Justice Democrats Say Primary Challenges are Back on the Menu by Ally Mutnick
January 14, 2025
Introduction:
(Politico) A top progressive group has a plan to forge a way forward after Democrats’ brutal election cycle: a renewed push to primary members of its own party.
Justice Democrats, the organization that rose to prominence for its association with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), is launching a formal candidate recruitment effort on Tuesday. After spending the 2024 cycle chiefly focused on defending members of “The Squad” who were facing challenges funded in large part by the pro-Israel AIPAC, the group is turning its attention back toward ousting incumbents who are insufficiently liberal.
“There is something wrong with this party as a whole right now,” said Usamah Andrabi, a spokesperson for the group, “and it’s time to clean up shop in this Democratic Party.”
The 2024 election showed that the party establishment didn’t learn its lessons, he said. And Democratic members coming into this Congress should be on notice: “Their primary starts now.”
“Despite our opposition, part of the appeal Donald Trump has with many voters is a willingness to challenge a status quo that isn’t working for them,” he said. “Voters want to see a Democratic Party that is serious about taking on the wealthy elite and getting big money out of politics, not parade around billionaires as campaign surrogates.”
DeSantis picks Florida AG Ashley Moody to fill Rubio's Senate seat
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis tapped the state's attorney general, Ashley Moody, to replace Sen. Marco Rubio when he leaves his office to become the next U.S. Secretary of State. Axios first reported his intentions to make the Moody appointment.
Why it matters: Moody is a DeSantis and Donald Trump loyalist. Her appointment will set off a chain-reaction of office-seeking and Florida political drama heading into 2026.
The announcement is scheduled for a press conference Thursday morning in Orlando.
Breaking it down: Picking Moody for Senate clears the way for DeSantis to name his chief of staff, James Uthmeier, to replace her as AG, according to the source who said that "it was always Ashley. And James is the obvious pick to replace her."
Democrats Have a Plan to Counter Trump at the State Level by Ari Berman
February 15, 2025
Introduction:
(Mother Jones) At a time when Republicans control all levers of power in Washington and national Democrats are struggling to respond to Donald Trump’s increasingly extreme agenda, Democrats at the state legislative level are targeting ten states in an effort to resist Trump and protect key rights and freedoms.
The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC) announced this week that its top targets for the 2025-2026 election cycle include defending its one-seat majorities in the state Houses of Virginia and Pennsylvania, and both chambers of the legislature in Alaska, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.
“Five of our battleground chambers were each decided in the last election cycle by a single seat, directly impacting the lives of 40 million Americans,” the DLCC wrote in a recent strategy memo. “Majorities in many states will likely come down to just a few districts and hundreds of votes.”
Democrats are also hoping to chip away at GOP state legislative majorities in Arizona, Georgia, New Hampshire, and North Carolina.
Such races are often overlooked at the national level, but state legislatures have a tremendous amount of power to decide weighty matters on the economy, healthcare, voting laws, abortion rights, gun control, and much more. The complete absence of Democratic power in Washington magnifies the importance of the states; Democratic attorneys general, for example, are leading the way on challenging Trump’s king-like assertion of executive power on issues like immigration and cuts to federal funding.
A Roanoke College poll finds Virginia’s gubernatorial race has taken a dramatic twist as Abigail Spanberger (D) surged to a healthy lead over Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears (R), 39% to 24%.
The two were tied at 39% in the same survey in September.
The poll, conducted by Target Insyght on behalf of MIRS News, has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. It was taken between March 3-6 and involved 600 voters, of whom 41 percent were Republican and 41 percent Democrat. Another 18 percent considered themselves Independent.
Here's the results of ...(two) different hypothetical races for Senate:
Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer: 42 percent
Republican former Congressman Mike Rogers: 41 percent:
Other candidate or unsure: 17 percen
Democrat and former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg: 46 percent
Republican and former Congressman Mike Rogers: 44 percent
Some other Candidate or Undecided/unsure: 11 percent
Former Representative Katie Porter Announces Run for California Governor
by Seema Mehta
March 11, 2025
Introduction:
(Los Angeles Times)
• Katie Porter, a former congresswoman from Orange County, announced Tuesday that she is running for governor next year.
• The UC Irvine law school professor was a prodigious fundraiser when she was a member of Congress and unsuccessfully ran for Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s seat in 2024.
Former Orange County Rep. Katie Porter announced Tuesday morning that she is running for governor, potentially altering the dynamic in an already crowded field of prominent Democrats seeking to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom next year because of her national profile and fundraising prowess.
“What California needs now is a little bit of hope and a whole lot of grit. Fresh blood and new ideas. Leaders with the backbone to fight for what’s right,” Porter said in a video announcing her campaign. “That’s why I am running for governor.”
Additional Extract:
Other announced candidates include Democrats Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, state Controller Betty Yee, state schools chief Tony Thurmond, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, former state Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins and businessman Stephen Cloobeck, as well as Republican Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco.
