Another primary Tuesday is coming at ya folks….
Democratic women continue to be favored…
Voters head to the polls in five states Tuesday for a new round of primary contests, and women are once again poised to take center stage. In fact, in one state, women are likely to capture Democratic nominations in a majority of key races…..
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SC primaries tomorrow…
Mark Sanford is in a closer than expected race for renomination with a State Legislator,Katie Arrington.
Arrington has attacked Sanford for being insufficiently supportive of Trump.Sanford, who has never lost an election in S.C. ,is expected to survive but it could be close.
Having now seen a poll, albeit as an outsider, I will be surprised if Sanford survives. Considering the personal baggage he already has, and with facing a female opponent, the fealty to Trump issue, in the condition the party is now, might just be too much to overcome.
Yeah that poll has been passed around.
Most of the Republican pros I know think he will survive, but it won’t be a huge upset if he doesn’t
Arrington is running as a hardcore Trumpist
Coastal Republicans tend not to be as hardcore conservatives as their upstate brethren and Sanford has never lost an election here.
Of course,there’s always a first time.
Tonight’s media spotlight primary is Mark Stanford in SC…
The GOP House guy has knocked Trump…
I wonder how you call this Jack?
As I said earlier Sanford has never lost a race in SC(that includes over ten primaries and General Elections).
The First District (the coast and adjacent suburbs)Republicans tend to be more moderately conservative and have an affinity for Sanford’s libertarian and environmental views.
Arrington is a young backbencher Legislator whose only issue really has been Sanford’s lack of sufficient fealty to Republican Party Leader Donald Trump.
On paper then, Sanford should win.Accordingly ,if he is toppled by Arrington ,it will show how “Trumpized” the GOP has become.
Thank You Jack….
Donald Trump just endorsed Katie Arrington.
Can I assume that will help Arrington?
If Sanford is unseated tonight, as I expect, there will increased motivation for him to run for the Presidency in some capacity. He will have nothing to lose.
And nothing to gain
Lots to gain in terms of increased visibility and future financial opportunities, just as a pundit alone.
Anything’s possible.
I doubt it though.
Sanford is independently wealthy.
His personal problems would be a negative too.People who are offended by Trumps shenanigans wouldn’t find Sanford’s “tales from the Appalachian trail “ any more acceptable.
If Trump really wanted to do something positive for the party today, with hours to go, he should Tweet that Virginians should reject potential Senate nominee Corey Stewart, a despicable white nationalist who will hurt every other Republican on the ballot if he is the nominee.
Stewart was an early Trump supporter, but was fired by the Trump campaign for being too crazy. Imagine that.
I find Sanford’s adultery, while offensive, less offensive than Trump’s adultery and other shenanigans.
Are Mark and Maria still together? She is still listed as his fiancée in the Almanac of American Politics.
Sanford ought to run as a Libertarian. He is far more substantive and credible than Gary Johnson, but probably nowhere near pro-drug enough to even be in the conversation with those folks.
Trump certainly took several personal shots against Sanford in the Tweet that endorsed his opponent. As usual, Trump made it all about himself.
So, Sanford either survives the primary or is booted. Either way, common sense in regards to politics would indicate that since Trump went out of his way to hurt Sanford, that Sanford should now feel more open to speak out against Trump.
Also, Bob Corker today was very upset on the Senate floor about Republicans who are subservient to Trump in regards to the tariff amendment that Corker wanted. Maybe Corker will stop trying to have it both ways now too in his final months in office.
I totally disagree with CG in that I don’t see Sanford even remotely as a credible chsllenger to Trump.
And after seeing the results of the GOP primaries, I am feeling less confident than I was before that Trump will face a potentially credible challenger – although I still feel it is very possible.
Missouri primaries are not until Aug but an idea has been floated that Eric Greitens, who resigned as Governor following a sex and dark money scandal two weeks ago, could run for Senate against Claire McCaskill and Republican Josh Hawley as an Independent. It would be a big middle finger to Missouri Republicans, who helped push him out the door.
