# Senate races 2026 **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [January 28, 2025, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534 "2025-01-28T15:04:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 68
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2026, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534/1342 "2026-11-02T20:07:25Z")
That’s true, the transcript can’t accurately convey the level of awkwardness there. I found it really hard to believe this woman had ever managed to win an election anywhere. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2026, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534/1343 "2026-11-02T20:20:52Z")
> [@Thing.Fish](#): > > I really encourage reading [this transcript of Anderson Cooper’s interview with Stevens.](https://substack.com/home/post/p-223210952)It’s an incredible act of political self-immolation. She’s certainly not going to have much of a future career, and she should have waited until after the general, but she is calling out some people who desperately need to be called out which far too many people are happy to run cover for. She’s 100% right here: > [@](#): > > HALEY STEVENS: Well, look, this is just a weight off my shoulders, okay? > > Abdul has been getting angrier and angrier. I was trying to help, and I endorsed him. That ad was very painful. There are so many Democrats who want to vote for our Democratic nominee, and they’re just being told, “Hey, this is a party you don’t belong in,” or “This is a campaign you don’t belong in.” And here: > [@](#): > > The deal is, Anderson, this is a weight off my shoulders. I’m being straight with everybody. I’m trying to help the Democratic Party. > > I felt the same way with Platner and his Nazi tattoo, and then the cases of abuse. > > And I’m just one person here, all right? That’s it. > > And I’m voting for Democrats up and down my ballot, okay? Abdul said, “Don’t be a part of this.” That’s fine. And here: > [@](#): > > STEVENS: Well, why is it okay to have the Democratic Party and a top nominee injecting this type of anger and lack of kindness? > > That’s all I’m doing. I’m telling people how I’m voting, and there’s others who feel the same way. And here: > [@](#): > > I am not trying to upset anyone. I’m just being honest with my constituents and what I’m hearing from people. > > And in fact, I’ve been hearing from a ton of Democrats, Anderson, who said, “Thank you. This is how we felt. We haven’t liked this campaign. It’s painful.” > > I mean, Debbie Dingell has said that repeatedly. > > I think when I was talking to her at noon yesterday, she was saying that. > > And so this is all going to come to an end. > > I’m casting my vote a certain way, and I hope to see more kindness within the Democratic Party and for all of us to just accept when somebody has a disagreement And here: > [@](#): > > STEVENS: I think some of the actions have certainly been antisemitic, Anderson. > > But I’m just sick of who he stands with. > > He’s picking Hasan [unclear] and the uncle over a whole heck of a lot of people. > > There are people who want to vote for him. They wanted to hear from him. They’re not trying to beat him up. > > I wanted to build him up, and he just kept coming back. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2026, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534/1344 "2026-11-02T20:25:22Z")
No, she is not “right” at all. She is a whiny, bigoted idiot. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2026, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534/1345 "2026-11-02T20:25:46Z")
“Just a disagreement”? That’s a riot. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2026, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534/1346 "2026-11-02T20:26:55Z")
El-Sayed is _angry_! And he’s Muslim!! ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2026, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534/1347 "2026-11-02T20:27:41Z")
> [@Thing.Fish](#): > > No, she is not “right” at all. She is a whiny, bigoted idiot. I would say that the guy blaming America’s domestic problems on a minority group and the foreign country they are associated with and who gets so butthurt when people call him out for it that he disinvites them from campaign rallies is the “whiny, bigoted idiot” but clearly your mileage varies. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2026, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534/1348 "2026-11-02T20:28:12Z")
Translated: “Why is it OK for the Democratic Party and a top nominee injecting this type of brownness and lack of Christianity”? ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2026, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534/1349 "2026-11-02T20:29:04Z")
> [@Thing.Fish](#): > > Translated: That’s a funny way to spell “strawmanned”. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2026, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534/1350 "2026-11-02T20:44:10Z")
> **[Haley Stevens Threatens To Endorse One Republican Every Hour Until Demands Met](https://theonion.com/haley-stevens-threatens-to-endorse-one-republican-every-hour-until-demands-met/)** > > DETROIT—Saying time was rapidly running out for candidates in her party to do the right thing, Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) threatened Monday to endorse a Republican every hour until her demands were met. “It’s almost 1 p.m., which means my fellow... Hehe… ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2026, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534/1351 "2026-11-02T20:52:16Z")
Today and yesterday night we got 15 inches of rain on the Space Coast/Treasure Coast. That’s not a typo. Some places got even more. The flood waters got around 4 vertical inches from my back porch but thankfully are receding. What does this have to do with the election? Florida is in theory in play, and there is around a 2 to 1 Republican versus Democrat registration here, and furthermore Republicans vote more often on election day. And while the rains should be away by tomorrow, some places might still be flooded and roads closed etc., which means that some people who haven’t voted yet might not be able to or might be busy cleaning up. To say nothing of possible damage to poll places themselves, although I haven’t heard anything about that one way or another. Hopefully this will tip the scales to the tune of a few thousand votes. If it makes the difference in the election it would be worth the damage. Thankfully there hasn’t been any lives lost as far as I can tell, so I don’t have to make a Trolley Problem calculation. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2026, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534/1352 "2026-11-02T20:54:23Z")
Psst, Florida weather: “blue tsunami” is supposed to be a figure of speech. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2026, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534/1353 "2026-11-02T20:54:31Z")
“In other news, several heavily Republican districts in Louisiana have been smitten by a plague of locusts.” ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2026, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534/1354 "2026-11-02T21:40:24Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > AES refuses to hedge on trans rights, LGBTQ rights, abortion rights, etc., in an interview with Ross Douthat: Good article - thanks. I like AES even more now. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2026, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534/1355 "2026-11-02T21:43:47Z")
