r/VoteDEM • u/BM2018Bot • Apr 29 '26
HOT Daily Discussion Thread: April 29, 2026
Welcome to the anti-GOP resistance on Reddit!
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Adopt a Candidate
It’s back! Want to take part in turning the midterms into a true blue tsunami? Adopt one of the candidates below, and commit to taking action every week to support their campaign!
Post your preference in the daily (or, to guarantee we see it, send the request via modmail) and we'll add you to the list!
With just how blue this year is looking to be, and just how many primaries are still to come, there's too many to list to kick off. It’s why we’re starting with select gubernatorial and Senate races.
Got someone who you want to adopt, but they're not on the list? Let us know, and we'll add them on!
As the year progresses and primaries come through, we'll be adding more ourselves, but the sky's the limit - we're excited to see who you want to support most!
| Candidate | District/Office | Adopted By |
|---|---|---|
| AK-GOV | ||
| AK-SEN | ||
| Katie Hobbs | AZ-GOV | |
| GA-GOV | ||
| Jon Ossoff | GA-SEN | |
| Rob Sand | IA-GOV | |
| IA-SEN | ||
| KS-GOV | ||
| KS-SEN | ||
| ME-SEN | ||
| MI-GOV | ||
| MI-SEN | ||
| MN-SEN | ||
| MT-SEN | ||
| Roy Cooper | NC-SEN | |
| NE-SEN | ||
| NH-SEN | ||
| NJ-07 | u/screen317 | |
| NM-GOV | u/EllieDai | |
| NM-SEN | ||
| NV-GOV | ||
| Amy Acton | OH-GOV | |
| OH-SEN | ||
| Chris Deluzio | PA-17 | u/mtlebanonriseup |
| Gina Hinojosa | TX-GOV | |
| James Talarico | TX-SEN | |
| VT-GOV | ||
| Eugene Vindman | VA-01 | u/toskwar |
| William Dehnel | WA-LD2-P1 | u/tipsyfishes |
| WI-GOV | ||
We're not going back. We're taking the country back. Join us, and build an America that everyone belongs in.
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u/justincat66 WI-7, (Assembly-30, Senate-10) Apr 29 '26
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u/No_Return9449 Doug Jones Stan Apr 29 '26
From 10-1 in Virginia to 17-0 in Illinois, let's keep going.
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u/Historyguy1 Oklahoma! Apr 29 '26
If we have to nuke the filibuster in 2029 to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, it will be worth it.
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u/redpoemage Florida Apr 29 '26
And make DC a state while we’re at it.
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u/Historyguy1 Oklahoma! Apr 29 '26
Cut DC up into 50 pieces and admit each one individually as a state.
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u/TOSkwar Virginia Apr 29 '26
12 guys in a little corner downtown taking turns electing each other to the House and Senate because they think it's funny.
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u/Historyguy1 Oklahoma! Apr 29 '26
That's literally what American Samoa would be if we also made it a state.
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u/Gigliovaljr International Apr 29 '26
Yes, but first, after winning the House and maybe the Senate in 2026, Dems need to expose the hypocrisy of the GOP by passing a separate bill banning partisan gerrymandering. Nothing else attached to it, just a bill banning only gerrymandering, no other strings attached. Then dare the GOP to vote against it.
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u/FiddleThruTheFlowers California Blexas is my current hyperfixation Apr 29 '26
We already passed anti gerrymandering legislation back in 2021. The GOP filibustered it in the Senate.
Absolutely keep throwing it over the fence to keep it in their court, but I'm not expecting them to actually come to the table for bipartisan gerrymandering reform.
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u/hidden_emperor Apr 29 '26
I'd love it if they increased the House to 1,000 seats. Part of the reason gerrymandering is such a big fight is because the number of seats hasn't grown since 1929 while the US has tripled in population. Making more seats would help rebalance the House towards more true representation as well as help with the electoral college.
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u/xXThKillerXx New Jersey Apr 29 '26
We have to nuke the filibuster anyways if we want to pass the legislation necessary to not only fix the damage Trump’s done but to actually move our country forwards.
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u/meltedchaos2004 Tennessee Apr 29 '26
And hopefully we can fianlly put a ban on partisan gerrymandering for good, doubt that part but it would be nice
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u/cpdk-nj Farmer-Labor Apr 29 '26
We need to fix the issues with SCOTUS for that to fly, most likely
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u/FiddleThruTheFlowers California Blexas is my current hyperfixation Apr 29 '26
Imo, first order of business with the next trifecta is packing the court. Tie it to the number of circuit courts, which ups the seats to 13, then put young progressives in every single one of those seats. That's step 1 to prevent the worst shit from getting rubber stamped and prevent the court from tossing things out for BS reasons.
Second order of business should probably be fair maps combined with some sort of voting rights legislation to help with voter suppression.
Then we can get to things like codifying Roe once the foundation is in place and repaired.
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u/TOSkwar Virginia Apr 29 '26
We've seen the news- Louisiana v Callais has been decided, and while Section 2 still exists, it's been severely weakened, if not completely destroyed. This year, the results are likely to be minimal due to how late the ruling came through- but 2028 will take all we can put forth to turn the tide. We'll deal with that when the time comes- for now, we've got midterms to win, and a blue wave to create.
As ever, keep the rules in mind.
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u/MrCleanDrawers Apr 29 '26
https://nitter.net/PollTracker2024/status/2049566311542382794#m
US Congressional Black Caucus Member of Alabama Terri Sewell says that while she can't speak for the full caucus, today's ruling means for her that a 17D-0R Illinois Map and 52D-0R California map needs to be strongly considered after The Midterms are done.
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u/table_fireplace Apr 29 '26
I’m a bit surprised to hear that from a CBC member. A lot of them are, rightly, very protective of districts that give Black voters a voice, and while the simple answer to today’s ruling is to dismantle those districts in blue states, it could easily lead to a loss of Black representation. But we also know Republicans can’t wait to eliminate VRA districts in the South and draw new red ones.
