COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The political groups affiliated with billionaire conservative businessman Charles Koch will not support Rep. Kevin Cramer’s (R-N.D.) bid against Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), citing Cramer’s record on spending.
“He’s inconsistent across the board on these issues and that makes it hard to support him,” said Tim Phillips, the president of Americans For Prosperity.
“He’s not leading on the issues where this country needs leadership right now, issues like spending … or trade," Phillips added. "We can’t support him at this time and we’ve met with his team, explained this and lobbied them on this.”
Heitkamp is a top target for Republicans in November. She’s one of 10 Senate Democrats up for reelection in states President Trump carried in 2016.
The Koch network will spend about $400 million this cycle to elect Republican candidates and promote conservative causes. The network historically supports Republican candidates, but at a donor summit here in Colorado Springs, senior officials have expressed deep frustration with GOP lawmakers on issues like spending and trade.
Koch officials are furious with Republicans, like Cramer, who voted for the $1.3 trillion spending bill that passed in March.
They’re vowing to hold Republicans accountable for their votes.
“We’re raising the bar,” said Americans for Prosperity CEO Emily Seidel, who added that Republicans should not expect the network to automatically support them going forward.
"The dildo of consequence rarely comes lubed." -- Eileen Rose
[...] Facebook said the profiles shared a pattern of behavior with the previous Russian disinformation campaign, which was led by a group with Kremlin ties called the Internet Research Agency. Facebook briefed congressional aides this week. A congressional aide said that there’s no evidence that political candidates were targeted in the new disinformation effort but that pages and accounts sought to spread politically divisive content around social issues. “It’s clear that whoever set up these accounts went to much greater lengths to obscure their true identities than the Russian-based Internet Research Agency (IRA) has in the past,” Facebook said in a post. [...]
Hmmmmm....
People who are wrong are just as sure they're right as people who are right. The only difference is, they're wrong.
— God@The Tweet of God
New poll shows tight race in final days of Ohio special election
(CNN)The special election race in Ohio's 12th Congressional District between Republican Troy Balderson and Democrat Danny O'Connor appears to be going right down to the wire.
A Monmouth University poll released Wednesday shows Balderson receiving 44% support and O'Connor pulling 43% with 11% of respondents saying they are undecided. That's a shift from a little over a month ago, when Monmouth found Balderson leading O'Connor by 10 points.
Tuesday's election in central Ohio is the final test for the parties to gauge where they are in advance of the November midterm elections.
The poll comes just days before President Donald Trump heads to central Ohio on Saturday to stump for Balderson.
The trip appears to be an attempt to fire up the Republican base, but Democrats close to O'Connor's campaign hope it will also spur Democratic excitement and turn off Republicans wary of Trump.[This will be an interesting test, coming just a few months before the midterms in a close district, of whether a Trump visit is more motivating to the Trumpanzees or the anti-Trumpers]The President's approval in the district stands at 46% with 49% saying they disapprove of his job performance.
Independent voters look to be boosting O'Connor's prospects, backing the Democrat over Balderson by a 48% to 32% margin -- with 17% undecided. That's a swing from the 33% to 30% split in favor of Balderson in June, when 33% were undecided.
Democrats also appear to hold an enthusiasm edge in the district, with 66% saying they have a high level of interest, up 22 points since June. That compares with 55% of Republicans who express a lot of interest, a 15-point gain.[It makes sense that as the election day grows closer that both sides would see some rise in enthusiasnm]
Overperformance by Democrats has been a key trend in special election contests since Trump's 2016 win. But the party has only scored one House special election victory in that time -- Conor Lamb's March win in western Pennsylvania.
The suburban Columbus district has been held by Republicans, including current Ohio Gov. John Kasich, for more than three decades. In 2016, President Trump carried the district by 11 points.
Lord Jim wrote:This leaves 34 current "toss up" seats, and of those 32 are currently held by Republicans and only two are held by Democrats, creating a very target rich environment for them to flip the seats they need to retake the House...
Of the House races I'm watching, it looks to me like NJ-2, NJ-3 and NY-22 are probable flips from R to D, and possibly NJ-7 as well.
In his "first wave" endorsements issued yesterday, President Obama backed Andy Kim (NJ-3) and Tom Malinowski (NJ-7). With that, I'd put at least these and NJ-2 in the probable-flip-to-D category. If Obama were to actually campaign on behalf of the NJ congressional candidates, it would be a no-brainer.
I don't have a horse in this race. The Senators and the single Congress critter for Delaware are all Dems. But ! ! ! There seems to be some action in the primary to depose the incumbent Senator who is up this cycle. So I guess I ought to do something to support the incumbent--more than just show up at the poll.
Just for grins, I did sent $50 to a dem candidate in another state who is no relative but shares my last name.
Looks like Ted Cruz may be facing some trouble holding on to his Senate seat - polls by Quinnipiac and Texas Lyceum have seen his lead shrink substantially in the last couple of months, putting it within the margin of error in both polls.
"The dildo of consequence rarely comes lubed." -- Eileen Rose
Burning Petard wrote:... Just for grins, I did sent $50 to a dem candidate in another state who is no relative but shares my last name.
snailgate
That seems like money well spent in a perennial swing state. If she wins maybe she'll invite her "long lost cousin" to her swearing-in ceremonies in DC in January.
“In a world whose absurdity appears to be so impenetrable, we simply must reach a greater degree of understanding among us, a greater sincerity.”
Crackpot wrote:Don’t count your chickens. The Dems are notorious for shotgunning their feet."
You got that right. I'm bracing myself for the unveiling of the "new & improved" Hillary in order to endorse candidates. If that happens I may be voting only for local candidates in November.
Eric Holder / Elizabeth Warren... 2020.
“In a world whose absurdity appears to be so impenetrable, we simply must reach a greater degree of understanding among us, a greater sincerity.”
Burning Petard wrote:" ...
Just for grins, I did sent $50 to a dem candidate in another state who is no relative but shares my last name.
snailgate
Wow. and you have a very rare name:
Petard
There are 1 or fewer people in the U.S. named Petard.
The estimates for one or both names are not absolute. There may be fewer people with this name, or none at all. Click here for more details.
RayThom wrote:I'm bracing myself for the unveiling of the "new & improved" Hillary in order to endorse candidates. If that happens I may be voting only for local candidates in November.
Ummmm...am I reading that right, Ray? Are you saying that you would refuse to vote for a candidate simply because she (or he) was endorsed by Hillary Clinton?????
People who are wrong are just as sure they're right as people who are right. The only difference is, they're wrong.
— God@The Tweet of God
RayThom wrote:I'm bracing myself for the unveiling of the "new & improved" Hillary in order to endorse candidates. If that happens I may be voting only for local candidates in November.
Ummmm...am I reading that right, Ray? Are you saying that you would refuse to vote for a candidate simply because she (or he) was endorsed by Hillary Clinton?????
Yes -- that's exactly what I am saying. She damn near killed my party with her manipulation of the DNC running up to the '16 elections. She made sure Sanders never had a chance.
And, yes, the system was rigged -- by Hillary herself. If there is, in fact, a Blue Wave rolling in on November 6th I want her to be under it.
“In a world whose absurdity appears to be so impenetrable, we simply must reach a greater degree of understanding among us, a greater sincerity.”
The problem is not that Clinton is not likable it’s that she’s not relatable everything whit her is so calculated that you hardly ever get a glimpse of the real her.
Okay... There's all kinds of things wrong with what you just said.