Simon & Garfunkel - Sounds Of Silence (Live Canadian TV, 1966)

Diana Moreno's Assembly win marks first electoral victory for Mamdani as mayor

Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the Democratic Socialists of America racked up their first victory of the 2026 cycle on Tuesday night, as Diana Moreno handily won the special election to represent Mamdani’s old Assembly district in western Queens.

Moreno, who ran on both the Democratic and Working Families Party lines, won 74% of the vote, according to election night results from the New York City Board of Elections while her independent challengers Rana Abdelhamid and Mary Jobaida won just 17% and 8% of the vote, respectively.

“Welcome to the People’s Republic of Astoria!” Diana Moreno said at her election night party Tuesday, referencing the neighborhood’s socialist leanings. Mamdani introduced her at the event at Ecuadorian restaurant Barzola as “a fellow member of the Democratic Socialists of America.”

“What makes us special is not who we are as individuals, it’s what we’re all fighting for together,” Mamdani said.




https://www.cityandstateny.com/politics/2026/02/diana-morenos-assembly-win-marks-first-electoral-victory-mamdani-mayor/411180/?oref=csny-homepage-river

NY-10: Scott Stringer backs Rep. Dan Goldman for reelection versus Brad Lander

Rep. Dan Goldman formally picked up the backing of former Comptroller Scott Stringer on Wednesday in his reelection bid against Brad Lander.

In an interview with the Daily News, Stringer praised Goldman, saying there’s “no rationale to run against him” and that the congressional seat was nothing but a “consolation prize” for Lander, his fellow former comptroller.

“You put your best fighter in place when it comes to protecting our democracy, when it comes to protecting people from ICE raids,” Stringer said. “This is not amateur hour.”

Goldman this week also collected the endorsement of current city Comptroller Mark Levine, and previously netted the endorsements of House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries and Gov. Hochul in his reelection fight against Lander.




https://www.nydailynews.com/2026/02/04/scott-stringer-backs-rep-dan-goldman-reelection-versus-brad-lander/

Supreme Court allows new California congressional districts that favor Democrats

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed California to use a new voter-approved congressional map that is favorable to Democrats in this year’s elections, rejecting a last-ditch plea from state Republicans and the Trump administration.

The justices had previously allowed Texas’ Republican-friendly map to be used in 2026, despite a lower court ruling that it likely discriminates on the basis of race.

Conservative Justice Samuel Alito wrote in December that it appeared both states had adopted new maps for political advantage, which the high court has previously ruled cannot be a basis for a federal lawsuit.

Republicans, joined by the administration, claimed the California map improperly relied on race, as well. But a lower court disagreed by a 2-1 vote.





https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-california-congressional-maps-8362a34b739ea91d37a190eee1b6a6d1

Why Bucks County matters so much in the 2026 midterm election

Whether because of election integrity, culture wars in public schools or campaign stops at a local McDonald’s, the national spotlight in recent years shined on Bucks County near Election Day.

With Republicans and Democrats vying to control Congress, the General Assembly and the Pennsylvania governorship, there may be good reason to expect the 2026 midterms to focus back onto a county that narrowly reelected U.S. President Donald Trump one year, then historically packed its row offices with Democrats the next.

Bucks County’s voters have a “ticket-splitting mentality,” according to Republican strategist Sam Chen. This could be one reason why pundits and analysts have been keen to dissect the opinions of one of the purplest counties in Pennsylvania.

Trump, a Republican, narrowly won Bucks County in 2024 by just 291 votes over former Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, while former U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pennsylvania, took Bucks County by 2,241 votes against current GOP U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick the same year.



https://www.phillyburbs.com/story/news/politics/elections/2026/02/04/bucks-county-pa-bellwether-purple-2026-midterms-congressman-brian-fitzpatrick-gov-josh-shapiro/88261195007/

Virginia Supreme Court gets chance to revive Democrats' redistricting plan

Virginia Democrats’ efforts to counter President Donald Trump’s redistricting gains across the country scored a procedural win Wednesday, when the state court of appeals hurried the case* to the state supreme court.

