Californians

[cos]

You probably know already, but just in case: Today is primary day.

I'd direct the same comment to Montanans but I think the only one who read my LJ moved to Seattle.
(But I wish Jon Tester the best of luck in his primary for US Senate.)

For Californians, I'd like to strongly recommend Deborah Bowen for Secretary of State. She's the only elected official in California who challenged the certification of the Diebold touchscreen voting machines, she authored the California Senate Bill mandating a voter verified paper trail, the grassroots groups in California I pay attention to all say she listens to them, and she's been endorsed by DFA. Apparently polls show her in a dead heat with her opponent in the primary, so it might be very close.

[ Update: Victory! Both of the grassroots-supported candidates I mentioned won. Jon Tester and Debra Bowen both started far behind their primary opponents in the polls (20 points or more), but reached to almost even in the week before the election, and both won with over 60% of the vote while their opponents were in the high 30's. Tester is now the Democratic nominee for US Senate in Montana, and Bowen is now the Democratic nominee for Secretary of State in California. I think both of them will win their general elections in November, and that this Tuesday's decision was the truly important one for both of those offices. ]

Comments

[xthread.livejournal.com]

What's your math on Westly's electability v. ahnold?

electability

[cos]

I know you asked Nichole, but I'll interject: Electability is usually a trap. People start voting not for the candidate they prefer, but for the candidate they think other people will prefer ... often without really understanding how those other people think. Then when the general election comes around and it's time to convince those other people to vote for the "electable" candidate, you don't know what to say to them. You can't tell them "vote for this guy because I thought you'd want to". You have to have reasons why you like this candidate.

I think if primary voters forgot about "electability" in the sense we've come to know it in the past several elections, and instead voted for the candidates they feel best about, we would on average elect much more electable candidates.

Re: electability

[xthread.livejournal.com]

I agree broadly, I just like to make sure that people don't Nader themselves by accident.
The GOP is extremeley good at doing electoral math to gain narrow majorities, it's intensely frustrating watching the left chew itself to pieces over fine distinctions of identity politics that result in nobody we like getting elected.

And I agree with you, our models of other people's voting motivational structure generally suck.

[ellipticcurve.livejournal.com]

I think that any Dem has a great shot in CA, provided that the party gives him the support he needs.
Ah-nuld rode into office on pretty much a single issue: saving California economically. He's done precisely bupkis on that front, and the voters know it. Also, as Republicans gallop further and further to the right, California gets bluer and bluer. Arnold can (and probably will) claim that he's a moderate Rep until he's hoarse--California is cottoning on to the reality that there's no such thing anymore.

[xthread.livejournal.com]

Excellent, excellent.