coalition, which is composed of moderate Democrats committed to fiscally responsible solutions to America's problems. He is recognized in Congress and throughout his district as someone who has built a solid reputation for bipartisan problem solving."
...but why not just join the NewDem caucus? I'm not seeing anything about him that indicates that he's a conservadem. Hell his own biography brings up his work in defending women's rights to choose and defending transgender rights, and he's openly supportive of a public healthcare. Hell he didn't even vote for the Laken Riley Act, something a lot of Blue Dogs and even standard moderates were tripping over themselves to vote for so they could look "tough on immigration" or something. I thought I was going to find something that cleared up why he's a Blue Dog... but instead I'm left even more confused as to why he's a Blue Dog.
The district used to be very swingy. In the 90s, the seat changed parties in 1990, 1992, 1994, and 1998, and it was very close in 1996. Even before that, the district was marginal in presidential elections, and Republican Don Clausen was defeated for reelection in 1982. I remember reading, back in 1998, that when Mike Thompson announced that he was running for the seat, republican incumbent Frank Riggs decided that he would run for statewide office, as he figured he had a better chance of winning statewide than of beating Thompson.
I know Thompson was seen as a very strong candidate, maybe a reputation as a middle of the road candidate was part of that.
My understanding is the same as JoeyJoeJoe1980. The district was once much more competitive, so he joined the Blue Dogs when he first joined Congress, but never saw a reason to leave it.
Eric Jones had talked with Ray Raehle, the GOP candidate who failed to make it to the top two, on more than one occasion. Raehle says he supports Jones because of his promise not to take lobbying money, tackling the national debt and putting his district’s interests ahead of special interests.
However, Raehle also mentioned he may run again in 2028.
Median Strategies, the company behind fake polls in the Wisconsin gubernatorial Democratic primary and the Los Angeles, CA mayoral runoff, is shuttering operations:
There is also responsibility on part of the Democratic political establishment, reporters, and pundits who ran with these numbers, without verifying, and doing their due diligence to ensure the firm was even real. This was in the group's own words, "a short term social experiment" and large parts of the political media fell for it hook, line and sinker.
The firm had no history, no track record, and no credentials, and yet their polls were reported with the same certitude as if they were fresh numbers from Gallup or Pew.
Oof, that moment where you're muttering under your breath, "please don't be a Democrat, please don't be a Democrat" and then you open the article and see him described as a "staunch ally of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis." Pure relief. I kind of assumed he was a Republican, but it's nice to have it confirmed.
Where are they now? - Former Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein has a warrant out for her arrest in Missouri, after failing to appear in court on related assault charges stemming from a 2024 protest at Washington University.
I mean, Trump became a convicted felon before his ascent to the office after staging an insurrection the first time. Not to mention being found liable of rape all the way up to the Supreme Court.
Yes although Stein’s problems are much different in scope. She was apart of a protest on campus in and merely a participant as opposed to inciting a crowd to do things like Trump did with the January 6th insurrection.
Problem is, Stein gave the police officer serious injuries that go beyond the intention of self-defense. If she simply got arrested without having assaulted the police officer, it would have been a much different affair for her. Numerous House Democrats have been arrested at political protests but did not have to face these legal problems.
The Green Party will have to not rely on Stein if it wants to nominate presidential candidates candidates.
"Documents state that Officer Conroy approached on a bicycle, which Stein grabbed, leading to Officer Moore attempting to help. The bicycle hit Moore in the forearm, and while the bicycle was raised, Stein allegedly kicked Moore multiple times in the right leg near the groin. Officer Moore was later diagnosed with a strain in his left forearm, a contusion in the back of his right leg and a groin injury."
Given this incident occurred many months ago and that Stein has yet to share enough her side of the story (so far as what we know), we really don't know if the injuries are suspect. The warrant for her arrest has been dropped but that doesn't mean her case is over.
