compared to her.. Corker wasn't horrible, but I think one of the crazy congressmen from Tennessee much more likely; I expect a troglodyte to win the seat
I am betting on worse than Blackburn; she's very popular, not sure if the next guy is close to her in popularity, but most likely not going to really matter
Although the execrable Andrew Johnson was a Senator from Tennessee, Republicans used to send relatively reasonable people such as Howard Baker and Fred Thompson to the Senate from Tennessee.
Jake Auchincloss has no chance to take out Markey.
As for Tim Walz, he should consider a presidential run. But whatever consultant muted him needs to be kept far away from the campaign. The Tim Walz who wasn't afraid to call a dipshit a dipshit, that guy stands a chance.
First, I sincerely hope Governor Tim Walz steps up as a loud anti-Trumpian voice. We need him and it would further raise his profile. Right now Democrats have far too many soft or silent voices, and few that speak to rural America.
As for Markey’s age and long service as a senator (approaching half a century), he’s in far better shape than the longer-serving Chuck Grassley – especially from the neck up and in terms of integrity.
Big mistake that Joe Kennedy the 3rd chose to challenge Markey, a fighter and one of our best senators. (And very wrong of Pelosi to endorse Kennedy against the incumbent Markey.) I hope someone dissuades Auchincloss, although I wouldn’t mind seeing him lose to Markey and for Kennedy to regain his House seat!
Avedee, Kennedy made a mistake running against Markey, no doubt about that. I share your animosity about that. However, that does not make Kennedy politically irrelevant for all time, nor that his political career is dead and buried.
One of the problems is the MA congressional delegation has a lot of weak-sauce "moderates" in it. Auchincloss is one of them, but there are worse, like Neal or Lynch or DINO Moulton (my rep, unfortunately). The only people in the delegation who could hold Markey's jock are Clark and Pressley. Clark is in the house leadership as the minority whip, and I don't think she'd give that up to be junior senator. And I don't think Pressley would beat Markey.
Clark has positioned herself well to be Jeffries' successor. She'll have a real shot at being speaker sometime in a decade or so unless Jeffries sticks around for as long as Pelosi did. If so she'd also likely be the second woman to be speaker. Like you I expect her to stick to the house and not run for senate.
Healey has her eyes set elsewhere right now, but I could see her running in 2030 if the seat is open. Pressley and Clark are the only ones I'd prefer over her in that scenario. She's not amazing but she's easily preferable to Auchincloss or Moulton.
If Walz really wants to be president--and I don't know of there being much indication of that before his turn as VP nominee--then he'd probably be better off not running for reelection in 2026. (Same for Harris regarding a possible CA-Gov run)
They could run more effective campaigns without having to constantly return to their states and concentrate on state business, and "elect me and I'll run for president" is generally not a great vote getting message. Not that all Dems considering a national run will, or should, step down; for example, I don't see Shapiro voluntarily stopping with one term.
We've had the following VP candidates (never elected) who never ran for POTUS after the presidential ticket they were on lost in a prior presidential election:
Tim Kaine - Didn't run in the Democratic primary in 2020.
Paul Ryan - Didn't run in the Republican primaries in 2016 and 2020.
Sarah Palin - Didn't run in the Republican primaries in 2012 and 2016.
Lloyd Bentsen - Didn't run in 1992 and ended up serving as the first Treasury Secretary under President Clinton's administration from 1993-1994.
Jack Kemp - Ran for POTUS in the Republican primary in 1988 but dropped out of the race in March 1988. Did get selected by Bob Dole as his running mate but after this ticket lost, he never ran for POTUS again.
Joe Lieberman and John Edwards ran in 2004 and again in 2008 (Edwards) but their stock as presidential candidates dropped as presidential candidates after being running mates in 2000 and 2004 respectively.
I went to elementary school a few blocks from Harris' childhood home. My elementary school in West Berkeley, Columbus Elementary School (now Rosa Parks Elementary School), had plenty of students from this neighborhood. I have several friends from here as well.
I can tell you that Harris' personality and attitude most definitely is West Berkeley attitude. She grew up as a kid with a street smart attitude, which includes saying things directly to a person's face if you mean it.
I happen to work in the consulting field (management consulting-related) and think the concept of the Democratic Party using consultants to help them win elections makes no sense to me.
THE CONTRARIAN was founded just over a week ago, after Jennifer Rubin quit the Bezos-owned Washington Post. Since then, The Contrarian has gained more readers than WaPo has lost; more than a quarter of a million people cancelled their WaPo subscription after Jeff Bezos blocked The Post from endorsing Kamala Harris.
