An election update and a much bigger question remains
From the NY Times today:
Two days after the election, House Republicans, still stung by a disappointing midterm performance, had won or were leading in the races for 221 seats — just three more than needed to retake the 435-member chamber, according to votes that have been tallied by The Associated Press. Democrats had won or were in the lead for 214 seats.
More than 30 races were still uncalled as of midday Thursday, and could still shift. But Democrats were left with only a narrow chance of retaining control of the chamber — an outcome even party operatives privately saw as a longshot. And Republicans could expand their advantage, with G.O.P. strategists believing they could push their total into the mid-220s or slightly higher.
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As of 3:40 pm EST today, this race draws lots of attention. Boebert now leads by nearly 800 votes with 95% counted. It does look now that she’ll survive to serve a second term.
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Another close race drawing extra attention. I miscalled this one on Tuesday as the count is very slow in this big California district, now with just 58% of ballots tabulated. Porter may be the best communicator in the Democratic Party so this race carries more weight.
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In the Senate, Mark Kelly’s been holding nearly a 5% lead throughout so when that 70% reaches 99%, the odds are good that he’ll retain his Senate seat. That puts the Senate results in a 49-49 tie. Democrats need to win either Nevada this week or Georgia in a December runoff to retain majority control while the GOP will need both.
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And because most of the uncounted votes are in Democratic heavier Clark County, Nevada, Catherine Cortez Masto still has a good chance at overtaking Laxalt. But it could be as late as Monday before we know. If she wins here, the Georgia runoff becomes an afterthought.
And the big question is, of course, about the very strange ex-president.
Rolling Stone describes it in very adult word terms.
The GOP’s internecine Trump/DeSantis fight has just begun.
And the Wall Street Journal calls Trump the election’s biggest loser.
His niece, Mary Trump, has said the DOJ needs to go after her uncle now, before he announces his election run next week. Because after his announcement, anything the DOJ does will be dismissed by some as political.
I disagree. Anything the DOJ ever does will be dismissed by the strange ex-president so the timing’s not important for that. Attorney General Garland may well wait till after the Georgia Senate runoff to start any legal proceedings. Doing so earlier not only could be accurately described as political but it could also provoke a higher turnout by Georgia’s Republican voters.
And losing the Senate would put the DOJ in jeopardy of getting anything meaningful done till a winning 2024 president is inaugurated.
I’ll be a bit on the thin side with the newsletter for the next week as travel plans and preparation will have me extremely busy.