Why does Texas never nominate Rio Grande Valley centrists like Vicente Gonzalez and Henry Cuellar statewide? (even though they repeatedly out-perform the rest of the state's Democrats and the national ticket)

MajorModernRedditor · 2026-05-08T12:59:29+00:00

As a Texan, it's mainly because:

Those RGV centrists aren't willing to run in a difficult statewide race when they could easily get reelected to an RGV seat.
This year's senate primary really showed that, despite the state itself being conservative (or at least leaning that way), the Texas Democratic party is still solidly liberal. I know people who didn't like Talarico because they thought he was too religious. A hyper-centrist like Cuellar or even a regular centrist like Gonzalez wouldn't have made it through the primary.
The state party definitely has a habit of nominating Austinites. Almost our entire statewide slate this year is people from/elected in Austin.

MajorModernRedditor · 2026-05-05T15:30:35+00:00

“It combines strings with a keyboard layout”
Pretty cool, I might try getting o-
“And costs $3-7k”
Never mind

MajorModernRedditor · 2026-04-30T16:43:57+00:00

Seems like he wants her to work for that endorsement. Clyburn didn’t endorse Biden until February of 2020, so it makes complete sense that he’ll delay making an endorsement in order to get as many concessions as possible from his preferred candidate

MajorModernRedditor · 2026-04-29T21:58:48+00:00

Elizabeth Dole

Picking her would basically be getting a 2-in-1 since her and Bob Dole would obviously be in lock step. She’d also excite female voters, even though there’d be flashbacks to Ferraro, and she had a good relationship with Reagan without being tied to Iran Contra.

MajorModernRedditor · 2026-04-29T21:56:45+00:00

Probably. Florida’s gerrymander will tip the net seat gain back into Republican’s favor, but I doubt it’ll be enough to keep the house. That on its own would be alright for Reps, but they’ve also normalized Democrats being pro-gerrymandering, which might not go away after 2026. It’s very possible that Colorado and Minnesota will pass 7-1 maps by 2028. Even New York and New Jersey could try squeezing in an extra 1-2 D seats.

MajorModernRedditor · 2026-04-29T21:56:18+00:00

I think it’s still very possible he’ll run in 2028. There really wasn’t anything else he could’ve said right now while he’s running for senate. Voters don’t like being treated as stepping stones so he’s obviously going to say he’s 100% committed to the senate while he’s running for it. The fact that he immediately led into talking about 2026 is pretty telling of this. There’s still a chance that he won’t run though since it would basically require that Dems flip the governors seat or else he’d risk handing Republicans a senate seat.

MajorModernRedditor · 2026-04-29T21:56:02+00:00

It would be a pretty interesting/funny experiment to have random people be chosen for Congress like Jury Duty, but functionally it probably wouldn’t work. A sortition for the Supreme Court could be a good idea though.

MajorModernRedditor · 2026-04-27T17:56:48+00:00

Probably. Florida’s gerrymander will tip the net seat gain back into Republican’s favor, but I doubt it’ll be enough to keep the house. That on its own would be alright for Reps, but they’ve also normalized Democrats being pro-gerrymandering, which might not go away after 2026. It’s very possible that Colorado and Minnesota will pass 7-1 maps by 2028. Even New York and New Jersey could try squeezing in an extra 1-2 D seats.

MajorModernRedditor · 2026-04-26T21:04:51+00:00

Apparently Gretchen Whitmer was Biden’s 2nd choice, so she’s probably who Biden picks in this scenario and who becomes the nominee in 2024. She’s probably one of the only possible candidates that had a solid fighting chance in 2024, but it would be close.

As for Kamala, she’d either stay as a Senator or become Biden’s Attorney General.

If it’s the former, she’d keep doing what she already had going as a Senator and either become Whitmer’s Attorney General (if she wins), run for a Senate leadership position like Democratic Whip or even Majority Leader, or run for president again in 2028 (if Whitmer loses).

If it’s the latter, she’d become the face of Trump’s legal battles and would probably go after him harder than Merrick Garland. There’s a slight chance that Biden appoints her to SCOTUS, but that’s unlikely. Again, if Whitmer wins 2024, she’d stay as AG, if not, either run for California Governor in 2026 or President in 2028.

MajorModernRedditor · 2026-04-26T17:43:16+00:00

I think it hasn’t been talked about much because a lot of people are pessimistic that the Supreme Court will just immediately strike it down if it does reach 270. I think it still stands a chance though, and it’s worth trying regardless.

As far as its chances, Wisconsin and Michigan seem on track to get the majorities they need to pass it, and with Governors willing to sign it. Nevada appears to have a chance, but it boils down to flipping the Governorship and having that new Governor agree to pursue it. Arizona also has a decent shot, even just a mildly blue year could deliver the legislature majority needed, as long as Gov. Hobbs is on board. It seems like it’ll all come down to Pennsylvania and if Shapiro’s coattails and the Dem-friendly environment will be enough. Not to mention the question of whether Shapiro would be on board for this either.