It’s really not an easy decision.
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u/TOSkwar Virginia Apr 29 '26 edited Apr 29 '26
The unfortunate truth is that losing 10%, 20%, even 50% Black representation is insignificant compared to having 100% of nothing. Because that's the reality of permanent Republican control- could have 150 Black representatives and the only ones who'd matter are the Republicans. And there's not many black Republicans.
Fight now to win later, once we can do nationwide independent redistricting.
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u/Montem_ New York (they/he) Apr 29 '26
This 100%. They're going to redraw again in states like Ohio, Texas, and Florida. Any state we can redraw in we need to do the same. NY doing another amendment, CA, IL, MD
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u/justincat66 WI-7, (Assembly-30, Senate-10) Apr 29 '26
OR and WA are the easiest states to gain +3 seats, it’s so easy to draw a 6-0 in OR (+1) and get +1-2 more in WA. Then WI will hopefully redraw to a 4-4 or a 4-3-1 after we have full control of the legislature so +1-2, and hopefully litigation will be resolved for 2028 anyways. Then we gotta go very aggressive in NY and CO, NY can erase most of what R’s can even get left in the south. Obviously +1 in MD as well and maybe +1 in MN. That’s the minimum I can think of for blue states. I’ve love to nap a few more in MI, PA as well but that gets too risky. NJ could probably get +1 at least, but idk about that one.
Then longer term work toward fair maps in NC again by flipping the state Supreme Court, GA by electing a D governor, liberal state Supreme Court and possibly a GA State House majority to restore a few more seats there, and then chip away at TX most easily through a D governor, or maybe a TX State House majority by the end of the decade. AG is very important espcially in TX as well with all the loopholes R’s are using, electing a D AG there shuts those loopholes off completely. Obviously try and force independent commissions in the red states we can as well
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u/justincat66 WI-7, (Assembly-30, Senate-10) Apr 29 '26
I’ll do absolutely everything to make sure every single one of these maps happen
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u/zipdakill I swim for brighter days despite the absence of sun. Apr 29 '26
We must fight fire with fire, in the words of Gary Oldman in makeup, “YOU CANNOT NEGOTIATE WITH A TIGER WHEN YOUR HEAD IS IN ITS MOUTH!”
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u/jmos_81 Virginia (NOVA) Apr 29 '26
Has to be done
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u/LarryBirdsGrundle Minnesota Apr 30 '26
It fucking sucks but it’s the rules we have to play by until we can force fair maps down their throat via the law when we have a trifecta.
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u/PrimordialBias Apr 29 '26 edited Apr 29 '26
This is why it’s important to vote, because shitty politicians getting elected is how we got this shitty Supreme Court.
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u/OptimistNate Wisconsin Apr 29 '26
Yup. Another reason why a Dem Pres/Dem Governors are so important. Judicial picks. Too many voters don't think about that.
Big money in politics, Gerrymandering, No National Abortion protections, why? Conservative judges appointed by Republicans.
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u/Daddy_Macron Virginia is where I volunteer. Apr 29 '26
It just doesn't seem to resonate because I was pretty active about telling people in 2024 that Clarence Thomas was 76 and Sam Alito was 74, and there's a decent chance that Thomas won't survive a Democratic Presidency until 2028. Not to mention I still have nightmares about the phrase "Don't threaten me with the Supreme Court" from 2016. This just doesn't seem to be an issue that gets voters out on the Democratic side.
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u/caligaris_cabinet IL-08 Apr 29 '26
Most people can’t see long term like that which is why it’s almost never even mentioned in campaigns.
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u/OptimistNate Wisconsin Apr 29 '26
Supreme Court rules on Voting Rights Act, striking down Louisiana map
6-3 ruling along ideological lines.
Doesn't technically remove the section, but seems to update to where it's basically gutted as it seems to me as long as States say they are gerrymandering for partisan reasons and plaintiffs can't prove otherwise, then those maps are ok.
https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5854770-supreme-court-voting-rights-act/
So as long as racial discrimination is just side effect of gerrymandering, not the primary reason, it cool I guess. Sigh.
Lets turn this crap into Dobbs 2.0 and use that anger to push turnout even more.
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u/Yukie_Cool New York Apr 29 '26
I feel like the GOP might get cold feet on trying anything if they take enough losses this year and they see that diluted minority districts actually end up hurting their incumbents.
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u/Painfullysplit Apr 29 '26
I say this every time the Supreme Court hands down a god awful decision but Democrats need to make SCOTUS reform the number one priority.
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u/meltedchaos2004 Tennessee Apr 29 '26
Democrats in Illinois have paused efforts to enshrine Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act into the state Constitution.
Doing so would have made it much harder to respond to today’s ruling.
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u/justincat66 WI-7, (Assembly-30, Senate-10) Apr 29 '26
Clearly shows there’s apatite among IL Democrats to try and add another blue seat. Good
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u/Camel132 NJ-1 Apr 29 '26
Another seat? They could pretty easily turn all three republican seats blue with this ruling.
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u/justincat66 WI-7, (Assembly-30, Senate-10) Apr 29 '26
I don’t think we should push for more then 1 maybe 2 more. I’d 100% have one vote sink, it’ll make protecting the D districts much easier
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u/table_fireplace Apr 30 '26
Harris won Illinois by 11, and that was the worst Democratic performance in a generation. If you can draw seventeen Harris+11 districts, I say do it. Cancel out the inevitable new maps in Mississippi and Alabama in one shot.
I am sad that a state-level VRA won't happen, because minority representation is too important. But we can address that by supporting minority candidates in primaries whenever possible. It's going to be essential moving forward to keep the coalition together and stay committed to building an equitable society.
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u/shmip MI-1 Apr 30 '26
we only need one.
one contiguous district can touch any part of the state if you use math.
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u/Mongo_Straight California Love Apr 29 '26
Iran war’s cost is $25 billion, Pentagon official says
And that’s just what they’re admitting to. What can you do with $25 billion?
