Politics: 2020 Attorney General Election Results

I have an important post to cover in this blog, but I will not be doing that today. I hope to have that covered next before the year is over. I’ll be scheduling a lot of posts for different blogs to cover the rest of this year and one for New Year’s Day as well. Now I decided that it would be fast and easiest to write this post now. I will cover other results of races from this year later while covering some of next year’s elections and other things that I feel work well in this blog.

Now I do need to cover more in general the attorney generals that are related to the case that relates to Obamacare called California versus Texas. (Speaking of that, when are we going to learn the results of that case? I mean, it has had its only day in court so when are going to hear what the results are? Shouldn’t we know already?) Now I will split some of them into two groups and a picture in a later post should explain more. The ones that I call good are the orange ones. Of all of them that ran for reelection (which was all of them), note that the orange ones advance and will stay around until 2025.

Starting at the beginning, let’s start with the state of North Carolina. The race was between the incumbent Democrat Josh Stein and the Republican challenger Jim O’Neill. Josh won reelection and will continue to serve as a result. Let’s next get to the state of Washington. The race there was between incumbent Democrat Bob Ferguson and the Republican challenger Matt Larkin. Bob won reelection. In the state of Oregon, the race was between incumbent Democrat Ellen Rosenblum and the Republican challenger Michael Cross. Ellen won reelection. The last state in this grouping to mention is Vermont. The race there was between the incumbent Democrat T.J. Donovan and the Republican challenger H Brooke Paige. T.J. won reelection.

As for the states with attorney generals that are against Obamacare that ran for reelection, the ones that I’m calling the green ones, they also all won their elections and won’t be up again until 2024. I’m already counting down the days.

Let’s start with the state of Missouri. While Eric Schmitt wasn’t elected to this office before, he did win this office by winning reelection. This Republican won against Democratic challenger Richard Finneran. In the state of Utah, Republican incumbent Sean D Reyes won against the Democratic challenger, Greg Skordas. In West Virginia, Republican incumbent Patrick Morrisey won against the Democratic challenger, Sam Petsonk.

Now there was one of the green ones that will be leaving office. His name is Curtis Hill and he will be leaving office on January 11, 2021. He never had to face the voters of Indiana as after a scandal left him without a law license for a month, he wasn’t nominated to another term. Instead of him, the Republican party of the state (not the voters) chose Todd Rokita to be their nominee and he won against Democrat Jonathan Weinzapfel.

As for the only two states that had this office up for election this year, I might as well cover both of them before I get to the end of this post. In Montana, the incumbent Republican, Tim Fox, did not run for reelection. The race was instead between Republican Austin Knudsen and Democrat Raph Graybill. Austin won the election. The last state was Pennsylvania. The incumbent office holder, Democrat Josh Shapiro, beat the Republican challenger, Heather Heidelbaugh. 

That’s all that I need to cover for this post. I hope that you found it helpful and I will do a better job explaining the green ones versus the orange ones in the next post including the graphic that will make it all make sense to you. So stay tuned. There is more to talk about regarding a lot of the attorney generals in this country.

Politics: The Crusade Against Act Blue

Lindsey Graham couldn’t believe for a moment that people would want to give more money to his opponent than to him. He and some others were wondering how Act Blue was raising so much money for the Democratic candidates for office.

He thinks that Act Blue should be investigated. The Democratic fundraising site pulled in a lot of money for Democratic candidates in the 2020 election cycle. Still, it would seem that Democrats underperformed in the elections, not doing as well as they hoped.

But what is the crusade against Act Blue? Well, quite clearly, it is people like Lindsey Graham and others like him who think that openly giving money on a secure website is somehow bad because it puts him at a financial disadvantage. Of course, he still won anyways so maybe he will give up this idea of an investigation into a legal political donation site. What does he think is wrong with this site? It is hard to say.

When we have this thing called dark money, it very clearly puts some people at an advantage they wouldn’t otherwise have which is why a lot of candidates refuse to accept it. Dark money relates to Super Pacs and other things like it. Act Blue is very open and not like dark money at all. It is more likely that Lindsey Graham has benefited from dark money than by something like Act Blue. And that’s provided that people have even used something like that for him. Last I checked, the Republican counterpart to Act Blue was so new that most people might not know about it or use it.