Already there is a wealth of content. For instance, I highly recommend Jen Rubin’s interview with Ruth Ben-Ghiat, an eminent expert on Fascism and authoritarian leaders. Here is the link.
President Trump has repealed Lyndon Johnson's 1965 executive order banning hiring discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
The more tangible impacts are the ending of all minority-owned business assistance (although a lot of these unilateral actions are illegal given they are statutorily mandated by acts of Congress . . .problem is the GOP House and Senate have no backbone to do any pushback, especially in this honeymoon period).
Can't imagine that's going to do much for GOP AA support down the line. A recent YouGov poll actually had Trump's Hispanic support significantly down as well (insert folks voting for the Face-Eating Leopard party meme here).
I don’t think we’re ever getting back to Clinton ‘16 levels with Hispanic voters as younger generations are pretty assimilated, but man, if we can get back to Biden ‘20 levels…
Trump just gave Democrats a gift here heading to the 2026 midterms.
Unlike what Trump and his administration would want you to think, Lyndon Johnson's executive order as it was issued had everything directly to do with anti-bias, not DEI initiatives.
The FBI raid of Former Mayor Sheng Thao's home along with their indictment of her after she was recalled shows corruption was significant.
The Duong father and son family has been influential in Oakland to the extent where Thao as Mayor appointed their preferred choice to serve as project manager for the Oakland Economic and Workforce Development Department. He resigned in wake of this scandal.
One of the allegations in the indictment unsealed Friday is that, "Once in office, Thao took steps to carry out her end of the corrupt arrangement, including using her influence to help appoint a high-level City of Oakland official."
The indictment states that the city official was to be approved by David and Andy Duong - the father and son of a high-profile family in Oakland, which has contracts with the city for its recycling program.
"The Duong's have been well-known entities in Oakland politics for more than a decade. And the concerns about them have been well known," says Berton.
One of the allegations in the indictment unsealed Friday is that, "Once in office, Thao took steps to carry out her end of the corrupt arrangement, including using her influence to help appoint a high-level City of Oakland official."
The indictment states that the city official was to be approved by David and Andy Duong - the father and son of a high-profile family in Oakland, which has contracts with the city for its recycling program.
"The Duong's have been well-known entities in Oakland politics for more than a decade. And the concerns about them have been well known," says Berton.
The East Bay Times identified the alleged individual to be Larry Gallegos. He is listed on the city's website as a project manager for the Economic and Workforce Development Department. In a statement to ABC7 News on Tuesday, the City of Oakland confirmed that Gallegos resigned on Friday.
There are now concerns about the recycling contract with the Duong's company: California Waste Solutions.
"The contract, it must have an out clause. And any city councilmember who wants to raise concerns with who the City of Oakland does business with, now would be the time to speak up," Berton says.
Unique statement from Rep. Jared Golden on Trump Jan. 6 pardons. He says Dems should refuse to react to everything Trump does:
“President Trump is going to do and say a lot over the next four years. In his first term, the press demanded an immediate reaction from members to everything Trump did or said. All of us — elected officials and the media — need to avoid falling into this routine again. It was exhausting to everyone involved, including the public, but rarely changed anything. I’m focused on my job and the things I can control.”
I don’t think he worded it well, but I also do think he’s on to something. The media machine gearing up every time he did something terrible honestly probably made him stronger, and married his cult even further to him through negative polarization
Jared Golden won re-election by .6% points, his lowest margin of re-election in a Lean GOP district.
I'd say let him speak his mind if it means he wins re-election again in 2026. He doesn't speak for everyone in the Democratic Party but he's still one House seat that helps Democrats keep the GOP's tiny margin of control in the House even tinier now than pre-2025.
I don't disagree with you there. Not agreeing with what Golden and others are doing but they may also be trying to carefully manage the political environment with Trump having been elected again.
Georgia Representative Mike Collins, a Republican, called for the deportation of Bishop Mariann Budde following her critical remarks during a national prayer service for President Donald Trump.
In a Tuesday post on X, Collins wrote: "The person giving this sermon should be added to the deportation list," alongside a clip of her criticisms of Trump's immigration and LGBTQ+ policies. His post had been viewed 17.4 million times by Wednesday.
