If Max Miller loses re-election, it would be a good thing.
Ever since this whole fiasco with him and Emily Moreno, I’m starting to sense Miller is really a cocky and arrogant politician who seems to not take any accountability for anything. Accusing his ex-wife of mental health problems and then instead of talking to Bernie Moreno directly in-person and having a private conversation he goes on X to contact him.
Dude, you both serve in Congress! Get off social media and be a real man.
While there is a valid debate as to transgender athletes in Women's sports, this is a vile tabloid article that repeatedly misgenders the athlete in question and promotes the most vile type of anti-transgender bigotry. In short, take your shit somewhere else.
This isn't relevant for the site. TDB isn't for catch-all politics. It's for elections specifically. Unless this directly ties into an election it isn't germane.
I wonder when/if the rest of New England will catch up. Rhode Island and Massachusetts still hold their primaries in September, while Connecticut and Vermont are in August.
I remember there was a recent effort to make Massachusetts hold theirs earlier, but I do not believe it became law.
I'm in NC and our primary was back in early March -the same day as the TX primary!
IIRC, we used to hold our primaries in the May/June timeframe - except when the NCGA was involved in gerrymandering the maps - I am pretty sure it was in September one year, although that may have been an odd-year local election.
If the DSA candidate is ahead by this much, my comment from the weekly thread about Americans being red hot angry in ways that have yet to materialize is being validated.
I suspect what Ethan is talking about is comparing the strength of the respective Democratic candidate on their own, not both being matched up in the same poll.
Knowing how long DWS has been in office and how influential she is as a FL Democrat, dropping out I see to be the last thing she’ll consider.
She's considering runs in the 20th and 22nd districts. The 20th has been majority Black since its inception in 1992, while the 22nd is a new swing district that she lives in that goes all the way from coast to coast.
I'll note that this sweat swung 14 points to the right 2024, I wouldn't take this as proof that there will be a uniform 20 point swing, but rather Republican's gains with Hispanic voters after 2020 are temporary, at least for 2026, and the environment is somewhere in the D+ 5-10 range.
I think this is the correct analysis. That said, if we think we will see 15+ point swings in heavily Latino districts (looking at you, Rio Grande Valley), we are very well positioned....
Shapiro is absolutely not the kind of Democrat we need in office right now. He’s going to win re-election and maybe even a trifecta, but he won’t get much done with it if this is how he’s treating Democrats who don’t align with his centrism in safe blue seats. This is the 2nd time he’s tried to take down Democrats who aren’t in his political ideology camp. A very bad look again, in a district that can easily elect a progressive.
Axios: Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro is quietly trying to derail a left-wing congressional candidate championed by AOC. #PA03
Shapiro and his team have privately told allies that he disapproves of Chris Rabb and has taken steps to block his path, according to three people familiar with the discussions.
Shapiro has privately advised Philadelphia's building trades unions to avoid inadvertently helping Rabb, the lone progressive in the race, by attacking one of his center-left opponents.
I think Shapiro, as someone who is Jewish, might believe Rabb's views on certain things may make him antisemitic. Rabb recently headlined a high-profile event with Hasan Piker, who for some reason is quite controversial with that topic.
It is the bluest, by several points! Worth noting Shapiro himself is from the neighboring 4th district, and he doesn't seem to have an invested interest to take out Madeleine Dean, who is further to the left of him.
couple of points about this. My org endorsed Chris Rabb and I ran a phone bank for him last week (doing another one tomorrow evening). Apologies for veering into the forbidden topic, but... it's the defining issue in the race, per Philly Inquirer. Stanford is heavily funded by 314 Action, which DropSite News is alleging is acting as a conduit for AIPAC money. (AIPAC actually did this, using 314 as the pass-thru, in a 2024 Oregon race) Stanford herself denies taking AIPAC money. Meanwhile, Rabb has hosted Hasan Piker and made comments regarding the Bondi Beach incident, which he has since walked back, so it's not hard to see where he stands on this foreign policy issue....and why Shapiro doesn't want to see him get a more prominent megaphone.
Anecdotes are not data but I talked to one voter last week who told me Rabb is the worst anti-Semite ever.
Still though, if you’re employing antisemites and not noticing that they’re posting antisemitic content on your campaign account until months later, that’s a sign of either incompetence or not caring about the antisemitism until there is a backlash.
Frankly, I’d be working to stop him from getting nominated too given his comments. Spreading conspiracy theories about antisemitic terrorist attacks is not ok.
The real story is that a week after VA and Callis, a white Democrat, is actively trying to stop a black candidate from being elected. Notice, instead of uplifting Street or Sanford, he is working to oppose Rabb. That should be a scandal.
I still don't really understand the vitriol towards Piker - from what I've seen of him, he doesn't really say anything of substance on his streams, just parroting what commenters say. He isn't really a commentator or an influencer as much as he just sits back and reads other people's work.
I don't think he's a good faith actor. Originally, I just found him kind of an annoying, self-important asshole.
But then I learned (I think here) about the ties to Cenk/Young Turks, and now I think he is operating in bad faith. Like his uncle always did (remember how certain folks tried to foist Tulsi upon us).
