I'm glad Curtis has no chance of winning but maybe we should put him in charge of NYC's cats (and by extension, rats)

Unpaid government workers are being fed by World Central Kitchen…let that sink in just how dire things are.

Jamaica and the catastrophic effects of Hurricane Melissa have been largely dropped from the news agenda. 🤷‍♂️ www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Meanwhile, in Jamaica....American tourists are helping with the cleanup...

Love to see it….tourists that are stuck in Jamaica are helping with the cleanup after Hurricane Melissa 💪

Test passed.

Election impacts on project, to be sure. Some backstory:

A look back....

Spanberger "as certain as the sun" to win Va. Gov. race, says @chaznuttycombe.bsky.social, who successfully predicted all 140 House and Senate races in 2023. Here's part of our chat on #TheFinal5: www.fox5dc.com/video/1733093

The democratic candidate for Attorney General in light blue Virginia appears on track for a win, but the race could represent a turning point in the state’s political direction. From @gurleygg.bsky.social: trib.al/lAb4WHU

Election Day is tomorrow & @prospect.org is your source for the most critical races. Here's our lineup: Harold Meyerson on the urban-to-rural ideological continuum that runs left to right, how it takes a range of Democrats to win in a range of political terrains, & how some Dems don't get that.

@gurleygg.bsky.social on the governor's race in Virginia, and whether Abigail Spanberger will have coattails to carry the rest of the ticket: prospect.org/2025/11/03/v...

Former Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger seems ready to win the Virginia Governor's race—but the attorney general's race might throw a wrench in the Democrats plans to shift the state more blue. From @gurleygg.bsky.social‬: trib.al/zCOhMvY

Graham Platner has covered up the tattoo and moved on but the controversies have taken on a life of their own. Some backstory:

Happy Halloween

Things are heating up in Maine with a Senate race on the ballot in eight months. Incumbent Susan Collins remains “forever unconcerned” while Gov. Janet Mills and oyster farmer Graham Platner both have a chance to win the primary. From @gurleygg.bsky.social‬: trib.al/UhUsY9Z

The Trump administration has threatened to terminate the Gateway Program that’s working to repair a 115-year-old rail tunnel in NYC. Trump blames DEI policies and the government shutdown for why he is taking aim at this project. From @gurleygg.bsky.social‬: trib.al/YuBK2jk

Ed Markey in MA and Janet Mills in Maine are going to win the "That could be ME they're trying to push out" older voters. Will younger Democratic primary voters think differently? www.dotnews.com/2025/congres...

Federalist 51: “A healthy balance of power between the state and federal government,” Alexander Hamilton wrote in 1788, “reduces the risk of tyranny and abuse from either front.” prospect.org/politics/chi...

The point: pre-existing repertoires/habits can only go so far. On that point I was struck by something that Saladin Ambar said in his interview for @gurleygg.bsky.social 's piece on governors: "Life never fully ceases...new institutions, new alliances, are made..." /end prospect.org/politics/202...

The ruling blocking National Guard troops from Illinois was prefaced by a host of current and former governors denouncing the deployment, including two current Republicans. @gurleygg.bsky.social reports: prospect.org/politics/chi...

Governors won a temporary victory against Trump’s illegal troop deployments. “The Founders would never believe…that one state militia could be sent to another state for the purposes of political retribution,” a federal judge wrote. From @gurleygg.bsky.social: trib.al/p7Prpj9

Trump’s insistence on gutting FEMA is leaving states with excessive loss of life and financial burdens for disaster relief they simply cannot bear. From @gurleygg.bsky.social‬: trib.al/mjJlX8T

“The greatest fear of our founding fathers was Donald Trump.” As Congress sits idle, Democratic governors are fighting back against Trump’s attempts to take power from the states. From @gurleygg.bsky.social: trib.al/gM3X8Ns

And who wants to see a thunderstorm from above?

While Trump illegally seizes power, Congress seems content to do nothing. Democratic governors are stepping up to protect their states from Trump’s interventions. From @gurleygg.bsky.social: trib.al/LK3l3gO

Govs. Pritzker & Newsom have overtaken Hill leaders in the leadership category, though Pritzker is more the adult in the room.

