2020 Senate Elections

[Nice Guy Eddie 13707]

Any chance that the dem senate candidates/incumbents can negotiate debate counts as a group? Collins wants 16 debates, then the GOP has to serve up tuberville to debate Jones 8 times. Or whatever.

Im sure candidate will say they can’t tell other candidates in other states what to do, but the national party can as they send money down.

[tx 3 putt 78470]

Fuck collins 

[Herpa Derpa 6317]

1 hour ago, tx 3 putt said:

Fuck collins 

She's very concerned about debates.

[Post Oak 20551]

2 hours ago, Francisco 2.0 said:

What a shame.

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/as-pandemic-limits-scrutiny-gop-fears-lesser-known-democratic-candidates-will-steamroll-to-senate-majority/2020/07/24/e7087534-cde3-11ea-b0e3-d55bda07d66a_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-banner-main_pkcapitol-535pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory-ans

 

 

 

 

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“The more voters see their candidates, the worse off they are. This is a very weak crop of recruits,” said Jesse Hunt, spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

Democrats contend that their candidates are doing as much as anyone could expect with the novel coronavirus still raging in many states, suggesting that the Republican senatorial nominee in Alabama, Tommy Tuberville, is the most shut-in candidate in the nation. Tuberville refused to debate former attorney general Jeff Sessions in the primary and has yet to agree to debate Sen. Doug Jones (D) in the general election campaign in a state that Trump won by nearly 30 percentage points.

Instead, Democrats say their candidates are focused on the right issue at the right moment — protecting and enhancing health care during a pandemic — as GOP incumbents adopt the tactics traditionally deployed by losing candidates.

“Democrats continue to meet with and hear from voters across their states, and they didn’t need a manufactured debate over debates from desperate incumbents to do it,” said Lauren Passalacqua, spokeswoman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

This Democratic crop largely comes from two sets of traditional candidates favored by Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.): older former governors or ex-senators who already have high name recognition and fundraising history and lesser-known state officials who will execute their campaigns along the lines of DSCC mandates.

That recipe backfired in 2016, when former senators Russell Feingold (D-Wis.) and Evan Bayh (D-Ind.), along with former governor Ted Strickland (D-Ohio), lost races after being hailed as strong candidates.

Three former state officials — Patty Judge (Iowa), Katie McGinty (Pa.) and Deborah Ross (N.C.) — also lost that year.

Those Democratic candidates ran races closely aligned with the themes of Hillary Clinton’s campaign, believing she would thump Trump, and their results closely tracked Clinton’s. Feingold and McGinty were less than three-tenths of a percentage point from matching Clinton’s razor-thin losing margin in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.

Now, Republicans think Democrats are taking a similar approach. Gov. Steve Bullock (D-Mont.) and former governor John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) are the familiar faces. Republicans allege that state House Speaker Sara Gideon (D-Maine), former state senator Cal Cunningham (D-N.C.), along with former congressional candidate Theresa Greenfield (D-Iowa), are running races closely in line with DSCC marching orders.

Except, with Biden holding a larger lead than Clinton ever did, these Democratic candidates could have more success than their 2016 counterparts. On Thursday, the Cook Political Report, an independent analysis site, declared that Democrats were favored to get a net gain of four seats to claim the Senate majority in November (three seats if Biden wins).

Cunningham and Gideon are raising eye-popping amounts of money for their campaigns. Cunningham, a Bronze Star recipient from tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, has raised more than $15 million in his challenge to Tillis, while Gideon has raised more than $24 million.

Neither has even run a statewide race before.

Republicans think that if they can get on a debate stage with these nominees, they can make them look foolish.

“We’ve invited him — how many times does an incumbent invite a challenger to debates? He’s deferred on all,” Tillis complained in a recent interview with the conservative outlet Newsmax.

Tillis’s campaign has created a logo accusing Cunningham of campaigning from the “DSCC windowless basement.”

Cunningham and Tillis agreed Friday to two debates and are trying to schedule a third, not quite the five the incumbent wanted.

Democrats say Cunningham has held 11 events, either in person or over videoconferences, including eight town halls, in the past week. Gideon conducted six events, including talking with lobstermen and holding a roundtable on opioid abuse, since winning the Democratic nomination July 14.

And Greenfield has held four news conferences with Iowa media outlets in the past month, with goals including defending the Affordable Care Act and criticizing business-friendly rulings by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Part of the GOP frustration comes from the steadily shrinking ranks of local media outlets covering congressional elections — a trend that has only worsened with the collapse of ad revenue in the pandemic, leading to further newsroom layoffs.

