I have been pushing two special elections, one in Ohio and one in Virginia. Both were in traditionally DEEP red districts. The very fact that we seemed to have a shot at EITHER of them was a big surprise.

What happened in the end was the Republicans held their own. They performed pretty much as expected in both districts easily winning both. But what did happen was the strength of the Democratic challenge forced them to fight harder than they ever had to for these two districts. They had to fight harder than ever to stay where they were.

In and of itself this would be meaningless. But as part of a broader strategy (an extension of Howard Dean's contest every district philosophy) the Democrats did something pretty smart. The DCCC has far more money these days than the NRCC. This is unusual. Generally the NRCC does far better at fundraising. But people are so fed up with Bush that the Republicans are having a really hard time fundraising while the Dems are doing great.  read more »

There are two special Congressional elections coming up Dec. 11th. Both are seats that once were considered perfectly safe Republican, but suddenly are competitive. I'm telling you, there are fewer and fewer "safe Republican" Congressional disticts. I already brought up the race for VA-1 along with ways you can help. In that race, Philip Forgit, an Iraq War vet is running as a Democrat and needs our help. That race is a good one for those who recognize the slow but certain trend turning Virginia Blue. This trend started in 2005 and has progressed year by year. This trend, coupled with Bush's abyssmal approval ratings and a deepening Iraq quagmire, is what has made VA-1 no longer safe for Republicans.

That said, VA-1 remains a long shot. NOT impossible, but a long shot. Never forget that we WON many long shots in 2006 and we could wake up Dec. 12th with VA-1 flipped to blue. But the race that is more winnable is OH-5 where Robin Weirauch is running for an unexpected open seat. To quote from Daliy Kos:  read more »

There are two special Congressional elections on December 11th, 2007. Both are Republican districts that suddenly look like possible Dem pickups. Neither will be easy, but they are panicking the Republicans to such a degree that they are having to sink money they don't even have into these races. Yep...the Republican party are going into debt to defend these two previously safe Republican seats. That means that fighting them here will make it easier for Dems to pick up seats in 2008. OH-5 is getting lots of attention on Daily Kos, and if I get some info on how you can volunteer some time, believe me I will let you know...probably ad nauseum. The other race, VA-1, is getting less attention. This is partly because it is more of a long shot (like many of the 2006 pick ups!) and partly because the Dem candidate (as is typical of Virginia) is more conservative. But to me, it is an opportunity not to be missed. Forcing the Republicans to go deeper and deeper into debt even before 2008 hits us is just too sweet. So, for those who want to help, I present to you the VA-1 Special election in 2007.  read more »

I have voted Republican. Once, I think. Just once. I have voted Green. Once...maybe twice.

The vast majority of the time I vote, donate, agitate and work for the Democratic Party with varying degrees of pride, enthusiasm and, occasionally, holding my nose.

The Democratic Party Machine in Brooklyn, led by Vito Lopez, pretty much makes you hold your nose because there is always a stench of sleaze around them. There are debates as to whether they are an improvement over the previous incarnation of the Brooklyn Machine, the one whose former head is now deservedly in jail. Well, if you have to debate whether they are better than someone who is jailed for corruption, you know you are in trouble.  read more »

Been thinking about the Brooklyn Surrogate race and many people have been talking to me about it. I know to non-insiders this seems like a minor thing, but in reality the Surrogate Judge, and all judges, are important elected positions and the fact that the machine's lock on appointing judges has majorly slipped is a very big deal.

My post-primary piece might have been a bit overly pessimistic, though I think fairly accurate. But the reform clubs are celebrating and for good reason. I put down the reform clubs a bit in my last piece, but honestly they did help swing the race for Diana Johnson and did hand Vito Lopez a solid defeat.

And it really was a solid defeat. Diana Johnson won with almost 60% of the vote. That means Vito Lopez and his machine lost about as decisively as you really ever expect in a judicial election. There was a time when Surrogate Judge was the machine's to give away like a plum. It was one of the bigger plums the machine could give.  read more »