Lots of interesting action tomorrow, mostly on the GOP side. Republican voters in Indiana and WV will be deciding whether to run someone conventionally crazy or truly insane against incumbent Democratic Senators Joe Donnelly (IN) and Joe Manchin (WV). The biggest race on the Dem side is OH-Gov where Richard Cordray, who until recently headed up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, is squaring off against Dennis Kucinich.
Overviews from TPM and Open Secrets.
From the 538 section on Ohio:
Trickle down clown car…
Wait, Kasich is endorsing the candidate who’s so fed up with him that she’s claiming that he endorsed the other candidate?
And I think the biggest action in Ohio is actually Issue 1, an anti-gerrymandering measure. We had a similar one pass a couple of years ago, but that was just for state legislature districts. This one is for US Congress. Like its predecessor, it’s a clumsy, jerry-rigged wad of duct-tape kludge, but it’s a heck of a lot better than the status quo.
I’m pretty sure he just feels he owes her some token loyalty after she was stuck in a dead end job for eight years. I don’t think he actually wants her to win. So she’s taking it in the spirit in which it was given.
Actually, I could use some advice. I’m left enough to favor Kucinich, but I’m worried about electability in the general. But there apparently hasn’t been any head-to-head polling for any Democrat but Cordray, so I don’t know who’s more electable. Kucinich might turn off moderates, but then again he’ll probably energize the base, and the Plain Dealer seems to think that his populism might flip some Trump voters. What’s everyone’s best read, there?
I have more than a rooting interest in Indiana’s 9th Congressional district race. One of the contenders, Dan Canon, is a good friend of mine. He’s a civil rights attorney who was instrumental in legalising same-sex marriage. He was working with the ACLU opposing Kim Davis.
I don’t think we have any Dopers who live in the aforementioned Indiana district, so I won’t stump for Dan. But, on a personal level, I’ve never met anyone who I hold in higher esteem, or who has more integrity.
And he’s a hell of a guitar player.
I’m not in that district (I’m in the 7th) but I have wanted to do volunteer work for the general 2018 election. So I was planning to either volunteer in the 9th or the 5th district as those are nearby and could be swing districts. But I love Bloomington so if I do volunteer I’d rather do it in the 9th.
If you’re so inclined, I know Dan would appreciate an extra set of hands. But, again, I’m biased.
If I were wanting to follow the Ohio races from afar, what internet site would you folks recommend?
I’d probably use https://www.10tv.com
I’d also check to see if http://www.dispatch.com drops their paywall during the election results
I don’t think Kucinich is particularly electable, but I also don’t think he’d be a good governor. As representative I think he’s fine, and I totally respect his record in congress, but I think he’s too hardline/idealistic/whackadoo to be a chief executive.
Apparently he’s gone on Fox News in defense of Trump prior to this gubernatorial bid, which I think is indicative of his political purity – so concerned is he about the IC (legitimate concerns, I think, given the public failures of the Iraq war and other scandals that he’s been very critical of in the past) that he’s willing to add fuel to the “deep state” fire. Maybe he’s right, and maybe it will help win over a few Trump supporters who paid attention to his time on Fox, but I think overall it’s bad politics.
I’m also not sure what’s not to like about Cordray.
Well, I know very little about Cordray. But I’m mostly considering electability, here, and it seems like there’s a possibility (with very little data) that Kucinich might be more electable. Of course, any impression I might have of his electability is going to be highly distorted by where I am, the heart of his former district, and one of the most liberal municipalities in the nation: Just because I’m seeing Kucinich signs in every second yard, doesn’t mean he’s actually popular statewide.
Well, Cordray won. I’ll have to send him some maple syrup!
Politico’s Scott Bland, at about 10pm last night:
If we have that blue wave, there’ll be a lot more women in Congress next year!
incumbent GOP congressman from Charlotte lost to a guy who is more conservative
And Ohio’s anti-gerrymandering issue passed by about 3 to 1. Not too surprising, since there wasn’t any organized opposition to it, but still good.
Columbus, Ohio here. I like Cordray and I think Kucinich is whack-a-doodle. I think in his former district he is well viewed but outside of that and the state level and of course the awful Presidential runs where he got national exposure he is just not electable.
The problem I see with Cordray is that although I think he’d be a very good governor, he is just not very “exciting” to his own base or the general public. That said, he is also not objectively offensive either. I do hope that those whom I know who supported Kucinich come off their “Bernie or Bust!” type rhetoric for Kucinich and against Cordray.
MeanJoe
It was the reason that I made it out to vote. It was a pain in the ass, but I managed to skid into my polling place at 7:27pm.
The candidates, meh, so, so. I was actually not sure if I wanted to vote D or R, as while I did feel that Cordray had more general election potential, I didn’t really want to vote against Kucinich. And, at the same time, if the general goes to the R’s, Dewine is more or less a traditional conservative (wrong within normal parameters), and Taylor is far right. Local stuff was boring, most positions running unopposed on either ballot.
I ended up voting D to show my support for D’s. Which did work out, apparently, it is the first time there were more democratic primary voters than republican since 1982. I think that bodes well.
I was going to vote for Schiavoni, but I knew he was toast and I got caught up in the internet hype about how Kucinich was surging, so I decided to vote for Cordray (who doesn’t really excite me) to keep the the Assad-supporting, race-baiting loon out.
Turns out it was all hot air and I could have voted for Schiavoni.