This election should be a referendum on Trump and the Republicans in Congress, many of whom probably know how wrong and destructive Trump and his policies are in many areas, but still support him because that's their "team." The differences between Democratic candidates like Connor Lamb vs. Bernie Sanders shouldn't make a difference - either you vote Democratic to save this country, or you don't. Whether you are a Democrat, Republican, or neither. And, if the Democrats don't manage to win the House and/or the Senate, then this country is officially dead, killed by apathy and tribalism. The United States of America, 1776-2018. R.I.P.
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The top-two law is a good idea (minimizes the importance of party affiliation) but has problems.
When the top candidate gets more than 50% of the vote, a top-two runoff is wasted effort.
When the top two candidates combined get less than 50% of the vote, a top-two runoff is not good enough.
In these purple districts people are looking for candidates who can address issues that Trump demagogued but not be an ego maniac bigot demagogue like him.
Run Lamb type candidates in these districts, the democrat that won in Pa.
If you run identity obsessed, east coast liberal never met a war, trade agreement, wall st banker I did not like like Hillary, the dems will most likely not win the House.
Learn from history or be condemned to repeat its' worst mistakes.
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I was disappointed that voters in the adjoining precinct had to drive over two miles through rush hour congestion at a crowded intersection to a different polling place. That apparently did reduce the turnout according to maps which I saw; however, the reduced turnout probably was among Republicans and among Democrats alike.
You guys are dreaming. The turnout was low. And you'll need all the votes you can get to flip these red districts. There isn't any reason to get excited about a Democratic party that's shunned the Bernie side and are in bed with Hillary and her corporate friends. Even Trump's favorable numbers are rising and that's siphoning even more votes. Don't be surprised this time by the inaccurate pollsters from 2016. This is going to be another Democratic loss in 2018 with Congress firmly in GOP control.
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Too close to call.
Way too much still to come.
Best bet is Republicans end up with a single digit majority.
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I think part of the discouragement stems from the fact that California votes don't seem to matter where it counts - in presidential elections. I struggle more and more with the idea that a small population with little education in a very few states consistently has the loudest voice in those elections. Time to either rethink or get rid of the electoral college.
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I just heard on NPR that 180,000 registered voters weren't on the rolls in one district in California and were told to cast provisional ballots. This is disturbing given that our intelligence agencies reported that Russia hacked the voter rolls in at least 21 states.
When is our president and Republican-controlled congress going to do something to protect the integrity of our elections? I guess the answer is only when it negatively affects them.
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Either Hispanics are okay with the Trump administration, or they have reason to worry they may be putting a target on their backs (and those of their relatives) by becoming politically active.
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My thinking is that 6 of 7 will flip, with Devin Nunes surviving by a hair. The reason? I see large swaths of turnout by energized Dems who would not ordinarily vote. John Cox is a preordained loser and the GOP know it. He won’t help the cause.
To save their districts, trump will have to ratchet up the hate and that’s why we dislike him so. Look for many tweets about how millions of illegals voted come November.
His shills are going down!
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I really don't get Nunes' district, which is heavily Hispanic. He must have an agreement with Trump that ICE won't raid that area. They've sure gone after more liberal areas. A couple of good raids and that district would flip pronto.
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Since people are prognosticating, my guess is that Trump is not going to fare well between now and the election and that this will tilt things against the GOP. That is a real guess because it points to what is happening. We are locked in a political conflict and if the President is seen by more and more as a real imposter and a clear danger, Dems win. If he is not, all bets are off.
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It will all come down to GOTV efforts by the Dems. If there's a good turnout in the plurality (i.e. Hispanic) community in November, seats will flip. Nate should wait a week to repeat his quantitative analysis. As of this morning, a third of the OC voted had not yet been counted. Similar numbers in LA, SD, I suspect.
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There are no excuses for weak CA voter turnout. As in 2016, the Democratic Party was more concerned with stemming the rise of insurgents and did little to encourage voting or new registrations. This does not bode well for November. And when people don't vote, it also means they feel disenfranchised and rendered irrelevant by all the candidates, a sentiment I share.
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Michael; then please become active; volunteer at your local party place, run yourself, encourage all who encounter you to vote. Preserve democracy and its freedoms which you currently profit from and enjoy!
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