COMPLACENCY KILLS CAMPAIGNS. DON’T TAKE VICTORY FOR GRANTED. GIVE MONEY TO JOE BIDEN. WRITE POSTCARDS. DO WHATEVER YOU CAN. VOTE EARLY. EARLY VOTING HAS BEGUN IN MOST STATES
Check out the website https://lenspoliticalnotes.com Political Note #189 Doug Jones Alabama, Political Note #248 Al Gross Alaska, Political Note #295 John Hickenlooper Colorado, Political Note #221 Mark Kelly Arizona, Political Note #283 Jon Ossoff Georgia (A), Political Note #269 Rev. Dr. Raphael Warnock Georgia(B), Political Note #320 Paulette Jordan Idaho, Political Note #242 Theresa Greenfield Iowa, Political Note #262 Barbara Bollier Kansas, Political Note #255 Amy McGrath Kentucky, Political Note #330 Adrian Perkins Louisiana, Political Note #236 Sara Gideon Maine, Political Note #225 Gary Peters Michigan, Political Note #239 Mike Espy Mississippi, Political Note #279 Steve Bullock Montana, Political Note #250 Cal Cunningham North Carolina, Political Note #311 Abby Broyles Oklahoma, Political Note #217 Jaime Harrison South Carolina, Political Note #328 Dan Ahlers South Dakota, Political Note #316 Marquita Bradshaw Tennessee, Political Note #291 MJ Hegar Texas, Political Note #307 Paula Jean Swearengin West Virginia, Political Note #329 Merav Ben-David Wyoming.
Look at the updated calculations of where the races stand below the text.
101820 Political Note #331 Ricky Dale Harrington Jr. US Senate Arkansas
2020 General election
Stop Tom Cotton. Stop this ambitious man. At 43, he is running for his second term as a US Senator from Arkansas. He’s a deeply right-wing Senator who wants to be President. Knock him out of the Presidential race. Punish him for his cut throat politics and disdain for democracy.
Tom Cotton has eliminated two opponents. His campaign manager explained how they eliminated the Democratic candidate for Senator. They held onto information about the Democratic candidate. They timed their complaint about him until it was impossible for the Democratic Party to replace him. Minutes after the filing deadline closed, the Arkansas Republican Party announced it would file a complaint with the FEC claiming that Democratic candidate Josh Mahoney had lied when filing his candidacy. Further claims were made by the national Republican Party. Later that day, too late for the Democratic Party to replace him, Joshua Mahoney withdrew his candidacy. There is no Democratic candidate for the US Senate.
The next candidate eliminated was independent Dan Whitfield. Whitefield resembles a progressive Democrat. He voted for Bernie Sanders in Arkansas’ open Democratic primary. The social distancing required by the coronavirus made signature collection nearly impossible.
Many states made changes in scheduling primaries, reduced the number of signatures required for ballot access, delayed when signatures were due. In some states, the changes were made by statute, in some by the courts. Neither in Arkansas. In Arkansas, the May 1 deadline for submitting 10,000 signatures was not extended. What was delayed, delayed, and delayed, was the court hearing that might have led to a reduction in the number of required signatures. The Republican Attorney General got the 8th Circuit to delay oral arguments on this issue until after November 3. Whitfield is not on the ballot.
Credit Tom Cotton for political muscle. Do not credit him for an interest in democracy. Don’t credit him for good judgement either. He was left as an incumbent with only one opponent when he could have had three. His opponent is a Libertarian African-American preacher.
How bad was Tom Cotton’s judgment? A poll released on October 11 demonstrated the consequences of Tom Cotton’s anti-democratic plots. Libertarian African-American preacher Ricky Dale Harrington Jr was trailing Tom Cotton 49-38. A double-digit lead is a lot this late in the race. Cotton had an 11-point lead against a candidate who had spent $783 in his campaign. Consider the 11 point lead a sign of Tom Cotton’s weakness and his bad judgment about clearing the field for one opponent.
