The following diaries are examples of this week's Election Diary Rescue. This post features a collection of
68 diaries.
(MI-Sen) Michigan's GOP Candidate for U.S. Senate Missteps Again by grape crush - In the "I know you are but what am I Dept.," Republican U.S. Senate candidate Terri Lynn Land has sold her shares in a mutual fund that invests in an oil company she has lambasted Democratic opponent Gary Peters for owning direct stock in.
(ND-AL) Could Republicans lose North Dakota's only House seat? A new Democratic poll says they can by Jeff Singer - A new poll shows freshman Republican Representative Kevin Cramer losing North Dakota's only U.S. House seat to Democratic state senator George Sinner 40-38.
(FL-Gov) Attending Crist Event? Expect Your License Plate Will Be Recorded by SemDem - Incumbent governor Rick Scott and the Florida Republican Party are not answering questions about why they sent staffers to videotape and photograph the license plate numbers of those attenting a fundraiser for challenger Charlie Crist (D) at a private home. These aren't overzealous supporters, they were paid state GOP employees sent by the current governor's campaign.
Doctor Who: "Scotland really showed us the way ... 85% of the people voted." by akadjian - Diarist got the chance to talk with Paul McGann, Doctor Who #8, about the Scottish independence vote. 85% turnout? If only the US could make such a boast!
This is the 38th weekly edition of Election Diary Rescue. It covers rescued down-ticket election diaries published from Sunday, September 21 through Saturday, September 27. We hope you enjoy the following gems dug up by our dedicated team of miners.
VOLUNTEER ALERT! As the election approaches we may be switching back to our traditional daily schedule for producing this blog. We will need a few good Kossacks to join the team.
Please e-mail us if you would like the opportunity to contribute to this legacy project. DKosEDR at gmail.com.
Diaries: (68)
Senate: (11) posts, (8) states
House: (16) posts, (10) states, (13) districts
State and more: (27)
General: (14)
EDR has compiled, described and linked
down ticket election related diaries since 2006.
EDR chronicles the passion, power and effectiveness of political engagement and shines a light on candidates and issues that might be otherwise missed. It gives quick access to races, hopefully inspires people to write about contests that interest them, and has become an archive for thousands of election related diaries over the years.
Archive links
Format and Tags
Diarists can help the EDR mining team by identifying the race in the diary title, for example: (FL-14) or (GA-Gov) or (NY-Sen). Using the "Elections" tag is also very helpful and keep in mind that your first sentence or two can be what you would like to see in the EDR description.
This edition of EDR was made possible by the following miners and editors: Alma, eeff, DougTuttle, Joieau, Land of Enchantment, Pucklady, randallt, sylv, suejazz and turbonerd. Special thanks to Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse.
Senate - 11
(AR-Sen) AR-Sen: Cotton 47% Pryor 40% by Love Me Slender - The latest Rasmussen poll out of Arkansas shows Republican senate candidate Tom Cotton leading incumbent Senator Mark Pryor (D) 47 to 40. GOTV efforts must be thrown into overdrive on this one.
(AR-Sen) Pryor Leading Cotton in Breaking Arkansas Poll Because of Obamacare? by joelgp - A new USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll shows Arkansas Sen. Mark Pryor (D) just barely ahead of challenger Rep. Tom Cotton, 45-43. But among voters who consider health care their top issue, Pryor leads Cotton 50%-39%.
(AR-Sen) Cotton slammed for 'creating a fantasy version of history' in food stamp attack ad by Laura Clawson. Republican Rep. Tim Cotton, challenging incumbent Sen. Mark Pryor, has been caught making up ridiculous nonsense. Though perhaps that's not news.
(GA-Sen) Michelle Nunn ad pushes back on 'terrible lie' from David Perdue by Laura Clawson - Georgia Democratic Senate candidate Michelle Nunn is pushing back against David Perdue's (R) despicable, false ads.
(IA-Sen) This ain't good: Des Moines Register Poll Has it Ernst 44-38 by ProfAlan - A new Des Moines Register poll has GOP Senate candidate Joni Ernst leading Democrat Bruce Braley, 44-38. Breakdown of the demographics here.
