New polls suggest a rural populist surge
A fair number of readers have asked if I have any recommendations for small things they can do that might matter down the homestretch. The obvious answers, which I suspect most of you have thought of, are to phone (or text) bank, which you can do from home; go door-knocking (this list is from Indivisible) somewhere nearby; or find small, state-level races where a few dollars goes a long way.
One good example is the Colorado state Senate. Aida Chavez wrote today about five women whose races will determine whether Democrats win unified control of the state. (Meanwhile, Colorado’s Amendment 74 could destroy the ability of the government to do even basic things. So if you live there, vote no on that thing, even though it seems reasonable on its face.)
Some very exciting polls! In Lancaster, Pennsylvania, a new poll has Jess King down just four points in a region Trump won by nearly 30. If you live anywhere near there and want to canvass for the outside group, Lancaster Stands Up, which is supporting her, you can sign up for that here.
The political press was stunned by that poll, but readers of this email have known the Jess King race was going to be close for the last year.
In Iowa, white nationalist Steve King is up by just a single point over J.D. Scholten, whom Dave Dayen profiled earlier this month and Zaid Jilani covered as far back as February. King has just a 38 percent approval rating, way into the danger zone for an incumbent. His abject racism is hurting him, which is a hopeful sign.
And a very cool story about a wildly contentious race between two Democrats in Berkeley of all places. It’s a battle between the party’s radical tradition in the Bay Area and the techie-backed Obama alumni.
The Ady Barkan Reporting Fellowship we launched yesterday has already raised roughly $20,000, a good chunk of it from readers of this email. Thank you. That puts us almost a third of the way there with plenty of time left to raise the rest. (You can still give here.)