Tuesday, August 19, 2025

Some Senate races

First up, Katie Phang.




Attorney General Ken Paxton and El Paso Democrat Beto O'Rourke, locked in a Tarrant County court dispute, now lead the race for each party's nomination for U.S. Senate, according to a new poll released Aug. 18 by Texas Southern University.

The Republican race between Paxton and incumbent U.S. Sen. John Cornyn has tightened but Paxton still leads, 44%-39%, according to a text-message poll of 1,500 likely Republican voters Aug. 6-12 by researchers at TSU.
In a matching poll of Democratic voters, the barnstorming O'Rourke has taken a 20-point lead over 2024 nominee Allred, 58-38%.

Allred has announced that he is running again. O'Rourke, defeated for Senate in 2018 and for governor in 2022, has yet to say whether he will run for any office in the primary March 3, 2026.

The poll did not test Dallas U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett for Senate against O'Rourke or Allred. But Crockett's approval rating with voters is plus-80 (83% favorable, 3% unfavorable). That was second among Democrats only to O'Rourke's plus-89.

I don't live in Texas.  But I'm going to weigh in.  I spent months in Texas campaigning for Allred.  I believed in him.  Then he began to attack trans people.  He didn't need to do that.  And block walking, I saw the actual effects of that was to turn off people.  They thought he was a fighter and different and then in the last weeks of the campaign he's suddenly talking trans people and talking trash about them.

He had his shot.  If Beto can win, go with Beto.  If Jasmine can win, go with Jasmine.  But Allred disappointed his backers.  I was there when his support began to build and people believed in him.  Then he went craven and people stopped believing in him.  It was a self-inflicted wound.  Jasmine would be great in the Senate and could win it.  Beto the same.  Allred caved before he got in office.  I think that says everything that anyone needs to know about him. 

Let me stay with Senate campaigns for a minute more, Igor Bobic (HUFFINGTON POST) reports:

A Marine Corps and U.S. Army veteran who was deployed in the Middle East announced his campaign for Senate in Maine on Tuesday, seeking to oust longtime Republican incumbent Susan Collins, who is eyeing her sixth term in Washington, D.C.

Graham Platner is a 40-year-old oyster farmer from Sullivan, Maine, who believes working-class people in the state are suffering at the hands of big corporations and politicians in D.C. He points his finger at 72-year-old Collins and what he sees as her failure to stand up to President Donald Trump and his legislative agenda. 
“Nobody can tell me Collins doesn’t know how to use power,” the Democratic candidate said in an interview with HuffPost. “She’s very well-versed in the mechanisms of the Senate. She chose not to use that power to hold up the bill that was going to destroy Medicaid for so many Mainers. I’m not fooled by that.”

Collins voted against Trump’s massive bill cutting Medicaid and taxes on the wealthy — but her earlier vote to advance the measure was critical in clearing its path to passage. As chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, the senator has also watched Trump’s White House withhold hundreds of millions of dollars from federal programs that have bipartisan support.

“I think she has worked this complicated charade,” Platner added. “She pretends to be a moderate to appeal across the spectrum, while very often voting along with Republicans.”

Good for Platner.  Susan Collins has been in the Senate too long.  For years, we're talking when I was a kid up to in high school, she sort of hid behind Olympia Snowe who was more centrist than Susan Collins.  Susan Collins has been a non-stop embarrassment who has caved on every important decision in the last decade.  She needs to go.


The nonpartisan Cook Political Report moved its rating of Ohio’s Senate race from likely Republican to lean Republican following former Sen. Sherrod Brown’s (D-Ohio) entrance into next year’s Senate race. 

The former senator launched his comeback Senate bid Monday, pitting himself against incumbent Sen. John Husted (R). Husted was appointed by Gov. Mike DeWine (R) earlier this year after Vice President Vance vacated the seat to join the Trump administration. 
Brown, who served three terms in the Senate, lost reelection in November to Sen. Bernie Moreno (R) by roughly 3.5 percentage points. He was the last statewide elected Democrat in Ohio. 

“Brown’s entrance certainly puts the Ohio Senate special election on the competitive map, and it’s doubtful that any other Democrat would have made this a real race,” wrote Jessica Taylor, Senate and governors editor at the Cook Political Report. “But Husted still starts as a slight favorite in a state that’s been moving toward the right. We are shifting our rating from Likely to Lean Republican.” 

I think Sherrod Brown stands a good chance at winning.  He's known.  He needs to draw the contrast with what Ohio needs and what the GOP is delivering.  I also think he was a really solid member of the Senate that America could count on when he served.


Now let's move over to the House and note Speaker of the Closet Mike Johnson.  David Edwards reports:

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has declined to oppose a Texas gerrymandering effort that could maintain Republicans' control of Congress. Still, he has insisted that a similar move by Democrats in California was an "illegal power grab."

"Gavin Newsom's latest attempt to disenfranchise millions of California voters was written in the dark of night by the DCCC—more than 2,700 miles away from Sacramento in Washington," Johnson wrote in a Monday post on X. "This is a slap in the face to Californians who overwhelmingly support the California Citizens Redistricting Commission."

