Ballot Battles

Yesterday, I was watching football, relaxing and enjoying my Sunday. On the TV, I see two starkly different campaign ads pop up.

The first came from former Judge Joe McGraw (R) running for the House in the 17th District. It was an ad claiming that “Washington politicians coddle criminals and blame victims” and then flashed pictures of Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and Nancy Pelosi. My immediate reaction, knowing nothing at all about this man was “oh, he hates women." Then it went on to depict him riding a motorcycle touting how he’s tough on crime. I laughed out loud at that point. C’mon weekend warrior dude - I can’t take you seriously.

The second ad was from incumbent, Eric Sorensen (D)-17th District. I was met with a smiling face of a man with an umbrella (Sorensen was a meteorologist) talking about what he was going to do and has done in Congress for me, a regular voter, about issues that are important to me. No mudslinging, no attacking, no bullshit. It was refreshingly positive and I appreciated the stark contrast to what I’d seen only moments earlier from McGraw.

This has me thinking hard about the down ballot in November. I’ve been paying attention and supporting “blue dots in red states” and sympathetic to their plight. I’ve lived in many states red, blue, purple…and while it’s no secret that I’m throwing my whole support behind Harris/Walz 2024, I need to be equally as enthusiastic about our state elections.

We need a Congress that will get shit done - not this circus that we’re seeing now and in past administrations. I reflect on how much more prosperous we could be if our elected officials weren’t constantly battling visceral and disruptive radical Right republicans in Congress. There has to be a line of sanity that traditional Conservatives, like Adam Kinzinger, have been warning you about-listen to them.

I want to go back to enjoying football season, barbeques with my family, and holidays without discussions about politics. Be a good human - vote Blue in 2024.