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The special election in Kansas didnt go the way Democrats had hoped. Neither did the race in Montana. And neither, most expensively, did Jon Ossoffs run for an open House seat in Georgia.

But Tuesday night, Democrats picked up two seats in Oklahoma, a once-blue state where the Obama years had reduced them to a rump party. It was the fourth pickup in a state legislative race this year,* the only electoral bright spots for a party that is lagging in fundraising and fighting localized battles over leadership and messaging. Michael Brooks, whod lost a 2014 race for the states 44th Senate District, won it by 9 points on Tuesday; Karen Gaddis, whod narrowly lost the 2016 race for the 75th District of the Oklahoma House of Representatives, took it by 5 points this time.

There was celebration on progressive social media as soon as the races were called. Turns out Donald Trump was right about one thing during his campaign Were going to win so much, wrote Daily Koss political editor, Carolyn Fiddler. Except he probably didnt mean Democrats winning and over-performing in a ton of special elections since his election.

Each victory and a run of closer-than-expected races has occurred in a low-turnout environment. In 2014, when Brooks lost the Senate race, 10,482 ballots were cast. On Tuesday, just3,619 ballots were cast. But while Democratic turnout fell by half, Republican turnout fell by around two-thirds.

The victories also did little to slice into what, by the end of the Obama years, had become a Republican supermajority. After Tuesday, just seven Democrats will sit in the 42-member state Senate. After the 2008 election the first since 1972 in which the Democrats presidential candidate carried no Oklahoma county Democrats held 22 seats. Many of the losses since then had come in rural districts. Tuesdays gains came in the metro areas of Oklahoma City and Tulsa.

The races marked the first wins for the party under Anna Langthorn, who got national attention for taking over the beleaguered Oklahoma Democrats two months ago at age 24.

Both of the races came out of Republicans resigning after sex scandals, said Langthorn. They didnt do a lot of preparation, whereas we had candidates whod run before and were willing to run again. We had a field organizer in each race, for $2,500 per month. There were campaign PACs that spent a little money. Clearly, it was worth it.

*Democrats lost a seat in Louisiana when none of their candidates filed for a seat that had swung hard to the right.

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Democrats see hope in Oklahoma special elections - Washington Post

Last Friday evening, a diverse crowd gathered in an airless Los Angeles church for a Democratic National Committee Resistance Summer rally. The plan was simple: to invigorate the base with speeches, then run a phone bank to oppose the Republican healthcare bill.

Instead, Democratic Party officials quickly lost control of the event.

Less than five minutes into DNC Deputy Chair Keith Ellisons introductory remarks, a group of people stood up and chanted vehemently, Single payer now! They unfurled a banner across an entire pew, and heckled the speakers so freely that an older woman made the sign of the cross, as if warding off their revolutionary spirits, and said, Shame on you. Ellisons remarks about party unification were nearly inaudible because two attendees were standing and screaming at each other. California Democratic Party Chairman Eric Bauman simply stopped speaking. Halfway through the rally, two-dozen single-payer healthcare demonstrators a fifth of the attendees walked out, using a bullhorn to stage their own press conference on the sidewalk nearby.

Once again, the Democratic Party found itself unprepared to respond to its vocal left flank. Democratic Party handlers poked the demonstrators and begged them to sit, but the five-member security detail on hand stood at the back of the church, hands clasped. Their decision not to expel or otherwise silence the demonstrators was the right one.

Those who demonstrated represented a variety of movements and political ideologies. One was a registered Democrat with the #RecallRendon movement, which has sought to push California Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount) out of office since he shelved Senate Bill 562, the states single-payer bill, in June. Another was a political independent with Our Revolution, a movement that seeks to continue the goals of Bernie Sanders presidential candidacy. Another was a self-described revolutionary communist with ResistFascism.org. And yet these demonstrators, who had organized themselves on Facebook, had a clear, singular message that dominated the event.

The Democratic Party speakers, who rhetorically wandered through a variety of issues, including womens rights and the 1st Amendment, did not.

