Last Night's Primary Election Results-- Wins And Losses

Ballots are still being counted almost everywhere. Kentucky has already announced that there will be no final vote count until June 30-- which is when the state's two biggest counties, Jefferson (Louisville) and Fayette (Lexington) plan to release their results. Both are considered strongholds for Charles Booker and not a single vote is in the preliminary totals, which represent the 2,005 counted precincts out of a statewide total of 3,685-- 54.41%. This morning Schumer's establishment candidate, Amy McGrath led progressive Charles Booker 27,668 (44.7%) to 22,564 (36.5%), with a second progressive, Mike Broihier a distant third with 3,900 votes (6.3%). As of June 3rd, Massie had raised almost $41 million to Booker's $788,525. She spent $21,492,634 to his $503,623.

The only other Kentucky contest worth noting was the Republican primary in the 4th district, 12 counties that go from the suburbs east of Louisville and south of Cincinnati right into coal mining country as far as the West Virginia border. Trump and the GOP DC Establishment made an attempt to replace independent-minded, libertarian incumbent Thomas Massie with extremist Trumpist robot Todd McMurtry. As of the last FEC deadline, Massie had spent $996,338 to McMurtry's $328,026. An ad hoc Trumpist SuperPAC called Civic PAC spent $132,500 smearing Massie. It didn't work and he has apparently won in a landslide. With 85.42% of precincts counted (463 out of 542) Massie has 16,801 (88%) votes to McMurtry's 2,300 (12%).

Before we get to New York, there were also some relatively sleepy contests in Virginia-- except one. Progressive champion Qasim Rashid beat Lavangelene Williams 21,768 (52.8%) to 19,469 (47.2%) in the first congressional district, an amalgam of 18 almost random counties from the exurbs of DC to the exurbs of Richmond plus James City and Fredericksburg city. Most of the voters live in very blue Prince William County, very red Hanover County and swingy Stafford County. The district PVI is R+8 but Trump just won it with 53.6% in 2016 and incumbent Rob Wittman was reelected last cycle with just 55.2% and could be ousted by Qasim in November.

Now, New York. Let's go through the congressional results district by district, although I want to begin with NY-14, the Bronx and Queens district won in 2018 by AOC. A transpartisan coalition-- funded largely by Wall Street-- backed a Wall Street Republican pretending to be a Democrat, Michelle Caruso-Cabrera and spent immense sums of money smearing AOC with an intensity and virulence no one ever sees in a Democratic primary. The voters weren't buying it and AOC kicked her ass, 27,103 (72.6%) to 7,254 (19.4%). Two vanity candidates drew almost 3,000 votes (close to 8%). Caruso-Cabrera can't switch back to the GOP and run as a Republican in November-- although she is evacuating her Queens apartment and moving back to Trump Tower-- so the GOP is running some guy named John Cummings. You can contribute to AOC's November campaign here.

NY-01 is eastern Long Island, most of Suffolk County and Democrats were vying to see who would take on GOP incumbent Lee Zeldin. There was some fear that the two moderately progressive candidates, Perry Gershon (who Zeldin beat in 2018, 51.5% to 47.4%) and Nancy Goroff, would split progressive votes and allow a more conservative Democrat, Bridget Fleming to win the nomination. Instead, there's an incredibly tight race for number one between Gershon and Goroff, that is unlikely to be decided 'til every last vote is counted and, probably, recounted. As of this morning with all 473 precincts counted:

• Perry Gershon- 5,166 (35.5%)
• Nancy Goroff- 5,022 (34.4%)
• Bridget Fleming- 4,062 (27.9%)
• Gregory-John Fischer 322 (2.2%)

NY-02, the south shore Long Island district that includes parts of both Nassau and Suffolk, should have been a hotspot election... but wasn't. Peter King announced her retirement and Republican Andrew Garbarino will run in his place. The DCCC picked Jackie Gordon-- a typical DCCC pick-- as their candidate and she beat Patricia Maher, who has run unsuccessfully against King before. Sleepy race and Gordon, predictably won with about 73% of the vote (374 precincts out of 524 counted-- about 70%).

The north shore district, which includes some of Suffolk County and a tiny bit of Queens is mostly Nassau and the incumbent is New Dem Tom Suozzi. With just 45.6% of precincts accounted for, he seems to have beat back a weak challenge from the left by Melanie D'Arrigo, 58.9% to 32.7%. It's considered a swing district but Suozzi is an effective and popular congressman and is likely to beat Republican George Santos by something like 60-40% as he did in 2018 against Republican Dan DeBono.

One of my big disappointments of last night was Gregory Meeks' apparent win over Democratic Socialist Shan Chowdhury, although as of this morning, only 39 of 492 precincts have been counted. Predictably-- Meeks being the Queens County machine boss-- NY-05 was the capital of voter suppression and election fraud. I spoke with Shan this morning and his lawyers are investigating how Meeks was able to steal the election and what they can do about it.

The next district with a seriously contested primary was NY-09 a Brooklyn district stretching from Sheepshead Bay to eastern Park Slope, with Prospect Park, Brownsville, Brooklyn College, Flatbush, part of Midwood and Crown Heights in between. Yvette Clarke has one of the most progressive voting records in Congress-- and the second most progressive of any New Yorker in Congress (even higher on the ProgressivePunch list than AOC!) but was primaried from the left again. Grassroots super-progressives Adem Bunkeddeko and Isiah James took about 27% of the vote between them. With all 532 precincts reporting, Clarke was reelected with 62.3%.

In the 10th district (incongruously Manhattan's West Side and Brooklyn's most Hasidic neighborhoods) Jerry Nadler beat back two opponents, an internet progressive and a gay Zionist, former Andrew Yang staffer, to win with 61.8%.

Tragically, odious Blue Dog Max Rose had no primary opponent in the Staten Island, south Brooklyn 11th district. The NRCC chosen candidate, Nicole Malliotakis, won the Republican primary with 70.4%.

In the 12th district there is an incredibly tight race that will probably be finalized next week. Wall Street shill Carolyn Maloney may be defeated by Suraj Patel in this Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens district.