SHAME ON WDJT! Weigel-owned Milwaukee CBS affiliate WDJT caves to the right-wing faux outrage brigade led by radio host Dan O'Donnell by firing meteorologist Sam Kuffel for accurately calling out Elon Musk's Nazi salute.
Kudos to The Downballot for ditching Meta’s platforms!
Blackburn is running.. Everything else is performance art
Any chance for an upgrade in the Senate, somebody better replacing Blackburn?
compared to her.. Corker wasn't horrible, but I think one of the crazy congressmen from Tennessee much more likely; I expect a troglodyte to win the seat
The days of Tennessee electing a Corker-esque Republican are long gone. I expect a Blackburn-esque replacement although we could get lucky.
I am betting on worse than Blackburn; she's very popular, not sure if the next guy is close to her in popularity, but most likely not going to really matter
Probably since she will pick the replacement if she is governor.
Although the execrable Andrew Johnson was a Senator from Tennessee, Republicans used to send relatively reasonable people such as Howard Baker and Fred Thompson to the Senate from Tennessee.
One speculated replacement is Knox County mayor Glenn Jacobs, who is better known as former WWE wrestler Kane.
Has he been a halfway-decent Mayor or is be bog standard hack Tennessee politician?
He's shown some moments of sanity for a Tennessee Republican. He is still a Trump supporter however.
Jake Auchincloss has no chance to take out Markey.
As for Tim Walz, he should consider a presidential run. But whatever consultant muted him needs to be kept far away from the campaign. The Tim Walz who wasn't afraid to call a dipshit a dipshit, that guy stands a chance.
First, I sincerely hope Governor Tim Walz steps up as a loud anti-Trumpian voice. We need him and it would further raise his profile. Right now Democrats have far too many soft or silent voices, and few that speak to rural America.
As for Markey’s age and long service as a senator (approaching half a century), he’s in far better shape than the longer-serving Chuck Grassley – especially from the neck up and in terms of integrity.
Big mistake that Joe Kennedy the 3rd chose to challenge Markey, a fighter and one of our best senators. (And very wrong of Pelosi to endorse Kennedy against the incumbent Markey.) I hope someone dissuades Auchincloss, although I wouldn’t mind seeing him lose to Markey and for Kennedy to regain his House seat!
I was going to say . . enough time has passed that Kennedy should make a move for something; he's still a talented pol.
I'm happy to leave his political career dead and buried.
Any reason you don't like him?
Avedee, Kennedy made a mistake running against Markey, no doubt about that. I share your animosity about that. However, that does not make Kennedy politically irrelevant for all time, nor that his political career is dead and buried.
Speaking only for myself, I have no interest in *any* Kennedy running for *any* office. I consider their "mystique" fundamentally un-American.
I’m sure they’re a bunch of candidates who would be better than Auschinscloss
One of the problems is the MA congressional delegation has a lot of weak-sauce "moderates" in it. Auchincloss is one of them, but there are worse, like Neal or Lynch or DINO Moulton (my rep, unfortunately). The only people in the delegation who could hold Markey's jock are Clark and Pressley. Clark is in the house leadership as the minority whip, and I don't think she'd give that up to be junior senator. And I don't think Pressley would beat Markey.
Clark has positioned herself well to be Jeffries' successor. She'll have a real shot at being speaker sometime in a decade or so unless Jeffries sticks around for as long as Pelosi did. If so she'd also likely be the second woman to be speaker. Like you I expect her to stick to the house and not run for senate.
Healey has her eyes set elsewhere right now, but I could see her running in 2030 if the seat is open. Pressley and Clark are the only ones I'd prefer over her in that scenario. She's not amazing but she's easily preferable to Auchincloss or Moulton.
I'm not that familiar with his voting record. What besides his transgender comment makes Moulton a DINO?
First, we have the midterms coming up. If Walz wants to start putting where his energy should be, it’s helping Democrats get elected in 2026.
After that, the presidency could be considered.
Well, fair enough, except if he decides to run for re-election in 26. I'd expect him to concentrate on that, if so.
Yes, agreed. I had forgotten Minnesota doesn't have term limit requirements like California so Walz may decide to give a third term a go.
If Walz really wants to be president--and I don't know of there being much indication of that before his turn as VP nominee--then he'd probably be better off not running for reelection in 2026. (Same for Harris regarding a possible CA-Gov run)
They could run more effective campaigns without having to constantly return to their states and concentrate on state business, and "elect me and I'll run for president" is generally not a great vote getting message. Not that all Dems considering a national run will, or should, step down; for example, I don't see Shapiro voluntarily stopping with one term.
