Well…those midterms…could have gone worse! They might very well have gone better—and if they were held in September, they very well might have. There’s all manner of lessons to learn, but among them…we can’t stop being vigilant. Every election now has the potential to be the last one that’s free and fair. To that end, I have my completely unsolicited endorsements for Senate races two years hence.
Before we begin, I should mention that I’m entirely off Twitter now- all three accounts (professional, Alex Voltaire, and The Also-Rans.) As always, feel free to leave a comment on this blog if you want to get in touch with me.
Senate races:
Arizona: To say that Kristen Sinema has been a disappointment would be an understatement. She’s held up important legislation for bizarre reasons, ignores her constituents, and lacks good sense or judgment required of senators. There’s a theory that she is just “tanking” at this point in hopes of a bright future in lobbying and/or Big Pharma. There’s not a lot of evidence to refute this. She rightly won’t make it out of the Democratic primary. Ruben Gallego, a congressman with military experience, seems poised to challenge Sinema, and I have no reason to object to his candidacy.
California: Dianne Feinstein’s cognitive decline is an open secret in Washington. At 89, she seems reluctant to heed public calls for her resignation, but she might simply decline another term and let the current one play out. There is no shortage of pols California’s deep Democratic bench salivating at a chance for one of the state’s two precious Senate seats. Given the embarrassment of riches, I’ll endorse two choices: Aja Brown was an innovative and successful mayor of Compton, but Id also love to see Elizabeth Warren-protege Congresswoman Katie Porter elevated to the Senate. She has to keep fighting for her life every two years in a very evenly split Orange County district.
Delaware: Tom Carper is up for re-election. The 75-year-old isn’t the worst guy we could have, but he does embody the corporate-friendly m.o. on which Delaware hung its hat. For an acceptable but not exceptional senator, 24 years in the chamber is more than enough. I’d propose the state’s at-large representative, Lisa Blunt Rochester. She is trusted by President Biden, is more progressive and would bring a Black woman back to the Senate.
Florida: 2022 showed that Florida’s transition from swing state to shithole state is nearly complete, facilitated by the state Democratic Party’s staggering incompetence. Because Rick Scott is so awful, we should give it one more chance. I’d pick Stephanie Murphy. A Vietnam refugee, she embodies so much good in the American story. She pulled her punches in the Trump impeachments, not voting for every single count, and that might give her some wiggle room in this dystopian peninsula.
Hawaii: Mazie Hirono is one of my favorite senators. But her health scares over the last several years raise some concerns, and she is 75 as well. As a successor, I’d suggest State Rep Jeanné Kapela. She is a previous Miss Hawaii and was crowned Miss Congeniality at the Miss America pageant, and has made stopping sex traffic the cornerstone of her pageant and political career. She will barely be 30 in 2024, but Hawaii’s Dem bench is geriatric and they need their delegation to be capable of accruing seniority.
Indiana: Republican Matt Braun, who toppled Joe Donnelly in 2018, isn’t going to seek a second term, creating an open seat we should take advantage of. I’d pick Destiny Wells, who ran (but lost) the Secretary of State race in 2022. Given the real possibility of Pete Buttigieg landing somewhere in the ticket in 2024, this may further tweak the barometric pressure for a perfect storm that would be necessary for a Democrat to win here. Wells’ fundraising skill, charisma, and veteran status shows she can make the most of an opportunity here.
Maine: Democrat-caucusing Independent Angus King will be 80, and after two terms in the Senate and two as governor, it’s time to leave it to the next generation. (By the way, did you know King’s son was used by Jim Henson as the model for Scooter? It’s true!) Troy Jackson would be the unicorn here- a rigorously pro-working class guy who represents culturally conservative Aroostook County in the State Senate.
Maryland: Not a fan of Ben Cardin, one of only two Senate Dems to vote against Obama’s breakthrough deal with Iran. He will be 81 when the election rolls around, and Maryland has a deep bench. Angela Alsobrooks and Tom Perez would be fine, but my first choice is Krish Vignarajah, a former Michelle Obama aide, current head of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services, and an incredibly sharp and compassionate woman.
Massachusetts: Elizabeth Warren is up for election. While I’ve intimated that others her age should retire, I want her to run again. One reason is that she’s only had two terms compared to the three and four that other septuagenarian senators have. But the other is that she’s the best mouthpiece for progressive ideas we have in the Senate.
