*Official 2020 Primary Elections Thread: Tuesday, June 23rd*

Is your state voting today?

Can McGrath shake Booker in Kentucky?

McGrath, national Democrats’ preferred candidate, has raised an enormous sum of money backed by small-dollar donors eager to see her topple McConnell. But Booker, a state representative who entered the race in January, six months after McGrath, has fostered enthusiasm behind his bid in the past three weeks in the wake of protests over police brutality in Kentucky and nationwide. Most of the best-known politicians and largest organizations on the party’s left have come off the sidelines in support of his underdog candidacy down the stretch.

Is it the end of the road for Eliot Engel?

Progressives are throwing all their energy into ousting Engel, and the 16-term congressman has never looked more vulnerable.

After a damning article in The Atlantic that revealed he was riding out the pandemic in the D.C. suburbs and an unflattering hot-mic moment upon his return to the Bronx, many Democratic operatives privately concede they would be more surprised if Engel survived. Middle school principal Jamaal Bowman is closing in, with endorsements from Sanders and Ocasio-Cortzez, plus hundreds of thousands of dollars in help from the Justice Democrats and the Working Families Party. A Bowman internal poll in mid-June showed Bowman with a 10-point lead.

A competitive primary for an emerging Virginia battleground

GOP Rep. Denver Riggleman’s loss earlier this month in a nominating convention boosted Democrats’ prospects in this rural central Virginia district. On Tuesday, they will pick their candidate to take on the new nominee, Bob Good, a staunch social conservative who opposes same-sex marriage, birthright citizenship and abortion for any reason.

There are three top contenders in the Democratic primary for the seat, which spans from the Washington exurbs to the North Carolina border. The front-runner is likely Cameron Webb, a physician at the University of Virginia and a former Obama White House fellow who has the backing of the science advocacy group 314 Action.

Meanwhile, EMILY’s List has run advertisements promoting Claire Russo, a Marine veteran who grabbed national attention after she revealed in a TV ad she had been sexually assaulted while in the military. And VoteVets is backing RD Huffstetler, another Marine vet, who ran for the seat in 2018.

Trump won this district by 11 points, but privately some GOP operatives admit they will have to spend to keep the seat. Good had only $34,000 in the bank as of late May and is not well known. He was only elected by about 2,500 delegates, many of whom were angered by Riggleman’s officiation of a gay wedding.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is backing McGrath, who had a campaign war chest of $19 million earlier this month. But progressive leaders, including Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, as well as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, are lining up behind Booker.

Ten of the 12 House Democrats running for reelection in New York City are facing primary challengers, several of whom are well funded.

Democratic outside groups have been active in Tuesday’s elections, particularly in deep-blue districts where the Democratic primary winners are likely to come to Congress.

In New York’s 17th District, where Democrat Nita M. Lowey is retiring, outside groups, including the Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC, have spent more than $518,000 to support lawyer Mondaire Jones, according to Federal Election Commission filings.

Women VOTE!, the political arm of EMILY’s List, has spent nearly $195,000 to bolster Evelyn Farkas, a former deputy assistant Defense secretary, and $80,000 against lawyer Adam Schleifler, who is self-funding his campaign.

Welcome to the party!

This thread is on and poppin’.

I’m going to take a nap but keep this thread at the top until poll troll makes it official.

I did my vote-by-mail in NYC a few weeks ago. I live in Meng's district, and voted for her, although the guy running against her has been advertising all over social media (no mailers that I can remember). It doesn't matter, but I also ended up voting for Biden. I had been planning to vote for Warren despite it, but I figure unity is needed now.

More interesting is the race for Queens Borough President. After the prior one cheated her way into being Queens County DA, there's like 50 candidates. Elizabeth Crowley, who's kin to the same Joe Crowley that AOC defeated in 2018, has an enormous amount of money and was touting her endorsement by the Fraternal Order of Police until that became a liability. The official candidate of the Queens Democratic Party is similarly unappealing, so I voted for a guy who has no chance.

Democracy bump.

[quote]Lines to vote in Westchester NT have been up to 3 hrs long. People are still in 90 min lines now & polls are supposed to close at 9. People must be allowed to vote. These are Democratic primaries. We must be better than this & we must fix this before Nov. - Mimi Rocah (Democrat running for Westchester DA)

Video of people in the Bronx waiting in line to vote:

[quote]This just came in from the Bronx, where Jamaal Bowman is trying to unseat Eliot Engel. 9:15 pm. More evidence of how motivated voters have been today. - Amy Gardner

Does New York now allow permanent mail-in/absentee voting for everyone? Because I can't imagine wanting to go stand in line to vote during a pandemic.

It appears that New York may end up having two Black gay Congressmen. There's another open seat in Westchester where Mondaire Jones is up by a lot.

