2022 midterm election thread

[raklian]

What is so objectionable about letting this be a matter kept between a doctor and female patient?

It was never about the right to privacy. It's all about the low-hanging votes the politicians realized they can easily collect by appealing to the deep-seated fear within the religious base, and then pitting them against the non-religious who fear being shunned by the community for supporting something that, at first glance, may be depraved and downright inhuman but something that is necessary when one realizes, after some thinking, it's not all that simple. It's basically politicians playing divide and conquer to get votes.

[weatheriscool]

Republican Rep. Valadao wins California Central Valley vote
Source: AP

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Republican U.S. Rep. David Valadao has defeated Democrat Rudy Salas in a Central Valley district, overcoming a strong Democratic registration advantage and fallout from his vote to impeach then-President Donald Trump.

With 98% of the ballots counted Monday night, Valadao had 52% of the votes to 48% for Salas, or a margin of about 4,500 votes.

Valadao was one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump after the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection. He is one of only two of those 10 to be reelected, along with Republican Rep. Dan Newhouse of Washington. Others retired or were defeated by Trump-endorsed primary challengers.

Democrats hold a staggering 17-point registration edge in the 22nd District in the state’s farm belt. But Valadao, who was never a Trump loyalist, has highlighted a bipartisan streak to win in left-leaning districts before. He held his seat from 2013 until January 2019, lost it for a term, then won it back in a 2020 rematch with Democrat T.J. Cox.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/california-d ... d2a8a94daa

[weatheriscool]

BREAKING: Saturday voting upheld in Georgia US Senate runoff
Source: Atlanta Journal constitution

The Georgia Court of Appeals has denied an attempt to stop early voting on Saturday for the U.S. Senate runoff, a ruling that allows counties to open polling places two days after the Thanksgiving holiday.

Read more: https://www.ajc.com/politics/georgia-ap ... urce=pg_tw

[weatheriscool]

New Poll: Georgia Senator by AARP on 2022-11-17

Summary: D: 51%, R: 47%, U: 2%

Poll Source URL: Full Poll Details

[weatheriscool]

[caltrek]

Midterm Election Results Reflect the Hodgepodge of U.S. Voters
by Robert B. Talisse
November 23, 2022

Extract:

(The Conversation) As a political philosopher who researches democracy and partisanship, I can say that there’s no simple explanation of the midterms, despite the many that have already been declared, published or broadcast.
…
Some data suggests that citizens have vastly different ideas about what it means to vote. Some see voting as a display of support for one’s party, others view it as the registering of one’s desires and some see their vote as expressing a judgment about the common good. It’s plausible that many citizens took themselves mainly to be voting against disliked candidates rather than for favored candidates.
…
Digging deeper, political commentators have offered several interpretations, claiming that the midterms came down to some core factor, such as abortion, immigration, the affirmation of democracy itself, the repudiation of MAGA Republicanism and elevated turnout among Gen Z voters.
These explanations have their merits. But the diversity of ideas, impulses and dispositions that voters bring to elections makes big-picture election analysis problematic.
…
The Democrats’ midterm success likely has less to do with President Biden’s agenda and more to do with their willingness to stand up for familiar democratic values.

Read more here: https://theconversation.com/midterm-el ... da-194010

[weatheriscool]

Murkowski wins reelection in Alaska Senate race
Source: AP

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska Republican U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski has won reelection, defeating Donald Trump-endorsed GOP rival Kelly Tshibaka. Murkowski beat Tshibaka in the Nov. 8 ranked choice election. The results were announced Wednesday, when elections officials tabulated the ranked choice results after neither candidate won more than 50% of first-choice votes.

The race also included Democrat Pat Chesbro and Republican Buzz Kelley, who suspended his campaign after the August primary and endorsed Tshibaka.

Murkowski was the only Senate Republican who voted to convict Trump at his impeachment trial last year who was on the ballot this year. Trump was not convicted. But her vote was a sore point for the former president, who vowed to campaign against her.

