{"id":45453,"date":"2026-08-18T15:38:30","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T20:38:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/huewhite.com\/umb\/?p=45453"},"modified":"2026-08-18T15:38:30","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T20:38:30","slug":"the-2026-senate-campaign-updates-33","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/huewhite.com\/umb\/2026\/08\/18\/the-2026-senate-campaign-updates-33\/","title":{"rendered":"The 2026 Senate Campaign: Updates"},"content":{"rendered":"

CALL IT A NUMBERS GAME<\/strong><\/p>\n

Old-time blogger Paul Waldman thinks the Democrats will have a good election come November<\/em>:<\/p>\n

Wisconsin is the most closely divided state in the country; the last three presidential races were all decided there by less than one percentage point. This year, about 491,000 Republican voters cast ballots in the governor\u2019s race, the most important on the ticket. But on the Democratic side, a whopping 792,000 people\u00a0turned out to vote<\/a>. [MS NOW<\/strong><\/a>]<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Etc. etc. Democrats must be encouraged. I don’t know if independents are filled with enthusiasm, or just feel the Democrats are the lesser of two evils. Not incidentally, in the Minnesota Senate primary, the Democrats had a turnout advantage of 677,301 to 389,726.<\/p>\n

THE BEGINNING OF THE BEGINNING, OR IS IT A PEAT BOG DOWN THAT PATH?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Alani Bankhead (D), Democratic nominee for the open Senate seat in Montana<\/a>, who refused to withdraw her nomination for same despite pressure to do so, on the quasi-phenomenon of Democratic nominees dropping out and sometimes endorsing Independent candidates:<\/p>\n

Bankhead, an Air Force veteran and a first-time political candidate, said the strategy of running independents is a bad idea that hurts Democrats in the long term.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you want to rehabilitate the brand, then you do it by rehabilitating the brand, not supporting independents,\u201d she said in an interview. Undermining the voters\u2019 will by asking the Democratic nominee to withdraw is \u201chighly inappropriate\u201d and further upsets voters, she said.\u00a0[WaPo<\/strong><\/a>]<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/a>From that minimal quote I draw the inference that she’s not considered the overwhelming financial resources Republicans are reputed to have available for this election. Pundits have remarked on how the Texas<\/a> Senate race is going to draw down those resources and possibly cost the Republicans a Senate seat or even two elsewhere. These Democrats who are withdrawing, assessing that the national Democratic brand is repugnant to many independents, even in the face of the downright disastrous amateurism endemic to the Republican Party, are attempting to threaten seats that, not so long ago, were considered Solid Republican<\/strong>, by removing themselves from the equation that would otherwise result in splitting the vote of those voters who have found Republican behavior disappointing.<\/p>\n

Let’s add the phenomenon of dishonest polling<\/em>. Below, I cite a poll I find a little unbelievable, that showing Pastor Hamilton (R) in a dead heat with Senator Marshall (R) in Kansas. If dishonest polls, which can be difficult to recognize, sway the adversary of the source of the funding for a poll, then financial resources may be expended by the adversary where unnecessary, while starving another race of needed funds.<\/p>\n

And could this lead to new political Parties that might replace the doddering collective dementia patients now dominating the political landscape? Former Republican and former Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard is starting a new Party<\/a>, so the answer is a definite maybe<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

RUN DOWN THE AISLE, CONTESTANT!<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is Jeopardy!<\/strong> <\/em>and you’re running<\/a> for the Senate Campaign<\/strong> news! Is that a mixed metaphor or just game show dementia?<\/p>\n