Oh, shut up.  Go meet your boyfriend at DuPont Park, Johnson, and just shut up.  No one takes you seriously.  You're a hypocrite.  Are the rumors true, by the way?  About you being blackmailed by the Christian or 'Christian' group that provided you free lodging in DC but actually monitored all your behavior and now they're blackmailing you?  Consider that me asking for MTG.  


Obviously, to those paying attention, the reason that California Gov. Gavin Newsom is trying to work around his state’s independent redistricting commission is because of the gravity of the moment. He and Democratic officials in New York and other states have been publicly considering how they might beat Republicans at their own gerrymandering game by redrawing maps to offset the impact of what’s going on in Texas.

Many blue states have measures in place, like the indy commissions, to prevent against the exact kind of partisan gerrymandering that Republicans in Texas are trying to pull off mid-cycle. States like California and New York have adopted these protocols — where an independent, non-partisan panel is tasked with drawing congressional maps, based on census data, for state legislatures to vote on — in order to ensure fair representation in Washington. Texas and many other red states don’t have those kinds of rules (though some have laws in place against race-based gerrymandering) because they’re totally fine with partisan map drawing if it favors Republicans.

Here's C.I.'s "The Snapshot:"


Tuesday, August 19, 2025.  Chump plans to steal the 2026 mid-terms while Bernie Sanders attacks Kamala Harris with lies for the second time this month.  That's not how we pull together and big tent.



Let's start with Reese Waters from yesterday.


And TABITHA SPEAKS from last week.




We are tired of it.  White progressives,' we are tired of it.

We're tired of you lying about Kamal and we're real tired of you refusing to get that Bernie has a Black problem.  We don't worship him like you do, we don't cut him slack for his racism.

A lot of us are trying to do what I am which is big tent, big tent, big tent.  Avoid trashing other Dems as much as possible, work on pulling the party together, stand up to the enemy that is Chump.

But then you get crusty lipped Bernie attacking Kamala Harris.

And let's be clear, though I know some of you White 'progressives' nodded a long with Bernie's attacks, he's lying.  

He is distorting Kamala and her campaign.  

We saw that go down last fall and we have not forgotten.  You need to your old man to stop trying to stir up s**t because this doesn't end well.


Some of you White 'progressives' nodding along with Bernie due so because of the crap-fest that passes for 'independent' media on the left.  

It was something to see in the fall, to watch Kamala be attacked for not doing this or that by White media like COMMON DREAMS when, in fact, Kamala was doing what they were saying she wasn't.  COMMON DREAMS ran an article attacking her for not talking about women's health when she'd just done that -- talked about women's health -- to ESSENCE magazine.  But White 'progressives' apparently can't read a publication if the target audience is Black women.  

We could go though this with multiple examples, but I'm just going to note two.

From the August 29th "Iraq snapshot:"


Starting with the US presidential elections, I believe the whine goes something like this: "Kamala hasn't done any interviews!"





That's what the mail brought me yesterday.  Page 48 kicks off Caroline Wanga's six page interview with the Democratic Party's presidential nominee.  The two discuss a number of issues including the economy.  I'll note this from the interview 


Kamala Harris:  I have been working on that issue for years -- with my colleagues from the CBC [Congressional Black Caucus] when I was in the Senate and now as Vice President.  Why? Because Black women in the United States of America are three to four times more likely to die in connection with childbirth than other women.  And we know that there are a variety of reasons for that.  But we also know that this is a health care crisis of the highest order, and it has received very little attention proportionate to the seriousness of the matter.  So, I worked with my colleagues when I was in the Senate.  We passed a number of ills.  When I came in as Vice President, I continue to work on it.  And one of the things I found is this: For women on Medicaid, which states can provide for postpartum care for two months up to 12 months -- and I realized when I came in as Vice President, only three states would extend Medicaid coverage for postpartum care from two months to 12 months.  I don't have a problem shaming people sometimes, so I challenged the states to extend it.  And now 46 states have extended Medicaid coverage for postpartum care.  There is a direct connection between this and Black maternal mortality.  But back to the other point about freedom of choice.  The majority of Black women in America live in the South You know that in the South, we have some of the highest rates of Black maternal mortality.  In the South, except for the state of Virginia, every state has an abortion ban.  And what I find hypocrisy upon hypocrisy, by some of these extremists, is that the same ones saying they're passing these abortion bans because they care about women and children have been completely silent on the issue of Black maternal mortality.  Don't come to us, gaslighting us about where you've been and where you haven't been, on important issues that relate to what we know every day affects our sisters, our mothers, our aunties, our grandmothers -- and could affect our daughters. 


A few comments.  The interview is not online.  I have no idea if it will be posted or not.  Currently at ESSENCE,  Jasmine Browley has an article about Kamala and the opportunity economy that went up this week and Robyn Mowatt looks at political style.  Second, the cover notes "COLLECTOR'S EDITION."  If you're a subscriber like me, you may grimace.  But they used a real sticker that peels off -- not a paper label that's basically glued to the cover -- and it's very easy and doesn't tear the cover when you remove it.  After I removed it, I scanned for the image above (notice no tear in the lower corner) and took the cover off the magazine.  It's now framed and up in my home office. 


