2018 Midterm Elections

[A_B]

Let's start a new thread just for Midterm talk.

I was speaking with a hard core, gun-toting, military supporting, dyed-in-the-wool Republican this week. And he's very disenchanted with what he's seeing nationally. That's a lot different from a more centrist like me being upset with the way things are going.

[Sabo]

Let's start a new thread just for Midterm talk.

I was speaking with a hard core, gun-toting, military supporting, dyed-in-the-wool Republican this week. And he's very disenchanted with what he's seeing nationally. That's a lot different from a more centrist like me being upset with the way things are going.

What caused him to become disenchanted?

[A_B]

Let's start a new thread just for Midterm talk.

I was speaking with a hard core, gun-toting, military supporting, dyed-in-the-wool Republican this week. And he's very disenchanted with what he's seeing nationally. That's a lot different from a more centrist like me being upset with the way things are going.

What caused him to become disenchanted?

Well, I think a big part of it is the local race (McGrath (d) vs. Barr (R)) is between a veteran (McGrath) who dropped bombs on the Taliban and a politician who has really done nothing but attack her and tried to tie her to the far left. Barr has wisely avoided mention of her service, which of course can only hurt him. But, IMO, she has run circles around him in the ad department. And as of yesterday, 538 had her with a slight lead, though they still gave Barr a lean in winning. I got the sense he was very close to being a Mcgrath voter in this race.

And nationally, it's been the fact that no one is willing to work with each other. Also he is in favor of term limits because these guys and gals just get entrenched and have no real clue what life is like and they're the ones making the laws.

[BSF21]

Let's start a new thread just for Midterm talk.

I was speaking with a hard core, gun-toting, military supporting, dyed-in-the-wool Republican this week. And he's very disenchanted with what he's seeing nationally. That's a lot different from a more centrist like me being upset with the way things are going.

What caused him to become disenchanted?

Well, I think a big part of it is the local race (McGrath (d) vs. Barr (R)) is between a veteran (McGrath) who dropped bombs on the Taliban and a politician who has really done nothing but attack her and tried to tie her to the far left. Barr has wisely avoided mention of her service, which of course can only hurt him. But, IMO, she has run circles around him in the ad department. And as of yesterday, 538 had her with a slight lead, though they still gave Barr a lean in winning. I got the sense he was very close to being a Mcgrath voter in this race.

And nationally, it's been the fact that no one is willing to work with each other. Also he is in favor of term limits because these guys and gals just get entrenched and have no real clue what life is like and they're the ones making the laws.

Obviously not as important as the Senate races, but I'm pulling for McGrath almomst as much as Beto.

The options up here for Senate are an asshole millionaire Braun (R) who has a ton of out of state money coming in to focus on Donnelly (D? maybe?) "snuggling up the the radical left", "outsourcing jobs to Mexico", and generally "not being one of US"?? Donnelly has chosen to run the Democratic counter strategy of "Trump and I get along", "I voted for the border wall!", and "But Braun makes his auto parts in China!!".

I want to die.

[brian]

I'm just ready to not be getting five fundraising emails a day from Jacky Rosen.

[Joe K]

Obviously Missouri’s Senate race is a hugely significant one. In my Democratic bubble of St. Louis City there are way more McCaskill supporters. But I’m not terribly optimistic based on how the state has been trending overall. Also, I know this is entirely anecdotal, but I live just a few blocks from the only remaining abortion clinic in the state and it sure seems like the anti-choice right is very energized post-Kavanaugh. I’m not sure the enthusiasm gap will favor Democrats to quite the degree that they had expected and hoped for.

[Ryan]

I'm going to sit in a different chair than 11.8.16. You guys think that's enough?

[Moreta]

I live in Michigan’s 11th congressional district and I have never been so glad I don’t watch much broadcast TV. The ads during the football games have been relentless.

That said, I’m canvassing tomorrow.

[brian]

I live in Michigan’s 11th congressional district and I have never been so glad I don’t watch much broadcast TV. The ads during the football games have been relentless.

That said, I’m canvassing tomorrow.

Good for you, that would be a nice win. Dem hasn't held that seat since the 60s. When I was back for my wife's grandfather's funeral I was shocked at how many ads there were for the MI-08 race. Seemed like every other ad was Peters or Slotkin.