So far, Stein has argued the contrary to what the police and prosecutor's story has argued. That's what she will have to discuss in court.
Regardless of the legal outcome, I have to question why a notable Green Party presidential candidate like Stein who ran in 2012, 2016 and 2024 needed to do a protest like this on a college campus. Has she no ability to turn her activism into a bigger agenda to address the issue she's fighting for?
FL-6: Republican Rep. Randy Fine was caught on a Ring doorbell camera going through someone's mailbox while wearing his campaign shirt. Tonight he has a primary opponent in influencer Dan Bilzerian. Fine and Bilzerian might be the two worst people (very bigoted and corrupt) running in Florida other than Cory Mills, who also has a primary.
Fine was also caught on camera when he was in the state legislature illegally casting votes for his fellow members.
It’s morbidly hilarious that Dan Bilzerian, who is horrible and was basically proto-manosphere a decade ago, might actually be a mild improvement over Fine.
Speaking of LA Mayor, I haven't seen one thing on this race since the primary besides the fake poll. Does anyone have any idea if Raman has a chance? Lack of news on it seems bizarre given all the attention on Pratt. Was it just his name rec driving it?
I think his novelty and name rec were the big thing, yes.
I get the sense that Bass is not popular but has institutional heavyweights behind her. I’m not sure how it’ll go, but insurgents have found purchase especially in big, expensive blue metros with governance issues this cycle
Had Pratt made the runoff against Bass, or even Raman, then the national media would probably be broadcasting his every move and holding him up as an example of some new urban populism or whatever--until November when the party would have abruptly ended when enough votes were tallied to make a projection.
Speaking of Karen Bass, I just saw this video where she tried to do the "tag Mamdani on social media and he'll fix the pothole" and failed, miserably at it.
You'd think to fix the pothole and boost your popularity after 22 years in elected office. In a city of charismatic movie stars, she kind of stands out like a sore thumb with her lack of charisma.
The MSM *really* wanted to pretend that Pratt was proof that there was massive backlash against Democrats in safe blue cities/states, and that his candidacy was some sort of sign of political realignment, similar to the stories put out about New York and New Jersey after 2024. Once he fell flat on his face and made the talk about a political realignment look dumb as fuck, they lost interest.
Whew, have I missed a lot in the last week. I was out of town for my birthday last week and have been swamped with work since getting back.
Regarding SC-Sen, my sense now is that Graham runs away with it given Fry's backing and Trump's targeted stumping this week in his home base around Myrtle Beach to gin up votes. I would bet turnout in Charleston area craters as I doubt anyone that voted Sanford comes out to vote for either candidate, especially given this would be the fourth election in the last 6 weeks or so.
The news reports and opinionators I've read have portrayed Graham's statement as a giant gaffe that will sink her. I would be amazed, though, if anyone at all cares in the slightest.
Wow!
Was also a likely R race that turned out not to be in 2020.
Turned out not to be what? Competitive?
Yes
I don't think likely guarantees a competitive race.
"Broke campaign" ? The one that went toe-to-toe with the Israel lobby and the establishment because of its grassroots donors and has ranked in ActBlue's top three for more than a month?
7 million is more than what Stevens spent on ads through her campaign account lol.
I don’t think he’s the one who’s an unlikable jerk.
"Unlikeable jerk" lmao where? It seems you're just stirring shit because your preferred candidate didn't win
He's only "broke" (he's not) because they spent $63 million to boost his primary opponent. Those are general election numbers.
For contrast, in 2024's California race, Reps. Adam Schiff and Katie Porter only raised $35 and $31 million respectively, in the largest state with the largest markets and ideological tensions still brewing between them.
The amount of money spent to boost Stevens is mind-boggling, and it's even more mind-boggling that she lost with that kind of influence on the field.
Oh, and it's clearly so "ironic" for El-Sayed that the Democratic Party...which he is running under...is boosting his campaign. What a poor thing.
