Check out the website: https://lenspoliticalnotes.com Look at the recent Political Notes and Len’s Letters on the website.
Governor: Political Note #402 Katie Hobbs Arizona Governor, Political Note #358 Laura Kelly Kansas Governor, Political Note #407 Janet Mills Maine Governor, Political Note #381 Gretchen Whitmer Michigan Governor, Political Note # 414 Steve Sisolak Nevada Governor, Political Note #366 Tony Evers Wisconsin Governor.
Lt. Governor: Political Note #419 Matthew Dowd Texas Lt. Governor
Attorney General: Political Note #415 Dana Nessel Michigan Attorney General, Political Note #367, Political Note #360 Aaron Ford Nevada Attorney General ,Josh Kaul Wisconsin Attorney General
Secretary of State: Political Note #409 Bee Nguyen Georgia Secretary of State
Supreme Court Justice: Political Note #391 Maria McLaughlin Pennsylvania Supreme Court
Voting on November 2, 2021: Political Note #396 Terry McAuliffe Virginia Governor, Political Note #401 Hala Ayala Virginia Lt. Governor
October 24th, 2021 Political Note #421 Chris Jones Arkansas Governor
2022 General Election
If America were different, the story of 44 year old Chris Jones https://chrisforgovernor.com and his 49 year old brother Leon Jr. would be national human interest news. Children of a family that moved to what became Arkansas in 1819 (The story that reports this does not describe where the family moved from or the circumstance under which they moved.), they are both seeking statewide office. Chris Jones is running for governor. Leon Jones, Jr is running for Attorney General. Chris Jones is a Democrat. Leon Jones Jr. is a Republican.
These brothers are strivers. After getting a BA from a private college in Atlanta, Chris Jones earned a Master’s Degree from MIT in nuclear engineering technology and policy and a PhD from the same school in urban planning. While getting his doctorate, he worked as executive director of a community organization in Boston, then moved on to be a partner in a Washington DC consulting firm. He came home to Arkansas to run an innovation hub intended to improve the lives of Arkansans. They run classes for kids and adults and help people turn ideas into businesses. Chris Jones’ interest in state government was sparked when he was eight years old in a mall with his dad. He met the governor. The governor shook his hand and charmed him – Bill Clinton. If he were not deaf in one ear, Chris Jones might have become an astronaut instead of a planner; he was both shaken and inspired by the Challenger Space Shuttle explosion. Leon Jones got his BA from a local state university, moved on to Dallas to find a job. He worked in retail, waited on the school superintendent who urged him to try teaching. He taught for four years then returned to Arkansas to get a law degree. He worked for Walmart, joined a firm, went out on his own, and was appointed by the outgoing and term limited Republican governor to head his Labor Department and later served as Executive Director of the Fair Housing Commission.
Chris Jones will probably be the Democratic nominee for Governor. Leon Jones Jr. is one of only two Republicans running for Attorney General. Even though the other candidate is the Lt. Governor, Leon Jones, Jr. has a reasonable chance of being the Republican nominee. Both of the Joneses are unusual statewide candidates in Arkansas. The private college that Chris Jones attended was Historically Black Morehouse. Leon Jones Jr got his BA from Historically Black University of Arkansas – Pine Bluffs. These African American brothers are breaking barriers.
A columnist recently wrote a screed complaining that Democrats wasted their money supporting candidates who were hopeless cases, supporting candidates running against bete noires like Margery Taylor Greene. I felt as if I were a target of that complaint. Two candidates I have advocated for – Charles Booker running for the Senate in Kentucky and Kerry Donovan running against Lauren Boebert in CO 03 – were examples used by the columnist. Redistricting may make Donovan’s campaign hopeless, but if the district remains roughly what it is now, Donovan would have a decent chance to win. Democrats have been elected statewide in Kentucky. Democrat Andy Beshear is currently Kentucky’s governor. His father served two terms as Governor beginning in 2007. That is not so different from Arkansas. Democrat Mike Beebe served two terms as governor of Arkansas beginning in 2007. He did break up a long run of Republicans. Before 2007, to find a Democratic Governor of Arkansas, go back to 1992. In 1992, Bill Clinton resigned after serving thirteen years as a Governor to take office as President of the United States.
To be elected Governor, Chris Jones would have to overcome Arkansas’ strong Republican lean and the fact that the state has never elected an African American to state wide office. African American governors are pretty rare everywhere in the United States. Since Reconstruction, there have been only two elected African American governors – Douglas Wilder of Virginia and Deval Patrick of Massachusetts – both Democrats. David Paterson, also a Democrat, became governor of New York, but after being elevated from his role as Lt. Governor.