[sancarlos]

My wife and I always vote by mail and we just received our ballots yesterday in the mail. My daughter will turn 18 on October 30 and is excited about voting in her first election. She had pre-registered to vote, and to vote by mail, so I was concerned when her ballot did not arrive with mine and my wife's. I called the voting registrar's office and voiced my concern on my daughter's behalf. They said they can't mail out her ballot until after her birthday so we wouldn't receive it until early November. I said that she is in Washington state for college right now, so if they mailed it to me and I forwarded it to her it might not make it in time for her vote to count. So, I asked them to mail her ballot directly to her at her university address, rather than our home address, and as soon as they could. The woman on the phone put me on hold for awhile to go check on it, then transferred me to her boss. After all that, they finally said they could do that, but only if my daughter contacts them herself and makes a formal request. So, maybe she will get to vote, but I certainly wouldn't bet on it.

[A_B]

Hope she gets to. Kentucky mailed my daughters to Boston while still 17 and she sent it in immediately. As long as you’re 18 bu Election Day they were fine, presumably.

She even got to vote in primaries at 17 because she was eligible to vote in he general, which makes sense.

[Johnnie]

I registered (independent) and voted (straight Democrat) absentee by mail like a month ago.

And since registering I'm getting the occasional text and phone call from Las Vegas numbers. No big deal. I just want this mid term stuff to be over.

Edit:

Houston Chronicle's endorsement of Beto

This is fucking terrible and I fear it's going to lead to violence: GOP candidate improperly purged 340,000 from Georgia voter rolls, investigation claims

[A_B]

Is your comma in wrong place?

I say that because I thought the last number I saw was around 40k.

[Johnnie]

Copied the headline directly from the article.

But it's actually worse:

Voter Purges: What Georgians Heading to the Polls Need to Know

Since 2012, Kemp’s office purged more than 1.4 million voters from the state’s registration rolls, nearly 670,000 in 2017 alone.

[HaulCitgo]

I registered (independent) and voted (straight Democrat) absentee by mail like a month ago.

And since registering I'm getting the occasional text and phone call from Las Vegas numbers. No big deal. I just want this mid term stuff to be over.

Edit:

Houston Chronicle's endorsement of Beto

This is fucking terrible and I fear it's going to lead to violence: GOP candidate improperly purged 340,000 from Georgia voter rolls, investigation claims

The Georgia thing is absolutely positively not a story in Georgia. Commercials mostly about guns pointed at teenagers and defaulted debt and irs liens. I don't think Stacey Abrams stands a chance in hell. Maybe in 8-12 years but black folks ain't fucking like they used to and more locally they knocked down all the projects in Atlanta.

[A_B]

I probably saw a more narrow time frame number then.

[EdRomero]

Saw these signs on the highway the other day. Checked his Wikipedia page. He was married to Fran Drescher.

[Joe K]

That asshole is lying on the very same sign in which he accuses Warren of being a liar. She didn’t “get in” to Harvard, a school she never attended as a student and was only hired onto the faculty at after paying her dues at several other universities. Also, the Boston Globe researched this issue very thoroughly and there’s no evidence that Warren’s claim of Native American heritage had anything to do with her rise through academia. If there’s anything to criticize her for, it’s that she helped Harvard pretend to have more diversity on its faculty at a time when it was almost exclusively white. But that doesn’t fit with the right-wing anti-Affirmative Action agenda.

[Shirley]

Well, and the part where it says he invented email. He wrote a program he called EMAIL, but nobody built on it, and previous email programs had existed for 10+ years.

[EdRomero]

Just don't tell me a fantasy football trophy wasnt actually named after him. Then he'll lose my vote.

[duff]

Nope, not him.

[Johnnie]

Scary long read, Vox link:

The midterms are already hacked. You just don’t know it yet.

[mister d]

I have zero doubt 2016 was as well.

[brian]

Lebron is the GOAT. Jordan never had the balls to take a stand and he’ll go down in history as a fucking pussy.

[sancarlos]

My wife and I always vote by mail and we just received our ballots yesterday in the mail. My daughter will turn 18 on October 30 and is excited about voting in her first election. She had pre-registered to vote, and to vote by mail, so I was concerned when her ballot did not arrive with mine and my wife's. I called the voting registrar's office and voiced my concern on my daughter's behalf. They said they can't mail out her ballot until after her birthday so we wouldn't receive it until early November. I said that she is in Washington state for college right now, so if they mailed it to me and I forwarded it to her it might not make it in time for her vote to count. So, I asked them to mail her ballot directly to her at her university address, rather than our home address, and as soon as they could. The woman on the phone put me on hold for awhile to go check on it, then transferred me to her boss. After all that, they finally said they could do that, but only if my daughter contacts them herself and makes a formal request. So, maybe she will get to vote, but I certainly wouldn't bet on it.