Is this a common practice? Seems highly unusual to say the least. > **[Two Registered Agents for Israel Are Working on Mike Rogers’s Campaign](https://newrepublic.com/post/217458/two-people-mike-rogers-campaign-registered-foreign-agents-israel-michigan-senate)** > > One of the registered agents was there as Haley Stevens announced her endorsement of Rogers for Michigan’s Senate seat. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2026, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534/1356 "2026-11-02T22:38:47Z")
As long as they are being transparent and are properly registered, there’s nothing illegal. FARA is the system that registers and tracks foreign agents operating in the US. > **[Foreign Agents Registration Act](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_Agents_Registration_Act)** > > The Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) (22 U.S.C. § 611 et seq.) is a United States law that imposes public disclosure obligations on persons representing foreign interests. It requires "foreign agents"—defined as individuals or entities engaged in domestic lobbying or advocacy for foreign governments, organizations, or persons ("foreign principals")—to register with the Department of Justice (DOJ) and disclose their relationship, activities, and related financial compensation. FARA does no... Fittingly, it was created to counter Nazi propaganda. Things have really come full circle, huh? I am struggling to figure out how common it is for such agents to be part of campaigns, though. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2026, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534/1357 "2026-11-02T22:43:43Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > There are only two explanations. Either he himself is an antisemite who holds these beliefs, or he has made the political calculation that appealing to antisemites who hold these beliefs is more important than appealing to Jews. Either option is extremely troubling. Or you might consider the possibility that his refusal to do the bidding of antisemites might be because he’s not antisemitic. That seems kind of the simplest explanation, to me. I still don’t understand this reasoning that he’s required to let antisemites pull his puppet strings. It sounds like, back in high school, when guys called me gay because I wasn’t pulling down other mens’ pants. > [@Railer13](#): > > Alaska: > U.S. Senate: Mary Peltola (D) 48% – Dan Sullivan (R) 46% In most states, nobody cares about the few percent that goes to third parties… but with Alaska’s instant runoff voting, those few percent will quickly land on one of the big two. Even if that poll is perfectly accurate, Sullivan could still win if at least two-thirds of the third-partiers put him ahead of Pelota. > [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > It’s actually less nefarious than this. Written into the Michigan state constitution in 1850, every 16 years, Michigan voters are presented with the option to convene a constitutional convention. Montana has a similar provision, every (IIRC) 20 years. I was rather shocked when I saw that on the ballot, too, until I saw the explanation. > [@Babale](#): > > She’s 100% right here: > > > [@](#): > > > > HALEY STEVENS: Well, look, this is just a weight off my shoulders, okay? > > > > Abdul has been getting angrier and angrier. How’s it go, “If you’re not angry, you’re not paying attention”? Hell yeah, I want Senators who are angry. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2026, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534/1358 "2026-11-02T22:48:06Z")
God forbid someone is angry at a time like this! ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2026, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534/1359 "2026-11-02T22:53:41Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Or you might consider the possibility that his refusal to do the bidding of antisemites might be because he’s not antisemitic. Haley Stevens who is engaged to a Jewish man and apparently plans to convert to Judaism is anti-semitic? These rabbis are anti-semitic? > **[Rabbis urge Abdul El-Sayed to condemn ads, citing antisemitism](https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2026/10/27/abdul-el-sayed-antisemitism-ads-palestinians-israel-cenk-uygur-rebellion-pac/92462053007/)** > > A group of rabbis is asking Senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed to pull down a new campaign ad using a clip of former Fox News host Tucker Carlson. The Jews who are part of Nonnegotiable are all self hating? > **[Nonnegotiable movement, rabbis press Michigan candidate El-Sayed on Israel |...](https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/article-913572)** > > Student organizer Jacob Reich, who is involved in various Democratic Party initiatives on and off campus, told JTA: “I felt torn between both my Jewish identity and my identity as a Democrat.” @DSeid and I are self hating anti-semitic Jews? You think that it is more likely that all of those Jews I cited hate themselves than that El Sayed is either anti-semitic or pandering to antisemites? _Really_? ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2026, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534/1360 "2026-11-02T22:53:55Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > She has chops on manufacturing policy with connections made both in and out of government. She will very likely land a decent job with some company that either prefers her political take or doesn’t care as long as she knows her manufacturing policy well. Maybe a lobbyist? Maybe run for the same Congressional seat as a Republican? Thanks for the information (which I hadn’t known). I could see her getting hired by someone in need of expertise on manufacturing issues. But I see it as _much_ less likely that she’d be hired to lobby Congress—the most lucrative of lobbying positions. She has killed her credibility with Democratic members, and Republican members are unlikely to see her as trustworthy, either. A lobbyist trusted by no one is not an effective lobbyist. Some company that wants to lobby international bodies, perhaps, would give her a shot. (On the other hand, it may be the case that the fiancé would torpedo jobs of that sort, too----he may want a stay-at-home trad wife. I gather he is legally blind and might prefer to receive full-time care.) ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2026, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534/1361 "2026-11-02T23:07:36Z")
El-Sayed is up 11 points in the final polling, and an 11-point swing on the basis of a last-minute endorsement by a primary loser after half the electorate has already voted seems improbable. At this point, who he didn’t disavow and why seems irrelevant, and it’s highly unlikely that upon being seated he’s going to twirl his mustache and grind the Senate to a halt until they agree to pass the Jews Aren’t People Act, so this all seems to be much ado about nothing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534.md?page=67) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534.md?page=69)