Learn a little more about Ricky Harrington https://www.rickyharringtonsenate.com. He says the following: “We must stop the partisanship, or it will destroy our country. I only care about doing the right thing because it is the right thing to do. I don’t have an illustrious background. I didn’t go to the top universities or win awards and accolades. I have spent my entire adult life helping people. Serving the homeless, spending time with people in mental health crisis, engaging in humanitarian efforts and caring for people. It is my sole calling in life. We must work together to preserve our union.”
His wife is on active duty in the navy, Ricky Harrington has been the primary care giver for their three children and has spent his life in Christian service. He has been a missionary. He has done two missions – one before graduating from college, one after. The first was to Scotland where he worked in a primary school and with the elderly. That was through the Sunset International Bible Institute’s Adventures in Missions program. He second was in China where he taught at a university and consulted at a university hospital.
Ricky Harrington has been working in a prison. Since 2016 he has been the chaplain and treatment coordinator at the Cummins Unit in Lincoln County, formerly the Cummins Prison Farm. It has 16,500 acres and was designed to house 1,750 prisoners. The prison is about at capacity. The Cummins Unit has not been trouble-free. Most recently it has been a hotspot for Covid-19.
If Tom Cotton condescended to a debate with his only challenger, he might have asked Ricky Harrington about conditions at the prison. Instead, at what might have been a debate venue, he took free shots at Cotton. Ricky Harrington said about Cotton: “He’s on Fox News … two or three times a week, but he can’t come here to address the people of Arkansas. Why would you want to support someone who does that?” Ricky Harrington could appeal to African-American constituents — unlikely Libertarian voters. He attacked Cotton for his disdain for the New York Times 1619 project. Cotton called it left wing propaganda and he would deprive schools of federal funds if they used it as a basis for education. Ricky Harrington said the 1619 project puts “the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the very center of our national narrative.” He could say these things unchallenged because Tom Cotton would not show up for the debate.
Ricky Harrington has described his six point program:
- Reform criminal justice – decriminalize marijuana, eliminate minimum sentencing laws, train police in de-escalation, eliminate secrecy that protects police and other governmental officials.
- Diplomacy-based foreign policy – end aggressive overseas actions on behalf of corporate interests, reduce military spending, hold presidents accountable for military actions without congressional approval.
- Reform health care – End “certificates of need” which discourage health care competition, eliminate regulations except those that assure safety or increase efficiency, and reduce the length of time medication is protected by patents.
- Constitutional protection – preclude laws that infringe on constitutional protections, provide consequences for passing laws that infringe on constitutionally protected rights, listen to constituents who believe their rights have been infringed on.
- Reform budgets – End deficit spending, reduce budgets to the level that can be supported by taxation, reduce taxes
- Environmental preservation – reduce pollution, protect natural resources
I can live with someone with these views replacing Tom Cotton. Can you? Ricky Harrington opposes taxes and spending, but so does Cotton. Ricky Harrington might see constitutional infringements where there are none, but so does Cotton. Ricky Harrington proposes positive criminal justice reforms, a non-intervention foreign policy, and plans for the environment though he doesn’t speak in terms of a climate change crisis.
Tom Cotton is a danger. He is a national figure in Republican circles who hopes to run for President in 2024. He seems pretty smart – a magna graduate of Harvard with a JD from the Law School. Brave. He enlisted in March 2005, moved, he says, by the 9/11 attack in 2001. He led an infantry platoon in Iraq and planned counter-insurgency operations in Afghanistan. He transferred to the reserves after five years of active service.
While he was in Iraq, in 2006, he wrote to the NY Times to argue that journalists who described an operation to monitor terrorist finances jeopardized his troops. He wanted the journalists prosecuted for espionage.
As a freshman Member of Congress, Cotton opposed a .5% salary increase for federal workers. He opposed the farm bill because he believed the food assistance portion was fraught with fraud. He opposed the food stamp program because he saw fraud in that as well. He opposed other agriculture programs including the expansion of crop insurance. More fraud.
During the discussion about the Iran nuclear deal, Cotton thought a military solution would be better. A war with Iran, he seemed to believe, would be less serious than the Iraq war. The secret agreements between the inspection agency which he claimed to discover protected Iran from serious inspections, so he thought. They were actually the ordinary agreements any inspected nation entered into prior to inspections. Maybe Cotton is not so smart.
