Reading some blogs, listening to the radio, watching TV, especially cable, including msnbc, just gets me down. "Dems going to get smashed" is the constant refrain. There is a lot to be worried about, and there is a lot to be pissed at some Dems (e.g., Blue Dog Enabler Steny Hoyer) about. But despair is a tool used by Republicans to suppress the vote, to perpetuate an enthusiasm gap. Therefore, I'm going to start sharing good news for Dems on Monday when I can.
Here's some:
Conway Closes in on Paul in Latest Kentucky Poll
Minnesota Poll: Dayton still has edge on Emmer
LA Times; Boxer and Brown Opening Up Leads
And more, below the fold.
Conway making it very close in Ky. This is a possible pickup of an R seat. Kentucky looks like our best shot at a pick up, better than Missouri or NC at this point, although the three remain possible.
Jack Conway, Kentucky's Democratic Attorney General, has pulled within two points of Republican Rand Paul in the Kentucky Senate race, according to the latest poll from SurveyUSA.
Paul leads Conway 49 percent to 47 percent in the new poll, a 13-point turnaround since the last SurveyUSA poll released at the beginning of the month. He leads by 5.8 percent in the RCP Average. The SurveyUSA poll, which was conducted for the Louisville Courier-Journal and WHAS 11, is the second poll in the last month to show the race within the margin of error. A CNN/Time poll taken September 2nd through 7th showed the candidates tied. However, Paul led by 15 points in a Rasmussen Reports poll conducted September 7th.
Conway Closes in on Paul in Latest Kentucky Poll
California is trending blue. This is very important. And Boxer and Brown may help Congressional candidates.
Brown leads Whitman 49%-44% in poll
Boxer leads Fiorina 51%-43% in Senate race, survey finds.
snip
Democrat Jerry Brown has moved into a narrow lead over Republican Meg Whitman in their fractious contest for governor, while his party colleague Barbara Boxer has opened a wider margin over GOP nominee Carly Fiorina in the race for U.S. Senate, a new Los Angeles Times/USC poll has found.
snip
Brown, the former governor and current attorney general, held a 49%-44% advantage among likely voters over Whitman, the billionaire former chief executive at EBay.
Boxer, a three-term incumbent, led Fiorina, the former head of Hewlett-Packard, by 51%-43% among likely voters in the survey, a joint effort by The Times and the USC College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.
Both Republicans were hamstrung by voters' negative impressions of them — particularly Whitman, who has poured a national record $119 million of her own money into an advertising-heavy campaign yet has seen her unpopularity rise, the survey showed.
Boxer is getting stronger and stronger.
LA Times; Boxer and Brown Opening Up Leads
RCP Average 9/2 - 9/22 -- 48.7 42.7 Boxer +6.0
LA Times/USC 9/15 - 9/22 887 LV 51 43 Boxer +8
SurveyUSA 9/19 - 9/21 610 LV 49 43 Boxer +6
Rasmussen Reports 9/20 - 9/20 750 LV 47 43 Boxer +4
Field 9/14 - 9/21 599 LV 47 41 Boxer +6
PPP (D) 9/14 - 9/16 630 LV 50 42 Boxer +8
CNN/Time 9/2 - 9/7 866 RV 48 44 Boxer +4
RCP Average 9/2 - 9/22 -- 48.7 42.7 Boxer +6.0
Target's teabagger is losing!
Five weeks before Minnesotans elect a new governor, DFL candidate Mark Dayton leads GOP rival Tom Emmer among likely voters, with Independence Party candidate Tom Horner gaining ground, a Star Tribune Minnesota Poll has found.
In the three-way race, Dayton leads Emmer 39 to 30 percent, nearly unchanged from a July Minnesota Poll. Horner is at 18 percent, up from 13 percent in July.
Minnesota Poll: Dayton still has edge on Emmer
We all have issues with Reid, but he's far better than Angle.
Here's another fun data point in the Nevada Senate race. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is now being given a five-point lead over Sharron Angle -- by a Republican polling firm.
As Jon Ralston reports, a survey conducted for the Retail Association of Nevada by a well-known GOP polling firm, Public Opinion Strategies, showed the following numbers: Reid 45%, Angle 40%, plus 1% for Tea Party candidate Scott Ashjian. The survey of likely voters has a ±4.38% margin of error. The last publicly-released POS survey of this race was all the way back in February, and put Reid ahead of Angle and Ashjian by 37%-32%-16%.
TPM: GOP Pollster: Reid Leads Angle By Five Points
It's not all bad news. Yes, we could lose the House, but it is more likely that our majority is hit hard and we retain the House. Many blue dogs will lose and Pelosi will remain speaker. Hoyer's attempted coup will be turned back, and his power base will evaporate as blue dogs lose.
It's a long struggle and sometimes there are setbacks. But it's not all bad news and there is hope.
Keep hope alive. Vote for Democrats. Save Progressives First.
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It's not over. It's just beginning.
Update I: I forgot about NH. Hodes winning will be a pick up.