Florida, You're About To Be Kansas

By Hubie and Bertie

The world is agog that the state of Kansas has elected its first Democratic Senator in nearly 100 years. And while votes are still being counted, Kansas might end up with a Democratic governor, attorney general, and secretary of state. How agog-y can you get?

Thing is, Donald Trump wasn't the guy who broke Kansas for the GOP.

No, that honor goes to former Senator and then Governor Sam Brownback, who implemented a half-baked, tax-and-spending-cut scheme that ended up in chaos. (The Kansas Supreme Court had to order the legislature to meet its constitutional obligation to fund education.) Things unraveled for the Republicans from there.

Brownback begat Democrat Laura Kelly, a moderate former Republican, as a two-term governor. He begat the beginning of the a slow shift in the makeup of the state legislature. And now we have not just Laura Kelly and Sharice Davids, but Adam Hamilton and Cindy Holscher and an almost-flip in one of the three remaining Republican-held Congressional districts. Pretty amazing.

Florida should pay attention. They've passed a Brownback-on-steroids constitutional amendment to abolish property taxes, and the impact on the entire range of municipal services will be immediate. It will turn out to be a long-term loss for Republicans as classroom sizes explode, schools, libraries, and municipal parks close, streets aren't cleaned, public hospitals are forced to cut services, etc. etc.

How will the hapless governor-elect Byron Donalds navigate all this? We cats wait and watch — but because we believe in government and the idea that we're all in the same boat together, we HISS.

(IMAGE: Original illustration for The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by W.W. Denslow, 1900)

Cat Fight! Brucie vs. Elsie

By Miss Kubelik

Quite an election in New York this week. Governor Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Tish James both steamrolled to victory, and Democrats snagged supermajorities in the state legislature. And everyone's excited that Cait Conley ousted the weaselly Mike Lawler in NY-17.

In our neck of the woods, NY-21 is still uncalled by the AP, although the repulsive Trumpster Anthony Constantino, with his doughy, punchable face, is claiming victory. If Blake Gendebien, our candidate in that district, ends up losing, we hope he'll run again. Blake carried every one of the district's counties on the Canadian border, and with a 250-plus Democratic majority in the US House — maybe as many as 265 — Constantino won't have anything to do for the next two years except bomb-throw. (He certainly isn't going to DC to legislate.)

Meanwhile, the outgoing occupant of that House seat, Elise "Elsie" Stefanik, has caused a big kerfuffle in the New York Republican Party, which is in, um, disarray anyway. (Everybody hates everybody else, including party chair Ed Cox. It's a glorious sight.) Elsie poured gas on the fire when she told The New York Post that her GOP primary rival Bruce Blakeman's loss to Hochul is what happens "when you have a low-energy campaign with limited resources that lacked apparatus."

She added, "I know feelings are raw...so I will cut some slack because...I don't know from experience, as I have never lost any of my seven elections." Meeeee-OWWWWW! Claws out much, Elsie?

Blakeman went nuts.

"Elise Stefanik is a selfish, do-nothing politician that didn't lift a finger to help Republican candidates in New York this year," he tweeted in a rage. "She had one moment of glory in what was otherwise an unremarkable career."

We're obviously not fans of either Brucie or Elsie, but we'll give Blakeman this: He's absolutely right that Stefanik did nothing to help during the general election. Many times this fall, we found ourselves asking where Elsie was — she dropped her bid for governor, and basically disappeared. Is she even going to bother to show up in Washington for the House's lame-duck session? Keep an eye on that.

Alas, New York is probably not rid of Elise Stefanik — she'll come back like a herpes sore, maybe running for Senate in 2028. But her road will be bumpy: She's tainted by Trumpiness in a deep-blue state, and her failings are many. Her pet project in Congress was electing more Republican women to office. But come January, the number of GOP women will be down to 20 or fewer, while the number of Democratic women in the House will surge pass 100. Lame! We cats PURR. 

Thank God For Candidates Like Adam Hamilton

By Zamboni

Several versions of this image are going around the interwebs, but we like this one because it has Toto (even though, yes, he's a dog). An excellent way to celebrate the fact that Kansas will send a Democratic Senator to Washington for the first time in nearly 100 years.

Adam Hamilton is a pastor. And he was a perfect fit for his state — although he was obviously helped by how simply terrible his Republican opponent Roger Marshall was (and is). At the same time, observers need to acknowledge that despite the MAGAts' insistence that the Democratic Party is the party of anti-Semites and commies — Abdul El-Sayed's name comes up the most often — many, many of the candidates we chose to run in races across the country were moderates.

