Wednesday, November 07, 2018
The melting of snowflake Erik Paulsen
Last night's election results were fascinating and a little confusing. My friends in Texas who were devoted to Beto O'Rourke must be struggling with the results-- he came close, tantalizingly close.
Here in Minnesota, Democrats (or, formally, the Democrat-Farmer-Labor Party) had a pretty good night. In the district next to mine, US Rep Erik Paulsen lost to Dean Phillips, and it wasn't that close. As I noted here before, Paulsen spent a lot of energy dodging his constituents, which turned off a lot of people. If you have unpopular views in your district, you need to defend them or change them. And, no, the problem was not a "mob" when what you are dodging is a 4th of July parade!
In other news, I was happy to see that Florida restored the voting rights of 1.4 million people who have been convicted of felonies.
What did you think was significant in the results?
Here in Minnesota, Democrats (or, formally, the Democrat-Farmer-Labor Party) had a pretty good night. In the district next to mine, US Rep Erik Paulsen lost to Dean Phillips, and it wasn't that close. As I noted here before, Paulsen spent a lot of energy dodging his constituents, which turned off a lot of people. If you have unpopular views in your district, you need to defend them or change them. And, no, the problem was not a "mob" when what you are dodging is a 4th of July parade!
In other news, I was happy to see that Florida restored the voting rights of 1.4 million people who have been convicted of felonies.
What did you think was significant in the results?
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That was about the only good news out of Florida yesterday.
In NC despite gerrymandered districts which will be redrawn now that the election is over (how convenient) we did break the Republican super majority so now when our Governor vetoes a bill it will stand. On a sad note we passed a voter id amendment that had no physical language. To be provided if the amendment passed.
I am glad other States fared better.
In NC despite gerrymandered districts which will be redrawn now that the election is over (how convenient) we did break the Republican super majority so now when our Governor vetoes a bill it will stand. On a sad note we passed a voter id amendment that had no physical language. To be provided if the amendment passed.
I am glad other States fared better.
The Cruz - O'Rourke contest is interesting for lots of reasons, but I'm not sure it's quite the signal of a Texas shift to purple it has been made out to be. O'Rourke out-raised and outspent Cruz by a wide margin (more than double). O'Rourke is also charismatic, handsome, and relatable--three things Cruz has never been accused of. Indeed, Cruz is widely despised, and with roughly equal vigor among the Trump crowd and the #Resistance crowd. In other words, unlike some of the House seats that flipped for Democrats, swings which were largely driven by aversion to Trump, O'Rourke's near-upset was also driven in large part by distaste for Cruz.
When you look at the other statewide contests, Republicans generally won by large margins (double digits, in some cases). Texas is still red.
Still, the O'Rourke camp must be seriously eyeing a 2020 bid. His optimisms is reflective of Obama's, and a broad swath of folks identify with him in a way that Hillary could only dream of. The Midwest and Florida could look a lot different with that kind of candidate.
More emotional for me are some of the down-ballot races in the Houston area. Texas still offers a straight-party voting option (i.e., one click casts your ballot for all the Rs or all the Ds). When a big national swing happens, and when a majority of folks vote straight party, the judges and county officials down-ballot tend to get swept in or out along party lines. For example, Republican County Judge (weird name for the highest county executive), Ed Emmett, an 11-year incumbent who is highly respected by both sides of the aisle and revered in some circles for his response to Hurricane Harvey (and who is in the middle of a multi-billion dollar flood prevention infrastructure project), lost to a 27-year-old political activist. Republican Justice Brett Busby of Texas' Fourteenth Court of Appeals, a six-year incumbent who clerked for and later practiced before the U.S. Supreme Court (his wife was also a SCOTUS clerk) and was endorsed by every major newspaper and bar association, lost to a suburban civil lawyer with essentially zero appellate experience. These roles are only political in the broadest sense, and it's a shame that our increasingly national politics decide important local races. The same was true, by the way, in 2010 when some well-qualified and experienced democrats were swept out in the first Obama midterms.
When you look at the other statewide contests, Republicans generally won by large margins (double digits, in some cases). Texas is still red.
Still, the O'Rourke camp must be seriously eyeing a 2020 bid. His optimisms is reflective of Obama's, and a broad swath of folks identify with him in a way that Hillary could only dream of. The Midwest and Florida could look a lot different with that kind of candidate.
More emotional for me are some of the down-ballot races in the Houston area. Texas still offers a straight-party voting option (i.e., one click casts your ballot for all the Rs or all the Ds). When a big national swing happens, and when a majority of folks vote straight party, the judges and county officials down-ballot tend to get swept in or out along party lines. For example, Republican County Judge (weird name for the highest county executive), Ed Emmett, an 11-year incumbent who is highly respected by both sides of the aisle and revered in some circles for his response to Hurricane Harvey (and who is in the middle of a multi-billion dollar flood prevention infrastructure project), lost to a 27-year-old political activist. Republican Justice Brett Busby of Texas' Fourteenth Court of Appeals, a six-year incumbent who clerked for and later practiced before the U.S. Supreme Court (his wife was also a SCOTUS clerk) and was endorsed by every major newspaper and bar association, lost to a suburban civil lawyer with essentially zero appellate experience. These roles are only political in the broadest sense, and it's a shame that our increasingly national politics decide important local races. The same was true, by the way, in 2010 when some well-qualified and experienced democrats were swept out in the first Obama midterms.
CTL-- That is fascinating! We don't have straight-ticket voting here. I hope O'Rourke does not run in 2020. He doesn't have the experience that even Obama had. Of course, I have no idea who the nominee will be....
Virginia women flipped three House seats from R to D. Not in my district, unfortunately, but one was Abigail Spanberger who beat Dave Brat for Eric Cantor's old seat. Barbara Comstock also lost.
And, my friend Xochitl Torres Small in New Mexico's 2nd won after 8,000 more ballots were counted today! She won a district that has only gone Democratic in 2 elections prior to this, where Trump won by 10 points in 2016, making a D sweep in New Mexico.
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And, my friend Xochitl Torres Small in New Mexico's 2nd won after 8,000 more ballots were counted today! She won a district that has only gone Democratic in 2 elections prior to this, where Trump won by 10 points in 2016, making a D sweep in New Mexico.
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