Not many elections in December. Des Moines elected a mayor. The incumbent Democrat, Frank Cownie, defeated another Democrat, a developer, in a close race. Houston elected a mayor. The incumbent Sylvester Turner defeated at Trump-supporting Independent by sixteen points. Not so close. Not many Republican mayors around any more. Plenty of Republican state legislatures, though. A Republican won a Tennessee House race overwhelmingly, maintaining a Republican supermajority.
Other December developments. Donald Trump was impeached. Jordan Amash (MI 03) (Gerald Ford’s old district) voted with the Democrats. He had left the Republican Party disgusted with Trump in July. Jeff Van Drew (NJ 02) (South Jersey) voted with the Republicans. Anticipating losing in a primary, he joined the Republican Party. Collin Peterson (MN 07) (Almost the entire length of Minnesota’s western border) voted with the Republicans. He is the only Congressional member of a party to vote against the party and remain a member. Which party will impeachment help? We don’t know yet. We know that Trump lies. As do his Congressional supporters.
Another December development. Beto O’Rourke has found a challenge. He is focused on flipping the Texas House of Representatives. In 2018, while O’Rourke was losing his Senate race, Democrats picked up twelve seats. They need nine more to gain control of the House. Coincidentally, O’Rourke carried nine seats with Republican incumbents. He and Texas Democrats are targeting these nine seats and eight more. The Republicans are targeting the twelve they lost. We should help those Democrats.