NY-15 in the South Bronx was a real clustefuck on several levels. Longtime progressive incumbent Jose Serrano decided to retire, triggering a complicated primary with a dozen candidates, each appealing to a narrow segment of the population. The common enemy was pretend Democrat Ruben Diaz, Sr., an anti-Choice, homophobic sociopath and Trump supporter and there was tremendous anxiety that the more progressive candidates would split the vote and elect Diaz, who has the most name-recognition in the district. With all 490 precincts counted, this is how the top vote getters fared:

The most closely-watched race in the state was for the Bronx-Westchester district where incumbent Eliot Engel was the designated Joe Crowley of 2020 and faced off against progressive reformer Jamaal Bowman. The most corrupt of the Democratic establishment backed Engel-- Hillary Clinton, Andrew Cuomo, Chuck Schumer, Kirsten Gillibrand, Bob Menendez, Nancy Pelosi, Adam Schiff as well as the DCCC, and a pack of sleazy local politicians. Jamaal was endorsed by virtually every progressive organization in the country as well as by Bernie, AOC, Elizabeth Warren, Ayanna Pressley, Katie Porter, Zephyr Teachout, Marianne Williamson and progressive state legislators Alessandra Biaggi and Jessica Ramos. With 91.5% of the precincts in, Jamaal won 21,851 (60.9%) to 12,769 (35.6%), an ignominious finish to Engel's career as Netanyahu's top shill in the House. This was Jamaal's statement this morning:

From the very beginning, we anchored our campaign in the fight for racial and economic justice. We spoke the truth-- about the police, about systemic racism, about inequality-- and it resonated in every part of the district.

Many doubted that we could overcome the power and money of a 31-year incumbent. But the results show that the people of NY-16 aren’t just ready for change-- they’re demanding it.

We brought people together across race, across class, across religion, across gender, to fight for justice, to fight for equality, and to fight to create a country that works for all of us. We didn’t let them divide us. And we did it all without accepting a dime from corporate PACs or lobbyists.

The world has changed. Congress needs to change too. But if we can take on entrenched power and wealthy interests here in Westchester and the Bronx, then we can do it all across this country.

I’m a Black man who was raised by a single mother in a housing project. That story doesn’t usually end in Congress. But today, that 11-year old boy who was beaten by police is about to be your next Representative.

I cannot wait to get to Washington and cause problems for the people maintaining the status quo.

Just north of NY-16 is the 17th, also in Westchester plus Rockland County. The incumbent Pelosi-ally is retiring and Mondaire Jones, the most progressive candidate running, had already declared he would primary her. Instead he beat a pack of corporate big money Dems and right-wing state Senator David Carlucci. Mondaire is black and gay and progressive, not the profile anyone would have predicted for the 17th.

In Syracuse, NY-24 nominated progressive Dana Balter by a wide margin (64.5% to 35.5%) over conservative Democrat Francis Conole. In the Rochester district (25), conservative New Dem won renomination against progressive challenger Robin Wilt, who picked up 35.2% of the vote.

And the open 27th in western New York, between the suburbs of Buffalo and the suburbs west of Rochester, had a special election to fill the open seat left behind by Trump ally Chris Collins when he was found guilty on multiple economic fraud charges. An heir to a fortune, Republican Chris Jacobs beat Democrat Nate McMurray but the two will face off again in November's general election, when McMurray is thought to have a better chance to win. You can contribute to Nate's general election campaign-- and to the general election campaigns of Mondaire Jones and Jamaal Bowman-- by clicking on the 2020 Blue America congressional thermometer on the right.

One last thing: there was a special election primary runoff in North Carolina yesterday where 24 year old new-comer Madison Cawthorn defeated Lynda Bennett for the GOP nomination to replace Trump's latest chief of staff, Mark Meadows. Both Meadows and Trump had endorsed Bennett. Cawthorn will now face retired Air Force Col. Moe Davis, the Democratic nominee in the heavily Republican district (PVI is R+14, the reddest in the state, and Trump won the district in 2016 with 57.2%). And, yes, he's a total Trumpist.

A Republican soon-to-be congressman (right)

Even With The Pandemic Ravaging The World, The Greediest And Most Repulsive Among Us-- Take Lloyd Blankfein-- Still Oppose Medicare-for-All

My friend Frank Schaeffer hasn't been a Republican for many, many years and he is most certainly a #NeverTrumper. But he's been absolutely fiendish in his instinctual opposition to Bernie. Yesterday, though, he tweeted that after hearing from Trump and Pence that you could get a CODID-19 test at Walmart, he drove over to the one closest to his home in Massachusetts. "All I saw were Walmart employees with no health coverage smoking in the parking lot wondering how they can miss work with no childcare, no money, no savings. Yep, Walmart will save us! Thanks Donald."

I don't know how Frank feels about Medicare-for-All. But I do know how Lloyd Blankfein feels about it. The former Goldman Sachs top bankster hates it as much as he hates Bernie. Here's a Bankster Blankfein tweet from Saturday afternoon advocating for the kind of privatized, for-profit healthcare that Frank Schaeffer found in the Walmart parking lot Sunday morning:

And I found this popular tongue-in-cheek meme in one of the responses to Blankfein's tweet:

This was the video Bernie posted-- narrated by Bernie endorser actor H. Jon Benjamin ( Bob Belcher in Fox’s Bob’s Burgers and Sterling Archer in FX’s Archer)-- that the bankster objected to. Bernie's campaign's description may have ruffled Blankfein's feathers: "From Roosevelt’s attempt to create a New Deal national health insurance program, to the Trump administration’s repeal of the Obamacare individual mandate-- the three-part Bernie’s Damn Bill video series reveals how decades of influence by greedy special interests have led to the present health care crisis. Bernie has waged a four decades-long fight to implement Medicare for All and explains how his administration will take on corporations and the billionaire class to finally make it happen."