Many party speakers noted, in response to the demonstrators, that theyd been vocal supporters of single-payer healthcare, and in some cases had co-sponsored bills to enact it. But they were ad-libbing on the defensive, instead of setting the agenda for their own meeting, or sharing a vision for how to make a unified push for single-payer healthcare. Demonstrators didnt come to see legislators talk about their collective helplessness they wanted a plan of action.

The event came on the heels of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committees decision to release a series of slogans that sunk like a lead balloon with many in the base. While none were particularly inspired, one rankled the most: "Democrats 2018: I mean, have you seen the other guys?" The slogan made it abundantly clear that, after a bruising loss in November, Democrats wouldnt be presenting new ideas or deeply examining their policy stances. Instead, they were doubling down on a visionless strategy of vanilla centrism, selling themselves as better than the worst dude.

Single-payer demonstrators werent the only attendees who hungered for the party to shift to the left. Polo Morales, a 40-year-old immigration advocate from Whittier, noted that the event platform said nothing about immigration at a rally in a state with the United States largest immigrant population. Morales said that if the Democratic Party tries to swing to the center to win in 2018 without examining the root causes of its previous failures, then its going to have a really difficult time turning out the vote.

In an interview after the event, Ellison, who has supported single-payer healthcare, noted social justice is often achieved through disruption. So thats why Im not out of joint about how the meeting went.

Ellison said Democrats dont need to go to the left, right or center; they need to go down, to the nail shops on the block, the college campuses and the union halls.

But while rhetorically compelling, Ellisons argument is a straw man. No progressives or leftists Ive met see their vision as incompatible with grassroots organizing.

Ellison says hes keen on rebuilding trust between the Democratic Party and those it represents. Look, how do you build a trust relationship? Ellison asked. You listen to me, I listen to you. When you count on me, when you call on me, you can count on me. But what have we had with the Democratic Party? Sometime around election time we call you and ask you to vote for us. Maybe we ask you for money and then you don't see us again until we need more votes and more money. One of the goals of the Resistance Summer events is to put the party in contact with the people it represents outside of an election year a good and necessary idea.

So why wouldnt Democrats, who could have easily seen these demonstrators were counter-organizing before the event, anticipate the concerns of the room and begin by directly addressing the single-payer advocates? The most radical course of action articulated that evening was to impeach Trump and put Vice President Mike Pence in office, a message that felt terribly lackluster for a crisis moment that better than the worst dude vision again.

Demonstrators, on the other hand, came with a compelling vision which made the Democratic Partys pressing need for one all the more obvious.

Melissa Batchelor Warnke is a contributing writer to Opinion. Follow her @velvetmelvis on Twitter.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook.

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Democrats are doubling down on the same vanilla centrism that helped give us President Trump - Los Angeles Times

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Oklahoma Democrats, who have taken routine beatings from the GOP over the last decade, unexpectedly snatched two state legislative seats from Republicans in special elections this week and are now hoping to carry momentum into grabbing bigger prizes in 2018, including congressional seats and the governors mansion.

Democratic candidates benefited from voter frustration over state budget problems and recent sex scandals that led GOP incumbents to resign.

Weve got a lot of energy right now, said Anna Langthorn, the Oklahoma Democratic Partys new 24-year-old leader. I think its a good sign for the remaining special elections and for 2018.

However, Republicans still hold a 3 to 1 advantage in legislative seats along with every statewide elected office, both U.S. Senate seats and all five U.S. House seats.

Tuesday nights Democratic victories happened in districts in Oklahoma City and Tulsa with a mix of urban and suburban precincts, the kind of places where Democrats have made pickups in recent years. The larger cities have increasing populations of minorities and young professionals, who are more likely to vote Democratic. The Hispanic population in Oklahoma County, where Oklahoma City is located, grew 13.5 percent from 2010 and 2015.

And in both districts, veteran Republicans resigned amid a scandal.

State Rep. Dan Kirby of the Tulsa area stepped down after two former legislative assistants accused him of sexual harassment. In Oklahoma City, Sen. Ralph Shortey faces three felony charges alleging he solicited a 17-year-old boy for sex.