Will there be any problems or issues if Act Blue is investigated? I wouldn’t see how myself. I mean, maybe something here and there could cause issues, but it is ironic that Republicans, people who are more likely to benefit from suspicious things like dark money, are wanting to investigate a very open site that emails receipts to the people who use it. Plus, if there have been some people that misused it, what would that mean in general? Would the whole site be bad and not just one person here and there? That’s why the crusade against act blue, if it was even that major an issue anymore, is kind of dumb and pointless.

Politics: 2020 Elections- Extra Innings

There is a lot to talk about still in politics after the elections happened in 2020. I can look ahead at the next set of elections from 2021 and even 2022. But there will now be a runoff for both of the senate seats in Georgia that are happening early in 2021, putting the race for the senate into extra innings, hence the name of this blog post. As for me sorting out the next set of posts from doing 2021’s elections, the results of 2020’s elections, and a few other things here and there that are worth mentioning in the election theme that I follow for this blog.

The fate of control of the senate is in control and Democrats will get what they need to, but only if they win both of the senate races that are heading to runoffs. Thus, I’m just focusing on the two Georgia senate races since that’s all that’s left to talk about.

What are the results of the regular race thus far? In the lead up to this next race, David Perdue got 2,458,453 votes and Jon Osoff got 2,371,921 votes. Since neither had more than 50% of the vote, that means there is set to be a runoff between incumbent Republican David Perdue and Democrat Jon Osoff. It is odd that the date of the runoff doesn’t happen until after the start of the new senate term, making it possible that David would have to vacate his seat, at least for a moment. If there would be temporary replacement, that is currently unknown.

One of the notable parts about that race is that there was a viral moment during the debate that had gone on. I don’t have footage of the whole debate, which might be good and interesting. But he’s an article about one of the most notable moments with other parts of the debate mentioned in the link as well.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/perdue-ossoff-face-georgia-senate-debate-attack-goes-viral-n1245238

As for the special election, that is between incumbent Republican Kelly Leoffler and challenge, the Democrat Reverend Raphael Warnock now that we are in the runoff stage. He actually got the most votes in the primary. The main thing against Kelly is the insider trading allegations that are against her. I’m not even sure how she came in second instead of some other Republican or even a Democrat. She was appointed to the vacant seat and only seems to be in here as she has a lot of money to self fund her own campaign.

As stated before, if Democrats fail to win one or both of the elections, they will not be able to gain control of the senate. If they win both, there will be a 50/50 split between parties. I would have to endorse both Jon Osoff and Raphael Warnock in both elections. If you live in Georgia, I would have to recommend that you vote for both of them. As for any donations, do what you want to as I’ve already donate what I’m going to for both races.

I do have to wonder how much influence Trump could have on this election as this could be the first after his era is over, but might not be as he will still be in office. As for what posts might happen yet, I know currently some of what I will cover (and I’ll have to cover the results of all that have been covered in this blog thus far, with a few others here and there), but do not know for sure what order they will appear in yet. Stayed tuned for posts and know that if the when of when I update this blog changes, I should let you know when it happens.

Politics: 2020 West Virginia Governor Race

This will be my last post before the election. I will have to cover other subjects that sort of relate to elections from the next post after this. In addition to that, I will get to covering the results of the elections after they are known, the elections for 2021, then the elections for 2022 as well.

As for the West Virginia governor race, the country road has to take me home, where I stand. Wait. That’s a song unrelated to this election. The incumbent is Republican Jim Justice. He was once a Democrat, having been elected as that. He was a Republican before and didn’t stay a Democrat for long. West Virginia hadn’t had a Republican governor since 2001. If he wins office, he will be the first Republican elected governor from this state since the 1996 election.

There are many issues with him and his time in office. While his businesses gets a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), that’s not a problem on its own. But as governor, he is in charge of the state agencies that regulate his businesses. He also had moderate views. Some of what are considered conservative views that he has are being pro-life and supporting gun rights. Some of his liberal views are supporting LGBT and health care rights.

Many people like me might view Jim as a traitor to his old party. His opponent is Democrat Ben Salango. Ben is currently a county commissioner. Other third party candidates in the race are Daniel Lutz of the Mountain Party, Erika Kolenich of the Libertarian Party, and various write-in candidates. There’s not much else to say about that.

While I could talk some about the effects of coronavirus on West Virginia, there isn’t as much to say about it since it doesn’t seem to be as bad there. How much of that was due to Jim doing things good or simply not having as many people packed there together like they are in some states that might have more people in it. But it could have to do with measures that he did so he might not be as bad as I think. 