(KS-Sen) Kansas Supreme Court deals another blow to the worst secretary of state in the nation by Jen Hayden. The highly partisan election chief in Kansas is running out of options in his ongoing efforts to save the seat for unpopular GOP incumbent Pat Roberts.
(MI-Sen) Michigan's GOP Candidate for U.S. Senate Missteps Again by grape crush - In the "I know you are but what am I Dept.," Republican U.S. Senate candidate Terri Lynn Land has sold her shares in a mutual fund that invests in an oil company she has lambasted Democratic opponent Gary Peters for owning direct stock in.
(MN-Sen) MN-SEN: McFadden benefits from allegedly involuntary donations by ericf - Some employers push their employees to donate to the employer's favorite candidates. One such employer is Murray Energy Corp., now being sued by a former employee who says she was fired for failing to donate to the specified candidates, including Republican Mike McFadden.
(OK-Sen) Put some sunlight on it by vuzvilla - GOP Senate candidate James Lankford believes homosexuality is a choice, and that humans should not be allowed to make that choice.
(SD-Sen) SD-Sen: must-see music-video on testimony-stalling Republican nominee & his BFF by emorej a Hong Kong. The diarist wants our help in calling attention to a video related to this race, as well as sharing some chatter about the competing candidates to replace retiring Democrat Tim Johnson.
(SD-Sen) SD-Sen: Nov 5: "Who Lost" Dem's Senate Majority? "Who saved" it? by emorej a Hong Kong - Conservadems have not been supporting progressive Democrat Rick Weiland in South Dakota, even just to maintain Democratic control of the Senate. Will they come around?
House - 16
(AZ-02) AZ - 2: Messages matter. Who knew? by Hi Jolly - Diarist offers a fundraising email from Americans for Responsible Solutions, a group running emotional ads calling out politicians for their positions on guns, brags that they got Arizona Republican candidate Martha McSally to change her mind about who should be barred from owning guns.
(AZ-02) AZ 2: Heavens, Tough Talk on Guns Offends Us So! by Hi Jolly–Rep. Gabby Giffords has launched an anti-gun ad against Martha McSally, the Republican challenging Ron Barber and Hi Jolly explains why it’s a good ad and the Arizona newspaper The Republic is hypocritical for decrying it.
(CO-06) How Many Times Can a GOP Rep. Get Climate Wrong In One Debate Answer? by TheGreenMiles - Diarist looks at answers incumbent Mike Coffman (R) gives on Climate Change during a debate with Andrew Romanoff (D) in the race for Colorado's 6th US Congressional District.
(CA-17) Ro Khanna thinks teachers don't deserve pensions? CA-17 by slowbutsure - Diarist looks at the campaign for California's 17th US Congressional District with Incumbent Mike Honda (D) and Ro Khanna (D) trying to smear Mike over collecting a pension.
(CA, MA-House, OR-Sen) against-three-impure-Republican-candidates?detail=hide Far-right groups to campaign against three impure Republican candidates by Laura Clawson - Three Republicans are being targeted by the far right for not being evil enough. Their targets are House candidates Carl DeMaio (CA-52), Richard Tisei (MA-06) and Oregon Senate candidate Monica Wehby.
(House-Gen) These are my favorite Tight Congressional Races to Win by mole333–On Tuesday mole333 explained why these close races are his favorite and why Democrats need to win them come November.
(IA-03) Mayday PAC moves the needle (week of 9/25): Staci Who? Edition by DocDawg - Now more than halfway through the midterm spending cycle, diarist wonders why the PAC has not helped Democrat Staci Appel's hard-fought Iowa campaign.
(IL-12) Mike Bost (IL-12) says fracking is safe but environmentalists want people to die by Willinois - Bill Enyart (D) would be a much better candidate for the environment than Mike Bost (R).
(MN-07) MN-07: Torrey Westrom does double denial by ericf - Torrey Westrom is a state senator in the reddish-purple SD12. He's the GOP nominee challenging US Rep. Colin Peterson in CD7, and presumably he'll be seeking reelection to his senate seat in 2016 (so yes, sticking to my prediction Peterson wins reelection). He recently gave an interview to the St. Cloud Times where he engaged in double denying, hitting both climate change and the debt ceiling.
