Ventura had cameo in 1997 "Batman & Robin" as guard who gets killed during escape of Mr. Freeze (Arnold Schwarzenegger). Ventura was elected governor of Minnesota the next year. In 2002 the late website The Agony Booth joked that death of Ventura's character was it for governors in the movie ...

Maryland is considering redrawing its congressional map in response to other states' remaps & asked for proposals, so I submitted these 3 maps. Interactive maps with data: A: davesredistricting.org/join/1b9246f... B: davesredistricting.org/join/aad85b9... C: davesredistricting.org/join/0e76b33...

Turns out Democrats weren't done making gains from 2025! Politico brings us this update from Orange County, NY www.politico.com/newsletters/...

Wait, how many towns have truck-eating bridges?!

Just once a year, in our final newsletter, we ask our readers to donate to support our work. And it's truly been a dramatic year, one that began in despair for supporters of democracy but has since seen nothing but victories at the ballot box. If our coverage has been helpful, we hope you'll donate.

Nice write up in @the-downballot.com today about yesterday's Kentucky SD-37 where Gary Clemons "ran 42 points ahead of the presidential results" @davidnir.com and @jeffsinger.bsky.social used "massive" to describe Gary's overperformance! www.the-downballot.com/p/morning-di...

We only just learned of the loss of a singular figure in the world of elections, Joshua Spivak of the @recallelections.bsky.social blog. Absolutely no one in America knew more about recall elections, but more than that, Spivak was a true mensch and a lovely human being. May his memory be a blessing.

Georgia Democrats won a big victory in a red legislative seat. Readers of The Downballot weren't caught off guard tonight!

BREAKING: Democrats have flipped a conservative state House seat in Georgia in yet another upset. It's a 14-point overperformance *and* the 25th legislative flip of the year for Dems. Republicans? Zero. Read our complete writeup here -->

I am extremely thankful James Talarico immediately spoke up with this response to the bizarre, too online overreaction to Jasmine Crockett declaring for the US Senate seat in Texas. #TXSen Frankly however you feel about her, every Dem should be glad Crockett is running. A quick thread on why: (1/7)

The GOP is deeply unsettled by the big Dem showing in #TN07. On The Downballot podcast this week, @davidnir.com & @dwbeard.bsky.social explain why they're right to be. We also geek out w/Lou Jacobson about the Almanac of American Politics, a seminal resource for all political nerds. Listen here!

I also remember in April 2017 when the GOP only held onto Kansas' 4th District 52-46 months after Trump carried it 60-33. While some recognized this as early bad news for the GOP, lost of talk about how Democrats could just win "moral victories" instead of real victories. Not the case here!

It's remarkable to see the entire political landscape treat a 9-point margin in a special election as exactly what it is: a serious warning sign for the GOP. This is a sea change. After Jon Ossoff lost #GA06, the media, the GOP, and even many Dems sniffily dismissed it. But it was a harbinger.

Michael Whatley: "The reason I’m running for this race is because President Trump asked me to run in this race." Bet this quote will come up a few times in the next 11 months in the North Carolina Senate contest.

D.C. Councilmember Janeese Lewis George, who is a self-described democratic socialist, just became the first major candidate to join the race to succeed retiring Mayor Muriel Bowser. There's a whole lot more about Lewis George, as well as her most likely opponent, in our hot-off-the presses Digest.

Once again, we were way ahead of the curve! As Republicans panic about the #TN07 special that's now about 10 days away—and major Dem groups start spending—we flagged this race as one to watch in mid-August. If you want to know about competitive special elections long before they happen, subscribe!

Rep. Eric Swalwell has joined the large field of Democrats running for governor of California.

Whoa: A federal court just barred Texas from using its new congressional map, drawn by the GOP to target Dems. "Substantial evidence shows that Texas racially gerrymandered the 2025 Map." Court says the old map must be used in 2026. Appeals are certain. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

The Alex Isenstadt article about Republicans being worried about special elections came earlier than usual this time! #PA18: 6 days before #AZ08: 28 days before #OH12: 7 days before #FL01: 5 days before #TN07: 18 days before www.axios.com/2025/11/14/t...

Read about this race before someone tells you that "nobody" is paying attention to it!

Louisiana politics: Very often bad, very rarely boring.

@votebeat.org is very lucky to have the one and only @baseballot.bsky.social

Democratic Rep. Al Green, 78, will face a much younger incumbent in next year's primary for Texas' new 18th District. He just won't learn who until next year.