Republican candidate Joe Griffin, who lost by 10 points to Democratic attorney Michael Brooks in the Oklahoma City race, said that while the scandals certainly didnt help, more voters were aggravated by the states constant budget problems after tax cuts approved by the GOP-controlled Legislature. Declining revenue led to reductions in school budgets over the last three years.

Theres great concern over our education system, and year after year, the Legislature has failed to tackle these issues, Griffin said.

In the race for the Tulsa seat held by Republicans since the 1980s, Democrat Karen Gaddis, a retired schoolteacher, built her campaign around supporting education and criticizing Republicans for mismanagement of state government. She won the race despite a 2-to-1 GOP advantage in registration.

Another factor in both contests was minuscule turnout. Gaddis won her race by fewer than 100 votes, while Brooks edged Griffin by 331 votes out of 3,600 votes cast.

Democratic candidates for governor in 2018 already are hammering on the budget and education issues as term-limited Republican Mary Fallin leaves office, and Democrats believe the congressional seat held by Republican Rep. Steve Russell in Oklahoma City could be within reach.

In other conservative states, such as Texas, Democrats now dominate congressional elections in the big cities.

But Pat McFerron, a Republican strategist and pollster, said that while the demographics in big cities are changing, Democrats are still at a disadvantage.

In 12 or 15 years from now, maybe, McFerron said of flipping Russells seat. But not now.

___

Follow Sean Murphy at http://www.twitter.com/apseanmurphy

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Democrats snatch 2 statehouse seats in Oklahoma surprise - The Seattle Times

Lillie Schechter, the new chairwoman of the Harris County Democratic Party, has watched in recent months as at least seven candidates have come through the doors of the party headquarters to introduce themselves, eager for their shot at U.S. Rep.John Culberson, R-Houston.

That's seven candidates that she can recall, but she may be forgiven for forgetting: Texas' 7th Congressional District is one of several that have already drawn a swarm of Democratic candidates for 2018. The bonanza is unfolding not justin districts like the 7th one of three in Texas that national Democrats are targeting but also in even redder districts, delighting a state party that is not used to so much so interest so early.

"When we have competitive primaries, we get to engage with more Democrats," Schechter said. "I do not see that as a negative thing."

Yet it's just one part of the picture for Democrats at the outset of the 2018 election cycle. While the congressional races are overflowing with candidates, the party remains without a number of statewide contenders a reality that is coming into focus ahead of Republican Gov.Greg Abbott's anticipated announcement Friday that he's running for re-election.Barring any last-minute surprises, Abbott will make his second-term bid official without the presence of a serious Democratic rival.

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The state's Democrats are urging patience, saying they are in talks with potential Abbott challengers and other possible statewide candidates.

"I think if you look in past years, traditionally candidates will start filing in the fall, and by the end of the filing deadline, I think we'll have a full slate of strong candidates to run statewide," said U.S. Rep.Joaquin Castroof San Antonio, who himself took a pass on statewide race earlier this year, declining to challenge U.S. Sen.Ted Cruz, R-Texas. "I know there's been a lot of energy across the country and in Texas on the Democratic side, and so many people want to get a move on already, but by the end of year, I'll think you'll see a full slate of strong Democratic candidates."

So far, Democrats have three statewide candidates they see as serious: U.S. Rep.Beto O'Rourkeof El Paso for U.S. Senate, Houston-area accountant Mike Collier for lieutenant governor and Kim Olson, a retired Air Force colonel, for agriculture commissioner. They are without similarly credible contenders for governor, comptroller, land commissioner, railroad commissioner and attorney general a seat considered particularly worth targeting because the GOP incumbent,Ken Paxton, is under indictment.

By far the biggest profile belongs to O'Rourke, who announced his challenge to Cruz in March. As the top of the ticket assuming hewins his party's primary next year he stands a chance of being Texas Democrats' standard-bearer in 2018, regardless of whom they ultimately put up for the other statewide jobs.

In an interview Monday, O'Rourke said he was not worried about the lack of company so far on his party's statewide ticket.