Tell me, did you find that clip more informative and more inspiring than Bankster Blankfein did? Here's the second video in the series:





And the third in these series-- a series that you can see helps explain Bankster  Blankfein's enthusiasm for Status Quo Joe, who has recently threatened that if he's nominated by the Democratic Partyand elected president then and Medicare-for-All finally passes, he would probably veto it:





At times like this-- and all other times-- Trump can't help taking on the role of the Ugly American and has offered a German medical company a fortune for exclusive access to a COVID-19 vaccine. The German government is trying to fight off what it sees as an aggressive takeover bid by the U.S. The U.S. Pig-man has "offered the Tübingen-based biopharmaceutical company CureVac 'large sums of money' to gain exclusive access to their work, wrote Die Welt... Trump was doing everything to secure a vaccine against the coronavirus for the U.S., 'but for the US only.'" The loathsome monstrosity sounds like he actually wants to spend eternity roasting in hell.

Because Trump's top New York congressional crony, Chris Collins, was arrested and convicted on multiple charges stemming from his own Blankfein-like advocacy of for-profit (his own) healthcare-- involving a company he owned a plurality of the stock in, Innate Immunotherapeutics-- Collins was forced to resign from Congress, though not before he lied to NY-27 voters about the crime spree and managed to get-- narrowly-- reelected. Nate McMurray, the progressive Democrat who wrestled him to the narrowest congressional win in the whole country-- 140,146 (49.1%) to 139,059 (48.8%)-- will face off in the April 28th special election against hereditary billionaire, gambling magnate and right-wing state Senator Chris Jacobs. Jacobs' reactionary views on healthcare are about the same as Bankster Blankfein's. McMurray made his own clear in a simple tweet yesterday:

McMurray has a slightly longer version on his campaign website:

For years, we have watched large pharmaceutical and insurance companies set higher and higher prices that ultimately barred our access to affordable healthcare.

We can’t continue to let companies set prices and collect massive paychecks while our family members are dying from rationing insulin. The current system hurts families, it hurts businesses and it hurts our community. Common-sense healthcare reform will lower our costs and create a system that benefits everyone. With access to the greatest modern medicine in the world, American citizens deserve to not be kept up at night worrying about whether or not they can pay for their medical needs.

As your Congressman, I will support "Medicare for All" and fight for a system that keeps families healthy. I know we can do better for the citizens of New York 27 and I intend to fight like hell for that when you send me to Washington.

Bordering on McMurray's district, Robin Wilt is the progressive Democrat running for the Rochester, NY congressional seat held by pointless New Dem Joe Morelle. She told us that "NY Governor Andrew Cuomo issued a directive requiring New York health insurers to waive co-pays for Coronavirus tests, as well as any related emergency room, urgent care, and office visits for those who already have insurance. However, if one is not covered by insurance (and in the state of New York, that applies to almost 1 million people), the reality is that the lack of coverage presents a barrier to being tested and treated for the virus. This increases the overall risk of exposure for the population, at large. Steffie Woolhandler, founder of Physicians for a National Health Program, recently observed that the lack of Medicare for All is essentially forcing the United States to fight the COVID-19 pandemic with one hand tied behind its back, thereby increasing the threat to everyone--including the wealthy and people-- with-- insurance. By her example, it is estimated that 25% of cab drivers don’t have health insurance in this country (and that number is probably modest because it does not include rideshare providers like Uber and Lyft); 12% of home health aides lack health insurance; 15% of housekeepers lack health insurance. Essentially, those with means cannot avoid coming into contact with this epidemic just because they’re rich. The amount of wealth one has does not singularly eliminate one’s risk of exposure during a pandemic. We’re all in the risk pool for contracting COVID-19, so we all need to be in the system of care provision for maximum efficacy. That’s why Medicare for All is so important: because everyone being in the system means that no one has barriers to testing or treatment. It’s all about flattening the curve of the spread of the virus. Any barriers to testing or treatment when exposed to the virus, increase the risk of additional exposures. A global pandemic like COVID-19 is the perfect argument for a Medicare for All system."




Qasim Rashid is running for the Virginia congressional seat held by Trump lackey Robert Wittman, VA-01, which includes all of Caroline, Essex, Gloucester, King George, King William, King and Queen, Lancaster, Mathews, Middlesex, Northumberland, Stafford, Westmoreland, and York counties, Fredericksburg city, Williamsburg city and parts of Newport News city plus parts of Faquier, James City, Prince William and Spotsylvania counties. He told us yesterday that "In the richest, most industrialized country on Earth, Americans should never have to worry about the cost of medical care when they are facing injury or illness. In the midst of a global pandemic, guaranteed quality healthcare is even more of a necessity. To treat those afflicted and prevent spread of the disease, we must have a healthcare system where cost is not a barrier to access. We cannot afford to have Americans deciding against getting treatment-- further endangering public safety and creating a scenario where this pandemic overwhelms our hospitals and our communities. A single payer healthcare system that guarantees that every American has access to treatment and care is needed now more than ever."

On the other coast, Mark Gamba is the mayor of Milwaukie, Oregon and running for the congressional seat held by Republican-friendly Blue Dog Kurt Schrader. "This pandemic," he told us, "should be the starkest wake-up-call as to why a national healthcare system that covers every single person is so critical. When millions of people fear going to the doctor because they can’t afford it, they won’t go. Even if they are sick, even if they have a disease that is easily communicable. Those same people are the ones who cannot afford to stay home from work either when they are feeling ill. Instead, they will 'tough it out' and go to work so that they don’t get evicted because they haven’t earned enough money that month to pay the rent. So that means that literally millions of people will be working anyway, even if they are sick. Some of those work for the TSA, some work in restraunts, some in schools, some deliver the mail in busy offices, some work in nursing homes and day care centers. Think about who the people are, that are doing jobs that don’t pay well enough to afford health care. They are the jobs that we count on every day. In some ways, these are the people that we NEED to be the healthiest. They come in contact with the most people. They keep our society functioning. Imagine. Instead, a robust new Medicare for All world. Where everyone has easy, and free access to healthcare when they need it. A world in which there are more doctors. A world in which there are more hospitals and clinics, even in rural areas because they no longer need to 'make a profit,' they simply need to provide healthcare. In this world there are more hospital beds and more ventilators because even in normal times there are more people to treat because EVERYONE gets healthcare. No one is left at home to just die alone because they are too poor. This Medicare for All world is the one that is most prepared for a major pandemic. It’s a world where drugs are invented to solve medical issues, not to maximize profits. We would employ thousands, researching and manufacturing those drugs and other critical materials, like masks and gloves, right here in America rather than farming that out to the lowest international bidder who can then cut us off when it serves them to do so. We need a CDC that is fully funded and working to stop pandemics before they start, and we need Medicare for All to make sure that when they do, we are prepared. We need new leadership in the Whitehouse and Congress to make these things come to pass. The status quo, neo-liberal movement of a world designed for maximizing profits for the rich has failed us."