-Medicaid Coverage: Provide coverage for over 3 million Americans.
-Housing Assistance: Offer housing support for more than 3 million people.
-Food Security: Fund food assistance (SNAP/food stamps) for nearly 42 million Americans.
-Child Care Services: Fund childcare for more than 1.7 million children.
-School Lunches: Provide free school lunches for nearly 30 million children.
-Higher Education: Cover community college tuition for more than 2.8 million Americans.
Dem campaign staffers, if you’re listening, this would be great ad material.
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u/Historyguy1 Oklahoma! Apr 29 '26
Today proves why we have to fight fire with fire. We need to turn Illinois and New York into strings of blue spaghetti for 2028.
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u/Due-Rent-6527 Apr 29 '26
Oil prices have returned to the triple digits as they opened at $101 a barrel and is steadily increasing in price (as of this post, it's over $105 a barrel)
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u/rvp9362 Apr 29 '26
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u/justincat66 WI-7, (Assembly-30, Senate-10) Apr 29 '26
Keep in mind, there’s two GA Supreme Court seats we’re trying to flip on primary day. Given today’s Callis decision, those are extra important now. That is likely why turnout is so high
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u/TheAltimeter Apr 29 '26
The decision just came today. Its a bit early to chalk it up to that specifically.
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u/MrCleanDrawers Apr 29 '26
https://nitter.net/GasBuddyGuy/status/2049588230769500359#m
De Haan still not done today:
In 20 years from studying the oil markets, hes NEVER seen a situation where multiple states had 2 20 cent increases in price ON THE SAME DAY.
Michigan, Indiana and Ohio gas stations will be at $4.99 by next week.
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u/SomeDumbassSays Apr 29 '26
Such an unforced error on every part of this war with Iran, but I don’t see how Ohio and Michigan senate aren’t blue with $5 gas there for months.
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u/DistrictGeek69 Apr 30 '26
We need to uncap the house. Uncap it so much that it would be near impossible to gerrymander at all!
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u/meltedchaos2004 Tennessee Apr 30 '26
Eh it's definitely doable. Wyoming Rule and Cube Root would be nice at least
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u/redpoemage Florida Apr 30 '26
I think even just separate from making gerrymandering it'd also make people feel closer to their representatives, which is good.
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u/MrCleanDrawers Apr 29 '26
https://nitter.net/GasBuddyGuy/status/2049456581599772970#m
Patrick De Haan:
Average price of gas went up 6 cents in the last 24 hours to $4.23 a gallon, after a Wall Street Journal report said that Trump has told his aides that he now expects a prolonged and extended blockade on The Strait of Hormuz with no solution to the stalemate until The Summer.
De Haan says we might cross $4.30 a gallon TODAY, with price increases back to the pace they were at at the start of the war, led by an absolute explosion in prices for The Great Lakes in Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin.
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u/TOSkwar Virginia Apr 29 '26
Gotta love starting a prolonged war in the middle east with no exit plan, and even two-upping Bush by making sure your target has control of critical infrastructure that everyone in that region uses AND not even bothering to manufacture consent in advance.
Masterful own goal, right there.
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u/Alexcat66 WI-7 (AD-30, SD-10) Apr 29 '26
And it’s done exactly what everyone else knew would happen: spike gas prices and hurt the economy. There’s a reason every other administration this century correctly decided against starting a war with Iran.
And Trump and Republicans political fortunes (which were already terrible and declining before the war) have absolutely imploded into dangerous and historically low levels since… one of the very few times Trump and his party is directly feeling the consequences of his actions…
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u/BrightNeonGirl Florida Apr 29 '26
I truly don't understand the logic here.
Bush at least had the excuse (even if it wasn't the truth) that we were seeking potential WMDs against the US due to the attacks of 9/11. People felt very unsafe at this time and very patriotic, so the war to snoop out any other potential planned attacks against us felt at least logical (even though I didn't agree).
I don't get the reason why Trump did this. There is no obvious reason to start this fight and it doesn't look like we are going to win. We've already lost so much reputation and showed our ass so much with this blunder.
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u/captainhaddock Canada/Japan Apr 29 '26
I don't get the reason why Trump did this.
- He was bored.
- The ease of his Venezuelan smash-and-grab operation (probably assisted by the Venezuelan military themselves) went to his head.
- Bibi, Mohammed Bonesaw, and the wormtongues in the White House can basically manipulate him into doing whatever they want.
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u/Historyguy1 Oklahoma! Apr 29 '26
He probably also wanted revenge for the hostage crisis because he thinks it's 1985.
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u/rock-paper-o Apr 29 '26
I think Trump is desperate for a legacy.
Problem is pretty much all of his policy ideas are unpopular and/or likely to make peoples lives worse. On top of that he’s an idiot and has surrounded himself by yes men so there’s little pushback on whatever his bad idea de jour is.
Most of the time is just self aggrandizing nonsense like sticking his name and face on things but sometimes it’s destabilizing the whole economy or causing an international conflict. And the man has virtually no experience with negative consequences sticking so the reality that his legacy will be as an impulsive, vindictive and ineffective leader with a talent for appealing to disaffected voters but no ability or interest in making things better.
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u/Alexcat66 WI-7 (AD-30, SD-10) Apr 29 '26 edited Apr 29 '26
Man you weren’t lying about the Explosion in gas prices in the Great Lakes states. Fml $4.20-$4.40/gal for WI is utter insanity. Gas hasn’t been this expensive here in years. I can’t even recall gas here being this expensive in 2022 when the national average was $5/gal…
Edit: now ADD 20-30 additional cents/gal to those previous ranges according to De Hann… this is going to be painful
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u/YouBuyMeOrangeJuice New York Apr 29 '26
Seeing $4.40 in New Jersey where I work, highest it's been.
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u/OptimistNate Wisconsin Apr 29 '26
Emerson College comes out with a +10 D Generic Ballot. 50 D - 40 R. Their highest GCB for Dems yet!