(ND-AL) Could Republicans lose North Dakota's only House seat? A new Democratic poll says they can by Jeff Singer - A new poll shows freshman Republican Representative Kevin Cramer losing North Dakota's only U.S. House seat to Democratic state senator George Sinner 40-38.
(NY-02) Don't Support Everytown for Gun Safety After They Endorsed Peter King by Patricia Maher For Congress - Democrat Patricia Maher’s campaign manager shows his displeasure with Everytown for Gun Saftey when they give their endorsement to Maher’s opponent Peter King (R).
(NY-11) NY-11:When you're caught being a bully, how to campaign on Staten Island by msirt - I was wondering how Congressman Grimm (R) would handle the threatened reporter scandal in his campaign. Well today came the answer - in my snail mail box - his first glossy ad. Link to help Democrat Dominic Recchia at the end of the diary.
(NY-21) NY-21 - Citizen Activists Greet Elise Stefanik and John Boehner (with video) by Upstate Blue - Diarist has a post up on New York's 21st US Congressional District race with Aaron Woolf (D) Elise Stefanik (R) having a Fund raiser with some activist picketing it (Video).
(WA-08) WA-08: Jason Ritchie (D). We have 41 days to help make a difference. by ParkRanger - Diarist has info on the Washington US House race between incumbent David Reichert (R) and Jason Ritchie (D).
(WI-06) Could there be a new America's Dumbest Congressman? Meet Wisconsin's Glenn Grothman by Hunter - Wisconsin's deep red 6th district congresscritter Glenn Grothman is definitely giving Louie Gohmert a run for the title of America's Dumbest Congressman.
(WI-06) Ripon Commonwealth Press - Editorial: Only two debates? Stop insulting voters by Edgeworth - An editorial in the Ripon Commonwealth Press lambasted State Senator Glenn Grothman's unwillingness to debate his Democratic challenger for Congress, County Executive Mark Harris.
State, local and more - 27
(AZ-Gov) AZ-Gov: DuVal Ducey Debate by Azazello - In my not-so-humble opinion, the Governor's race is far and away THE MOST IMPORTANT RACE IN ARIZONA this cycle. The Bigots, Loons and ALEC Tools of the Republican party will no doubt still have a majority in both houses of the legislature next session but it will not be a big enough majority to override a veto from the Governor. That's why this race is so important.
(AZ-Initiatives) I Just Looked At the Arizona Ballot Propositions by Ramara - Ramara examines how few propositions are on the ballot in Arizona this year and what they mean.
(CA-Berk.Meas.D) Big Soda Pours $800,000 Into Massive Campaign to Persuade Berkeley That Diabetes is Good For You. by jpmassar - The soft drink industry has dropped more than $800,000 into the effort to defeat a ballot proposal to put a tax on soda in Berkeley.
(CA-Gov, SOS & Controller) Revolt By GOP Nominees in CA by unapologeticliberal777 - Republican Gubernatorial nominee Neie Kashkari got kicked in the teeth not once, but twice, by Republican nominees for two statewide offices at the California Republican Party convention. Link to support Betty Yee, the Democratic nominee for Controller included in the diary.
(CO-Gen) Colorado Candidates by Dovie - Diarist gives a rundown on the 'holier than thou' Teabaggers running for office in Colorado this cycle. Decides they are all not-funny clowns.
(FL-Gov) Charlie Crist's commitment to voting rights by Armando - Quoting the diarist, "There are a lot of 'transactional' reasons to support Charlie Crist for governor—he'll support Democratic positions on most issues. But if you want an argument about character—Charlie Crist's devotion to voting rights over his then party is a damn good one if you ask me."
(FL-Gov) Attending Crist Event? Expect Your License Plate Will Be Recorded by SemDem - Incumbent governor Rick Scott and the Florida Republican Party are not answering questions about why they sent staffers to videotape and photograph the license plate numbers of those attenting a fundraiser for challenger Charlie Crist (D) at a private home. These aren't overzealous supporters, they were paid state GOP employees sent by the current governor's campaign.