These fucking people. So, my wife and I just visited our daughter in Seattle for the weekend. My daughter checked her campus mailbox again on Sunday and no vote-by-mail ballot has yet been received. She was bummed out by that, but she and I have each spoken to the voting registrar and they assured us her ballot will arrive at her campus mailbox in time for her to vote by mail. So, of course, we stress to her that her ballot needs to be postmarked Tuesday for it to count.

Well, her ballot arrived in our mail here in California, today. As somebody once said, Holy Jeezus Christ on a cracker!

I live in a heavily Democratic county. It isn't voter suppression. It's incompetence.

[A_B]

So just fill it out for her?

[brian]

So just fill it out for her?

Think it has to be signed and the signature must match the voter registration.

[A_B]

So just fill it out for her?

Think it has to be signed and the signature must match the voter registration.

What's a little light forgery among families?

[The Sybian]

My wife and I always vote by mail and we just received our ballots yesterday in the mail. My daughter will turn 18 on October 30 and is excited about voting in her first election. She had pre-registered to vote, and to vote by mail, so I was concerned when her ballot did not arrive with mine and my wife's. I called the voting registrar's office and voiced my concern on my daughter's behalf. They said they can't mail out her ballot until after her birthday so we wouldn't receive it until early November. I said that she is in Washington state for college right now, so if they mailed it to me and I forwarded it to her it might not make it in time for her vote to count. So, I asked them to mail her ballot directly to her at her university address, rather than our home address, and as soon as they could. The woman on the phone put me on hold for awhile to go check on it, then transferred me to her boss. After all that, they finally said they could do that, but only if my daughter contacts them herself and makes a formal request. So, maybe she will get to vote, but I certainly wouldn't bet on it.

These fucking people. So, my wife and I just visited our daughter in Seattle for the weekend. My daughter checked her campus mailbox again on Sunday and no vote-by-mail ballot has yet been received. She was bummed out by that, but she and I have each spoken to the voting registrar and they assured us her ballot will arrive at her campus mailbox in time for her to vote by mail. So, of course, we stress to her that her ballot needs to be postmarked Tuesday for it to count.

Well, her ballot arrived in our mail here in California, today. As somebody once said, Holy Jeezus Christ on a cracker!

I live in a heavily Democratic county. It isn't voter suppression. It's incompetence.

If you truly care about Democracy or your daughter, you'd get in a car and drive it over to her today, so she can send it out tomorrow.

[brian]

My wife and I always vote by mail and we just received our ballots yesterday in the mail. My daughter will turn 18 on October 30 and is excited about voting in her first election. She had pre-registered to vote, and to vote by mail, so I was concerned when her ballot did not arrive with mine and my wife's. I called the voting registrar's office and voiced my concern on my daughter's behalf. They said they can't mail out her ballot until after her birthday so we wouldn't receive it until early November. I said that she is in Washington state for college right now, so if they mailed it to me and I forwarded it to her it might not make it in time for her vote to count. So, I asked them to mail her ballot directly to her at her university address, rather than our home address, and as soon as they could. The woman on the phone put me on hold for awhile to go check on it, then transferred me to her boss. After all that, they finally said they could do that, but only if my daughter contacts them herself and makes a formal request. So, maybe she will get to vote, but I certainly wouldn't bet on it.

These fucking people. So, my wife and I just visited our daughter in Seattle for the weekend. My daughter checked her campus mailbox again on Sunday and no vote-by-mail ballot has yet been received. She was bummed out by that, but she and I have each spoken to the voting registrar and they assured us her ballot will arrive at her campus mailbox in time for her to vote by mail. So, of course, we stress to her that her ballot needs to be postmarked Tuesday for it to count.

Well, her ballot arrived in our mail here in California, today. As somebody once said, Holy Jeezus Christ on a cracker!

I live in a heavily Democratic county. It isn't voter suppression. It's incompetence.

If you truly care about Democracy or your daughter, you'd get in a car and drive it over to her today, so she can send it out tomorrow.

