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Then make a plan for Tuesday, November 5, 2024. Register, confirm you’re still registered, check your voting location or register to vote absentee or by mail.
At the Start of the year I made a post about the US Senate elections this year. However a lot has changed since then (not just that) So I thought I'd make a new version.
How successful a President Kamala Harris is able to be will come down to who controls congress. A Republican House or Senate could frustrate many of the important agenda items Harris wants to get done. Also the Senate is key to appointing Judges, right now many America's rights are being decided in the courts where Trump and Republican appointed Judges are consistently ruling against trans rights, voting rights, abortion rights etc. Any hope of a smooth pipe line of Harris judges depends on the Senate. Senate Control hangs by a knife's edge, there are 6 soft blue seats we have to hold onto, two swing seats Dems are defending, and two soft red seats we can pick up, you can make all the difference!
If you don't live in one of the states below but want to help, you can Donate to the DSCC or sign up to phone bank with the Democrats
Winning Arizona will be key to the outcome of the 2024 Presidential election. Congressman Ruben Gallego was a leader in the effort to replace Democrat turned Independent Senator Sinema with a real Democrat. Gallego was raised by a single mother, went to Harvard, and is a Marine combat vet. First elected to the Arizona State House in 2010 he advocated for immigrant rights. He was elected to Congress in 2014. Since coming to Congress Gallego has been a progressive voice, gaining attention for blunt attacks on the Trump administration. Republicans nominated around former TV host and conspiracy theorist Kari Lake. Lake rose to become a Republican star by supporting conspiracy theories about the 2020 election and Covid. Lake ran for Arizona Governor in 2022 and after losing to Democrat Katie Hobbs she refused to concede and still maintains she won and is the rightful Governor of Arizona. Lake has called Democrats "Demonic", totally opposes abortion in all cases, and is the self proclaimed "Trump candidate". If Gallego is elected not only will he be a reliable Democratic vote and Progressive vote in the Senate, he'd be the first Hispanic to represent Arizona in the Senate, ever. If you live in Arizona please make sure you vote, but more if you have any time between now and November, volunteer to help Gallego! and if you don't live there you can still give.
Florida's current Republican senator, Rick Scott, has spent his first term in Congress being one of the most extreme Republicans. Scott has pushed to defund education, roll back Social Security and Medicare, attacked trans rights, and wants to ban Abortion in all cases. Rick Scott is the wealthiest member of Congress and also was in involved in the largest case of Medicare fraud in US history. Scott challenged Mitch McConnell for the leadership of the Senate GOP getting support from extremists like Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, and JD Vance, and now is running to replace McConnell. Scott won in 2018 with less than 10,000 votes. The Democrat is former Congresswoman Debbie Mucarsel-Powell. When she was elected to Congress in 2018 she became the first South American born immigrant and first person of Ecuadorian heritage to be elected to Congress. In Congress Mucarsel-Powell was a member of the Progressive caucus, she fought to expand medicare, and secured $200 million for Everglades restoration. After a narrow defeat in 2020 Mucarsel-Powell joined the gun control advocacy group Giffords to fight for gun control a personal issue for her. If you're in Florida please make sure you vote, and volunteer to help remove one of the most extreme Senators. Everyone else give what you can.
Maryland is normally an easy Democratic win but two-term Republican former Governor Larry Hogan announced he was running, turning what should be an easy race for Democrats into a real fight. Hogan is trying to sell himself as a Trump septic moderate, but he's endorsed by Trump, JD Vance, and Mitch McConnell. Hogan spent his final year as Governor frustrating Democratic efforts to protect abortion, legalize marijuana, and take serious action on climate change. In the Senate he'll be a vote in the pocket of Republican leadership. The Democrat is Angela Alsobrooks, the executive of Prince George's County. As County Executive Alsobrooks got high marks for her response to Covid. She's worked to expand pre-K to all students in the county, as well expanding health care access including mental health access. As a candidate for Senate Alsobrooks has been a strong supporter of Abortion rights, pushing for more action on gun violence, and has been a strong supporter of LGBT rights her whole political life. After Vice-President Harris left the Senate there were no black women represented in the upper house. Together with Delaware's Lisa Blunt Rochester Alsobrooks could make history, if both are elected this year it'll be the first time ever that two black women have served at the same time in the US Senate. If you're in Maryland make sure to get out to vote, to volunteer as much as you're able, and everyone give whatever you can to protect abortion rights and support progressive black women!