In 2020, before that year’s election and far before Tshibaka jumped into the Senate race, Trump announced plans to campaign against Murkowski after she criticized him: “Get any candidate ready, good or bad, I don’t care, I’m endorsing. If you have a pulse, I’m with you!”

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm ... b4b7849e6f

[weatheriscool]

Peltola, 1st Alaska Native in Congress, wins full term
Source: AP

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola has been elected to a full term in the House, months after the Alaska Democrat won a special election to the seat following the death earlier this year of longtime Republican Rep. Don Young. Peltola defeated Republicans Sarah Palin and Nick Begich and Libertarian Chris Bye in the Nov. 8 election.

Results of the ranked choice election were announced Wednesday. Palin and Begich also were candidates in the special election. Peltola, who is Yup’ik, with her win in August became the first Alaska Native to serve in Congress and the first woman to hold Alaska’s House seat. The win also buoyed her fundraising, outpacing those of her rivals in the lead-up to this month’s election.

Peltola embraced Young’s legacy as she sought the two-year term and was endorsed by his daughters, one of whom presented her with a bolo tie of Young’s at an Alaska Federation of Natives conference where Peltola was treated like a rock star. Young held the seat for 49 years.

“Now, I’m a real congressman for all Alaska,” she said. Young often referred to himself that way. Peltola has described his legacy as one of bipartisanship and building support for Alaska interests in Congress.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm ... 35a0229918

[weatheriscool]

Kevin Kiley, backed by Donald Trump, heading to Congress as he defeats Kermit Jones
Source: The Sacramento Bee

Republican Kevin Kiley, a conservative firebrand supported by former President Donald Trump, topped Democrat Kermit Jones to win the new 3rd Congressional District seat, according to an Associated Press projection.

With 84% of the vote counted as of Tuesday afternoon, Kiley had about 53% to Jones’ 47%.

Kiley will represent the newly drawn 3rd District, which stretches 450 miles from Plumas County, through the Sacramento suburbs and parts of El Dorado County, and south to Inyo County.

While independent analysts had seen the race as a likely Republican win, the Kiley-Jones clash became a classic Republican vs. Democratic battle.

Read more: https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-go ... 50117.html

[caltrek]

Poor People's Campaign Mobilizing Low-Income Voters in Georgia Ahead of Senate Runoff
by Julia Conley
November 24, 2022

Introduction:

(Common Dreams) Economic justice advocates in Georgia are mobilizing ahead of next month's runoff U.S. Senate election in the state, working to convince low-income residents who lack access to healthcare and living wages to back Democratic Sen. Rev. Raphael Warnock.

The Georgia Poor People's Campaign announced late Wednesday that it is launching a statewide canvassing, text-banking, and social media campaign to reach out to millions of Georgia voters who are low-income, calling the push their "If We Ever Needed To Vote, We Sure Do Need To Vote Now Tour."
"It ain't over yet, and every vote must be cast to count," said the group.

On Sunday, November 27, Poor People's Campaign co-chair Rev. Dr. William Barber II will begin the campaign at a worship service at St. Mary's Road United Methodist Church in Columbus, Georgia, followed by a rally on Monday at Cascade United Methodist Church in Atlanta.

The campaign is launching more than a week before Georgia voters are scheduled to head to the polls on December 6 for a runoff election between Warnock and Republican Herschel Walker, a former professional football player who has helped spread conspiracy theories and lies about the results of the 2020 election and supports a nationwide abortion ban—despite having allegedly pressured at least two women to get abortions in the past.

Read more here: https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022 ... te-runoff

[caltrek]

GOP Senate Candidate Walker's Texas Tax Break Exposed
by Brett Wilkens
November 23, 2022

Introduction:

(Common Dreams) Republican U.S. Senate hopeful Herschel Walker is the beneficiary of a tax break meant for permanent Texas residents—a possible violation of both Texas law and residency rules for voting and political candidacy in Georgia, CNN reported Wednesday.