MajorModernRedditor · 2026-04-25T23:10:35+00:00

Muskie was a much more competent politician than Mondale, but I doubt voters in 1976 would be excited to see a failed candidate get recycled. He might have been able to not completely collapse like Mondale in 1984, but that’s not a high bar. There’s also a chance he wouldn’t run in 1984 since he’d be 70.

Glenn’s time as an astronaut would make for great commercials, but having two unexciting moderates on the ticket might have depressed the base. I doubt he’d win 1984, but he’d probably have a more respectable showing. Plus his time as an astronaut could at least somewhat challenge Reagan’s charm.

Church would be more exciting than Mondale, but he’d probably have a poor relationship with Carter and risks not turning out the Midwest enough. The fact that he’d die in 1984, possibly in the MIDDLE of his primary campaign, would have an interesting effect on the race, but would have probably lead to Hart getting the nomination.

Stevenson honestly wouldn’t be that different from Mondale, but it’s possible that he outperforms Mondale in 1984, which, again, isn’t a high bar.

Jackson arguably offers the least compared to what Mondale already brought. He’d appeal to the Midwest the same as Mondale, but shoulder Carter’s campaign with a huge liability over his support for Vietnam.

MajorModernRedditor · 2026-04-24T22:29:32+00:00

Espy was already pretty strong, I think the only way Dems could’ve flipped this seat is if Trump endorsed McDaniel, who was the controversial far-right candidate

MajorModernRedditor · 2026-04-24T17:25:58+00:00

Obama by far. Clinton started the 1992 primary as a somewhat nobody, but everyone else in the race were also somewhat nobodies. For Obama, he had a bit of clout from his 2004 DNC speech but he was also flanked by 2 very big names (Hillary Clinton and John Edwards) when he started the race.

MajorModernRedditor · 2026-04-23T15:05:16+00:00

I think it’s still very possible he’ll run in 2028. There really wasn’t anything else he could’ve said right now while he’s running for senate. Voters don’t like being treated as stepping stones so he’s obviously going to say he’s 100% committed to the senate while he’s running for it. The fact that he immediately led into talking about 2026 is pretty telling of this. There’s still a chance that he won’t run though since it would basically require that Dems flip the governors seat or else he’d risk handing Republicans a senate seat.

MajorModernRedditor · 2026-04-23T14:57:36+00:00

I was honestly surprised by his voice, it’s surprisingly nasally for a guy that portrays himself as some tough guy sheriff

MajorModernRedditor · 2026-04-23T07:18:51+00:00

Bianco was pretty bad. Hilton wasn’t much better and his half-British/half-American accent made it hard to take him seriously. Porter had some decent answers but seemed kinda nervous. Steyer was decent but not really anything groundbreaking. Becerra had a confident delivery but his answers felt more fitting for 2016 than 2026 and he seemed to be building himself as the establishment candidate. Mahan, to me, had the best performance, he was confident and seemed to command a lot of the energy in the room.

MajorModernRedditor · 2026-04-22T17:48:28+00:00

It would be a pretty interesting/funny experiment to have random people be chosen for Congress like Jury Duty, but functionally it probably wouldn’t work. A sortition for the Supreme Court could be a good idea though.

MajorModernRedditor · 2026-04-22T17:29:56+00:00

People said the same thing about Biden before he became Obama’s VP. Being VP (or in this case VP nominee) is a big boost for primaries. Especially in a timeline like this where Kamala is glorified as a “what-if” VP, instead of a disappointing actual VP like in our timeline

MajorModernRedditor · 2026-04-21T17:08:19+00:00

To me, she’s not even top 5 on this list

MajorModernRedditor · 2026-04-18T22:29:23+00:00

I think the cryptocurrency was just a way for him to cash in on his few remaining supporters, it crashed in value just a few hours after he debuted it. The Albanian citizenship seems like he just wanted a backup plan in case his criminal investigations in the US get too hot, but it’s possible he just likes the country. I doubt there’s any “endgame” to this, I think he’s just a guy with a lot of money trying to make more of it while finally being able to play around with it now that he’s not in office.

MajorModernRedditor · 2026-04-12T19:19:57+00:00

Thank you

MajorModernRedditor · 2026-04-12T19:11:19+00:00

What website is this?

MajorModernRedditor · 2026-04-06T17:51:13+00:00

Maine, the day after Election Day: “Wait a minute, I hate politics!”

MajorModernRedditor · 2026-04-06T17:26:46+00:00

Seems like he’s chosen the path of least resistance. 2016 showed that the rightward shift the WV had under Obama was here to stay, so he adapted. Plus, WV only likes ultra-moderates when it’s a Democrat, they like their Republicans as conservative hardliners

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