A Bad Night for the GOP – Extremism Loses in Ohio, Mississippi, Kentucky and Arizona

Republicans won control of the Virginia Senate — by less than 100 votes, apparently — but in just about every other race, they took a drubbing:

In Ohio, GOP Gov. John Kasich’s union-stripping measure went down, 61 percent to 39 percent. In a statement after the vote was called, Kasich acknowledged the loss, “It’s clear the people have spoken. I heard their voices. I understand their decision. And frankly, I respect what the people have to say in an effort like this. And as a result of that, it requires me to take a deep breath and to spend some time to reflect on what happened here.”

In Mississippi, the “every sperm is sacred” anti-abortion law was defeated, 58 percent to 42 percent — a win for women’s reproductive choice that came as something of a surprise.

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Democrat Hahn Wins CA 36 Special Election

Rep. Janice Hahn
Rep. Janice Hahn
Republicans had hoped to see an upset in the special election for Rep. Jane Harman’s Los Angeles-area congressional seat yesterday similar to the reversal in the special election in New York in May, in which which Democrat Kathy Hochul won the longtime Republican seat once held by Jack Kemp.

But they were delusional — California’s 36th District includes anything-goes-and-then-some Venice Beach, for crying out loud. Plus, the Republican in the race was a teavangelical, who self-funded his race, which is an increasingly unpopular strategy among California voters. It didn’t help the Republican that an outside right-wing group produced an ad against the Democrat, Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn, that keyed off her work in gang intervention to recast her as a pole-dancing stripper.

Hahn, whose family has been movers and shakers in the Democratic Party in Los Angeles for decades, bested the bagger by nine points:

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The Message from Voters in NY26 to GOP: Hands Off Our Medicare

The Republican spin machine is in over-drive trying to redirect attention away from the real reason a Democrat, Kathy Hochul, defeated the GOP candidate in New York’s 26th congressional district yesterday. Hochul, who won with a 47-43 percent margin, becomes only the fourth Democrat to hold the seat since 1857. Republicans who have previously represented the 26th include Jack Kemp, Bill Paxon and, most recently, Chris “Shirtless” Lee.

The real reason Hochul won — besides the fact that she proved to be an extremely effective campaigner — is, of course, the Kill Medicare provision in the House Republican budget bill:

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Openly GOP Man – Former Blogger Boi from Troi – Running for West Hollywood City Council

From left: D'Amico, Horvath and Schmidt
From left: D'Amico, Horvath and Schmidt
Okay, time out for a little local politics. Via a WeHo Daily link to the Bay Area Reporter, I learned this morning that Scott Schmidt, the one-time blogger “Boi from Troi,” is running for a city council seat here in West Hollywood.

What makes this unusual is that Schmidt is a Republican. And, oh yeah, he’s openly gay, but then so are eight of the 10 candidates running for the three seats up for grabs on the five-person council, according to BAR.

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