From the October 16th "Iraq snapshot"

At ESSENCE, Melissa Noel reports:


The Kamala Harris' campaign is making its most direct appeal yet to Black men, rolling out new policies, boosting programming and a targeted media blitz to win over a crucial part of the electorate. With Republicans eyeing Black male voters in a big way this election, the vice president's team is on the move and not leaving anything to chance.

On Monday, Harris introduced her "Opportunity Agenda for Black Men." The plan centers on providing up to 1 million fully forgivable loans of up to $20,000 for Black entrepreneurs and investing in training, mentorship, and apprenticeships for Black men in high-demand industries. Harris is also pushing for the legalization of recreational marijuana—paired with a focus on ensuring Black men access wealth and jobs in that market.

"This agenda is a further realization of Vice President Harris' Opportunity Economy. An economy where people don't just get by, but get ahead. Where Black men are equipped with the tools to thrive: to buy a home, provide for our families, start a business and build wealth," said Congressman and Harris-Walz Campaign Co-Chair Cedric Richmond in astatement shared with ESSENCE. 

"Donald Trump could care less about equipping hardworking Americans with the tools needed to get ahead. From being investigated by the Department of Justice for refusing to rent to Black tenants to falsely accusing the Central Park 5 and calling for their execution to spreading the racist birther conspiracy theory against President Obama, at every step of his life, Donald Trump put Black men down for his own personal brand. If he wins in November, he is telling us exactly what he'll do to Black men, Richmond added. 


I'm glad ESSENCE exists.  I'm a longterm subscriber to the print edition.  But it's an amazing, less than a month away from an election, ESSENCE can report on this very important proposal but COMMON DREAMS can't and won't.  Nor IN THESE TIMES.  Nor THE PROGRESSIVE -- an outlet with a token or two but the tokens know what they're allowed to cover, they know who's running the plantation.  That's a very important proposal and it's one that deserves serious exploration.  But so-called news outlets in 'independent' media can't be bothered.


Search in vain for any amplification of that coverage from ESSENCE at COMMON DREAMS, THE NATION, IN THESE TIMES, THE PROGRESSIVE, etc etc.  

The most minor story in THE NEW YORK TIMES will get amplified  but say "ESSENCE" and watch the White flight take place.

Bernie doesn't know what he's talking about.

And how does he help anyone by attacking Kamala to begin with?

She's not in the White House.  Donald Chump is.

That's supposed to be our focus but along comes Bernie to try to beat up the Black woman with lies.

We're sick of it.  Black people have had enough of this s**t.  

I know Black women who plan to site out 2026 because of the way Kamala and we were disrespected by the left or 'left.'  I know Black women who are slowing leaving a staycation and trying to get back involved -- and that group is going to bolt if you don't stop the attacks on Kamala.

White 'progressives' like Sam Seder had 801 topics they cover every week but they refused to cover the very real topic of the attacks on Kamala during the election and the attacks on Black women supporting Kamala during the election.   I'm not referring to the right-wingers attacking, I'm referring to people who claimed to be of the left.


You think you can ignore the topic.  But when you do, you just make clear to Black people how little you truly care about us and our issues.  

Bernie is nothing to praise and I could take him down every day -- his faux support for immigrants, for example, is a very easy stance to expose (he's anti-immigrant and has long been that and we can look at how little support he has given to immigrants seized by ICE in Vermont).  I'm trying to focus on defeating Chump and saving the country.

But if Bernie keeps attacking Kamala, you're going to find out just how angry Black people are -- still are -- over the stunts so many of you White progressives played last fall.  

You want us to pull together as a big tent?  Stop the attacks on Kamala.  Stop lying.  We've had enough and we're not going to take much more of this.

Mike covered this topic in "Katie Phang, TABITHA SPEAKS and more" and Marcia did so in "Olay, pay attention, Tabitha's showing you the strength a real Black woman has" most recently. And if you're new to the way certain elements of the left or 'left worked to put Chump in the White House last fall, refer to "2024: The Year of Betrayal From Inside The Left."


We're supposed to have a common enemy.  If you think that's Kamala Harris, you are part of the effort working to ensure that MAGA remains in power for decades.



On Monday morning, President Trump returned to a longtime fixation, posting on Truth Social that he was “going to lead a movement to get rid of MAIL-IN BALLOTS” by “signing an EXECUTIVE ORDER to help bring HONESTY to the 2026 Midterm Elections.”

The post came just after Trump’s Friday summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin—not known for his love of free and fair elections—who allegedly counseled Trump that “your election was rigged because you have mail-in voting,” a message Trump promptly relayed to Fox News’ Sean Hannity.

Trump already led a movement to get rid of mail-in ballots, helping to push for a spate of anti-voter state laws both in the run-up to the 2020 election and after his loss. But each successive crackdown strips voting rights from disabled and aging voters, who disproportionately rely on absentee ballots and voter assistance laws to participate in democracy.

Some experts question whether the White House even has the power to take further steps to ban voting by mail; a plethora of lawsuits would likely follow any executive order against it. 

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