Still, when it comes to an endorsement in this race that I feel like doing, I would have to endorse Ben Salango in the race. While not talked about as much, Jim feels like a lesser version of the guy in the White House with his influence of things specifically with his businesses. Thus, Ben would be a more trustworthy candidate. If you can vote in West Virginia and haven’t done that already, then vote for Ben Salango.

Politics: 2020 South Carolina Senate Race

One of the most important races right now is the South Carolina senate race. While no poll has the Democrat with the lead just yet, enough are tossup and even those that give it to Lindsey are not giving him that good an edge. Could he actually lose? Will people #sendLindseyhome? One can only hope that his time is finally up.

When it comes to Republican incumbent Lindsey Graham, there was actually a point in time not even that long ago where he was a good and logical person. But then he surrendered to the very idea of Trump like nearly every other Republican of today.

Meanwhile, the Democratic challenger in the race named Jamie Harrison. He has done a lot of good and can do even more good if he gets into office. I can only hope that his proves to be a major upset of the elections in question.

Now I have some links to share about Lindsey and there sure are a lot of them. All of these are from some point during this year, but are pretty old. He embraces the worst of the far right as he becomes fascist in his quest to out the whistleblower of today. He (or she, but probably he from all the sources that I’ve read thus far) may be the Deep Throat of our time and we may never know for sure who they are. But it is important that we keep this person safe and anonymous as a whistleblower is supposed to be.

Link: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/2/3/1916208/-Fascism-rises-Graham-says-Senate-GOP-will-summon-whistleblower-to-expose-how-this-crap-started?detail=emaildkre

There are notable people who have flipped on Lindsey and seek to take him out of office. Here is the story of one you used to support Lindsey and will now be against this man, wanting him out of office.

Link: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/5/12/1944276/-Former-supporter-of-Graham-What-is-the-character-of-a-man-who-will-not-defend-his-best-friend

While the next article is from May, it is relevant now due to him being perhaps the most notable of all of the senators that have done a 180 on confirming Supreme Court justices this close to an election. Use his words against them. This man is now the one that is in charge of the senate judiciary committee instead of Chuck Grassley. 

Link: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/5/16/1945555/-Liar-Lindsey-doubles-down-on-the-GOP-Double-Talk-Merrick-Who

Another old story talks about the conservative court stacking that has been going on since near the end of the Obama administration and continues to this very day all while this side has the audacity to claim that only liberals want to do this while doing this.

Link: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/5/28/1948277/-Graham-amps-up-McConnell-s-court-packing-scheme-says-conservative-judges-over-65-should-step-aside?detail=emaildkre

It seems that every horrible Republican in the present, there is a good version of them in the past. Looking back in time, you’ll see a Lindsey Graham who does not like Trump and thinks that Biden is a good person.

Link: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/6/13/1952949/-Lindsey-Graham-Tells-Trump-Go-To-Hell-Says-Joe-Biden-s-As-Fine-A-Man-As-God-Made-In-New-Ad

That is all worth talking about this for now. When it comes to an endorsement in the race, it is hard not to support someone other than Jamie Harrison to vote for. If I hadn’t seen a lot of the Kavanaugh hearings, then I wouldn’t hate Lindsey as much as I do. Now if he does actually lose this election, he’ll have no one but himself to blame.

Politics: 2020 Attorney General Elections

While I once thought that I would only do one post on one attorney general race throughout all of my blogging time, this will not be the case after all. There is a lot to say about this important but often overlooked office. If you want to know why I’m doing this post, it relates entirely to the upcoming Supreme Court case called California v Texas. The death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg has made me out for blood (figuratively, of course). For more information on the races for this office this year, read this.

Link: https://ballotpedia.org/Attorney_General_elections,_2020

The elections for attorney general this year are in Indiana, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Vermont, Washington, and West Virginia. I do not think that there are any more that are happening that voters can’t vote on. But I do know that there are a lot of the state races where one can vote if one can vote in that state.

The states with attorney generals in favor of Obamacare that are up for reelection this year, according to the litigation for the upcoming Supreme Court case that I told you about, are North Carolina, Washington, Oregon, and Vermont. Would I blindly want these people to stay in the office that they currently have? Maybe. It is hard to be out for blood without blind vengeance.

The states with attorney generals against Obamacare that are up for reelection this year are Missouri, Indiana, Utah, and West Virginia. This does lead to a bit of an interesting thing to note with one of the states. I’ll get to that later. Am I blindly against all of them? No. I do know enough about Missouri’s current attorney general to know that I’m against him in not a blind way at all. And one of them is on their way out now anyways.