Road trip!

[Steve of phpBB]

My wife and I always vote by mail and we just received our ballots yesterday in the mail. My daughter will turn 18 on October 30 and is excited about voting in her first election. She had pre-registered to vote, and to vote by mail, so I was concerned when her ballot did not arrive with mine and my wife's. I called the voting registrar's office and voiced my concern on my daughter's behalf. They said they can't mail out her ballot until after her birthday so we wouldn't receive it until early November. I said that she is in Washington state for college right now, so if they mailed it to me and I forwarded it to her it might not make it in time for her vote to count. So, I asked them to mail her ballot directly to her at her university address, rather than our home address, and as soon as they could. The woman on the phone put me on hold for awhile to go check on it, then transferred me to her boss. After all that, they finally said they could do that, but only if my daughter contacts them herself and makes a formal request. So, maybe she will get to vote, but I certainly wouldn't bet on it.

These fucking people. So, my wife and I just visited our daughter in Seattle for the weekend. My daughter checked her campus mailbox again on Sunday and no vote-by-mail ballot has yet been received. She was bummed out by that, but she and I have each spoken to the voting registrar and they assured us her ballot will arrive at her campus mailbox in time for her to vote by mail. So, of course, we stress to her that her ballot needs to be postmarked Tuesday for it to count.

Well, her ballot arrived in our mail here in California, today. As somebody once said, Holy Jeezus Christ on a cracker!

I live in a heavily Democratic county. It isn't voter suppression. It's incompetence.

Fed Ex it to her today for morning delivery.

[A_B]

My wife and I always vote by mail and we just received our ballots yesterday in the mail. My daughter will turn 18 on October 30 and is excited about voting in her first election. She had pre-registered to vote, and to vote by mail, so I was concerned when her ballot did not arrive with mine and my wife's. I called the voting registrar's office and voiced my concern on my daughter's behalf. They said they can't mail out her ballot until after her birthday so we wouldn't receive it until early November. I said that she is in Washington state for college right now, so if they mailed it to me and I forwarded it to her it might not make it in time for her vote to count. So, I asked them to mail her ballot directly to her at her university address, rather than our home address, and as soon as they could. The woman on the phone put me on hold for awhile to go check on it, then transferred me to her boss. After all that, they finally said they could do that, but only if my daughter contacts them herself and makes a formal request. So, maybe she will get to vote, but I certainly wouldn't bet on it.

These fucking people. So, my wife and I just visited our daughter in Seattle for the weekend. My daughter checked her campus mailbox again on Sunday and no vote-by-mail ballot has yet been received. She was bummed out by that, but she and I have each spoken to the voting registrar and they assured us her ballot will arrive at her campus mailbox in time for her to vote by mail. So, of course, we stress to her that her ballot needs to be postmarked Tuesday for it to count.

Well, her ballot arrived in our mail here in California, today. As somebody once said, Holy Jeezus Christ on a cracker!

I live in a heavily Democratic county. It isn't voter suppression. It's incompetence.

If you truly care about Democracy or your daughter, you'd get in a car and drive it over to her today, so she can send it out tomorrow.

Road trip!

Come on guys, he already flamed out as a mail carrier.

[DaveInSeattle]

We don't have cable anymore so I don't get to see much TV, but what little I have seen has been overwhelmed with ads for the WA-8 district race. It's a weird district...the Eastside of the Seattle Area, but also central Washington. Its an open seat, as the current Rep Dave-Reichart (Republican, former King County Sheriff) is retiring. The race is between Dino Rossi, scumbag real estate developer, former State Rep, and 3 time loser (lost twice for governor, once for the Senate) and Kim Schrier, who's a doctor. Current polls (from the NYTimes) show her ahead, but its gonna be close.

I'm thinking about going to a movie or something tomorrow night, so I'm not sitting around stressing out and checking twitter all night.

[govmentchedda]

I'll be watching Conor McJesus take on my Bolts live and in person with my oldest. Got an email from my STM rep last week that we're invited to a post game meet and greet with a player as well. Score!

ETA - You know, instead of wildly varying between mania and depression watching results come in. Hoping for a lot of blue wave texts from friends.

