Check out the website: https://lenspoliticalnotes.com Look at the recent Political Notes and Len’s Letters on the website.
MIDWEST: Political Note #445 Liz Mathis Iowa 01 (42 Mathis – 43 Hinson), Political Note #411 Christina Bohannan IA 02, Political Note #428 Inc Cynthia Axne IA 03, Political Note #376 Inc Lauren Underwood IL 14, Political Note #412 Inc Sharice Davids KS 03, Political Note #446 Hilary Scholten MI 03, Political Note #378 Inc Elissa Slotkin MI 08, Political Note #357 Inc Haley Stevens MI 11, Political Note #355 Inc Angie Craig MN 02, Political Note #430 Inc Marcy Kaptur OH 09, Political Note #393 Allison Russo OH 15, Political Note #418 Brad Pfaff WI 03
NORTHEAST: Political Note #406 Inc Jared Golden ME 02, Political Note #385 Inc Chris Pappas NH 01, Political Note #363 Inc Tom Malinowski NJ 07, Political Note #448 Senate Patrick Maloney NY 18 (37 Maloney – 38 Schmitt) Political Note #394 Inc Susan Wild PA 07, Political Note #397 Eugene DePasquale PA 10
SOUTHEAST: Political Note #410 Charles Evans NC 08, Political Note #416 Stewart Navarre VA 01, Political Note #388 Inc Elaine Luria VA 02
SOUTHWEST: Political Note #389 Inc Tom O’Halleran AZ 01 (now AZ 02), Political Note #375 Inc Steven Horsford NV 04, Political Note #356 Inc Susie Lee NV 03, Political Note #382 Inc Melanie Stansbury NM 01, Political Note #423 Gabe Vasquez NM 02, Political Note #417 Abby Broyles OK 05, Political Note #377 Inc Lizzie Fletcher TX 07, Political Note #362 Inc Vicente Gonzalez TX 15 (now TX 34), Political Note #424 John Lira TX 23, Political Note #399 Inc Colin Allred TX 32
WEST: Political Note #422 Christy Smith CA 25 (now CA 27), Political Note #405 Jay Chen CA 39 (now CA 45), Political Note #390 Inc Kim Schrier WA 08,
Note links: Political Note links are to Lenspoliticalnotes. Links with names are to candidates’ websites.
Poll results are the most recent results displayed by the website 538 for candidates about whom I have written Notes.
021022 Political Note #446 Hilary Scholten Michigan 03
2022 General Election
Here is another district Democrats can flip. Hillary Scholten https://hillaryscholten.com is a great candidate and just what we need for MI 03.
The incumbent Republican is one of the very few moderate Republicans in Congress. He accepted the results of the 2020 Presidential election and voted to impeach Donald Trump. He was one of the Republicans to support a bipartisan investigation of the January 6 insurrection, one of the Republicans to vote to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act, and one of the Republicans vote to hold Steve Bannon in contempt.
Peter Meijer was like other Republicans opposing sustaining voting rights, opposing the infrastructure bill, opposing the climate change and families bill (Build Back Better), and voting to make Kevin McCarthy Speaker of the House.
Very few Republicans can escape the stain of Republican collaboration with Donald Trump. Those that attempt to, Republicans like Peter Meijer, don’t seem to last long in today’s Republican world. Meijer may make it through the Republican primary this time. He has three opponents and none began 2022 with 10% of the $1.2 Million he had at the start of the year. No matter how wealthy Meijer is, and he is very wealthy, he cannot root out the cancer that exists in the Republican Party.
Hillary Scholten is someone we should support because of who she is, not because her Republican opponent is an ogre. She is an authentic American voice. We don’t get them often enough. We certainly don’t get them often enough running for Congress.
In her first run for Congress, she explained that her great grandparents came to Grand Rapids from the Netherlands, her mom was an elementary school teacher, her dad a sportswriter and editor, and she is raising her two young sons in her Christian faith, to think critically, and to stand for what is right. A graduate of the local, religious-oriented Calvin College and the University of Maryland Law School, she explained herself then better than anything I can say about her:
“….my mon’s work at a high-poverty school put us in touch with struggling families and students facing difficult times. We opened our home to these families in ways big and small. Seeing these families working hard, playing by the rules, and still living in poverty, disturbed me and refused to let me ignore the injustices right in front of me. So I took the lessons I learned from my mom, and from my church, and dedicated my life to helping others. I led the kids summer program at Mel Trotter Ministries, a non-profit that helps homeless woman and their children (among others) get back on their feet. I later earned a degree in social work and became a case worker for the Aids Action Committee, where I helped members of the LGBQ+ community who faced housing discrimination.
“Seeing time and again throughout my life that the system is rigged for the wealthy and well-connected I realized that in order to make real change, we had to change the system. That’s why I went to law school, clerked for the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and later worked for the Department of Justice (DOJ) under the Obama Administration. At the DOJ, our goal was to create strong, fair, and moral immigration policies. But when President Trump was elected, chaos took over. Carefully crafted policies focused on keeping Americans safe were overruled by late night Tweets. While Washington dissolved further into partisan bickering, I joined the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center to handle our growing immigration crisis, protect Michigan families, and defend our Constitution. I also served as a volunteer attorney for Times Up Legal Defense Fund, an organization that provides legal service to women who face sexual harassment in the work place.
“We need fresh perspectives in Congress. We need leaders who have seen first-hand how policies impact people. My experience working with homeless families at Mel Trotter Ministries… , advocating for working families while experiencing employment violations while working as an attorney here in Grand Rapids, and advising the Department of Justice on immigration policies during the Obama Administration has given me deep and broad knowledge of the ways our laws work – and more often don’t – for everyday people.
“I’m running for Congress because we need a leader who is committed to putting forth common sense solutions for the pressing problems facing West Michigan, from housing shortages to a national immigration crisis that is felt daily on a local level. I’m running to make our schools even stronger. I’m running because our health system is broken. I’m running because everyone deserves clean, running water. I’m running because it is time for women and girls in West Michigan saw themselves reflected in national leadership. I’m running to be a voice for West Michigan. AND I HOPE YOU’LL JOIN ME.”
Since 2000, only one Democrat achieved more than 45% of the vote in the old version of MI 03 – Hillary Scholten https://hillaryscholten.com. With your support, in the new MI 03 that has just the slightest Democratic lean, she can achieve more than 50% of the vote. Help her do that.
Organizations that are not part of the Democratic establishment.
Fair Fight https://fairfight.com Stacey Abrams organization to support fair elections
The New Georgia Project https://newgeorgiaproject.org A non-profit registering voters.
The New North Carolina Project https://newnorthcarolinaproject.org A non-profit registering voters. I had a great conversation with their Executive Director
The New Pennsylvania Project https://www.newpaproject.org A non-profit registering voters.
The Lincoln Project https://lincolnproject.us. Ex Republicans with tough messaging.
Democratic Party Establishment 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
National Democratic Redistricting Committee (NRDC) https://democraticredistricting.com Led by Eric Holder
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