As of the end of June, 209 Democratic challengers had registered with the FEC and raised at least $5,000. That more than doubled the previous high mark since 2003. In 2009, the Republicans had 78 challengers with at least $5,000. The early GOP challengers in 2009 foreshadowed the party’s regaining majority control. The question is whether the same will hold true for the Democrats in 2018.
The number of challengers at six months is truly remarkable. And the candidates are not simply bunching up in a few primaries. Yes, there is some doubling up: six Democrats have filed so far against John Faso in New York’s 19th congressional district. But there is also a good spread. So far, 105 different Republican incumbents have Democratic challengers with $5,000. At this same time in 2009, only 50 of the Democratic incumbents were up against challengers with $5,000.
Let’s keep it up! Donate below to a fund that is spread equally among all districts currently held by Republicans.
Tell us about anyone in your district who is running against a Republican incumbent in the comments.
germy
Can we please keep kidd Rogg away from elected office? He’s started a non-profit org to get people registered to vote. His kind of people.
Hunter Gathers
That’s an awful lot of candidates for a party that has no message. is adrift and generally sucks.
Or so I’m told.
misterpuff
We have got
The information
In a way
we hope
will amuse you
Insert Goldie Hawn Mark I Giggle
Bo Boop Be DO!
Yea I’m old and smiling!
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
I got two turntables and a microphone…
Love the Beck reference.
mai naem mobile
At long last we find out Dolt 45 is good for something.
.
TriassicSands
@Hunter Gathers:
By whom? Some leaker, no doubt.
Miss Bianca
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: And here I thought it was a Motown reference…
debbie
As a born optimist, I’m going to assume the writer meant $5,000 each in the lede.
piratedan
@Hunter Gathers: tbf, WE don’t consider
anti-immigrant
anti-women
anti-science
anti-education
much of a platform, but apparently others do…
Yarrow
I saw this article a little while ago. I really hope they can take out Pete Sessions. Culberson would just be a bonus.
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
I work and do most of my business in KY-03, represented by the ALWAYS wonderful John Yarmuth, but sadly reside in sprawling, gerrymandered KY-04, “represented” by wingnut’s wingnut Tom Massie (R-Koch’s Cock). He can’t seem to find himself any actual district specific issue, and is solely focused on big wingnut themes on behalf of the heavy population lump in the southern Cincinnati suburbs in NKY – that district is hopeless, as the northeast sprawl of Louisville isn’t real dense in that direction and has a pretty large share of heroic white paper pushers and management types who love to vote GOP.
However, in IN-09, my friend Dan Canon (a lawyer in Louisville, who was a big part of Obergefell) is running against Tennessee carpetbagging wingnut Trey Hollingsworth. This district includes the northern suburbs of Louisville and the city of Evansville. It is historically competitive, was Democratic from 1965 to 2005 (Blue Dogs Lee Hamilton and Baron Hill), and again from 2007 to 2011 (Baron Hill again). It is winnable. Dan hit me up today, and I will be showering him with love.
He’s a good guy in a competitive district. Bestow some affection.
jl
Could we send them what Mooch is taking? With warning to cut the dose, of course.
Want a lot of energy, but not out-of-your head frenzy and shakes and screaming.
Suburban Mom
In NJ’s 7th district incumbent Republican Leonard Lance has already accumulated 4 challengers. Two are women. It’s a big deal because Hillary won the district, which is culturally liberal and relatively well educated. The seat was considered safe until after Trump was elected.
Turgidson
I live in California’s 13th, represented by Barbara Lee. So I’m pretty much in the most-liberalest district in all the land. I’ll throw some money in the “all challengers” fund between now and Nov. 2018 as I am able.
eclare
@Miss Bianca: I thought so too….
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
@jl:
I think I have the perfect song for it.
lgerard
Love this!
The Mooch is advancing the doomsday clock on the trump administration at a rapid pace
burnspbesq
A chance for folks to meet?
burnspbesq
Also, let’s not forget that we have borderline districts to defend, like NJ-05.
dmsilev
@lgerard: There are so many Trump administration catastrophes coming so quickly that we need a system to keep track of them all. I suggest adapting the system that astronomers use for super novas and the like: Scaramucci’s meltdown would be CF20170727e (5th detected Clusterfuck of July 27 2017). Of course this particular naming scheme breaks down once we pass the 26 clusterfuck per day mark, which I think is projected to happen by Halloween.
Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA
Every time I hear about that idiot, this damned jingle plays in my head. Early Mooch.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@dmsilev: And keep in mind there haven’t been really any major external events during the last 7 months.
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
No weather catastrophes, major asymmetric assaults on American interests, huge economic upheavals…
dmsilev
@?BillinGlendaleCA: I know. If Trump and his crew are doing this badly purely out of their own incompetence, what happens when there’s an actual external challenge for them to deal with? Not much fun to think about.
Omnes Omnibus
@Miss Bianca: I am with you on that.
The Dangerman
@jl:
Without Mooch, would we know that Bannon is taking his yoga seriously?
Chris
@Hunter Gathers:
We have a message, but it’s all identity politics. That’s the problem.
/Sarcasm
Doug!
@burnspbesq:
Yes.
Chris
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
“The Trump administration has yet to have to deal with a crisis that isn’t self inflicted” is one of the sadly truest things I’ve read about this maladministration in the last 7 months.
Thoughtful David
@dmsilev: Nah. you can just go to aa, ab, ac, ad,…zz. However, the number of electrons in the universe is (probably) finite, so at we might start running out of pixels before about, say, January 2018.
Thoughtful David
@The Dangerman: An actual LOL.
ETA: Can you imagine any previous person–I mean before the Trump administration–saying what he said out loud?
How low we have sunk.
smintheus
In PA-15 the FEC website seems to have only a local politician, William Leiner. No indication that he has raised any money at all yet. That has been the norm in all of Charlie Dent’s campaigns, he faces only token Dem opposition. But his district has recently been split in half and gerrymandered to the normal ridiculous degree.
sharl
This just happened today, so it’s probably a bit too early to know what’s going to happen in MD-6. So far it has not been confirmed by the man himself.
Maryland Dems gerrymandered that part of the state after the 2010 census, by redrawing boundaries to dilute the conservative voters in the relatively sparsely populated northwest Appalachian panhandle of Maryland with some of the higher populated and more Democratic regions in suburbs just northwest of DC – there’s a map of MD-6 here, for anyone interested. That redistricting cost old timey GOP Rep. Roscoe Bartlett the seat in 2012; in the old district he got voted in by the panhandle folks.
I came across this news via someone on twitter who found the idea of Delaney running for President absurd. I feel the same way, although after 2016 I don’t laugh too hard at implausible stuff like this. Delaney is the third wealthiest person in Congress and the richest among the Dems – more on that from this site that was really slowwww to load for me – so I’m guessing this is a case of a rich, bored, and frustrated dude doing his rich, bored, and frustrated thing.
I’ll cast my eyes toward the distant northwest horizon occasionally, to see what will be happening up that way.
the Conster, la Citoyenne
@Turgidson:
I’m in Joe Kennedy’s (Barney Frank’s) district so I may have you beat, except he’s a white guy so I’ll give the tie to the runner. I’ll kick in too.
Dems have won all three special elections in districts that were red – in OK and NH. So, there’s that thin reed.
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
@germy:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/kid-rock-wants-people-to-sign-up-to-vote-at-his-concerts_us_597a2b44e4b02a8434b4e412
He’s also exploring plans to run for the Senate. What a dick.
Kid Rock often fails to rock Michigan primary vote
http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2017/07/24/kid-rock-primary-votes/103945880/
More GOP primary challengers are listed and explained in the article.
Yarrow
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?:
He’ll be popular with the “Fuck Your Feelings” crowd.
LurkerNoLonger
I’m glad to hear Faso has so many challengers. I look forward to voting for any one of them come November 2018.
TenguPhule
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes:
Other then those which have been self-inflicted.
But Scott Pruitt and Mnuchin are asking us to hold their beer.
zhena gogolia
Testing. I’ve tried three times to comment on the thread below and it disappears.
mai naem mobile
@dmsilev: this is what worries me. Theu are not capable of dealing with a 9/11,Katrina or major natural disaster or,elextric grid going down. Dolt45 thinks he’s in a reality TV show.
JMG
So here’s the Ryan-McConnell plan, it seems. 1. Skinny passes Senate. House doesn’t vote on it, but stacks conference committee with Freedom Caucus. Bill that emerges is as close to repeal without replace as they can manage. Bill returns to Senate, “moderates” vanish as per usual. Bill becomes law.
Will it work? Beats me. But it seems like a pretty good plan from their side. They know their caucus members are either loons or complete cowards.