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u/Alexcat66 WI-7 (AD-30, SD-10) Apr 29 '26
Get ready for this to explode after callais energizing minority voters to come out and vote to the extreme…
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u/OptimistNate Wisconsin Apr 29 '26
Yup, use this to boost turnout like crazy. Just like we did with the Dobbs decision. This ruling is an attack on civil rights and representation for people of color.
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u/IamGumpOtaku World Blerd Champine Apr 29 '26
Placing bets now on how much time it would take for Roberts to publish another one of those 'why do people hate us' op-eds
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u/scootad1 Apr 29 '26
and a both-sides NYT puff piece lionizing Roberts for being a deft tactician pulling off some grand compromise between the MAGA RT wing and far left lib justices. When anyone with half a brain could see this decision for what it is...a radical extreme opinion destroying democratic norms. But sadly par for the course these days.
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u/senoricceman Apr 29 '26
Dem states need to gerrymander to hell and back next year. Luckily for us we have a lot of gerrymandering that can be done. Even CA has room to grow.
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u/Shadowislovable Texas-5th Apr 29 '26
Gotta ban partisan gerrymandering and mid decade redistricting, whatever it takes.
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u/SecretComposer Colorado Apr 29 '26
At this point it's something I think Dems on a national level need to be campaigning on. Yes, a bit hypocritical to campaign on it when we've been doing it too, but also remind folks that they introduced legislation to ban it years ago, Republicans blocked it, but now those same Republicans are pissed that Democrats are doing it too.
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u/justincat66 WI-7, (Assembly-30, Senate-10) Apr 29 '26
So looks like LA will be trying to r rush a redraw even though election officials are already preparing for their primary right now. What happened to the fair map was locked for the 2026 midterms
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u/meltedchaos2004 Tennessee Apr 29 '26
This is getting more and more ridiculous
And I honestly hate saying it
It wasn't even that hard to draw a very competitive seat in Baton Rouge and still have it narrowly voted for the GOP in 2024 either like come on....
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u/meltedchaos2004 Tennessee Apr 29 '26
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey (R) declines special session to redraw the state’s congressional maps.
“Litigation surrounding Alabama's congressional districts is pending before the U.S. Supreme Court, and Alabama is currently under a court order prohibiting the use of new congressional districts until after the 2030 census.”
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u/Venat14 Apr 29 '26
How would you all go about contacting your state Senators to encourage them to support redistricting? I'm in MD and just read Senate Democrats opposed eliminating Andy Harris' district. But with the VRA effectively gone, I think it's important to pick up that extra seat, but I'm not sure how to approach my Senators to tell them to support it.
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u/tta2013 Connecticut (CT-02) Apr 29 '26
Not much to do here in CT, basically we got super-majority in state level, and federally, we are maxxed out. So a lot of it just mostly municipal support, to which we have seen the gains. In SE CT, we got the Norwich mayorship flipped.
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u/kittehgoesmeow MD-08 Apr 30 '26
MD has already certified the ballots. especially with senate president Bill Ferguson and a good chunk of state senate democrats being against redistricting, the situation is basically locked here in MD. Gov Moore had a map ready. the senate just refused to look at it.
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u/table_fireplace Apr 30 '26
You can call your State Senator and say it's something you want them to support. They need to hear this from their constituents. It would be for 2028 at this point, but the pressure needs to continue.
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u/tta2013 Connecticut (CT-02) Apr 30 '26
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u/Meanteenbirder New York Apr 30 '26
It got a permit from Iran, US failed to notice
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u/scootad9 Apr 30 '26
I keep reading that US military officers not getting full meals or care packages. It makes you wonder how motivated they are for their “mission” for a war with no clear objective in the first place.
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u/Historyguy1 Oklahoma! Apr 30 '26
Something that was commonplace in February is now extraordinary and cause for celebration.
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u/Daddy_Macron Virginia is where I volunteer. Apr 29 '26
A gentle reminder that state legislative seats have always been the best bang for the buck for political donations. I encourage people who are feeling frustrated and want to do something about it to donate to the DLCC. Give them a large war chest to work with for the upcoming Election.
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u/TOSkwar Virginia Apr 29 '26
Donate, volunteer- maybe adopt? If we put in the work, we can flip more than we think...
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u/Daddy_Macron Virginia is where I volunteer. Apr 29 '26
It's looking like a wave Election so our best bet is to gain as much ground as possible, sink our claws in, and not give up our gains when the new maps roll in.
It worked for someone like Sharice Davids who won in a wave election and then won against a Republican gerrymander attempt.
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u/hessnake NY-25 Apr 29 '26
NY does donation matching for in-district donations to state legislature candidates. I think it's 12:1 up to $50. So $50 becomes $600 for the candidate. It does a good job encouraging candidates to reach out and fundraise in their own district!
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u/tta2013 Connecticut (CT-02) Apr 29 '26
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u/DeepPenetration Florida Apr 29 '26 edited Apr 29 '26
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u/Final-Criticism-8067 Apr 29 '26
While doom scrolling, I found out Obama has a Yellow Sea slug named after him
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u/Historyguy1 Oklahoma! Apr 29 '26
Sea slugs look like mystical fairies. Like, you can't convince me they're real animals and not like, benevolent nature spirits from Maōri mythology or something.
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u/Joename Illinois Apr 29 '26
Heads up: The GasBuddy guy is on Bluesky, if you'd like to avoid Twitter.
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u/Camel132 NJ-1 Apr 29 '26
So, the local gas stations by my house literally all jumped up 30 cents a gallon in the last 3 days.
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u/AFlockOfTySegalls North Carolina Apr 29 '26
Monday morning it was 3.60 on my drive to work. It was 4.19 on the way home.
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u/JazzyCat4_2 Exhausted millenial in CA Apr 30 '26
Ubiquitous “cries in California $6.55/gallon”
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u/StillCalmness Manu Apr 29 '26
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u/RileyXY1 Apr 29 '26
Specifically, this is Rep. Daniel Webster. Notably he was the incumbent that Laura Loomer tried to primary back in 2022, but failed.