That would just prove he was never a Republican at all, but just used the party. I do not know if that would happen, but those who backed him in the primary, knowing his past, should not be surprised then. It’s something others have speculated Trump may do (not that the Republican Party has given him any reason to leave it lately)
I seripusly doubt Greitens would do this but if he did McCaskill would be guaranteed victory in November.
Is there really any kind of sizable number of Republicans who think that Greitens got screwed and who blame Hawley?
That wouldn’t seem to be my impression. It’s not like Greitens is Trump in the eyes of these people (or if the religions were reversed and the Evangelical was perceived as being done wrong by the Jews.)
The most troublesome fact about Josh Hawley is that he was only alive for one day in the 1970s.
It’s hard to tell. There are certainly noisy online Greitens defenders. But if he ran third party and pullled even 10% of Republicans away from Hawley he’d be screwed.
Trump endorsements have mostly helped the other guy …..
Post time!….
South Carolina
SC-1
Democratic Primary
Percent Candidate Votes Winner
70.1% Joe Cunningham 12,898
29.9% Toby Smith 5,491
65.4% of precincts reporting (231/353)
18,389 total votes
Republican Primary
Percent Candidate Votes Winner
52% Katie Arrington 22,309
45.2% Mark Sanford* 19,363
2.8% Dimitri Cherny 1,202
65.4% of precincts reporting (231/353) *Incumbent
42,874 total votes
SC Governor…
Democratic Primary
Percent Candidate Votes Winner
61.1% James Smith 99,225 *
27% Marguerite Willis 43,836
11.9% Phil Noble 19,305
74.1% of precincts reporting (1,679/2,265)
168,393 total votes
Republican Primary Race goes to runoff
Percent Candidate Votes Winner
44.6% Henry McMaster* 110,720 *
25.4% John Warren 63,126 *
21.8% Catherine Templeton 54,064
6.5% Kevin Bryant 16,141
1.8% Yancey McGill 4,382
74.1% of precincts reporting (1,678/2,265) *Incumbent
248,433 total votes
More…
Virgina
US Senate…
U.S. Senate
Democratic Primary
Tim Kaine* ran unopposed.
*Incumbent
Republican Primary
Percent Candidate Votes Winner
44.8% Corey Stewart 136,338 *
43.1% Nick Freitas 131,067
12.1% E. W. Jackson 36,673
More…
North Dakota…
Democratic Primary
Heidi Heitkamp* ran unopposed.
*Incumbent
Republican Primary
Percent Candidate Votes Winner
87.9% Kevin Cramer 18,291 *
12.1% Thomas O’Neill 2,508
US House
Democratic Primary
Mac Schneider ran unopposed.
Republican Primary
Percent Candidate Votes Winner
55.1% Kelly Armstrong 11,326 *
28.5% Tom Campbell 5,859
8.9% Tiffany Abentroth 1,820
7.5% Paul Schaffner 1,549
36.6% of precincts reporting (155/424)
20,554 total votes
Wisconsin Specail Election
Stephen Wolf
@PoliticsWolf
Stephen Wolf Retweeted Craig Gilbert
This state Senate special election was one that Scott Walker delayed for months & tried to not hold at all because Dems could win it, & what do you know: Dems are on their way to flipping it! #SD01 #WIpolitics
Craig Gilbert
@WisVoter
Dem Frostman leading Repub Jacque by 4 pts and 1000 votes with 97% reporting in WI state Senate special, per WLUK
Trump won this district by 18 pts, 56 to 38.
The NW WI state Senate seat Dems won in January was a 17-pt Trump district.
Breaking…
Rep. Mark Sanford, a South Carolina Republican who’s a critic of President Donald Trump, will not finish first in his primary, CNN projects.
He trails his conservative challenger, state Rep. Katie Arrington, who Trump endorsed hours before the polls closed Tuesday.
The best-case scenario for Sanford is that Arrington finishes below 50% and the race heads to a runoff, which would take place June 26.
Either way, the outcome — which national Republicans working on House races said as recently as Tuesday morning they did not anticipate — is another sign that GOP primary voters are rejecting lawmakers who break with Trump….