Ungerrymandering The States-- One By One

The governor of New Jersey is Phil Murphy, a Democrat. Both Houses of the state legislature are controlled by Democrats, the Senate 26-14 and the Assembly 54-26. There's just one New Jersey congressional district that elected a Republican in 2018. It would be easy as pie for New Jersey Democrats to gerrymander the map to make Chris Smith's 4th CD go from an R+8 district to a much more winnable R+1 or 2 or even an even district that a Democratic candidate could easily win. And that is exactly what they were planning on doing-- until Eric Holder shamed them into not doing it (according to Eric Holder).

This week, Time Magazine published an essay by Phillip Elliott, The Battle Line To Draw The Battle Lines. Today Democrats are doing what Republicans have long done-- investing millions off dollars into winning state legislative seats so that they'll have a hand in redrawing post-census district boundaries that will last for the next decade. The fight gets hot in less than two months when Virginia votes on all their legislative seats. Elliott reports that there are 91 Democratic candidates for the commonwealth’s 100 house races on Nov. 5, and 35 senate hopefuls for the chamber’s 40 spots, which include three senate districts that voted for Hillary Clinton for President in 2016 but are currently represented by Republicans. 'They are running to build the party,' house caucus executive director Trevor Southerland says."

The state Senate has 21 Republicans and 19 Democrats and the House of Delegates has 51 Republicans and 49 Democrats. The governor and Lt. Governor are Democrats. It should be easy to win enough seats to flip both chambers, right? Well, the Republicans are playing the same game-- working to flip Democratic seats and working to protect their own incumbents. Please consider contributing by clicking on the legislative thermometer on the right, especially in the Virginia races.

There are virtually no races in Virginia more important this cycle than the one to reelect Lee Carter in the House of Delegates and the one to replace Trumpist Richard Stuart with Qasim Rashid in the state Senate. This morning, Rashid, a human rights attorney, told us that "Free and fair elections mandate that we have districts that are just and honest. It is a mockery of democracy when districts are drawn to keep politicians in power. We must return voting power to citizens."

Lee Carter is the best member of the House and the Republicans are targeting him while the Democratic establishment ignores his race. This Democratic Socialist is fighting for working families, not for party establishments. "The legislative elections in Virginia in 2019 and the rest of the country in 2020 will determine the direction of the country for the next decade," he told me today. "The stakes are too high for anyone to sit this one out." I agree.

The path toward Republican dominance at the state level began more than three decades ago, when Democrats, in the wake of Jimmy Carter’s loss to Ronald Reagan in 1980, focused their energy on presidential politics in the 1984 cycle. The current dynamic dates back to 2010, when Karl Rove wrote a Wall Street Journal column laying the groundwork for what came to be called the Redistricting Majority Project (REDMAP). The RSLC’s REDMAP program recruited and funded state-level candidates aggressively. REDMAP spent $30 million to the DLCC’s $8 million that year. The effort netted GOP total control of 11 legislatures and a trifecta in nine additional states. In turn, the party started drawing congressional districts it liked.

Republicans still start with a leg up in the battle for the states in 2020. The GOP controls 52% of seats in all state legislatures, with majorities in 62% of state legislative chambers and total control of state government in 22 states, to Democrats’ 14. But many of the chambers have narrow GOP edges. Democrats stand to pick up majorities in seven chambers-- including those in Minnesota, Arizona and Virginia-- if they can win 19 specific races.

Meanwhile, the gains Democrats have made in recent years may be difficult to defend. President Donald Trump was a liability for Republicans in 2018, when he wasn’t on the ballot and his approval sat at 40% in Gallup’s final pre-election survey. But Trump could wind up helping GOP candidates in 2020, when the party hopes his massive political machine will boost fortunes of candidates all the way down the ballot.

It’s also possible that existing Democratic-led statehouses overstep their mandates and provoke a backlash. In typically blue Illinois, for example, lawmakers declared abortion a fundamental right, no matter what the Supreme Court may say. When Republicans in the Colorado statehouse objected to the pace of change under Democratic control, they raised procedural hurdles and demanded the measures be read aloud. Democrats responded by having five computers read a 2,023-page bill simultaneously–so quickly the text was unintelligible. The issue went to court, where the Republicans won.

The party that wins control of Richmond in November and other state capitals in 2020 has decisions to make. Republicans may want to cluster African-American voters into one district to make the rest of the area easier to win. Democrats may want to spread those voters out more evenly. In Northern Virginia, both parties may want to minimize the number of seats that have to buy ad time in the expensive D.C. market. Armed with enough data, it’s possible to draw lines that enhance the odds of winning again and again. “We were so pleased as Democrats that we won this Congress,” Post says of the 2018 elections. “But the truth is, it’s just a rental.”

Speaking of which... late yesterday, the New Yorker blew the whistle on a racist GOP gerrymanderer, Thomas Hofeller, who died just over a year ago. Before dying he trained lots of other Republican racists in his secrets. The New Yorker examined 70,000 of his files and years of his e-mails proving, that among other things, the North Carolina district boundaries were specifically drawn to disadvantage African-Americans, which even the current Supreme Court agrees is a no-no.

Hofeller’s files include dozens of intensely detailed studies of North Carolina college students, broken down by race and cross-referenced against the state driver’s-license files to determine whether these students likely possessed the proper I.D. to vote. The studies are dated 2014 and 2015, the years before Hofeller helped Republicans in the state redraw its congressional districts in ways that voting-rights groups said discriminated on the basis of race. North Carolina Republicans said that the maps discriminated based on partisanship but not race. Hofeller’s hard drive also retained a map of North Carolina’s 2017 state judicial gerrymander, with an overlay of the black voting-age population by district, suggesting that these maps-- which are currently at the center of a protracted legal battle-- might also be a racial gerrymander.