[Steve of phpBB]

We don't have cable anymore so I don't get to see much TV, but what little I have seen has been overwhelmed with ads for the WA-8 district race. It's a weird district...the Eastside of the Seattle Area, but also central Washington. Its an open seat, as the current Rep Dave-Reichart (Republican, former King County Sheriff) is retiring. The race is between Dino Rossi, scumbag real estate developer, former State Rep, and 3 time loser (lost twice for governor, once for the Senate) and Kim Schrier, who's a doctor. Current polls (from the NYTimes) show her ahead, but its gonna be close.

I'm thinking about going to a movie or something tomorrow night, so I'm not sitting around stressing out and checking twitter all night.

I would love to just head up a canyon and get somewhere without cell service. But I have an argument at the Court of Appeals on Wednesday morning, so I will be sitting at my computer all day and night Tuesday anyway.

At least by tomorrow night west coast time you'll have east coast results to obsess over.

[sancarlos]

My wife and I always vote by mail and we just received our ballots yesterday in the mail. My daughter will turn 18 on October 30 and is excited about voting in her first election. She had pre-registered to vote, and to vote by mail, so I was concerned when her ballot did not arrive with mine and my wife's. I called the voting registrar's office and voiced my concern on my daughter's behalf. They said they can't mail out her ballot until after her birthday so we wouldn't receive it until early November. I said that she is in Washington state for college right now, so if they mailed it to me and I forwarded it to her it might not make it in time for her vote to count. So, I asked them to mail her ballot directly to her at her university address, rather than our home address, and as soon as they could. The woman on the phone put me on hold for awhile to go check on it, then transferred me to her boss. After all that, they finally said they could do that, but only if my daughter contacts them herself and makes a formal request. So, maybe she will get to vote, but I certainly wouldn't bet on it.

These fucking people. So, my wife and I just visited our daughter in Seattle for the weekend. My daughter checked her campus mailbox again on Sunday and no vote-by-mail ballot has yet been received. She was bummed out by that, but she and I have each spoken to the voting registrar and they assured us her ballot will arrive at her campus mailbox in time for her to vote by mail. So, of course, we stress to her that her ballot needs to be postmarked Tuesday for it to count.

Well, her ballot arrived in our mail here in California, today. As somebody once said, Holy Jeezus Christ on a cracker!

I live in a heavily Democratic county. It isn't voter suppression. It's incompetence.

Fed Ex it to her today for morning delivery.

Alls well that ends well. I’m proud to say that my daughter herself found a place online with instructions on how she can obtain and submit a provisional ballot, specifically for instances and situations like hers. She basically prints out a ballot, completes it, and mails it in in her own envelope with a signed note explaining that she did not receive her ballot and is thus voting a provisional ballot. Very cool that she figured out on her own how to do this. We've already discussed all the issues and candidates with her, so she's ready to cast her votes.

Prior to this, my wife had been all set to Fedex her ballot to her (as Steve also suggested), until she phoned the dorm to ensure they could get the ballot to my daughter immediately on Tuesday morning. But the dorm mailroom people told my wife that they take a day to process all incoming mail and packages they receive - even overnight letters! So Nora wouldn't receive the ballot in time to mail it on Tuesday. So, we were about to give up until my daughter texted with the news of what she learned about casting her provisional vote.

[mister d]

I have two bets on tomorrow, one that says < 2 of Beto, Gillum and Abrams and one that says the Dems won't control the House when its sworn in (for any and all possible reasons, including simply not winning enough seats). I'll either have $100 or I'll be really happy.

[Giff]

I don't know if it's just flashbacks to how this day ended two years ago, but I'm feeling really pessimistic about tomorrow.

[Johnnie]

I don't know if it's just flashbacks to how this day ended two years ago, but I'm feeling really pessimistic about tomorrow.

I've been addicted to politics since summer 2016 and it only intensified after Trump. I go to the politics subreddit multiple times a day. I read a bunch of WaPo, Politico, and various other articles daily. I follow more politically affiliated people on Twitter then I've ever cared to. I check polls weekly. I've registered to vote and voted absentee last month. I'm actually kinda bummed I don't live in Texas if only to help Beto. And I feel the same damn way.

And articles like this make me feel even worse: https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/re ... the-house/

It's because I'm jaded and an eternal pessimist. The bad guys win in life and lose in the movies. Despite such blatant and obvious corruption in the current administration, there's no one person that can stop it. Plus, work stuff hurts my head daily and I'm still feeling effects of my failed deployment. I just can't see the good guys ever winning or people coming to their senses.

So yea. I feel you.

[Johnnie]