Winning Is Not Weak

 

Republicans think poorly of Democratic elected officials because they disagree with them; Democrats think poorly of Democratic elected officials because they think they’re ineffective.

--Jim Geraghty

I take "ineffective" to mean, primarily, weak. Paralyzed. What if? but also ... what if...? Unable to calculate the forest because the trees are in the way.

Winning is not weak, and right now I can concentrate my hopes and energies on Democratic Party winners, starting with Josh Stein and Jeff Jackson in North Carolina, who are highly effective. Their styles are low-key, not hot and aggressive but reasoned and clear and in a word strong.

Democratic winners are actually pretty plentiful nationally. Susan Crawford defeated Republican Brad Schimel by10 points in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race in April, where both Trump and Musk tried to put their thumbs on the scales for Schimel, especially Musk. Democrat Abigail Spanberger is clearly favored to win the race for Virginia governor in November, and Mikie Sherrill appears to be leading comfortably for governor of New Jersey. (I profiled both Spanberger and Sherrill when they first ran for and won seats in Congress in the Blue Wave of 2018. They've turned out to be rising stars.)

Zohran Mamdani belongs to a wholly unique class of one. His in-your-face vacation announcement video -- "Uganda Miss Me, But I'll Be Back Soon" -- is like nothing I've ever seen a candidate do, directly answer the "go back to Africa!" haters with an "up-yours" that's both funny and muscular. I'm praying he's as level-headed as the character he plays on TikTok.

Continuing to Build

Kathleen Williams won the Democratic
primary in Montana on Tuesday to face off
against Republican incumbent Greg Gianforte
who was sentenced for assaulting a reporter the
night before his election in May 2017

I haven't the time to do deep research of my own right now on the Democratic challengers mentioned below, and the Republican incumbents, but soon ... soon ... I'll be free again to sit at a computer.

From the WashPost:

Voters have cast primary ballots in 32 of the 56 Republican-held House districts most vulnerable to a Democratic takeover, according to the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. Of the 28 races that have been called, Democratic women have won in half the districts, with women leading the Democratic ticket Wednesday afternoon in one of the four remaining seats still being counted in California. The party’s nominees in these crucial districts also include six military veterans and seven nominees who are black, Latino or Asian.

The winners include new political stars such as Amy McGrath, a former Marine fighter pilot running in Lexington, Ky., and Mikie Sherrill, a Navy pilot and former prosecutor running in northern New Jersey....

Democrats need a net gain of 23 seats to retake the House and have benefited from a playing field that is largely located in the suburbs of major American cities, where polls show swing voters, especially educated white women, are more likely to reject Trump’s conduct in office. Strategists consider only five Democratic seats, including two in Minnesota, vulnerable to a Republican takeover.

More US Naval Academy Grads Running as Democrats

I've already written here about Democratic congressional candidate Amy McGrath in Kentucky, one of three female graduates of Annapolis, and I'm happy to find out about two other kick-ass women and US Naval Academy graduates who are trying to be part of the #2018BlueWave. With candidates like these, who's afraid of Donald Trump?

Elaine Luria, running in the 2nd Congressional District of Virginia

Elaine Luria with her family

The 2nd CD of Virginia encompasses all of Accomack and Northampton counties and the city of Virginia Beach -- the largest city in Virginia -- and parts of the cities of Norfolk and Hampton. It includes the HDQs of Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network.

Incumbent Republican: Scott Taylor is in his first term in what is considered a safe Republican district. Taylor easily beat his Democratic opponent in 2016. He was previously a member of the Virginia House of Delegates, and perhaps more important for a Congressional district that includes large naval installations, he was a Navy SEAL and served in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Politico gave him an admiring write-up for the masterful way he could handle a hostile audience at one of his town halls. If both Luria and Taylor win their respective primaries (and, yes, there's a raft of Democrats running), then it'll be Navy veteran (man) v. Navy veteran (female) in the general election. Game on!

Elaine Luria joined the Navy at the age of 17. Michael Tackett profiles her in today's New York Times. Luria chose to focus on surface warfare at the Naval Academy, rose to commander rank, and served for 20 years before retiring. "Luria said that she felt the pull to run for office after Mr. Trump’s election, and that her husband quit his job to help take over household duties so she could focus on campaigning .... she had earned a black belt in taekwondo, passed all the required endurance tests and flourished in the classroom .... After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, she said, she felt compelled to stay in the Navy. She had a letter of resignation stuck in her desk, but never submitted it." Luria has the backing of the DCCC (Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee), which is useful ($$$).

Mikie Sherrill, running in the 11th Congressional District of New Jersey

Mikie Sherrill and her family

The 11th CD of New Jersey has been considered a Republican district. Trump won the district by less than a percentage point in 2016, but last fall the 11th experienced an astounding "blue wave," with 39 insurgent Democrats winning races for seats on boards of education, municipal councils and freeholder boards. The 11th also went for Democratic governor candidate Phil Murphy.

Incumbent Republican Rodney Frelinghuysen just announced yesterday that he would not run again, making this an open seat. Frelinghuysen, considered one of the Republican moderates and also considered one of the most endangered Republicans in 2018, had been refusing to face his constituents (many of whom were angry that he was voting with Trump) at a public town hall. The entry of Mikie Sherrill into the race may have tipped Frelinghuysen into retirement.

Mikie Sherrill is not only a graduate of Annapolis (served as a Navy helicopter pilot) but she is also a former federal prosecutor and the mother of four. She also has the strong backing of the DCCC, and according to Michael Tackett, she is favored to win her primary. She has focused her criticism of Trump on the new tax law and on Trump's effort to weaken the Affordable Care Act. She says she is simply “fed up” with the president’s agenda. “I talked to friends and thought if we broke through our own glass ceilings, we would progress, yet we now see again and again we simply haven’t made the gains we thought we made. My children’s future is in peril.”