Walker
@JMG:
I don’t believe this. I think the plan is to let skinny pass, destroy the market, “forcing” everyone to do a full repeal.
germy
Who was the republican senator who introduced a single payer bill? Not because he wanted one; he just wanted the democrats to vote against it.
germy
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes:
America’s most lovable scientologist.
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
@Yarrow:
Oh, I’m sure he already is. I’ll make sure to contribute another 25 dollars above to the eventual Democratic challenger (likely the incumbent) in case he does decide to run and somehow wins the primary
sharl
@germy:
That was Sen. Steve Daines (R-Montana). Dave Weigel wrote up a pretty good piece on that bit of attempted legislative trolling.
That proposed legislation was basically Rep. John Conyers’ single-payer proposal, and Conyers himself issued a statement telling Senate Dems. to vote ‘No’ on it – here’s Conyers twitter thread on the same topic.
germy
@sharl: thank you. Especially for the Conyers link.
A Ghost to Most
@sharl:
Roscoe Bartlett was my congress critter for over 20 years. I really hated that revanchist asshole.
JeanneT
My son, Jeff Thomas, is running for the Democratic nomination in Michigan’s Third Congressional District. If he wins the nomination, he’ll face off with Justin Amash.
It’s a long shot, and we don’t yet know how many Democrats will run for the nomination, but Jeff hopes that we get a strong and active candidate to run a real door knocking, public meeting and out-loud progressive campaign against Amash. The last Democratic candidate, though well heeled, was almost invisible during his campaign.
Steve in the ATL
@JeanneT: that’s what Jon Ossoff did and he outperformed every Democrat in decades in this district. Best of luck to your son!
Ian G.
So all the Italian-American groups that protested “The Sopranos” or “Jersey Shore” for their negative stereotypes of Italian-Americans are going to end up calling out Trump for hiring the bastard child of Christopher Moltisanti and The Situation as his communications director, right?
sharl
@A Ghost to Most: I was no fan of ol’ Roscoe, although the memory of when he got conned into taking part in a “coronation” – as Messiah! – of convicted felon and Moonie leader Sun Myung Moon warms my irony-loving charcoal heart.
Sadly, among the bipartisan group of politicians conned into that were one or two folks I respect. It must have been one hell of a con job by the Moonie leadership. But the thought of flinty old crank Roscoe getting sucked into it makes me feel a lot better about it. I wish I could find more photos of the event, especially with Roscoe front-and-center.
Another Scott
Done.
Is there any way to make the Thermometer a weekly feature, or put it on the sidebar? (Assuming it’s not too much trouble.)
Thanks for setting this up, and for the reminders!
Cheers,
Scott.
Another Scott
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: Done. Thanks for the pointer. Good luck to him!
Cheers,
Scott.
JeanneT
@Steve in the ATL: Thanks! I’ll post updates if his candidacy gets traction.
smintheus
@sharl: When was the last time someone from the House managed to get elected president, from either party? Or even win a party nomination? LBJ doesn’t count.
Omnes Omnibus
@JeanneT: Good for him.
Another Scott
@JeanneT: Good for you, and your son! Donated. Best of luck!
Cheers,
Scott.
Mike in NC
@smintheus: LBJ was a US Senator when selected for Vice President.
dmsilev
@smintheus: John Quincy Adams, I think, for winning the Presidency. Not sure about nomination.
efgoldman
@dmsilev:
Not taking the time and effort to look it up, but I believe JQA was elected to the house after his presidency.
Omnes Omnibus
@efgoldman: Yep.
NJDave
Linda Weber is running against Leonard Lance in the NJ 7th district, which Hill won last year.
Another Scott
Adrianna McIntyre:
If it passes the Senate, they’re going to ram something through.
This is it.
(via LOLGOP twitterings)
Cheers,
Scott.
Bobby Thomson
@eclare: @Miss Bianca: that’s because it clearly is. That line isn’t even in Where It’s At.
Gretchen
3 challengers to Yoder in Kansas. I’m loving Sen. Jerry Moran’s Facebook page. He’s got the usual progressives hating that he voted yes on the motion to proceed. But the conservatives hate him because he voted against the full repeal. So everybody hates him. He hasn’t pleased one single constituent with his actions of the last couple of weeks. And he’s up in 2018! And Kansas is recovering from the Brownback hangover and voted in a bunch of moderates and Democrats last election to fix the Brownback mess. Could Kansas be a pickup opportunity next time? It might happen.
smintheus
@Mike in NC: Not my point – LBJ didn’t win a nomination, he was chosen as a running mate. For that matter, so was Ferraro.