"I can't worry about what I can't control, and so we're just going to focus on our campaign," he said.

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But he also expressed optimism for the party's prospects up and down the ballot in 2018 "as more people become aware of how significantly the dynamics have changed in Texas."

It may be somewhat early, but the lack of a gubernatorial candidate or even a well-known potential contender is particularly glaring. Taking out Abbott would likely be an even steeper climb than usual for Texas Democrats seeking statewide office, as the governor has a massive $34.4 million war chest. It's a number expected to grow by the millions when he discloses his latest fundraising numbers next week.

"Weve had conversations with a handful of folks who are considering a run for governor," said Manny Garcia, deputy executive director of the Texas Democratic Party. "Theyre the kind of people that make us excited. Theyre the kind of people who can raise credible resources, they have a great story to tell and theyre the kind of people who, most importantly, could get the job done.

Of the last four Democratic nominees for governor, none of them announced his or her campaign this early. The closest was 2006 nominee Chris Bell, whose announcement came on July 28, 2005 467 days before Election Day. The 2018 election is currently 481 days away.

Yet previous cycles have typically brought a bit more excitement and buzz leading up to such announcements. There were the months of speculation that came before the launch of South Texas millionaire Tony Sanchez's 2002 bid to become the first Hispanic governor of Texas. In 2014, former state Sen.Wendy Daviskept Democrats waiting until 14 weeks after her anti-abortion filibuster made her a national star.

This time around, such hype is subdued at best. Perhaps the most prominent name to garner some speculation is former state Rep.Trey Martinez Fischerof San Antonio, whorecently toldhis hometown newspaper a potential candidacy is "not a conversation that I'm entertaining at this time."

While there has not been frenzied speculation about the governor's race, Democrats note their talent was on full display earlier this year when two rising stars, O'Rourke and Castro, both seriously considered the Senate race. While Castro ultimately declined to run, there's still another statewide contest that could involve two credible Democrats: former state Rep. Allen Vaught of Dallas is weighing whether to join Collier in the race for lieutenant governor.

In any case, the current state of Democrats' statewide ticket provides acontrast with the congressional map, where several vigorous Democratic primaries are already underway not just in the three districts in the crosshairs of national Democrats but also in a few not on their radar.

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There are at least half a dozen Democratic candidates in the 21st district, which is currently represented byLamar Smith, a San Antonio Republican who drew only two challengers in 2016 and won re-election by more than 20 percentage points. In the 31st district,John Carter, a Round Rock Republican, is up to at least four Democratic foes after just one ran in the primary last time.

Candidate after candidate points to a common denominator in their decision to run.

Knowing what happened on Nov. 8 and knowing that Donald Trump is our president ... its just really galvanized a lot of Democratic support all around the state and locally, and people are stepping up," said Ed Meier, a former Hillary Clinton staffer looking to unseat U.S. Rep.Pete Sessions, R-Dallas.

Early signs indicate some of the races are also drawing big money. In the 32nd district, Meier's campaign says he raised $345,000 in its first two months, while another Democratic hopeful, Colin Allred, took in more than $200,000 over a similar period, according to his team. In the 7th district, Democratic contender Alex Triantaphyllis says he raised over $450,000 in eight weeks, while primary rivalLizzie Pannill Fletcher has announced a haul of more than $365,000 in seven weeks.

With Abbott's announcement looming, though, the spotlight is intensifying on Democrats' statewide recruits. Republicans say they are being anything but complacent as they wait for Democrats to fill out their statewide ticket.

"Texas Democrats have two problems aside from being unable to field a full slate of credible candidates in 2018: We're mobilizing our grassroots as vigorously as if they did have that full slate, and Texas Republicans continue to deliver for Texans," state GOP spokesman Michael Joyce said in a statement.

Harris County, the biggest in Texas, will no doubt be on their radar next year. While Clinton easily won it in the 2016 presidential election, it has a history of being a battleground for both parties and a highly prized ingredient in any recipe for statewide victory.

For all the Democratic enthusiasm in the Trump era, Schechter said she was not too surprised it has not yet translated into a full and robust statewide slate.