Other files provide new details about Hofeller’s work for Republicans across the country. Hofeller collected data on the citizen voting-age population in North Carolina, Texas, and Arizona, among other states, as far back as 2011. Hofeller was part of a Republican effort to add a citizenship question to the census, which would have allowed political parties to obtain more precise citizenship data ahead of the 2020 redistricting cycle. State legislative lines could then have been drawn based on the number of citizen voters, which Hofeller believed would make it easier to pack Democrats and minorities into fewer districts, giving an advantage to Republicans... Additional files document his work in Mississippi, Alabama, and Virginia, among other states.

E-mails also connect Hofeller to redistricting efforts in Florida. Top Republican officials in the state have denied that they played any official role in drawing the state’s legislative and congressional districts in 2011. A 2010 state constitutional amendment barred partisan gerrymandering in Florida. E-mails show that Hofeller communicated with and visited top G.O.P. political operatives in Florida in 2011. The operatives helped organize or draw state legislative and congressional maps that matched the districts that were later enacted. The operatives insisted, at a trial, that drawing the maps was only a hobby. A Florida judge found that argument unconvincing, concluding that the G.O.P. conducted a stealth redistricting operation that snuck partisan maps into the public process and made a “mockery” of the state’s constitutional amendments.

...E-mails also show that Hofeller worried that his redistricting handiwork could be undone by an anti-Trump wave in 2016 that handed state legislatures to Democrats. On September 6, 2016, a Republican lawyer e-mailed Hofeller a story from The Hill about Democratic efforts down-ballot. Hofeller’s reply: “Yes, maybe our redistricting ace card will be ‘trumped’ to use a bridge analogy.”

In an August, 2016, e-mail to a consultant to California Senate Republicans, Hofeller expressed frustration about Trump’s hold over the Party, and confidence that his maps would survive any blue wave. “Meanwhile the GOP continues to bury its collective heads in the sand or in other higher places. Trump is only a product to this stupidity,” he wrote. “Do not worry about us in North Carolina in terms of redistricting. Even in the coming political bloodbath we should still maintain majority control of the General Assembly. The Governor cannot veto a redistricting map, so the Democrats hope is that the Obamista judiciary will come to their rescue.”

E-mails suggest that Hofeller’s commitment to the Republican cause never wavered. The day after receiving a grim prognosis for lung cancer and a kidney tumor, Hofeller wrote a friend that he didn’t plan to slow down. “I still have time to bedevil the Democrats with more redistricting plans before I exit,” he wrote, on May 21st. “Look my name up on the Internet and you can follow the damage.”

Democrats have neglected state legislatures and seen Republicans put themselves into position to redrawn districts and take control of Congress with far fewer votes than Democrats have won. Let me give you some recent examples. In 2012 John Boehner retained the Speaker's gavel even though 59,645,531 voters (48.8%) backed Democratic candidates and just 58,228,253 voters (47.6%) backed Republican candidates, The Republicans wound up with 234 seats and the Democrats with 201. That's how gerrymandering works. And even when Democrats do well, they have to do really well to match the GOP. Like we just saw, the Republicans won 234 seats by taking 47.6% of the vote. In the big anti-red wave of 2018, there were 60,572,245 voters (53.5%) who picked Democrats and just 50,861,970 (44.8%) and yet Democrats only won 235 seats, only one more than the GOP won in 2012. That's got to be fixed. That why we're asking you to help the progressive Virginia candidates here.

Virginia Is Up For Grabs THIS November

Qasim Rashid

The first time I ever heard about a non-partisan commission drawing election maps it came as part of a proposal to have blue California and red Texas mutually disarm. Democrats in control of the California legislature would cede the right to draw the maps in the Golden State and Republicans in control of the Texas legislature would do the same there. The California Democrats agreed. The Texas Republicans didn't. California went ahead with the plan anyway, some thinking Texas would be shamed into following suit. They weren't. So California is a non-gerrymandered state and Texas is a super-gerrymandered state.

Gerrymandering is bad whether it's done in Texas or Ohio or Florida by Republicans or by Democrats in Maryland or Illinois. I have a proposal!

Virginia is a very gerrymandered state but there's a Democratic governor and razor thin Republican control of the state Senate and of the House of Delegates. In 4 months, Virginia voters will be deciding whether or not to turn the legislature over to the Democrats. That's right, this coming November 5, not in 2020.

If the Democrats win a net of just 3 seats in each chamber, they'll be drawing the district maps without any help from the GOP. Virginia has 11 congressional seats and right now, there are 4 Republicans and 7 Democrats-- and that's in Republican-drawn districts! If the Democrats win, they could redraw the map so that there are just 2 Republicans and 9 Democrats and they could redraw the state legislative seats to give them a lock for ten years-- the way the Republicans did when they won control.

OR... Virginia could do the right thing-- not unilateral disarmament the way the California Democrats did, but a real deal with their neighbor to the south-- North Carolina, which is likely to gain one seat after the census. There, both houses of the state legislature are controlled by the GOP... but the governor is a Democrat, so the Republicans aren't going to just get their way no matter what anyway. Could they be persuaded to agree to a non-partisan commission along with Virginia so that fair districts are drawn in both states? If not North Carolina, how about Ohio, which is about to lose a seat and will need to redraw their districts to reflect that loss?

First thing, though, is that we have to elect a Democratic legislature in Virginia. Blue America is supporting 4 progressives running in November, Herb Jones, Qasim Rashid, Lee Carter and Elizabeth Guzman. You can contribute to their campaigns at the Blue America legislative thermometer on the right. Remember what the NY Times wrote last week: "While much of the country’s attention is focused on presidential politics, the gerrymandering ruling last week instantly raised the stakes for the nation’s state legislative races, which are often overlooked by voters, but can shape the course of policy from abortion rights to education. Yet this cycle of legislative elections carries added significance: In most states, the political party that wins control of the legislature gains the power to draw once-a-decade maps setting district boundaries for state and congressional elections after a new census count... [A] tiny statehouse election in coastal Virginia could have national reverberations."