And in many cases, openly and unapologetically devout. A Canadian Anglican priest we follow had this to say: 

"One of the remarkable things about the midterms was the number of clergy elected as Democrats. It did my heart good to see progressive Christians like James Talarico being elected. The Right doesn't have a monopoly on Christianity. The Left isn’t against religion. We’re against the weaponization of it.

"As a Christian, I think it's beautiful to see Christians, Muslims, Jews, secular humanists, and atheists working together in government. It's what America was always supposed to be about. Christians like Talarico are more representative of the faith I was raised in than anything MAGA has shown me." We cats agree, and we PURR. 

CATABUNGA!

By Baxter

We cats need to catch up on our sleep. But first, here are some thoughts on the 2026 Blue Tsunami:

Dave Wasserman from The Cook Political Report, who is not given to overstatement, tweeted just a few hours ago. "I've seen enough," he said. "Generational wipeout." (Excellent!) 

Back in March, the Republican Congressional Campaign Committee boldly issued a list of 26 House seats they were targeting as ripe for the picking. Smugly, they insisted they would work to flip 'em all. The list included Democrats like Derek Tran in California, Jared Moskowitz in Florida, and Marcy Kaptur in Ohio. Well, guess what: They haven't flipped a single one. The Democrat either has won or is leading in the nine races that haven't been called yet. (#SAD!)

We are hearing rumors that Amy Acton did not answer Vivek Ramaswamy's concession call. (Delightful!)

It's hard to choose among the Republicans that we're happiest to have booted out of Congress, but North Carolina's Virginia Foxx and Indiana's Victoria Spartz are battling for first place on our list. (Cat fight!)

Finally, the most touching aspects of the election were the messages of support from other countries. People posted on social media from Canada, Germany, Norway, and the UK, to name a few. It's so nice that they understand that Benedict Donald is not us. (We cats PURR.)

Your Vote, Your Voice

By Sniffles

Well, everybody, Election Day is almost here. There are lots of promising prognostications out there right now, from folks with long political resumes who are truly worthy of respect. But of course none of their predictions will come true if we all don't get out and vote.

Republicans like to make the process as endless, unfair and inefficient as possible. If you didn't early vote, please do it tomorrow, no matter how long it takes. Let's knock 'em off the table! We cats PURR.

November Surprise

By Hubie and Bertie

The New York Times and Siena University published new set of Senate polls today, and goodness gracious. Adam Hamilton in Kansas is up five points, James Talarico in Texas is up by seven, and Sherrod Brown in Ohio and Troy Jackson in Maine are leading by six. In Alaska, Mary Peltola is just ahead by one. (Come on, Mary, you can do it.)

And Dr. Abdul El-Sayed is leading Mike Rogers in Michigan by 11 points. So can someone explain why Haley Stevens chose today of all days to politically self-immolate?

El-Sayed has been ahead of Rogers by more modest margins in other surveys, so this one's a real eye-catcher. But whether El-Sayed's ahead by that much or not, the fallout for Stevens today has been epic. Her Congressional staffers are resigning, folks who worked on her campaigns are ripping her to shreds on social media, and people are telling tales that they had resolved to keep under wraps even as her long, drawn-out unraveling tested their patience.

A lot of the stories involve Stevens's fiancé, Jason Turkish, who she only met after Michigan's August primary. Now they're engaged, and he's the only one whose political advice she'll follow — all of it bad. Can you imagine throwing your entire career away for... this guy? Barf.

Stevens's behavior is inexplicable, of course, and would be in any year, but in 2026 — with the very survival of democracy on the line — it's unforgivable. But it helped El-Sayed raise $1.2 million in four hours this afternoon. Backfire of the year? You be the judge. We cats HISS and PURR at the same time.

Mississippi? Yes, Mississippi.

President Bill Clinton went to Mississippi on Friday to campaign for our excellent Democratic Senate candidate, Scott Colom. Goodness gracious. If you had told us a year ago that our Democratic big dogs would be speechifying in places like Mississippi and Kansas, we would have told you to go outside and touch grass (or smoke it). Yes, there are lots of reasons to be nervous about Tuesday, and it ain't over till it's over. But take a few steps back and see where A) the money and B) the surrogates are going — in both parties. Those facts tell a tale, and we're happy that we're on this side of it. We cats PURR. 

The Wheels Have Come Off The Wagon

By Miss Kubelik

Advice to Fox "News" from former CBS correspondent Scott MacFarlane: Never interview the dude who seems really eager to talk. Because he's probably setting you up.