To be clear, I would have voted for Mamdani. Our coalition has plenty of room for him, and AOC. They are good faith actors, and reasonably good team players. Just to my left, which is 100% fine. And NYC mayor is really the perfect "test lab" to try out some socialist and/or socialist-adjacent pilot projects, see what works.
I am 100% opposed to those acting in bad faith, who I suspect of just wanting an intra-party civil war/blowing up the coalition.
An over-performing Governor in a tough swing state, who has largely governed effectively and should be an asset in the pivotal 2026 and 2028 cycles - he earns some benefit of the doubt.
This is the type of hand waving away that Republicans used to (and some still do) do with Tucker, saying he was "just asking questions." Hasan is indisputably a vile person, saying Hezbollah is his favorite flag, America deserved 9/11, rape didn't matter to him on 10/7, Mao was "one of the great leaders of the world," and that Putin's annexation of Crimea was "absolutely a justifiable annexation."
Those are all direct quotes from him, not reading someone else's comments, supporting the unholy trinity of terrorism, communism and Putin-style authoritariansim. Any candidate appearing with or supporting him should be an absolute non-starter.
Agreed, although on the last point I think it’s important to distinguish someone who knows what he said and appeared with him, and someone who was genuinely stupid enough to appear with an individual they knew nothing about. Neither are good, but the former is worse than the latter because it implies a level of sympathy for such views.
I will ask this question though — let’s say a Piker-supporting candidate wins a swing seat election that could decide the fate of the House or Senate. Would you support them over a Republican? I sure would. Abdul El-Sayed may win the MI Senate race. It’s important we don’t abandon the race if he does — the Senate is especially important now that the House is being hacked to bits post-Callais. That’s just what I think though. (I’d also say that it is entirely possible for centrists to hold awful views - Bill Maher is (or at least was) a longtime anti-vaxxer.)
He has terrible views on issues we can’t talk about here, absolutely. Maybe though we should also consider the possibility that either a) people who like Hasan don’t care about them because he’s loudly and plainly speaking about issues of importance to many people on the left that other Democrats aren’t doing. Or b) people on our side of the aisle actually have these awful views and are looking for leftwing people who also feel the same.
Now before people go calling me whatever, no, I don’t support him, no, I don’t think his views are acceptable on some issues. At the same time, we literally just went through not 1, but 2 and almost 3 elections where American voters didn’t give a shit about someone’s awful views/crimes/corruption. So maybe our attempt to be puritan, squeaky clean as a party on every policy isn’t what the voters actually want, or at the very least it isn’t enough for them to change their votes if someone does have those views.
This isn’t what I want to be true fwiw, but when you’re the only one on the left who has millions of subscribers and supporters online in the age of a conservative media empire monopoly that controls every single form of media online, in print and on tv in the country that’s pushing fascism propaganda to the masses every day, maybe, we should want any and all allies to beat the MAGA/GOP regardless of whether they agree with us on everything or have said or done things that are unacceptable.
Call it a convenience marriage where we align with people who don’t think like us in order to defeat the dictatorship. Maybe you think that isn’t necessary. Maybe you think we can win without this voter group. Maybe you think it’s not worth tainting our party for letting people like Hasan in. If so, my question for you to consider is: What if we do actually need them to win? What should we do then when we have to choose between Hasan/left being a part of our party or continued MAGA control of everything? Food for thought.
I just love when the bomb throwing Cenk Uygar types constantly badmouth Democrats who have a track record of winning tough elections in important swing states when we know what happens when the bomb throwing ideologues actually run for office. (Uygar ran for Congress in a swing seat and got all of 5% in the primary, for example)
I know you’re pushing a narrative here, but there’s a big difference between pushing for more moderate candidates as a swing state elected official in swing seats (which is fine with me and most here) and making sure the left doesn’t get any representation in elected office for one of the bluest districts in America. Think more critically about this instead of pulling out canned responses.
I AM thinking critically and I do NOT want Chris Rabb in office. Even if my politics resemble his (they do not), he is going to do and say things that the Republicans will hang around our necks. Just because someone does not agree with you does not mean they are stupid or not using their brains.
He posted the same thing multiple times, if that’s not a canned response, what would you consider one to be? Also, perhaps you mistakenly thought I was responding to you? Because I wasn’t.
Further more, saying think more critically is not saying I’m calling you stupid. You can think critically and still be able to think more critically. That’s an assumption on your part as to what I meant instead of exactly what I plainly wrote. If you feel attacked by my reply, you misinterpreted what I said.
I'm not confused about who you are referring to, nor am I confused about what you meant by "think more critically". Your response was condescending and implies that someone who disagrees with you isn't "thinking critically".
We certainly don't need politicians who are hugely popular in important swing states like Shapiro. Instead we need bomb throwing ideologues who fight endlessly over the forbidden issue.
Yes, we need more politicians who secretly back Republicans for statewide office:
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro secretly helped a Republican state treasurer's 2024 reelection bid after the official's Democratic opponent had criticized Shapiro as a potential VP pick, a close Shapiro ally said last week.
