The Unexpected Can Happen Here, Too

No one has any illusions about the surety of a Dem pickup in OR-2 against incumbent Greg Walden. It's a solidly Republican district, and Walden has a fairly big bank to spend. But it's like what the Maryland Lottery used to say in its ads: you can't win if you don't play. Here's why it's important to contest EVERY RACE, EVERYWHERE:

Yesterday’s special elections resulted in Democrats winning in two very Republican House districts and coming very close in a third. Particularly significant was the 123rd House District in southwestern Missouri where Charles Dake won one of the state’s most conservative districts, which voted over 70% for Matt Blunt and George W. Bush in 2004. It’s also part of the US House district [that] represented Governor Blunt’s father, Representative Roy Blunt.

Strictly analogous? Probably not. But the next time someone tells you it's useless to put up candidates in strongly red areas, send them here.

--TJ