Not to be overlooked

This likely won't amount to much but Gavin Newsom is facing a recall election over the L.A. wildfires. He is the worst in a prodigious string of horrible California governors and deserves to be recalled for countless issues. Even though it likely won't happen (successfully), it's worth noting how terrible he is, since he's likely planning a presidential run in 2028.

Arizona, what happened?

 Georgia was a bad enough situation but the circumstances in Arizona are outright appalling.

Hundreds, if not, thousands, of Maricopa County election workers have come forward with evidence of illegality in this election.

Katie Hobbs refused to debate, did not campaign, and had almost no following. No reasonable person would believe that she actually won this race. She ran against Kari Lake, one of the most popular Republican candidates in a generation.

But Hobbs ran the election, oversaw 30% of election day precinct machines breaking down, had the media in her pocket, and is working with social media platforms to silence her critics.

The power brokers on the left are laughing at you for allowing this to happen America. 

Governor Series: KS - Derek Schmidt

How does Kansas even consider a Democrat for governor?  There hasn't been a lot of polling I've seen for this state but where there has been, the incumbent Democrat has a 2 to 3 point lead. Derek Schmidt would be a solid governor for Kansas.

Governor Series: NY - Lee Zeldin

New York is a tough tough road for any Republican, but Lee Zeldin does have a shot at the governorship and he'd be a good governor.  Even a fire hydrant would do a better job than you-know-who.

Governor Series: MI - Tudor Dixon

Tudor Dixon would make a great governor for Michigan, unlike the train wreck in the role right now.  Dixon is a bit of a longshot but some polls have her tied.  This is a state where every vote will matter.

Governor Series: NV - Joe Lombardo

 This is a tight race, but Joe Lombardo is the right guy for Nevada.

Governor Series: AZ - Kari Lake

Kari Lake talks about her agenda, her opponent hides from debates and reporters. Forhtright vs. Suspicious?  Yep.

Governor Series: WI - Tim Michels

Tim Michels is not a politician. Endorsed by President Trump. He’s a business leader, he’s a builder, and he’s a veteran. And he's closing in the polls. He's the governor Wisconsin needs, his opponent is clearly not.

Governor Predictions

I recently finished a list of brief appeals for voters for senators in toss-up states.  I will soon be doing the same for governors and hopefully time permitting, for congressional races as well.  Meanwhile here are a couple of predictions for governor races across the nation in the upcoming midterm elections, one from the right and one from the left.

Doug Masterino announce runs for PA governor

 He announced yesterday. This is good news.

The New Jersey disconnect

MetLife Stadium is in New Jersey, the state Democrats are trying to say the won in the 2021 gubernatorial election.  Meanwhile at a recent soccer match, the entire MetLife stadium did this (warning, language):

The whole stadium was chanting, or at least nearly so. There's a disconnect between counted votes and the reality on the ground.  Make no mistake, "found ballots" will always be enough to put Democrats over the top in some states, but there is an emergent disconnect between winners and reality.

Bloodbath for Democrats

 Now it's time to shine. Virginia proved to be a sweep for Republicans:

Glenn Youngkin saves the day. The gubernatorial candidate bested Democrat Terry McAuliffe in yesterday’s elections in the Old Dominion. The GOP dominated the state, clinching all three statewide officed. Youngkin clinched the governor’s win. Jason Miyares is our new attorney general. And Winsome Sears is our lieutenant governor. She’s the first black woman to occupy the office. The House of Delegates also flipped 51-49.

Meanwhile In New Jersey, as of this posting Republican upstart, longshot candidate for governor, Jack Ciattarelli holds a very slim lead over Democrat incumbent Phil Murphy.  This was a state that guy (Brandon) carried in 2020 by double digits. Of course every vote is not counted and surely some will be counted twice, so there's that.

Make no mistake though (although the Democrats most likely will), this is a foreshadowing of the 2022 midterm elections, provided Democrats do not change course.  The Democrats tried to make the Virginia election about president Trump. They failed. It appears they are going to make the defeat about president Trump (aka RACISM!!!) as well. If they fail to learn the lesson and swallow their own Kool Aid, 2022 could end up worse than the shellacking they took in 2010. History repeating no doubt.  Democrats could learn from this. Prior to that 2010 bloodbath, in 2009 Republican Bob McDonnell upset Democrat favorite Craig Deeds.  And in New Jersey, Chris Christie upset heavy favorite Jon Corzine.

I don't believe Democrats are capable of doing anything as far as strategy anymore other than doubling down.  There's a limit of course as to how much the GOP can win, but 2022 may in fact hit that limit at this rate. 