"I think Texas is a really big state, and it's a really big challenge," she said, adding that her central focus is the countywide ticket in 2018. "We still need to shore up our votes in a major metropolitan area like Harris County to make it an easier statewide run."

Abby Livingston contributed to this report.

Read related Tribune coverage:

U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke, D-El Paso, is sailing toward a 2018 Senate campaign, an uphill battle that would pit the little-known congressman against one of the state's most prominent Republicans in the unpredictable era of President Donald Trump. [link]

Outside of the presidential race, the 2016 election in Texas is pretty quiet so quiet that a lot of political people are spending their time talking about 2018 and even 2020 as well. [link]

A recent private meeting of some of the Democratic Party's most well-known Texas figures suggests party leaders see glimmers of hope for the midterm electionsthanks to President Donald Trump. [link]

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As congressional races draw big interest, Democrats still filling out statewide ticket - Texas Tribune

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives introduced a new version of a Russia and Iran sanctions bill on Wednesday, hoping to send a message to President Donald Trump to maintain a strong line against Moscow.

Seeking to force Republican House leaders to allow a vote, Democrats on the House Foreign Affairs Committee introduced legislation unchanged from what passed the Senate by 98-2 on June 15 but has been stalled ever since.

While the new bill is identical to what the Senate passed, it will be labeled as House legislation to avoid a procedural issue that prompted House Republican leaders to send the measure back to the Senate.

However, there was no sign of support from Trump's fellow Republicans, who control majorities in both the House and the Senate and control what legislation comes up for a vote.

AshLee Strong, a spokeswoman for Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan, dismissed the Democrats' action as "grandstanding."

The measure was introduced by House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and Representatives Steny Hoyer, the No. 2 House Democrat, and Eliot Engel, the ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Democrats have accused House Republicans of stalling the sanctions package because of Trump administration concern about provisions setting up a process for Congress to approve any effort by the president to ease sanctions on Russia.

Trump's attempts to mend relations with Russia have been hindered by allegations that Moscow interfered in the 2016 U.S. election and colluded with Trump's campaign. Russia denies meddling and Trump says there was no collusion.

The issue has become even more heated since emails released Tuesday showed that Donald Trump Jr, the president's eldest son, eagerly agreed last year to meet a woman he was told was a Russian government lawyer who might have damaging information about Hillary Clinton, the Democratic rival in the 2016 presidential election.

Lawmakers and aides said news of that meeting, and the failure to disclose it, added new urgency to the push to pass the Russia package.

House Republican leaders said they had not taken up the original Senate bill because it violated a constitutional requirement that all legislation affecting government revenues originate in the House, known as a "blue slip" issue. Democrats and some Republicans who backed the bill scoffed, saying the problem could have been quickly remedied.

"Dilly-dallying around about the blue slip issue was just a ridiculous waste of time. We could have fixed it in five minutes," Senator Bob Corker, the Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told reporters.

The Senate changed the bill to address that issue, but also tweaked it in a way that Democrats said weakened a provision requiring Congress to approve any effort by the president to ease sanctions on Russia.

The new bill introduced on Wednesday would eliminate that change to allow House Democrats, as well as Republicans, to force a vote on a resolution of disapproval of any effort to ease Russia sanctions.

"I don't believe that having the president's party in a position to protect him from any oversight is good policy for our country," Hoyer told reporters.

Ryan told a news conference he wants to move a strong bill regarding sanctions on Russia as quickly as possible but that the legislation still faced procedural and policy hurdles.

The U.S. energy industry has been lobbying against the bill and some Republican House members, particularly from oil-producing states, have said they might want changes.

The Russia sanctions legislation was written as an amendment to a bill imposing new sanctions on Iran over issues including its ballistic missile program. Besides establishing the review process, it puts into law sanctions previously imposed on Moscow via presidential executive order and introduces new sanctions.

Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Additional reporting by Amanda Becker and Susan Heavey; Editing by James Dalgleish and Leslie Adler

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US Democrats introduce new bill on Russia and Iran sanctions - Reuters