Leon Jones faces a similar challenge. There have been eleven African American Attorneys General since the end of Reconstruction. One of the eight Democrats is Kamala Harris, the current Vice President. The three Black Republican Attorneys General. include Daniel Cameron, who is currently Kentucky’s Attorney General and Curtis Hill, who served one term as Indiana’s AG, but was defeated in the Republican primary in 2020. Ed Brooke was elected as Attorney General in Massachusetts in 1962 after which he was elected to the United States Senate where he served two terms ending in 1979. African American Republicans can be elected in the South. Tim Scott is a US Senator from South Carolina and is up for election for a third time in 2022.
If you follow the money, you can see why Chris Jones is the likely Democratic nominee and why he will have a tough time being elected. Four Democrats and two Republicans are running for Governor right now. Three of the Democrats have raised less than $10,000. Chris Jones has raised nearly $600,000. On the Republican side, the current Attorney General, Leslie Rutledge has raised almost $1.5 million in her run for Governor. What she has raised and what Chris Jones has raised is overshadowed by what Sarah Huckabee Sanders has raised. You will remember her. She is Mike Huckabee’s daughter. He is former Arkansas Governor. She was Donald Trump’s White House Press Secretary. Huckabee Sanders has recorded more than $9 million in contributions. (One news report says that she raised over $11 million.)
I’ll contribute to Chris Jones’ campaign. I. hope you will, too. He is hitting the right notes. He points out that both his parents were preachers and he relies on faith. His dad also sold insurance and, therefore, did not rely only on faith. Neither did his mom, who believes in education, taught school, and became a school principal. Chris Jones asks people for financial support saying they should contribute if they believe in a mission “to harness love, create change, and move Arkansas forward.” He promises to focus on public education, to strengthening infrastructure from roads to broadband, and to bridge Arkansas’s urban/rural divide. “Other candidates” he says, “may try to divide us…. [I am] not running for Governor to fight a culture war or go on cable news. I’m here to bring Arkansans back together….”
And his probable opponent? Sarah Huckabee raised so much money because she has created an expectation that she will fight those culture wars that Chris Jones hopes to avoid. Her web site touts how, with President Donald Trump, she was “battling with the media.” She quotes the former President as describing her as a “warrior.”
Choose peace. Love and change, too. Choose a man who is committed to both faith and science. Choose a man who follows practical ways to improve the lot of people in his state. Donate to Chris Jones’ campaign. This is still early money. Enough early money and Chris Jones https://chrisforgovernor.com will be able to raise big money. Help him compete with Sara Huckabee Sanders. He doesn’t need to raise as much money as she has. Half as much, even a third as much would go a long way.
One more thing. What if both brothers got themselves elected? They seem to like each other. They congratulate each other on their successes. Do they spend Thanksgiving or Christmas or Easter together? I don’t know. With the two of them in office from different parties, it would test their relationship. Or they just might serve as a model for how politics can be an enterprise in which people work together regardless of party.
Help elect a Democratic Governor in 2021
Virginia Governors in Virginia are limited to one term, Terry McAuliffe is running to replace the Democratic governor who replaced him. The election is in November, 2021. https://terrymcauliffe.com
Incumbent Governors to Support
Kansas Laura Kelly (Toss up) https://www.laurakellyforkansas.com
Maine Janet Mills (Likely D) https://www.janetmills.com/
Michigan Gretchen Whitmer (Lean D) https://www.gretchenwhitmer.com
Minnesota Tim Walz (Likely D) https://walzflanagan.org
Nevada Steve Sisolak (Likely D) https://stevesisolak.com
Wisconsin Tony Evers (Lean D) https://tonyevers.com
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro https://joshshapiro.org will be the nominee for this open Democratic seat (Toss Up)
Republican Governors to flip.
Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs https://www.katiehobbs.org will be the nominee against any of 5 Rs now running (Toss up)
Georgia Ex State House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams should be the nominee (Lean R) against Inc Brian Kemp or one of his challengers
Texas Ex Congressman Beto O’Rourke (no website yet) will be the nominee (Likely R)
Arkansas Chris Jones https://chrisforgovernor.com probably against Sara Huckabee Sanders for this open Republican seat (Safe R, probably)
In some states, we don’t know who the Democratic nominee will be
Florida Ex Gov and Rep Charlie Crist and Ag Commissioner Nikki Fried are the principal competitors for the Democratic nomination (Lean R)
Ohio Mayors John Cranley and Nan Whaley have announced for this seat where the Republican governor is facing a primary challenge (Likely R)
Maryland I count eight candidates so far for this formerly Republican open seat (Lean D)
Organizations to support
The Democratic National Committee (DNC). https://democrats.org
The Democratic Senate Campaign Committee (DSCC) https://www.dscc.org
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) https://dccc.org
The Democratic Governors Association (DGA) https://democraticgovernors.org
The Democratic Attorneys General Association (DAGA) https://dems.ag
The Democratic Association of Secretaries of State (DASS) https://demsofstate.org
The Democratic (State) Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC) https://dlcc.org
Fair Fight https://fairfight.com Stacey Abrams organization to support fair elections
Democratic Party of Virginia Coordinated Campaign (VADEMS) https://vademocrats.org
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