It’s definitely an interesting test. My understanding has been that a lot of people aren’t quite Joker-level “watch the world burn,” but definitely think the current apple cart needs upsetting, think the tables in the temple need flipping, and voted for Trump because they thought he would fuck up a system that needed fucking up.
Far-left candidates propose another way to flip those tables, but in a way that results in Sweden instead of the Third Reich. I’m really interesting in seeing how many of the folks who voted Trump out of disgust for the status quo can be persuaded to vote for Nixon out of disgust for the status quo.
Voters almost always end up voting for the lesser evil. Nothing is “disqualifying” in a two person race, because the other candidate can be even worse.
That’s why smoke filled rooms had their virtues. They could reach out to people who hadn’t put their hat in the rink. The participants could negotiate with each other, instead of each voter guessing what other voters might do, and having to decide whether to vote for the one they like or the one they think might win.
Ranked choice would help a lot with that second issue. It might also encourage more people to run, as they wouldn’t feel like “spoilers”. But our current system, while solving many of the problems of “smoke filled rooms”, creates a host of its own problems, including candidates who are way to old but are known quantities who have a history of being popular.
I have talked to hundreds of voters in Minnesota who have told me, ‘Gosh, I went on vacation this summer. I didn’t want to tell people where I was from because it’s embarrassing.’ And it’s true.
Doubtless with tears in their eyes, to steal a meme.
I agree with the sentiment of the article, but reading it made my head hurt. The author of that article kept bringing up Mike Lindell, as if Tafoya and Lindell were both running for the same office (Lindell lost the Republican primary for governor of Minnesota). He also states that nobody has ever heard of Tafoya. Maybe he actually hasn’t heard of her, but that seems doubtful. Tafoya had a long career in sports broadcasting, covering 327 NFL games including as the sideline reporter in Super Bowl 56. She’s not someone that “nobody has heard of”, unless he’s using that in a way that Trump uses the term. Journalists need to do better if they hope to compete with the crap that Republican propagandists are putting out there.
I completely agree. She’s been a network sports reporter/host for 30 years; in addition to stints on both Monday Night Football and Sunday Night Football, she’s announced college football and women’s college basketball for years, and worked on Olympic coverage. She’s lived in the Twin Cities area since the early '90s, and has worked on local TV and radio stations there. I guarantee that she’s pretty well-known in Minnesota.
But, what she is, is inexperienced in politics. She only got involved in politics in 2022, after leaving NBC; she worked on at least one political campaign, and has otherwise been doing work as a commentator and consultant. She’s never held political office, and while she may well be smart, she’s yet another example of a GOP candidate who is seeking a high office with no relevant experience.
We all have our cultural blind spots. But, as @FlikTheBlue noted, the statement from that article, that “Nobody has ever heard of Tafoya” – especially in Minnesota – is flat-out incorrect.
I watch enough football that it’s statistically likely I’ve seen her and heard her name, but I didn’t retain it. I doubt I am super unusual in that regard.
When I look at the PredictIt site right now I see the TX Senate account started on Aug 14th with Paxton ahead 54 - 50. Since then Paxton has continued to lead every day by 4-6 points. After I read the quoted post above I was hoping to find this big Talarico lead but he’s not leading now and never has led on Predictit.
Actual opinion polling on that race has it as a dead heat. Depending on the poll, Talarico has been up by a few points, Paxton has been up by a few points, but it looks like all of those “leads” have been within the margin of error. However, note that only one of the polls listed in the site below has been conducted this month, and none have been conducted in the last week.
@Win_Place_Show posted that Talarico was ahead 54 - 46 on PredictIt on Aug 13. They were talking about Predictit----not opinion polls.
I responded that the PredicteIt site shows Talarico not only never led 54-46, he never led at all on any day. I just wondered what happened there. I got my hopes up and then saw that it wasn’t the case. I gotz the sadzz.
Fair enough. It’s a gambling site; opinion polls have flaws, but I, personally, am not going to get worked up about on what side people are willing to bet money.
This shows Talarico with a slight lead updated today.
This one also shows the Dem with a tiny lead-
A new poll from Texas Southern University shows Democratic state Rep. James Talarico leading Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton in the race for the U.S. Senate by 2 percentage points, just within the margin of error. This marks the third consecutive poll that shows Talarico leading Paxton in his bid to become the first Democrat to win a statewide election in Texas in more than three decades.
The latest poll released Tuesday shows Talarico with sizable leads among women as well as Latino voters and Black voters. There have been questions about his ability to win votes from Black Texans, who figure to be a key demographic in November’s election.
I’m optimistic about Talarico. Because Texas has been very consistent in its partisan lean. 2018 D+8 Beto loses by 3, 2020 D+5 Biden loses by 5, 2022 R+2 Beto loses by 9. 2024 R+2 Allred loses by 9. Basically D+11 or 12 is the sweet spot to get a decent candidate over the goal line. That’s starting to feel like a conservative estimate for the Dems’ midterm advantage.
Paxton is a bad and divisive candidate who ousted a strong incumbent by virtue of an endorsement from the president who most of the country despises. Talarico is a top tier candidate. There hasn’t been a head to head matchup that favored dems in a competitive seat like this since Kelly/Masters in 2022.
Right, Talarico would likely just run a close second, except Paxton is a poor choice. He was indicted on Securities fraud and barely missed being convicted by making a deal and paying fines, etc. He was also impeached, and has issues with the Texas State Bar. Not to mention (Irony here) committing voter fraud.
had never heard of her, but many sports fans certainly did.