CNN…
Nevanda
Nevada governor
Democratic Primary
Percent Candidate Votes Winner
55.8% Steve Sisolak 33,670
33.8% Christina Giunchigliani 20,379
3.4% John Bonaventura 2,028
2.5% None of these candidates 1,485
2% Henry Thorns 1,233
1.6% David Jones 947
1% Asheesh Dewan 573
33.3% of precincts reporting (663/1,989)
60,315 total votes
Las Vegas
Reno
Las Vegas
Reno
TieNo dataIncomplete
Candidate Votes Pct.
Republican Primary
Percent Candidate Votes Winner
68.3% Adam Laxalt 29,546 *
10.1% Dan Schwartz 4,393
5.5% Bill Boyd 2,362
5.3% Jared Fisher 2,295
4.8% Stephanie Carlisle 2,080
4% None of these candidates 1,732
0.8% Stan Lusak 360
0.7% Frederick Conquest 317
33.3% of precincts reporting (663/1,989)
43,288 total votes
U.S. Senate
Democratic Primary
Percent Candidate Votes Winner
80.4% Jacky Rosen 47,868 *
5.8% None of these candidates 3,450
4% David Knight 2,383
2.8% Jesse Sbaih 1,647
2.8% Allen Rheinhart 1,643
2.2% Bobby Mahendra 1,329
2.1% Danny Burleigh 1,242
33.3% of precincts reporting (663/1,989)
59,562 total votes
Republican Primary
Percent Candidate Votes Winner
70.7% Dean Heller* 30,695 *
17.2% Tom Heck 7,484
4.2% Sherry Brooks 1,839
4% None of these candidates 1,722
2.8% Sarah Gazala 1,227
1% Vic Harrell 427
Sanford has all but conceded. You can’t even be moderately critical of Trump and win a GOP primary anymore. His party now.
Republican Primary – SC-1
Percent Candidate Votes Winner
51% Katie Arrington 29,471
46.1% Mark Sanford* 26,661
2.9% Dimitri Cherny 1,692
89% of precincts reporting (314/353) *Incumbent
57,824 total votes
Goes to show you csn’t Buck Trump in a Red State and keep your spot if you are a GOPer….
So Trump wins again, at least in a Republican Primary. Mark Sanford is a slime ball who survived playing the good Christian in the past. His luck ran out, let’s see if Joe Cunningham can get lucky in November. I just sent Joe some money. He’s a good candidate.
This primary should scare the shit out of any Republican incumbent who thinks they might look cross eyed at Trump between now and November. He has the whole party scared of him and will follow him off any bridge.
The Republicans nominated at right wing Confederate flag wavier for Senate tonight in Virginia, and that should help us flip at least one, if not two, House seats there. The primary turnout shows strong Democratic turnout in the State.
Finally, the Democrats turned a state senator seat blue in Wisconsin. You know, the election the Republican Governor didn’t want to call. He did, and he lost. That should scare the shit out of him.
Call this what you want. Tonight Trump rules the Republican Party. Well they created him, now they have to live with him.
I had previously warned on these pages that a Trump election would have a lasting effect on the GOP, But I did not foresee the way that would happen. It is genuinely stunning to me the extent and speed that Republicans are virtually all Trumpists now. Either that, they are retiring, or the non- Trumpists who remain in power are so silent that they are uselesss human beings in office for personal power and prestige and unwilling to serve their country when it matters.
And the non-Trumpist Republicans should now be able to see the true character of the GOP. Know that the groundwork for this day has been going on for decades now, and it is not Harry Reid or any Democrat that caused this. Take rssponsibilty for your own actions.
Yes it’s frankly getting real Old to come on here everyday and read this nonsense ,and that’s what it is ,from two posters that Republicans “really” don’t support Trump ,along with absurd “whataboutisms” and out and out falsehoods about his level of support in the Republican Party.(Its in the high Eighties,According to Republican columnist Ed Rogers just a tad below Reagans)
Just last night the Republican National Chairman point blank said it was now Trump Party.Isnt she some relative of Romney’s?
Only here will you read this garbage,and that’s what it is, that Trump doesn’t totally dominate the Republican Party.
I’m heading out for my cruise tomorrow.I find Politics increasingly of marginal interest to me.Maybe the rest will rejuvenate my interest ,maybe it won’t.