We've had the following VP candidates (never elected) who never ran for POTUS after the presidential ticket they were on lost in a prior presidential election:
Tim Kaine - Didn't run in the Democratic primary in 2020.
Paul Ryan - Didn't run in the Republican primaries in 2016 and 2020.
Sarah Palin - Didn't run in the Republican primaries in 2012 and 2016.
Lloyd Bentsen - Didn't run in 1992 and ended up serving as the first Treasury Secretary under President Clinton's administration from 1993-1994.
Jack Kemp - Ran for POTUS in the Republican primary in 1988 but dropped out of the race in March 1988. Did get selected by Bob Dole as his running mate but after this ticket lost, he never ran for POTUS again.
Joe Lieberman and John Edwards ran in 2004 and again in 2008 (Edwards) but their stock as presidential candidates dropped as presidential candidates after being running mates in 2000 and 2004 respectively.
National Democrats would do a lot better without consultants.
I went to elementary school a few blocks from Harris' childhood home. My elementary school in West Berkeley, Columbus Elementary School (now Rosa Parks Elementary School), had plenty of students from this neighborhood. I have several friends from here as well.
I can tell you that Harris' personality and attitude most definitely is West Berkeley attitude. She grew up as a kid with a street smart attitude, which includes saying things directly to a person's face if you mean it.
I really wish National Democrats felt the same way. They seem to be obsessed with the consultant class.
I happen to work in the consulting field (management consulting-related) and think the concept of the Democratic Party using consultants to help them win elections makes no sense to me.
This is why I'm hoping Ben Wikler wins the DNC Chair. He's said his first order of business is going over every consultant contract.
In other downballot news, the Virginia legislature has passed constitutional amendments affirming abortion and voting rights.
Recommendation:
THE CONTRARIAN was founded just over a week ago, after Jennifer Rubin quit the Bezos-owned Washington Post. Since then, The Contrarian has gained more readers than WaPo has lost; more than a quarter of a million people cancelled their WaPo subscription after Jeff Bezos blocked The Post from endorsing Kamala Harris.
Already there is a wealth of content. For instance, I highly recommend Jen Rubin’s interview with Ruth Ben-Ghiat, an eminent expert on Fascism and authoritarian leaders. Here is the link.
https://contrarian.substack.com/p/jen-rubin-interviews-ruth-ben-ghiat
Another highly worthwhile interview at The Contrarian is this conversation between Jen and historian Heather Cox Richardson.
https://contrarian.substack.com/p/heather-cox-richardson-and-jen-rubin
In Ohio, my dream 2026 ticket would be:
U.S. Senate (special): Brown.
Governor: Ryan/Acton or Acton/Ryan.
Attorney General: Cordray should run again.
💙🇺🇲
MICHIGAN. Term-limited Sec of State Jocelyn Benson (D) today became the first Dem to enter the open gubernatorial race.
As expected, but still good to see her getting in right off the bat
Mike Duggan's independent bid keeps me up at night. 😢
President Trump has repealed Lyndon Johnson's 1965 executive order banning hiring discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/01/22/us/trump-news#trump-order-discrimination-federal-hiring
The more tangible impacts are the ending of all minority-owned business assistance (although a lot of these unilateral actions are illegal given they are statutorily mandated by acts of Congress . . .problem is the GOP House and Senate have no backbone to do any pushback, especially in this honeymoon period).
Can't imagine that's going to do much for GOP AA support down the line. A recent YouGov poll actually had Trump's Hispanic support significantly down as well (insert folks voting for the Face-Eating Leopard party meme here).
I don’t think we’re ever getting back to Clinton ‘16 levels with Hispanic voters as younger generations are pretty assimilated, but man, if we can get back to Biden ‘20 levels…
Trump just gave Democrats a gift here heading to the 2026 midterms.
Unlike what Trump and his administration would want you to think, Lyndon Johnson's executive order as it was issued had everything directly to do with anti-bias, not DEI initiatives.
2025 Oakland, CA Mayoral Special Election
The FBI raid of Former Mayor Sheng Thao's home along with their indictment of her after she was recalled shows corruption was significant.