Most retrospectives of Pelosi’s career focus on her time as leader of the House. At The Downballot, we reach back much further to explain how she *got* to the House in the first place. if you want to understand how Pelosi got her start in politics, read @jeffsinger.bsky.social’s deep dive.

One of my favorite discoveries while writing this was the New York Times' nondescript headline following Pelosi's first general election win: "DEMOCRAT ELECTED IN SAN FRANCISCO." Her retirement generated far different headlines!

For the Netroots community, for everyone who knew @arjunjaikumar.bsky.social when he was a guy posting on DailyKos and SSP as "brownsox" who loved writing about elections, today is a joyous day as he's been elected to the Cambridge School Board with the strong backing of the local teachers' union.

The next time there's an article about how voter registration numbers are an omen for the next election remember: This piece ran two days before New Jersey Democrats pulled off a blowout win.

It wasn't just the marquee races last night: Democrats racked up massive victories across the country and far down the ballot, pretty much everywhere. We recap *dozens* of elections in today's newsletter—almost a clean sweep for the Dems. Get caught up here!

Tuned into @the-downballot.com's election night stream for most of the night open.substack.com/live-stream/...

As data nerds know, MS is one of the worst states for calculating presidential election results by district ... but the indefatigable @jeffsinger.bsky.social & @donnermaps.bsky.social teamed up to get it done for Tuesday's big batch of redistricting-induced specials! docs.google.com/spreadsheets...

Our Babka prediction contest study guide is now live!

There is no question I get more than when is the babka contest. The answer is ... now!

Proud of my favorite "Central Jersey Truther" @mattbooker.bsky.social

Georgia Republican Tim Echols explains his decision to label Democrat Alicia Johnson, who is Black, as a "DEI specialist" by saying: "This is not a dog whistle. This is a whistle. I’m not being shy about it." Echols and Fitz Johnson are up next month for seats on state Public Service Commission.

Yes, Eric Adams said Andrew Cuomo was "a snake and a liar." But he didn't say Cuomo was a BAD snake and a liar!

With John Sununu reemerging, so does this ... memorable musical video Democrats made in 2008 linking him to George W. Bush.

The Utah GOP has hit on a new way to repeal anti-gerrymandering rules that they hate: a so-called "indirect" initiative that would tee up a vote by the legislature. But as @yeargain.bsky.social points out, the laws they're relying on smell pretty unconstitutional. More in today's Morning Digest →

Very excited to see this!

Kevin McCarthy told Republicans this summer he wanted to raise $100 million to stop California redistricting. So far he's absolutely *nowhere* near that goal. punchbowl.news/archive/1082...

@malcolmkenyatta.bsky.social The Downballot wrote about the PA Supreme Court twice last month!

A must read resource for why some states can redraw their maps with ease, and why it's not happening elsewhere.

My annual PSA: What do you wish people observing Yom Kippur? It's not a joyous day—it's a day of atonement and fasting. So "Have a happy holiday" is out. *But* you can wish someone a happy new year (or "shana tova"), since this time of year is closely tied to Rosh Hashanah (the new year).

Update: GOP Rep. David Schweikert, who just a month ago dismissed fears about the Medicaid cuts he voted for as "whining and bedwetting," is running for governor of Arizona.

A bottom-feeding trash site called @bluedelaware.bsky.social was stealing our work all year. We noticed it today and called them on it. They hastily deleted lots of posts, but @archive.org saved some. Sample stolen post: web.archive.org/web/20250627... Ours: www.the-downballot.com/p/morning-di...

Tired: Donors wasting massive amounts on Kevin McCarthy's "Revenge Tour." Wired: Donors not bothering to contribute to Kevin McCarthy's quest to stop California redistricting. www.politico.com/newsletters/...

pro tip for any candidate considering running: if this happens, just make the plunge! announce! don't dither! don't wait! just fucking announce! meet the moment! look at Andy Kim's quick decision to announce his challenge of Bob Menendez as an example!

I asked ChatGPT a political news question, and it cited my own writing back to me.

My Trump Isn't Threatening To Cut Off Federal Funding If We Don't Pass a New Gerrymander shirt has people asking a lot of questions already answered by my shirt.

"That’s politics 101. You never look good wearing something on your head." --- Barack Obama, 2013.

Georgia Democrats have their first notable candidate for secretary of state, which has become one of the most important offices in this swing state. Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who Trump told to "find 11,780 votes" to overturn Biden's victory, is leaving to run for governor.