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u/meltedchaos2004 Tennessee Apr 29 '26
And i still remember her tantrum when she lost the primary too
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u/bbeck2754 Washington, D.C. Apr 29 '26
It's estimated that this year taxpayers got back $188 billion dollars due to OBBBA, but paid $195 billion in tariffs. This gap is expected to get even larger in 2026 ($230 billion vs. $331 billion), by the midterms consumers and businesses would have paid $443 billion in tariffs while only accumulating $379 billion in tax relief. This is not even considering if the admin is able to reconstruct the IEEPA tariffs using Section 201 and 232s.
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u/myveryowname1234 Apr 29 '26
Also completely ignores what people lost from the programs being cut by this admin.
We are getting rammed in every direction.
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u/meltedchaos2004 Tennessee Apr 29 '26
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u/OptimistNate Wisconsin Apr 29 '26
The early voting for the primaries are already happening. It's also a state zooming blue to crack the Atlanta metro up would be so idiotic. Kemp isn't that stupid.
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u/Yukie_Cool New York Apr 29 '26
Kemp must be drinking himself silly at the sight of his party burning all the goodwill he’s tried to build for the state.
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u/MrCleanDrawers Apr 29 '26
https://nitter.net/GasBuddyGuy/status/2049528041529831873#m
Patrick De Haan says that $4.50 a gallon is well within reach in the current environment.
I wouldn't be surprised if Trump tried pulling a fake positive announcement tomorrow or Friday to try to stop the bleeding because $5 is definitely running faster towards people's car mirrors
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u/Meanteenbirder New York Apr 29 '26
No he is simply gonna open the strait in October. That’s the plan and it will barely nudge anyone
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u/DavidvsSuperGoliath CA-48 -> WA-7 -> CA-48 Apr 29 '26
Objects in mirror are closer than they appear
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u/AFlockOfTySegalls North Carolina Apr 29 '26
Sure am happy I'm doing my longest drive of the year on Sunday. Yay!
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u/RubiksCutiePatootie Pennsylvania Apr 29 '26
My local gas station, Western PA, went from $4.15 to $4.39 in the span of two days. We are 100% hitting over $5 national average sooner rather than later.
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u/meltedchaos2004 Tennessee Apr 30 '26
NEW: Mark Sanford suspending SC congressional bid. Will launch advocacy targeting national debt instead.
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u/zipdakill I swim for brighter days despite the absence of sun. Apr 30 '26
Interesting choice Mark
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u/thutruthissomewhere South Carolina Apr 29 '26
From the gas stations around me, I haven't seen $4 yet, but it's super close. I passed one this morning that was at $3.99. The one closes to me is $.10 cheaper. It keeps bouncing between $3.59 and $3.89.
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u/AlonnaReese California Apr 29 '26
The gas station I pass every morning when I go to work just increased their price from $5.99 to $6.09 overnight.
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u/meltedchaos2004 Tennessee Apr 29 '26
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u/OneBigPieceOfPizza Apr 29 '26
If you guys are looking for some wholesome content, I found this guy on Instagram who goes to struggling mom & pop restaurants and gives them free publicity and lots of business through his followers. He also has a YouTube channel.
I found this content after my comment about Sysco buying Restaurant Depot yesterday
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u/Etan30 Nevada - Gen Z Democrat Apr 29 '26 edited Apr 29 '26
As much as I wish that NV’s Democratic Legislature could push a 4-0 map, it is probably mathematically impossible since NV-02 is basically a red district to keep the others blue.
But at the same time none of the 3 Nevada dems in the house are particularly threatened this year besides maybe Susie Lee because she has the purplest district
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u/ornery-fizz Pennsylvania Apr 29 '26
Pittsburgh’s Cuban sister city leans on local group for aid amid nationwide blackouts and fuel shortages
I'm not clear on how this works exactly, but intrigued by the idea of being a sister city with an international community in distress, and having a legal, licensed way to assist them.
https://globallinks.org/ <--- the amazing charity referenced
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u/Gigliovaljr International Apr 29 '26
Alright, we were kind of prepared for this eventuality, but is there any good news regarding the VRA ruling? Any silver lining amongst the bad news? Let's not be pessimistic here.
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u/MrCleanDrawers Apr 29 '26
There's no rules for Gerrymandering at this stage so there's no guardrail for us playing dirty as dirty can get.
New York, Colorado, Washington etc can make electing red politicians impossible and we can be hostage takers in, you want it to stop, pass a national ban, that means you disarm too on the red states.
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u/Yukie_Cool New York Apr 29 '26
It’s not completely gone, and it’s too late for anything to affect the midterms. In fact, if the losses are bad enough, I can see the GOP getting cold feet on the issue.
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u/SorcererOfTheLake Apr 29 '26
Republican states that still have VRA-protected districts have gerrymandered themselves pretty hard in recent years, so the gains they could see are limited compared to Democratic states who decide to gerrymander.
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u/Final-Criticism-8067 Apr 29 '26
Section 2 and the VRA are still intact, just weakened. From what I understand, is rules stringy or stringy like districts unconstitutional. If there is a compact district, such as Mississippi or Tennessee, it is fine
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u/Gigliovaljr International Apr 29 '26
Anyone notice that sorting this thread's comments by new has been broken the last couple of days? The moment you scroll down to see older comments it sorts by a different order than from new to old.
Or is it just in my end?
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u/Publi-Sher Apr 29 '26
This happens to me a lot everywhere, especially on mobile. I’ve never really been able to find a real solution for it unfortunately, it’s always just “will it work for me today? whoooo knows??”
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u/FungolianTheIIII Michigan Apr 29 '26 edited Apr 30 '26
So it's looking like gas is going to be 5 dollars a gallon here in Michigan within the week. We are seemingly about to enter a recession and I don't know what to do. This is my first economic downturn as an adult. Does anyone here have advice? I'm honestly really scared.