The Duong father and son family has been influential in Oakland to the extent where Thao as Mayor appointed their preferred choice to serve as project manager for the Oakland Economic and Workforce Development Department. He resigned in wake of this scandal.
https://abc7news.com/post/sheng-thao-latest-oakland-city-employee-resigns-following-grand-jury-indictment-former-mayor-duong-family/15823741/
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One of the allegations in the indictment unsealed Friday is that, "Once in office, Thao took steps to carry out her end of the corrupt arrangement, including using her influence to help appoint a high-level City of Oakland official."
The indictment states that the city official was to be approved by David and Andy Duong - the father and son of a high-profile family in Oakland, which has contracts with the city for its recycling program.
"The Duong's have been well-known entities in Oakland politics for more than a decade. And the concerns about them have been well known," says Berton.
One of the allegations in the indictment unsealed Friday is that, "Once in office, Thao took steps to carry out her end of the corrupt arrangement, including using her influence to help appoint a high-level City of Oakland official."
The indictment states that the city official was to be approved by David and Andy Duong - the father and son of a high-profile family in Oakland, which has contracts with the city for its recycling program.
"The Duong's have been well-known entities in Oakland politics for more than a decade. And the concerns about them have been well known," says Berton.
The East Bay Times identified the alleged individual to be Larry Gallegos. He is listed on the city's website as a project manager for the Economic and Workforce Development Department. In a statement to ABC7 News on Tuesday, the City of Oakland confirmed that Gallegos resigned on Friday.
There are now concerns about the recycling contract with the Duong's company: California Waste Solutions.
"The contract, it must have an out clause. And any city councilmember who wants to raise concerns with who the City of Oakland does business with, now would be the time to speak up," Berton says.
The new Resistance:
Unique statement from Rep. Jared Golden on Trump Jan. 6 pardons. He says Dems should refuse to react to everything Trump does:
“President Trump is going to do and say a lot over the next four years. In his first term, the press demanded an immediate reaction from members to everything Trump did or said. All of us — elected officials and the media — need to avoid falling into this routine again. It was exhausting to everyone involved, including the public, but rarely changed anything. I’m focused on my job and the things I can control.”
I don’t think he worded it well, but I also do think he’s on to something. The media machine gearing up every time he did something terrible honestly probably made him stronger, and married his cult even further to him through negative polarization
Well he can’t control what Trump does. So he might as well let him do whatever he wants.
Trump exhaustion seemed to work in 18 and 20
‘18, maybe. ‘20 I’m less convinced
I’m convinced on both but doesn’t mean it will work this time around and Golden is in his own situation in his seat.
I'm sick of these "dems" telling other dems how to react. Fetterman, Golden, and others should just stop.
There is some wisdom there. Monomania wears you down.
I'm not sure reminding voters he pardoned extreme racists who assaulted cops is merely hysteric "reacting" to the news cycle.
GOP Senator Lisa Murkowski has come out against the pardons so there's that.
https://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/gop-sen-lisa-murkowski-trumps-pardons-send-horrible-118002035
Jared Golden won re-election by .6% points, his lowest margin of re-election in a Lean GOP district.
I'd say let him speak his mind if it means he wins re-election again in 2026. He doesn't speak for everyone in the Democratic Party but he's still one House seat that helps Democrats keep the GOP's tiny margin of control in the House even tinier now than pre-2025.
I get that but I just don't see the Jan 6 pardons as an issue that needs triangulation.
I don't disagree with you there. Not agreeing with what Golden and others are doing but they may also be trying to carefully manage the political environment with Trump having been elected again.
Is that the same Jared Golden who just proposed universal tariffs? So, yeah, if you're agreeing with Trump's lunacy, why would you react to it?
GA-10:
Regardless of whether Rep. Mike Collins can be defeated for re-election or not in 2026, is there any credible Democrat who can challenge him?
https://www.newsweek.com/representative-mike-collins-bishop-challenged-donald-trump-deported-2018847
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Georgia Representative Mike Collins, a Republican, called for the deportation of Bishop Mariann Budde following her critical remarks during a national prayer service for President Donald Trump.
In a Tuesday post on X, Collins wrote: "The person giving this sermon should be added to the deportation list," alongside a clip of her criticisms of Trump's immigration and LGBTQ+ policies. His post had been viewed 17.4 million times by Wednesday.
SHAME ON WDJT! Weigel-owned Milwaukee CBS affiliate WDJT caves to the right-wing faux outrage brigade led by radio host Dan O'Donnell by firing meteorologist Sam Kuffel for accurately calling out Elon Musk's Nazi salute.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/elon-musk-salute-cbs-meteorologist_n_67917c24e4b09ddfcf92b63d