Michigan: Her redoubtable war chest suggests Debbie Stabenow isn’t going anywhere, but she’s had four terms now. I’d say retire and get someone new in while Michigan is still blue-tilting. I’d recommend State Sen. Mallory McMorrow, who went viral taking down right-wing talking points about trans support being a form of “grooming.”
Minnesota: All hail Queen Amy. May very well be the first female Senate leader when Schumer’s done.
Missouri: Josh Hawley’s role in the 2021 insurrection at the Capitol has been largely forgotten and his approval rating hovers in the high 40s. It remains to be seen whether he can overcome the legacy of that dark day in a re-election campaign, with old mentors like John Danforth and all of the state’s major papers having called on him to resign. His mental health has been a roller coaster, but Jason Kander, who nearly won in 2016, offers the best contrast to Hawley’s snide, preening cowardice.
Montana: Jon Tester must run again. That’s all there is to it.
Nebraska-1: Deb Fischer pledged only two terms, but she’s pulling a Ron Johnson and breaking that promise. My hopes aren’t high, but challengers might include former Unicam member Sara Howard, a health care specialist. A more creative choice might be Susanne Shore, who spent the last eight years as Nebraska’s First Lady. Her husband, Governor Pete Ricketts, is a conservative Republican, but that hasn’t stopped Shore from taking different stands on the issues and even endorsing different candidates.
Nebraska-2: Ben Sasse is leaving his current gig as the Senate’s token faux-moderate to become president of the University of Florida system. For this open seat, I’d nominate Howard Warren Buffett– a scion, yes, but also a brilliant thinker who also runs a farm in the state.
Nevada: Jackie Rosen for a second term! It will be interesting to see if this is as close as her colleague Catherine Cortez-Masto’s re-election.
New Jersey: He’s been embroiled in scandal and graft for years, it’s time for Bob Menendez to go. Given the likelihood of Tom Keane Jr running for this seat, it will be very competitive. I’d recommend Mikie Sherrill; although technically a moderate Dem her voting record doesn’t show any real variance from the party line. What she does offer is a military and national security background, and an ability to hold a historically Rockefeller Republican-y district.
New York: No problems with Gillibrand running again.
Ohio: Sherrod Brown must run again.
Pennsylvania: Bob Casey has served in the Senate for three terms, more than any Pennsylvania Democrat ever. He will only be 64, and overperforms the party’s baseline in the Keystone State, so if he wants a fourth term, I say go for it.
Rhode Island: Sheldon Whitehouse.
Tennessee: Marsha Blackburn is God’s own lackwit, but she’ll still likely win re-election. One formidable challenger might be Lee Harris, mayor of Shelby County, Tennessee, which includes the city of Memphis. His organizational chops and grassroots energy recall some elements of Obama, and at the very least, will raise his profile for a future race.
Texas: God love ya, Beto, but it’s time to move on. Beto O’Rouke generated lots of attention and came within a few points of Ted Cruz in 2018, but couldn’t even get close when challenging Greg Abbott last month. Let’s look elsewhere. I’d pick Colin Allred, a former football player who afterward became a civil rights lawyer. A relative moderate who understands where Democrat-shy voters are coming from, I think he’s got the best chance to crack the code and engineer a victory over Cruz, a man so unctuous that even other hardcore conservatives don’t like him.
Vermont: Bernie’s going to be 83 on Election Day 2024. I think he can retire with a sense of accomplishment, having changed the Overton window of American politics, revived actual Leftism, and remade the Democratic Party at least partially in his image. Perhaps his successor will be Jill Krowinski, the current Speaker of the Vermont House, who is fairly young at 42, and is the kind of young, savvy progressive who would be a good follow-up to Sanders.
Virginia: He is maybe the best vice-president we never had, my man, Tim Kaine.
Washington: Maria Cantwell has been in the Senate since 2000, but she’ll still be a not-especially-geriatric 66. I don’t see any indication she’ll retire, and there are more egregious cases of people who need to pack it in. Cantwell it is.
West Virginia: Manchin had to be begged to run in 2018, and even then, he didn’t have it easy–even against a doofus of an opponent. My guess is that he will retire, and whether he does or doesn’t, this seat will almost certainly belong to a Republican. For our best shot, let’s just go with another scion, and try Justin Rockefeller. If you think that he isn’t West Virginian enough, remember, this is a state that voted twice for a man who shits on a golden toilet to serve as president.
Wisconsin: Tammy Baldwin for a third term. Should be pretty easy to do.
And we’ll just forget about Wyoming, Utah, Mississippi, and a couple of the others.
The Northumbrian Countdown 