He'd be Bill and Hillary's Congressman.

I think we are going to hear in the next few days that many people requested absentee ballots in New York and did not get them. I requested mine June 3, and didn't received it until yesterday.

In California everyone can be "permanent absentee," so you don't need to request anything.

Fingers crossed for McGrath!

Mysterious traffic jam materializes. Was Chris Xtra-Chrispie spotted anywhere nearby?

[quote] There's another open seat in Westchester where Mondaire Jones is up by a lot.He'd be Bill and Hillary's Congressman.

"A few years ago, this guy would have been getting us coffee"

Good news for republicans.

AOC has a dominating early lead over MCC in N.Y. primary congressional race

As Tuesday night’s results rolled in, Ocasio-Cortez tweeted: “Tonight we are proving that the people’s movement in NY isn’t an accident. It’s a mandate.”

Meanwhile, Jamaal Bowman held an early, double-digit lead over 16-term Rep. Eliot Engel in their hotly-contested primary, putting the former Bronx public school principal on track to potentially pull off a stunning upset against one of New York’s longest-serving federal lawmakers.

Booker probably wins in Kentucky. McGrath needed to dominate in rural Kentucky and she's not doing that, in fact Booker, a liberal from Louisville, is winning several rural conservative counties with demosaur voters. I guess black man > closeted lesbian to voters.

R22 Um, Republicans had been donating to Eliot Engel.

R24 I like to think I am not a 1 issue voter, but dyed facial hair represents instant electoral disqualification in my house.

R22 I actually don't know why AOC is disliked here. I think she is a very talented politician. She actually seems very relatable when she posts on social media. Some can come off as pandering when they do that, but she is a natural.

Honestly, I like her.

(R26) It's simple. AOC is an idiot.

Y'all like the worst people and hate the best people.

r26 She's so overrated and i really question progressives for following her like she knows what she's doing. She's a giggling bartender

R26, a lot of Democrats who consider themselves to be classic liberals (not far, far left), like me, think AOC is fantastic. She comes off as very genuine and sincere in wanting to do the right thing. I'd definitely vote for her if I lived in her district.

Really? AOC is absolutely cringe-worthy and a fraud.

AOC is a net positive but her brand of leftism can be grating. Calling white people fragile, and then complaining about a negative reaction, is something you should do if you have a column at The Guardian, not if you're a politician who needs to draw a broad coalition.

R23, can you imagine Booker up against McConnell?

Can’t think of a more symbolic match-up to describe the US at the moment:

New possibilities versus Long-standing corruption

[quote] can you imagine Booker up against McConnell?

McConnell certainly can, He;s home free now.

AOC is young, and she will mature. I love her tenacity. She really doesn't give a shit what the repukes say about her, and gives it back twice as hard. I see her as an eventual replacement for Nancy Pelosi.

Fuhget ooh-ull that: how many delegates did I win?!

AOAcid smart and good at her job.

I adore AOC and I hope we elect another 50 of her this November.

So they can vote Granny Nancy out of the Speaker's chair.

I just hope whoever wins in Ky., can beat the lowlife, McConnell.

The AOC haters here are fucking losers.

Well, I was reading one of the local websites regarding the KY election and apparently turnout is up 200% over 2016!

So people are fucking motivated to vote.

Here's the link from r42

[quote] can you imagine Booker up against McConnell? McConnell certainly can, He;s home free now.

You, or I, R34, do not know what the next 4 months hold.

If Trump keeps pushing for further devolution of the US, race continues as a big issue and voter turnout maintains a high number, McConnell may be in for a bit of a surprise.

We may see some interesting things unfold before the election......the world has changed dramatically in the last 4 months already.

Do we already have some results? Where is our PollTroll keeping us updated with winners and numbers?

It's hard because of the clusterfuck with absentee ballots and the incredibly long lines that KY forced by closing so many polling stations.

New York doesn't have to report absentee ballots until 8 days after the election, so nothing is official. But it does appear that come January, New York will have three gay congressmen.

Although it is funny that the former Republican who moved (from Trump Tower, no less) to Queens last year specifically to run against AOC, and also spent $3 million of her own money in the campaign, lost by 50 points.

[Quote]But it does appear that come January, New York will have three gay congressmen.

Is that state congress or national congress?

I live in Riggleman's district (Virginia-05) which is gerrymandered from the NC border to the exburbs of DC. Cameron Webb, an African-American physician/lawyer who worked for the Obama White House and who currently teaches health policy at UVa's Medical School, won in a landslide. He is VERY impressive. He won every county in the district and overall got 66% of the vote in a 4-way race.