I'm no fan of AES and firmly believe he is putting a seat at risk unnecessarily, but advocating for people to vote against a Democratic candidate is against the rules for this site (and also stupid).
Exactly. Once the primary is over we have to all be on the same team as Democrats. And hope Independents don't do what polling shows them doing in MI-Sen so far.
You mean the one he supported and voted for?
LOL
Openly hoping for a Republican to win is against site rules.
He was the first Arab leader in Michigan to endorse Kamala and campaigned for her. I'm starting to think that you might be a single issue voter.
Isnt' this a republican firm?
Yes. It also has Ossoff up 50-43.
i have several quibbles with their analysis, the biggest being they appear to ignore the junk polls that flooded the internet in 2022 and had blake masters, and a bunch of other idiots winning
Huge caveat on "four cycles in a row", and the choice to focus on summer polling is odd. As we all know *final* 2022 polling was way to the right of what showed up (just check the last several WA-Sen polls), this includes OH-Sen, one of his examples. Whereas yes basically all polling from 2018 to 2020 was showing blue tsunamis that overstated Dem margins, especially in 2020. What is Ruffini arguing this year, that polls will move to the right by November, thus retroactively making summer polling biased towards Dems? Or that polling stays the same but Republicans way outperform them?
A major problem here is treating "polling" as some fixed phenomenon year to year, and not a constantly changing playing field, comprised of actors honest and dishonest, trying to gauge shifting voter sentiment which may legitimately move to the right between summer and fall, or not. People were convinced 2022 polling was still overstating Democrats to the point that some groups like RCP started basically redoing the unskewed polls project again, with amusing results. https://x.com/averyhatestwt/status/1592425080604176386
It's a no-win trap trying to project polling errors of the past into the future. I simply don't believe it can be done with any confidence.
So many reasons to nitpick this, but the main one is that if you look at just the last 2 midterms (i.e. the ones in the Trump era) the polls were basically correct (off just a smidge in either direction). Nothing in the Obama era (coalitions, seat makeup, etc.) is releveant anymore
In 2018 the polling was generally accurate everywhere but FL and to a lesser extent, Ohio.
This is a reader-supported site. I can't personally afford to be a premium member right now but I appreciate everyone who is one.
We lived in Mike Thompson's district which is now the 4th for 50 years and have known Mike for at least 30. A better man never lived. Yes he's gotten older in service to his constituents, but that mayonnaise ad is just cruel. If Jones has nothing to run on except Mike's age, I hope Mike pounds the pavement with him. We no longer live in the States, so I'm not as informed on the 4th District politics as I once was, but they look a lot uglier than they used to be and that's a shame.
I'm an outsider and don't live in California but I also feel like the mayonnaise ad is needlessly mean, especially for an intraparty contest and not against a Republican (in which case I say the Golden Rule reigns supreme)
Policy wise Mike Thompson isn't *my* cup of tea and Eric Jones' website says the right things... but at the same time it's *very* hard for me to trust a venture capitalist saying those things lol. I don't necessarily think being wealthy has to mean you're a moderate at best and far-right as the standard, JB Pritzker's done some good work and we all know about FDR, America's greatest class traitor. But typically, people like Eric Jones have to *earn* my trust. Until then, I can't help but be opposed to people like Eric, especially since he doesn't have a record or anything to indicate how much he truly believes in what he's saying.
Also, he kind of looks like that dude from legally blonde. Not important but something I noticed
Steyer has done good things as a very wealthy man, too. What is your golden rule?
Well like you said, he’s done good things as a wealthy man. Eric Jones doesn’t really have that history to the same extent. Looking at his biography I don’t think he’s evil or trying to trick people, but I still can’t help but feel reluctant about the wealthy getting into politics unless it’s very clear that they’re in it for the right reasons and with something to show for it, like Steyer or Pritzker. Maybe I’d feel differently if it was an open seat where he’d have to make better arguments than “the other guy is OLD!”