Hot take: We don't need a Shapiro to win in PA in 26. He's showing himself for who he really is and backing Republicans for statewide office should be disqualifying for someone who claims to be a party leader.
At least Shapiro, who has, fairly or unfairly, earned a reputation of being a control freak with this and other actions, is not helping get a Republican elected (and the one who is now running against him) in this instance.
A complicating factor for Shapiro is that there is a split between two establishment candidates (Street and Stanford), so Rabb doesn't need a majority of the primary vote (no RCV or runoff in PA) to win. Philadelphia is a very pro-establishment area (the only notable progressive who has gotten elected either countywide or in a Congressional district that includes a significant part of the city is District Attorney Larry Krasner).
Pittsburgh has produced more progressive elected officials (Summer Lee, Sara Innamorato, Jessica Benham, etc.) than other parts of Pennsylvania, even if the state lacks an equivalent to Seattle, WA or Madison, WI.
I think we’re fortunate to have gotten Josh Shapiro elected as Governor back in 2022 considering President Biden was in office and that Trump won PA back in 2024.
That said, come 2030 hopefully the next Governor will not be as difficult as Shapiro is towards more liberal candidates running for office.
Especially as not helping elect republicans is more or less the floor of expectations from a democrat. I'll give leeway if we have our own Roy Moore type of scenario, but that's it.
Shapiro is well within his rights to try and make sure Democrats that align with his vision are elected. How is this different than Bernie or AOC supporting someone in a particular primary?
That's not the election we are discussing here, though. We are discussing the current primary for PA-03. If Shapiro is supporting a Republican there, it's the first I'm hearing of it.
I don’t have problems with national Democrats picking sides based on who fits their ideological lane better. After all I’ve seen decades worth of the establishment putting their thumbs on the scales for those closer to their ideology and no one seemed to have a problem with that when it went that way.
I DO have a problem with an elected Democratic official of the same state picking which Democrats get elected into office when they should be representing all Democrats and letting the voters decide who they want to represent them in an open seat that would elect an Omar/Tlaib/squad member before any Republican.
The whole goal is more AND better Democrats. If deep blue seats aren’t good enough to have progressives in, then you’re expecting the left’s vote without giving them any representation as to what they want and believe ideologically. Which is exactly what the establishment has expected and tried to do in getting our base to vote against Trump.
That strategy didn’t exactly work out so well for us, so maybe we should expand leftward in seats where any Democrat wins before a single ballot is counted.
I live in the San Antonio city council district where Maureen Galindo ran (and lost) last year. So funny to see all these new headlines pop up about her, lol. Don't regret my vote because she is one of the few SA politicians without a DUI but I don't think she even lives in the new TX35 (there's no overlap because SA D1 and TX35. I expect Garcia to win the runoff but the results will be interesting, Seguin/Floresville/et al is a strange place.
FL-25: Businessman Dan Franzese, the two-time Republican nominee against Democratic Rep. Lois Frankel in the old 22nd district, will run here, where Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz is expected to soon launch a run.
Franzese joins a Republican primary that includes former state Rep. George Moraitis and former Boca Raton mayor Scott Singer.
CA-47: Former Republican state Assemblyman Bill Brough, a frontrunner to take on Democratic Rep. Dave Min, was fined $100 thousand for campaign finance violations.
Is he the frontrunner? In 2020, he was hit with sexual assault allegations causing him to lose the primary in 4th place and he's raised jack shit. Certainly the most notable name in the race, but I'd bet one of the other Republicans would be moving on to face Min anyways.
He's the only person to be an elected official other than Min, and was considered the most major of candidates when he filed right before the filing deadline.
Businesswoman Jenny Le Roux, who finished 4th in the 2022 gubernatorial primary, leads in fundraising, though a vast majority of it comes from self-funding.
Communications official Michael Maxsenti leads in fundraising that doesn't come from self funding.
I guess either one of them could make it to the general.
Virginia Democrats must put the GOP judges into retirement. Age 65 like most people. The judges can still make a great deal of money if they practice after retirement. They need to move their governor and legislative races to even years like most states- it will boost voter turnout and save millions of tax dollars every election cycle. By combining the local elections with the even year midterm elections this will again boost voter turnout and save millions of tax dollars which will be needed to make up for Trump's cuts in vital services like SNAP and healthcare.
Johnny Garcia seems like an intriguing candidate on paper. I personally would like to see more Dems from law enforcement backgrounds or from special forces backgrounds run for office. I think the optics of a deputy sheriff or a former Navy SEAL like Matt Maasdam are something we need to push back against the right wing manosphere idea that masculine men cannot be Democrats. Alex Hawkins in Michigan is another good example of a Democrat with this background.
Personally, I like William Lawrence in that Maasdam race, as he appeals to university voters, a large chunk of that district. But Democrats absolutely need more law enforcement officials running.
I’ll be honest, I support Maasdam for the sole reason that we don’t have any Democrat SEALs in Congress, and it’d be nice to push back on the Republican monopolization of their talking points. Republicans have like a dozen in Congress.
