Let’s try something a little different in this week’s open thread. I’d like to open the floor to ask: When (and how) did you first become a reader of The Downballot (or its predecessors, Daily Kos Elections and Swing State Project)?
For me, I became a daily SSP reader during its extensive coverage of the OH-02 special election in the summer of 2005, when Democrats nearly stole a dark red district from a complacent and unpopular GOP. How about you?
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I first discovered the Downballot when it was DKE, believe it or not via a Wikipedia citation. I lurked for some time, then when it moved to Substack I eventually took the plunge and started posting.
You guys are fantastic. I consider The Downballot a valuable source for election analysis, along with Primary School and Bolts Magazine, and the three collectively got me into really local and down-ticket elections as a whole. Kudos to you guys!
I was a regular on Daily Kos Elections when back in 2024 David Nir made the announcement then about moving to Substack. The Downballot was the new name at the time.
Quite honestly, I like it better on this platform.