RandySF
RandySF's JournalNM-02: In New Mexico's oil country, vulnerable House Democrat touts clean energy boom
ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico — The sprawling congressional district that spans southern New Mexico is divided between the old and new energy industries that may help decide control of the House.
The 2nd District’s Democratic-leaning northwest corner, including Albuquerque and its suburbs, is home to tens of millions of dollars in new solar and wind manufacturing plants and clean energy projects financed by President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act — work that will create hundreds of jobs and new tax revenue for the state.
Its conservative southeast corner, in contrast, is the hottest property in the oil sector, home to two of the top crude-producing counties in the United States. The industry is the engine of the state’s economy — and one that local Republican officials say is neglected by the state’s Democrats.
That puts first-term Democratic Rep. Gabe Vasquez in the same type of quandary as Vice President Kamala Harris: trying to sell voters on the economic gains from Biden’s clean energy spending while reaping the political benefits of the U.S. fossil fuel boom.
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/10/30/new-mexico-clean-energy-fossil-fuel-second-district-00185865
Pennsylvania Democrats lean into abortion as closing message
BUCKS COUNTY, Pennsylvania — Pennsylvania Democrats believe their path to expanding power in the state Legislature runs through the suburbs — and they’re hammering the importance of protecting reproductive rights to pull it off.
Two and a half years after Dobbs, ensuring that voters continue to be swayed by abortion messaging is critical for Democrats in Harrisburg, where the party holds a single-seat majority in the state House and Republicans control the Senate. That’s why Democrats are spending a record amount on abortion-focused campaign ads and knocking on thousands of doors making the case for protecting reproductive rights.
While Democrats are running on abortion throughout the country, Pennsylvania is the only state with a divided Legislature, underscoring its status as a coveted battleground.
Democrats are targeting suburban women outside Philadelphia and Pittsburgh as the linchpin of their coalition for holding the state House and gaining seats in the Senate. Their argument rests on being the backstop against Republican attempts to tighten Pennsylvania’s abortion laws, which currently allow the procedure up to 24 weeks of pregnancy.
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/10/30/pennsylvania-democrats-abortion-closing-election-message-00185995
NY-17: WFP launches new attack ad against WFP candidate
A new digital ad from the New York Working Families Party is asking the party’s supporters in the 17th Congressional District to cast ballots against its own congressional nominee, Anthony Frascone. The ad labels Frascone, a former registered Republican, a “fake candidate” and accuses him of working as a spoiler to benefit Republican incumbent Rep. Mike Lawler.
Frascone unexpectedly won the WFP nomination earlier this year over Mondaire Jones, the candidate that the WFP actually endorsed for the seat. Jones is still on the ballot, but only on the Democratic line, not the WFP line. Rather than confuse voters, the WFP is encouraging voters in the district to vote on the Democratic line up and down the ballot.
The digital ad includes clips of WFP Co-Directors Ana María Archila and Jasmine Gripper confronting Frascone at his Rockland County address and presenting him with a sign that says “Frascone Fake Candidate.” When Archila and Gripper asked him whether he supports Vice President Kamala Harris, WFP’s presidential nominee, he said that he just supported Jesus Christ. The confrontation was brief, but the video is the first time most New Yorkers will ever lay eyes on Frascone, who is not actively campaigning for the seat.
The ad is part of WFP’s bespoke strategy in the 17th Congressional District, which includes paid door knockers, a volunteer phone banking program and targeted mailers, as they campaign for Jones and against both Lawler and their own party’s nominee.
https://www.cityandstateny.com/politics/2024/10/wfp-launches-new-attack-ad-against-wfp-candidate/400666/?oref=csny-category-lander-top-story
MI-07: Republican narrowly leads in race for Slotkin's Michigan House seat
Republican Tom Barrett is narrowly leading Democrat Curtis Hertel in the race to replace Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) in the House, according to a new poll.
A survey from Emerson College Polling and The Hill found Barrett edging out Hertel in Michigan’s 7th Congressional District at 47 percent to 45 percent, with close to 7 percent undecided.
Because the poll’s margin of error is plus or minus 4.2 percentage points, the two candidates— both of whom are former state senators — are effectively tied.
Slotkin opted against running for reelection in her district, which includes Lansing and is situated between Grand Rapids and Detroit, to run for the Senate seat left open by retiring Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.).
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4959561-tom-barrett-curtis-hertel-michigan-poll/
CO-08: House Democrat locked in tight race in Colorado
Rep. Yadira Caraveo (D-Colo.) is locked in a tight race with Republican Gabe Evans in a competitive Colorado House district, according to a new poll.
An Emerson College Polling/KDVR/KWGN/The Hill survey released on Wednesday found Caraveo narrowly leading Evans, a state representative, in the race for Colorado’s 8th Congressional District at roughly 48 percent to 46 percent. Close to 7 percent were undecided.
Because the poll’s margin of error is plus or minus 4.4 percentage points, the two are effectively tied for the seat, which is situated just north of Denver.