(GA-Gov) GA: Governor by hannah. Jason Carter (President Jimmy Carter's grandson) is the Democratic candidate for Governor of Georgia. The diary covers a campaign visit to the Georgia Coast, because he's not just running for Governor of Atlanta.
(HI-LtGov) Hawaii's TaliChristiban Running for Lt. Gov. by Karen from Maui - The Dem Gov/LtGov ticket of David Ige and Shan Tsutui are virtually tied with a pair of extreme theocrats on the GOP side. The GOP-ers want to derail marriage equality and solve the high cost of living in Hawaii through prayer and miracles.
(ID-SoS) Election 2014: Idaho is not Pakistan! by The Book Bear - Republican candidate for Secretary of State in Idaho, Lawerence Denney, promises that if elected he will be installing fingerprint scanners at the polls. Just like in Pakistan, Venezuela and Yemen. Holli Woodings is Denney's Democratic challenger.
(ID-SuperPublicInstruction) Support Jana Jones for Idaho state superintendent of public instruction by The Book Bear - Idaho's per-capita student spending is the lowest in the United States. Its teachers are some of the lowest paid. Democratic candidate for superintendent Jana Jones plans to change that. Read all about her in this diary.
(KS-Gov) Brownback goes Rove (or Atwater) on Davis by JPCinKC - Sam Brownback (R) and his crew have just made a tactical error. Digging up dirt now is not the way to go. Democrat Davis plays it perfectly by deflecting back that the FBI is investigating Brownback's people for influence peddling.
(KS-Gov) Gov. Sam Brownback declares October Zombie Preparedness Month by tmservo433. Brownback is an easy target for ridicule. Honestly, he brings it on himself.
(KS-Var) C!U!A! Voter Registration Event Recap: Dodge City, KS by tmservo433 - Our go-to Kansas and Missouri Kossack gives an upbeat report about registering voters at a beautiful park in southwest Kansas. Democratic candidates for various offices spoke at the event. With pictures.
(MA-Gov) Martha Coakley is narrowly losing in Massachusetts, unless she's easily winning by Jeff Singer - SocialSphere released the latest of their tracking polls for the Boston Globe, showing Republican Charlie Baker leading Democrat Martha Coakley 40-38. A few days earlier a MassInc poll found Coakley up over Baker 46-36. Lots of uncertainty in this race.
(MA-Gov) MA-Gov: Charlie Baker just gave himself a woman problem by MKDanaher - Another report from our "Can't Make This Stuff Up Bureau." At a "Women for Charlie" event (!), the Republican nominee for governor in Massachusetts called a female reporter "sweetheart."
(MD-Gov) Republicans Steal Intellectual Property Once Again :: Maryland by dadadata - Larry Hogan (R) is running for Governor of Maryland, and disrespect for intellectual property is not far behind. Now they're stealing from Disney. That never goes well...
(MI-StHouse93) Dem candidate for Michigan's 93rd House District sends epic response to anti-gay hate group by Eclectablog - In all its glory, see Democratic state house candidate Josh Derke's awesome response the hate group Public Advocate's 2014 Michigan Family Values Survey.
(MN-StHouse6A) MNGOP House candidate saws neighbor's garage in half by Intheknow - Roger Weber, GOP-endorsed candidate for Minnesota Legislature, is being sued by a neighbor for taking a power saw to that neighbor's garage over a property dispute.
(NY-AD-113) NY-AD-113 - The High-Profile DC Insiders That Are Trying to Influence A Low-Profile Upstate NY Race by Upstate Blue - An impressive list of DC lobbyists who are heavily funding Steve Stallmer's GOP race for this rural NY Assembly seat.
(PA-Gov) "Hard" at Work - E-Mail files of PA GOP Execs Contain Porn by dweb8231 - PA AG's office has identified eight former employees and 30 current employees whose agency email accounts contained pornography, allegedly sent during PA Governor Tom Corbett's time as Attorney General. Corbett (R) is currently trailing Democratic challenger Tom Wolf. This news won't help him.
(TX-Gov) Retweet to raise $ for Wendy Davis by nomandates - Diarist has a post up about Retweet to raise money for Windy Davis (D) in her race for Governor of Texas against Greg Abbott (R).
