(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . You live in an overwhelmingly blue state . . . [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-06-24 . . . and you think there is nothing you can do to affect the 2024 election? Think again. Take California. Democratic voter registration is approximately 47%; Republican 24%; No Party Preference 22%, with a refreshing spritz of “others.” The current CA House delegation is 40 Dems and 12 Republicans. Under California’s “top two” primary rules, both Senators are currently Democrats and will be until the Sun burns out. Nothing left for liberals to do here, right? Wrong. Complete control of our U.S. government, even under a second Trump administration, requires majorities in both the House and Senate. Control of just one of these bodies can block regressive legislation and many Executive actions. Republicans currently have a very narrow majority in the House, 218 to 213, with 4 vacant seats (three R, one D). Assuming the vacant seats are filled by the same parties that previously held them, the R majority would be 221 to 214. But if just four seats change hands in the 2024 election then Democrats will have control of the House and can block Trump’s worst impulses. Republicans hold five California House seats in districts won by Joe Biden in 2020. All we need is a little bit higher D turnout and/or a few moderate Rs to change their minds, and we can easily win these races. Want more motivation? Trump is loudly proclaiming that he doesn’t need his supporters’ votes, that he already, “has all the votes I need.” How can this be when he is in a polling dead heat with Biden? Well, if Biden wins the electoral vote but Republicans keep the House, they could try to invalidate the electoral count and hold a “contingent election.” Trump could become President if 26 or more states have majority Republican House delegations. Currently there are already 26 majority Republican delegations; it is possible that the 2025 House could have as many as 28 R delegations even with a narrow Biden electoral college win. The next Congress will be sworn in on January 3, 2025, and they will certify the Presidential election on January 6th. If Democrats win the majority of House seats, 218 or more, then the new Democratic speaker can help prevent another coup attempt regardless of the number of majority Republican state delegations. And the larger the Democratic House majority is, the less likely any other “dirty tricks” can be successful, such as refusing to seat Democratic House members who narrowly won their districts. Democrats need to win as many House seats as possible in the 2024 election. This is why elections in even deep blue states are hugely important. In California Democrats are working to flip eight close districts, with two more considered to be in play. In 2022 Republicans won CA-13 by just 564 votes, and CA-22 by only 3,132 votes. A little extra Democratic effort in the Golden State could tip the balance of political power for the entire country. But wait, there’s more! Deep blue New York state has four House seats held by Republicans in districts won by Biden in 2020. Two of these races are rated “lean” Democratic, with two rated as tossups. The DNC has also targeted close races in nine other states, both red and blue. There are plenty of opportunities for Democrats to gain complete control of the House in 2024 and ensure our rights are not trampled by regressive politicians. On the Senate side, Maryland’s Democrat Senator Ben Cardin is retiring. Democrat Angela Alsobrooks and Republican Larry Hogan are running to replace him. Hogan was a popular Governor and said he will not vote for Trump, but it is unclear if Democrats can count on him to support reproductive or LGBTQ rights. It looks like this will be a close race even though Biden won Maryland by 33 points in 2020. Even if you like Hogan, Alsobrooks must be elected or Democrats will lose control of the Senate and any hope of codifying essential human rights into law. So what can we do? First and foremost, we all have to vote in our elections. It is easy to believe that Democrats will win blue state elections no matter what we do, so we can just take the day off. But Trump voters are rabid and they will be representing. It only takes a few Dems to slack and we will lose close elections. But with heavy Democratic turnout all these seats can be ours. If your job or family responsibilities make it hard to vote on November 5, then vote early or by mail. There cannot be any excuses this year. Second, we need to vote STRAIGHT BLUE (can we make this a trending hashtag?). Some Republicans are fervent theists, some are in it for the grift, way too many are racists, most are just cowards. But it doesn’t matter why they fall in line behind Orange Julius; all Republicans must be voted out. Trump fever will not be broken until there are Democratic landslides in national, state and local elections, with many, many Republican shock losses. Do your part! Make sure you research the candidates all the way down to school boards and other “non-partisan” offices, and vote STRAIGHT BLUE. Third, if you live in or near one of the House districts targeted for by the DCCC (link) you should consider donating time and/or money to your local Democratic candidates. Enthusiasm is infectious and can spur other “shy” Dems to vote. Even just having quiet, honest conversations with your Trump loving friends and family members will help; I suspect there are many Republican women (and some men) who think the party has gone way too far towards white male Christian nationalism and are looking for a reason to vote Democratic Give them a permission structure; they don’t have to become Democrats, just vote against Trump and Trumpism until the Republican party regains sanity. Finally, you may want to consider donating time or money to selected races in red states. After playing around with 538’s Swing-the-Election map (link), I see that getting a just four point voter swing from R to D in North Carolina and Florida results in an unassailable Biden electoral college win, continued Democratic governorship for North Carolina and a new Democratic senator to replace the odious Rick Scott. Please make targeted donations for key races in these states. In addition, Montana’s John Tester and Ohio’s Sherrod Brown are in close, must-win races for control of the Senate and they could use your help to win in their deep red states. If we all vote, vote STRAIGHT BLUE and support Democratic candidates we can ensure a Biden win, regain control of the House, hold the Senate, and make it impossible for Trump’s 2025 coup attempts to even become feasible. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/6/24/2248427/-You-live-in-an-overwhelmingly-blue-state?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=latest_community&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/