Will this go down as the year of the epic fail state parties?

[King]

Is it just me or does it seem like every advantaged party in every state is on path to choke away any gains they should have easily made?

This week it was Colorado.  But we've got every kind of lol nomination and development from weird Alvin Greene in SC to crazy Sharron Angle to just plain nobody running against Kirsten Gillibrand.

Let's play a game!
In your state, how are the major parties failing this cycle?
In New Mexico, the Republicans--usually a joke party around here--nominated all Hispanic candidates this cycle to win on racism.  The Democratic Party--which controls every aspect of state government and is about two thirds Hispanic--responded to this strategy by nominating all white people for major statewide offices and 2 out of 3 congressional races.  Republicans now lead in all polling for all races.  Epic Fail.

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

Not to ruin the fun, fun in Massachusetts, the Republicans are actually having their best year ... like, ever. And I don't think you can blame Coakley on anyone but Coakley.

[Lunar]

New York GOP New York GOP New York GOP New York GOP New York GOP New York GOP New York GOP New York GOP New York GOP New York GOP New York GOP New York GOP New York GOP New York GOP New York GOP New York GOP New York GOP New York GOP New York GOP New York GOP New York GOP New York GOP New York GOP New York GOP New York GOP New York GOP New York GOP New York GOP New York GOP New York GOP

[King]

Not to ruin the fun, fun in Massachusetts, the Republicans are actually having their best year ... like, ever. And I don't think you can blame Coakley on anyone but Coakley.

A Republican winning anything in Massachusetts is an epic fail by the Democrats.  It's like Rick Santorum being elected Mayor of DC.

[Lunar]

Not to ruin the fun, fun in Massachusetts, the Republicans are actually having their best year ... like, ever. And I don't think you can blame Coakley on anyone but Coakley.

A Republican winning anything in Massachusetts is an epic fail by the Democrats.  It's like Rick Santorum being elected Mayor of DC.

I mean...if you ignore New York, there's currently a Republican governor of, or a competitive Senate or Governor election in Obama's top 30 best states.  #31, Montana, has a Democratic governor and no Senate or Governor election so it gets to scrape on by.

Rhode Island, Hawaii, Vermont, and Connecticut all have Republican Governors.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

The Minnesota GOP nominated Tom Emmer.

[King]

Not to ruin the fun, fun in Massachusetts, the Republicans are actually having their best year ... like, ever. And I don't think you can blame Coakley on anyone but Coakley.

A Republican winning anything in Massachusetts is an epic fail by the Democrats.  It's like Rick Santorum being elected Mayor of DC.

I mean...if you ignore New York, there's currently a Republican governor of, or a competitive Senate or Governor election in Obama's top 30 best states.  #31, Montana, has a Democratic governor and no Senate or Governor election so it gets to scrape on by.

Rhode Island, Hawaii, Vermont, and Connecticut all have Republican Governors.

That's true.  But Massachusetts voted for George McGovern.  You just don't lose that kind of state.

I mean, it's possible I 'spose, but you have to really f**k it up to lose.  Coakley ran the worst campaign this side of George Allen and got 48%.

The Minnesota GOP nominated Tom Emmer.

Minnesota's major parties need to re-think the nomination process.  I don't know of any other state that just arbitrarily hands its biggest third party 20% for the hell of it.

[Lunar]

The Minnesota GOP nominated Tom Emmer.

I think the Democrat will win here, but I'd put the race as competitivish.  As I told Snowguy recently, the MN GOP is kinda screwed in this election because Pawlenty has been governing with 2012 in mind and ruining the local brand of Republicanism.  

But it was Obama's 21st best state, so I think the point still largely stands...I counted a number of other races as competitive which could be contestable, like Washington, and I don't think Rossi has the fundamentals working in his favor very much.

My numbers were also flawed because they glossed over #28, North Carolina.

[Lunar]

That's true.  But Massachusetts voted for George McGovern.  You just don't lose that kind of state.