It makes you wonder how the Fox crew is vetting their stand-ups. Maybe they're not doing a very good job? Like Team Trump not being able to keep hecklers from getting into Benedict Donald's rallies? Or canceling in-person rallies and then rescheduling them again? What a bunch of amateurs. Clearly, the White House and the GOP are in chaos — and not just in the run-up to Tuesday.

The Trumpsters clearly don't know what they're doing. Which means the only thing between us and the total destruction of America is the fact that they're so terribly inept. Thank God for that! We cats PURR.

Tidbits And Cat Treats: Campaign Catch-Up Edition

By Zamboni

Less than a week until Election Day, and so many stories to follow. Here are a few we've noticed.

A new New York Times/Siena poll has Democrat Peggy Flanagan leading Republican Michele Tafoya in the Minnesota Senate race, 54 percent to 40 percent. This got a lot of attention today, because it's far better for Flanagan than previous polls have been. Hmmm: Trump's approval rating in Minnesota is 35 percent — but Flanagan is associated with what is either a scandal-plagued or witch-hunted state government, depending on your point of view. But Tafoya can't outperform Trump's number by more than five? Sad!

Speaking of the Times, there's something really odd about its Mary Peltola article today. Peltola's former campaign manager, who was fired several months ago and was a source for the story, contacted the newspaper and said she wanted to take back everything she told them. "I am not willing to be a source for any story in any capacity," she said. Weird! Meanwhile, the article should have no bearing on the DOJ suit against the state of Alaska — the wording on the ballot is crystal clear (even though Trump thinks Alaska voters are too stupid to know what the term "incumbent" means).

PS: The GOP's hands are very, very dirty when it comes to running fake or "ghost" candidates. They've done it in Florida (of course), and this year in New York, they've recruited spoilers to run on ballot lines for smaller political parties, like Working Families. Pot, meet kettle.

Roll Call has published its lists of vulnerable Senators and House members. Of the 10 on the House list, eight are Republicans, while seven of the eight on the Senate list are. (And #8 is really a stretch, because it's Jon Ossoff. Jon Husted in Ohio is #1, and Susan Collins in Maine is #2.) But tell us again how all the polls are wrong, GOP.

Nobody seems to know what's going to happen with the election in Israel (although Benjamin Netanyahu has already accused the Arab-Israeli parties of "stealing" it). And after failed presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro said he would never leave Brazil, he skipped town and landed in Miami today. "I'm the leader of Brazil!" he bleated. God, we cats are so sick of these Trumpy right-wing crybabies. Is there not a man among them? They make us hack up hairballs, and we HISS.

Blowhards

By Baxter

Preacher of the House Mikey Johnson is the quintessential guy who never should have had his current job in the first place. Honestly, there's never been a time when he wasn't in over his head.

Recently, he daydreamed about going back to Louisiana and opening a lawn-care business if/when he loses his gavel. Now, he's telling pretend journalist Laura Ingraham that all the polls are wrong.

All of them. All. Never mind that in the last two midterm elections, 2022 and 2018, polling was spot on.

Ingraham didn't ask about this, of course, because she's a stupid, hateful fraud, but what happened to the 26 Congressional districts that the Republicans were once so confidently targeting, including ones they added because of their nefarious mid-decade gerrymandering?

A well-informed (and actual) journalist could ask:

• How many staffers from the Republican Congressional Campaign Committee are in those districts right now?
• How much has the RCCC spent in those districts since October 1?
• How many of those districts are currently seeing RCCC ads?
• How many Trump 2024 districts is the RCCC planning to win?

Pretty tough queries for Mikey and Republicans to answer, especially when analysts like Sabato's Crystal Ball keep moving races our way (20 more today — with one, VA-07, just changed to Safe Democratic). But reporters should keep asking, anyway. We cats PURR.

(PHOTO: Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)

Happy Birthday, Madam Secretary

The more time that passes, the clearer it becomes that she was right about everything. We cats PURR.

The First Time We Saw Amy Acton's Mom, We Thought Of This

Rumors flew today that Vivek Ramaswamy was going to take down his revolting Donna Arthur ad, but it seems he was merely swapping out a 60-second version for a 30-second one. All righty, then. It's okay that he's reminding voters how much they hate him. We cats PURR.

Tidbits And Cat Treats: Eleven Days To Go Edition

By Hubie and Bertie

Lots of news related to the midterms today. Here are some stories that are getting our attention.