That phenomenon gets combined with a national news corps that is heavily focused on covering coronavirus stories, limiting the number of stories from key Senate battlegrounds. GOP strategists feel that their incumbents still have to face the Capitol press corps every day that the Senate is in session, while the Democratic challengers carefully choose their public appearances.

This election season has not yet had a single big “tracker” controversy — involving those usually young staffers who follow opposing candidates from event to event, hoping to capture them on camera doing or saying something controversial.

With their ammunition limited, Republicans keep fighting over debates, nowhere as fiercely as in Maine.

Within hours of winning her nomination, Gideon made the first offer: five debates. Collins demanded 16 and accused her Democratic rival of hiding from voters. “I look forward to an open and accessible discussion with you about the future of our state and nation,” Collins wrote to Gideon.

Gideon told reporters that Collins was the one in hiding.

“We have traveled around Maine for the past 13 months. We have heard over and over again from people who have said they have not seen Senator Collins in a forum where they are able to ask her questions,” Gideon said.

 

I wouldn't debate any of these fucks unless I absolutely had to

[RDCanecutter 26853]

9 hours ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

Collins wants 16 debates

Only 16? Does she lack stamina for 32?

[Storm the Field 5360]

12 hours ago, Mo Horn said:

. It somehow still amazes me that we are at the point where a candidate for the U.S. Senate openly proclaims their hatered for another person as part of their political strategy. Much less, someone that has nothing to do with them or their election.

Reminds me of when you'd see somebody in TX running for something like land commissioner or county comptroller and their ads would consist of video of them walking around a ranch with an over/under shotgun and talking about how if elected they'll fight Obama's overreach and protect your 2nd amendment rights and your faith, as if their elected office would even be tangentially related to those issues. Just pure unadulterated pandering horseshit for rube consumption.

Edited July 27, 2020 by Storm the Field

[Voldemort86 2259]

21 minutes ago, Storm the Field said:

Reminds me of when you'd see somebody in TX running for something like land commissioner or county comptroller and their ads would consist of video of them walking around a ranch with an over/under shotgun and talking about how if elected they'll fight Obama's overreach and protect your 2nd amendment rights and your faith, as if their elected office would even be tangentially related to those issues. Just pure unadulterated pandering horseshit for rube consumption.

The dumbass rural voters of Texas love that stuff. “Let’s stick it to the black guy!”

[Longhorn_Fan68 34079]

On 7/25/2020 at 8:20 PM, Bookman said:

I don't know if I've ever had banana pudding.

Who hurt you?

[High Plains Drifter 11160]

 

unpopular opinions cross post:

 

I hate banana pudding.

[RDCanecutter 26853]

On 7/26/2020 at 9:25 PM, Storm the Field said:

Reminds me of when you'd see somebody in TX running for something like land commissioner or county comptroller and their ads would consist of video of them walking around a ranch with an over/under shotgun and talking about how if elected they'll fight Obama's overreach and protect your 2nd amendment rights and your faith, as if their elected office would even be tangentially related to those issues. Just pure unadulterated pandering horseshit for rube consumption.

You left off the slow motion effect of walking with a shotgun while an inspiring bass tone plays, followed by a shot of the candidate with his strangely motionless family.

Then there's the attack ad, that has to have jerky photos against a gray background while squeaky bat noises play.

[kevwun 16269]

Don't forget their brand new "work" clothes.

[RDCanecutter 26853]

Sonny Perdue had a Big-Nose Jewwwwww Ad for Ossoff.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/sen-perdue-takes-down-ad-doctored-photo-showing-jewish-rival-n1235074

 

Republican Sen. David Perdue of Georgia has taken down a digital campaign ad featuring a manipulated picture of his Democratic opponent Jon Ossoff, who is Jewish, with an enlarged nose.

Before being removed, the Facebook ad showed grainy pictures of Ossoff and Sen. Charles Schumer of New York, who is also Jewish, above a banner reading “DEMOCRATS ARE TRYING TO BUY GEORGIA! HELP DAVID PERDUE FIGHT BACK.”

 

The news outlet the Forward first reported that the image was manipulated and made Ossoff’s nose appear larger than in the original photo.

 

 

 

A spokeswoman for Perdue said in a statement Monday that the image has been removed from Facebook, calling it an “unintentional error” by an outside vendor, without naming the vendor.

