Let's hit 2 of the medium sized Blue states! Connecticut and Oregon have 5 Reps each. (Fun fact, only 11 states have double-digits of Reps!) And both a true true Blue, so not a lot is at stake here.





Let's start with Connecticut. The biggest race here is the race for Governor. The incumbent Dem Dan Malloy is not running again, probably because he is pretty unpopular. The Dem nominee is our old friend Ned Lamont, a businessman who has run for a lot of offices over the years, including Governor and quite notably losing a Senate race to bane-of-liberals-existence Joe Lieberman. Governor is also, as I have noted repeatedly, the one office where liberals might be willing to cross over for a socially liberal fiscally moderate Republican, especially when they know they will have a Democratic controlled legislature. None of that bodes well for Ned. Except his opponent is not a moderate, he's a Trumpy businessman. Lucky for Ned, not a lot of people are super into that. We also have races for AG, Sec of State, Treasurer and Comptroller.

For the Senate, Chris Murphy is up and he is awesome! He has very nominal opposition.

In the House, Dems control all 5 seats, and there is basically no chance they will lose any of them. All the action here was in the primaries! (Shoutout to teacher of the year Jahana Hayes who will become the first African American woman (and indeed WOC) Rep from CT!





At the State level, the entire Senate is up! And its currently tied with the Lt Gov being the tiebreaker. So it would be good to win at least one of these seats, just in case you get a nice Trumpy Governor. Races to watch:

SD4 (Manchester): Steve Cassano is the Dem incubment here, and he barely won his race last time despite the district being solidly Blue.

SD13 (Meriden): A flippable district, the Republican won here barely in 2016 in this Blue district. Mary Daugherty Abrams is our candidate.

SD17 (Ansonia): Another Republican who barely won in 2016, this is a Romney/Clinton district. Our candidate is Jorge Cabrera.

SD24 (Danbury): A Republican who has been narrowly winning for a decade in this Blue district, our candidate to flip is Julie Kushner. She is Emily's List endorsed.





In the State House, Dems have an 80-71 majority and all seats are up. Races to watch:

HD2 (Bethel/Danbury): The Republican incumbent here won narrowly in 2016, and the district is medium Blue :) Our candidate to flip is Raghib Allie-Brennan

HD13 (Manchester): An open Republican-held seat in a solid Blue district, this should be ours to take, with Jason Doucette.

HD14 (South Windsor): Another vulnerable Republican in a Blue district, John Pelkey is our candidate to flip.

HD27 (Newington): same, with Gary Turco.

HD30 (Berlin/Southington): A Dem in a Red district, Joe Arescimowicz needs your support to hold the seat.

HD36 (Haddam): vulnerable Republican, Christine Palm to flip!

HD50 (Woodstock/Brooklyn): A vulnerable Dem in a Red district, Pat Boyd.

HD53 (Tolland/Willington): This is very split district, Pat Wilson Pheanious to flip.

HD58 (Enfield): Another split district, Tom Arnone to flip.

HD60 (Windsor Locks): Republican in a Blue district, Jane Garibay to flip.

HD65 (Torrington): A Dem in a Red district, Michelle Cook needs support.

HD99 (East Haven): Dem James Abis baaaarely won last time and he's in a Red district.

HD103 (Cheshire): Dem Liz Linehan barely won last time in this split district.

HD135 (Redding/Easton): A Republican in a deep Blue district, Anne Hughes to flip.

HD138 (Danbury): same, with Kenneth Gucker to flip, PCCC endorsed.





For ballot measures, there are a couple very technical ones, nothing life-or-death.





On to Oregon!

Governor Kate Brown wants her first full term after being appointed to the job in 2015 and winning a special election the next year. She is the first openly LGBTQ governor in the country! However she is not super popular, so despite Oregon being really Blue she only has a narrow lead over her moderate Republican challenger. Repeat everything I have previously said about Blue states liking to flirt with Republican governors. The other statewide offices are not up again til 2020.

There is no Senate race here this year, and Dems hold 4 out of 5 of the House seats. OR2, the only one held by Republicans, is pretty strongly Red so is not being seriously challenged, even this year.

At the state level, half of the State Senate is up. Dems have a 17-13 majority, so could use a little more of a buffer! Especially if they get a Republican governor. Races to watch:

SD3 (Ashalnd): A solid Blue district with a Republican, the seat is open and Jeff Golden wants to flip it!

SD10 (Salem): A very narrowly split district, Deb Patterson is looking to flip it. Emily's List, PCCC, and Our Revolution endorsed.

SD13 (Keizer): A Romney/Clinton district, Sarah Grider is trying to flip.

SD20 (Oregon City): A narrowly Red district, Charles Gallia is our candidate. Our Revolution endorsed.

SD26 (Hood River): Another Republican in a solid Blue district, Chrissy Reitz is looking to flip. Emily's List endorsed.

In the State House, all seats are up and Dems have a 35-25 majority. A few targeted races:

HD26 (Scholls): A somewhat Blue district, Courtney Neron is looking to flip.

HD37 (West Linn): A VERY Blue district, Rachel Prusak wants to flip. Emily's List endorsed.

HD52 (Hood River): A narrowly Blue district, Anna Williams wants to flip.

HD54 (Bend): A VERY Blue district, Nathan Boddie wants the open seat.





Oregon has quite a few ballot measures this year.

102: Would allow state/local bonds to be used to construct affordable housing even if the state doesn't retain ownership. Is widely supported, and seems a good step to addressing the affordable housing crisis.

103: Would ban taxes on groceries. This is not currently an issue but is a preemptive law just in case any locality decides to impose a sales tax. The grocery lobby supports this, but a TON of organizations from the liberal side are opposed, so I would go with no.

104: Would require a 3/5 majority in the legislature to raise taxes. Just look at how well this went over in CA. Vote NO. Taxes aren't special, they shouldn't need an extra majority. This just assures taxes can never be raised as a minority ill always oppose.

105: Would repeal OR's sanctuary state policy. Definite no.

106: Would ban public money being spent on abortion. A perennial conservative favorite, definite no.





For a local measure, Lane County (Eugene) has a measure on the ballot to do Instant Runoff Voting, which I STRONGLY support!





Portland and Multnomah County are also having local elections.





Don't be complacent in Blue states, get out there and VOTE!!!