Understood.
Should be noted that Congressman Josh Harder worked for a VC firm before he was elected to Congress.
I'm not familiar with his politics.
Josh Harder? He's a moderate House Democrat but it may be fitting for his district which is entirely in San Joaquin County (includes Lodi, Manteca, Stockton, and Tracy). He's also very much on board with medicare-for-all, universal healthcare and apparently has been working to try to address problems with doctor shortages.
Comparatively to Eric Jones, Harder might be more moderate than him but it depends on how Jones would evolve as a politician if he were to unseat Rep. Mike Thompson in November. Jones seems more liberal but he also has a business background.
https://www.turlockjournal.com/news/government/harder-democrats-rollout-medicare-all-legislation/
Interesting that Eric Jones is endorsed by Our Revolution - Bernie Sander’s organization. Strange to imagine a candidate endorsed by both Bernie and a Republican
Jones' website has the entire progressive wish-list, so I'm not sure what any Republicans might see in him, other than personal wealth and success and not being part of the *current* Democratic establishment.
Mike Thompson is a member of the Blue Dogs, though his voting record is well to the left of other Blue Dogs.
Has Thompson ever explained why he's part of the Blue Dogs while rarely deviating from the Democratic party line?
From his campaign website: "Thompson is a member of the Blue Dog Coalition, which is composed of moderate Democrats committed to fiscally responsible solutions to America's problems. He is recognized in Congress and throughout his district as someone who has built a solid reputation for bipartisan problem solving."
...but why not just join the NewDem caucus? I'm not seeing anything about him that indicates that he's a conservadem. Hell his own biography brings up his work in defending women's rights to choose and defending transgender rights, and he's openly supportive of a public healthcare. Hell he didn't even vote for the Laken Riley Act, something a lot of Blue Dogs and even standard moderates were tripping over themselves to vote for so they could look "tough on immigration" or something. I thought I was going to find something that cleared up why he's a Blue Dog... but instead I'm left even more confused as to why he's a Blue Dog.
The district used to be very swingy. In the 90s, the seat changed parties in 1990, 1992, 1994, and 1998, and it was very close in 1996. Even before that, the district was marginal in presidential elections, and Republican Don Clausen was defeated for reelection in 1982. I remember reading, back in 1998, that when Mike Thompson announced that he was running for the seat, republican incumbent Frank Riggs decided that he would run for statewide office, as he figured he had a better chance of winning statewide than of beating Thompson.
I know Thompson was seen as a very strong candidate, maybe a reputation as a middle of the road candidate was part of that.
My understanding is the same as JoeyJoeJoe1980. The district was once much more competitive, so he joined the Blue Dogs when he first joined Congress, but never saw a reason to leave it.
bernie doesn't have any control over our revolution now, not sure when they separated but its been a couple years
It's a 501(c)(4)--it's been independent of his governance since launch 10 years ago.
The Napa Valley Register has this to report:
Eric Jones had talked with Ray Raehle, the GOP candidate who failed to make it to the top two, on more than one occasion. Raehle says he supports Jones because of his promise not to take lobbying money, tackling the national debt and putting his district’s interests ahead of special interests.
However, Raehle also mentioned he may run again in 2028.
https://napavalleyregister.com/news/government-politics/napa-mike-thompson-eric-jones-riehle-congress-election-race/article_2c750dd1-7377-42ee-82c1-b3455eb5892d.html
Median Strategies, the company behind fake polls in the Wisconsin gubernatorial Democratic primary and the Los Angeles, CA mayoral runoff, is shuttering operations:
https://www.instagram.com/p/DcLmGVLFpv2/?img_index=3&igsh=ajc5a2UyYzc4bTRp
Absolutely crazy story
They need to be taken to court.
Reminds me of Research2000 that DailyKOS sued for selling them fictitious polls where they simply made up the numbers.
