Midterm Election Thread 2018

[BipolarFuk]

As Florida Races Narrow, Trump And Scott Spread Claims Of Fraud Without Evidence

As Florida Races Narrow, Trump And Scott Spread Claims Of Fraud Without Evidence

Days after midterm voting, as ballots are still being counted, Republican lawmakers holding on to tight leads in midterm states are alleging foul play and voter fraud. The claims were amplified by President Trump, without evidence, on Friday morning.

"You mean they are just now finding votes in Florida and Georgia — but the Election was on Tuesday?" he wrote in a tweet. "Let's blame the Russians and demand an immediate apology from President Putin!"

Current Florida Gov. Rick Scott, locked in a tight Senate race, said in a news conference Thursday night that "the people of Florida deserve fairness and transparency and the supervisors are failing to give it to us."

"Every Floridian should be concerned there may be rampant voter fraud in Palm Beach and Broward counties," he said. "I will not sit idly by while unethical liberals try to steal this election from the great people of Florida."

Scott's race against Democratic incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson seems to be headed toward triggering a mandatory recount. Florida law says any race within a 0.5 percent margin must go to a recount, and as of 9 a.m. Friday, Nelson trailed Scott by 0.18 percent.

Previous claims of widespread voter fraud, including Trump's claim that millions of people voted illegally in 2016, are considered false by voting experts. One investigation, published in 2014, found 31 possible cases of in-person voter fraud out of more than 1 billion ballots cast over a 14-year period.

Scott claimed victory Tuesday night and has filed lawsuits against two county election officials, in Palm Beach and Broward counties, alleging their offices have withheld voting records.

Trump echoed Scott's claims Thursday night, tweeting that "Law Enforcement" would look into election fraud in Florida.

Nelson's election attorney Marc Elias tweeted Friday that "as the counties continue their work, I expect that margin will narrow further. And then the State will conduct an orderly recount."

Trump has a history of calling out fraud, without providing evidence to back up his claims. No widespread claim of voter fraud by the president has ever been proved true. Trump even created a commission to investigate alleged fraud after the 2016 election, but it dissolved without releasing any findings.

"They're finding votes out of nowhere, and Rick Scott who won by — it was close, but he won by a comfortable margin, he easily won but every hour it seems to be going down," Trump said outside the White House Friday. "I think that people have to look at it very, very cautiously."

In the case of Florida still counting ballots more than 48 hours after polls closed, David Becker, the executive director for the Center for Election Innovation and Research, told NPR it is extremely common for a voting jurisdiction to be taking as long as Broward County is.

"Election officials are literally just counting the ballots. This isn't corruption or fraud," Becker said. "It is literally the best of democracy. Let election officials do their job and count the ballots."

 

[jsmith6919]

 

[bbgun]

The world according to bipo

North Dakota & Georgia: Fraud!
Florida: Clean as a whistle!

Weird how these late counts never seem to push the Republican candidate further ahead.

 

[bbgun]

 

[jsmith6919]

 

[BipolarFuk]

 

[BipolarFuk]

Beto 2020 calls multiply among Dems

Beto 2020 calls multiply among Dems

Democrats are seeing a silver lining to Rep. Beto O'Rourke's loss in Texas to Sen. Ted Cruz (R).

It means O'Rourke, who emerged in the midterms as a progressive star, is free to run for president.

Talk of O'Rourke running for the White House would have happened if he had defeated Cruz, to be sure. But Democrats say it shouldn't be quieted by his loss.

O'Rourke finished within three percentage points of Cruz, an exceptional performance compared to past Democratic standards in recent Texas Senate races.

Democrats across the country say that if O'Rourke wants to run for president, he has the potential to take the primary by storm.

"If he wants to run, he should do it," said Democratic strategist Maria Cardona.

"He now has name recognition, a widely successful fundraising operation, a young fresh face with a sprinkling of woke, a cool persona, a new perspective, he speaks Spanish, and would be an exciting and upbeat candidate," she said.

Another strategist was even more enthusiastic.

"I hate to say this because it would piss off a lot of Democrats but the fact is, we have so many people and we really have nobody that's thrilling, nobody that would send a thrill up Chris Matthews's leg except for Beto," the strategist said, referencing the MSNBC "Hardball" host who expressed such excitement about hearing President Obama speak.

"You know how I know? I had friends calling me to ask about him. I would overhear conversations about him. He's generating the kind of buzz we haven't seen since hope and change," the strategist added.

Even Republicans express surprise at O'Rourke's performance.