Michigan is a critical 2024 swing state. Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin is running to replace retiring Senator Debbie Stabenow. Slotkin worked for the CIA, the State Department, and the Department of Defense rising to be an Assistant Secretary of Defense under President Obama. She is fluent in Arabic and Swahili. First elected to Congress in 2018 Slotkin won and has been re-elected repeatedly to represent a swing district, becoming the first Democrat elected there since 1998. In Congress Slotkin has supported gun control, and ending money in politics. Her national security experience made her an important voice pushing for the first impeachment of Trump in 2019. She gained national attention for holding open town halls on her choice to vote to impeach Trump facing down Republican protesters. In her run for Senate Slotkin has continued to stress her support for gun legislation, ending money in politics and stresses protecting the right to choose. Republicans have consolidated around former Congressman Mike Rogers. Rogers retired to Florida after his time in the House only moving back last year to run for Senate. During his time in Congress Rogers tried twice to ban the abortion pill mifepristone. Rogers is endorsed by Trump and controversial former Detroit Police Chief James Craig. If you're in Michigan vote to protect the right to choose and stop a Trump Republican, and make sure to volunteer as much as you can, and every give what you can to help win this key swing state.
Normally deep red Montana represents one of the hardest Senate seats for Democrats to hang onto. Jon Tester is the only Democrat to hold statewide office or represent Montana in Congress. Elected narrowly in 2006 Tester has beaten the odds time and time again and is trying again. In his time in the Senate Tester has been a consistent voice for small farmers and local businesses against big corporations and mega companies. Tester has fought against corruption and for openness, and is one of the most effective members of Congress consistently having the most bills past into law of any member of Congress. Republicans have embraced an ultra wealthy former CEO, Tim Sheehy as their nominee to unseat Tester. Sheehy was caught lying about being shot in Afghanistan as a Navy SEAL, when he in fact accidentally shot himself at Glacier National Park in Montana. Past his embarrassing war wound story, Sheehy is an ultra rich CEO who has spent 2 million of his own money on the race so far. Sheehy has been endorsed by Trump, and Marjorie Taylor Greene. Sheehy wants to ban all abortion, repeal Obamacare, and remove any limits on gun ownership, despite having shot himself. If you can only donate to two races, this and Ohio are the most important, if you can only donate to one? flip a coin. Everyone in Montana make sure you get out to vote and just as important volunteer, there will be no Presidential or Governor or any other campaign to help Tester along its all on him, and everyone give what you can.
Nevada is a critical swing state in the 2024 election. Jacky Rosen first came to Congress flipping a Red House seat in 2016 and then unseating a Republican Senator in 2018. Since coming to Congress Rosen has been a champion for turning Nevada into a clean energy leader. She's also has helped pass gun control legislation and is a fierce advocate the right to choose. Republicans have nominated Army veteran and conservative influencer Sam Brown to run against Rosen. Brown unsuccessfully ran in a Republican primary for the Texas State House in 2014, and for the Republican nomination for US Senate in Nevada in 2022. Now with the endorsement of Donald Trump Brown finally managed to win a primary. Sam Brown is the only Republican candidate Trump mentioned in his 92 minute convention speech at the RNC. Brown wants to roll back Nevada's Green energy progress and boost fossil fuels, he also wants to roll back any and all restrictions on guns. If you're in Nevada make sure to get out and vote, and volunteer to keep this key Senate seat out of the hands of a Trump Republican. Everyone else give what you can.
Ohio is one of the hardest senate seats for Democrats to defend this year. Senator Sherrod Brown has been the only statewide elected Democrat in Ohio since 2011. First elected to Congress in 1992 and to the Senate in 2006 Brown has defied the odds by being a popular Progressive in an ever more Red state. Brown consistently ranks along side Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren as one of the most left wing Senators. From his first days in Congress Brown refused the Congressional health plan, repeatedly introducing single payer health care bills going back to the 1990s. Brown has been a proud and consistent ally of Unions, particularly the UAW, and tough on banks and big business. Republicans have nominated used car salesman and crypto enthusiast Bernie Moreno. Moreno is a weirdo, he accused LGBT activists of a "radical agenda of indoctrination" and then got caught looking for "men for 1-on-1 sex" on AdultFriendFinder. Moreno supports a federal abortion ban, has been sued by former employees for wage thief and discrimination, and wants to end birth right citizenship. Moreno has been endorsed by Turning Point USA, Donald Trump Jr., Vivek Ramaswamy, Kari Lake, Ted Cruz, JD Vance, and of course Donald Trump. If you're in Ohio make sure you get out to vote, and volunteer to support a great Senator. Everyone outside of Ohio give what you can, if you can only donate to two campaigns this and Montana need it the most, if you can only give to one, flip a coin.