Records reviewed by the network show Walker benefited from Texas' homestead tax exemption, shaving approximately $1,200 off his 2021 tax bill on his $3 million home in the Dallas-Ft. Worth suburb of Westlake. The Texas Tribune reports the former NFL star is expected to apply for the discount again this year, and would likely save about $1,500.

Reacting to the report, incumbent Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock—who will face Walker in a December 6 runoff after neither candidate received 50% of the vote in this month's midterm election—asked on Twitter, "How can Herschel Walker represent Georgians when he doesn't even claim our great state as his primary residence?"

Read more here: https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022 ... tax-break

[weatheriscool]

Alaska Democrats, Republicans form coalition Senate majority
Source: Associated Press

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The Alaska state Senate will have a coalition of Democrats and Republicans serving as a majority caucus next January, officials announced. Friday.

The coalition will include nine Democrats and eight Republicans, leaving three members of the 20-seat chamber in the minority.

Gary Stevens, a Republican from Kodiak, will serve as Senate president. Among other leadership positions include Bill Wielechowski, an Anchorage Democrat, as Senate rules chair, and Cathy Giessel, a Republican who previously served as the body’s president and regained her Senate seat in this year’s election, as majority leader.

…snip…

The majority said its priorities will be lowering Alaska’s high energy costs, improving education and revitalizing the state’s economy.

Read more: https://www.newsnationnow.com/politics/ ... ority/amp/

[caltrek]

Voting Has Begun in Georgia Senate Runoff
by Pema Levy
November 26, 2022

Extract:

(Mother Jones) Voters in about two dozen Georgia counties began voting today (November 26) in the Senate runoff between Democratic incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock and Trump-backed challenger Herschel Walker, despite attempts by the Georgia Republicans to block Saturday voting.
…
Voting began Saturday with long lines across the state as voters decided to take advantage of the extra day of voting. “We had to take them to court just so you could vote today,” Warnock said at a campaign stop Saturday morning.

Early voting opportunities are especially important in a runoff election because there’s little time to vote by mail. Mail ballots must be received by the time the polls close on the date of the runoff election—December 6—making it difficult to request and return a mail ballot in time. Election officials and voting rights groups are therefore urging Georgians to vote in person.

Warnock heads into the runoff with a lead in the polls and a fundraising advantage over Walker, whose campaign was dogged by his history of abusing romantic partners and accusations of pressuring girlfriends to have abortions, among other revelations of turmoil in his personal and family life.

Read more here: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2 ... -georgia/

[caltrek]

The Guy Who Got the Midterms Right Explains What the Media Got Wrong
by Nicole Narea
November 27, 2022

Introduction:

(Vox) In the months leading up to the midterms, many pundits and politicians thought that Republicans had momentum enough for big gains at the state and federal levels, enough to count as a “red wave.” But veteran Democratic strategist Simon Rosenberg is one of a few voices in Washington who, despite President Joe Biden’s sagging approval ratings and polls that showed Democrats playing defense on inflation, remained optimistic about the party’s prospects and who was ultimately vindicated by a strong performance.

Rosenberg — who has previously advised the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and is the president of the progressive think tank NDN — says he’s not in the business of predictions. But he thought that the available data consistently pointed to a competitive election, and he became a self-described “info warrior” on Twitter trying to convince the pundit class of that. He believes that, unlike in 2016 and 2020 when polling failed to register Trump’s strength as a candidate, this time around, it was the media analyzing the polls who got it wrong.

“There was a massive media failure this cycle,” he said. “The failure that just took place is more grave than the polling error [in 2020] because there were a lot of really smart people who basically misled tens of millions of people through their political commentary in the final few weeks.”
It’s hard to know whether there was a practical effect of the doom-and-gloom stories about Democrats in the months before the election — whether it suppressed turnout by demoralizing voters or motivated them to show up because they feared what would happen if they didn’t. But even if any negative effect was small, that might have made a big impact.

