LAST 24 HOURS IN A NUTSHELL:
Top House hashtags:
Top Senate hashtags:
Interesting climbers:
#mi03, #ny21: Two districts that we haven’t tracked up to this point. Cook’s Political Report has just shifted them from the “solid Republican” to the “likely Republican” category (which means we’ll put them on our radar screen too.
#togetherwecan: Another tag used by Democrat (and former White House/Labor Dept. staffer) Ammar Campa-Najjar in CA50. Here used to criticize the latest attack by (currently under indictment, and very clearly desperate) incumbent Duncan Hunter, who has run an ad calling Campa-Najjar a security risk seeking to infiltrate Congress on behalf of the Muslim Brotherhood. Hunter’s clearly doubling down on sleazy in this race. A large group of former national-security professionals has signed a letter condemning the slur.
#NoDAPL (11th place Senate): A slight surprise here, as this is today a GOP hashtag, used primarily by the official North Dakota Republican party, criticizing Democratic incumbent Heidi Heitkamp for “sitting on the sidelines as North Dakota law enforcement was put in harm’s way” during the widespread protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline. Obviously, this is one of those charges that could well be viewed as a badge of honor by those who opposed the pipeline’s construction.
GENERAL TRENDS:
On the House side, Vice President Pence visited Washington 05 to campaign for longtime GOP incumbent Cathy Morris. Democratic challenger Lisa Brown and her supporter were delighted, since it shows the Reps are in unexpected trouble here. Also, about 50 women dressed as handmaids (from The Handmaid’s Tale) met Pence in a quiet protest. Very powerful indeed.
#CountryOverParty and #takeitback are both particularly strong in Orange County, CA district CA50, where progressive Campa-Najjar is facing incumbent Hunter (see above).
On the Senate side, Cruz is highlighting his NRA support and his desire to “abolish the IRS,” while O’Rourke wants to abolish ICE. GOP candidate John James in Michigan is also, as usual, strongly retweeted.