The Bulwark dropped a episode of their Focus Group podcast on Saturday going over the Louisiana GOP Senate primary where they analyzed a focus group of GOP voters who were definitely voting in the primary.
As you may expect all of them hated Bill Cassidy, one voter in particular said ABC - Anybody but Cassidy because he voted to impeach Trump.
The interesting part was when voters discussed whether they were voting for Julia Letlow or John Fleming. Voters in this group were not universally behind Letlow, one voter said Trump endorsing her wasn't a good thing because it shows she isn't an independent thinker (but Cassidy voting to impeach Trump over January 6th is bad).
The ads being flung by all the candidates were breaking through because one focus group participant said the following about Letlow:
"I feel like she’s more left-leaning and she’s somewhat deceitful when she gives her speeches out to the public but behind closed doors I think she votes more liberal more like DEI and other things and [LGBT], whatever, all those kind of issues."
Why do that when you could continue to stay hypocritical as you descend down the rabbit hole...my maternal grandfather was an artist that grew up in a liberal environment who eventually married immigrants (and now has left the country himself), who dodged Vietnam, but is still MAGA.
The GOP is driven by end-stage white supremacy. If and when this country becomes a white-plurality country, the freak-out from the racist nutjobs that dominate that party is going to be the biggest collective crash-out in human history.
The demographic cake is baked. (which is why they have to resort to ever more brazen judicial and legal tactics to maintain power in elections, as demography slips from them)
After this past week, I think we all have a better appreciation of the importance of state Supreme Court elections. (Regular readers probably already did, the VA Supreme Court really hammered it home). There are two seats up for the GA Supreme Court on May 19th (in conjunction with the GA primaries -- which means low voter turnout 🙄).
But Postcards to Voters (postcardstovoters.org) still has addresses in support of the 2 women, Jen Jordan and Miracle Rankin, who have been endorsed in this race by the GA Democrats. Postcards to Voters has an excellent track record for boosting turnout in all types of elections with low voter turnout. So let's help turn lemons into lemonade!
The deadline to mail these postcards is tomorrow (May 12th), but the script is short and easy.
If Max Miller loses re-election, it would be a good thing.
Ever since this whole fiasco with him and Emily Moreno, I’m starting to sense Miller is really a cocky and arrogant politician who seems to not take any accountability for anything. Accusing his ex-wife of mental health problems and then instead of talking to Bernie Moreno directly in-person and having a private conversation he goes on X to contact him.
Dude, you both serve in Congress! Get off social media and be a real man.
https://www.newsweek.com/max-miller-confronts-bernie-moreno-daughter-abuse-allegation-11930193
Take The New York Post's reporting with a grain of salt. They are a tabloid, not a reputable source.
Not interested in reading bullshit anti trans propaganda. Why would you even link this, especially given that it’s the NY Post?
Also, for anyone who doesn’t want to read it, the article does use loaded phrases like “biological male”.
While there is a valid debate as to transgender athletes in Women's sports, this is a vile tabloid article that repeatedly misgenders the athlete in question and promotes the most vile type of anti-transgender bigotry. In short, take your shit somewhere else.
This isn't relevant for the site. TDB isn't for catch-all politics. It's for elections specifically. Unless this directly ties into an election it isn't germane.
I wonder when/if the rest of New England will catch up. Rhode Island and Massachusetts still hold their primaries in September, while Connecticut and Vermont are in August.
I remember there was a recent effort to make Massachusetts hold theirs earlier, but I do not believe it became law.
I'm in NC and our primary was back in early March -the same day as the TX primary!
IIRC, we used to hold our primaries in the May/June timeframe - except when the NCGA was involved in gerrymandering the maps - I am pretty sure it was in September one year, although that may have been an odd-year local election.
The poll I hinted about late last night. It’s an internal for the most left candidate too, so it’s likely Moskowitz would do even better here.
A 21 point shift left AND majority voter support for Democrats in the GCB already. In a Trump +9 seat.
Bombshell.
https://x.com/PollTracker2024/status/2053611928115610045
Middle Seat poll | 5/5-5/6
US House 2026 | Florida’s 25th congressional district Democratic primary (Trump +9 | 2024)
(Initial ballot)
🟦Debbie Wasserman Schultz 36%
🟦Jared Moskowitz 29%
🟦Oliver Larkin 7%
—
(Informed ballot)
🟦Debbie Wasserman Schultz 29%
🟦Jared Moskowitz 28%
🟦Oliver Larkin 25%
——
Generic congressional ballot 2026
🟦Democratic 51%
🟥Republican 39%
—
🟦Larkin +12 (vs 🟥Singer)
🟦Larkin +9 (vs 🟥Moraitis)
(Larkin internal)
Link to poll: https://punchbowl.news/wp-content/uploads/FL-25-Polling-Memo.pdf
Be nice if DWS retired.
Absolutely. But she could also hold that 22nd district for Democrats and increase the chance of a House majority.
If the DSA candidate is ahead by this much, my comment from the weekly thread about Americans being red hot angry in ways that have yet to materialize is being validated.