The article goes on to discuss three factors that may have been underestimated by media pundits:

1. Real election results weren’t given enough credence over poll…

2. Polls were misinterpreted…

3. The enduring salience of Roe was underestimated…

Read more here: https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politic ... democrats

[raklian]

Sums up the 2022 midterms nicely...

[caltrek]

Kari Lake’s Lonely and Deeply Absurd Quest to Challenge the Arizona Election Results
by Nicole Narea
November 30, 2022

Introduction:

(Vox) Kari Lake, the defeated Republican nominee for Arizona governor who was the most prominent 2022 candidate running on former President Donald Trump’s 2020 election lies, still refuses to concede a race the Associated Press called for her opponent weeks ago.

Most other election-denier candidates, who lost up and down the ballot and across the country in 2022, have conceded their races with little fanfare. But Lake is an almost singular voice calling her state’s contests one of the “most dishonest elections in the history of Arizona” in a video posted on Trump’s social media network Truth Social on Monday.

“This botched election should not be certified,” she added.

Monday was the county-level deadline to certify the results. All did, with the exception of Cochise County, where the Republican majority on the Board of Supervisors delayed certification until Friday, citing concerns about voting machines. Current Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, the Democrat who won the gubernatorial race, consequently sued the county, arguing that its decision could “potentially disenfranchise” some 47,000 voters.

The AP called the race on November 14, and the results weren’t within the half a percentage point margin required to trigger a recount. In the now complete vote count, Hobbs won the gubernatorial election by 17,116 votes.

Read more here: https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politic ... ona-trump

[weatheriscool]

GA-SEN Runoff (Survey USA/WXIA-11Alive): Warnock 50/46

https://www.11alive.com/article/news/po ... 15beb5ed86

1,214 likely Georgia runoff voters
54% of respondents were women, 46% men
60% of respondents were white voters, 27% Black voters, 8% Hispanic voters, 5% Asian or other voters
41% of respondents were Republicans, 35% Democrats and 22% Independents
Margin of error: 3.6 points

[caltrek]

Right-Wing Extremist Boebert to Guide Policy on House GOP Leadership Team
by Julia Conley
December 2, 2022

Introduction:

(Julia Conley) Despite winning reelection by just 550 votes in a race that's now undergoing a recount, Rep. Lauren Boebert this week won a vote of confidence from her fellow Republican members of the U.S. House as she was elected to join the party's policy committee.

The office of Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold on Thursday announced Boebert's unexpectedly close race with her Democratic challenger, Adam Frisch, would go to a recount under state law.

In Colorado, any election race within a 0.5% vote differential must be recounted; the 3rd Congressional District race is currently within 0.34%.

The close race surprised election-watchers, as former President Donald Trump, with whom Boebert is strongly aligned, won the 3rd District by eight points in 2020.

The recount was announced just after Boebert was elected to be a new member of the Republican Policy Committee, which serves as an advisory panel and provides "conservative policy solutions to the House Republican Conference."

Read more here: https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022 ... ship-team

[raklian]

[weatheriscool]

Georgia voters are encountering few lines at polling places.
Source: New York Times

The lines that snaked out the doors and down the block at some Georgia polling places during early voting in the Senate runoff don’t seem to have reappeared on Election Day.

In the Atlanta area, where some people waited more than two hours last week to vote early in the runoff between Senator Raphael Warnock, a Democrat, and his Republican challenger, Herschel Walker, county officials reported few significant lines.

Fulton County, which includes Atlanta, showed just one of its 249 polling places had a wait time of more than 30 minutes around 12:45 p.m., according to its elections website.

The average wait time to vote in Georgia around midday was fluctuating, but remained under five minutes, according election officials.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/12/06 ... =url-share