Thus far, we've been putting these in alphabetical order, by state name. We've decided that if there's really
big news in a state, we're going to move that to the top of the list, alphabetization be damned. And so:
Ohio: The Democrats, of course, have a tough row to hoe if they are going to regain
control of the Senate. The good news for the blue team is that, so far, everything is coming up roses. The latest
"get" for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and the DSCC is Sherrod Brown, who
has decided
he is going to try to get his old job back.
Brown lost to Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) by about 3.5 points last year. In 2026, he will face an appointed senator
in Jon Husted (R-OH); incumbents who were appointed have a very mixed record, and it surely doesn't help that
Husted didn't really want the job in the first place. In any case, a slight shift in the national mood could
certainly be enough to send Brown back to Washington. He is, by a very large margin, the Democrat with the
best chance of winning in the Buckeye State.
Next up, the Democrats will really put the screws to Gov. Janet Mills in Maine, to challenge the increasingly
unpopular Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME). However, even if Mills takes a pass, the Democrats have viable options
in the Pine Tree State.
Undoubtedly, Schumer will also soon be paying a visit to Montana, to see if Jon Tester wants to join Brown in trying
to get his job back. Tester might arguably be an even bigger get than Mills, because while Montana is a tougher
nut to crack, the Democrats have no viable options there beyond the former Senator.
Alabama: An extremely long list of middle-aged white men are lining up for the chance to
replace Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), who is running for governor. The latest to jump in is Rep. Barry Moore (R-AL),
who said
he's running because the people of Alabama "deserve a Trump conservative." How very selfless of him. We have no
doubt the main, and probably only, issue in the race will be which candidate is the Trumpiest of all.
Incidentally, we looked at the list of declared and potential candidates, and thought there was ONE woman among all
the middle-aged white men. However, it turns out that Sandy Stimpson is also a middle-aged white man.
Georgia: Because candidates whose careers were in football have worked out so well
for the Georgia GOP, former Tennessee Volunteers coach Derek Dooley
announced last week
that he will join the list of Republicans looking to unseat Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA). Like Herschel Walker, Dooley has a
long and well-documented history of saying bizarre things, such as the time that he compared himself and his team to the
Germans during World War II:
You know, right now, we're like the Germans in World War II. All right, here comes the boats. It's coming. You know the
binoculars? Like, oh my god, the invasion is coming.
You know, coach, there are lots of nations and armies who have dealt with an invading force. So, it's possible to make
whatever point was being made without needing to compare yourself to the Nazis. Oh, and don't forget who the "coach" of
the Nazis was.
Dooley joins a crowded field that already includes two representatives (Buddy Carter and Mike Collins), as well as five
unknowns. It is likely that it will become even more crowded; among those considering bids are U.S. Secretary of
Veterans Affairs Doug Collins, Rep. Brian Jack, former senator Kelly Loeffler, Georgia Secretary of State Brad
Raffensperger and crazypants racist state Sen. Colton Moore.
Iowa: Republicans aren't the only ones who can run people from the world of sports.
In fact, since Sen. Joni Ernst's (R-IA) missteps have many Iowa Democrats smelling blood in the water, there are
now two athletes vying for the chance to send her into retirement.
The first of those is state Rep. J.D. Scholten who, on the weekends,
is a pitcher
for the Sioux City Explorers. The linked article refers to him as a minor leaguer, but that gives the wrong impression,
as he is not in the pipeline to potentially play in the Major Leagues (especially as a 45-year-old whose fastball tops
out at 80 MPH). The term usually used for a team like the Explorers is "independent." In any case, as everyone learned
from Field of Dreams, Iowans love them some baseball, so Scholten is going to lean heavily into the anecdotes
from his playing career, as well as sports analogies.
The other athlete is state Rep. Josh Turek, a paralympian who twice won gold medals in basketball. His launch ad is
awfully compelling:
If you don't care to watch, Turek relates that he developed spina bifida due to his father having been exposed to Agent
Orange in Vietnam, and that he and his family therefore really relied on VA healthcare and government-sponsored school
lunch programs. He points out that the Iowa senator in that time (Tom Harkin) helped make those
programs possible, whereas the current senator (Ernst, obviously) has helped gut those programs to pay for tax cuts for
Elon Musk, while telling Iowans that everyone is going to die.
Scholten and Turek both appear to be intriguing candidates, and the field also includes state Sen. Zach Wahls and Jackie
Norris, who was once Michelle Obama's chief of staff. So, it should be a barnburner, and in a state that has a LOT of
barns.
North Carolina: The entry of RNC Chair Michael Whatley, Donald Trump's handpicked
candidate, on the Republican side, and the entry of former governor Roy Cooper, on the Democratic side, appears to have
cleared the field of serious contenders. Barring a surprise, it will be those two fellows on the ballot next November.
Emerson produced
the first nonpartisan poll
of the Cooper vs. Whatley matchup, and the result will gladden the hearts of Democrats, as Cooper is up 6 points,
47% to 41%. There's also been one partisan poll, from
Victory Insights;
that one had Cooper up by 3 points, 43% to 40%. There's a long way to go until Election Day, but up 3-6 points is
a pretty good place to start in a purple state.
We still need to update House race news; hopefully we can get to that on Friday. (Z)
This item appeared on www.electoral-vote.com. Read it Monday through Friday for political and election news,
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