Well, I fear my wife will not push me down the stairs so as to put me into a coma until March 4th. In the meantime, Kamala Harris, last seen losing Texas by the worst margin in over a decade, has weighed in to endorse Crockett.
I am going to be a poll denier. I don’t care how irrational it is, I’ll own it. I will choose to be optimistic. It’s humorous to me that there are two primaries on Tuesday that could determine nominees in two key Senate races. In one of them, we have a popular former Governor who seems to be on a glide path to the Senate. In Texas, we potentially have the opportunity of a lifetime and we might squander it. I refuse to believe we will.
With primary day coming up on Tuesday, I'm interested in the following:
- TX-SEN, GOP and Dem: This one goes without saying. Like probably everyone else here, I am watching anxiously to see if Talarico beats Crockett, if the GOP side goes to a runoff, etc.
- NC-SD-26: Like our fellow poster MPC (if I'm getting the poster right), I am curious to see if Phil Berger can survive his MAGA challenge. Neither of them are great but Berger has done lasting damage to his state, so Berger losing would be no loss to me.
- NC-04: The first major primary test of the cycle, and another one that's heavily watched. Can Allam beat Foushee? Will the late money surge have an effect? I really hope Allam can pull it off. The party needs to change, and this is an early opportunity.
- TX-18: The Christian Menefee/Al Green showdown. I'm concerned that Menefee (if I remember correctly) has started taking crypto donations. I also, however, believe in generational change. The crypto donations have me controversially personally rooting for Green, but honestly either could win IMO and I'd be OK.
- TX-33: This is the Johnson-Allred-Hafeez race. With the fighting between Allred and Johnson turning ugly, I'm hoping for Hafeez to pull off a progressive mega-upset (highly unlikely), or at the very least Johnson beating Allred (who I do not like, sadly also not likely). We'll see who wins.
- Harris County Judge: No one is talking about this race. The leader in the Dem primary, Annise Parker, is to outgoing incumbent Lina Hidalgo's right -- and Hidalgo/the left are backing a different candidate, Houston City Councillor Letitia Plummer. I'm rooting for Plummer myself, but this will be an interesting race to watch.
- TX-Agriculture Commissioner: Another overlooked race. The incumbent, Sid Miller, is so nuts, a notable GOP challenger has emerged. Will Miller survive? I'll be curious to watch this one.
- NC State primaries: All the "Dems" who voted against Stein who have primaries. Hope the challengers can win. Also a bit concerned about Rodney Pierce, a progressive State Rep. who is being challenged by the guy he unseated, Michael Wray. I hope to God Wray doesn't return -- he could join the Veto Caucus of anti-Stein Dems.
Those are the big ones for me. When the IL primary comes up I'll list the ones I'm curious about there.
Oh, and I cannot recommend Bolts Magazine enough -- they are a fantastic news source focused on downballot in-the-woods races. They also do roundups each month of elections worth watching -- I consulted the March one for help in writing this comment, actually.
Well, I fear my wife will not push me down the stairs so as to put me into a coma until March 4th. In the meantime, Kamala Harris, last seen losing Texas by the worst margin in over a decade, has weighed in to endorse Crockett.
I am going to be a poll denier. I don’t care how irrational it is, I’ll own it. I will choose to be optimistic. It’s humorous to me that there are two primaries on Tuesday that could determine nominees in two key Senate races. In one of them, we have a popular former Governor who seems to be on a glide path to the Senate. In Texas, we potentially have the opportunity of a lifetime and we might squander it. I refuse to believe we will.
With primary day coming up on Tuesday, I'm interested in the following:
- TX-SEN, GOP and Dem: This one goes without saying. Like probably everyone else here, I am watching anxiously to see if Talarico beats Crockett, if the GOP side goes to a runoff, etc.
- NC-SD-26: Like our fellow poster MPC (if I'm getting the poster right), I am curious to see if Phil Berger can survive his MAGA challenge. Neither of them are great but Berger has done lasting damage to his state, so Berger losing would be no loss to me.
- NC-04: The first major primary test of the cycle, and another one that's heavily watched. Can Allam beat Foushee? Will the late money surge have an effect? I really hope Allam can pull it off. The party needs to change, and this is an early opportunity.
- TX-18: The Christian Menefee/Al Green showdown. I'm concerned that Menefee (if I remember correctly) has started taking crypto donations. I also, however, believe in generational change. The crypto donations have me controversially personally rooting for Green, but honestly either could win IMO and I'd be OK.
- TX-33: This is the Johnson-Allred-Hafeez race. With the fighting between Allred and Johnson turning ugly, I'm hoping for Hafeez to pull off a progressive mega-upset (highly unlikely), or at the very least Johnson beating Allred (who I do not like, sadly also not likely). We'll see who wins.
- Harris County Judge: No one is talking about this race. The leader in the Dem primary, Annise Parker, is to outgoing incumbent Lina Hidalgo's right -- and Hidalgo/the left are backing a different candidate, Houston City Councillor Letitia Plummer. I'm rooting for Plummer myself, but this will be an interesting race to watch.
- TX-Agriculture Commissioner: Another overlooked race. The incumbent, Sid Miller, is so nuts, a notable GOP challenger has emerged. Will Miller survive? I'll be curious to watch this one.
- NC State primaries: All the "Dems" who voted against Stein who have primaries. Hope the challengers can win. Also a bit concerned about Rodney Pierce, a progressive State Rep. who is being challenged by the guy he unseated, Michael Wray. I hope to God Wray doesn't return -- he could join the Veto Caucus of anti-Stein Dems.
Those are the big ones for me. When the IL primary comes up I'll list the ones I'm curious about there.
Oh, and I cannot recommend Bolts Magazine enough -- they are a fantastic news source focused on downballot in-the-woods races. They also do roundups each month of elections worth watching -- I consulted the March one for help in writing this comment, actually.
https://boltsmag.org/whats-on-the-ballot/march-2026-elections-guide/ <-- Their election guide for this month. Check it out.