Webb will run against Bob Good who was recently fired from Liberty University for using LU alumni records to solicit campaign funds. Good is far-right (anti-gay marriage and employment right, opposes abortion even for rape/incest/live of mother in danger, denies any trans rights, and extremely pro-NRA). Good also feels there should not be a separation of church and state since it is not mentioned in the Constitution.

I'm hoping that Webb gets some national monies. The district was carved to be safe republican (Trump won it by 10% in 2016), and the last Dem to win Virginia-05 was in 2008 in Obama's first campaign.

[quote]I'm hoping that Webb gets some national monies. The district was carved to be safe republican (Trump won it by 10% in 2016), and the last Dem to win Virginia-05 was in 2008 in Obama's first campaign.

He got a huge burst in donations after being declared the winner. There seems to be a lot of enthusiasm; there was a HUGE surge in votes for him from Charlottesville. It's admittedly liberal but the gap between people voting for him versus voting in the Republican Senate primary was enormous.

If he pulls it off in November, he'll have a much easier time with reelection, since the Democrats are in charge of the redistricting this time.

[quote]Is that state congress or national congress?

The latter. New York's delegation has had one gay man Sean Patrick Maloney for at least a decade, but Mondaire Jones absolutely walloped the competition to replace Nita Lowey. Richie Torres, a member of the NYC City Council, appears to have defeated a Trump-loving, pro-life, homophobic DINO for an open seat in the Bronx. The DINO, Ruben Diaz Sr (who is so odious, his own son refused to vote for him) was apparently so incensed last night, he flipped off a reporter.

What about Engel? Did he lose the primary or still too early to say?

[quote]What about Engel? Did he lose the primary or still too early to say?

Lost. I mean, nothing is officially declared, but the big elections analysts called it for Bowman.

Also, Jackie Gordon, a Black woman with a terrific resume, won in the 2nd District, which is the seat Peter King is retiring from. I think she's got a real shot in November.

[quote]the world has changed dramatically in the last 4 months already.

Yeah, but Kentucky hasn't.

^Ah, but it may have, R55.

Voter participation up 200% from 2016?

Although Kentucky is slow, SOMETHING is stirring..

(Hear of rumblings on the ground.)

Don't waste your time on KY. It's the hopeless shithole of the U.S. They don't deserve nice things. My parents escaped as adolescents and I am so glad I didn't grow-up there.

[quote] Don't waste your time on KY. It's the hopeless shithole of the U.S.

Fascinating, then, that the current most powerful senator arises from that state.

I get it, R57. My time in KY was particularly traumatic, even though I lived in a rather charming part of the state ( downtown Lexington on a road leading directly to stupendous horse farms).

But in an aim to have greater vision for the ailing US, optimism is my healthy ally.

Booker replacing McConnell would be an interesting turn of events.

R58, it would never happen if the primaries are anything to go by. McConnell got 62K votes while McGrath and Booker COMBINED got 46K.

KY is a shithole full of idiots save those poor 46K who voted for a Dem.

Correction: I realize not all pcts have reported, but the fact that that many votes went to McConnell already with so few pcts reported, is quite frightening.

Re: Kentucky

It's because of abortion. Some of those people are so hung up on that ONE issue, they ignore everything else. Graphic photos of severed fetus hands and feet, bullshit stories from lunatic 'Planned Parenthood infiltrators' and fearmongering about women's health clinics have been The Right's best weapon against change and betterment for so many.

And yet they voted for a president who has undoubtedly caused more abortions than any other politician in the country.

Yes, R62, but he's stacking the courts with judges who will vote conservative, the 200th was appointed just today. They give no fucks about his private life because he is delivering the judges they want.

[quote]Graphic photos of severed fetus hands and feet,

Can't someone just tell them they're pictures of dead brown babies blown to smithereens in wars they've supported? Maybe that'll bring a smile to their face?

Good riddance to Engel. Fuck him.

Looks like McGrath ended up swamping Booker in mail-in ballots.

So, we'll see.

Right now it's pretty close? McGrath up by 1000 with 80% counted. Maybe that's not considered close.

Still hoping McGrath gets it. Otherwise, McConnell wins for sure.

[quote] Looks like McGrath ended up swamping Booker in mail-in ballots.

hmmmm. How convenient for the DNC.

1 in 5 Ballots Rejected as Fraud Is Charged in N.J. Mail-In Election

I remember last week it was reported that McConnell got 75k votes and both Dem candidates combined only 60k. Today Dems had almost 500k votes and McConnell had 100k less. Is this a good sign for November and did so many people vote by mail? Wow.

r70 if my math is correct, if we extrapolate total Dem votes to 100%, it would be 559K vs. Rep's 523K, presuming primary voters stay in same party in Nov and everything else stays same

Support Amy.