Wish they polled without DWS too.
Why? do you think she will be dropping out?
I suspect what Ethan is talking about is comparing the strength of the respective Democratic candidate on their own, not both being matched up in the same poll.
Knowing how long DWS has been in office and how influential she is as a FL Democrat, dropping out I see to be the last thing she’ll consider.
She's trying to run in a safe district I think.
She's considering runs in the 20th and 22nd districts. The 20th has been majority Black since its inception in 1992, while the 22nd is a new swing district that she lives in that goes all the way from coast to coast.
I'll note that this sweat swung 14 points to the right 2024, I wouldn't take this as proof that there will be a uniform 20 point swing, but rather Republican's gains with Hispanic voters after 2020 are temporary, at least for 2026, and the environment is somewhere in the D+ 5-10 range.
I think this is the correct analysis. That said, if we think we will see 15+ point swings in heavily Latino districts (looking at you, Rio Grande Valley), we are very well positioned....
Shapiro is absolutely not the kind of Democrat we need in office right now. He’s going to win re-election and maybe even a trifecta, but he won’t get much done with it if this is how he’s treating Democrats who don’t align with his centrism in safe blue seats. This is the 2nd time he’s tried to take down Democrats who aren’t in his political ideology camp. A very bad look again, in a district that can easily elect a progressive.
https://x.com/PollTracker2024/status/2053613247702405507
Axios: Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro is quietly trying to derail a left-wing congressional candidate championed by AOC. #PA03
Shapiro and his team have privately told allies that he disapproves of Chris Rabb and has taken steps to block his path, according to three people familiar with the discussions.
Shapiro has privately advised Philadelphia's building trades unions to avoid inadvertently helping Rabb, the lone progressive in the race, by attacking one of his center-left opponents.
https://www.axios.com/2026/05/10/aoc-josh-shapiro-midterms-presidential-race
I think Shapiro, as someone who is Jewish, might believe Rabb's views on certain things may make him antisemitic. Rabb recently headlined a high-profile event with Hasan Piker, who for some reason is quite controversial with that topic.
Isn’t PA-03 one of the bluest seats in America? This is absolutely ideologically motivated.
It is the bluest, by several points! Worth noting Shapiro himself is from the neighboring 4th district, and he doesn't seem to have an invested interest to take out Madeleine Dean, who is further to the left of him.
couple of points about this. My org endorsed Chris Rabb and I ran a phone bank for him last week (doing another one tomorrow evening). Apologies for veering into the forbidden topic, but... it's the defining issue in the race, per Philly Inquirer. Stanford is heavily funded by 314 Action, which DropSite News is alleging is acting as a conduit for AIPAC money. (AIPAC actually did this, using 314 as the pass-thru, in a 2024 Oregon race) Stanford herself denies taking AIPAC money. Meanwhile, Rabb has hosted Hasan Piker and made comments regarding the Bondi Beach incident, which he has since walked back, so it's not hard to see where he stands on this foreign policy issue....and why Shapiro doesn't want to see him get a more prominent megaphone.
Anecdotes are not data but I talked to one voter last week who told me Rabb is the worst anti-Semite ever.
Wait I thought the Bondi Beach thing was a staffer, and not Rabb himself?
I'm not super familiar with the details. But the perception is out there.
Do not do this. If you aren't familiar with the details of something, then do not spread rumors. Just stick to the facts as we know them.
Still though, if you’re employing antisemites and not noticing that they’re posting antisemitic content on your campaign account until months later, that’s a sign of either incompetence or not caring about the antisemitism until there is a backlash.
I’m inclined to believe the former personally. Still not good.
I mean, this isn't the first time Rabb would have hired someone incompetent, given the mess with his campaign treasurer.
https://archive.ph/X9r8k (Philly Inquirer)
It was a staffer, at least per the campaign.
Frankly, I’d be working to stop him from getting nominated too given his comments. Spreading conspiracy theories about antisemitic terrorist attacks is not ok.
Kind of strange. Since this is a topic we’re not supposed to discuss yet people are discussing it.
Rabb was endorsed by the Philadelphia Inquirer and would make a fine member of congress.
The real story is that a week after VA and Callis, a white Democrat, is actively trying to stop a black candidate from being elected. Notice, instead of uplifting Street or Sanford, he is working to oppose Rabb. That should be a scandal.
Then he should support Sanford or Street.
I'll just say that Gov. Shapiro gets waaaaayyyyyyyyy more "benefit of the doubt" with me than a Hasan Piker type.
I still don't really understand the vitriol towards Piker - from what I've seen of him, he doesn't really say anything of substance on his streams, just parroting what commenters say. He isn't really a commentator or an influencer as much as he just sits back and reads other people's work.
I don't think he's a good faith actor. Originally, I just found him kind of an annoying, self-important asshole.
But then I learned (I think here) about the ties to Cenk/Young Turks, and now I think he is operating in bad faith. Like his uncle always did (remember how certain folks tried to foist Tulsi upon us).