The Cook Political Report has changed its rating of the Ohio gubernatorial race from "Toss-Up" to "Lean Democratic." Gee, wonder why? The notorious Vivek Ramaswamy ad is not only repulsive in and of itself, but Donna Arthur — Amy Acton's mom — is, too. She was convicted of animal cruelty back in 2021. We won't share the details, because they're upsetting, but they involve kittens. Pile child sexual abuse, plus passing some bad checks, on top of that, and you've got the perfect person for Republicans to clutch to their bosoms.

Trump is dropping certain tariffs on Canada to try to help Susan Collins. So what does Troy Jackson say now? Easy-peasy: "This just shows how impotent Susan Collins is. She couldn't prevent the tariffs in the first place, and now Trump comes in less than two weeks before Election Day with a Hail Mary pass? Please. There's also no guarantee that the day after the election — no matter what the outcome — that Trump won't reimpose the tariffs." (Mainers, take note.)

By the way, weren't the Trumpsters just stamping their feet about supposed Canadian interference in the US election? The irony!

Impeachable offense #28,936: Benedict Donald states that he ordered the Justice Department to challenge the Alaska Senate results if Dan Sullivan loses. (We don't favor impeachment speculation at the moment, but Democrats should consider this if/when we get Congress back. The Alaska ballot clearly indicates who the incumbent is.)

Speaking of impeachment, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is at the top of our list — for so many reasons. But let's do it because he and his inept staffers broke Dwight Eisenhower's globe.

Reporters should stop tolerating Trump's verbal abuse.

Finally, to the voters of Mississippi: You really need to elect Scott Colom to the Senate. Not just because Cindy Hyde-Smith has been bad at her job, but to send a message to Trumpsters and cop-apologists that killing a one-year-old is unacceptable. The mom was suspected of shoplifting diapers. Do you know what Pope Leo (or Jesus) would say? It would be: "Do you need formula to go with that, ma'am?" Because, really, has anyone read Les Misérables? Come on, people. We cats HISS.

GOP: Sucked Into The Vortex Of Vivek

By Zamboni

The Vivek Ramaswamy controversy in Ohio continues. Today, Benedict Donald, the adjudicated rapist, came out in favor of the Ramaswamy ad that practically everyone else is condemning. Not much of a surprise there, although we Democrats are grateful that Trump is doing his part to keep the story at the top of the news cycle.

Meanwhile, after days of silence, current Republican Governor Mike DeWine finally came out and blasted the ad. Late to the party, Gov! Growing up, Mike clearly wanted to be the 43rd man on the moon. (Extra points to you Peanuts fans who recognize that as a Linus-ism.)

Like Linus waiting in the pumpkin patch on Halloween night, we cats are standing by to see how the Ramaswamy ad is playing out in the real world of the Buckeye State. But the political pundits are pretty much united that it was a colossal mistake, an own goal that will cost Vivek an election that he was already losing. What is pleasing in the meantime is that Republicans in Ohio are busy fighting each other over it. They obviously deeply resent that Vivek has put them in this awful position so close to Election Day. Who can blame them? And who can't help but feel a ton of schadenfreude at the same time?

The other fun fact? Now Trump has attacked DeWine for attacking the ad. This is so great. Make a note on your calendar to check how much money Amy Acton has raised in the wake of all this. She's already the second-highest trending campaign on ActBlue, and M.K. Pritzker, wife of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritker, just sent a cool $500,000 Acton's way. We cats love all this, and we PURR.

The Prize Turkey Is Back On The Road

By Baxter

Social media wags are in countdown mode again because Benedict Donald is even more incoherent than usual at the hate rally for Darline Graham Nordone in South Carolina tonight.

"Trump has been gaffing, slurring, and rambling for his entire speech," one, a behaviorist, reports. "Whatever he used to take for focus, presumed to be Adderall, no longer works as well. Also, the neuron firings in his brain and his speech center appear to now be ill-timed with one another. As such, he cannot complete a sentence, and oftentimes, can barely complete a thought." So why are his handlers letting him do these events? Especially late in the day? It's a mystery.

(Gay Trump is back, too, as he compliments Nordone's husband's looks, which is probably better than admiring Jon Husted's butt. Nobody anticipated this, but dementia is a curious thing.)

There's no transparency about Trump's health, despite the fact that MAGA (and the media) screamed bloody murder about Joe Biden's. So the nation is in the dark about how much Donald is teetering over the brink, and whether his brain will go before his circulatory system does. But it would be interesting to take a poll of how many Americans have champagne on ice for the precise moment it happens.