Also, Qasim Rashid’s race (SD-28) brings a new dimension, as the FBI has charged and arrested an extremist who threatened to kill him. Rashid is a human rights lawyer and is continuing to fight to win despite the real and ongoing death threats. Hence why it is that much more important we continue to support him by donating to his campaign. He told me today that, like our other candidates in Virginia, he is "committed to passing a $15 minimum living wage, expanding healthcare, increasing education access, and reforming our criminal justice system... We have a chance to do something historic this election and it depends on one factor only-- whether Democrats come out to vote. If we vote we win. So let’s take control of our future, get out and vote, and flip Virginia Blue."



UPDATE: Herb Jones

"The Virginia Democratic leadership mantra is we need to win just two seats in the house and two in the senate. As a former college athlete, this thinking is akin to ‘playing not to lose.’ ‘Playing not to lose’ is absolutely the wrong way to approach November 5th; ‘playing not to lose’ generally ends in a loss. We must ‘play to win.’ ‘Playing to win’ means flipping at least 10 seats in both the Senate and the House. And the key is decisively engaging the Virginia Republican leadership: Tommy Norment, Kirk Cox, and Chris Jones. Defeating these three is the key to winning! Secondly, November 2019 in Virginia sets the stage for 2020. Decisive wins in November 2019 sends a message not only across the Commonwealth of Virginia, but across the country and is an indicator for next year. Lastly, Blue America donors can ensure victories this year and next by investing in Democrats who are challenging the Virginia Republican leadership. The unique thing about Virginia is there are no limits on the amount that can be donated to candidates in Virginia races."

Turns Out Not All Bigots Are Republicans-- Virginia Democrats Have Laura Sellers

In two days, this Tuesday, Virginia has a super-important election day-- primaries for the state legislature, with both houses on the verge of flipping blue. Some good news: Virginia has same day registration so potentially everyone over 18 can vote. Two years ago Democrats flipped 15 Republican-held seats blue in the House of Delegates, far more than the somewhat backward state party imagined was possible. The Republican majority is down to 51-49. The Republican majority in the state Senate is also tenuous-- 21-19. The Democrats control the governors' mansion and if they flip a seat in each chamber they will have effective control over the redrawing of the state and congressional boundaries after the 2020 census. All 100 delegates seats and all 40 Senate seats are up for grabs on Tuesday. Blue America has endorsed two extraordinary candidates for the House of Delegates and two for the Senate: Lee Carter and Elizabeth Guzmán for the lower house and Herb Jones and Qasim Rashid for the upper chamber.

Yesterday I heard some troubling news from a friend and colleague, Lizet Ocampo, political director of People for the American Way. PFAW has also endorsed Qasim Rashid, and Liz warned that there's a racist pig in the Democrat in the primary. It didn't take much googling to realize she's talking about Laura Sellers, an Islamophobe running around the district smearing Qasim. This is a tough seat for a Democrat to win-- parts of Stafford, Prince William, King George, Spotsylvania and Westmoreland counties-- but having an overt bigot running as a Democrat makes it that much harder. The entrenched incumbent, Richard Stuart, must be reveling in the bigotry and hatred Sellers, desperate and losing badly, is spreading about Qasim.

Lizet wrote:

One of PFAW’s exceptional endorsed progressive candidates in Virginia-- Qasim Rashid, whom we’re supporting with our Next Up Victory Fund-- is the target of some extremely bigoted attacks... and they’re not coming from the Right Wing, they’re coming from his Democratic primary opponent.

Qasim’s Democratic opponent in the primary election for state Senate taking place THIS TUESDAY, Laura Sellers, is engaged in an Islamophobic smear campaign against Qasim. Sellers has allegedly asserted that Qasim’s being Muslim makes him unelectable, and has accused him of supporting “Sharia law” and female genital mutilation.

These hateful attacks are shocking and despicable, but thankfully a progressive backlash is building. We and a growing wave of progressives-- including many other local Democrats-- are speaking out against these attacks and rallying to support Qasim.

Vangie Williams, a Democratic candidate for Congress in Virginia’s 1st District wrote:

Hate. Lies. Rumors. Smear tactics. Racism. Islamophobia. None of these things should ever be a part of a political campaign. Sadly, in the 28th Senate District Democratic Primary, these are all things which are being used by Qasim Rashid’s opponent in a desperate attempt to win an election. This kind of campaign is unbecoming of anyone calling themselves a Democrat and it is patently un-American.

These shameful and abhorrent tactics must stop now.

Stafford County Democratic Executive Committee Member Bill Johnson-Miles said:

I usually try my very best to stay neutral when two local Democratic candidates are competing for the Democratic nomination in an upcoming primary election or caucus. However, sometimes you just have to take a stand.

Jess Foster is running for delegate and she announced on her own Facebook page that she has been sickened by Sellers' vicious, ugly attacks on Qasim: "I have learned over the past several weeks that Laura Sellers, Democratic Candidate for Senate 28, has launched an attack campaign against her primary opponent, Qasim Rashid. It is alleged that she has made derogatory statements about his islamic faith, his electability, and accused him of supporting 'Sharia law' and female genital mutilation in an attempt to smear his good name. This is not the way Democrats treat people regardless of race, background, or religion. Denigrating another for political gain is harmful to our party, to our community, and, in this instance, to Qasim and his family. This conduct is unacceptable and I feel compelled to take a stand against it. Qasim is a good man who cares deeply about the community and shares our most cherished values. We would do well to have him in the Virginia Senate. Bringing down another to elevate oneself is poor leadership. Even worse, this particular behavior is islamophobic-- or at very least-- intended to stimulate the unconscious bias and generate fear. Because of that, I call upon Laura to acknowledge her wrongdoing and publicly apologize to Qasim. I further call upon her to withdraw from the Senate race; we cannot tolerate people who engage in this sort of behavior representing us in Richmond."

Amen! Please consider contributing to Qasim Rashid's campaign by clicking on the Blue America legislative thermometer above.