To be clear, I would have voted for Mamdani. Our coalition has plenty of room for him, and AOC. They are good faith actors, and reasonably good team players. Just to my left, which is 100% fine. And NYC mayor is really the perfect "test lab" to try out some socialist and/or socialist-adjacent pilot projects, see what works.
I am 100% opposed to those acting in bad faith, who I suspect of just wanting an intra-party civil war/blowing up the coalition.
An over-performing Governor in a tough swing state, who has largely governed effectively and should be an asset in the pivotal 2026 and 2028 cycles - he earns some benefit of the doubt.
Can you remind me how much of an asset Shapiro was in '24?
Asset at getting Trump, McCormick, Sunday, Garrity, Mackenzie and Bresnahan elected, maybe.
This is the type of hand waving away that Republicans used to (and some still do) do with Tucker, saying he was "just asking questions." Hasan is indisputably a vile person, saying Hezbollah is his favorite flag, America deserved 9/11, rape didn't matter to him on 10/7, Mao was "one of the great leaders of the world," and that Putin's annexation of Crimea was "absolutely a justifiable annexation."
Those are all direct quotes from him, not reading someone else's comments, supporting the unholy trinity of terrorism, communism and Putin-style authoritariansim. Any candidate appearing with or supporting him should be an absolute non-starter.
Agreed, although on the last point I think it’s important to distinguish someone who knows what he said and appeared with him, and someone who was genuinely stupid enough to appear with an individual they knew nothing about. Neither are good, but the former is worse than the latter because it implies a level of sympathy for such views.
I will ask this question though — let’s say a Piker-supporting candidate wins a swing seat election that could decide the fate of the House or Senate. Would you support them over a Republican? I sure would. Abdul El-Sayed may win the MI Senate race. It’s important we don’t abandon the race if he does — the Senate is especially important now that the House is being hacked to bits post-Callais. That’s just what I think though. (I’d also say that it is entirely possible for centrists to hold awful views - Bill Maher is (or at least was) a longtime anti-vaxxer.)
It will really put the whole idea of "Blue No Matter Who" to the test for Centrists.
He has terrible views on issues we can’t talk about here, absolutely. Maybe though we should also consider the possibility that either a) people who like Hasan don’t care about them because he’s loudly and plainly speaking about issues of importance to many people on the left that other Democrats aren’t doing. Or b) people on our side of the aisle actually have these awful views and are looking for leftwing people who also feel the same.
Now before people go calling me whatever, no, I don’t support him, no, I don’t think his views are acceptable on some issues. At the same time, we literally just went through not 1, but 2 and almost 3 elections where American voters didn’t give a shit about someone’s awful views/crimes/corruption. So maybe our attempt to be puritan, squeaky clean as a party on every policy isn’t what the voters actually want, or at the very least it isn’t enough for them to change their votes if someone does have those views.
This isn’t what I want to be true fwiw, but when you’re the only one on the left who has millions of subscribers and supporters online in the age of a conservative media empire monopoly that controls every single form of media online, in print and on tv in the country that’s pushing fascism propaganda to the masses every day, maybe, we should want any and all allies to beat the MAGA/GOP regardless of whether they agree with us on everything or have said or done things that are unacceptable.
Call it a convenience marriage where we align with people who don’t think like us in order to defeat the dictatorship. Maybe you think that isn’t necessary. Maybe you think we can win without this voter group. Maybe you think it’s not worth tainting our party for letting people like Hasan in. If so, my question for you to consider is: What if we do actually need them to win? What should we do then when we have to choose between Hasan/left being a part of our party or continued MAGA control of everything? Food for thought.
I just love when the bomb throwing Cenk Uygar types constantly badmouth Democrats who have a track record of winning tough elections in important swing states when we know what happens when the bomb throwing ideologues actually run for office. (Uygar ran for Congress in a swing seat and got all of 5% in the primary, for example)
I know you’re pushing a narrative here, but there’s a big difference between pushing for more moderate candidates as a swing state elected official in swing seats (which is fine with me and most here) and making sure the left doesn’t get any representation in elected office for one of the bluest districts in America. Think more critically about this instead of pulling out canned responses.
I AM thinking critically and I do NOT want Chris Rabb in office. Even if my politics resemble his (they do not), he is going to do and say things that the Republicans will hang around our necks. Just because someone does not agree with you does not mean they are stupid or not using their brains.
He posted the same thing multiple times, if that’s not a canned response, what would you consider one to be? Also, perhaps you mistakenly thought I was responding to you? Because I wasn’t.
Further more, saying think more critically is not saying I’m calling you stupid. You can think critically and still be able to think more critically. That’s an assumption on your part as to what I meant instead of exactly what I plainly wrote. If you feel attacked by my reply, you misinterpreted what I said.
I'm not confused about who you are referring to, nor am I confused about what you meant by "think more critically". Your response was condescending and implies that someone who disagrees with you isn't "thinking critically".
The same Gov. Shapiro who helped a republican candidate in 2024 to get back at a Democrat who criticized him? That Josh Shapiro?
https://www.axios.com/2026/05/03/josh-shapiro-gop-candidate-2024
Well we are going to need Shapiro’s coattails to flip the 3 swing House seats in PA. So I think PA Dems should be deferential to what we wants.