“Anybody who implies that this was anything other than an inadvertent error is intentionally misrepresenting Senator Perdue’s strong and consistent record of standing firmly against anti-Semitism and all forms of hate,” the spokeswoman said.

But Ossoff pushed back on the assertion that it was merely an error.

“Sitting U.S. Senator David Perdue’s digital attack ad distorted my face to enlarge and extend my nose. I’m Jewish. This is the oldest, most obvious, least original anti-Semitic trope in history,” Ossoff said in a statement. “Senator, literally no one believes your excuses. You can start with an unqualified apology to Georgia’s Jewish community.”

Perdue is seeking a second term in November as Republicans look to hold on to the White House and Senate majority.

Ossoff played it wrong, naturally. He went for brain facts, when he should have just run a picture of Perdue at a Klan rally.

Edited July 28, 2020 by RDCanecutter
Last line is mine, not theirs, dammit.

[RDCanecutter 26853]

 

7 minutes ago, kevwun said:

Don't forget their brand new "work" clothes.

Matches the truck. (extend lower lip Skoal-Brother style while saying "truck.")

[Dnaguy 12572]

 

1.) Pretty big shift in JC’s posture on healthcare

2.) Serious WTF to do this .. 4 months into a crisis. I mean, what about all the folks who already lost their healthcare? IF this just starts now, you’ve kind of missed the bulk of everyone who was laid off.... or is that the point?

[BehoId, The Underminer! 11669]

2 minutes ago, Dnaguy said:

 

1.) Pretty big shift in JC’s posture on healthcare

2.) Serious WTF to do this .. 4 months into a crisis. I mean, what about all the folks who already lost their healthcare? IF this just starts now, you’ve kind of missed the bulk of everyone who was laid off.... or is that the point?

that's cornyn on the top left.  staunch defender of keeping people insured.

 

[Voldemort86 2259]

31 minutes ago, BehoId, The Underminer! said:

that's cornyn on the top left.  staunch defender of keeping people insured.

 

My favorite part is watching Bill cassidys head drop in shame.

 

man he and Lindsey Graham came up with a real stinker of a bill to try and “save” the repeal effort. What a bunch of losers!

[gmr548 16681]

 
1.) Pretty big shift in JC’s posture on healthcare
2.) Serious WTF to do this .. 4 months into a crisis. I mean, what about all the folks who already lost their healthcare? IF this just starts now, you’ve kind of missed the bulk of everyone who was laid off.... or is that the point?

That's the point. Most impacted to this point are frontline workers in service/ hospitality industries. Many of them didn't have insurance to start and Cornyn didn't care if working people can't get care. Hell that's part of the GOP platform.

Now, as we realize we've stumblefucked our way beyond a V shaped recession, you're looking at the impacts starting to be felt by nice middle upper middle class white voters and it's a different ballgame.

[lemonlime 5503]

This Susan Collins ad is awesome.  She basically points out all the popular things her opponent supports.

[Post Oak 20551]

That's exactly type of ad that I would expect Collins to put out

[Huckleberry 34407]

1 hour ago, lemonlime said:

This Susan Collins ad is awesome.  She basically points out all the popular things her opponent supports.

Great response:

Should be emailed out as a Gideon advertisement. Subject line: "Did Susan Collins just endorse Sara Gideon?"

[Patrick Bateman 3966]

1 hour ago, lemonlime said:

This Susan Collins ad is awesome.  She basically points out all the popular things her opponent supports.

That's one of the worst "attack" political ads I've ever seen.....

[Beantown Express 2.0 6586]

8 minutes ago, Patrick Bateman said:

That's one of the worst "attack" political ads I've ever seen.....

I can't believe someone actually got paid to put that ad together for Collins.  I wonder if the person that put that together is really a Gideon supporter and was messing with Collins' campaign and they were too dumb to realize they were being punked or something.

[FondrenRoad 4378]

4 minutes ago, Beantown Express 2.0 said:

I can't believe someone actually got paid to put that ad together for Collins.  I wonder if the person that put that together is really a Gideon supporter and was messing with Collins' campaign and they were too dumb to realize they were being punked or something.

Seriously.  Zero of the "Wait, there's more" statements were negative.  All are something that the majority of Americans and Mainers want.

"She wants too many good things!" is supposed to be a negative ad?  Easy response too.

"Had Susan Collins done even a single positive thing for Mainers in her 23 years as Maine's Senator, I wouldn't need to have so many top priorities."