Trump's also been interrupted by hecklers about a dozen times. In South Carolina! We cats admire the protesters' moxie, and we PURR.

Oh, The Horror: More Bad News For Republicans

By Sniffles

Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia came out with House race rating changes today, pushing 28 seats to at least leaning to Democrats, and sending Democrats past 218 to control the chamber. 

"A good measuring stick is 2018, when Democrats ended up winning 235 House seats," they write. "Forced to choose today, we probably wouldn't quite put the Democrats there, but we think they'll get close to that number and could exceed it."

Here's their summary for all races:

House — 223 at least leans D, 200 at least leans R, 12 toss-ups

Senate — 49 at least leans D, 46 at least leans R, five toss-ups

Governors — 25 at least leans D, 22 at least leans R, three toss-ups

Our two cents: Sabato may want to take another look at the Ohio gubernatorial race in a few days, after today's dust-up over a disgusting video that was circulated on conservative social media. The involvement of Vivek Ramaswamy is unclear, but asked to respond to the controversy, his campaign doubled down on the video's message. This debacle is still unfolding. We cats took the opportunity to send another few bucks Amy Acton's way, to show our support. (You can, too.)

As for the House and Senate predictions, it's just about time for people in the White House to start throwing folks under the bus to save themselves. Get a lawyer. Snag a Fox "News" commentator gig. Become the face of a crypto company. Move to Russia. We cats PURR.

Their True Colors

By Hubie and Bertie

Benedict Donald is in Kansas tonight, which is all you need to know to understand how the midterms are going for him. No, wait — there's something else. He's been interrupted by hecklers twice already.

It's a sign of how his numbers are in the toilet, but also an indication that the Trumpsters are getting sloppy. Stephen Miller must be furious that troublemakers are getting into his boss's Bund rallies. Either people are bolder, or Trump's advance folks are stupider, or both. 

Down in Texas, the cursed Ken Paxton campaign made a perhaps near-fatal error by tossing a Black conservative TikTok influencer out of one of their rallies in San Antonio. The woman, who goes by the too-precious name of Thelma Louise, was shocked and stunned. "I'm a REPUBLICAN that has done nothing but support my party," she said.

Oh, Thelma, the reason you were ejected is clear. As for the Paxton campaign — and the entire GOP at this point — there's a very simple way to avoid embarrassments like this: Don't be racist. We cats HISS.

So, Things Continue To Go Well For Them (Not)

By Miss Kubelik

Do you need more evidence that this election season is just not going Republicans' way? Check this out.

From The New Bedford Light: "Republican candidate for Lieutenant Governor and New Bedford City Councilor Shawn Oliver was arrested on a charge of operating under the influence of alcohol, according to the New Bedford Police Department. Around 11:40 PM, officers responded to Dartmouth Street for a motor vehicle crash involving an overturned car that struck multiple parked cars.

"Oliver has been campaigning across the state, including with his running mate, gubernatorial candidate Mike Minogue, [who] posted on social media that he spoke to Oliver and asked him to immediately suspend his campaign. He said, 'When elected, I will formally ask for his resignation.'"

Well! That's not good — especially with polls showing incumbent Democratic Governor Maura Healey leading the race by 20-25 points.

Yes, we know it's Massachusetts, generally the bluest of all blue states. But let's savor the fun leads. We cats PURR.

(UPDATE, Oct. 19: Oliver suspended his campaign yesterday. Sad!)

After "Everywhere," Let's Go To The Senate

By Zamboni

Dan Osborn is running as an Independent for Nebraska Senate seat held by Republican Pete Ricketts, and he's making Ricketts feel... well, kind of rickety. The polls don't all agree, but they're pretty much neck-and-neck (the Democrat dropped out of the race to clear a path for Osborn). You can donate to Osborn by clicking here.

Just for this ad alone, Osborn deserves to win. It's so good.

Two thoughts occur to us: A number of red-state Republicans have been caught flat-footed, running lackluster campaigns and, in some cases, even finding themselves short on cash. That's because they've never had to fight in a real race, and they got lazy. Think Roger Marshall in Kansas and Cindy Hyde-Smith in Mississippi.

The second thought is that folks on our side seem to be having a lot of fun. We cats PURR.

See You Tomorrow!

  

The theme to tomorrow's No Kings Nationwide Day of Action is "Vote Early." If you vote early, you allow campaigns to take you off their GOTV lists and focus on folks who might not otherwise turn out. To find a No Kings rally near you, click here. See you there! We cats PURR.