There is also responsibility on part of the Democratic political establishment, reporters, and pundits who ran with these numbers, without verifying, and doing their due diligence to ensure the firm was even real. This was in the group's own words, "a short term social experiment" and large parts of the political media fell for it hook, line and sinker.
The firm had no history, no track record, and no credentials, and yet their polls were reported with the same certitude as if they were fresh numbers from Gallup or Pew.
They also faked the Nevada Governor and AG poll.
https://www.sun-sentinel.com/2026/08/18/palm-beach-county-clerk-of-courts-mike-caruso-arrested-on-child-sexual-abuse-charges/
Oof, that moment where you're muttering under your breath, "please don't be a Democrat, please don't be a Democrat" and then you open the article and see him described as a "staunch ally of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis." Pure relief. I kind of assumed he was a Republican, but it's nice to have it confirmed.
I believe he represented the state legislative seat with Mar-a-Lago that flipped to a Democrat after he resigned to take that position.
Yes he did.
Emily Gregory is a BIG improvement over him. Hopeful she can get a full term in November.
Palm Beach County GOP has been making gains in the county the past few years, this should set them back a bit for a while.
https://www.newsweek.com/arrest-warrant-issued-for-jill-stein-after-court-no-show-12335181
Where are they now? - Former Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein has a warrant out for her arrest in Missouri, after failing to appear in court on related assault charges stemming from a 2024 protest at Washington University.
If that keeps her from becoming a spoiler for 2028, good riddance.
She's done plenty of damage herself.
I mean, Trump became a convicted felon before his ascent to the office after staging an insurrection the first time. Not to mention being found liable of rape all the way up to the Supreme Court.
Yes although Stein’s problems are much different in scope. She was apart of a protest on campus in and merely a participant as opposed to inciting a crowd to do things like Trump did with the January 6th insurrection.
Problem is, Stein gave the police officer serious injuries that go beyond the intention of self-defense. If she simply got arrested without having assaulted the police officer, it would have been a much different affair for her. Numerous House Democrats have been arrested at political protests but did not have to face these legal problems.
The Green Party will have to not rely on Stein if it wants to nominate presidential candidates candidates.
Jill Stein is 76 and not exactly robust. Any alleged serious injuries suffered by the cop who assaulted her are highly suspect.
"Documents state that Officer Conroy approached on a bicycle, which Stein grabbed, leading to Officer Moore attempting to help. The bicycle hit Moore in the forearm, and while the bicycle was raised, Stein allegedly kicked Moore multiple times in the right leg near the groin. Officer Moore was later diagnosed with a strain in his left forearm, a contusion in the back of his right leg and a groin injury."
https://www.firstalert4.com/2026/08/17/st-louis-judge-issues-warrant-2024-presidential-candidate-after-failing-appear-court/
Lmao they charged her with bruising his leg, thank god our brave boys in blue and St Louis prosecutors are out there protecting us from this menace.
Given this incident occurred many months ago and that Stein has yet to share enough her side of the story (so far as what we know), we really don't know if the injuries are suspect. The warrant for her arrest has been dropped but that doesn't mean her case is over.
So far, Stein has argued the contrary to what the police and prosecutor's story has argued. That's what she will have to discuss in court.
Regardless of the legal outcome, I have to question why a notable Green Party presidential candidate like Stein who ran in 2012, 2016 and 2024 needed to do a protest like this on a college campus. Has she no ability to turn her activism into a bigger agenda to address the issue she's fighting for?
https://www.newsweek.com/arrest-warrant-issued-for-jill-stein-after-court-no-show-12335181
The protest was at Washington University which is in St Louis not DC.
Of course she failed to appear, she is still hibernating between presidential election cycles, deep under the Russian tundra.
If I could give this ten likes, I would.
Warrant was quashed after her attorney showed up later in the day.
So, the sample Nov ballots for my county in North Carolina have dropped.
