Biden, Bullock boost Dems' Senate hopes

[RandySF]

Democrats' bid to recapture the Senate got a major boost this week.

Joe Biden surged to the top of the presidential primary, temporarily calming widespread fear about running with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) at the top of their ticket. Candidates handpicked by the national party advanced in Senate primaries in North Carolina and Texas. And their long, uphill quest to get Montana Gov. Steve Bullock to run for Senate is looking increasingly likely to pay off ahead of Monday’s filing deadline.
It’s still a significant challenge for Democrats to recapture the chamber, and they have to run the table in a series of competitive races, many in red-leaning states President Donald Trump won in 2016. But with Montana potentially expanding the target list, party officials are growing more upbeat about their chances.

“We have a better chance of winning now than we did just a few weeks ago,” said Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), an early Biden endorser.

“I’m optimistic. I think we have some good candidates, and I think Joe Biden at the top of the ticket is going to be wonderful,” added Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.)

Democrats were broadly concerned several weeks ago by the potential of Sanders as the party's standardbearer, even as battleground senators and candidates said they would support the eventual nominee.

Their challengers would likely be forced to distance themselves from his liberal platform, complicating their message in swing states. That still remains a distinct possibility if Sanders sees another resurgence in the tumultuous presidential primary. But for now, Biden’s momentum is calming their anxiety.




https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/07/biden-bullock-senate-123176

[Cha]

1. Wow.. this is so Good! Inspiring Hopo for our Future!

[True Blue American]

3. Tim Ryan

Is holding a rally for Biden, too.

Amazing how many fellow Congress people are coming out for Biden! They must admire and trust him.

[Cha]

4. Yes, so many of them worked with Biden!

[Tarheel_Dem]

2. It sure calmed my anxiety. Did any of the Justice Democrats win their races or was it a shutout....

like 2018?

[BlueMTexpat]

5. I truly hope so.

He should have reliably excellent support in Missoula, Silver Bow, Glacier, Big Horn and Gallatin counties. Hopefully, he will also win in his home county of Lewis & Clark. The first five are ALL good "blue" areas.

If he can win in Yellowstone and Cascade counties (Cascade might be a stretch, but .... It used to be reliably Democratic in my youth, but that was a LONG time ago and then there was a lot of union presence because of the Anaconda smelter there.), as well as in some of the less-populated counties (Blaine County is a definite possibility; Hill less so, but possible because there is a state university in Havre - MSU-Northern, and there are others that might be in play), he has a real chance.

But there are a LOT of rural Trumpers who have lost practically all ability to reason.

It will not be a slam-dunk, by any means. But I am more hopeful than I would have been otherwise.

[Thekaspervote]

6. If MT likes their neighbors from Idaho, maybe they will be influenced. All

20 elected congress people and senators unanimously endorsed Biden

[True Blue American]

7. That sure

Proves who is likable in the Senate. The proof is in the pudding, or something like that.

[grantcart]

8. No bleed over from Idaho

Montana is less partisan than Idaho

Montanians are, IMO, more similar to Arizonians in that they care less about party affiliation and more about independent connection to their state.

Bullock and Kelly are very comparable races with two independent popular strong Democratic candidates.

Montana and Arizona are on the verge of going from 4 Republican Senators to 4 Democratic Senators, that's why it is so critical that Biden head the ticket.

It is also why Klobuchar would be the strongest VP candidate.

Idaho is more like Utah in that both have large Mormon populations, have stronger party allegiance and greater political division between urban and rural areas.

[2naSalit]

11. Pretty much.

I abandoned Idaho for Montana years ago, don't regret it. I agree that Idaho and Montana are apples and oranges when it comes to party affiliation. There are a bunch of Bernie folk out here too, so there's that.

The good news is that Bullock is likely to take it, I hoe he does and I will work to get that done BUT...

He has until 5pm today to file.

[BlueMTexpat]

12. Your last sentence

especially is VERY true.

Back in the dawn of time when I grew up in MT, it was much more "progressive" than it has become since 1980.

I can remember when Harry Truman visited my area (north-central MT) in 1952 and we still have home movies of the crowd. It was huge, exceptional in that the event was literally held in the "boonies," far from any urban areas (or what pass for such in MT). JFK also visited in September 1963 and there was also a huge crowd! But that was in Great Falls, which at the time rivaled Billings as the largest "city" in the state.

GF lost a lot of its population after the Anaconda Co. pulled its copper mining (mainly in Butte & Anaconda) and smelting (GF) operations out of the state to make $$$ and wreak environmental havoc elsewhere.

In the 1970s, we voted in one of the most progressive state constitutions in the nation. But then we lost some stalwart standard bearers like Mike Mansfield and Lee Metcalf.

There are still some hardcore Democratic areas in the state, but fewer and far between.

[Cha]

9. KICK

[MontanaMama]

10. Kick.

I really didn’t think Steve Bullock would run for the Senate. Money will be his biggest challenge imo. However, if Chuck Schumer was out here to talk Bullock into running, maybe there will be some DNC support to help him get it done.

[BlueMTexpat]

13. I understand that there are

some who are mightily pissed that he waited so long to do it.

[MontanaMama]

14. I've heard those rumors too.

I really think he didn’t want to do it...maybe he still doesn’t. I must say I’m a little worried about that.

[BlueMTexpat]

15. I'm keeping my fingers crossed

that all will pull together.

[Turin_C3PO]

16. Biden's going to have long coattails, I believe.

I wouldn’t be surprised if we win the Senate and possibly expand our House majority.