US Congress 2018

Political Note #152 Kathleen Williams MT CD AL

Kathleen Williams had been a popular and effective state legislator. She was not the favorite for the Democratic nomination for Congress. She entered late. She raised a fraction of the money her opponents raised -- money needed for the primary and for the general election against a millionaire incumbent. She preempted accusations that she was interested only in water issues by announcing a campaign focus on healthcare and tax reform. She stood out. Williams could not be criticized for being insufficiently western. Associate Director of the Western Land Owners Alliance, she had a job title that evoked a 1950s movie. She is a sport shooter. She hunts and fishes. She hikes and canoes.

Continue ReadingPolitical Note #152 Kathleen Williams MT CD AL

Political Note #149 Jason Crow CO CD 06

Jason Crow is a former Army Ranger and winner of the Bronze Star. He is a hunter and son of a blue collar family. He was an Obama supporter at the 2012 Democratic convention. He was moved to run for Congress by the 2016 election. Many who were so moved have focused on health care or on immigrants or the dangers of racism or the dangers of sexism. Crow was moved to run by and has focused on gun safety.

Continue ReadingPolitical Note #149 Jason Crow CO CD 06

Political Note #148 Abigail Spanberger VA CD 07

Abigail Spanberger investigated money laundering and narcotics distribution for the US Postal Inspection Service. Her constituents have been intrigued by her subsequent work with the CIA. She was an operations officer. She collected intelligence while living overseas. She recruited and managed assets. She was an American spy.

Continue ReadingPolitical Note #148 Abigail Spanberger VA CD 07

Political Note #147 Andrew Kim NJ CD 03

Andy Kim is the son of poor immigrants from Korea. They expected a lot of him and got a lot. He went to the unusual and rigorous Deep Springs two year College and then to the University of Chicago where he earned a Truman scholarship. He went to Oxford, earned a Rhodes and a PhD. He went from Oxford to Washington and Kabul. He worked with generals in Afghanistan, then as he Iraq Country Director for the State Department and the Director for Iraq at the National Security Council.

Continue ReadingPolitical Note #147 Andrew Kim NJ CD 03

Political Note #146 Harley Rouda CA CD 48

Harley Rouda both brings money to the conversation and is a moderate. He is the son of a Columbus, Ohio real estate magnate. Harley was the CEO of the real estate conglomerate. He consolidated firms from Kentucky to northern Ohio. He is also a former attorney who specialized in capital formation. In this predominantly Republican district, the DCCC wanted the more moderate Democrat as its top vote getter. Rouda was the candidate the DCCC supported.

Continue ReadingPolitical Note #146 Harley Rouda CA CD 48

Political Note #145 Betsy Dirksen Londrigan IL CD 13

Betsy Dirksen Londrigan was raising money for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation when her son nearly died from a tick bite. Helping her son recover took nearly took years of her life. She decided to run for Congress when her her Congressman voted to abolish the Affordable Care Act and the inadequate replacement nearly passed the Senate.

Continue ReadingPolitical Note #145 Betsy Dirksen Londrigan IL CD 13

Political Note #144 Clarke Tucker AR CD 02

A cancer survivor with a political interest in health care, Clarke Tucker is a graduate of Central High School in Little Rock, Harvard, and the University of Arkansas Law School. He is a member of the Arkansas House of Representatives, one of its few Democrats.

Continue ReadingPolitical Note #144 Clarke Tucker AR CD 02

071718 Political Note #143 Antonio Delgado NY CD 19

Antonio Delgado earned a Rhodes Scholarship at Colgage. Oxford then Harvard Law School. He spent five years in Los Angeles creating a hip hop record label and recording rap that was committed to social justice. He went on to practice law for Aikin, Gump, moved to upstate New York where his wife was from and where he is running for Congress, hoping to be one of the rare African Americans to represent an overwhelmingly white district.

Continue Reading071718 Political Note #143 Antonio Delgado NY CD 19

Political Note #142 Katie Porter CA CD 45

A law professor at the University of California - Irvine, Katie Porter has credentials to spare. She is a graduate of Yale and Harvard Law School, a protegee of two of the most powerful women in the country -- Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Senator Kamala Harris of California. At Harvard Law School, she was Elizabeth Warren's student. She worked for Kamala Harris when Harris was California's Attorney General. Like both of them, Porter is a consumer advocate.

Continue ReadingPolitical Note #142 Katie Porter CA CD 45

Political Note #139 Jared Golden ME CD 02

Jared Golden left college to join the Marines. He served four years in Iraq and Afghanistan. His transition to civilian life was not easy. Jared Golden was discovered working in a pizza joint. A Bates College Dean talked with him and persuaded him to apply. With their help, he renewed his life. He returned to Afghanistan to teach. He worked for Senators. He ran for office and progressed in the role. Now he is running for Congress.

Continue ReadingPolitical Note #139 Jared Golden ME CD 02
Newer Posts
Older Posts