For those of you who live in NC (or overseas but claim NC as a residence), vote NO on ALL three GOP amendments.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DcKdfukAhbp/
FL-6: Republican Rep. Randy Fine was caught on a Ring doorbell camera going through someone's mailbox while wearing his campaign shirt. Tonight he has a primary opponent in influencer Dan Bilzerian. Fine and Bilzerian might be the two worst people (very bigoted and corrupt) running in Florida other than Cory Mills, who also has a primary.
Fine was also caught on camera when he was in the state legislature illegally casting votes for his fellow members.
That beluga whale should lose his seat. Awful man.
Considering he lives almost 2 hours outside of his district and all of this shit? Absolutely.
Florida Republicans are the worst. DeSatan, Fine, Donalds, Moody, Fishback, Scott...
Add Trump, Rubio, Gaetz, Cammack, Mills, Luna, Steube, Mast, Diaz-Balart, Salazar, Gimenez, Collins, Uthmeier, the other DeSatan, Caruso...
Agreed (although I don't support the name calling), but his primary opponent is WAY worse than him...
It’s morbidly hilarious that Dan Bilzerian, who is horrible and was basically proto-manosphere a decade ago, might actually be a mild improvement over Fine.
Still would assume Fine wins
These Swalwell bros are a menace.
Obituaries: ESPN co-founder Bill Rasmussen dies at 93. Bill, along with Scott, helped put ESPN on the map.
Scott is far more known for his work with right-wing pollster Rasmussen Reports.
https://www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/49649281/espn-founder-bill-rasmussen-dies-93
Speaking of LA Mayor, I haven't seen one thing on this race since the primary besides the fake poll. Does anyone have any idea if Raman has a chance? Lack of news on it seems bizarre given all the attention on Pratt. Was it just his name rec driving it?
I think his novelty and name rec were the big thing, yes.
I get the sense that Bass is not popular but has institutional heavyweights behind her. I’m not sure how it’ll go, but insurgents have found purchase especially in big, expensive blue metros with governance issues this cycle
Had Pratt made the runoff against Bass, or even Raman, then the national media would probably be broadcasting his every move and holding him up as an example of some new urban populism or whatever--until November when the party would have abruptly ended when enough votes were tallied to make a projection.
100%
Speaking of Karen Bass, I just saw this video where she tried to do the "tag Mamdani on social media and he'll fix the pothole" and failed, miserably at it.
https://www.reddit.com/r/LosAngeles/comments/1vohv36/mayor_bass_publicly_responds_to_pothole_repair/
You'd think to fix the pothole and boost your popularity after 22 years in elected office. In a city of charismatic movie stars, she kind of stands out like a sore thumb with her lack of charisma.
Well, Bass has the endorsement of Samuel L. Jackson. I'm sure that will make a difference /s
The MSM *really* wanted to pretend that Pratt was proof that there was massive backlash against Democrats in safe blue cities/states, and that his candidacy was some sort of sign of political realignment, similar to the stories put out about New York and New Jersey after 2024. Once he fell flat on his face and made the talk about a political realignment look dumb as fuck, they lost interest.
So is there no enthusiasm for Raman like Zohran in NYC? Seems like the whole election went quiet
Whew, have I missed a lot in the last week. I was out of town for my birthday last week and have been swamped with work since getting back.
Regarding SC-Sen, my sense now is that Graham runs away with it given Fry's backing and Trump's targeted stumping this week in his home base around Myrtle Beach to gin up votes. I would bet turnout in Charleston area craters as I doubt anyone that voted Sanford comes out to vote for either candidate, especially given this would be the fourth election in the last 6 weeks or so.
Happy belated birthday! I expect a similar result to the gubernatorial runoff in Graham's favor. I think Norman hits his ceiling around 35%.
The news reports and opinionators I've read have portrayed Graham's statement as a giant gaffe that will sink her. I would be amazed, though, if anyone at all cares in the slightest.