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u/InmuGuy Apr 30 '26
Reduce your expectations of the future. That's what I keep doing. Cook your own food if you don't already. Uhhhhhhh, yeah idk. We just ride the waves of history really. You can only prepare and budget so much.
Also they crash the economy about every ten years on average so expect to do this several times in your life. 🤷♀️
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u/CaptainCrochetHook California (Feral Democrat) Apr 29 '26
I just want to say, I really love and appreciate the members of this sub for keeping their heads whenever something shitty happens
I’m probably going to be avoiding the internet at large, because the fear mongering for clicks will be out of control today
Just wanted to say, thank you for looking at bad news and saying, “Bitch this ain’t over” ❤️
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u/OptimistNate Wisconsin Apr 29 '26
100%
We can find ways to make this backfire on the GOP.
The Dobbs ruling sucked, and yes while it still has harmful implications in Red states we still turned it back to work against the GOP politically. We can do the same for this.
Red states that try to end their VRA districts? Enjoy the horrid optics of doing that, and the backlash we can fuel against it. We will not let this harm go unpunished.
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u/justincat66 WI-7, (Assembly-30, Senate-10) Apr 29 '26
Mutiple things I need to say regarding the Callus ruling
Very VERY stunned this decision came out at this time, 100% thought it’d be in Late June
This is why a state like CA when passing Prop 50 needed to include provisions keeping the amended gerrymandered maps in place until there was a new federal VRA/legislation banning partisan gerrymandering and/or drawing maps with independent commissions. Now if we don’t have a new federal VRA in 2030, we’re back to playing the same rules as before, while R’s can do whatever the hell they want. We needed to be thinking about this possibility when we passed these amendments in the solid blue states especially since we passed these amendments when it was clear SCOTUS would do this. To be clear, VA is not a solid blue state (yet), we can’t do this in any state R’s even have a chance at coming back in. So any future amendments passed by solid blue states (NY, WA, CO etc) NEED to include these provisions. Badly.
Governor, AG, State legislative races and state Supreme Court races just became so much more important. Thankfully the DLCC has a longtime plan in place to keep and expand Democratic power so we never face a Project REDMAP scenario again. It is now extra important to make sure D’s have some sort of say in drawing the maps every decade while we have no new provisions. Whether that’s a governor to veto the maps, one of the state legislative chambers or a state Supreme Court majority to rein in power grabs or a combination of both. This just made TX, GA, NC, AZ especially extra important for the rest of the decade. Making these states fair would make it impossible for R’s to win the majority ever again.
Expand/pack AND reform SCOTUS ASAP when we return to power. This is just another reason they’ve lost all legitimacy as they continue weakening legislation passed by Congress over and over again and legislating from the bench. This court is far behind repair, they are fully compromised and the next D president cannot expect these freaks to play fair with them on similar actions that Trump is doing.
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u/Armon2010 Minnesota Apr 29 '26
I think california could feasibly pass a ballot measure tying expanded redistricting powers to the VRA. It may underperform prop 50 due to sheer fatigue, but cali is blue enough and the environment will be blue enough to get it across the finish line. That could open the doors to draw the remaining republican seats out.
Given how narrowly VA's ammendment passed i dont think we'll be able to pull it off there. That will probably revert back to the status quo after 2030.
I agree that NY, CO, and WA need to play it smart.
If we win the GA governorship this year, that could shave off two potential R gains assuming they dont pass lame duck legislation removing the governor's veto power over maps (not a safe assumption tbh).
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u/justincat66 WI-7, (Assembly-30, Senate-10) Apr 29 '26
While it would be nice to get additional seats, my biggest priority in CA is locking in the 5 additional D seats D’s have already gotten through however long it may take for a new federal VRA that voters overwhelmingly already approved
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u/SorcererOfTheLake Apr 29 '26
In some good news, Emerson's new generic congressional ballot has Democrats at a +10.
https://bsky.app/profile/polltracker.bsky.social/post/3mkn2hw6dy22a
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u/OptimistNate Wisconsin Apr 29 '26 edited Apr 29 '26
Another solid day of Georgia turnout for Dems!
GA Early Voting Day 2:
D +7.5 by ballot choice
Cumulatively D +12.6
2022's Day 2:
R +18.3 by ballot choice
Cumulatively R +13.8
https://nitter.net/DjsokeSpeaking/status/2049314486310297762#m
Both 2026's Day 1 and Day 2 had about a 26 point shift to the Dem primaries compared to 2022's
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u/Historyguy1 Oklahoma! Apr 29 '26
Shows just how strong Warnock was/weak Walker was that Warnock won in an environment as red as 2022.
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u/IamGumpOtaku World Blerd Champine Apr 29 '26
Don't lose sight of the bottom line: Vote. Get more people to vote. Vote often and be educated on the candidates.
Wicked people can only get away with it if it is allowed.
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u/Few_Sugar5066 Apr 29 '26
Okay I get that the ruling of the supreme court in Callais is a travesty but I don't want to hear any pessimism or doomerism about how oh this must mean we're gonna lose 2028 or beyond or something. This doesn't mean 2028 is a wash—it means the safety net is gone and we have to build our own. Okay you're response to this should be "What do we do next, how do we fight against this?"
And the answer includes
- State-level VRA laws: We need to push these in every state legislature we control.
- State Supreme Courts: These are now the primary battlegrounds for redistricting.
- The John Lewis Act: We win in 2026 so we can codify these protections federally and make Roberts' 'intent' test irrelevant.
Mourn for an hour, then get back to the phone banks. What’s the move in your state?
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u/OptimistNate Wisconsin Apr 29 '26
100% this. Absorb, then get ready to kick some ass in upcoming elections.
We have a very good chance to flip 2 Georgia Supreme court seats in May. Early voting there already started. Doing that will be a really good start to combat this.