[Bozo_Casanova 26773]

2 hours ago, lemonlime said:

This Susan Collins ad is awesome.  She basically points out all the popular things her opponent supports.

Meanwhile:

 

[406W30th 1111]

3 hours ago, lemonlime said:

This Susan Collins ad is awesome.  She basically points out all the popular things her opponent supports.

It took me a minute to figure out the point this ad was trying to make, which is that Gideon would like to positively impact the lives of her constituents *too much* and she should therefore not be elected to the Senate.

[TheStoicPaisano 9948]

[Dahobbs 18185]

3 hours ago, lemonlime said:

This Susan Collins ad is awesome.  She basically points out all the popular things her opponent supports.

Wait, does working from home during the pandemic count as a vacation? 

[Bama Chick 28596]

You left off the slow motion effect of walking with a shotgun while an inspiring bass tone plays, followed by a shot of the candidate with his strangely motionless family.
Then there's the attack ad, that has to have jerky photos against a gray background while squeaky bat noises play.

You forgot the Labrador Retriever.

[StassneyHorn 6755]

Kris Kobach in the Kansas Senate race is having a SuperPAC funded by Peter Theil sending out mailers right before the Kansas primary where he shows the world he doesn’t know the difference between an ectopic pregnancy and an abortion. Hurts both candidates and will only make Barbara Bollier more popular
 

https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article244583782.html

[Jive Turkey 12930]

I posted this in the Trump thread too. 

Mitch is throwing up the Bat signal. Things are gonna get interesting if any of the GOP senate candidates has the stones to actually distance from Trump.  Trump will not take kindly to them on Twitter.

 

 

[Wulaw Horn 19560]

2 hours ago, Jive Turkey said:

I posted this in the Trump thread too. 

Mitch is throwing up the Bat signal. Things are gonna get interesting if any of the GOP senate candidates has the stones to actually distance from Trump.  Trump will not take kindly to them on Twitter.

 

 

I don’t get how that helps them in any way. Trump still controls 40% of the electorate. They are dead Enders. Any senator trying to triangulate probably loses more On that side than they gain in moderates. Can’t see this strategy working. Or the Donald allowing it to work. 

[NameAlreadyInUse 5164]

Agreed with Wulaw. This tactic would work only if their opponent is incompetent enough to let the Republican do that. And if the candidate is incompetent it’s likely not a close enough race to matter anyway. A competent candidate will have quotes and pictures on an ad making sure that the senator can’t distance. And they hammer that close connection over and over again. It’s exactly what I’d do. 

[VRHorn 731]

It just shines a light on how bad the polling must be. I agree there’s no practical way it should help, but I can’t wait to watch it fail.

[StassneyHorn 6755]

Joni Ernst hates dogs

 

[gmr548 16681]

Joni Ernst hates dogs
 

Ernst and Collins took the same advertising class I see.

[Bookman 4754]

On 7/29/2020 at 9:38 AM, Patrick Bateman said:

That's one of the worst "attack" political ads I've ever seen.....

No kidding. It's so bad I was confused at first.

[gmr548 16681]

On 7/31/2020 at 8:57 PM, Wulaw Horn said:

I don’t get how that helps them in any way. Trump still controls 40% of the electorate. They are dead Enders. Any senator trying to triangulate probably loses more On that side than they gain in moderates. Can’t see this strategy working. Or the Donald allowing it to work. 

 

On 7/31/2020 at 9:21 PM, NameAlreadyInUse said:

Agreed with Wulaw. This tactic would work only if their opponent is incompetent enough to let the Republican do that. And if the candidate is incompetent it’s likely not a close enough race to matter anyway. A competent candidate will have quotes and pictures on an ad making sure that the senator can’t distance. And they hammer that close connection over and over again. It’s exactly what I’d do. 

It can be more effective because the target audience is Republican/Republican leaning voters. They aren't starting from a position of neutrality. They're favoring the R candidate and looking for any reason, no matter how small, to feel okay about voting Republican. You don't have to convince that group that you're totally independent of Trump. You have to convince them it's okay to do what they want. That's not a hard thing to do with people in general.

[tx 3 putt 78470]

On 8/1/2020 at 7:11 AM, StassneyHorn said:

Joni Ernst hates dogs

 and the beetles ????

[PsychMike 1553]

On 8/1/2020 at 7:39 AM, gmr548 said:

On 8/1/2020 at 7:11 AM, StassneyHorn said:

Joni Ernst hates dogs
 

Ernst and Collins took the same advertising class I see.