Pennsylvania is a key swing state in the 2024 Presidential election. Bob Casey was first elected to the Senate in 2006 defeating right wing extremist Rick Santorum by the largest margin in state history. Starting his career as a moderate to conservative Democrat Casey has become a strong advocate for gun control since 2012 voting for every gun control measure to reach the Senate. Casey also made strong opposition to the Trump administration a cornerstone of time in office. While personally pro-life, Casey has endorsed the right to choose and voted codify abortion rights. Casey has been a leading critic of corporate greed during the inflation and authored a bill to ban shrinkflation. Republicans have nominated multi-millionaire former CEO and Bush administration official David McCormick. McCormick served in the Treasury under George W. Bush, his wife worked at the NSC under Trump. He lived in Westport, Connecticut as the CEO of an investment management firm, till he decided he wanted to be a US Senator in 2022 and he moved to Pennsylvania. He lost the 2022 GOP primary to Dr. Oz and is giving another go in 2024. McCormick is endorsed by George W. Bush, Mitch McConnell, Rick Santorum, Karl Rove, Doug Mastriano, Jim Jordan, and of course Donald Trump. If you're in Pennsylvania make sure you get out to vote, and to volunteer to keep Pennsylvania blue. Everyone else give what you can.
Texas Senator Ted Cruz might be the most hated man in politics. Since his election in 2012 Cruz has been on a single minded mission to be totally unlikeable. Shutting down the government under President Obama, endorsing Trump after Trump insulted his wife, supporting Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election, fleeing his state to go on vacation in Mexico after an ice storm and power outage (and abandoning his dog), blaming the Uvalde school shooting on video games, yes Ted Cruz really has done it all. Cruz is one of the most right wing members of the Senate and a loud Trump supporter. Last election in 2018 Cruz barely hung onto his seat and Democrats are hoping with 6 more years of radicalism Texans are ready for change. Democrats have nominated Congressman Colin Allred. Allred is a former professional footballer, played Linebacker for the Tennessee Titans. After football Allred went to law school, and got a job with the Obama Administration. In 2018 he won an upset victory unseating an 11 term Republican in a district that had been Republican since 1968. In Congress Allred fought for gun reform, to keep down the price of proscription drugs, and invest in American infrastructure. In his run for Senate he's standing up for the right to choose against one of the most radically anti-abortion Republicans in the country. If you're in Texas make sure you vote and volunteer to give Ted Cruz the boot, and everyone give what you can to get Blue Texas.
Wisconsin is a critical swing state in the 2024 Presidential election. Senator Tammy Baldwin is a historic trailblazer, when she was first elected to Congress in 1998 she was the first woman to ever represent Wisconsin in Congress, the first open Lesbian elected to Congress, and the first openly gay non-incumbent to be elected to Congress. She co-founded the Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus. When she was elected to the US Senate in 2012 she was the first and is still the only openly gay person ever elected to the Senate. Past her advocacy for LGBT rights Baldwin has been a progressive her whole time in Congress endorsing single-payer health care, and being a strong voice for abortion rights. Republicans are supporting a California bank owner and weirdo named Eric Hovde. Strange mustache owner Hovde has attacked trans kids, flip flopped on abortion (totally against, now open to some abortion), and insulted farmers as "not hardworking" and thats why the retirement age should be 72. If you're in Wisconsin make sure to vote and volunteer to protect a progressive trailblazer and stop a California weirdo banker. Everyone else give what you can.
Where ever you live in the US there is a critical race happening, so please check out ways to Volunteer and where ever you live there are options to phone bank text bank write letters or postcards to voters (postcards 2) but like I said wherever you are there are local candidates who need your help, and if you live in any of these critical states please give your time and energy.
1. Any calls you are seeing for a #DemExit2020 over Sanders losing are likely being amplified by Russian actors; remember, they want Trump in office and the US in disarray. They're all about dividing us and keeping us at each other's throats.
2. Biden, while scum, will be FAR easier to shove left than Trump, *especially* if we retake the Senate (or did you forget about downticket races...?) *We have a chance to get rid of Mitch McConnell this year*, but that only happens if you vote.