I’ll leave it to you guys to deal with the “stuff” here about how Trump isn’t “really” this and “really” that.As for me it’s gotten boring and uninteresting.
Enjoy the cruise – and your time away from politics.
No need to think about our new allies such as North Korea and Russia or our new adversaries such as Canada. Things are not likely to change much in the next week. We all need time away from politics every now and then. Enjoy those buffets, the incredible sunrises and the many bars on the ship!
Yes Jack, hopefully it isn’t too late to wish you a good cruise. And, when you get back I have a suggestion for a cruise that takes you to Saint Petersburg and through the Baltic (late summer of course). It might be something to consider for next year.
After looking at the numbers this morning, the Democrats had a great day yesterday, exceeding Republican turnout in crucial districts and Nevada, and nominated some incredible women candidates going into the November elections.
In any event, I too am very tired of the daily dose of “Trump really isn’t a Republican,” especially after what happened to Sanford last night and the collective silence of the Republican majority in Congress as Trump proceeded to shit all over our traditional allies and give the Dictator of North Korea a verbal blow job (Stormy taught him well). No, it’s his Party now and we can expect that the House Republicans will now go after Robert Mueller with a vengeance. They will be required to put their Party over their Country to keep in the good graces of their Great Leader. Ronald Reagan and Barry Goldwater are rolling in their graves.
And, we are told the Democrats have their own problems in a silly attempt to deflect as Zreebs pointed ou. Yes they do, but one of them isn’t mindless support for a money grubbing traitor who clearly conspired with the Russians to become President, now is it?
Just think of the outrageous statements Trump has made over this last week, and then think about the howls of dissent from the Republican caucus in Congress. The silence is deafening. Or, another way of looking at it, think what all those Republicans would be saying if Obama had said what Trump has this last week. See the difference.
In any event, I will be joining Jack in taking time from these silly rhetorical conversations for a few weeks. In my case it won’t be a vacation, but preliminary work on one of the House races in Orange County.
Later.
Good luck with your campaign work Keith….
Have a Great time on your cruise Jack….
Not the Party of Lincoln not the Party of Reagan. In 2018 the Republican Party is the Party of Trump.
You have to be an idiot or delusional not to see that.
First off, I am the one that predicted that Sanford would lose. I have been talking about how Republican Party members are being co-opted by Trump for a long time.
Of course, it is presently the “Party of Trump”, but that does not mean it will forever be, or that these results are happening in all 50 states, or that someone like Sanford lost 90-10 or 80-20, There are divisions within the party and there are varying degrees of “support” for Trump personally or his perceived “agenda.” Some people are too hung up on hating all Republicans, which pre-dates anything to do with Trump or only see things in black or white, when there is always nuisance.
Additionally, if Republicans are the Trump Party currently, what are the Democrats? People within that party do not want to acknowledge the serious problems that exist there, like I have with the current Republicans.
*nuance
Yet another vague “what about” for what reason I don’t know.
Yes, there are Democrats that are very concerned about the wealthy getting an increasingly larger share of the wealth. I say “about time”.
Many conservatives, Republicans, “greatness” (non-MAGA) nationalists and conservative Christians (Catholic and Evangelical) are also concerned about financial inequality, from the perspectives of both social justice and social solidarity or cohesion.
Their diagnoses of the causes differ from those of liberals and progressives, as do their proposed solutions.
Examples I can think of off-hand are David Brooks, Michael Gerson, Cong. Will Hurd (R-Texas), the late Rep. & HUD Sec. Jack Kemp (R-NY) and ex-Rep. J.C. Watts (R-Okla).
Notice most of those Republicans “concerned about financial inequality” are dead, no longer in iffice6, or no longer really influential in the party
Political wire
Senate Republicans Write Off Virginia
This is why Republicans have given up on the Virginia US Senate race in November…
Trump congratulates extremist Corey Stewart even as other Republicans recoil from his victory
The incompetent white supremacist in the White House was speedy in offering his congratulations to Virginia Republican Corey Stewart, now the party’s official candidate for Senate running against Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine….
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