The most recent Democratic governor of Massachusetts before Patrick, elected in a Democratic wave year in 2006, was Dukakis.

[SvenssonRS]

I'd put forth Democratic Party of Wyoming as a pretty effective contender for one of the most fail state parties of the year. 24 Democratic state legislators in total and mayors out the ears, and who did they anoint as candidate? Leslie Petersen.

Yeah. Good one, guys.

[RIP Robert H Bork]

Is it just me or does it seem like every advantaged party in every state is on path to choke away any gains they should have easily made?

This week it was Colorado.  But we've got every kind of lol nomination and development from weird Alvin Greene in SC to crazy Sharron Angle to just plain nobody running against Kirsten Gillibrand.

Let's play a game!
In your state, how are the major parties failing this cycle?
In New Mexico, the Republicans--usually a joke party around here--nominated all Hispanic candidates this cycle to win on racism.  The Democratic Party--which controls every aspect of state government and is about two thirds Hispanic--responded to this strategy by nominating all white people for major statewide offices and 2 out of 3 congressional races.  Republicans now lead in all polling for all races.  Epic Fail.

Indeed. The real funny part was that just two years ago, New Mexico joined Massachusetts as only the second all-Democratic state in the nation (Massachusetts has a Democratic governor, a Democratic state legislature, an all-D Senate delegation, and an all-D House delegation, and of course went Democrat for president in both 2004 and 2008). It was the only such state until 2008, when New Mexico joined in. Just 2 years and all of that is turning around??

Lol, New Mexico Democrats.

And of course the Massachusetts Democrats themselves really did something wrong by letting Scott Brown win.

[Lunar]

I'd put forth Democratic Party of Wyoming as a pretty effective contender for one of the most fail state parties of the year. 24 Democratic state legislators in total and mayors out the ears, and who did they anoint as candidate? Leslie Petersen.

Yeah. Good one, guys.

Eh ..., I think that's a harder argument to make.  Nominating a sacrificial lamb in a state like Wyoming doesn't quite represent anything close to the fail that Colorado or New York's GOP have endured this cycle. 

If Lazio loses to the guy that is outspending him 10-1 in the GOP primary here, then he'll have to choose between destroying the Conservative Party of New York or running a passionate third-party campaign, as third parties need 50,000 votes on the governor's line to remain in existence here.

And the Democrats losing Wyoming doesn't remotely compare to the CO GOP's implosion int he race against Hickenlooper.

[Torie]

Sometimes I think that everyone in elected office in my state is an epic fail, and there is a law, that only folks who are epic fails can be nominated. We are broke in more ways than one. If California life were solely about its governance, as opposed to its people, and the place itself, to me it would be a realization that hell really exists, and it is not a theological concept, in the sense that it is actually evidenced based, and one need to descend anywhere to get there.

[Vepres]

The Colorado GOP on the state-wide level has been epic fail. Both Gubernatorial candidates suck and Tancredo is in the race. Additionally, they passed over an intelligent and strong campaigning Arab-American for a radical right-winger for Treasurer (though they may still win, they picked the wrong guy).

In the Senate and congressional races, they are doing quite well compared to past cycles, however. The Democratic party is failing at the Senate race. Seriously, you replace a moderate Hispanic with rural roots with an urban liberal whitey who nobody has ever heard of, and the only credible challenger comes from his left.

[Meeker]

The Washington GOP still has an opportunity to screw things up. C'mon guys, mail in those ballots for Didier!

[Eraserhead]

New York GOP New York GOP New York GOP New York GOP New York GOP New York GOP New York GOP New York GOP New York GOP New York GOP New York GOP New York GOP New York GOP New York GOP New York GOP New York GOP New York GOP New York GOP New York GOP New York GOP New York GOP New York GOP New York GOP New York GOP New York GOP New York GOP New York GOP New York GOP New York GOP New York GOP

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

Giannoulias is likely to win due to Kirk own embellishments, but we could of nominated a moderate Dan Hynes for governor.  As it looks now, Brady probably will win if it weren't for Cohen being on the ballot.