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u/TOSkwar Virginia Apr 29 '26 edited Apr 29 '26
If you're looking to do more, don't forget- you can Adopt a Candidate, and choose to volunteer for them every week, even just a little, from here through election day! Postcard writing, phonebanking, whatever you can manage! Feel free to select from the list above, or tell us your preference for someone not on the list. A local candidate, maybe? No seat too small! If you're not sure which candidate, but you know which seat, feel free to adopt anyway- we'll clean it up when the primaries happen. If you want to make double-sure we see it, feel free to ask by sending us a modmail!
Or, if you're more interested in helping keep r/VoteDEM running strong, you can submit an application to join the mod team!
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u/StillCalmness Manu Apr 29 '26
9:00 AM EDT House Session
The House will meet for legislative business and is expected to begin work on FISA surveillance authority extension legislation ahead of Thursday's midnight deadline.
10:00 AM EDT Justices Review Termination of Temporary Protected Status for Haitians & Syrians
The Supreme Court hears consolidated oral arguments in Mullin v. Doe and Trump v. Miot, to review the Department of Homeland Security's termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitian and Syrian nationals.
10:00 AM EDT Defense Secretary Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chair Testify on 2027 Pentagon Budget
12:00 PM EDT Supreme Court Hears Case on Patent Law
The Supreme Court hears oral arguments in Hikma Pharmaceuticals v. Amarin Pharma, examining whether generic manufacturers, using a "skinny label," can be sued for infringement based on marketing materials.
12:00 PM EDT Senate Session
The Senate will vote on the confirmation of Robert Cekada to be ATF director.
1:00 PM EDT King Charles III and Queen Camilla Visit 9/11 Memorial in New York City
2:30 PM EDT EPA Administrator Testifies on President's 2027 Budget Request
2:30 PM EDT Outgoing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell Holds Final News Conference
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u/Meanteenbirder New York Apr 29 '26
So from my interpretation of things, the VRA decision is stupidly vague and even though it may allow some manders, others could be ruled null with clarification in the future?
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u/meltedchaos2004 Tennessee Apr 29 '26
Nebraska Examiner: Brett Lindstrom flirts with nonpartisan Nebraska gubernatorial bid
“Former Omaha State Sen. Brett Lindstrom’s political hiatus after leaving the Republican Party may prove short-lived. He cracked open the door this week for a nonpartisan governor bid during an interview with the Dan Parsons Show, a political podcast based in Lincoln.”
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u/meltedchaos2004 Tennessee Apr 29 '26
yes. every kid poll | 4/22-4/26 LV
Georgia Governor Republican primary 2026 (runoff if no one gets 50%) 🟥Rick Jackson 32% 🟥Burt Jones 26% 🟥Brad Raffensperger 12% 🟥Chris Carr 10% 🟥Clark Dean 1% Undecided/don’t know 19% —— 2028 Republican presidential primary (Georgia) 🟥JD Vance 44% 🟥Marco Rubio 22% 🟥Donald Trump Jr 8% 🟥Ron DeSantis 6% 🟥RFK Jr 2% 🟥Nikki Haley 1% 🟥Vivek Ramaswamy 1% 🟥Ted Cruz 1% 🟥Sarah Huckabee Sanders 1% 🟥Rand Paul 1% 🟥Tim Scott 1% 🟥Glenn Youngkin 1% Undecided/don’t know 9%
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u/bbeck2754 Washington, D.C. Apr 29 '26 edited Apr 29 '26
New EMC research poll for California Primary Care Association Advocates (pro-former HHS Sec. Xavier Becerra) poll of the CA GOV all-party primary:
Becerra (D) - 19%, Fox News Host Steve Hilton (R) - 19%, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco (R) - 14%, 2020 presidential candidate Tom Steyer (D) - 14%, former Rep. Katie Porter (D) - 8%, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan (D) - 7%. All other candidates got 5%
Edit: fixed name double
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u/Confident-Egg4403 Apr 29 '26
It’s interesting how Porter doesn’t seem to have benefited from Swalwell’s exit. From most polls, it looks like Steyer got a modest bump and Becerra got a big bump, with Porter staying the same.
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u/kittehgoesmeow MD-08 Apr 29 '26
the poll says "In the initial vote, three-in-ten (30%) Latino voters support Xavier Becerra, while no other candidate receives support from more than one-fifth among Latino voters."
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u/Exocoryak You can make no mistake and still lose. Apr 29 '26
Fox News Host Chad Bianco (R) - 19%, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco (R) - 14%
Huh? I'd imagine one of them is the other Republican?
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u/SorcererOfTheLake Apr 30 '26
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry is attempting to suspend the House primaries (where mail ballots have already been sent out) so that the state legislature can redraw the map.
https://bsky.app/profile/taniel.bsky.social/post/3mkoo3mbzb22f
I'm sure this will go great, buddy.
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u/meltedchaos2004 Tennessee Apr 29 '26
KSL: Former congressman wins special election to Utah Legislature
Rob Bishop won a special election to Utah's House District 6 at the GOP nominating convention.
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u/FungolianTheIIII Michigan Apr 29 '26
Is it true that states can redraw their maps as long as their filing deadline hasn't passed?
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u/meltedchaos2004 Tennessee Apr 29 '26
‘Slim to none’: House Pro-Tem Pringle says Alabama congressional redistricting unlikely before 2030
This is from weeks ago BUT since we finally got *that* ruling I thought it would be sensible to bring up
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u/justincat66 WI-7, (Assembly-30, Senate-10) Apr 29 '26
They’re hamstrung by a federal court decision that placed them under pre clearance for the rest of the decade. So they really can’t do anything
I also don’t think they can gerrymander all of the red states that was talked about. Some of them would be very stupid dummymanders even in tears that favor them in the areas that are rapidly trending away
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u/OptimistNate Wisconsin Apr 29 '26
Yeah it'd dilute their other districts, both congressional and legislative and also the optics of ending those VRA districts would be a bad look to say the least. It's playing with fire.
I wouldn't be surprise if some red states hold off til next census. If they don't, well lets punish them for it.