3. This is about harm reduction. Is Biden scum? Yes. Will he do far, far, FAR less damage than Trump? *YES*. This isn't just about the Presidency, it's about the Nazi troglodytes in the Cabinet. It's about keeping another anti-abortion justice out of the Supreme Court (and letting poor RBG rest).
4. Primary wise, we aren't out of the woods yet, go vote anyway, and remember your downticket races. If you are Sanders or were Warren, you have chances at putting in super leftists locally and into the Senate. Take them. Remember: Congress going blue in 2018 has made a HUGE difference in harm reduction. Remember the power AOC and Ilhan Omar have wielded, and now imagine what they could do with a democratic Senate. (Imagine Senate Majority Leader Elizabeth Warren!)
5. Did I mention downticket races? I'll say it again. The *Senate* chooses to convict on an Impeachment. If we had a Democratic Senate, Trump would be *gone*.
(In case anyone accuses me of being a Biden stan, I am a long time Sanders supporter who also thinks Elizabeth Warren is cool & likes them both a lot. I think Biden sucks, but he's not *actively* trying to get me or my loved ones killed. Trump *is*.)
Alright, now that you’ve voted and are sitting around anxiously for the results, here’s what you can do to make sure we never end up this anxious about retaining our basic human rights ever again:
Okay, okay, I’ll do some of the work for you. The upcoming election days, always the Tuesday following the first Monday of November (aka Nov 2-8), are:
Primaries, however, vary by state, which is why I can’t just give those dates to you. They might not even be set so far ahead of time where you are.
If you don’t want to get fucked over by federal government, by US Senators from states you wouldn’t be caught dead in, by unfit presidents, if you don’t want to fear for your life feeling like people that aren’t accountable to you are making horrific decisions for you, you must vote in every election.
Here’s a schedule I found for one of the cities of Virginia:
I don’t live in that city so I have a different timeline for when certain public servants get elected and all that, but it shows the dates of primaries which will be the same throughout my state. In addition to representatives, there’s measures and amendments to vote for every year. Just because you’re not paying attention, doesn’t mean those things aren’t being decided.
The good thing about shitty voter turnout on an annual basis is that most of these off-years don’t have any lines during voting. You get to pop in and out and wow, that was easy! The bad thing is, of course, that people who don’t have your best interests at heart have been relying on your not showing up for decades and they’ve got one hell of a head start. Catch up and overtake them.
If you have already developed a voting habit, huzzah! If you’re just starting, these calendar reminders are just a way for you to start internalizing how important it is to vote every time, and influencing your friends and family to also understand the importance so that we can make long-lasting changes for the better. If you have a system you prefer over Google reminders, use those to help you instead. Whatever it takes.
Anyway, set a timer for 15 minutes, and as fast as you can, just find all the information you can about upcoming election dates and set those reminders for yourself. Quick, like ripping a bandaid off.
I don’t know why I didn’t mention this in the original post, but just in case it hasn’t occurred to you to think of it this way —
The REASON that it’s important to vote always is that your mayors, your governor, your state legislatures (and many others) are a buffer between you and the federal government. They can protect you, but they can also put you at risk. They can be your allies, or they can be your enemies. It’s important to vote for all levels of government so that you and others are always best protected by people who are more likely to have your best interests at heart.
Additionally, the people who are propped up at a local level are also the people who go on to have national careers. If you want your future pool of federal candidates to improve, local voting is vital.
Happy Halloween! The familiars are amok. Stay out of trouble! Speaking of which, remember it’s gravely important to vote on November 6th. That’s only sort of a pun. A dire pun, punned in earnest. Please vote.
—————————– Lackadaisy is on Patreon - there’s extra stuff!
The point of voting blue in 2018 isn’t to make the US perfect. We cannot accomplish that in one fell swoop. There’s gerrymandering, voter apathy, voter suppression, and generations of older party-line fucks we have to deal with.
Voting blue in 2018 is to make it less immediately threatening for PoC, LGBT+ people, the disabled, and any other marginalized demographic. It’s a stopgap against Republicans who are aligned with Nazis, white supremacists, and sexual abusers.
Correcting politics in the United States is going to take decades of new voters staying on top of politics and not falling prey to apathy, like our predecessors.
People telling you not to waste a vote on 3rd Party this midterm aren’t saying “never vote 3rd party.” Republicans have united behind one utterly heinous front. We need to unite behind Democrats, for the time being.