"He was able to raise an enormous act of money and that alone separates him from the crowd," said Matt Mackowiak, a Republican strategist based in Texas. "He has a bit of a star quality to him. People in Texas were mesmerized and moved by him.

"The fact that he lost by 3 percent is impressive," Mackowiak added.

O'Rourke finds himself in an unusual situation. Most candidates who lose a race typically go back to the drawing board on career plans. Sometimes, with luck, they can run for the same office again. But rarely do candidates who lose on a lower scale have aspirations for a larger office - never mind the presidency.

Some say it's too big a jump for the three-term congressman.

"It's hard to know what he should do," said Cal Jillson, a professor of political science at Southern Methodist University. "It's not that he's not an attractive candidate. It's just that making a jump from a losing Senate race to a winning presidential race when you've got two dozen competitors and Donald Trump. Show me an example of that. It doesn't mean he can't do it, you just don't see a path."

Those who know O'Rourke say he has no plans on running for president and had his sights purely set on winning the Senate seat. When he met with campaign aides earlier this week there was no talk of a White House bid.

In an interview earlier this week, he reaffirmed that he has no intention of running.

"I will not be a candidate for president in 2020," O'Rourke told MSNBC. "That's, I think, as definitive as those sentences get."

But if he chooses not to run, some strategists say he could miss a prime opportunity.

"He has to think hard about it because moments like this don't come around often in politics and they tend to be fleeting," said Democratic strategist David Wade, who served as a senior aide to John Kerry.

Wade compared O'Rourke's moment with the time Barack Obama's captured Democrats' imagination when he gave the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention.

"Imagine if Barack Obama has deferred his instant connection from the 2004 convention and waited for a safer cycle to run for president," Wade said. "You can't guarantee that these moments last forever. Moments change. Political demand signals change."

If O'Rourke doesn't run for the White House, Wade predicted his endorsement would be fought over by what's expected to be a crowded field of candidates.

He'll then be a wanted surrogate on the campaign trail, Wade said. "And he's automatically at the top of vice presidential shortlists," he added.

Mackowiak said one problem O'Rourke faces is that he'll be out of office during the 2020 campaign season, and thus won't have a platform.

"He's going to be just another voice in a crowded field of Democrats who have their own platforms," he said.

 

[BipolarFuk]

DEMS "STEAL" ONE!!!

DEMS "STEAL" ONE!!!

Democrats flip Arizona US Senate seat with Sinema victory!!!

 

[skidadl]

Arizona has an invasion of California Bipos. I feel for the normal people there.

 

[L.T. Fan]

Democrats are seeing a silver lining to Rep. Beto O'Rourke's loss in Texas to Sen. Ted Cruz (R).

It means O'Rourke, who emerged in the midterms as a progressive star, is free to run for president.

Talk of O'Rourke running for the White House would have happened if he had defeated Cruz, to be sure. But Democrats say it shouldn't be quieted by his loss.

O'Rourke finished within three percentage points of Cruz, an exceptional performance compared to past Democratic standards in recent Texas Senate races.

Democrats across the country say that if O'Rourke wants to run for president, he has the potential to take the primary by storm.

"If he wants to run, he should do it," said Democratic strategist Maria Cardona.

"He now has name recognition, a widely successful fundraising operation, a young fresh face with a sprinkling of woke, a cool persona, a new perspective, he speaks Spanish, and would be an exciting and upbeat candidate," she said.

Another strategist was even more enthusiastic.

"I hate to say this because it would piss off a lot of Democrats but the fact is, we have so many people and we really have nobody that's thrilling, nobody that would send a thrill up Chris Matthews's leg except for Beto," the strategist said, referencing the MSNBC "Hardball" host who expressed such excitement about hearing President Obama speak.

"You know how I know? I had friends calling me to ask about him. I would overhear conversations about him. He's generating the kind of buzz we haven't seen since hope and change," the strategist added.

Even Republicans express surprise at O'Rourke's performance.

"He was able to raise an enormous act of money and that alone separates him from the crowd," said Matt Mackowiak, a Republican strategist based in Texas. "He has a bit of a star quality to him. People in Texas were mesmerized and moved by him.

"The fact that he lost by 3 percent is impressive," Mackowiak added.

O'Rourke finds himself in an unusual situation. Most candidates who lose a race typically go back to the drawing board on career plans. Sometimes, with luck, they can run for the same office again. But rarely do candidates who lose on a lower scale have aspirations for a larger office - never mind the presidency.

Some say it's too big a jump for the three-term congressman.