How does the bluest seat in Pennsylvania factor into flipping more swing House seats?
Is Andrew Cuomo shapeshifting as Governor of Pennsylvania?
We certainly don't need politicians who are hugely popular in important swing states like Shapiro. Instead we need bomb throwing ideologues who fight endlessly over the forbidden issue.
Yes, we need more politicians who secretly back Republicans for statewide office:
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro secretly helped a Republican state treasurer's 2024 reelection bid after the official's Democratic opponent had criticized Shapiro as a potential VP pick, a close Shapiro ally said last week.
Hot take: We don't need a Shapiro to win in PA in 26. He's showing himself for who he really is and backing Republicans for statewide office should be disqualifying for someone who claims to be a party leader.
At least Shapiro, who has, fairly or unfairly, earned a reputation of being a control freak with this and other actions, is not helping get a Republican elected (and the one who is now running against him) in this instance.
A complicating factor for Shapiro is that there is a split between two establishment candidates (Street and Stanford), so Rabb doesn't need a majority of the primary vote (no RCV or runoff in PA) to win. Philadelphia is a very pro-establishment area (the only notable progressive who has gotten elected either countywide or in a Congressional district that includes a significant part of the city is District Attorney Larry Krasner).
Pittsburgh has produced more progressive elected officials (Summer Lee, Sara Innamorato, Jessica Benham, etc.) than other parts of Pennsylvania, even if the state lacks an equivalent to Seattle, WA or Madison, WI.
I think we’re fortunate to have gotten Josh Shapiro elected as Governor back in 2022 considering President Biden was in office and that Trump won PA back in 2024.
That said, come 2030 hopefully the next Governor will not be as difficult as Shapiro is towards more liberal candidates running for office.
I don’t think “at least he didn’t help elect a Republican” is a valid excuse.
Especially as not helping elect republicans is more or less the floor of expectations from a democrat. I'll give leeway if we have our own Roy Moore type of scenario, but that's it.
This is a really good point
Shapiro is well within his rights to try and make sure Democrats that align with his vision are elected. How is this different than Bernie or AOC supporting someone in a particular primary?
I think the difference is that he actively tried to support a Republican. I don't think Bernie or AOC has ever done anything like that. https://www.axios.com/2026/05/03/josh-shapiro-gop-candidate-2024
That's not the election we are discussing here, though. We are discussing the current primary for PA-03. If Shapiro is supporting a Republican there, it's the first I'm hearing of it.
I don’t have problems with national Democrats picking sides based on who fits their ideological lane better. After all I’ve seen decades worth of the establishment putting their thumbs on the scales for those closer to their ideology and no one seemed to have a problem with that when it went that way.
I DO have a problem with an elected Democratic official of the same state picking which Democrats get elected into office when they should be representing all Democrats and letting the voters decide who they want to represent them in an open seat that would elect an Omar/Tlaib/squad member before any Republican.
The whole goal is more AND better Democrats. If deep blue seats aren’t good enough to have progressives in, then you’re expecting the left’s vote without giving them any representation as to what they want and believe ideologically. Which is exactly what the establishment has expected and tried to do in getting our base to vote against Trump.
That strategy didn’t exactly work out so well for us, so maybe we should expand leftward in seats where any Democrat wins before a single ballot is counted.
Fair comment.
A rare NH GOP-enacted election law that actually benefits the voters!
I live in the San Antonio city council district where Maureen Galindo ran (and lost) last year. So funny to see all these new headlines pop up about her, lol. Don't regret my vote because she is one of the few SA politicians without a DUI but I don't think she even lives in the new TX35 (there's no overlap because SA D1 and TX35. I expect Garcia to win the runoff but the results will be interesting, Seguin/Floresville/et al is a strange place.
Cleo Powell is a woman.
https://floridapolitics.com/archives/795568-dan-franzese-running-for-revised-u-s-house-district-25-in-south-florida/
FL-25: Businessman Dan Franzese, the two-time Republican nominee against Democratic Rep. Lois Frankel in the old 22nd district, will run here, where Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz is expected to soon launch a run.
Franzese joins a Republican primary that includes former state Rep. George Moraitis and former Boca Raton mayor Scott Singer.
Oh God no. I'd rather not go into details but let's just say I have highly personal reasons I hate this individual.
https://www.orangecountycoast.com/former-oc-assemblymember-hit-with-100k-fine-from-state-political-watchdog/
CA-47: Former Republican state Assemblyman Bill Brough, a frontrunner to take on Democratic Rep. Dave Min, was fined $100 thousand for campaign finance violations.
Is he the frontrunner? In 2020, he was hit with sexual assault allegations causing him to lose the primary in 4th place and he's raised jack shit. Certainly the most notable name in the race, but I'd bet one of the other Republicans would be moving on to face Min anyways.
He's the only person to be an elected official other than Min, and was considered the most major of candidates when he filed right before the filing deadline.