In Canada, splitting the leftwing vote between the Liberal and New Democratic Parties was how we wound up with almost 10 years of Stephen Harper. Holding our noses and voting for the party that had the best chance of winning was how we got Justin Trudeau, who isn’t perfect, but is leagues better than a Conservative government. Yes, it sucks to have to make sacrifices, but you need to look at your alternatives. -V
Hey do y'all fucks remember two years ago when just before the election all these “don’t vote both parties are bad” or “vote independent!” Posts were going around and then Trump won and now two weeks before midterms there’s all these “don’t bother voting, revolution is the only way!” And “your vote isn’t gonna matter and is an ineffective way to protest” posts are going around? Yeah knock that shit right the fuck off, don’t fall for it and get your ass to the polls, we are not doing this again.
Also, remember that many of those posts turned out to be from Russian information war trolls? Yeah. Don’t fall for this again.
I got some cynical responses to my last post where I encouraged people to vote.
I got meme’d and GIF’d. Probably some eye-rolling was involved.
Yes, I am an optimistic idealist. I understand that some may think voting will not do any good at this point. They think I am being unrealistic.
Though compared to more militant approaches, I think my approach is still a bit more realistic.
The violent overthrow of the government is not happening any time soon. That’s most likely a quick death for the few willing to try. I doubt you’ll convince many people to give up everything for a hopeless fight.
Ridding the US of capitalism overnight ain’t happening either. Your fantasies of billionaires lining up for the guillotine are probably going to stay in your head for now.
Not to mention any drastic and immediate transition on this scale has always been accompanied by blood and misery and generations of painful recovery.
That would literally kill me. I could not survive it. So pardon me if I want to try voting first.
The thing is, our voter turnout has been abysmal. Too few of us have been participating.
At the moment, they can only rig the system if the results are fairly close. I do not believe they can handle a landslide. Not yet. And we have the numbers for a landslide.
I think Trump and his supporters have been quite the motivator. I am hopeful that enough people will choose to vote so we can move things back in a better direction.
No, the Democrats are not perfect. But they are still the right direction. And as a new generation of politicians enter the fray, maybe they can inject more modern ideas into the system. We can slowly introduce socialist programs over time. We could start with healthcare. Maybe education. Slow and steady.
This is a game of inches. Wanting to change overnight with a bloody revolution… well… let’s just say I should be the one memeing you. I should be the one sending passive aggressive GIFs to you. My eyes are not rolling… they are spinning around in circles.
Since your way = my death… no, I’m probably not going to be on board with that.
I’m gonna continue to tell folks to vote.
And I’m not going to give up hope because your edgy ass thinks everything besides “burning it all down” is pointless.
REPOST @TinySnekComics - you know what’s cool? VOTING THIS NOVEMBER!!! if you retweet anything today, make it is!!
are u fucking kidding me hey kids following me please make sure yall are voting in this fuckin midterm jesus louisus (with all due respect, of course)
REMEMBER THAT THIS COULD BE LIFE OR DEATH
FUCKING VOTE
And if you can’t physically go vote, look into voting by mail! It’s never to early to register to vote and it’s never too early to find out about voting by mail!
Even if you think you’re registered, they’re illegally deregistering people. Make sure you’re registered. It’s super fucking easy. Just go to turbovote.org.
Shell friends! U.S. #Election2016 is upon us and Zoya is asking you humans to PLEASE get out and #VOTE!
We need you to make sure we are protected, to make sure the places our noms grow are protected, and to make sure all the humans we love are protected as well.
PLEASE, HUMANS! GO #VOTE We are depending on you!
(we’ll even let you be late with our noms if you have to… maybe… just not too late… but VOTE!)
If you ever really loved him, Bernie or Bust people, then I beg you: listen to him now.
Dear everyone who says “Oh it doesn’t matter who I vote for, Trump will never win”… it does matter. It absolutely does matter.
Britain gave in to the racist and xenophobic rhetoric. And the consequences to the EU - and to the world at large - will be catastrophic.
I don’t care if you hate Hillary. I don’t care if you think Hillary killed your cat and stole your yogurt. I don’t care. You have to vote for her. You HAVE to vote for her. You cannot allow a megalomaniac racist piece of shit like Donald Trump become the President of the United States of America.
Do not give in to fear and hatred. Do not allow xenophobia and bigotry to run this nation. Do not. Do not. Do not.
I never thought I’d see the day where a nation like Great Britain allowed hatred and fear to rule. Don’t let that happen here.