“My message of alarm is that the constitutional crisis is not on its way. It is here, and we all better start acting like it." prospect.org/politics/202...

Trumpian autocracy has forced all governors to make choices about leading. @gurleygg.bsky.social takes a look at how they are faring in this moment. prospect.org/politics/202...

“The constitutional crisis is not on its way. It is here, and we all better start acting like it.” Democratic governors are starting to fight back against Trump as he declares war on America’s cities. From @gurleygg.bsky.social: trib.al/1GeWK36

The Trump administration’s zeal to stamp out FEMA has been interrupted by bureaucratic mismanagement after the Central Texas flash floods. Even wealthy states don’t have the fiscal wherewithal to absorb a major catastrophe, but that could be the mission now. From @gurleygg.bsky.social:

Republicans in Missouri are ramming through a new congressional map that carves up Kansas City. Voters are trying to stop them, but “listening to voters seems to be sort of out of fashion.” From @gurleygg.bsky.social: trib.al/8zb0q5D

The Trump Administration's assaults on D.C. have received little pushback from the District’s one representative in Congress. Norton claims she is running in 2026 but a strong challenger about half her age has emerged. From @gurleygg.bsky.social‬: trib.al/REIifXo

Trump’s insistence on gutting FEMA is leaving states with excessive loss of life and financial burdens for disaster relief they simply cannot bear. From @gurleygg.bsky.social‬: trib.al/sa4YsBH

Missouri legislators are attempting to cut Kansas City into three new districts, but a “People’s Veto” could prevent it from happening. From @gurleygg.bsky.social‬: trib.al/kCNOBhL

Missouri's governor has signed new congressional maps to obliterate Emanuel Cleaver's Kansas City seat, but that's not the end of the story. A referendum is in motion, and if it reaches the ballot, it will pause the maps. @gurleygg.bsky.social reports. prospect.org/politics/202...

The hurricane has been quiet and weird. There are two months to go.

The Trump Administration seems hell-bent on stamping out FEMA and burdening states with the task of responding to their own disasters. It may take another Katrina-esque disaster for us to see the full effects of what’s happened to FEMA. From @gurleygg.bsky.social‬: trib.al/coqJbtD

Considering the obvious signs of her political ineffectiveness and physical frailties, there are flashing red lights pointing toward retirement rather than another run for office.

The spectacle of DC being overrun while its sole representative in Congress is 88 and only participates in hearings and speeches by reading prepared remarks is pretty bad! And it's untenable, as challengers begin to assemble for Eleanor Holmes Norton. Here's @gurleygg.bsky.social with that story.

D.C. delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton has been the District’s advocate for more than three decades. She may be firm in her conviction to run for reelection in 2026, but a promising new challenger had emerged. From @gurleygg.bsky.social‬: trib.al/Bka4eP9

Congress is moving to strip home rule from D.C., and the city’s long-time representative is losing ground. At 88, Eleanor Holmes Norton says she’s running for re-election, but many allies are urging her to retire. From @gurleygg.bsky.social: trib.al/g5bBi7b

Considering the obvious signs of her political ineffectiveness and physical frailties, there are flashing red lights pointing toward retirement rather than another run for office.

A Virginia special election just sent Democrat James Walkinshaw to Congress. The race continues a trend of massive Democratic overperformance in special elections—but there are reasons not to read too far into the trend. From @ggurley.bsky.social:

Most local officials don't even begin to understand the consequences: prospect.org/environment/...

Parsing the permutations of overperformance keeps data geeks and party officials happy, but shouldn’t raise expectations about tsunamis anywhere else.

After an easy victory in Northern Virginia, Rep. James Walkinshaw used his first speech to spotlight the woes faced by his constituents who’ve lost federal jobs. Dems should be happy about another House seat, but it doesn’t mean a midterm win is secure. From @gurleygg.bsky.social trib.al/bez5bwT

Most local officials don't even begin to understand the consequences: prospect.org/environment/...

Data center deluge: Towns are “just so in the dark about how big these facilities are going to be, where they’re going to get their power from, where they’re going to get their water from." prospect.org/environment/...

As data centers guzzle natural resources, their neighbors are often left in the shadows. From @gurleygg.bsky.social, why communities are pushing back: trib.al/C8LQt8Q