It is also important that is seems the attorney generals of the states of Pennsylvania and Montana do not have any role in the Supreme Court case. Thus, there isn’t as much to add about them just yet at the moment. They aren’t the only states not involved in the case.

What’s interesting is that when it comes to the Indiana attorney general race, the incumbent had lost renomination after a scandal which got him disbarred for a month. Thus, Curtis Hill will not be the nominee for the Republican Party as Todd Rokita will be instead. As for the Democratic side, Jonathan Weinzapfel is the nominee. Neither party of that state let the voters pick who would win the primary as that was up to party insiders at a convention.

In Missouri, the attorney general used to be Josh Hawley, but he got elected senator and had to resign from the office as a result. Thus, Eric Schmitt was appointed to the vacant seat. He is a Republican. I don’t like him for a lot of reasons. In addition to the Obamacare issues, he also wants to change the law to allow people to sue China over coronavirus, which is a terrible and short sighted idea. The Democrat in the race is Richard Finneran.

In Montana, the Democratic candidate is Raph Graybill while the Republican one is Austin Knudsen. The Republican incumbent is not in the race itself. That is because this person ran for higher office, but lost the primary.

In North Carolina, the Democratic candidate is incumbent Josh Stein. Meanwhile, when we get to the Republican candidate, it is Jim O’Neill. I feel that Josh should be reelected. He has done other good too such as trying to punish JUUL, prevent robo calls, deal with price gouging, and protect the elderly from scams.

In Oregon, the incumbent is Democrat Ellen Rosenblum. The Republican in the race is Michael Cross. Ellen has done a lot of good, such as working to investigate the illegal “police” that were occupying Portland that I need to do more research into.

In Pennsylvania, the incumbent is Democrat Josh Shapiro. The Republican in the race for this office is Heather Heidelbaugh. I have no investment in this race one way or another. Maybe I should care, but I don’t. But do I really want to learn about this state’s politics? Maybe I would in other races, but not this one.

In Utah, the incumbent is Republican Sean D Reyes. The Democrat in the race is Greg Skordas who I have to endorse since he is not against the Affordable Care Act. I can’t find as much info about Greg as I would like easily.

In Vermont, the incumbent is Democrat T.J. Donovan. The Republican is H Brooke Paige. I am not just in favor of T.J. because of his support of Obamacare, but also because he knows how to improve the law to be in favor of everyone and not just the less fortunate.

In Washington, the incumbent is Democrat Bob Ferguson. The Republican is Matt Larkin. Bob was once on the Time 100. It is hard to say much about the candidate I support named Bob. But one should vote for him.

In West Virginia, the incumbent is Republican Patrick Morrisey. The Democrat is Sam Petsonk. While I can’t find as much information as I would like quickly about Sam, I’d still have to support him in the general election as Patrick is against the ACA.

That is all for this post. If I endorsed a candidate, I urge you to vote for him if you can. If I didn’t, then make whatever decision you want. I’m sorry that I don’t know as much info as I’d want to on some of the candidates, but I can’t care. This is an important, but overlooked job. Thus, one much make sure one knows about these races.

Politics: 2020 Minnesota Senate Race

This may not be the last time that I do a post about a specific senate race this year, but this should be the last time that I feel that I have to do one this year. There is a lot to cover still and some more specific posts might not come up until after the election as I seek to find a whole lot of things to cover in terms of elections for this blog. Now when it comes to who one should vote for in the South Carolina senate race this year, the choice to me are relatively clear. But let me get to this post now anyways.

Incumbent Democrat Tina Smith has done a lot so far with her career. She used to be the lieutenant governor of Minnesota until Al Franken announced his resignation. During this time, she was appointed to the vacant seat and won the special election to said seat a mere two years ago. She has done a lot of good with Democratic issues, although it might take too long to mention all of them right now.

As for her challenger, Republican Jason Lewis, it can be hard to find people this bad in life. I mean, I’m going to spare you repeating the exact things that he’s said, but you should know that he has made sexist comments on radio show and has said various other horrible things as well. Somehow, he held office for a term in the US House from 2017-2019. Hopefully, he can stay out of future office.

The choice is a no brainer. If you want to have a horrible man who continues to give all men a bad name while causing further proof of the deterioration of the Trump Party, I mean, wait, no, I got it right, then vote for Jason Lewis. Meanwhile, if you want a good senator who could do even more good than she already has, then vote for my endorsement of Tina Smith for senator.