Here on the eastern margins of San Francisco’s supervisorial district 8, one candidate stands out — his flyers pile up in drifts in the corners, his volunteers have rung our doorbell three times, and he’s out on the streets himself soliciting votes. I’ll probably vote for him anyway — though I suppose I ought to find out what he stands for first. (At least he seems to be able to inspire passion in his staff, if not logistical rigor.) The state and national races are not even as engaging as that — the stakes are high, true enough, but the less-bad candidates seem likely to win, on the whole.
How’s it looking where you are? Anybody volunteering?
(CC-licensed photo by Flickr user sashax)
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23 comments
October 29, 2010 at 10:51 am
silbey
Looks like we’re getting Pat “I’m no longer seen as a wacko because I’m running in the state next to Christine O’Donnell” Toomey as our next Senator. O Frabjous Joy.
October 29, 2010 at 12:26 pm
Western Dave
Heads up, Silbey! Sestak has closed recently. Likely voter models show Toomey winning but registered voter models show a Sestak win so we simply have to work our buts off to get those registered but non-habitual voters out.
October 29, 2010 at 6:07 pm
kathy a.
about the senate race in CA: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2010/10/28/david-horsey-cartoon20101028.DTL
October 29, 2010 at 8:07 pm
Galvinji
Pat Toomey has good timing. He would have been crushed in the past two elections. But, then again, this is a state that elected Rick Santorum. Twice.
The thing I’m more concerned about is whether the GOP will control the redistricting process in PA. The last time around, they did some serious gerrymandering to maximize the number of Republicans in Congress — and I live in a ridiculous district that stretches from the Philadelphia city line to Reading that is designed to elect Republicans with margins under 5%. I can only imagine what will be produced next year.
October 29, 2010 at 9:25 pm
Vance Maverick
I wouldn’t have recognized Boxer in that cartoon without the helpful campaign button. But yes, that does seem to capture the character Fiorina has established.
October 29, 2010 at 9:32 pm
Urk
we’re looking at re-electing Terry Brandstadt and his mustache because, hey, it’s been a while since he was governor and well, it’s been a while since he was governor. And, we’re likley to re-elect Chuck Grassley because it’s been a while since he wasn’t a senator. Sad.
October 29, 2010 at 9:33 pm
Urk
oops- that was supposed to start “here in Iowa…”
October 30, 2010 at 12:41 am
Linkmeister
The polls indicate the Democrat Neil Abercrombie with a good lead for Governor, but they also indicate a 50-50 split for HI-01 between the Dem Colleen Hanabusa and the incumbent Rep Charles Djou. Djou won in a special election earlier this year replacing Abercrombie, who quit to come home and run for Gov. There were two Dems in that election and they split the vote, which otherwise would have swamped Djou. I’m puzzled why this race is seen as close, or I would be but for Karl Rove’s minions running nasty ads against Hanabusa. Djou went negative really quickly as well. This is a normally a heavily Democratic state, so I’m inclined to think the polls are less than accurate. I sure hope so.
October 30, 2010 at 8:00 am
Vance Maverick
Wasn’t that a case of Hanabusa and someone else splitting the D vote, among much acrimony?
October 30, 2010 at 10:43 am
wj
In California, the best (perhaps only) reason to vote for Fiorina is a list of the things wrong with Boxer. Ineffectual for a start. And so far left, even compared to California, that only enormous good luck in her previous opponents (courtesy of stupidity by California Republicans) has kept her in office. At least there would be a possibility, post a Senator Fiorina, of getting somebody sensible into office 6 years from now.
October 30, 2010 at 10:51 am
ari
And so far left
Really? And what do you mean by “sensible”? Someone like Feinstein? In which case, oh good grief.
October 30, 2010 at 10:53 am
David
Re: Sen. Boxer legislative record–read and decide–
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Barbara_Boxer%27s_Legislative_Record
October 30, 2010 at 1:19 pm
Linkmeister
Vance, yes. Hanabusa and Ed Case split it. Case leans Blue Dog, Hanabusa is more classic liberal. Shortly after that election Case announced he’d not be running this November, so it became conventional wisdom that Hanabusa would beat Djou this time around. She’s got a long track record of votes in the state legislature, many of which can be snipped out and used against her with no regard for context. So the ads have been almost unreservedly negative against her from Rove’s American Crossroads outfit and from Djou himself.
October 30, 2010 at 1:44 pm
kathy a.
how could one justify a vote for carly?
October 30, 2010 at 10:28 pm
Vance Maverick
Indeed, Boxer is not especially left.
The only reason to vote for Fiorina, given the national political situation, is if you like the national Republican party. I kind of like the idea of choosing the more “sensible” individual candidate, without regard to party, but that’s not the country we live in. (It does make sense for local elections, like our board of supervisors — choice of party is irrelevant to the very real divisions within the city.)
October 31, 2010 at 7:43 am
mrearl
Here in Arkansas (think: due northeast of Texas), where farming is important to the economy, the voters are about to throw out the sitting Chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, by a landslide, in favor of a colorless Republican Congressman who’s in favor of privatizing Social Security and replacing the IRS with a 23% VAT.
I know it’s hard to be colorless with such positions, but he manages.
Central Arkansas’ steadfastly liberal Congressman, a physician with a law degree and Nam decorations, took a look at the tea leaves and his twin toddlers and decided he’d had enough. He will be succeeded by–I kid you not–a former Karl Rove staffer.
Meanwhile the moderate Democrat who’s governor will be re-elected in a landslide of his own. And so it goes.
November 1, 2010 at 10:03 am
Anderson
Another campaign fought by the Democrats on their venerable slogan, “Hey, Look, We’re Not the Republicans.”
November 1, 2010 at 12:12 pm
docdave
What my fellow-Arkansian may have missed, if he’s not a resident of a Certain Neighborhood in Little Rock, is the cognitive-dissonance-inducing sight of an African-American adult male standing on a street corner, several days running, holding aloft a sign supporting the former Rove staffer, whose specialty was…wait for it!… vote-caging.
As for that Senate dustup, the sitting senator gets litle love from progressive Democrats or lockstep throwback conservatives. And in Arkansas, there are not that many of the former, and many of the latter masquerading as Democrats.
November 1, 2010 at 4:46 pm
CharleyCarp
We’re in the enviable position in Montana of having neither US senate seat, or any of the statewide offices up for election this time. Legislative races are polled well enough for anyone to really know anything — we’ll get divided government, and maybe the 50/50 house will break red.
One can hope for sanity in 2012, when the gov in term limited, and Sen Tester has his first re-election effort.
I knocked on doors Saturday, and will be taking Tuesday off to make calls. You should too.
November 1, 2010 at 4:47 pm
CharleyCarp
aren’t
November 2, 2010 at 9:51 pm
Vance Maverick
Toomey over Sestak, apparently. Among other votes swinging further right than one expected, SF has outlawed sitting or lying on sidewalks.*
* Believe me, I know from direct experience what the voters are upset about there.
November 3, 2010 at 2:18 pm
mrearl
Thinking about the Administration “working with” the Republicans, are there any historical examples of a party (state, dictator, general, et al.) being more willing to compromise from a position of new-found strength than it had been in its previous position of weakness?
November 4, 2010 at 7:45 am
David
President Obama in 2008 comes to mind.