Political advertising has no class at all.

Mays Gilliam. He's for Cancer!

[Voldemort86 2259]

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/02/kris-kobach-senate-kansas-gop-dread-390089
 

ive been crossing my fingers. I want to see a Kris Kobach nomination in Kansas so freaking badly. It would force McConnell and company to dump money into the race and it would possibly make the seat competitive. 

[SydneyCarton 49325]

2 hours ago, Voldemort86 said:

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/02/kris-kobach-senate-kansas-gop-dread-390089
 

ive been crossing my fingers. I want to see a Kris Kobach nomination in Kansas so freaking badly. It would force McConnell and company to dump money into the race and it would possibly make the seat competitive. 

Seriously I can’t fathom why Trump hasn’t endorsed Marshall. McConell will lose his mind. Isn’t the Kansas vote on Tuesday?

Edited August 2, 2020 by SydneyCarton

[Francisco 2.0 32543]

26 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

Seriously I can’t fathom why Trump hasn’t endorsed Marshall. McConell will lose his mind. Isn’t the Kansas vote on Tuesday?

 

Remember the voting commission?

 

 

 

[SydneyCarton 49325]

16 minutes ago, Francisco 2.0 said:

 

Remember the voting commission?

 

 

 

I don’t, that means nothing to me. Cliff’s Notes?

[JimmyJames 12271]

3 hours ago, Voldemort86 said:

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/02/kris-kobach-senate-kansas-gop-dread-390089
 

ive been crossing my fingers. I want to see a Kris Kobach nomination in Kansas so freaking badly. It would force McConnell and company to dump money into the race and it would possibly make the seat competitive. 

It wouldn’t just make the seat competitive, it would make the dem the slight favorite. That’s why McConnell and the republicans are freaking out about it.

[Al Bundy's Napoleon Hand 13619]

11 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

I don’t, that means nothing to me. Cliff’s Notes?

Essentially a commission designed to uncover the rampant voter fraud consistently alluded to by Republicans. Couldn't find any, said "nevermind" and disbanded.

[SydneyCarton 49325]

5 minutes ago, Al Bundy's Napoleon Hand said:

Essentially a commission designed to uncover the rampant voter fraud consistently alluded to by Republicans. Couldn't find any, said "nevermind" and disbanded.

Ok, but test me like the idiot I am and connect that to this race in Kansas and trump being quiet? 

[Voldemort86 2259]

1 hour ago, SydneyCarton said:

Seriously I can’t fathom why Trump hasn’t endorsed Marshall. McConell will lose his mind. Isn’t the Kansas vote on Tuesday?

Trump hasn’t stepped in because he and Kobach are buds I think.

[Voldemort86 2259]

1 hour ago, SydneyCarton said:

Seriously I can’t fathom why Trump hasn’t endorsed Marshall. McConell will lose his mind. Isn’t the Kansas vote on Tuesday?

2 days to go. Should be interesting if numb nuts doesn’t endorse Marshall. Root for Kobach. I want chaos!

[Al Bundy's Napoleon Hand 13619]

10 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

Ok, but test me like the idiot I am and connect that to this race in Kansas and trump being quiet? 

Well, ya got me there, though if forced to speculate I'd imagine Trump being reluctant to oppose one of his earliest supporters who validated (or tried) his hang up over losing the popular vote despite a Kobach nomination imperiling a GOP Senate.

[Francisco 2.0 32543]

25 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

Ok, but test me like the idiot I am and connect that to this race in Kansas and trump being quiet? 

I've read (forgot the link) the thought might be that due to Trump's "friendship" to Kobach, he is just choosing not to get involved in this election.

We all know Trump has no friends, however.  Just whoever can provide him whatever he needs at any given moment.  And it's possible that Marshall hasn't sucked Trump's cock publicly yet.

And there's this, which is much more plausible:

https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/the-buzz/article244615742.html

 

Quote

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz may have persuaded President Donald Trump to withhold an endorsement of Rep. Roger Marshall in the crucial race for Kansas’ open Senate seat. 

While Trump has not closed the door to a last-minute endorsement, a source close to the president said not to expect one. 

CNN first reported Thursday that Trump said on a Wednesday Air Force One flight he did not plan to endorse in the primary race to fill retiring GOP Sen. Pat Roberts’ seat. Cruz reminded him that Marshall backed then-Ohio Gov. John Kasich in the 2016 GOP primary for president, the report said.