(WI-Gov) Best Numbers from Wisconsin this Week by cjhpmh - The Executive Director of the City of Milwaukee Election Commission states that they are projecting a turnout of at least 80% this November. If this prediction holds true, it is good news for Wisconsin Democrats.
(WI-Gov) Scott Walker- Even More Cronyism. Keeping it All in the Family. by Puddytat - A diary outlining the latest of Governor Scott Walker's (R) sleazy schemes. This time he has appointed the brother of his campaign manager to a judgeship. The good news is that, according to a local newspaper's analysis of polling data, Walker, who is running for re-election against Mary Burke(D), seems to be losing support in the rural areas where he over performed in 2010 and in the recall election in 2012.
(WI-Gov) Scott Walker & the Mary Burke plagiarism charges...or, People Who Live in Glass Houses... by Rachel191 - Diarist looks at the supposed plagiarism in Mary Burke's (D) campaign for Governor in Wisconsin against incumbent Scott Walker (R).
(WI-Gov) Walker officials hang out with Milw oligarchs, rail execs, at dark money RGA Cali retreat by Jake formerly of the LP - Diarist looks at how dark money influences the Campaign for Governor of Wisconsin between incumbent Scott Walker (R) and Mary Burke (D).
(WV-Gen) Help Fight Big $ and Aid Democrats in WV by MrQA - West Virginia Democrats need help to fight off the Koch Bros/Blankenship funding deluge. Diarist offers a plea from a County party committee and ActBlue link.
General - 14
Doctor Who: "Scotland really showed us the way ... 85% of the people voted." by akadjian - Diarist got the chance to talk with Paul McGann, Doctor Who #8, about the Scottish independence vote. 85% turnout? If only the US could make such a boast!
Woman confuses voting and online dating in new GOP ad by Laura Clawson - LOL! The latest Republican ladies' outreach effort tops all previous Republican ladies' outreach efforts. For sheer awfulness...
C!U!A! Voter Registration Event Recap: Dodge City, KS by tmservo433 - The venerable tmservo433 spends a day registering voters at a registration event in Kansas.
I am ready to be an activist again, and this is where I begin by MinistryOfTruth - Searching for something to motivate Democratic voters to turn out, the diarist challenges Democratic candidates and democratic activists to join his Contract For Americans. He promises a kepi (a
Yankee soldier hat") for everyone who takes the pledge! (OK, I made that part up.)
The errors of polling averages by dreaminonempty - Diarist uses some charts to explain how polling averages sometimes get things wrong.
Daily Kos Elections Power Rankings: The Senate (Heating up edition) by Steve Singiser - The races for Senate are heating up with a number of Toss Ups in the mix. In this edition of an ongoing series, the diarist gives Causes for Democratic Optimism and Causes for Democratic Concern for each of the Top 10 races.
GOTV with Crayola by JamieG from Md - I gave out about 50 of fellow Kossack asterkitty's "coloring pages for future voters"yesterday, and I'm sure more would have been taken but I ran out about an hour before my shift was over. I'll print out more for next time!
Midterm drop-off among youth voters & paths forward by distraught - Diarist looks at Voter Turnout among youth voters.
Early Voting Confusion in Central Arkansas County by Scott Wyant - Diarist looks at early voting in Lonoke county, Arkansas.
Christian Right's Voter Mobilization for 2014 by Frederick Clarkson - Diarist looks at the Christian Right's voter Mobilization for 2014.
Koch Funded AFP-NC Chapter sends out incorrect voter information by Intheknow - The North Carolina chapter of Americans for Prosperity, a Koch-funded organization in Raleigh, was sending out voter information cards with incorrect and conflicting information. Hundreds of people have complained to the NC Board of Elections.
What Do Democrats Want? by bobburnett - Diarist offers a list of economic issues Dems need to emphasize during this election cycle.
Jim is crowing in NC/will the people be heard? by smiley7 - Diarist offers an overview of the state of voting rights in North Carolina as a three-judge panel of the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Charlotte has begun hearing the challenge to the new voter restrictions by NAACP and the League of Women Voters.
Pulling Election Rabbits out of our Voting Hat by The Reasonable Voice - A fine pep talk for GOTV efforts nationwide in this election cycle. Time is running short!