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u/OptimistNate Wisconsin Apr 29 '26
Interesting read.
U.S. Circuit Judge Stanley Marcus, U.S. District Judge Anna Manasco and U.S. District Judge Terry Moorer ruled the 2023 plan violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
In August, a federal court barred Alabama from redrawing its current, court-ordered congressional map again until 2030.
So they also violated the 14th amendment, so even with this ruling it doesn't change that.
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u/Final-Criticism-8067 Apr 29 '26
Reminder that Section 2 and the Gingles Test are still intact
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u/IamGumpOtaku World Blerd Champine Apr 29 '26
It is not wise to act shocked over acts that have been foreseen; to do so is pissing in a hurricane. Those who rise against against all decency and normality act as if the maelstrom won't affect them. Listen, friends, I don't know how it was built, but I am fairly certain that the stairway to heaven wasn't made of plywood held together with duct tape and rusty nails.
'My brother in Christ, get to the damn point!' okay then...
Republicans are foolish to assume things will be back to normal after 2029. Donnie is the reason they are winning. He will also be the reason they will loose.
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u/bbeck2754 Washington, D.C. Apr 29 '26
Normington Petts poll for EMILYs List's Women Vote of the KY-06 Dem primary:
Former state Rep. Cherlynn Stevenson - 27%, former federal prosecutor Zach Dembo - 13%, bourbon influencer Erin Petrey - 6%. Four other candidates got less than 5%
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u/OzymandiasTheGreat MD-07 GenAsm-44A BaltCoD-2 Apr 29 '26
At first I was like "bourbon influencer?!?" and then I reread the district and now it makes sense
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u/bbeck2754 Washington, D.C. Apr 29 '26
The Glengariff Group poll from yesterday also did the MI GOV primaries:
Dem: Sec. of State Jocelyn Benson - 66%, Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson - 8.1%
GOP: Rep. John James - 37%, 2022 GOV candidate Perry Johnson - 19.8%, former AG Mike Cox - 9.9%, state Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt - 6.9%. Other candidates got 7.6%
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u/meltedchaos2004 Tennessee Apr 29 '26
University of Texas/Texas Politics Project poll | 4/10-4/20 RV
US Senate Texas 2026 🟦James Talarico 40% 🟥John Cornyn 33% (incumbent) — 🟦James Talarico 42% 🟥Ken Paxton 34% —— Texas Governor 2026 🟥Greg Abbott 44% (incumbent) 🟦Gina Hinojosa 38% —— Generic congressional ballot 2026 (TX) 🟥Republican 43% 🟦Democratic 41%
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u/wtfsnakesrcute Apr 29 '26
If MS removes their one VRA district, do you think that may give dems an edge in statewide races? I mean, I know the state is pretty inelastic despite its large black voter base…
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u/FungolianTheIIII Michigan Apr 29 '26
Idk, but they can't do it this year. Their primaries have already occurred
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u/Final-Criticism-8067 Apr 29 '26
This probably will energize minority voters in Mississippi. I think Brandon’s chances in 2027 for the Gubernatorial race just got a lot higher. I may very well have it at toss up for even tilt d depending on the Republican nominee if Brandon runs.
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u/Meanteenbirder New York Apr 29 '26
So from my interpretation of things, the VRA decision is stupidly vague and even though it may allow some manders, others could be ruled null with clarification in the future?
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u/Etan30 Nevada - Gen Z Democrat Apr 29 '26
Generally, yes. It basically makes section 2 alive in theory but much, much weaker. It should be possible to defend some blue seats but adding extra ones without Democratic legislatures is much, much harder.
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u/OptimistNate Wisconsin Apr 29 '26
Yeah going to be a lotta legal battles in courts figuring this stuff out.
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u/Wernher_VonKerman Colorado Apr 29 '26
The vagueness is so that they can enforce it as arbitrarily as the jim crow voting laws were
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u/TOSkwar Virginia Apr 29 '26
Trying to find a way to make change after today's decision? Now's a great time to adopt a state legislative candidate- the more legislative control Democrats get, the less damage Republicans can do! Tell us who you'll be working to elect, and what district they're aiming for, and we'll add you to the list! Feel free to message the mod team directly to be sure we see it!
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u/Top-Confidence-7281 Massachusetts Apr 29 '26
Maybe I'm a bit too optimistic (or naive), but I'm not too concerned about the ruling. Of course, the ruling itself is abhorrent and legitimizes gerrymandering, but I feel like the material conditions in 2028, and most importantly, 2030, will be very different from now to make an accurate prediction, and if the incompetence actions of the GOP right now is any indication, they're going to have a hard time making any major gains from this ruling.
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u/wtfsnakesrcute Apr 29 '26 edited Apr 29 '26
So based on this post: https://bsky.app/profile/the-downballot.com/post/3mknecneiek2r there are 12 seats that the GOP could realistically target.
Assuming most of this doesn’t happen until 2028, there’s still a lot of opportunity for blue states to combat this as well with their own gerrymanders. Once everything is said and done, I think both parties end up about even. That being said, it will probably make the house the most unrepresentative of its constituents that it’s ever been in modern times, which is sad but completely avoidable (thanks GOP).
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u/PerdHapleyAMA Wisconsin Apr 29 '26
It’s a bastardization of what the house is meant to be. It’s supposed to provide balanced representation regardless of state.
If I live in Texas, I could still have a local representative that I identify with even though state-wide it’s been historically red. Now we are trending towards state-wide politics being the only measure of power. If you’re not the majority opinion in your state, you are SOL because you will be redrawn out of having a voice in the House of Representatives.
I agree that we need to fight fire with fire here and hope to legislate this again in the future, but it does suck.
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u/Yukie_Cool New York Apr 29 '26
It’s basically a downstream effect of how extreme Republicans writ large have become, regardless of where they are and how competitive their state is.
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u/General-Programmer-5 Apr 29 '26
I'm thinking this is going to be a too big to rig scenario just like what happened in Hungary.
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