Businesswoman Jenny Le Roux, who finished 4th in the 2022 gubernatorial primary, leads in fundraising, though a vast majority of it comes from self-funding.
Communications official Michael Maxsenti leads in fundraising that doesn't come from self funding.
I guess either one of them could make it to the general.
Either way, I want to see Dave Min get re-elected. He’s been sharp since he originally ran to replace Kate Porter.
Come on CA GOP. You have to do better than this.
Wait, you can’t. Nevermind.
Virginia Democrats must put the GOP judges into retirement. Age 65 like most people. The judges can still make a great deal of money if they practice after retirement. They need to move their governor and legislative races to even years like most states- it will boost voter turnout and save millions of tax dollars every election cycle. By combining the local elections with the even year midterm elections this will again boost voter turnout and save millions of tax dollars which will be needed to make up for Trump's cuts in vital services like SNAP and healthcare.
"a real phrase we actually just wrote" almost made me bust out laughing at my work desk.
Hahahaha I wish you had! Sometimes we just gotta acknowledge the lunacy of our present moment.
Johnny Garcia seems like an intriguing candidate on paper. I personally would like to see more Dems from law enforcement backgrounds or from special forces backgrounds run for office. I think the optics of a deputy sheriff or a former Navy SEAL like Matt Maasdam are something we need to push back against the right wing manosphere idea that masculine men cannot be Democrats. Alex Hawkins in Michigan is another good example of a Democrat with this background.
Personally, I like William Lawrence in that Maasdam race, as he appeals to university voters, a large chunk of that district. But Democrats absolutely need more law enforcement officials running.
I’ll be honest, I support Maasdam for the sole reason that we don’t have any Democrat SEALs in Congress, and it’d be nice to push back on the Republican monopolization of their talking points. Republicans have like a dozen in Congress.
The Bulwark dropped a episode of their Focus Group podcast on Saturday going over the Louisiana GOP Senate primary where they analyzed a focus group of GOP voters who were definitely voting in the primary.
As you may expect all of them hated Bill Cassidy, one voter in particular said ABC - Anybody but Cassidy because he voted to impeach Trump.
The interesting part was when voters discussed whether they were voting for Julia Letlow or John Fleming. Voters in this group were not universally behind Letlow, one voter said Trump endorsing her wasn't a good thing because it shows she isn't an independent thinker (but Cassidy voting to impeach Trump over January 6th is bad).
The ads being flung by all the candidates were breaking through because one focus group participant said the following about Letlow:
"I feel like she’s more left-leaning and she’s somewhat deceitful when she gives her speeches out to the public but behind closed doors I think she votes more liberal more like DEI and other things and [LGBT], whatever, all those kind of issues."
https://youtu.be/GDiB43Fq4N0?si=x0pl8IyF-y0uIsi1
Crazy how Cassidy could be in danger of finishing third in the primary as a 2-term senator and 20-year elected official.
Cassidy committed the cardinal sin of not standing with Trump after January 6th.
...of having standards.
And yet they don’t want Letlow for not being independent from Trump?
Are they even paying attention to their own ideology?
Why do that when you could continue to stay hypocritical as you descend down the rabbit hole...my maternal grandfather was an artist that grew up in a liberal environment who eventually married immigrants (and now has left the country himself), who dodged Vietnam, but is still MAGA.
The Bulwark focus group episodes drive me fucking nuts, particularly the GOP voters Longwell polls. They are so delusional.
It's insane how culture war issues are EVERYTHING for the GOP base. Not the economy, immigration or even crime.
The GOP is driven by end-stage white supremacy. If and when this country becomes a white-plurality country, the freak-out from the racist nutjobs that dominate that party is going to be the biggest collective crash-out in human history.
The demographic cake is baked. (which is why they have to resort to ever more brazen judicial and legal tactics to maintain power in elections, as demography slips from them)
It's baked only if light-skinned Hispanics don't become white the way Irish, Polish, Greek and Italian people became white.
Why is it when you have a 75% white district that’s not racial, but you have a 45% Black district that is racial?
https://x.com/thetnholler/status/2053852879186796586?s=46&t=sbdQQeYBqp0h_Zql717iTw
Because white is normal, black is not (sarcasm hopefully obvious)
After this past week, I think we all have a better appreciation of the importance of state Supreme Court elections. (Regular readers probably already did, the VA Supreme Court really hammered it home). There are two seats up for the GA Supreme Court on May 19th (in conjunction with the GA primaries -- which means low voter turnout 🙄).
But Postcards to Voters (postcardstovoters.org) still has addresses in support of the 2 women, Jen Jordan and Miracle Rankin, who have been endorsed in this race by the GA Democrats. Postcards to Voters has an excellent track record for boosting turnout in all types of elections with low voter turnout. So let's help turn lemons into lemonade!
The deadline to mail these postcards is tomorrow (May 12th), but the script is short and easy.
FYI, Simon Rosenburg of Hopium Chronicles interviewed these candidates recently and the recording can be found here: https://www.hopiumchronicles.com/p/meet-jen-jordan-and-miracle-rankin