"It's hard to know what he should do," said Cal Jillson, a professor of political science at Southern Methodist University. "It's not that he's not an attractive candidate. It's just that making a jump from a losing Senate race to a winning presidential race when you've got two dozen competitors and Donald Trump. Show me an example of that. It doesn't mean he can't do it, you just don't see a path."

Those who know O'Rourke say he has no plans on running for president and had his sights purely set on winning the Senate seat. When he met with campaign aides earlier this week there was no talk of a White House bid.

In an interview earlier this week, he reaffirmed that he has no intention of running.

"I will not be a candidate for president in 2020," O'Rourke told MSNBC. "That's, I think, as definitive as those sentences get."

But if he chooses not to run, some strategists say he could miss a prime opportunity.

"He has to think hard about it because moments like this don't come around often in politics and they tend to be fleeting," said Democratic strategist David Wade, who served as a senior aide to John Kerry.

Wade compared O'Rourke's moment with the time Barack Obama's captured Democrats' imagination when he gave the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention.

"Imagine if Barack Obama has deferred his instant connection from the 2004 convention and waited for a safer cycle to run for president," Wade said. "You can't guarantee that these moments last forever. Moments change. Political demand signals change."

If O'Rourke doesn't run for the White House, Wade predicted his endorsement would be fought over by what's expected to be a crowded field of candidates.

He'll then be a wanted surrogate on the campaign trail, Wade said. "And he's automatically at the top of vice presidential shortlists," he added.

Mackowiak said one problem O'Rourke faces is that he'll be out of office during the 2020 campaign season, and thus won't have a platform.

"He's going to be just another voice in a crowded field of Democrats who have their own platforms," he said.

I would take O‘Rourke over Clinton. The Dems need a young crook to run against an old crook that they perceive is currently in the White House.

 

[fortsbest]

Arizona has an invasion of California Bipos. I feel for the normal people there.

I still would like to know how in Maricopa County, the R Governor wins by a lot, and the R Senatorial candidate loses by over 30K votes? Really, and all we hear about is Florida?

 

[Simpleton]

I still would like to know how in Maricopa County, the R Governor wins by a lot, and the R Senatorial candidate loses by over 30K votes? Really, and all we hear about is Florida?

A Republican won the Maryland governor race by 14%, a Democrat won the Senate race by 33%.

 

[BipolarFuk]

A Republican won the Maryland governor race by 14%, a Democrat won the Senate race by 33%.

Same thing in Massachusetts.

Everything is a fucking conspiracy with the Proud Boys crowd.

 

[BipolarFuk]

 

[fortsbest]

Same thing in Massachusetts.

Everything is a fucking conspiracy with the Proud Boys crowd.

What's a proud boy asshat? And it isn't a conspiracy that there's voting fraud when you have the Dem candidate and his lawyer arguing that illegal immigrant and unregistered voter's votes should be counted. That's actual election tampering. And you and they want to talk about Russian interference in election. You are all a bunch of hypocritical MFers.

 

[fortsbest]

A Republican won the Maryland governor race by 14%, a Democrat won the Senate race by 33%.

Thats still not nearly as dramatic a swing as AZ though. And Maryland is traditionally a Dem area, AZ, not so much.

 

[NoDak]

Thats still not nearly as dramatic a swing as AZ though. And Maryland is traditionally a Dem area, AZ, not so much.

North Dakota is traditionally a Republican state, but a lot of times elects democrat senators along with Republican governors. But thankfully, that slimy twat Heidi Heitcamp was given her walking papers this time around.

 

[BipolarFuk]

What's a proud boy asshat? And it isn't a conspiracy that there's voting fraud when you have the Dem candidate and his lawyer arguing that illegal immigrant and unregistered voter's votes should be counted. That's actual election tampering. And you and they want to talk about Russian interference in election. You are all a bunch of hypocritical MFers.

The motion to count the illegal's vote was quickly dismissed or did you miss that part? It isn't election tampering, it isn't fraud. It is a dumbass lawyer doing lawyer shit that didn't go anywhere. Nelson also quickly denied the lawyer was authorized to make such a motion.

 

[fortsbest]

It may have been quickly dismissed, but the point is they brought it up as if should actually be considered because it panders to their mob base that wants it. And I don't buy for one second The candidates didn't at least approve of it being brought up because it's actually something they want.

 

[BipolarFuk]

It may have been quickly dismissed, but the point is they brought it up as if should actually be considered because it panders to their mob base that wants it. And I don't buy for one second The candidates didn't at least approve of it being brought up because it's actually something they want.

Mob base says the guy whose own base marches in khaki pants with tiki torches.