Paul Ryan Should Be Safe in November. He Isn't.

[applegrove]

by Albert R. Hunt at Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-03-27/paul-ryan-isn-t-safe-from-randy-bryce-challenge-in-november

"SNIP...........

Randy Bryce is a Wisconsin ironworker who has badly lost two state legislative races. He's now running for Congress against one of the country's most powerful Republicans, House Speaker Paul Ryan, who clobbered his last opponent by a margin of more than 2 to 1.

Before laughing, however, consider this: By the end of this week, Bryce will have raised more than $4.5 million, three-quarters of it in contributions of less than $200. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee just moved the contest into its "Red to Blue" list of seats it considers competitive in the November midterm elections.

A Bryce victory would be huge upset. But it's not unthinkable. If surprising Democratic victories in the last year in Alabama, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin presage a blue wave this fall, the most prominent congressional Republican could be in trouble. A Republican wave in 1994 included the defeat of the Democratic House Speaker at the time, Tom Foley of Washington.

While Ryan's southeastern Wisconsin district leans Republican, Barack Obama carried it in the 2008 presidential election and the Democratic Senate candidate, Tammy Baldwin, won it en route to her 2012 victory.


..............SNIP"

[brooklynite]

1. Still looking for some movement...

Bryce's haul is impressive. HOWEVER:

-Bryce still has to get through a Primary, which won't be until the middle of August

-Ryan has a much larger warchest

-This is still a gerrymandered R+5 District, and all the rating groups still see this as SAFE R.

[dae]

2. It would be nice to see Lying Ryan leave crying.

[Achilleaze]

3. Make Ryan defend Dirty Donny*

Nail him to the wall. He's not squealed so much as a pipsqueak about his bossman. Make him defend Dirty Donny.

* aka Comrade Casino, republican Draft-Dodger-in-Chief

[elocs]

4. Ryan will win.

Republicans are depending upon voters from the Left doing what they usually do in midterms--not show up unless they are excited or motivated while Republicans tend to see it is their duty to vote whether they feel like it or not.
If only people from the Left had shown up to vote in the 2010 midterms, a census year that resulted in the state of Wisconsin being gerrymandered, because maybe the GOP would not have taken control of the entire state government and built a powerful and well funded political machine.

[RandomAccess]

5. WI has been very bad for voter fraud, aside from its

hyper-gerrymandering and voter suppression, that is. I hope Wisconsinites will be able to counter that.