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

Not to ruin the fun, fun in Massachusetts, the Republicans are actually having their best year ... like, ever. And I don't think you can blame Coakley on anyone but Coakley.

A Republican winning anything in Massachusetts is an epic fail by the Democrats.  It's like Rick Santorum being elected Mayor of DC.

It's a personal fail by Coakley, and not really anything else. After all, Democrats had no way of knowing that Coakley would be such a piss-poor candidate. Even I voted for her in the Primary.

The most recent Democratic governor of Massachusetts before Patrick, elected in a Democratic wave year in 2006, was Dukakis.

Don't blame the Democratic wave. Patrick would have won his 2006 race in any environment. Mitt Romney was just too toxic; Kerry Murphy Healey was just too weak.

[Kevin]

Giannoulias is likely to win due to Kirk own embellishments, but we could of nominated a moderate Dan Hynes for governor.  As it looks now, Brady probably will win if it weren't for Cohen being on the ballot.

Giannoulias has even bigger issues with ethics then Kirk. Including but not limited to his family bank being under federal investigation for unsavory practices like giving loans to convicted mobsters and much more.

[feeblepizza]

Illinois Democrats - Kirk leads in the Senate, Republicans for Governorship, and Republicans are leading for the District01 House race

Also, Hawaii Democrats for loosing the Special Election in OBAMA'S HOME DISTRICT to a Republican (Charles Djou)

[SvenssonRS]

The Washington GOP still has an opportunity to screw things up. C'mon guys, mail in those ballots for Didier!

That won't make much difference. Washington is just that polarized - win or lose, Didier would probably get the exact same margin of victory or defeat as Rossi would. There are that few moderates in the state.

[Meeker]

The Washington GOP still has an opportunity to screw things up. C'mon guys, mail in those ballots for Didier!

That won't make much difference. Washington is just that polarized - win or lose, Didier would probably get the exact same margin of victory or defeat as Rossi would. There are that few moderates in the state.

Umm... no. Didier would fall flat on his face amongst high-income moderates while Rossi will do rather well amongst them. There are other demographic groups this applies to as well.

[SvenssonRS]

The Washington GOP still has an opportunity to screw things up. C'mon guys, mail in those ballots for Didier!

That won't make much difference. Washington is just that polarized - win or lose, Didier would probably get the exact same margin of victory or defeat as Rossi would. There are that few moderates in the state.

Umm... no. Didier would fall flat on his face amongst high-income moderates while Rossi will do rather well amongst them. There are other demographic groups this applies to as well.

What moderates? We're talking about a state that Pat Robertson won in 1988. Washington is polarized to all hell.

[Meeker]

The Washington GOP still has an opportunity to screw things up. C'mon guys, mail in those ballots for Didier!

That won't make much difference. Washington is just that polarized - win or lose, Didier would probably get the exact same margin of victory or defeat as Rossi would. There are that few moderates in the state.

Umm... no. Didier would fall flat on his face amongst high-income moderates while Rossi will do rather well amongst them. There are other demographic groups this applies to as well.

What moderates? We're talking about a state that Pat Robertson won in 1988. Washington is polarized to all hell.

...

I don't even know where to begin so I'm just not going to try.

[bgwah]

Robertson won a caucus, which isn't quite the same. If we used a caucus system then I actually think Didier might be favored. But we don't, so Rossi should be fine.

Washington is polarized in the sense that the >70% wins you see in some other states simply don't happen here anymore. Even a >60% win is rare--Brian Sonntag is the only one who can pull it off. And even when the GOP un-endorsed their pyscho candidate in 2004, the candidate still got like 35%.

But Didier would definitely end up doing at least 5 points worse than Rossi, probably closer to 10. I know some polls might disagree, but there's no doubt in my mind that after the campaign kicked into full gear after the primary that Didier would easily be destroyed the Democrats.