The move gives the supreme court a chance to overturn a lower court decision halting Virginia redistricting and makes a quicker ruling likely on an issue that is critically important for voters.

Last month, Virginia lawmakers passed a constitutional amendment that — if approved by voters — would allow them to redraw the state’s congressional map in response to GOP-controlled states that have redrawn maps at Trump’s demand.

Virgnia’s congressional delegation is currently made up of six Democrats and five Republicans. Redistricting could net Democrats up to four more seats in Congress.




https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/virginia-supreme-court-gets-chance-to-revive-democrats-redistricting-plan/

AK-GOV: Alaska's race for governor picks up 16th candidate (D), a former state legislator from Sitka

Former state legislator Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, a Democrat from Sitka, is running for governor, he said Tuesday.

Kreiss-Tomkins, frequently known as “JKT,” served in the Alaska House of Representatives between 2013 and 2023. He becomes the 16th candidate and third Democrat to enter this year’s gubernatorial election.

Incumbent Gov. Mike Dunleavy is term-limited and unable to run for a third term.

In Alaska, the top four vote-getters, regardless of political party, advance from the August primary to the November general election. In November, Alaskans use ranked-choice voting to name their preferences.


https://alaskabeacon.com/2026/02/04/alaskas-governor-race-picks-up-16th-candidate-a-former-state-legislator-from-sitka/

Money isn't enough to save incumbents in wave elections

ANALYSIS — Fundraising is a critical part of winning reelection, but sometimes incumbents have political problems that money can’t fix.

When voter sentiment is against you, outspending your opponent isn’t sufficient to survive an electoral wave. This is important context when analyzing campaign fundraising reports.

While there can be confusion over what constitutes a wave election, 2010 certainly qualifies. Republicans gained a net of 63 House seats in President Barack Obama’s first midterm election, with health care at the top of people’s minds. And 2006 fits the description as well, considering Democrats gained 31 House seats during George W. Bush’s second midterm when the president had lost much of his credibility after the war in Iraq and the administration’s response to Hurricane Katrina.

Under adverse political conditions, smart members gird themselves for the storm by raising money and leveraging that financial advantage most incumbents enjoy. But sometimes it doesn’t matter.





https://rollcall.com/2026/02/03/midterm-wave-election-fundraising-incumbents-challengers/

MD-05: Harry Dunn (D) launches second Maryland House bid, this time for Hoyer's seat

Harry Dunn, the former Capitol Police officer who became a household name in the wake of the 2021 Capitol attack, is teeing up his second House bid in Maryland, launching his campaign for retiring Rep. Steny Hoyer’s (D-Md.) seat.

“A loss did not deter me from wanting to fight and from wanting to serve,” Dunn told The Hill in an interview ahead of his Wednesday launch, saying that the difference between this cycle and the previous one is that “we are actually living in a state where I believe that … a wannabe dictator is attempting to take over.”

Dunn previously ran for Congress in 2024 in Maryland’s 3rd Congressional District but placed second to Rep. Sarah Elfreth (D-Md.) in the primary. Elfreth later won the seat that November.

Dunn leaned heavily into his biography, particularly his experience defending the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, as a mob of pro-Trump supporters sought to thwart Congress from certifying the 2020 election results. He later testified in front of a House select committee investigating the Capitol attack – hearings of which were televised across the country.




https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5721848-harry-dunn-maryland-campaign-2024/

Democrats launch new program to turn out infrequent voters

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) launched a new initiative on Wednesday that aims to turn out likely Democratic voters in toss-up states and congressional districts who voted in 2020 but sat out the last presidential election.

The initiative, called Local Listeners, trains volunteers to engage infrequent voters, aiming to reach more than a million of them ahead of the midterms.

A quarter of that engagement will come from phone calls with the likely Democratic voters in key battleground districts. But the program is also looking to register thousands of new voters and hold several dozen in-person local events, too.

“All volunteers will participate in a seven-week training program on how to better connect with voters, with sessions focused on ‘active listening’ and ‘having difficult conversations about politics,’” according to a press release from the DNC, which noted they have over 2,000 volunteers so far.


https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5721825-democratic-voter-engagement-initiative/