Cotton is mean-spirited. During the Obama administration, he placed a hold on the appointment of Cassandra Butts’ nomination to be ambassador to the Bahamas. His reason? He wanted to inflict pain on the president and Butts was a friend of Obama’s. Cotton kept that hold on until Cassandra Butts died.
We should be willing to support Ricky Harrington https://www.rickyharringtonsenate.com. He’s got ground to make up in very little time. He became a threat to Cotton while spending less than $1,000 on his campaign, How much will it take to close that 11-point gap?. Donate to Ricky Harrington’s campaign now.
There are plenty of Democratic Senate candidates to support (Democrats listed first):
DEMOCRATS ARE FARTHER AHEAD
Arizona Astronaut Mark Kelly, gun safety leader supported by his wife former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords v. Incumbent and ex fighter pilot Martha McSally. Cash on hand: September 30 McSally $12.2 million. Mid-July Kelly $18.8 million. October Polls (Kelly 52-42, 50-45, 51-41, 52-41, 49-41, 48-41, 47-45, 47-42, 51-41, 49-44, 50-44, 51-43, 50-39, 51-38)
Colorado Former Governor John Hickenlooper v Incumbent attorney and party activist Senator Cory Gardner. July 24 Cash on hand: Gardner $6.8 million, Cash on Hand September 30 Hickenlooper $7.2 million, October Polls: (Hickenlooper 53-42, 51-41, 50-40, 46-44, 48-39)
DEMOCRATS ARE AHEAD
Iowa Businesswoman and civic leader Theresa Greenfield v incumbent Joni Ernst. September 30 Cash on hand: Ernst $4.3 Million, Greenfield $9.5 Million, October and Late September Polls: (Greenfield 47-43, 49-46, 50-45, 44-42, 46-45, 50-45, 51-39) (Tied 48-48, 47-47)
Maine Speaker of the ME House, Sara Gideon v sometimes moderate incumbent Susan Collins. Cash on hand: September 30 Collins $6.6 Million, June 30 Gideon $22.7 Million, October and Late September Polls (Gideon 47-40, 44-43, 50-42, 46-41, 45-41) (Tied 42-42)
Michigan Incumbent Democrat Gary Peters has a tough opponent in African-American Businessman John James. September 30 Cash on hand: Peters $3.5 Million, Johnson $8.8 Million. Polls: (Peters 50-43, 45-39, 52-44, 49-40, 48-40, 43-42) (James 48-47)
North Carolina. Businessman, environmentalist, and veteran, Cal Cunningham v Incumbent Thom Tillis. September 30 Cash on Hand: Tillis $6.6 Million, Cunningham $4.2 Million. October Polls: (Cunningham 41-37, 45-44, 46-42, 48-47, 46-38, 47-41, 49-39, 50-39, 50-46)
RACES THAT ARE CLOSE TO EVEN
Alaska Physician and Commercial Fisherman Al Gross v. Incumbent Dan Sullivan. Cash on hand: October 12: $2.6 million. September 30 Gross $5.2 million. October and Late September Polls: (Sullivan 45-37, 48-44, 46-45), (Gross 47-46, )
Georgia (A) Jon Ossoff v incumbent David Perdue. Cash on Hand September 30. Perdue $8.2 Million, Ossoff $8.3 Million,. October Polls: (Perdue 46-43,46-42, 47-46, 49-41) (Ossoff 51-45, 44-43, 44-43)
Georgia (B) Five candidates. The top two will be in a run off. Three Democrats: The Reverend Dr. Raphael Warnock, Senior Pastor at the Ebenezer Baptist Church of Atlanta, Businessman Matt Lieberman, ex US Attorney Ed Tarver. Two Republicans: Incumbent Kelly Loeffler, Congressman Doug Collins. September 30 Cash on hand: Loeffler $5.6 Million, Warnock $6.5 Million, Collins $2.4 Million, Lieberman $200,000 October Polls: (1) Warnock 30, Loeffler 26, Collins 20, Lieberman 8, Tarver 3 (2) Warnock 41, Collins 22, Loeffler 20, Lieberman 5, Tarver 2 (3) Warnock 30, Collins 22, Loeffler 22, Lieberman 10, Tarver 1
