What say you?

2010 Race Tracker Wiki

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by: benawu @ Thu Jan 07, 2010 at 11:40:37 AM UTC

I'm presuming you're cross-posting this?

DailyKos, BOR, FDL and the like are good places to start. I don't know what calibre of candidate you'd get, but you could get halfway to the signature line just from the denizens of those sites.

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by: Englishlefty @ Thu Jan 07, 2010 at 12:52:41 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

yep

Not fdl but kos, mydd, open left, bor and democrat unity.  

2010 Race Tracker Wiki

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by: benawu @ Thu Jan 07, 2010 at 13:06:07 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Just to clarify

This is being a write in candidate for the primary and your name would actually appear on the general election ballot, right?  Because otherwise it's not worth the bother.

28, Unenrolled, MA-08

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by: Marcus @ Thu Jan 07, 2010 at 16:45:20 PM UTC

no

It is for the general. I dont think you can be a write in for the primary except for County Chair.

2010 Race Tracker Wiki

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by: benawu @ Thu Jan 07, 2010 at 21:28:45 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

TX-24

Thought we'd have a candidate for that one. Marchant is entrenched in Carrollton/Coppell, and benefits from being a Republican in NE Tarrant and SE Denton. But Irving, Grand Prairie, Duncanville and Cedar Hill part of 24th are all 50/50 and getting bluer each election cycle. As it's currently drawn, it will be competitive in three election cycles.

TX-7 Made a big push with Skelly, but we should still run someone. Ditto for TX-31. The others are really tough sledding. If you are for the run everywhere concept, I guess we should have had someone on the ticket for those seats.

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by: phillytx @ Thu Jan 07, 2010 at 16:50:32 PM UTC

TX-24

I would say that Grand Prairie now leans Dem, as does the Irving part of the district. Duncanville and Cedar Hill parts are 50/50. Eddie Bernice Johnson has the staunch Dem precincts in those cities.

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by: phillytx @ Thu Jan 07, 2010 at 16:52:26 PM UTC

Not necessarily a good thing to have candidates in these districts

Conventional wisdom says that running a candidate everywhere is useful, and I agree in principle that a political party should contest every election as a way of growing the party, getting the message out, and forcing incumbents to spend money.

That said, there is also a strong argument for not having a candidate in most of these districts: A contested race will bring out more voters  - and in districts that routinely vote 60%+ Republicans, that means a net gain of more Republican voters in the contested statewide races. In heavily Republican districts, having an opponent means that the incumbent will expend campaign resources on getting out local Republican voters. An unopposed Republican incumbent means less interest in the race, lower turnout, and fewer total Republicans coming to the polls.

Obviously it isn't always that simple -- other heated local races can propel turnout, as can high profile statewide races. But if we're serious about electing Bill White as Governor and some of the others running on the strong Democratic statewide slate, the last thing we want is to see increased turnout in districts like  TX-01 (R+21), TX-08 (R+25), or TX -13 (R+29). Letting these incumbents go unchallenged this year probably makes political sense.

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by: terje @ Thu Jan 07, 2010 at 19:38:11 PM UTC

well yes and no

Personally I think, running in every district increases our turnout more than theirs. Also i think the most significant impact is financial and resources. Unopposed incumbents are free to spend in closer races and deploy their campaign resources there too.
An incumbent who is opposed has to be, to a greater or lesser extent, pinned down at home.

2010 Race Tracker Wiki

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by: benawu @ Thu Jan 07, 2010 at 21:37:53 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Disappointing

It is disappointing to see no candidate in CD-24 and CD-7. A write in should probably run in those two, but why bother with the others?  CD-08 and CD-13 are two of the most Republican districts in the country and in a cycle which many are saying will be unfriendly for Dems it doesn't seem like it would yield many benefits.

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by: TXMichael @ Thu Jan 07, 2010 at 19:51:51 PM UTC