UPDATE: Laura Sellers Expelled From Democratic Party

She should go join the GOP. That kind of bigotry is admired over there. Today the Stafford County Democratic Committee Membership Subcommittee "invited representatives from both Democratic Senate campaigns, as well as the complainants and witnesses, to attend a confidential hearing on June 3rd for the purpose of resolving these issues in a professional manner. Representatives from the Sellers Campaign did not attend. The complainants and witnesses submitted sworn statements and provided first-hand testimony before the Membership Subcommittee outlining a sustained misinformation campaign by members of the Sellers Campaign to discredit Qasim Rashid in the hopes of advantaging Laura Sellers. This misinformation campaign allegedly included lying to voters about whether Mr. Rashid had qualified for the ballot, making false or misleading statements about his immigration status, and using racist dog whistles to fuel Islamophobia. Based on the sworn statements and testimony provided at that hearing, the Membership Subcommittee recommended that the Stafford County Democratic Committee expel two members of the Sellers Campaign and reject the membership application of third member. Earlier today, the Stafford County Democratic Committee overwhelmingly voted to accept the Membership Subcommittee’s recommendation. We do not condone any candidate for office using racist dog whistles to fuel Islamophobia or spreading false information to voters about an opponent. These tactics are straight from the Trump playbook. They have absolutely no place in a Democratic Primary."

Pelosi Is Famous For Being The First Woman Speaker-- If She Re-Elects Trump By Failing To Impeach Him, She'll Be More Famous For That... And Loathed

Allan Lichtman correctly predicted the winner of every presidential election since 1984. He even predicted Trump would win in 2016. This year he said Trump would win again-- unless Pelosi jumps out of a window on the 48th floor of the Transamerica Pyramid... or in some other way let's go off her insane and unpatriotic and defeatist notion of not impeaching Trump. Lichtman, who's been correct about elections far more often than Pelosi, says unless Trump is impeached, he'll win again-- and that will be on Pelosi's headstone.

"Trump wins again in 2020," he told Chris Cillizza the day before Mueller's televised statement, "unless six of 13 key factors turn against him. I have no final verdict yet because much could change during the next year. Currently, the President is down only three keys: Republican losses in the midterm elections, the lack of a foreign policy success, and the president's limited appeal to voters... Democrats are fundamentally wrong about the politics of impeachment and their prospects for victory in 2020. An impeachment and subsequent trial would cost the president a crucial fourth key-- the scandal key-- just as it cost Democrats that key in 2000. The indictment and trial would also expose him to dropping another key by encouraging a serious challenge to his re-nomination. Other potential negative keys include the emergence of a charismatic Democratic challenger, a significant third-party challenge, a foreign policy disaster, or an election-year recession. Without impeachment, however, Democratic prospects are grim."

Watch that Morning Joe clip on MSNBC from yesterday. Pelosi and Hoyer are screwing this up badly. They want to protect the seats of a bunch of (mostly conservative) freshmen in red districts and instead they're going to bring the whole house down with their geriatric loser ideas. Lichtman told the Morning Joe audience the Democrats have a chance to win but "only if they show boldness and not timidity and move towards an impeachment inquiry. The Democratic leadership"-- that would primarily be Nancy Pelosi, Steny Hoyer, Jim Clyburn, Hakeem Jeffries, Cheri Bustos-- is wrong... morally and constitutionally, by avoiding impeachment. If you have a constitutional crisis, the constitutional remedy is impeachment. They are also wrong politically. The Democrats seem to be going down the same rathole as 2016 when they believe the polls and think they're going to cruise to victory... The Democrats need to get on the right page politically as well as morally and constitutionally."

The Morning Joe Democratic Party hack-in-residence, Steve Ratner, made a fool of himself by echoing Pelosi's and Hoyer's talking points. Lichtner took off his head and handed it to him.

Qasim Rashid is a Virginia attorney in the midst of a hot campaign for the House of Delegates. He seems to take the idea of anyone being treated as though they are above the law as a personal affront. Last night he told me that "The Congress must fulfill its obligations to protect our nation and the separation of powers. A democratic republic that exempts accountability for anyone, including the President, ceases to live up to its responsibilities and delves into dictatorship."

Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) issued a statement after Mueller's address yesterday: "When the redacted Mueller Report was released, Republicans were quick to try to bury the scandal. Trump and his allies have repeatedly cried the president's innocence and worked hard to laugh off and discredit the investigation into his conduct."

Today, Special Counsel Robert Mueller spoke to the world. His words were very revealing. The key quote:

If we had had confidence that [Donald Trump] clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so.

This is far from over. It's time for Congress to do its job. It's time to pick up where the Mueller investigation left off. It's time to begin an impeachment inquiry into Donald Trump. I'm fully behind Rep. Rashida Tlaib's call to action, and will do what I can to support her work as we move forward. I just checked, and I'm still only one of 10 members to sign onto Rep. Tlaib's impeachment inquiry resolution. Hopefully, after today's press conference, that will change."

Since Earl brought is up these are the 9 cosponsors to Rashida's H.Res.257:

Al Green (D-TX)
Ayanna Pressley (D-MA)
Ilhan Omar (D-MN)
AOC (D-NY)
Jared Huffman (D-CA)
Filemon Vela (Blue Dog-TX)
Earl Blumenauer (D-OR)
Diana DeGette (D-CO)
Barbara Lee (D-CA)

I know Rashida reached out to Justin Amash. I wonder what he's waiting for. Meanwhile, Tomas Ramos is a community activist in the Bronx, not an attorney. He's running for the open seat next to AOC's that Jose Serrano is leaving. This morning he told that "Mueller made it clear that the president obstructed justice. At this point, anyone that stands by the president when he is obstructing our democracy needs to be put on notice. We are in the midst of a constitutional crisis. We need congress to enact the articles of impeachment now!

Marqus Cole, the progressive Democrat running for the open 7th district seat in the suburbs north of Atlanta, told us today that as a former prosecutor he "swore an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution. Right now, we have the Special Counsel telling us directly that if they had the evidence to clear the President of criminal activity they would have. They did not. The Special Counsel is telling us that there is another constitutional mechanism in place to handle this matter. There is. It is time that we let the President know that no person is above the law. It is time that Congress do its duty and open up an impeachment inquiry."

