I've met Conley and I liked her. This is just a race that is both already well-funded but also very expensive so the marginal impact is lower than the ones I have here.
Our list is also tilted toward districts that are bigger reaches than the Conley-Lawler one.
As an independent voter in Wisconsin, there is ZERO chance Hong or Barnes can be governor. Barnes already lost and underperformed. The skeletons are already falling out of the closet for Hong so I’m sure there are more to come. No way either get enough votes to win the Milwaukee suburbs where they need to pickup votes. Proof of this, I already had a Tim Tiffany canvasser at my door.
I like Keisha Lance Bottoms but I’m surprised she decided to stick in politics after her tenure as mayor of Atlanta. That situation would have burned most people out (and honestly sounded like she got burned out too)
I would also recommend Don Leonard to this list. OH-15. Might be a tad progressive then who you usually go for but he’s a veteran, good family, and is sensible. Very winnable race too (I am biased since I know the guy)
It's not like "oh I hate Seth Moulton now" and I'd definitely vote for him over Markey. Markey is a zillion years old, but paradoxically is the junior senator from the state and has no seniority, and to the extent Markey differs from a total baseline blue state Dem it's in bad ways (he's more anti-nuclear for example).
But Moulton just has not run a campaign emphasizing factional or ideological issues in the way that I initially thought he might. I just couldn't really recommend at the margin diverting money away from Pulido, Garcia, Peltola, Turek and some of the other names on the list for the sake of supporting him.
Yeah, Massachusetts isn't going to vote red so the rec makes sense. But at the same time it's maybe a smart play from Moulton? He needs to be a candidate that most Massachusetts Dems are comfortable with, and if he makes too many waves in the primary then they'll default to Markey.
Anyway I always thought the next Democratic president might put him up for SecDef to help clean up the mess Trump has made, which would make this all moot anyway.
If we didn't have such a thoroughly corrupted political system we wouldn't need a scratch sheet for candidates. The day that human beings with moral integrity whose priority is to serve the needs of the people populate our political system is that day that couch pundits will not resort to relying on the likes of Matthew Yglesias to tell them where to place their bets.
I'll be honest, it feels kind of uncouth to donate to state level elections in states you don't even live in. Senate and House are bad enough, but I get the connection there.
Of course, it's all hypothetical to me, since there is no force on heaven or earth that will convince me to give my hard-earned money to a politician.
I have a similar gut reaction and have been frustrated by things like huge waves of money from New Yorkers trying to support Mitch McConnell challengers in KY who a.) have no shot in hell and b.) in no way represent their electorate. That said, I justify it to myself in select cases where the broader US map is at play (gerrymandering in a state I don’t live in still affects me at the end of the day). Also, giving a candidate money is in a way just giving them the ability to share their message with voters - the voters at the end of the day are still the ones who choose, you’re just giving the candidate a chance to reach them that they might not otherwise have.
Candidates on the Slow Boring list need to get moving with fundraising. My inbox is overflowing with messages noting how candidate X is against oligarchy, how much they hate Trump, and how they grew up in deprived circumstances. Apologies if I have deleted any of the Slow Boring candidates.
am I correct that the prior recs had the ability to set as a monthly recurring donation (I think because it went through ActBlue), but this new set does not?
As somebody in Pennsylvania, I’m incredibly annoyed by you supporting various state level elections on the basis of a gerrymander for national house seats, especially when you said further up the post that it would be great and noble to un-gerrymander North Carolina.
You say there’s a need for hardball, but all the waste and expense of redrawing lines will maybe net democrats 1-2seats in the house in a year that is likely to swing strongly to Democrats anyway.
Anyone know why the fine print on the donation system requires you to verify that you are not a federal contractor? There is no law against employees of contractors donating, so why the rule on this site?
See I don't really want to go person-by-person creating a presumption that there's something wrong with the people who aren't on the list. I like Jamie Ager! I'm not gonna get mad if you give him money.
Done! Donated to frontline southern House Dems and Anita Earls. Let's bore those hard boards!
I had hoped Cait Conley would make the list, trying to flip NY-17 from Mike Lawler.
But maybe too routine a race, just hoping for a normal Dem to win a suburban NY seat that should be within reach?
I've met Conley and I liked her. This is just a race that is both already well-funded but also very expensive so the marginal impact is lower than the ones I have here.