Kansas Physician and former Republican State Senator Barbara Boliier v. Congressman Roger Marshall. September 30 Cash on hand: Bollier $7.6 Million, Marshall $1.7 Million October and September Polls (Marshall 50-43, 43-39) (Bollier 45-42, 45-43) (Tied 42-42)
Mississippi Ex Member of Congress and Ex Secretary of Agriculture Mike Espy v Incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith. September 30 Cash on hand: Hyde-Smith $1.5 Million, Espy $3.2 Million. End of August Poll (Hyde-Smith 41-40)
Montana Steve Bullock, Democratic Governor of Montana versus corporate-oriented incumbent Steve Daines. September 30 Cash on hand: Daines $3.5 Million, Bullock $2 Million. October and Late September Polls: (Daines 52-43) (Bullock 49-47, 48-47) (Tied 48-48)
South Carolina Former Party Chair Jaime Harrison v incumbent, former moderate Republican Lindsay Graham. September 30 Cash on hand Graham $14.8 Million, Harrison $8 Million. October Polls: (Graham 46-40, 48-42) (Harrison 47-45, 47-46, 48-47) (Tied 46-46)
REPUBLICANS ARE AHEAD
Alabama Incumbent ex US Attorney and Prosecutor of KKK members Doug Jones v former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville. September 30 Cash on hand. Jones $7.9 Million, Tuberville $1.7 Million. Polls: (Jones 48-47) (Tuberville 54-42)
Kentucky Retired Marine Pilot Amy McGrath and conservative Democrat v Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. September 30 Cash on hand: September 30 McConnell $13.9 Million, McGrath $20 Million. September Polls: (McConnell 48-41, 46-39, 52-37, 53-41)
Texas Military Helicopter Pilot MJ Hegar v Incumbent John Cornyn. September 30 Cash on hand: Cornyn $8 Million, M. J. Hegar $8.5 Million Polls: (Cornyn 49-46, 47-38, 50-42, 48-39, 47-46, 45-42)
REPUBLICANS ARE FARTHER AHEAD
Arkansas Prison chaplain and Libertarian Ricky Harrington v Incumbent Tom Cotton. September 30 Cash on hand Cotton. $6.3 million. Harrington $28,000. October Poll Cotton 49-38
Louisiana Mayor Adrian Perkins v Incumbent Bill Cassidy. September 30 Cash on Hand Cassidy $4.6 million. Perkins $700,000. August Poll: (Cassidy 52-33 in the run-off, but Perkins projected to keep Cassidy below 50% and an outright victory in November)
Oklahoma Television journalist Abby Broyles v Incumbent Jim Inhofe September 30 Cash on hand: Inhofe $1.7 million, June 30 Broyles $300,000. September Polls (Inhofe 46-30, 57-33)
OTHER RACES WORTH MENTIONING, WORTH DONATING JUST TO MAKE THE RACES A LITTLE CLOSER
Idaho Former state senator Paulette Jordan versus incumbent James Risch. September 30 cash on hand Risch $2.6 million. Paulette Jordan $340,000. Late August Poll (Risch 53-28)
South Dakota, Businessman Dan Ahlers v Incumbent Mike Rounds. September 30 Cash on hand: Ahlers $50,000. Rounds $2.1 Million. Polls: None
Tennessee Memphis-based African-American environmental justice activist Marquita Bradshaw for an open Republican seat in Tennessee. September 30 Cash on hand: Bradshaw $630,000 Hagerty $2 Million. Polls: None
West Virginia Environmental Activist Paula Jean Swearengin versus incumbent Shelley Moore Capito. September 30 Cash on Hand Swearengin $400,000 Moore Capito $3.4 million. October Poll: (Moore Capito 53-33)
Wyoming Climate Scientist Merav Ben-David v ex Member of Congress Cynthia Lummis. September 30 Cash on Hand Ben-David $200,000, Lummis $850,000. Polls: None