Virginia, the fix is in

An article in left-leaning Politico today is trying to nationalize the result of the upcoming Virginia gubernatorial election, and by proxy, all elections.  Perhaps they think it's a winning strategy for the left to make every election about federal politics.  The far left has been in lockstep with voting Democrat for a long time.  Nationalizing the race might actually be a boon to the right instead.  Unless the fix is in and they know that far left governor Terry McAuliffe is going to win, allowing them to make national claims about the election result.

We don’t need to wait until the results are in, however, to draw one clear conclusion from this contest. It will or should deal another decisive blow to one of the most enduring, least useful observations about American elections: “All politics is local.”

Oh really? Why would this election prove that?  Based on what evidence? The article glosses over specifics to jump straight to this numeric observation: 

Presidential elections have almost always been driven by broader factors than local matters: war, inflation, recession, domestic upheaval, corruption. Over the last decade or two, the drift — more like a surge — toward political polarization has seen the steady disappearance of split ticket voting, where a personally admirable candidate of one party could win the votes from those who identify with another party. In 2020, only one Senate candidate, Maine Republican Susan Collins, won in a state carried by the other party’s presidential nominee. A decade ago, 23 senators came from states that had voted for the other party’s presidential candidate. Today, the number is six.

That doesn't speak to nationalization of elections, it speaks to geographic polarization, or coincidence, or possibly an alignment of local politics with federal politics.  It does not mean people will vote for governor or mayor based on who is president or who controls congress. At least not on a 1:1 ratio.

Of course there have been other reasons to want this race nationalized.  McAuliffe has been as disastrous as  a candidate as he has been as a governor.  They've been bringing in the big guns like Obama and Biden to try to nationalize this race, and they've tried to often as possible mention president Trump.  It's a distraction from McAuliffe's bungled approach to schools and parents wanting to have a say in what their children are being taught.

Should McAuliffe lose, you can bet just as quickly they will at least publicly start saying it was his issue, not about a national referendum on Biden.  Even if they believe that it actually was.  Nationalizing it is just a talking point as of today.  But it is also possible the fix is in and they are saying it's a national referendum because they are going to make sure they get the result they want.

Wait, this isn't real, right?

 This is way too specific, not to mention creepy.

ROFL ROFL ROFL. Buh bye.

Self serving tripe, absent important facts about his governorship.  He was a cancer on so many levels. And he has avoided the impeachment he so richly deserves.

Larry Elder would make a fantastic governor of California

 Larry Elder threw his hat in the ring for the California recall election.  Given the state of the state's electorate he seems like a longshot.  But given the state of the state, anything is possible and Larry Elder would make a fantastic governor of California.

The Sacramento Bee recently had a long form interview with the candidate:

Couldn't happen to a more deserving, worse governor

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer is way, way underwater in the polls.  Sorry, not sorry. In fact, I'm happy to hear it.

In case you didn't know, Michigan's governor is still power-mad

 A lot of people not directly affected by this, may not be aware of Michigan governor Whitmer's dictatorial bent continuing beyond the COVID situation (no, not "crisis").  She's ordered a Canadian gas company to stop using a pipeline, even though the federal government has said it's safe.

Midterms Matter: Governor Roundup, don't forget

In state governorships and statehouses, this election cycle is extremely critical.  That's because those elected now, will impact the next census in 2020.  It will impact redistricting and that will impact future federal elections. Now is the time to not only impact the midterms, but to impact future midterms as well.  Vote straight Republican tickets, even if you are not thrilled with local candidates - that's how important this election cycle is.

That's not to say there are not some great candidates in the statewide elections this year.  Here are some governor candidates that really deserve your support to whom I'd like to draw your attention.  Some of these races are very close. All of them are critical. These are all important elected offices, and don't forget to also vote for the Republican candidates in your local state houses as well.

Florida: Please turn out to support Ron DeSantis.

Georgia: Please turn out to support Brian Kemp.

Iowa: Please turn out to support Kim Reynolds.

Wisconsin: Please turn out to support Scott Walker.

Ohio: Please turn out to support Mike DeWine.

Kansas: Please turn out to support Kris Kobach.

Nevada: Please turn out to support Adam Laxlt.

Arizona: Please turn out to support Doug Ducey.

Oklahoma: Please turn out to support Kevin Stitt.

Oregon: Please turn out to support Knute Buehler.

Colorado: Please turn out to support Walker Stapleton.

Maine: Please turn out to support Shawn Moody.

Michigan: Please turn out to support Bill Schuette.

Minnesota: Please turn out to support Jeff Johnson.

New Mexico: Please turn out to support Steve Pearce.

Rhode Island: Please turn out to support Allan Fung.

Connecticut: Please turn out to support Bob Stefanowski.

Illinois: Please turn out to support Bruce Rauner.

Pennsylvania: Please turn out to support Scott Wagner.

Your support matters. Thank you.

In Florida governor's race - Gillum vs. Project Veritas

Andrew Gillum is finally falling behind in the Florida race for governor.  This Project Veritas report is likely going to finish him off.