The poll found Caraveo had a 46 percent approval rating, while 47 percent said they had an unfavorable opinion of her. About 43 percent said they had a favorable opinion of Evans while 47 percent said they had an unfavorable opinion of him.
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4959638-house-democrat-locked-in-tight-race-in-colorado/
Nearly half a million New Yorkers have voted early in first four days
Brooklyn continues to have the highest number of early voters with 150,805, followed by Manhattan with 136,206, Queens with 112,350, the Bronx with 50,830 and Staten Island with 45,287.
Polls are open every day this week through Sunday, Nov. 3 for anyone who wants to vote early.
On Election Day, Nov. 5, polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
An important note: Your polling place for early voting may be different from your polling place on Election Day. Locate your polling place here.
https://ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/politics/2024/10/30/boe--nearly-half-a-million-new-yorkers-have-voted-early-in-first-four-days
Pardon him? Mayor Adams mum on rumored appeal to ex-president Trump, mocks Lander for accusation
Mayor Eric Adams declined to say Tuesday if he’s seeking a pardon from Donald Trump, should he be re-elected president, moments after city Comptroller Brad Lander publicly accused Hizzoner of doing just that.
During an unrelated Oct. 29 press conference, Lander — who is running against Adams in next year’s Democratic mayoral primary — says he believes Adams has been avoiding direct criticism Trump, unlike most other prominent Democrats, because he may be angling for a presidential pardon in the wake of his federal corruption indictment last month.
“It sure [looks] to me like the mayor was thinking, ‘How do I get a pardon from this guy?'” Lander said. “And that terrifies me, and I think that should enrage New Yorkers.”
Lander also blasted Adams for saying over the weekend that he does not believe Trump is a fascist. Furthermore, the city’s chief bean counter said the mayor should have strongly rebuked Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally on Sunday, in which a litany of speakers spewed hateful comments, instead of issuing a statement asking every to take down the temperature politically.
https://www.amny.com/news/mayor-adams-lander-trump-pardon-talk/
Michigan Clerk Removed From Election Duty Over Plans for a Hand Count
Two local election officials in Michigan have been removed from overseeing the vote, state officials said on Tuesday, in a forceful move to keep Trump-aligned officials from trying to subvert election rules.
Tom Schierkolk, the clerk of Rock River Township in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and his deputy, David LaMere, were removed after telling state officials that they intended to hand count ballots before sending their tally on for the county canvass, according to a letter that Jonathan Brater, Michigan’s elections director, sent to Mr. Schierkolk on Monday informing him of the decision.
Mr. Schierkolk is tied to a network of activists who have pushed several baseless theories about corruption in elections and, at times, advocated the hand-counting of ballots, apparently believing that electronic voting machines are insecure. Donald J. Trump and his allies spread the idea widely after his defeat in 2020, claiming, falsely, that the machines had changed the votes to Joseph R. Biden Jr.
In his letter, Mr. Brater noted that hand-counting is against the law and could undermine the accuracy and security of the count. Experts believe voting machines are generally more reliable and faster than hand counts. Mr. Brater wrote that the clerk had refused an order from the Michigan secretary of state’s office to follow proper procedures.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/30/us/politics/michigan-election-voting-ballots.html
Elections 2024: 6 Town-Level Races on East End Ballots
East End voters will decide the fate of a half dozen town-level races across the region when they cast their ballots on or before Election Day.
Two candidates are running for a seat on the East Hampton Town Board, three are running for a vacant seat on the Town of Shelter Island board, and there are three town justice races on ballots — one in Riverhead, another on Shelter Island and a third in the Town of Southampton.
The races are the most local during a campaign season featuring former President Donald Trump, a Republican running for his old job against Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat who would be the first female president. This cycle also has congressional races, New York State legislative seats and four propositions on the back of ballots.
Here is a look at the town races being decided during the early voting period that ends Nov. 3 ahead of Election Day on Nov. 5. For more information on where to register and for local polling locations, visit the Suffolk County Board of Elections website suffolkvotes.com
https://www.danspapers.com/2024/10/elections-2024-6-east-end-town-races/
NH-01: This district used to be a battleground. Here's what its safe status could mean for House Democrats nationwide.
MANCHESTER, N.H. — It wasn’t long ago that races like the one in New Hampshire’s First Congressional District might have embodied the nightmare scenario for Democrats in this election.
In the summer, with President Biden faltering at the top of the ticket, Democrats grew alarmed that his unpopularity would drag down battle-tested incumbents like Representative Chris Pappas, who has made this very purple seat appear more blue than it is since first winning in 2018.
Republicans boasted about putting Democrats like Pappas at the top of the target list, presaging a down-ballot wipeout that could have shored up a Republican majority in the House for years.
But that didn’t happen. And four months later, this race is now telling a far different story, one that reflects Democrats’ recovering chances to flip the House after Biden withdrew to make way for Vice President Kamala Harris.
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/10/29/nation/new-hampshire-democrats-chris-pappas-battleground/
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