Our list is also tilted toward districts that are bigger reaches than the Conley-Lawler one.
As an independent voter in Wisconsin, there is ZERO chance Hong or Barnes can be governor. Barnes already lost and underperformed. The skeletons are already falling out of the closet for Hong so I’m sure there are more to come. No way either get enough votes to win the Milwaukee suburbs where they need to pickup votes. Proof of this, I already had a Tim Tiffany canvasser at my door.
I like Keisha Lance Bottoms but I’m surprised she decided to stick in politics after her tenure as mayor of Atlanta. That situation would have burned most people out (and honestly sounded like she got burned out too)
I would also recommend Don Leonard to this list. OH-15. Might be a tad progressive then who you usually go for but he’s a veteran, good family, and is sensible. Very winnable race too (I am biased since I know the guy)
What's your specific concern with Moulton?
It's not like "oh I hate Seth Moulton now" and I'd definitely vote for him over Markey. Markey is a zillion years old, but paradoxically is the junior senator from the state and has no seniority, and to the extent Markey differs from a total baseline blue state Dem it's in bad ways (he's more anti-nuclear for example).
But Moulton just has not run a campaign emphasizing factional or ideological issues in the way that I initially thought he might. I just couldn't really recommend at the margin diverting money away from Pulido, Garcia, Peltola, Turek and some of the other names on the list for the sake of supporting him.
Yeah, Massachusetts isn't going to vote red so the rec makes sense. But at the same time it's maybe a smart play from Moulton? He needs to be a candidate that most Massachusetts Dems are comfortable with, and if he makes too many waves in the primary then they'll default to Markey.
Anyway I always thought the next Democratic president might put him up for SecDef to help clean up the mess Trump has made, which would make this all moot anyway.
I get the strategy, it's just a strategy that makes the race not as interesting from an SB perspective.
Not donating, don’t want more spam emails.
If we didn't have such a thoroughly corrupted political system we wouldn't need a scratch sheet for candidates. The day that human beings with moral integrity whose priority is to serve the needs of the people populate our political system is that day that couch pundits will not resort to relying on the likes of Matthew Yglesias to tell them where to place their bets.
I'll be honest, it feels kind of uncouth to donate to state level elections in states you don't even live in. Senate and House are bad enough, but I get the connection there.
Of course, it's all hypothetical to me, since there is no force on heaven or earth that will convince me to give my hard-earned money to a politician.
I have a similar gut reaction and have been frustrated by things like huge waves of money from New Yorkers trying to support Mitch McConnell challengers in KY who a.) have no shot in hell and b.) in no way represent their electorate. That said, I justify it to myself in select cases where the broader US map is at play (gerrymandering in a state I don’t live in still affects me at the end of the day). Also, giving a candidate money is in a way just giving them the ability to share their message with voters - the voters at the end of the day are still the ones who choose, you’re just giving the candidate a chance to reach them that they might not otherwise have.
Candidates on the Slow Boring list need to get moving with fundraising. My inbox is overflowing with messages noting how candidate X is against oligarchy, how much they hate Trump, and how they grew up in deprived circumstances. Apologies if I have deleted any of the Slow Boring candidates.
am I correct that the prior recs had the ability to set as a monthly recurring donation (I think because it went through ActBlue), but this new set does not?
If you do another list in the future, please think about including Kristian Carranza in your Texas crew. Very competitive Texas House seat, running on a locally-focused platform: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DOE_tPlgVXN/?igsh=cjYyemgzam03c3N2
As somebody in Pennsylvania, I’m incredibly annoyed by you supporting various state level elections on the basis of a gerrymander for national house seats, especially when you said further up the post that it would be great and noble to un-gerrymander North Carolina.
You say there’s a need for hardball, but all the waste and expense of redrawing lines will maybe net democrats 1-2seats in the house in a year that is likely to swing strongly to Democrats anyway.
No Paige Cognetti?
Anyone know why the fine print on the donation system requires you to verify that you are not a federal contractor? There is no law against employees of contractors donating, so why the rule on this site?
There's probably a preference that fed contractors don't attract the Eye of Sauron and get persecuted.
Why not Jamie Ager in NC-11?
See I don't really want to go person-by-person creating a presumption that there's something wrong with the people who aren't on the list. I like Jamie Ager! I'm not gonna get mad if you give him money.
Fair enough!