Pelosi says there aren't enough members of the Democratic caucus to pass an impeachment resolution-- too many crass cowardly Josh Gottheimers and Abigail Spanbergers. Pelosi's instinct to always put narrow partisan (self)interests over country and constitution has served her well, but it helps explain a lot of what's wrong with America. Many progressives say she has to be removed-- and fast; she's the other side of the Trump coin. Dazed, confused and inexorably dug-in inside her fetid bunker with Hoyer, Lujan Clyburn Bustos and a other revolting loyalists, she doesn't-- they don't-- get it and she never will. But... these Republican former federal prosecutors do:

Qasim Rashid-- Building Bridges Of Understanding And Tearing Down Walls Of Bigotry-- In A Red Virginia Senate Race

Blue America doesn't endorse many candidates running for state legislatures-- only men and women we feel have the potential to make profound impacts on their state and significantly strengthen the Democrats' congressional bench. Unlike most states, where people will elected their legislatures in 2020, Virginia is electing theirs in 2019-- 8 months from now. Today we decided to endorse progressive activist and attorney Qasim Rashid who is running for a Republican-held seat (SD-28) that snakes along the Potomac River (the Virginia-Maryland border) from Stratford Hall way up to where it turns into Aquia Creek. The northern part of the district, Prince William County, is made up of commuter suburbs west of DC. South of Prince William, the district is composed of Stafford, which provides 51% of the voters, King George, Westmoreland and a tiny bit of Spotsylvania county. SD-28 borders on but doesn't include Frederickburg and Manassas. It leans Republican by about 3 points and 2 years ago went for Gillespie over Northam, 54-45%. In 2016 it voted for Trump 55-39% and in 2012, the district gave Romney a 56-42% win over Obama. The current senator is Republican Richard Stuart and Rashid, a human rights lawyer, former visiting fellow at Harvard University, a current Truman Project National Security Fellow, feels he can beat him in November. We want to help.

We asked him how a progressive Democrat, a Bernie supporter, can win in a red-leaning district, especially a progressive Democrat with the name Qasim Rashid. On the phone yesterday he told me when he's canvassing, knocking on doors, if a resident looks confused trying to read his name, he says it's like "awesome" without the first letter. Qasim's guest post is below-- and below that is one of his TED Talks. If you like what he has to say-- or if you've enjoyed his stupendous twitter feed or any of the books he's written, like The Wrong Kind of Muslim, or Extremist: A Response to Geert Wilders & Terrorists Everywhere, or Talk To Me: Changing the Narrative on Race, Religion, and Education, please consider contributing to his campaign by clicking on the ActBlue thermometer for state legislative races on the right.


Why Qasim Rashid?
-by Qasim Rashid, candidate Virginia state Senate

I migrated to the United States with my family in 1987. I didn’t know a word of English or what stood before me. We went through hardship as most families do, but we did not relent. I consider it a blessing that I learned the value of hard work at a young age-- as by 15 I was already working to help make rent for my family. It was also around this time that my brother enlisted in the US Marines. The year was 1997 and while we were proud of him, I’m not ashamed to say I was frightened I might never see him again.

Hind-sight is 20/20 and every day I am more proud that he served our nation and continues to work to improve the lives of veterans. My life turned towards human rights work at an early age. In 2004 when Hurricane Katrina struck-- my brother and I spent the last few hundred dollars we had to skip our college mid-term exams and drive down to Louisiana. We spent two weeks helping hurricane refugees piece together their lives.

In 2007 my life changed once more as I married my wonderful wife, Ayesha. Under her encouragement I applied to and was accepted to the wonderful program at Richmond Law, in Virginia. I earned my law degree from the University of Richmond School of Law, and have built a long track record of serving diverse communities in Virginia. This includes my work to combat domestic and sexual violence against women, uplift the incarcerated through prison chaplaincy, serve my neighbors through blood drives and highway clean ups, and advocate for children's education through various non-profit organizations.

To that end, I channel my passion to serve the marginalized by working with national and international non-profit organizations that advance women's rights, improve water, food, shelter, healthcare, and education access for children living in poverty, and fight to protect the religious freedom for all people. I have written numerous books, given hundreds of interviews, and testified before the US Commission on International Religious Freedom to protect the rights of persecuted religious minorities around the world. Likewise, I have worked with the US Government to improve national security here at home, while upholding the United States Constitution as the supreme law of the land.

In addition to my humanitarian commitments, I work as a consultant to help major organizations, small businesses, and non-profits improve their corporate strategies, messaging, and innovation. I love interfaith dialogue, running marathons, reading, and spending time with my wife and children.

I aspire for a campaign that prioritizes education for all students regardless of economic standing. A campaign that expands healthcare because no one should have to choose between treatment and making rent. A campaign that ratifies the Equal Rights Amendment because it is 2019, and gender equality should have been enshrined in the Constitution centuries ago. A campaign that reforms our criminal justice system and ends the new Jim Crow. 

We have a great deal of work to do, but it begins by removing those from office who serve corporate interests and vain desires. For example, 81% of Virginians support ratifying the ERA-- yet the Virginia legislature comprised mostly of men decided it wasn’t a priority, and refused to vote in favor of ratification. Likewise, finally after a 5 year battle, Virginia expanded Medicaid to include 400,000 new Virginians. Still, for 5 long years, those 400,000 people had to needlessly suffer. Moreover, while Virginia is America’s 9th wealthiest state, we are only 35thin expenditure on students. Virginia spends almost three times as much on an incarcerated inmate per year, than it does on the average student. This is a failing model and will ensure only that we cripple future generations.

As senator I seek to thrive as a public servant by actually serving and listening to the public. I’m not running against the President but for the people of Virginia. This is why the Rashid for VA campaign is powered by super people and mega hearts, not super pacs and mega corps. We welcome your support of our campaign to help ratify the ERA, increase education funding, expand healthcare, and reform criminal justice.

This is our time to build a campaign by, of, and for the people of Virginia and indeed for the benefit of all Americans.

Are you in?